Black Iris

The Stranger

Warning:
Chapter contains violence and gore.

Iris

It felt like my heart leapt into my throat as I stared down at the girl, who was shaking in fear. The man behind her looked across at us, and I swallowed my fear, taking in his appearance. For someone holding a gun to a stranger's head, he looked incredibly composed. He was wearing a loose-fitting dark t-shirt, black jeans, and a grey coat with the collar turned up. The hand holding the gun was steady and unshaken, clothed in a black glove. In any sense, he did not look like the kind of guy to be involved with Blake, and whatever was going on.

In the same way, the girl didn't either. She looked entirely different from the girls I had seen downstairs. Though she was dressed in lingerie like the girls downstairs, it was plain, and tan, an everyday kind that she you would choose to go to work in. On the floor, nearby, I could see a pile of clothes. What looked like a dark red dress, black stockings and flats. Her hair was done up in what looked like a day-old updo, and her makeup was smudged, dark lines running down her cheeks where she'd cried away her mascara.

Blake barely glanced at her.

"Jensen, it's great to see you," he said to the man holding the gun. "I see you came through, as promised."

The man, Jensen, nodded. "Caught this bitch last night. Good girl, mid twenties, works in an office downtown. Well connected, like you asked."

Blake nodded. "Good. And you didn't have any trouble?"

"No one saw me if that's what you mean," Jensen said. "She was out partying with a friend, an expensive place downtown. I flirted with her for a bit, then the other one went home. At that point was just a matter of slipping something in her drink and offering to walk her home. Stupid bitch didn't know what hit her."

The girl sobbed into her gag, clenching her eyes shut. My heart lurched. Behind us, Gareth cleared his throat.

"Listen, Ivy. Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but did you really think this through?" He asked. "Our girls are all nobodies. Nobody notices they're gone, nobody comes looking for them, nobody ever finds us. Funnily enough, some uptown business bitch doesn't really fit in that mould."

Blake glanced back at him. "Correct, Gareth. Your point?"

Gareth rolled his eyes at the smug response. "Quit with the bullshit, Blake. I run a tight business here, and I don't need you blowing it up over a disobedient side piece."

Blake smirked. "You run a tight business here? Last I checked, this was a joint venture."

"Fine," Gareth said through gritted teeth, "We run a tight business, but my point still stands. What the fuck are you doing, Ivy? Didn't you stop to consider the police might come looking for this chick?"

"Yes, actually," Blake said, glancing back at him and drawing a pair of gloves from his pocket. I watched as he pulled them on, wondering what the hell was going on. Blake pressed on, looking back at the girl. "In fact, I'm rather counting on that fact."

With that, he nodded at Jensen, who drew his hand away and stowed the gun in his coat. Blake stepped around and crouched down in front of the girl, lifting his freshly gloved hand to loosen the gag in her mouth.

"What's your name, dear?" He asked gently.

The girl looked confused. In a scratchy voice, she uttered, "Jasmine."

Blake raised an eyebrow in surprise, then looked at me, smiling. "Well, Iris, isn't that a coincidence. Another flower."

I scowled. "Perfect. Maybe you should torture and gaslight her, too. Third times the charm, right?"