Sirens, p.22
Sirens, page 22
understand the focus of acting. You could do what you wanted; be whom
you wanted; live out, for all intents and purposes, the darker side of
what lay partly hidden inside you, without fear of retribution or
embarrassment. It was only a role, after all, though the audience was
always to believe otherwise. How wonderful to be able to live many
different lives in almost simultaneous abandon! Rolling free to do ...
what? Anything you wished. On a chill winter's evening when the darkness
had clamped down upon the shell of the city with such force that it
seemed as it the dissipated glow of the streetlights was in a losing
battle, when the west wind tore down 42nd Street with animal hunger,
Baba took her in off the street, up the worn wooden rickety stairs to
the lobby of the Nova. Rooster was in his booth, dozing over a stained
container of cold coffee in which could be seen floating some grotesque
insect dragged down out of the air, no doubt, by the scent. The
somnolent Rooster, head propped up by the heel of one dark hand, was
flanked in his tiny sanctum sanctorum by a pair of the saddest and
dustiest plastic palm trees Daina had ever encountered. No one elsewas
around. They could hear the percussion-heavy music that accompanied the
show, muffled by the walls. ' ' up,, yo muthafucka,' Baba said in
Rooster's ear and the other jumped up with admirable alacrity, his
sleepy eyes wide, his hand scrabbling under the counter for the
sawed-off shotgun that always lay there at the ready. He saw Baba and
his face relaxed. ',' he said breathlessly. ' o' these days yo gone get
yo' haid blown off, j okin' like thatv Baba laughed, clapped Rooster on
his thin shoulder. ' should'na been asleep at the wheel.
Ally come in here with his men an' wipe the floor with yo, yo not mo'
careful.' Rooster snorted. ' cocksucker knows better'n that, bro. We fix
his tailfeathers right fine,' he said, picking up the shotgun and
patting -its barrel. ' yo think we haven't widened the stairs,
smartass.' He hefted the weapon towards dark and empty top of the
staircase. '! Blow the kas all the way back to Porto Rico, hah!" waved
the barrel aside. ' where yo point that itch. I made a promise t' my
mama I wasn't gone die.' o0ster snickered, put the shotgun away. ' yo
worry that none, brov He turned to Daina. ' yo doin', Ofine, Rooster.'
yo listen here real good. This ovastuffed ape doan t yo fine, yo come
here, right? Yo know where yo' friends Hub 1' Baba.
grunted. ' listen t'a word he says, mama. ' jus'itchin't'get inside yo'
trousers.' ' a cruel mutha, Baba,' Rooster said with sad eyes, ' ws
that? Cruel.' But I ain't lyin'.' He laughed. ' office free?' g Yes.
Jus' Marty. It's gettin' near the end o' the month.' They went down the
entrance past the lobby, filled with blue light, to a sloping hallway at
the side of the theatre a locked door of painted tin reinforced with
steel. Baba ped it with his palm until it opened a crack. ',' he said,
into the dimness and the door opened just enough to admit them. Tony was
the guardian of the gate at this hour, a bull- Idered individual with a
low forehead and curly brown He had a neat moustache beginning to go
white around edges. He had small eyes of an indeterminate colour, three
, a chubby wife who seemed to be for ever pregnant, dy legs and a smell
that seemed to stay with him whether not he bathed. He punched Baba
lightly on the shoulder, e Daina a small squeeze while asking her, for
the umpteenth e, if she. would like to see the pictures of his family.
Baba dragged her away, knowing that she had endured ny's familial sermon
more times than she cared to remember. She stopped on the way to the
office in the rear to peek past e dusty curtains in the narrow wings and
see what part of savage parade was on view at the moment. Denise, a long
lowy brunette in her late twenties, was in the midst of rforming some
fairly startling acrobatics with the lower 194 195 half of her body. By
now Daina knew most of the steady acts by heart, although from week to
week some came whilee ootherss departed. ' Denise was inserting the egg
and, requesting a volunteer to come and upturn his mouth beneath the V
of her widespread legs, commenced to crack the egg with the muscles of
her vagina. The music ceased, there was not a sound from the audience,
not even a rustle until, with a sharp crack, the raw egg broke apart and
the gooey inside dropped messily into the waiting mouth. Then Daina
could hear the collective sigh coming from the semi-darkness out front
and the applause began to well up. Baba had already gone back to the
office but she stayed on, knowing that Denise had nouyet begun to warm
up. She watched, fascinated, as Denise, naked, did a reverse strip,
slowly, erotically picking out stockings and drawing them on, caressing
her long legs as she did so. She turned, wrapped a garter belt around
her waist, attached the tops of the stockings. She moved without once
glancing at the audience and in such@a way so as to make you believe
that she was at home, alone, preparing to go out. She turned away from
the front of the stage, went across to the vanity that had been wheeled
out for her and began to carefully make up her face using eyeliner,
blush, lipstick, mascara. At length, she turned back and was even more
beautiful than she had been before, the makeup - never too heavy -
accentuating her eyes and mouth. She picked up a brush and began to pull
it through her long hair. With each stroke, her breasts bobbed, dipping
and springing back.
She stood up, running her palms up over her hips, her torso, climbing to
her breasts, cupping them, squeezing them, pinching the nipples until
they erected. She licked her lips and one hand briefly brushed across
her mound. Her thighs spread for a moment and her hips bobbed. Then she
had lifted a bra from the top of her vanity, slipped it on. She bent
forward a bit, rubbing the fabric across her stiff nipples before
encasing them. She bent, stepping into stiletto-heeled pumps. She drew
up a long lavender dress., stepping into it, wriggl- lifting the zipper
at the side. Save for the slit to one thigh, as demurely dressed. lery
came next: earrings, a pair of bracelets high up : arm and a diamond
necklace that hung down into the age between her breasts. walked slowly
to the front of the stage and stood there I'the verge. From behind her
she produced a pair of doeskin the same colour as her dress. She had a
ribbon in her that made her seem rather girl-like. ith a kind of
sensuous abandon, she drew on the long es, rubbing a fingertip between
each finger as she did so. abruptly, shockingly, she reached out into
the audience, ed a man up on stage with her. Without preamble, she
unzipped his fly, drew him out into spotlight. She bent slightly, pursed
her lips, blew on him, enclosing him in the velvetlike fist, she began
to gently back and forth, up and down and, miraculously, he began harden
until he was as stiff as an arrow. Now she worked in est, moaning as she
pulled in long strokes until, feeling the ing tremble, she peeled back
her dress so that the g tip grazed her pubic hair, inundating her mound
semen. Backstage, Daina found Erica sitting on a stool, her bare legs
ssed, smoking a small cigar with a white mouthpiece. She a frayed robe
around her shoulders but her hard apple sts were bare. She enjoyed her
nudity, Daina had observed. ' does she do it?' Erica looked up. She had
cornflowere eyes and short blonde hair. ' do you mean, liebchen, .? Ah.'
She puffed on her cigar, her wide sensual lips pressed with the effort.
' is very simple, really. She gives precisely what they want. We know
them.' She shrugged. t's human nature, don't you see? What could be more
ious?, ' it never fails.' ', well, Denise is quite good. It's like radar
I think.' rica put her cigar into a green metal ashtray blackened in e
centre. ' knows which ones to pick. But of course they ght to be in the
first row. She doesn't really go out there into e audience.' She
regarded Daina. ' come to her.' She 196 197 smiled a bit, a cold odd
gesture that Daina found unfathomable.
"Thaes an essential lesson in life, liebchen, eh?' Daina went along the
wall of the room, tracing her outstretched finger along the dusty
surfaces of the mirrors. ' you happy here?' she asked after a time.
She heard the sharp indrawn hiss, knew that Erica had taken up her cigar
once again. ',' Erica repeated. But it was not an echo, rather a new
mearung given to an established definition, as if she had somehow
accomplished a sophisticated play on words. From her lips that word
meant something else altogether. ' you any idea, liebchen, what it is
like to make a break with the past? Understand me, I do not mean simply
to leave but also to disavow, to forget, to take a solemn oath not to
remember.' She let out all the blue acrid smoke. ' you understand this?'
Daina stared at her, wide-eyed. ''m not sure,' she said. ' think so.'
Erica, bestowing upon her that odd chilling smile agam., said, ',
liebchen, you cannot. No one can unless ... unless they accomplish it
for themselves.' ' that what you've done?' ' yes.' That smile would not
dissipate and Daina found herself trembling.
"Yes it is. You sed I am quite special. Quite ... unique. I have run
away from it all - run to the other side of the world and now, yes, I am
happy because I am what I want to be.' For what seemed the longest time
there was silence. But Daina could no longer hold back the question,
"And what is that?' A burst of applause, sustained, came at them through
the wmgs. Erica stood up, put a spiked collar around her throat. Her
comflower-blue eyes, wide and innocent, looked at Daina and her coral
lips opened. ' cipher, liebchem Just a cipher.' And whirled out of the
room just as Denise, sweating and dishevelled, came in. ' God, what a
crowd!' She put on her robe, sat down and shook out a cigarette. ',
honey. See the show?' ' of it,' Daina said. ' never get bored, do you?'
smiled, wiped the sweat from her forehead. ''s It means you'll pick up
the stuff. Not' - she lifted her ' I'm advocating you going into this.
In fact, now Baba's not around, I ought to tell you to get the hell
out.' don't see you leaving.' 0, well, that's a bit different."
"Idon'tseehow.' ' darling, I love it. And anyway I'm in and out - make
@y oi;@ hours. That's good but I've got to because I've got to V@w ,,
ork around my classes at NYU. The Phd programme's a ... bitch -' She
stared at Daina. ' don't understand do you? -.'Nah, why should you?"
"But I think I do. I think it's the same reason why I'm here ...,ond ...
with Baba. It's because when I go back I feel ... different.' For a
moment Denise said nothing, then she held out a hand..",::'Come here,
darling.' She stroked Daina's back. ''re right you know that? Yes.
But still -2 Her eyes clouded. ' still' - she leaned forward, kissed
Daina on her forehead - ''re up re dreaming dreams.' She smiled, patted
Daina on her fanny. ' on now,' she *d in a low voice. ''ll be back
tomorrow.' She was reluctant to leave. ' you go on? I've got to study.'
@:'Ah,' said Marty, looking up at Daina through his bifocals.
thought you might be in today. I brought you a jelly ghnut.' He lifted a
small white package off the littered desk, it. Sey thanks, Marty. You
remembered.' She took the bag m him, extracted the doughnut. "Whattayou
mean, remember? Course I remembered. It's t I'm paid t'do.' He tapped
the side of his balding head. emember. My wife says, "Marty, ies. not
just figures you ember." There's a reservoir up here. I'm swimming in gs
I'd like to forget. Here' - he cleared the seat of a mbling easy chair
of piles of papers, stacking them on top f the old safe - ' down." She
did and as she began to eat, he said, ' how's schoolf 198 199 'Okay I
guess.' ''re doing well, aren't you?' Suspicion had crept into his
voice. He waved his hand. ' isn't ... you aren't fooling around are you?
Education's an important commodity, you know. Even Baba will agree with
that, won't you, Baba? You see? You don't want to end up like poor
Denise.' ' Denise? What do you mean? She's going to graduate school at
night.' Marty leaned over, wiped the rime of confectioners' sugar from
the sides of her mouth. ' is no place for a girl with so much brains.'
He pointed a stubby finger at her. ' goes for you, too.' ', giver a
break,' Baba growled from the comer.
"She knows whut she wants.' '!' Marty slapped at the air between them
with the flat of his hand. ''s too young to know anything about what she
wants.' ' don't think age has anything to do with it,' Daina said. ' now
you don't,' Marty told her. ' later on you'll see2 "She won't see shit
less I c'n get these figures t'match,' Baba said gloomily, ' let's hold
it down.' ',' Marty said, leaning over," 'let me see that.' ' yo' hand
outa here, Jack. Yo gots no business pokin' round here.' ''s the matter?
You think I don't know what those figures represent? What's it to me?'
He tugged the ruled yellow sheet out of Baba's hand. ''mon. It'll just
take me a minute and then you can go take Daina out for a good meal.
This month you can afford it.' Marty had just begun to peer at the
scrawled figures, mumbling, "Where'd you learn how to write anyway?'
when the door to the office flew open. A man in a tan overcoat
straight-armed a -38 Police Positive into the room, moving that black
lethal mouth from one to the other. He wore a red, white and blue ski
mask so that only his eyes and his thick red lips were visible. He moved
two steps into the cramped room and they could see another man,
similarly dressed, slightly taller, at his back.
the dimness beyond they could hear Tony's plaintive ' was I t'know?
They was in the audience; pulled the masks before anyone knew what was
-2 -11UL your face!' said the taller man. He gripped a -357 gnum. in
both hands, his legs slightly spread. No one in the room moved. said the
man in the red, white and blue ski mask. s have the bread.' .'What
bread? I Marty said. ', asshole, don't kid around.' He swept the barrel
of the M in the direction of the old safe set against the back wall een
where Marty and Daina sat. ' it,' he said. '.' ' one here has the
combination,' Marty protested. ' :-s Daina jumped at the roar of the
explosion. Marty flew back h wall, his arms outspread. His pencil
clattered to inst t e floor, rolling, and blood spurted from the hole in
his chest. e concussion at such close range had thrown his bifocals off
face. ' can't see,' he grunted. Blood drooled out of the of his mouth,
his chest heaved twice as if labouring er- enormous pressure and
deflated like a punctured rubber Daina said softly and then a bit
louder: ' "The man moved the -3 8. ',' he said, 'shut upp ,,'What's
goin' on in there?' Tony yelled. ''m wamin' ya, Jocko -' said the taller
man. ,'Tony,' Baba said. ies all right. Don't do a thing.' ' am I gonna
do, a Magnum starin' me in the face?" "That's the spirit, Jocko.' "Kay
now,' said the man in the ski mask.
"Lees have it.' .@'Let's just all calm down first,' Baba said softly. He
did not ve a muscle and Daina thought, What does he mean, it's all ies
not all right. Marty's been shot. ' don't you go tellin'me what -2 "Jus'
good bizness, baby.' Baba spread his hands, palms rd. ' do yo no good
blowin' brains out. This poor stard's not gonna open any safe fo' yo now
is he?' ''d you do?' asked the taller man. ' one of 'em F 200 201 'Had
to. Now they know it's serious. There must bit half a mil stashed around
this joint somewhere! ', baby,' Baba said, smiling cordially, '' I'se
the only dude what knows where, dig? Now let's all talk like gemmun.
Doan want no mo'shootin' is all.' The man in the ski mask shook his
head. ' won't do it, nigga. You just fork over the bread ' I start to
think of what I c'n do with this little girl here.' ',' Baba said, the
smile still stitched across his face.
"Yo callin'the shots, m'man -' ' bet nigga. Let's go.' 11 gots t'get up
first, okay?' ' yeah,' the man said irritably. ' move it.' So Baba did.
His hands flat on the desk top, he somehow levered his huge frame
through the air, across the desk. At the last possible instant, his
powerful legs unfolded, shot straight for the muzzle of the -3 8.
