The Midnight City Social Hour

Ch6: Virgin Virgin, Retard Retard

"How do you know they're going to care?" Tommy asked.

He was in a small room with subdued walls. Not really white. But certainly not grey. There was a desk in a corner, with a window that looked onto a backyard. A fridge, cabinets, grime encrusted dishes in the sink—all centered by tile on the floor. A fan spun overhead. Incense burned.

There were a plethora of drugs on the table. Cat Girl had a computer screen open. Recordings were listed in a top to bottom spreadsheet. A second screen had audio buttons and digital gears that she played with.

Karl sat at the table. A straw hat was on his head, over a fat face. Suspenders over his shoulders. There was a cigarette in his mouth. He brought corn with him. It was in a bowl in the kitchen. But he wasn't really there to eat. He brought it for Cat Girl who would, on occasion, forgot the motor skills to prepare her own meals.

"Doesn't matter if he cares or not. It's necessary." Karl said, working with baggies filled with Salts.

"And why is it necessary?" Tommy asked.

"It will teach him a lesson. Not a very good one. But maybe he'll feel something. That truly awful pain." Karl thought about it and laughed, "Honestly it just makes me feel good. Hurting people."

Cat Girl had more of a straight answer. "It's about pain. Real pain that he can learn from. Pain teaches a lot of people a great many things."

Tommy asked, "And that's why we're here?"

The room they were in. The rustic house in a shady neighborhood. They didn't own the house. It belonged to someone they knew.

Someone gay.

Karl replied, "Because this gay boy gets women easy. And Mini wants to make The Recruit gay. Maybe this will work. Maybe not. Cat Girl is the only one who sees anything good stemming from it. The pain." He had small spoons for the Salts. He offered a little bit to Tommy.

Tommy waved away the offer. Salts had a way of clogging his nose. He could never breathe.

Cat Girl added, "Mr. Kipples needs to be familiar with this place. That's why we're here. So he can understand how to act in the field." Then Cat Girl addressed the issue of the owner of the house, "Our friend will not be back. Not for a long time. We are safe."

Although neither of the three new that the owner of the house had made plans. And those plans changed. And he would return shortly.