Fire Meet Gasoline

Part One

The blue bus that took me all the way from Paleto Bay to Los Santos took an exit off of the Olympic Freeway and pulled into Strawberry. I got off at the stop on Elgin Avenue, and took a look around for the address given in an email from Lester. I stood in front of a line of shops and while the shop numbers were close, it wasn't the building I was looking for. I crossed the street, and walked along the storefronts before wandering down an ally. Luckily I stumbled across the Vanilla Unicorn, a strip club, also the location I was looking for. I walked through the main entrance. I was greeted by a few impressed faces, both from the strippers working the floor to the sad men who go to strip clubs at 11:40 in the morning. 

I looked around for someone who possibly could be Lester. A few men sat in chairs around the stage, some with drinks and some with a stripper on their lap. A bouncer stood by a door closed by a curtain under a sign that read "Private Dances". I approached him and asked quietly, "Hello, I'm looking for Lester Crest? Does he work here?"

"Who is asking?"

"Eden Barnes. That's me."

"Yeah he's here. Come with me." 

I followed him through the curtain. To the left, a row of booths where I assume the private dances take place. Forward, a door. He passed through it and I followed. We passed a few racks of undergarments and vanity tables inhabited by makeup cases and purses and took a right down a hallway. A stripper the bouncer addressed as Peach entered the hallway through a curtain. As we passed the curtain, I peeked through to see it was the entrance to the stage. The bouncer knocked on a door at the end of the hallway, about 5 feet from the curtain, and a gruff voice shouted, "Just a moment."

The same voice let out a few moans following the statement. The bouncer left me without a word, so I stood quietly by the door. About 2 minutes later, a stripper dressed in red lingerie with medium length blonde hair exited the room,  pushed past me and seductively walked through the curtain. The door was left open behind her, so I slowly entered.

"Excuse me?" I asked quietly. As my view of the room became full, a man buttoning a blue flannel shirt sat on a couch strewn with clothing.

"Who are you?" He asked quickly. "We are not hiring."

"I'm Eden Barnes, we met online?" 

"I don't know anyone by that name." His voice was angry, almost like a growl when he spoke. His face was hardened as he thought. A thought came across his face, and he asked, "Are you here for Lester? I'm not him, by the way."

"Oh. Yes I am looking for Lester. Is he here?"

"He will be." He answered. "Are you the intern?"

"Uh, yes. That's me."

"Brilliant. The last assistant Lest had was creepy. AND never let me hit on her. She might have been a lesbian though. Why would anyone not want me to hit on them?"

I laughed awkwardly before asking, "When do you think Lester will get here?"

"Do you mind if I hit on you, Eddie, was it?"

"Its Eden."

"Eden..." He stared me down. Then glanced down from my eyes to my chest. "Well, since we will be spending quite a lot of time together, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Trevor Phillips. Owner of this fine establishment and also founder of Trevor Phillips Industries."

"I've never heard of that."

"Well, doll face, you just joined the TPI family. Its a business ran in, but not exclusive to Blaine County. Guns, drugs. Trading."

"Oh?" Drugs?

Another door swung open, inviting in the light from the warm summer sun. A man hobbled in using a cane. He cleared his throat, put down a suitcase, and then turned toward me.

"I suppose you are Eden, hello. Glad to see you got here in one piece. And managed to get through a conversation with my associate, Trevor, without him eating you alive. It's about time he leaves so we can talk."

"Oh alright. I'll miss you, Doll face. If ol' Lester gives you a hard time just let me know, okay beautiful?"

And so the flirting begins. "It was nice to meet you, Trevor. And... thanks."

"Sorry about him. He lets his crotch do most of the speaking. You don't want to be there when its his brain. Anyway lets talk some business."

Lester was very straight forward about the job. I only wish he was more straight forward about it before I accepted. He told me I could possibly make an extremely decent amount of money if I did well. Now that I know I will be assisting him and his associates in heists and other illegal activities, it is making me question moving out here on my own. Could this be better than college with my brother? Was I meant for a life of crime? 

Lester seems like a nice enough guy. But Trevor? I don't know whats worst, how much he scares me, or how much he turns me on.