Dignity's Worth

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

"Marry a girl... what, you fucking kidding me?" asked Alex, "You nuts or something? I just turned eighteen, for God's sake!"

"Just listen to me..."

"I ain't gonna do it."

"Look all we need is a girl. Once you marry her, you can get into the South Spot any time you want. All the High Enders want their daughters to be married as soon as they're eighteen. That way they get a new guy in the family. So that's what you do... you infiltrate the High End. And the moment your mission is completed, the moment all innocent girls are out of that wretched place, you can get a divorce from your wife. Won't be difficult. Now we only need a name..."

"I have one." said Paul, and both Alex and Newt looked at him.

"Who?" asked Newt, much to Alex's disapproval.

"Emily Priest."

Now was the time Alex spoke.

"Emily- Emily Priest?" he asked, "Winner of the under eighteen beauty pageant last year? That Emily Priest? Howard Priest's daughter?"

"Yes her."

"I'm sorry Paul, but you've got terrible taste in girls. I ain't even gonna try."

"Why not?"

"Well for starters, I'm not gonna marry a whore."

"How do you know she's a whore?" asked Newt.

"How do you think she won last year in the first place?" cried Alex, "Come on goddamn it, you guys know very well that in this city if you wanna do something, you either need to have the balls to do it or you need to suck someone's..."

"Stop it. You cannot make a judgement like that."

"Well I'm gonna! Because I don't want to marry this girl."

"Not because she's a whore," said Newt, "not because she's a whore. You're hiding something from us. I know you. You wouldn't even call a hooker by her profession. Calling a decent girl a 'whore' is a different thing altogether. What's the real reason Alex? Why are you chickening out of this?"

Alex sighed.

"Because I love someone else." said he, "I love someone else and I want to keep it that way. Don't test my fucking patience on this man, I love someone else and that's it. How do you think I'm still gonna love her the same if I get married to another girl? And even if I agree to the marriage part of it Newt, which I don't, why on earth would the winner of last year's beauty pageant say 'yes' to someone like me?"

"Because you're Alex Moretti," Newt answered, "and because you know you can get her to say yes. I've seen the way a lot of girls look at you. You're liked by everyone you know. And that's rare. You may be nothing short of a downright son of a bitch in this room, but in front of girls you're always a goddamn gentleman. I don't know how or why, but you've never struck a girl in your life. Even though you beat the living hell out of a poor bastard some months ago, your fingers tremble whenever a girl asks you to hold her hand."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you told me yourself," said Newt, "and I've seen the way you are with girls Alex. You're a much nicer guy, believe me. You couldn't be disrespectful to them even if you wanted to be. I admire that you know. And I'm sure Emily will too."

"I'm not marrying her. I ain't even gonna bother to talk to her. Marriage is out of the question."

"I know you love somebody else," Newt placed his hand on Alex's shoulder, "but think about it. You marrying this one person could possibly help save every single innocent girl held at the South Spot."