Cathouse: Eavesdropping on the Wind
Apr. 13th, 2011 02:36 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsCrystal (as Riley) and Jean-Paul are on surveillance duty outside the brothel in District X and neither of them particularly likes what they see/hear.
As they had done the day before, two mutants were hid on the roof of the building across the street from what, on outward appearance, was a day spa. As they were only too well aware, inside the building were approximately a dozen mutant women who were quite possibly suffering from unwanted physical abuse at this very moment. Hopefully, this horrible treatment could be ended soon, and this was why the roof now had a sparkling brunette and a speedster as visitor who were spending hours simply watching.
Riley had remained in her mostly silent role. Out with Jean-Paul, she respected the fact that he was the one in charge. She wasn't entirely new to the idea of carrying out an investigation, but not quite like this. Jean-Paul had experience, and she intended to observe, learn, and follow his lead.
Jean-Paul was watching the window to the office in the building, since it was the only one with open blinds on the second floor. Everything on the third and forth floors was closed up tight, which meant he had no way of knowing where Laura was within the building. He hadn't liked the change of plans when he'd found out about it. He liked them even less now. But at least Laura wasn't stuck in there 24/7. She could leave in the evenings. That was some small consolation.
Shifting the bag of carrots over to Riley, he offered her one even as he kept his eyes trained on the office window. Sometimes girls would get some air outside the actual spa on the first floor, but Laura hadn't been out today to do that and it was beginning to truly bother him. "Riley, mon ami. I think he is opening the window, duck down, si'l vous plaît." The sparkles were a dead giveaway when it came to noticing people lurking.
The sparkling woman did as she was told. Some days she really liked the way she looked at the moment, and other days standing out was just not a very good idea. Like this, she wasn't exactly the type who could just hide in a crowd without being noticed.
Barry stood at the window, the girl behind him crying on the floor with Lars standing over her. He did not feel pity or remorse for what had happened to her, it was part of the job and she better get used to it as there would be men with far worse tastes than Lars paying top dollar for her. "Get her out of here, and clean her up. I have three customers slated for her this afternoon and I expect them to be arriving in the next hour." He turned towards his henchman, a cold look in his eyes, "And Lars, make sure you remember what I will do if she's not ready to perform by the time they arrive." He didn't need to say anything more than that, Lars had already been under the knife for transgressions long past.
Opening the window he looked out towards the ragged buildings and sighed heavily. He made good money with his trade, but sometimes he wished that he could do it in someplace that didn't look like the ass-end of Africa.
Jean-Paul ducked down, himself, only his eyes above the line of the roof opposite the brothel, and set the bag of carrots aside. He couldn't hear what was being said and the distance was a bit much for him to be able to see clearly, but he thought he could just make out one girl being taken from the room even as another was brought in. Frowning, the Quebecois glanced at Riley and quirked a brow. "The listening that you mentioned, with the air. Can you do this now? There is someone else coming into the room with him."
Barry didn't turn as the second girl was brought in, she was very new and he could tell by the way she squirmed that she didn't realize the gravity of her situation. "Why are you here?" his voice was cold and emotionless.
When the girl moaned but failed to speak he raised his hand casually and waited for the sound. She cried out slightly as the man who brought her in kicked the back of her leg hard enough to make her fall to her knees. She screamed again when he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.
"I can try," Riley told Jean-Paul. She would have preferred to try something else, quite possibly something that would stop the man from hurting anyone. The words might not have made it to the roof yet, but the scream had. They weren't that far away. She moved just a bit, still hiding so she could keep as much of her sparkly self hidden from view of anyone other than Jean-Paul, but enough to where she could see the window. While she didn't necessarily need to see into a place to use her abilities, it could be quite helpful, especially for something like this. They needed to know what was going on in that specific room, not anywhere else.
"When I speak, you answer, when a client tells you to do something you pay attention. You are in high demand, with your extra flexibility, and I am not going to have you misbehaving with clients." He waved his hand in the air a bit and his man lifted the girl up to her feet. Barry didn't have to turn around to know what was going to happen next, he didn't need to see the anguish in her eyes or the fear in her shivering form. He had Lars test his merchandise, but his other men had to get their dues and so he gave them the job of punishing those who misbehave. "You're going to behave, I do not tolerate disobedience. Sims, please show Jesse how she should behave."
Jean-Paul's expression blanked entirely as Riley's powers carried those words up to him. There was nothing they could do to help the girl. They'd gotten confirmation that it wasn't Laura, but he honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing. That someone would treat women this way, girls he was supposed to be using for financial gain. It was simple math - you treated the merchandise better than this so that it could last you longer. What game was this man playing at?
Fingers tightening on the edge of the roof, his knuckles whitening against the urge to prevent what he knew was going to happen down there, the Quebecois whispered, voice rough, "Enough. That is enough, I think. We do not need to hear the discipline as it is carried out." He could only hope that Laura had kept her head down well enough to avoid that sort of disciplinary action - or God help the men when X-Factor took them down.
"Understood." Riley also didn't particularly want to hear the sounds of pain being inflicted and felt. She did as Jean-Paul had requested, but at the same time a part of her felt as though she had just closed herself off and distanced herself from what was going on in that room. Hadn't she done that before, kept herself away while knowing that just behind a closed door someone was in pain? But her actions then had been necessary to help others, and was it the same here? "Would it interfere with the investigation too much if one or both of those men somehow found themselves tripping and falling? Maybe something could drop on them? Or they could crash through the window..." There were so many other possibilities, too, things that could apparently just happen to happen and no one would be able to prove a thing. These people wouldn't be able to hurt women if they themselves were injured.
Eyes sliding to the side, Jean-Paul shook his head slightly. "Oui, it could interfere. We do not know what this man's capabilities are and he might hurt the girl more, if they thought she had done something, even accidentally. Save your anger for later, mon ami. Later, when it will not cause potential trouble. For now, I think we will finish our watch. And try very hard not to notice what is happening in the other rooms." He couldn't believe, in the end, that he was advising caution, but the risks of even minor interference from afar attracting attention were too great.
"I figured as much." And she'd promised she wouldn't interfere, and she intended to keep her promise. She might not like the idea of allowing things to continue to happen here, especially when someone she knew and liked was directly involved, but she'd agreed in advance that she would help and not get in the way. "Just thought I'd toss that out there, anyway."
As they had done the day before, two mutants were hid on the roof of the building across the street from what, on outward appearance, was a day spa. As they were only too well aware, inside the building were approximately a dozen mutant women who were quite possibly suffering from unwanted physical abuse at this very moment. Hopefully, this horrible treatment could be ended soon, and this was why the roof now had a sparkling brunette and a speedster as visitor who were spending hours simply watching.
Riley had remained in her mostly silent role. Out with Jean-Paul, she respected the fact that he was the one in charge. She wasn't entirely new to the idea of carrying out an investigation, but not quite like this. Jean-Paul had experience, and she intended to observe, learn, and follow his lead.
Jean-Paul was watching the window to the office in the building, since it was the only one with open blinds on the second floor. Everything on the third and forth floors was closed up tight, which meant he had no way of knowing where Laura was within the building. He hadn't liked the change of plans when he'd found out about it. He liked them even less now. But at least Laura wasn't stuck in there 24/7. She could leave in the evenings. That was some small consolation.
Shifting the bag of carrots over to Riley, he offered her one even as he kept his eyes trained on the office window. Sometimes girls would get some air outside the actual spa on the first floor, but Laura hadn't been out today to do that and it was beginning to truly bother him. "Riley, mon ami. I think he is opening the window, duck down, si'l vous plaît." The sparkles were a dead giveaway when it came to noticing people lurking.
The sparkling woman did as she was told. Some days she really liked the way she looked at the moment, and other days standing out was just not a very good idea. Like this, she wasn't exactly the type who could just hide in a crowd without being noticed.
Barry stood at the window, the girl behind him crying on the floor with Lars standing over her. He did not feel pity or remorse for what had happened to her, it was part of the job and she better get used to it as there would be men with far worse tastes than Lars paying top dollar for her. "Get her out of here, and clean her up. I have three customers slated for her this afternoon and I expect them to be arriving in the next hour." He turned towards his henchman, a cold look in his eyes, "And Lars, make sure you remember what I will do if she's not ready to perform by the time they arrive." He didn't need to say anything more than that, Lars had already been under the knife for transgressions long past.
Opening the window he looked out towards the ragged buildings and sighed heavily. He made good money with his trade, but sometimes he wished that he could do it in someplace that didn't look like the ass-end of Africa.
Jean-Paul ducked down, himself, only his eyes above the line of the roof opposite the brothel, and set the bag of carrots aside. He couldn't hear what was being said and the distance was a bit much for him to be able to see clearly, but he thought he could just make out one girl being taken from the room even as another was brought in. Frowning, the Quebecois glanced at Riley and quirked a brow. "The listening that you mentioned, with the air. Can you do this now? There is someone else coming into the room with him."
Barry didn't turn as the second girl was brought in, she was very new and he could tell by the way she squirmed that she didn't realize the gravity of her situation. "Why are you here?" his voice was cold and emotionless.
When the girl moaned but failed to speak he raised his hand casually and waited for the sound. She cried out slightly as the man who brought her in kicked the back of her leg hard enough to make her fall to her knees. She screamed again when he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.
"I can try," Riley told Jean-Paul. She would have preferred to try something else, quite possibly something that would stop the man from hurting anyone. The words might not have made it to the roof yet, but the scream had. They weren't that far away. She moved just a bit, still hiding so she could keep as much of her sparkly self hidden from view of anyone other than Jean-Paul, but enough to where she could see the window. While she didn't necessarily need to see into a place to use her abilities, it could be quite helpful, especially for something like this. They needed to know what was going on in that specific room, not anywhere else.
"When I speak, you answer, when a client tells you to do something you pay attention. You are in high demand, with your extra flexibility, and I am not going to have you misbehaving with clients." He waved his hand in the air a bit and his man lifted the girl up to her feet. Barry didn't have to turn around to know what was going to happen next, he didn't need to see the anguish in her eyes or the fear in her shivering form. He had Lars test his merchandise, but his other men had to get their dues and so he gave them the job of punishing those who misbehave. "You're going to behave, I do not tolerate disobedience. Sims, please show Jesse how she should behave."
Jean-Paul's expression blanked entirely as Riley's powers carried those words up to him. There was nothing they could do to help the girl. They'd gotten confirmation that it wasn't Laura, but he honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing. That someone would treat women this way, girls he was supposed to be using for financial gain. It was simple math - you treated the merchandise better than this so that it could last you longer. What game was this man playing at?
Fingers tightening on the edge of the roof, his knuckles whitening against the urge to prevent what he knew was going to happen down there, the Quebecois whispered, voice rough, "Enough. That is enough, I think. We do not need to hear the discipline as it is carried out." He could only hope that Laura had kept her head down well enough to avoid that sort of disciplinary action - or God help the men when X-Factor took them down.
"Understood." Riley also didn't particularly want to hear the sounds of pain being inflicted and felt. She did as Jean-Paul had requested, but at the same time a part of her felt as though she had just closed herself off and distanced herself from what was going on in that room. Hadn't she done that before, kept herself away while knowing that just behind a closed door someone was in pain? But her actions then had been necessary to help others, and was it the same here? "Would it interfere with the investigation too much if one or both of those men somehow found themselves tripping and falling? Maybe something could drop on them? Or they could crash through the window..." There were so many other possibilities, too, things that could apparently just happen to happen and no one would be able to prove a thing. These people wouldn't be able to hurt women if they themselves were injured.
Eyes sliding to the side, Jean-Paul shook his head slightly. "Oui, it could interfere. We do not know what this man's capabilities are and he might hurt the girl more, if they thought she had done something, even accidentally. Save your anger for later, mon ami. Later, when it will not cause potential trouble. For now, I think we will finish our watch. And try very hard not to notice what is happening in the other rooms." He couldn't believe, in the end, that he was advising caution, but the risks of even minor interference from afar attracting attention were too great.
"I figured as much." And she'd promised she wouldn't interfere, and she intended to keep her promise. She might not like the idea of allowing things to continue to happen here, especially when someone she knew and liked was directly involved, but she'd agreed in advance that she would help and not get in the way. "Just thought I'd toss that out there, anyway."
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