The syndicate.

The syndicate.

"i need it I need it I need it. I screamed into my apartment's floor on my own without anybody to see. I cried quietly. So nobody could hear me. I sat down on the floor and I just felt defeated. I got out my night medication and doubled it so maybe I would be able to sleep. Cocaine helped me function during the day. Sometimes I'd be so high by the time I got home from work I would clean the apartment even though it doesn't need to be cleaned again. It made me jittery my hands and fingers would shake if I didn't have my daily dose of it. My legs would bounce and my feet would feel tingly the same as my face. 

It was only three am and I really needed it. I sat on my lounge chair and shook my body and pulled the hair out of my head. It didn't bother me because I had a wig and some extensions on because I pulled out my hair too much. I'd get cold or get really hot. I have a job and I'm an escort service.

 I charge $200 p/h which pays for my so called habit. My cocaine was one of the only things that are keeping me going. Plus it helps me pay the rent and the water for my apartment in town. My landlord has given me a lot of leeway he knew my story and said hello if I would cross his path. 

His lovely and intimidating at the same time. But he got his point across eventually. If I was late with a payment he would wait for it instead of kicking me out. I would travel by bus to work it took thirty minutes. But it dropped me out the front of the club. Our clubs name was called "The flames and my name is Anna I'm twenty three and this is my job I love to make a man happy. That's what I'm here for. If he is satisfied with my services he would pay me $100 p/h and I would usually be out for a hole night or for a hole morning and I would feel satisfied. It was a great feeling.

In the morning I would go into the club and dance for the fellas while they were eating their breakfast and they would watch the girls dancing in sexy lingerie. With almost nothing on but a choker and chains. Hanging around our necks. Even though some of them mostly old faded crusty men would call us sluts. Disrespectful cowards. But I love to dance and that didn't stop me. 

There was one man who came in everyday for me to be his mistress for three hours while he went to a mafia meeting. There were some huge fellas there. They had their own security incase someone decided to do something stupid. There's been knife fights there before. 

His boss was 32 tanned at least six ft tall with big broad shoulders and a ripped body. You could definitely tell that he worked out. Most likely on steroids or something. No one has that much energy in this business. He was the manger of the club his name was Andrew ledhai. He just liked to be called Andy. He ran the strip club and he would look after the girls especially when it came down to money or drugs. 

It was now 9:00am my eyes opened. Today was the day where the biggest richest man in shadows hill I'm talking millions of dollars and the Biggest CEO fashion line here in Shadows Hill. And I get to escort him to and from the business meeting and discuss cat walk out fit options. It was time for him to meet me at my room in the club. I was called down to the bar so I could meet him. Just as I walked in he greeted me with a smile. It was a sweet smile. He put my hand out and kissed my hand. A gentle man we have here. Harmless you would think. 

He stood up took my hand and we went to the underground car park that was underneath the club for VIPs. He introduced him self. 

"My name is Jack my friends call me jack in the box." 

" Nice to meet you, jack in the box." I replied. 

He opened the passenger side door for me. How nice. I hopped in to the Tesla it was one of those new fancy ones. Electric. Our innovations of transport have changed so much. He pulled a little baggy out of his pocket. Looked at me and said 

" This some good shit do you want to try it out. It's called pink flame because of the colours in it. Freshly cut." 

"Yeah why the fuck not." I proceeded to snort it and instantly felt the high come through. I was addicted and I didn't care. It was good shit. The best I've had in ages. My eyes turned red as I looked in the mirror. I fixed up my hair and my make up. He started driving towards the meeting place. Which I wasn't allowed to know where it was. He explained how dangerous it was going to get and I felt an instant adrenaline rush pumping through my veins. 

He kissed me on the cheek and started to speed up. As we arrived there was a big crowd that consisted of lost of skinny chicks with dresses getting their hair and make up done by the professionals. They looked so pretty. Interesting choices of dresses. And the boys yes their was boys absolutely stunning. They could do their make up better than me. I was jealous. 

We went out the back and there was a room with a huge table in the middle of it. Surrounded by more chairs then I could count. The table had portfolios of the women and men they had hired to walk their cat walk. Jack pulled a chair out for me. And put the portfolios in front of me and said 

"You choose my dear." 

Suddenly I was responsible for a young woman's career. I was complexed. 

She had beautiful big brown eyes, thin body, an amazing floral design print on her dress full of roses at the bottom and the colour white through out it, she had blond hair with a beautiful perm, black shadow eye make up and a nice pysic to. She was very pale. But she was beautiful. I was confused on what my next steps were.

Jack was at the head of the table. And I sat on the side next to him. I passed the portfolio to jack and he took it from me. His hands were so bulky looked like he could kill a man. Because we were in a private room the boss got some coke out for a suprise out of his pocket. A massive baggy for every one to try. It was pink! Just like the stuff we had before we went inside in the car. I was still beaming off that dose. We all snorted some. 

"Woohoo damn that's good." Screamed one of his little peasants 

. Excuse my language kindly. 

Now everyone was high. The models had to be on stage in an hour. Jack looked at me and saw the portfolios dress. He looked at me with loving eyes and said 

" Go out the back and the girls will help you get ready."

"Wait what?" I replied.

"You've only got an hour flossy show everyone that your beautiful now get out the back and be ready to strut your stuff. The girls will help you find your pretty floral dress and let them do your make up my darling." He replied 

I was confused. 

I went out the back and did as I was told. The girls started with my make up first by the end it looked flawless. They found the floral dress and I put it on and looked in the mirror. I'd never seen myself like this before. A girl handed me another baggy and I snorted that pink shit up. The other models had their fair share to. It gave us confidence it took away our fears of falling on the run away. 

One of the girls named "sassy" had a line with me. She was gorgeous big blue eyes, long brown straightened hair olive looking skin and was probably a size six. 

An hour had gone and we lined up behind big glass doors ready to strut our stuff in front of a very very big crowd. VIPS in the front seats. I'm so high right now I thought to myself. I hope I don't trip over my dress with these heels or fell over. That would be embarrassing. After three girls it was my turn. I lifted up my dress and I walked down the cat walk at the end I smiled. There was a big group of people. Shadows has not attracted many tourists over the years but this event turned everything around and made our town public again by putting it on the map. Thankfully I didn't trip over my dress I had a lot of photographs taken of me when I reached the end. 

Here kind of felt like home. I haven't really got a home. As the girls finished modelling there was more coke on the table. Everyone had their own little baggy set out for them. Still the pink stuff we had earlier. 

I couldn't believe that I just walked down a cat walk! I was so anxious but I got put of my comfort zone and I did it. We all snorted our baggys once again. Today I've had six hundred dollars worth of coke that I mostly didn't pay for. I felt blessed. Like I was at the peak of my life. Could be the coke performing inside my nose. I gave jack a hug. He hugged me back. He was so muscly. He was king. 

Shadows Hill has secrets enriched with the darkness.

 A very dark town, corrupted by dirty police officers. 

Part two.  

My heart started to misbehave it was pounding I could hear it in my head. I had a horrible migraine. It was now 12:00 am. I had been out for a full day and a half. The meeting was mostly about their models and who's going to be starred in to the most popular magazine in Shadows Hill. I got nervous. It couldn't possibly be me now could it? I thought to myself. 

Jack handed out the new design cover for the magazine to everyone. I was absolutely gob smacked. It was me. I was on the front.cover on one of the most popular magazine in shadows hill. It had my name and everything on the cover and it will be published this afternoon 

"we will get the magazine first and then we shall sell it." Jack said with a proud look in his eyes. I definitely had feelings for this man. I've never felt so good about myself. Jack said that was all he had to offer his little baggys. He now has to go out and sell the cocaine his got to make money and give it to the top dog. No one knew what the top dogs name was or what he looked like he kept himself hidden. We stumbled to the car. 

"Are you sure your going to be alright to drive?" I asked concerned about all the drugs we've just snorted.

"If I don't sell this I'm a dead man." Jack replied..

He had one thousand dollars worth of cocaine to sell in one night. 

"Can you please drop me home I don't feel comfortable with that." I said with a studder in my words. 

"Yeah sure I can. I just have to make one stop along the way." Jack replied. 

My butterflies faded with anxiousness and my stomach felt like it was going to drop. I was scared and my intuition told me that I needed to go home now. We headed to Shadows hill south. There were lots of people. I'm not one to judge but they looked like they were on ice. Real thin, eyes bulging out of their heads. Dancing and roaming around like in limbo. We stopped at a corner where this big security guard stopped us. Jack got out of the car. And handed the cocaine to his pocket and Jacks hand taking the cash. 

Jack turned around and there was a massive bang. I looked out the window and jack was lying on the cement. With a gun shot wound in his back. He was bleeding. And the man took the money out of his hands and made a run for it. I screamed and got out of the car I didn't care about anything but jack. Everyone was watching everyone call triple zero. I screamed. He had his eyes open rolling in the back of his head. Had blood bleeding from his spleen and his mouth. He laid there and bleed out on to the road on to the gutter. Passer Byers filming everything they could even me. 

I was crying on the ground with his head inbetween my legs. He stopped breathing heavily I checked his pulse and with in minutes he was gone. I had his blood all over me. The police came within minutes and the paramedics tried to revive him. But he was dead.

I didn't know what to do. I tried to get back up and I fainted. I hit my head on the cement and they carted me off in to a stretcher in the ambulance. As I arrived at the hospital the nurses cleaned me up. My head really hurt. I tried to touch the back off my head but it stung with gravel being stuck in it. They washed my hands in a small tub with disinfectant and then put bedadene on the scratches all over my body. They took my blood tests and found that I had enough cocaine to kill ten men in my system.

They explained that I had to identify his body in the morgue I followed the coroner to the bottom floor of the hospital. As we got to the doors I felt sick. I have never felt that sick in my entire life. The coroner opened the big metal doors, It was freezing and the smell was so horrible. He slided jack out and unzipped his body bag. I threw up in the closest bin. 

" Yes sir, it's him. I said with a shake in my voice. 

I cried I screamed on the floor holding his hand that was Ice cold. I picked my self up and I walked out that door. I found the exit on the first floor and got out of there. There was cameras wanting to know the story of jacks death and if he was connected to one of the most biggest mafia drug bust Shadows Hill ever had. I didn't comment I just put my head down and walked away. I had a long walk back to the bar. The girls were there waiting for me. Every single women in our bar gave me a hug even the ones I didn't know very well. I cried some more.

I was still high and really wanted the come down. I had a shower and washed his blood off my hands. Threw my clothes away in the trash. Crawled in to my bed and cried myself to sleep thinking that I would never have cocaine again. I slept for two days with the ladies checking on me in hope that I wouldn't stop breathing or over dosed. I slept the high off. I felt sad I felt mad I had all these feelings and I didn't know what to do with them. It was on the news the night before and they showed my face. 

But from now on I decided to change in to disguise so no body knew it was me when I went out. I put a hoodie on to cover my face I didn't wear make up anymore. I couldn't eat I couldn't sleep. All I pictured was Jack falling to the ground with a bullet in his back. It did wreck his spleen and if he was alive he wouldn't be able to feel anything from his pelvic bones and he would've had no feelings in his legs or his back. Basically a paraplegic. I laid in my bed and turned off my phone. 

I knew that I would have PTSD from the assassination. I would cry and scream and punch the air in my sleep. Which is why the girls kept checking on me. I refused to see a psychologist, I refused to take medication. Within six months of him passing I got clean. I stopped snorting, I resigned from my job and got a pay out from the government. So I used it to get another little cottage on the water of Shadows Hill. I never went out at night, I turned on all of my lights. So that I could sleep and that there was no intruder in my house. 

I thought about Jack every day since his death. I made an alter for him on my kitchen bench. So that he was always watching over me. I should have told him about my bad feeling but I chose not to and even if I did he wouldn't follow. His funeral was huge. So many Bikies, mafia blokes and family attended. Cameras every where just so they could get their story. We tried to whoosh them away without being violent. Jack wasn't a violent man he did what he had to do to survive. But he wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally. 

My cottage felt homely. This was my first home.