The English Rose

( ))=( <------Wine Glass

I made it into the bar, no problem. Alex had doctored Ms. Simmons's ID so it had my picture, but it ended up not mattering. I showed it to the two admission bouncers, but they were too busy looking down my dress to take a close look at the card.

I walked in, and froze.

It was dark.

Big flashing lights were all that allowed one to make out people and tables. Deafening music blasted through hidden speakers, making it so you had to shout to be heard. Provocatively dressed women and smartly dressed men went about ordering drinks, talking, laughing, and partying, while players filtered in and out of the bar, those leaving the bar accompanied by at least one other person, then returning alone. Bartenders rushed from place to place, serving drinks from whiskey to wine to margaritas.

A eighteen year old girl had no place here.

I was dressed in a bright cherry red dress that went around my chest, ending at my armpits, and down to a little higher than mid-thigh. I balanced on tall red stilettos that would probably go straight through a foot if I accidentally stepped on one, and my brown hair was styled in long, hanging curls, with some hanging over each shoulder, and long earrings hung from my ears, decorated with bright stones that matched my eye makeup. My eyeshadow and eyeliner accented my eyes with a brilliant blue, while Foundation, blush, mascara, and lipstick make me feel like a Barbie doll. Apparently, I looked like one, too. I stopped trying to keep track of the number of eyes that seemed to become lost in my face and figure.

Trying my best to look confident, I sat down at a table until Damien and Jeremy entered the club, after flashing their fake IDs to the bouncers. They showed me their subtle signal; Damien buttoned the top button of his formerly unbuttoned jacket, and Jeremy ran his hand through his hair. After the sign, I started my part while they took a seat where they could keep a close eye on me. Pasting a sexy, confident, and beguiling smile, I quickly located and approached the man who I had seen a hundred times. Alex had drilled Archibald's face into my brain, and told me that in order to do this, I only had to make a connection.

Piece of cake.

Right?

I walked up the bar, leaning over the seat right next to Archibald, pretending to examine the drinks menu. The guy took no notice of me, too busy talking on his cell. Pretty soon, he wrapped it up, and sat at his stool for a second. The instant he started to stand up, I let out a sound of exclamation.

"Archie?!" I use my best acting skills to sound incredulous and happy, like an old friend bumping into the other.

"What?" Archibald looks around, until he figures out it was me. "Oh....hi." Pause. "I'm sorry, have we-"

"Oh, you probably don't remember me." I giggle. "I remember you. It's hard to forget a dashing man like you." Archibald puffs up slightly, just like Alex said he would. He had told me that I could easily exploit Archibald's vanity. Alex also told me of Archibald's close friend who was prone to throwing parties.

"We met at Murray's party a couple months ago." I lied. "You were just so charming and so handsome, I was immediately sold. Sadly, you were accompanied by a blonde with long legs.....shame."

"Didn't work out, obviously, for I am here alone." Archibald flirts.

"It appears so." I titter girlishly, and we both sit down.

"Harry." Archibald raps the counter, and a bartender turns to face him.

"What'll it be for you and the lovely lady?" Harry asks, setting down the glass he had been washing.

"Two English Roses, my good bartender." Archibald replies, and Harry speedily prepares some sort of drink, pouring it into cocktail glasses and garnishing each with a maraschino cherry. The bartender sets the drinks in front of us, and I stare apprehensively into the drink.

Obviously, I'd never had alcohol before, and I didn't want to start. Glancing at Damien and Jeremy, both are frantically saying no, still trying to be inconspicuous. Then Archibald's stare becomes confused, and I know I have to drink it. Sipping at the liquid, I nearly retch at the alcohol's bitter flavor, but luckily, a bearable fruity flavor kicks in, saving me from blowing my cover. Swallowing, I set the drink down and set my elbows on the table, then resting my head in my hands, gazing up at Archibald.

"So, what have you been up to?" I ask, and it's all downhill from there. Using the fake life Alex made up for me, I strike up conversation after conversation, using lies to contribute my part of the talking. He tells me that he's recently finished adding a wine cellar to his house, and I tell him I've been living in an apartment because my house's roof caught on fire and is under repair. He chats about his energetic dog, Patches, and I tell him about my cat's antics. We leap from topic to topic, until I can tell he is totally at ease with me, which is all according to plan. He looks at me again, and smiles.

"It's super loud in here." he comments, and I nod. "Come on." he tells me, standing. "Let's go somewhere more private." My stomach jumps to my throat, but I force myself to smile back.

"Perfect." I agree, and take his extended hand. I signal Damien and Jeremy by tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I don't dare look back, but I hear Jeremy stand and angrily address Damien.

"Wanna say that again to my face?" Jeremy shouts.

"You're girlfriend is a w***e!" Damien replies.

"That is it!" Jeremy roars, and overturns the table.

"Bring it on!" Damien yells as Jeremy approaches him threateningly. A couple of bouncers grab them both and throw them out the back door, just after Archibald leads me out the front. Alex must've seen the staged fight, because Archibald's cell phone began buzzing in his pocket. Smiling apologetically, he pulled out the small device, then cursed under his breath when he saw the caller ID. Flipping it open, he put it to his ear.

"Yes?" he asks, then waits. "No, I can't now. If she thinks she can just push me around, she's wro-" he stops. "Hello?" he curses again, then snaps it shut.

"Problem?" I ask innocently.

"Yeah. My boss just called me in. Emergency or something. Anyway, I have to go, but if you want to come...." he trailed off, looking hopeful.

"Glad to." I replied with a smile, and he looked relieved.

"Good. Great!" he led me to a silver Porsche parked at the curb, unlocking and opening the passenger side. I climbed in, and he jogged around to the driver's side. He ducked in, starting the car, the pulled away from the curb.

The drive was long and silent as he roared along the roads and past street signs. When he finally lurched to a stop in front of a tall electric fence to preform numerous identification methods for the entry guards, I think my heart just about stopped.

"Just a precaution, babe." Archibald assured me, and I smiled thinly. The guard poked his head in, and all the blood drained from my face. Keep it together Adri, I told myself.

"Who's she?" he asked roughly.

"She's with me." Archibald replied.

"It's not-"

"Look, Boss said it was urgent. Do you want to have to explain my tardy to her?" Pause.

"No." the guard finally replied, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The gate slid open, and the silver Porsche drove through it and parked in a space next to a door. Archibald hurried out of the car and around to open my door for me, and I graciously accepted the help. He then led me to the door, and, flashing his card to the black box, opened the gray entrance. I walked in, and he followed behind. When the door was completely shut, he took the lead and started down the corridors.

I read the door labels as we went along, until the door read A-17. That's when I sprang into action.

"Oh, Archie!" I whined, and fell to the floor. "I-I think I broke my ankle in these awful stilettos!" Archibald rushes to my side.

"We have doctors. I can help you walk...." he helps me to my feet.

"Oh, thank you-" I smash my fist in his jaw. "Ever so much." He crumples to the ground, unconscious, and I take his card from his pocket. Scanning it to A-17, I open the door and drag Archibald's prone form inside. Inside the room, numerous mops, brooms, and other various cleaning supplies are neatly assembled. 

I hide the body behind the mop bucket, and remember the plan. Alex's voice runs through my head, telling me what to do, and I pull back a panel in the wall to reveal a loaded handgun and a keypad. I pry the keypad's surface away with my fingernail, revealing a jumble of wires and blinking lights. Using a nearby pair of wire cutters, I snip the red, green, and purple wire, then touch the purple and red together. Counting to ten, I then drop those wire and touch the green and purple together. I stand there, feeling out of place in my dress and high heels, surrounded by dustpans and bleach.

The door, left slightly ajar, opens all the way, and Alex, Damien, Jeremy, Sadie, Dexter, Kate, and Peter and hurry in. Jeremy, Alex, and Damien, being the only ones who know how to use them, are armed with black handguns. Sadie hands a bundle of clothes and hair-tie to me, and I change behind their backs into some jeans, sneakers and a tank top, then put my hair into a ponytail.

"We got the guards, and I don't think anyone saw us come in." Alex whispers, shutting the door completely behind him. "Okay, on to the next step." he points to a map on the wall. "This is us, right here, in room A-17. We have to get from here to-" his finger moves to another location, practically on the other side of the paper. "here, in room Z-100. That's where Mother usually stays."

"The house place?" Sadie asks.

"The house place." Alex confirms, and Sadie nods. "Now, if we go through the halls, it'll be faster, but more dangerous. The other option is to crawl through the ceiling. Which is better?"

"Ceiling." Jeremy voted, and everyone silently nodded or murmured their agreement.

"You got it." Alex climbed on top of a can of paint remover to push up a ceiling panel. "Give me a boost." Alex told Damien, who easily boosted the smaller boy up into the darkness of the crawl space.

"Coast is clear." came a muffled voice, and a pale hand emerged from the hole. Ignoring it, Damien simply pulled himself up into the space, then replaced Alex in helping people up. I went last, covering Archibald and my discarded clothes with a tarp before taking Damien's hand. When he hoisted me up, I immediately assumed a crouched position and surveyed the space. As far as I could see, there were rafters, dust, and cobwebs. It was only in between the ceiling of the rooms and the roof, and so, it only was one or two yards high; not enough room to stand up, but enough to crawl on hands and knees.

"Ew, gross." Kate was hovering slightly to avoid getting dirt all over her. As she looked at the dirt and grime, and her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my God, there's a gigantic spider!" I followed her gaze and found a tiny brown spider, no bigger than a pin head.

"Yeah, really terrifying." Peter agreed sarcastically.

"Follow me." Alex calls, and starts moving forward on his hands and knees, going over rafters and stray pipes. After him came Jeremy, then Peter, Dexter, Sadie, Kate (floating a couple inches off the ground), Damien, and me. The dark made it hard to see, but Alex seem sure and confident of himself as he crawled along.

"My knees hurt." Peter complains after a while of inching along. "How much lon-" the tile beneath him suddenly breaks, and he disappears.

Author's Note

HAPPY 25th CHAPTER (not including "You've Been Warned)!!! Anyway, I digress.;) Obviously, I've never been into an actual bar/club, so I created it based on movies and such......if you have been in a bar, please tell me if this was accurate.

Reviews

[CrimsonBlaze]

Lol I've been in a bar and it does seem quite accuratte. The place was dim and depending where you were music could be blasting or soft music could just be heaard in the background. Your prob thinking, what were you doing in a bar at the age of thirteen? Long story short-I was at a christmas party and my I hung with the guuys and we decieded to go into the bar where all the children were on the high stool drinking..soda. It was a mini bar so it didnt really matter who came in and out but usually in real ones you would need an id (in other words accurate as ever)

[Kennedy Powell]

BELLLAAA!!!!!!! ARE YOU GOING TO PUBLISH THE NEXT CHAPTERS OR NOT???!!!!!!?????? THIS IS KILLING ME!!!!!!!!! GOT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!! (so far I love it, Just so you know) ;) X(