RAY
Like any burgeoning business I ran a fowl of the mafia.
JESSE
The mafia is on the Moon?
MITCHEL
The moon has a lot of things.
RAY
Dom Amichi Guastini is my pain in the neck in this instance. They were trying to muscle me out of protection money for the restaurant.
JESSE
So you blew up your own restaurant?
RAY
Precisely, they can’t intimidate me to pay for protection on something that’s been sky high.
MITCHEL
I don’t know boss, this just seems like a bad idea.
RAY
I was inspired by your father, burning down that money pit of a Casino was a stroke of genius.
MITCHEL
That was an electrical fire.
RAY
Sure it was.
Mitchel had driven them back to Armstrong Manor. Upon arrival Jesse was amazed at the size of the building, he’d only seen places like this on movies, TV shows or travel documentaries. The more they explored the grounds it was aware that no one had touched up the place in some time. The building was very dusty and for some reason there was a turned over bright yellow Jeep in front of the house next to the Angle sculpted marble fountain. When Jesse asked him what the story with the jeep was Ray just shrugged.
RAY
I went out joy riding one evening and I flipped my car. Wasn’t too fond of the old girl anyway.
Ray lead them to his wine & liquor cellar then searched rabidly for a bottle undable to find it.
RAY
The 77’ Sauvignon has gone missing, blast it all!
M ITCHEL
No worries Mr. Armstrong, I’ll always take tequila.
JESSE
Any beer for me is fine.
RAY
No and no, a monumental occasion such as this requires a monumental place to celebrate. Gents we’re going to Jigglies!!!
On the Moon, one in four restaurants is a strip club, and if not a strip club has a showgirl component. Being colonized by astronauts as well as werewolves, the stigma of seeing “live nude girls” never hit, so stripping was able to thrive along other performance arts such as magic, juggling, ventriloquism and stand up comedy. If an establishment didn’t have nudity, they had a burlesque show, which is why most Family Fun centers have on the Moon have triple the amount of attendance despite the population being smaller than Earth.
When the Master Ace arrived in the parking lot, Jesse thought that Jigglies looked very average, seeming no bigger than a Burger Shack from where he was from, when they went inside it was ridiculously bigger than the outside, Ceasar’s Palace sized with black lights, a fleet of disco balls hanging and color changing walls, going from pink to turquoise and purple on the drop of the beat.
The Baker Bouncer LeRoy lead the three in, they strolled through the main floor Jesse’s eyes were wide and had no idea where to focus. Three main ones were spread out to form almost a triangle but then there were so many mini stages scattered through out, Jesse couldn’t keep count. A Baker was on the North, a Winston to the East and a Pierce on the west, although they were werewolves Jesse was stilled wide-eyed and unable to focus.
JESSE
I’ve died and gone to heaven.
RAY
Ho, ho that’s that’s the red blood speaking.
MITCHEL
This isn’t even the best strip club in this providence.
RAY
Correct Mitchel, that would be the Hawthorne strip but you forget that Jigglies has the advantage of my niece as bartender and therefore free drinks. Oh good, she’s on shift. CANDICE!
She looked up from the register to see her Uncle, Ray, his sidekick Mitchel and…
At first he thought he miss heard Ray when he said her name, then thought it might be another person but when they locked eyes, his heart started beating so fast.
RAY
Have you two met before?
JESSE
Yeah, on the shuttle, on my way here here this is crazy!
CANDICE
How did you meet up with these two?
JESSE
Mitchell’s family adopted me.
MITCHEL
We’re hosting him.
JESSE
I’m sorry I didn’t want the next time you saw me to be in a place like this.
CANDICE
What’s wrong with this place?
JESSE
Well you know…naked ladies…everywhere…
CANDICE
Still not getting it.
RAY
Sorry my dear, on Ray’s planet the profession is a tad frowned upon. Like a gas attendant or guidance counselor up here.
CANDICE
That’s terrible!
JESSE
I’m sorry, hey I’m not against it, they look great, and they’re getting a lot of cardio, which is great too. I wish you were up there.
His teeth clenched right after the words came out of his mouth.
CANDICE
You’re in luck, I start next Thurs.
RAY
I thought you were going back to bowling, now that your shoulder is fixed.
CANDICE
I am, but I still need to raise money for the re-registration fees. Dad’s connections won’t help out and my names not caring as much cache as it used to.
RAY
Aha, good luck with all your endeavors and I will have to miss your return to the stage, for I might be debauched but I too have my limits.
MITCHEL
Can I get a tequila?
CANDICE
Coming right up.
She grabbed the bottle, pouring a heavy shot.
CANDICE
It really is strange seeing you three, and not just because of Jesse. The Guastini brothers came in here looking Uncle, right when I started my shift an hour ago.
RAY
They’re not here are they?
Before Candice could even let him know, two giant sneering Winstons with greasy black fur and blocky shoulders dressed in fine black suits hovered over Ray.
ANT GUASTINI
You got a lot of nerve coming in here.
NIC GUASTINI
Especially after what you just pulled.
RAY
Gentlemen, I have the perfect explanation.
The two enforcers nodded and paused expecting to here Ray’s excuse but Ray decided to run for the door leaving Mitchel and Jesse behind, when Ray got out the front door, he ran right into the worst wolf imaginable. The rat faced Winston with platinum teeth in an all white suit, with pointy white boots.
RAY
Dom Amichi!
DOM AMICHI
Hello Raymond, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.
The Drewniverse 44 