the red room

The night people have a special place where they bring the high rollers.  The money men who keep the wheels of their dark empire turning.  The lights were designed by one of us, a mage from the old days when everyone was still friendly.  The lights don't pulse; they bubble, they effervesce, they envelop.  When you live life faster than the blink of an eye, lighting effects are experienced differently... dopplerized, they entrance the night people.  The girls are recruited from Eastern Europe.  Some of them are professional girls, some of them are kidnapped.  You read the papers, you know what kind of shit happens.  They prefer the kidnapped ones.  They can still feel terror.  The professional girls have that detached, "I knew I was going to die bloody" look to them.  It ruins the fantasy.  I met the man who runs the "recruitment" operation once.  He looks almost as beaten down as the girls.  Of course, he gets to go home at the end of the day, so fuck him still.

The girls are told they're dancing for some important people, life-changing people.  Green cards, marriages, an end to being raped all the fucking time... they get light-headed it sounds so sweet.  The room is gorgeous red, and the lights are heaven sent... I hope it's a nice memory for them.  They won't have another.  The door locks from the outside.