The City Hits Back

((Closed for My pet and I. Readers welcome.))

It was raining again. Rodney had just gotten to sleep the last time it stopped, around midnight. Now, the bitter cold night had chosen two in the morning as the perfect time to dump a fresh coat of freezing rain on downtown.

Rodney shivered and groaned as he stood up, extracting himself from the puddle that had formed around him in his sleep. Most of the liquid had come from the previous rain, but he had to be honest enough with himself and his situation to know some of it had come from him as well. Rodney quickly abandoned that line of thinking when he thought about what else the rainwater might have washed into that puddle.

Where did it all go wrong?

Using soaking knit gloves to try and wipe his ragged clothes dry Rodney hugged himself for warmth. Long gone were the three-thousand dollar suits that he used to don to work every day, gone too were the lavish corporate parties, the beautiful women lining up to get near him, the long lines of pure, powder-white. cocaine. But though everything else was gone, the need still haunted him. The need to feel good about himself and his situation, the need to forget how far he’d fallen, the need to be numb to this miserable night. All the needs he felt had joined together with one overwhelming need for his next fix.

See, it was easy to make a snap judgment and say that Rodney’s life was so miserable because of his relationship with crack. But one would first have to understand the nature of the need. When the coworkers and investors and CEOs… and his wife, when all of them had abandoned him, the need was still there. And the more dire his situation became, the greater and stronger the need became. If he’d skipped over filling the need with cocaine and gone straight to smoking rock he might have been able to keep the apartment!

So crack wasn’t the problem, it was the need. The very same need which had its claws sunk into him now. The tiny glass tube in his pocket was practically calling out to him. But first there was another more immediate need to attend to.

“Just five dollars.” Rodney muttered to himself as he defecated behind a dumpster, just feet away from the puddle he'd slept in. “All I need is five dollars.”

When he’d finished, Rodney reached his knit glove into the dumpster beside him, searching for some way of cleaning up after himself. He found a newspaper, the headline read: “Recession over! Stability returns!” It was accompanied by a picture of the Treasurer shaking hands with some Chinese Diplomat, as if to say: “Don’t worry, we’re still good for it.” It seemed a fitting headline for Rodney to wipe his ass with.

Panhandling at night is always best. The marks are fewer and far between, but you get quality haggling time with each one. Most people who wander into this part of town at night were doing things that they weren’t proud of. Buying drugs, visiting a brothel or a strip club, or stumbling out of a club a few blocks over, too drunk to remember the way back to the train. Most decent (wealthy) people want to get the hell out of there without answering too many questions or getting mugged. People like that might sometimes fork over folding money just to get a beggar away from them.

It was also better to panhandle in the rain. Not just because people felt sorry for Rodney, being out in the cold and rain without a roof overhead. But also because the rain prevented people from smelling him as much. Rodney knew his smell was distasteful to most, but he had limited access to colognes, deodorants, toothpaste and other crucial hygiene necessities. He did the best he could.

“Spare change?” Rodney asked of a man with a nice looking raincoat on.

“Get a job, asshole.” The man replied, a favorite response of mean tempered marks who looked at him like a stain on their clothes.

“C’mon buddy, is that nice?” Rodney asked rhetorically, jogging to keep pace. “I had a job, I got laid off. I just need one buck for bus fare to get to the rehab clinic. I think I need help.”

“You damn well do you vagrant.” The man said, looking down his nose. “Here, I hope you do find help.”

-Sucker!-

Rodney just grinned down at the crisp one dollar bill the man had passed him. Twenty-percent closer to his goal after just one redirect. Rodney thanked the stranger profusely, clutching the bill tightly in his fist as he backed away and the man moved along.

“God bless you Sir!” Rodney called after him.

People these days are so obsessed with pride, which in Rodney’s experience served only to prevent people from doing things that might do them some good. There’s all sorts of things people could do, but don’t because their pride won’t let them; but there’s never anything that they can do only if they’re extraordinarily proud. To Rodney it seemed that pride was just an elaborate hoax concocted by the elite to segregate and keep the lower classes within the accepted realm of what they considered proper behavior. Rodney had never regretted the day he threw his pride away, funny thing was that he‘d never needed it since.

What followed were a series of unremarkable encounters, most resulting in aggressive refusals. Some college kid gave him a cigarette, but no matches. One lady even spat on him, but through patient determination Rodney found himself just fifty cents away from purchasing the tiny white rock that would make him numb to it all…

Just then the rain eased up and just a few short blocks away, Rodney spotted a gorgeous young lady, more out of her clothes than in them. She was clearly drunk, clinging to the nearest wall for support as she stumbled toward him. Rodney knew an easy target when he saw one and seized the opportunity, nearly sprinting over to her.

“’Scuse me miss.” Rodney asked the beautiful young woman. “Can you spare fifty cents for the bus?”

Lexi had had another great night out on the town. She studied so damn hard as a medical student that when she finally got the opportunity to blow off some steam, Lexi tended to go a bit crazy. This time around, the craziness had manifested in wild podium dancing, tequila slammers and a tab of E that a friend had offered her. Now she was flying... well... clutching a bottle of water, making her way slowly along the wall and cursing the ground for refusing to stay still.

She should have taken a cab home with her friends but Lexi had managed to lose her purse inside the club, leaving her penniless, cardless and scarily bereft of her mobile phone. She'd gone back inside to find it and after an unsuccessful search Lexi was unable to find her friends. Eventually, there was nothing else for it but to start walking. Her knee high boots clicked loudly on the pavement, their teetering platform heels making the walk home even more slow and challenging.

Suddenly a guy was all up in her face asking for money. He smelled absolutely foul and Lexi recoiled on instinct, almost falling on her ass in the process. She leaned against the wall again, visibly swaying now, with nausea rising in her gut. She tried valiantly to concentrate on the guy, then decided he was best observed in soft focus.

“Can you spare fifty cents for the bus?” He asked hopefully, despite the fact Lexi's sprayed on hotpants would have to defy physics in order to have anything in their tiny pockets. Lexi pulled her jacket tighter around herself in a protective gesture. She had nothing against homeless people per se but experience had taught her that even just being polite only encouraged them to push for cash or worse, flirt with her.

"If I had 50 cents for the bus, do you think I'd be walking?" She pointed out, slurring through the rain. Her carefully straightened hair was now plastered to her skull and starting to curl again. Her make-up was slowly running down her face and her jacket was built for sprinting the few feet from a taxi to a door, not for trudging home at stupid o'clock, wasted and in heels. She looked and felt like a drowned rat. The man wasn't moving out of her way and so Lexi raised her palms to show they were empty.

"I lost my purse." She explained. "No cash, no cards, no phone, no cigarettes, nada, ok? I'd apologise but right now I'm more sorry for my poor fucking feet." Her gaze hardened a little, making it clear she thought that was the end of their conversation. Lexi tottered forwards again, pushing gently past the vagrant and continuing on her way.

The young woman seemed more than a little intoxicated as she slurred her words and struggled to stay upright, using the wall heavily for support. She was clearly trying to make excuses and say ‘no’ as politely as she could. She had stopped, however, and that gave Rodney some hope. Sure she was without a purse, and those pants didn’t seem to be much help in the storage department (though they did very well in a department of their own). Still, the boots she was wearing were worth at least fifty dollars and she had to be walking somewhere.

The woman mentioned her feet, just before gently pushing her way past. It was almost too much to bear! Rodney had about a hundred interactions with strangers in a day, of them only about one percent ever touched him. Even that one percent it was brief and distinctly plutonic, a fingernail against a palm as change was passed or a reassuring pat on the back. It had been so very long since Rodney had felt the soft curves of a woman pressed against his body. He remembered his ex wife, when she would lay on his chest at night and whisper softly under his chin…

“I’ll love you forever…” Rodney heard himself sigh as the girl pushed by.

As she turned her head back, wondering if she’d heard him right Rodney caught a glimpse of her beautiful ass in those hot pants. It was truly a thing of beauty, so subtly round and yet firm. A true testament to God’s skill as an artist. It was all he could do to resist letting a hand reach out and grab a firm hold of that glorious sphere of flesh and never let go. Maybe he did “Accidentally” let the back of his hand brush ever so faintly through the middle; but he did resist the urge to grab it.

“Well, where you headed?” Rodney asked, walking closely behind Lexi, his eyes still fixated on her backside. “Those boots do look a bit uncomfortable. How about I give you a lift back to your place? Then you could get home and warm and dry, and bring me back fifty cents or so from your sock drawer or something? I’ll run real fast, it’ll be like… like… one of those rick-shop things.”

Rodney beamed, this was a pretty good idea! If the girl wasn’t afraid to tell him the story of her night, and even brush up against him, maybe she could tolerate being pressed against him for an extended period of time if it got her home safely. She might even have a couch or something…

Trying hard not to get ahead of himself, Rodney continued his proposal. Trying to keep his mind off the narrow ribbon of flesh that wrapped around her thigh between the end of her shorts and the end of her fishnet stockings.

“Come on, your feet will thank you.” Rodney smiled, walking fast enough to catch up and look her in the eyes. “For a dollar, I’ll even give you a foot massage after we get there.”

“I’ll love you forever…”

Lexi wasn't even sure she had heard him right but the homeless guy was dancing around her much faster than her drunk mind could follow. His suggestions hammered into her brain until she wanted to swat him like a fly. Annoyed that she was being distracted from her original mission of walking in a straight line, Lexi lurched forwards and continued on, prompting the guy to overtake her and try once more for eye contact. He exhaled too close to her face and Lexi stopped, recoiling again. Her stomach was far too delicate right now to tolerate his stench.

“For a dollar, I’ll even give you a foot massage after we get there.” He persisted.

Lexi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The last thing she needed right now was to show some crazy vagrant exactly where she lived and then allow him to touch her with those filthy hands. She knew she couldn't stop him following her but the guy wanted money and as soon as someone else happened by he'd be off after the next mark. At this hour there was no telling when that might be though, so Lexi pulled herself together and endeavoured to speak slowly and clearly.

"Listen mate, I don't have any cash and I just want to be left alone to walk home in peace. I'm not stupid enough to show you where I live. I'm sorry I don't have any change or cigarettes but there's nothing I can do about that."

Her expression became hard and cold again as Lexi began to walk once more with more determination and speed.

"I want you to leave me alone now, ok? There are plenty of people back at the club you can hassle for change. It's only a few blocks back."

She stopped once more and waited for him to move away. She would have to be alert to keep him from tailing her but Lexi hoped he'd be mercenary enough to cut his losses and go bother someone else.

Claws

Rodney was truly starting to believe that this girl had no cash. He’d had ample opportunity to closely inspect her body from all sides, an opportunity he scarcely missed. Her avoidance of eye contact allowing him to leer at his leisure, and the girl seemed to be very much lacking in space and means to hold a thin dime without the outline of the eagle showing through. He wondered for a moment if he might have time to race her back to the club and pick up her purse and make off with it, but security wouldn’t let him in the front door, much less let him out with someone’s handbag. Unless he pretended to be her boyfriend, bringing it back for her… but that probably wouldn’t work either.

Despite the truth in her words, Rodney couldn’t help but feel like she was being a little quick to reject his offer. He’d laid out a solid business model that could have advantaged them both, presented a reasonable cost analysis and it got them both out of individual problems.

Just as Rodney was about to refute her claims that it would be a mistake to show him where she lived, the Need sunk its claws deep into his chest. The withdrawals were getting much worse every time, and this one was really sending him into a panic! His words got caught in his chest and all that escaped was a long agonizing groan. Rodney gripped his coat sleeves and stomped one foot then the other, still groaning in pain and frustration. He was in pain, and she could help him! He was trying so hard not to make her uncomfortable, trying to find ways to help her and earn his keep. Why wouldn’t she help him?

“It’s fifty fucking cents!” Rodney shouted, leaning closer than before to Lexi’s face. “You’re wearing fifty dollar boots! I’m only asking for 1% of what you paid some designer to figure out that your ass would look good if you stood on your damn toes all night! I need some help!”

By the time he’d finished, the Need sunk its claws deeper still, robbing the air from his lungs and cutting off his ability to make any sounds other than more angry groans. The Need was compelling him, forcing him to act swiftly, telling him gently that Lexi herself had value, was of value, that if he just brought her back to Finesse, that everything would be okay. Rodney’s arms shot out, taking hold of Lexi’s shoulders causing a fresh level of panic from the petite girl. When she fought him, Rodney ducked under her flailing arms, the Need lending him enough strength to lift her body up onto one shoulder and take off down the familiar route to Finesse’s apartment.

Rodney knew the route by heart, and all the shortcuts as well. He didn’t even feel his legs carrying him anymore, it was as if he were the baited hook, being snatched up out of the water. As if the Need itself were dragging him through the streets and alleys. His breath came in short, shallow gasps and grunts as he ran, each heavy footfall bringing one to his lips.

When he finally reached Finesse’s building, a young dealer named Devon stopped them.

“Oh hell no Rodney! Get that screaming bitch outa here right the fuck now!”

Lexi staggered backwards as he yelled into her face. The inside of the man's mouth was a ruination, probably due to meth abuse, and she wished she hadn't seen it, let alone smelled it. Lexi watched in horror as the vagrant totally lost the plot, groaning, stamping and twitching erratically. By the time Lexi got her head together enough to try for evasive action, it was too late. His filthy hands reached out for her and he crowded her against the wall. Lexi yelled and kicked out but she was drunk and scared. Before she knew what was happening he had thrown her over his shoulder and despite his emaciated frame the vagrant was setting a fast pace beneath her, his footfalls swift and purposeful. Lexi started pummelling his back, kicking and thrashing around in the hope that he'd be forced to drop her.

"Put me down! Put me the fuck down! You can take the damn boots, take them and sell them but put me down!"

The guy completely ignored her, his short hard breaths suggesting that he was exerting himself too much to be able to argue with her at the same time. As he dartd between buildings and away from the part of the city she knew, Lexi tried another tack.

"Where are you taking me? Where the hell are we going? Just put me down. You can have the fucking boots and I swear I will make no trouble for you but please put me down! Where the fuck are you taking me?"

She was about to draw breath and start yelling again when her abductor abruptly came to a halt. Lexi looked around at what she could see from her vantage point but she had no clue where they were. To her horror, more footsteps were approaching swiftly and another male voice rang out into the darkness.

“Oh hell no Rodney! Get that screaming bitch outa here right the fuck now!”

The new voice sounded a lot more together than Rodney did so Lexi elected to try her luck with appealing to it. She twisted round and saw a guy who at the very least, had had a shower in the last week. It would be out of the frying pan and into the fryer whatever happened now, time to pick which basket to throw her eggs at.

"Please help me! He just grabbed me off the street! He wanted money but I didn't have any. Help me... please!"

White Girl

"Please help me! He just grabbed me off the street! He wanted money but I didn't have any. Help me... please!"

Devon twisted his mouth up at the girl’s frantic plea, she turned to face him. The girl had it going on. He’d half been expecting some toothless hooker or another crack smoker to be slung over Rodney’s shoulder, but this young, pretty white girl was way out of her element and obviously too drunk to defend herself. It must have been dumb luck that allowed Rodney to make it this far without being tackled by a cop.

“C’mon Dev, I need to see Finesse. I need to see him right now!” Rodney shouted, his feet still stomping up and down, running in place. “I’ve got money too, I want to barter! Let me in, let me in, let me in!”

“Alright man, chill!” Devon ordered, his voice deep and commanding as he opened the door to the apartment building. “Wait in the lobby and you, girl! Keep you’re fucking yap shut, got it?”

With the last bit Devon lifted up the corner of his shirt, briefly flashing view of a metal handled Beretta pistol. Devon turned as Rodney carried Lexi inside, lifting his shirt higher still to show off his well defined stomach also licking his lips suggestively as the outline of his cock swung heavily against the inside of his loose fitting jeans.

*Chirp* “Yo Fin. Rodney’s here and he brought a girl with him. I’m not sure she wants to be here but he says he wants to barter. Should I let them up?” Devon asked into his phone holding it just below his chin as he closed the door behind himself.

*Chirp* “Is she fine?” Finesse’s voice rang through the speaker on the back of the phone.

*Chirp* “Yeah she’s ai’ght. A white chick.” Devon replied, gesturing with his hand for Rodney to set Lexi down. “She’s even got an ass on her.”

*Chirp* “Alright, send them up. But make Rodney spray some of that Febreeze shit under the desk on.” Finesse answered through the phone.

Devon chuckled to himself, realizing for the first time how much worse Rodney smelled indoors. He went into the desk in the run down and graffiti covered lobby. Devon grabbed a half empty spray bottle and sprayed Rodney in the face a few times before spreading the odor eliminator over the rest of his clothes and body. Lastly he moved over to Lexi and looked her in the face, leaning in close abruptly and sniffing her to decipher how much of Rodney’s stink had worn off on her.

“You smell like you’ve been drinking tonight, still having a good time?” Devon asked, spraying her in the face with the bottle of disinfectant. “It’s not good for you that you ended up here, even worse that you overheard the boss’ name. You’re in deep shit now girl. Alright Rodney, let’s go you know the way.”

Devon led Rodney and Lexi into the rickety elevator, grinding up against Lexi’s ass when she fell behind, his hand going to the grip of his gun and a different outline all together shoving her into the wood paneled elevator. Devon reached behind himself to slap the number six, the highest floor of the building.

The car began to move upward, rattling slightly and making an intermittent high-pitched sound as it made its way up. The second the doors opened on the top floor, the sharp smell of cooking cocaine flooded in. Devon grabbed Lexi by the shoulder and shoved her out. The top floor of this apartment complex had been almost completely “remodeled”.

Every wall had been knocked out, leaving behind only the wooden beams used to support the roof. Along what had once been the hallway, a line of twelve industrial ranges boiled four huge crock pots on each surface. A team of naked men wearing paper masks tended the pots, increasing the heat under some and dumping bags of ice into others.

At Lexi’s arrival almost all of the men turned abruptly from what they were doing, watching intently to see what this girl was doing in a place like this. Some made rude comments into their masks, others blatantly checked her out and one guy even started stroking his exposed cock and making a point to force her to watch him doing it.

“Come on back here, girl.” The voice rose up from the back part of the floor. As Rodney guided Lexi back the floor opened up to resemble a classy suite more than a run down housing project. “Damn, Dev ain’t never lied about you. You fine as hell girl.”

Finesse beckoned Rodney and Lexi back, past the rows of ovens into his private area. After passing through what had most likely been a wall at one time, Finesse himself came into view. He was shirtless and wearing silk pajama pants. He sat on the edge of his bed, breaking large white rocks into little pebbles about the size of teeth or pearls atop the nearby table.

“Come on, come on. Nobody’s gonna hurt ya. Turn around one time, let me see the whole thing.” Finesse commanded, gesturing with his hand to guide her movements. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

As the unlikely duo of Rodney and Lexi made their way onto the polished hardwood that made up Finesse’s “room”, which was fully stocked with flat screen televisions and more electronics than one could enjoy in a lifetime.

“I- I brought you something, to trade, see? I need some more, I need it. I really do, come on Finesse.” Rodney rambled, shoving Lexi toward Finesse while he had yet to take his eyes off the bounty being broken up on the table between them. “Come on, I need it! I brought some cash too, see?”

As Rodney held out his wad of cash and change, Finesse ignored him completely staying focused on Lexi.

“Are you okay, girl? Do you want to get a shower? You look like you want a shower.”