7.a.viii.
“Welcome to
the After Hours Lounge,” said a man in a very expensive suit. “Am I correct in assuming that you are
virgins to this establishment?”
“This is our
first time here, yes,” said Corporate Man.
The well
dressed host escorted them into a large room with a very long bar along one
side.
“I’m afraid
you’re a little too late to beat the dinner rush and a bit too early to benefit
from the settling up. As soon as
something becomes available, I will seat you.
I’m sure you will find the bar to be an adequate distraction.”
The host
shuffled away and the Union approached the long counter. An amber light bathed the dark stained wood
and brass fixtures. Recessed in the wall
behind the bar were thousands of bottles of various shapes displayed in a rich
cobalt light. Five or six bartenders slid
and writhed from customer to customer, mixing up every kind of cocktail
imaginable.
“You think
there might be some food at the bar?” Demand asked.
“Why don’t you
guys find out. And get us some drinks,”
said Business Woman. “Me and Supply are
gonna run off to the ladies room.”
The women
quickly strode away, Business Woman muttering something about how she should
have peed when they were in that fake gym and that she was shocked her bladder
hadn’t burst.
Corporate Man
and Senior Executive went up to the bar to get the drinks and make inquiries
about food while Commander Credit and Demand sought out and empty space and
stools enough to seat them all.
“Junior? Junior is that you?” a man snorted as Senior
Executive tried to flag down the bartender.
The man was large and stout, like an aging football player or an old
professional wrestler. His face was
bovine and thick.
Senior
Executive looked at the man and then, after a moment, he said, “Bull? God, what are you doing here? And it’s Senior Executive now.”
The man tilted
his head, eyes rolling, and made an exasperated sound. “Oh you won’t believe the things I’ve been
through in the past few– Wait. Is that… Is that Corporate Man?”
Corporate Man
smiled and said, “Good to see you, Bull Market.”
“Yeah, I’ll
bet. This all started because of you,
you know?” Bull Market said, shaking his head.
“These guys in suits came up to me saying, ‘Codename: Bull?’ I said, no. That it was just, Bull. Bull Market to be exact, but that, yeah, that
was me. And these guys rough me up, pop
me into the trunk of their car.”
Senior
Executive gave Corporate Man a puzzled look.
Corporate Man shrugged and said, “I’m sorry you got hassled.”
“No. No. It all worked out. They took me to their base and this
hard-assed bitch on the east side of town ripped her boys new assholes when she
saw me. Said something about how she’d
nearly sent out a report announcing the capture of Codename: Bull. These guys tell her that I said that I was
the Bull and she said, ‘No. This is Bull
Market. He worked with Corporate Man,
but he isn’t Corporate Man.’ Well, I was
about to get into it with them, seeing as how we’re teammates, when she
dismisses her lackeys and buzzes for a sniveling secretary guy who apologizes
to me, assures me that they meant me no harm, and that they’d like to invite me
in on a little business opportunity to make amends. Anyway, long story short, they brought me
here and I’ve been making bank ever since.
I see they finally found you and got you involved, too.”
Corporate Man
narrowed his eyes and took a slow breath.
Then he said, “Yeah. Something
like that. What can you tell me about
this place Bull?”
“You don’t
know?”
“We just
arrived.”
“Oh. Awesome!
Come with me. I did really well
today and booked a private booth in the back.
I’ll explain everything.”
“Wait a
second,” said Senior Executive. “We need
to get the others.”
“Others? Who else is here? Oh! Is
Business Woman with you? I’d kill to see
her again.”
