FORTY-ONE
It would soon be dark in the Valley, though the lights of the city prevent night from ever being really night in LA. Still the chrome streetlights cast an aura of criminality on everyone's face Lena saw from the back seat of the taxi. When the driver turned into the deserted cul-de-sac bordering the Van Nuys Airport, he looked, as if she might have given him the wrong address, however she just told him, "This is where I want to go, so just pull over to the right."
The young actress got out of the car with the two aluminum cases, though when she reached into her purse to pay the driver, he waved off the money, saying, "The ride's on me."
"It is?" Lena shook her head, suspecting somehow Louie Sinreich had arranged for this taxi to take her here.
"Yeah, my wife is one of your biggest fan. I was wondering whether you could give me an autograph for her."
"Sure, what's her name?" Lena was getting too paranoid, but then if she couldn't be at a time like this than she never could.
After signing his booking sheet, Lena waved to the slowly departing taxi, thinking how simple other people's lives were, when hers was a mess, but then that might be the price of fame. If that was the case then she was ready for more neglect once this was all through, but tomorrow was too faraway to contemplate. All she had was the 'right now'.
No one appeared to be watching through the windows of the studio, though that did not mean she was not walking into a trap. She was alone and shivered with the increasing apprehension of her next few minutes.
She inspected the revolver. A bullet was in the chamber and three more behind it, though there was little comfort in being armed. Her heart beat faster and faster, but surprisingly her hands were steady. The woman she loved was in this building and was not coming out, unless she went in. She was as ready as she would ever be and entered the building with the .38 firmly in her hand.
The half-lit hallways were deserted, and, as her footsteps noiselessly padded on the newly laid carpeting, Lena expected a man to jump out at her from one of the doorways, but she passed each one without incident.
On the second floor Lena peeked around the corner, then ducked back to shelter and closed her eyes. In her mind Lena saw herself going through the door at the end of the hallway. She would give the two cases to Louie, he would free Sherri, and then they would flee south to Mexico to live happily ever after. She couldn't see it working out any other way, but then it always did, when the odds were piled heavily against you.
Lena blessed herself with the sign of the cross and hoped that the gesture still worked for someone so far from God, for otherwise she would have to depend on the pistol and shooting a gun could only take you so far. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten, then walked down the empty hallway. Each step took forever, and only one person could make her go any farther.
Sherri.
This woman she loved.
She stopped before the studio door, then stepped inside, ready to shoot anyone in her way. Normally the Hollywood showed a man in her position. One against all. The hero usually survived, since the bad men couldn't shoot straight. Only this was not a movie and she was not a man. Maybe those two negatives would work in her favor.
No one was in the office, though a rubber suit lay across a chair like shucked snakeskin. She put down the two cases and peered down the interior hallway, which was also deserted.
Hyperventilating Lena slid along the smooth wall, until reaching the door to the control room. It was locked, but inside the two inventors were seated in their chairs, their heads resting on their folded arms like kindergarten kids taking a nap. They had not been dangerous before, so she ignored them and steeled herself for opening the last door.
Sherri had to be inside with Louie.
It was going to be her versus him, but before she could take another step, a big bearded man appeared from a side office and only his immediately raising his hands over his head saved his life.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Jimmo said quickly, for he had seen her pull the trigger without hesitation and harbored little doubt she could shot someone again, even though he had done nothing to her. "What's with the gun?"
"You have to ask?" Her being armed was contrary to the orders specified by Louie, but if Lena had learned anything lately, it was that you gain little by playing according to someone else's rules.
"Don’t shoot me. I just work here. I don't even have a gun." The big man lifted his arms, so Lena could see there wasn't a weapon stuck in his waist or under his arm.
"Turn around." She ordered.
"Sure, lady."
Once she was assured that he was clean, Lena asked, "Where's Sherri?"
"She's in the lab."
"You people better not have hurt Sherri."
"No one's touched her. Not me, not no one." Jimmo assured and thought to himself that this girl was a lot braver than most men he knew, if she came here alone.
"That better be the truth.” Lena was not sure how tough she sounded, but her index finger remained tight on the trigger, not having a single reason to trust anyone involved with Louie Sinreich. "Do not do anything stupid or else I swear I'll put a hole in you."
"I've already seen you in action, lady. Save your convincing for someone else."
"In that case, pick up those two cases and walk down the hallway." Lena decided to take the big man along, since he would be the perfect shield should anyone open up on her.
"In front of you?" Picking up the two metal cases, the big man coughed twice. He had a temperature of 102 and wished that he had never gotten of bed today, but it was too late for that to come true.
"No, behind me."
The big man actually tried to take his place in the rear, until Lena pointed the gun at his stomach and said, "That was a joke."
"Hey, lady, I don't joke with anyone holding a gun." Jimmo had his fill of this tough guy scene. If this all ended badly and the police came in, then the first thing he would do would be snitch uphill on Louie, because this was just a job and he did not owe the porno producer a single minute in jail. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
"That's good to hear. Now move it."
As the two of them passed the control room, the two men inside waved their hand. Lena couldn't hear what they were saying through the soundproof windows and while she was no lip reader, she could tell they were warning her not to go into the other room. Unfortunately she had no other choice.
Lena halted before the final door and asked, "Who is inside?"
"Louie, the redhead, that big man, and your friend."
"Three against one.” Lena motioned with the gun barrel and said, "You first."
Jimmo entered the air-conditioned room, then put down the two cases and moved out of the way into the corner. Lena didn't have to look far to find Sherri. She was bound to a chair and several strips covered her eyes, ears, and mouth. A redheaded As far as she could tell she wasn't hurt, but that didn't keep her from saying to Louie Sinreich, "You bastard."
"What'd I do?" The producer stepped forward with a redhead, wearing a black wig and Lena's clothes from the other day. She was a near-miss version of the young actress, but Lena did not need any carnival clones in the room, so she ordered, "Take off the wig."
The girl pulled off the wig and stroked it like a cat. "Sorry, I didn't do anything."
"Yeah, nobody did anything."
"What's wrong, Lena? Plagiarism is the highest praise possible." Louie's gray suit was crisply pressed, but his haggard face, the tongue flicking over his lips, and sunken eyes flitting across the room indicated that his Speed addiction hitting critical mass.
"I am not here to socialize." Lena answered defiantly.
"No, problem, but I thought we could talk things over." Louie was annoyed Jimmo had let her come in armed, not that it really mattered. He held his hands up to show he was weaponless, except for a smile on his face.
"No, I have the two cases. You get them and I get Sherri.” While puzzled by his confidence, Lena reinforced her order by aiming the pistol at the producer's head, for her patience was running on a short fuse. "Let her go or else I'll blow a hole in your head."
"I don't think so.” Louie leered, then nodded to someone behind her.
Lena spun around to pull the trigger, but someone wrenched the pistol from her grasp and threw across the 'laboratory' floor. When she lifted her head to see who her assailant was, Lena was stunned to see the man she had shot the other day standing over her. Two bullet holes dotted his jacket right in the kill zone of his heart. No one could have lived after that. "You were dead."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but...that's why I wear this,” the man back from the dead spoke between grimaced gasps for air and undid his shirt to reveal a lightweight bullet-proof vest. Sticking her pistol in his waistband, he reached down to roughly lift Lena to her feet. "Stopped both bullets...Surprised the shit out of me too...when I discovered I was still alive. My ribs are busted,...but that's about it....Next time, go for a head shot."
Louie joined them and asked, "Where's your boyfriend?"
"He left town,” Lena stared unblinkingly at the other man. His not being dead explained why the police had never been called. There had never been any murder.
"Left town...Where'd he go?” The man in the suit demanded with an increasing menace.
"Maybe Mexico."
"Oh, that's not so good an answer.” He took out a cigarette and mouthed it. The girl was holding back, but getting information out of her would be a pleasure.
"Slow down there, we have a loaded agenda, remember.” Louie said, earning a vicious stare from the NYPD detective, who said, "I remember everything. like where's my money?"
Jimmo, give me the case with the money." Keeping the NYPD detective under control had been seesaw battle for the past twenty-four hours, on which Louie understood the consequences of losing.
Jimmo slid the case across the floor, then Louie opened it and counted out $2500, which he threw to deRocco. "Happy?"
"Almost," deRocco answered, though he really wouldn't be happier, until he got his hands on Tempo. "So now what?"
"I have to talk with Lena," Louie said, then addressed the young actress, for he had to distract the detective from the money. "Lena, everything went terribly wrong yesterday."
"You drugged me."
"It was for a good cause and we were so close. All I want from you is one love scene with your girlfriend."
"You're out of your mind." One look at t his eyes confirmed her statement too.
"No, no, no, those two in there told me that we could use the SOMA, regardless of whether you were with a man or woman."
"And why should I do it? For science?"
"No, the same reasons as before. You do it and you get to walk."
"And if I don't?" After yesterday Lena had no reason to trust the producer's promises.
deRocco jerked her arm and ominously advised, "You don't wanna know...the alternative, little lady?"
"Let her go," Louie ordered, feeling like a lion trainer who had lost his whip.
"Whatever you want," deRocco answered and released the girl, surprising the other four people in the room, though telling himself Sinreich would be a dead man before the night was out and he wouldn't be going alone either.
"Jimmo, take Alice into the next room." Louie held up a control wand and pressed a
"Sure thing, boss." Jimmo didn't have to be told twice and grabbed Alice before leaving the room.
Lena stared at the two men. She doubted very much Louie Sinreich would let either Sherri or she go, however she needed to be alone with her lover, if only for one last time. "I’ll agree, but only if Sherri and I are alone in this room."
"I don't see how a little privacy could hurt.”
Lena walked over to the chair to which Sherri was tied. "And what's to guarantee you will let us go?"
"Oh, that hurts.” Louie wiped away the sweat on his face.
His migraine was killing him, but if he could just focus for a half-hour or less, then they could get the readings for the SOMA and it would all be over, at least for the experiment. Unfortunately he couldn't let the two women go, but that didn't keep him from saying, "Listen, you shot him and we took Sherri, That's washes out. You do this and I'll let you go. I promise."
"It sounds reasonable.” Lena was not buying Louie's contrite demeanor, but was playing along for time.
"Just do like I say. You strap on the same harness from the other day and then you and Sherri get it on. Simple, right?" Louie's eyes darted back and forth from Lena to Sherri like a Ping-Pong ball.
"Sounds it.” Lena knew Louie's definition of simple was completely different from hers, but saying so wasn't going to get Sherri and her out of here, so she said, "It's not just up to me."
"Be a good girl and convince Sherri." but you understand what a 'no' answer means," Louie said, then looked at deRocco, as if suggesting the worst. "Cause you understand what a 'no' answer means."
"I get the picture." Lena walked over to Sherri and first gently peeled the tape from her mouth, ears, and eyes. Her lover took one deep breath before saying, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"All this."
"Sherri, you wouldn't be here, if it were for me, but now is not the time for sorrys. You heard what he wants from us?"
"Yes, but___"
"There are no 'buts'." Lena placed her fingers over Sherri's mouth and whispered in the older woman's ear. "I know you want to tell me, "Don't do it.” and that we can not trust him, but whether we do or not makes no difference. I want you to know that I love you. I have never said those words before, but I mean them. We might not get out of here, and if we do not, I would like to make love to you one more time, knowing that you know that I love you. No one can take that from us."
Lena undid the tape binding Sherri's wrists to the chair's armrests. Upon having one hand free, the older woman caressed the Spanish girl's black hair. Her love for Lena swelled, until everyone else in the room was vanquished to the corners of her eyes, then beyond. Lena held her lover's face in both hands and said, "This will be just you and me."
Sherri lifted her eyes to meet with Lena's and whispered, "I'll do it.
Lena turned to Louie and said, "Sherri and I will do what you ask, but only if we are in this room alone."
"Whatever you want as long as you wear the harness.” Louie acceded to her wish, since this reading would also be perfect for the female market of the SINSEX suit, covering yet another base for success.
Of course he would have to split the country after all of this, for kidnapping was a federal offense. No big deal. With the Virtual Sex invention in his hands and the Internet at his service, he could control the porno business from anywhere in the world. Billions of dollars would be his.
Louie opened the PC case and handed Lena the harness, pointing to a series of electrical outlets by the bed. "I'm just going to put the wires in the right sockets. One of the geeks will check them later, so you don't get electrocuted."
"Thanks for being so concerned.” Sherri took the harness from Louie. Seeing his drugged state resurrected a million memories of drugs and destruction, as if she was on a very unpleasant episode of THIS IS YOUR LIFE.
After Louie and the cop left the room, the lock was turned and the two women embraced without kissing, content to be together no matter what the circumstance. Not many people would have understood, then again they were not like the rest of the world.
Lena breathed in Sherri's raw perfume, having sorely missed that simple ingredient to their body chemistry since Death Valley. They were wearing way too much clothing and Lena broke the embrace first, saying, "I want to feel you naked against me."
Sherri glanced through the control room window. Two computer technicians had their heads stuck to their respective consoles. A balding man in a dark gray suit stood over them, as if to insure their obedience. She had no idea how Louie thought he could get away with keeping at least five people captive, but drugs have a bizarre way of lying to people about what they can and can not do.
Sherri turned to Lena and watched the young girl take off her jacket to bare her breasts, and then kick off her shoes and shuck the newly bought jeans. She stepped out of her panties and shook her head, so her silken hair fell back into place, then snuggled up to Sherri and murmured, "I can not feel your skin."
Sherri lifted her arms and Lena peeled off her shirt, so she could press her bare breasts against the older woman's chest. Their skin together was almost fevered. Despite this, a cold shudder rippled through Sherri.
A reporter had once asked her how many people she had made love to both on- and off-screen. She had no idea of the exact number, maybe a thousand, maybe two, maybe more. Sometimes in her mind all those tongues, hands, clitori, breasts, penises, and bellies congealed into a great amorphic beast in which she was the food for the lust of a faceless legion watching her every move through the VCR.
While there was no camera in evidence, she felt that she was back on the set of a porno shoot or even worse behind the plate glass window of a peep show. Someplace so sordid she could be as wild as she wanted. Lena sensed her lover's hesitancy and said, “Forget them. Just you and me and no one else. Just two Eves and no Adam. Just like the film. Just like real life."
Sherri stared into the young girl's green eyes and then passed her open palms over the naked body. Her desire for Lena bewitched her and she stripped off the rest of her clothes. They embraced for several seconds, skin to skin, belly to belly, breast-to-breast, their breathing in and out, matched, thighs flush against each other. Lena leaned over to pick up the harness. "Sherri, help me on with this."
Wordlessly Sherri assisted Lena in slipping on the leather and metal outfit, then aligning the sensors along the flow of erogenous zones. Wearing the harness Lena resembled a siren of the senses, one Sherri would worship forever.
The door opened behind them. The bald cop stood at the doorway and the fat computer tech in the stained white overalls entered the room. His reddened eyes indicated he had been crying. "I'm sorry, but I have to check the leads."
"Did you invent this?” Sherri asked with disdain. modeled the harness, as if it were a Thierry Mugler creation.
"Yes, it's all our fault, me and Ur. He's my friend. We never intended it to be like this,” Bob Olsen blubbered, as he went over the electrical circuitry and followed the wires to the harness without touching any of the sensors on Lena's body. "This invention wasn't supposed to be for pornographic purposes."
"Then what was it for?” Sherri demanded.
"Something to simulate what it would be like to make love to someone who loved you back. I'm sorry it turned out this way."
"It's a little late for apologies,” Sherri was not interested in what any man had to say, least of all one greatly to blame for their present situation.
"Fat man,...are you ready?" deRocco yelled impatiently, an ache stabbing in his chest.
"Yes.” Bob Olsen had never felt more helpless than having to leave these two women to this fate, except he had an encyclopedia's worth of weak moments in his life. Once he backed out of the room and the door was locked, Lena lay back on the tilted bed and sat carefully to avoid being entangled in the trailing wires. The sheets were crisp and cool. The only sound was their own breathing.
This irresistible vision was the woman she loved and Sherri could only show her love in only one way and lay on the bed to hold Lena tenderly. Her kisses were not of passion, but love, and Sherri felt herself being drawn within the younger girl's vortex of lust, as the world beyond their bodies diapered, as it could for any two Eves in love.
From the control room Louie Sinreich intently watched the two women, for their lovemaking was unlike any he had seen throughout his years in the business. The computer wizards were enraptured by the PC screens glowing with the continuous data flow on the release of beta enkephalins and endorphins. The myotonic tension increased geometrically, as Lena's toes arched and contractions rocked her body every .8 seconds. All of it was indecipherable to the producer, so he had to ask, "Is it working?"
"Yes, I think so.” To the best of Bob Olsen's knowledge the harness' sensors were absorbing every nuance of Lena's erogenous output.
"But they're not having sex," Louie commented with puzzlement.
Bob and Ur regarded Louie Sinreich as a fool, for whatever was happening between the two women was exactly what they and millions of other people had been looking for all their lives. Bob could explain that to Louie and said, "It's still what we were after."
“Once we plug this data into the PC for the sensor suit, it's all systems go?"
"Yes,"
"Excellent.” Louie slapped the fat boy on the back and beamed proudly at his reflection in the window. In a few more minutes he would make scientific history by becoming the first man to experience the ecstasy of SOMA's succubus fulfilling his every desire.
In other words, man was being welcomed back to Eden without Eve.
The way paradise was always meant to be.
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