Chapter 49: Onyx

Tim, Troy, Rob, Frank, and Jeff were quiet most of the way on the drive to the address included with their multi-colored cards found in their lockers after the beating the Rough Riders had given to the Johnson Jaguars. The five young men crammed into Jeff’s GTO were mostly quiet, daydreaming about the story Troy had told them.

“I think I know what this is. You guys feel like having an experience?” Troy asked with a strange, tilted smile.

“My dad told me a story that he said I could never repeat, but I think he would say you guys are alright to hear it.” Troy looked over behind Tim and Frank, toward the football locker area and the coaches offices. “My dad likes to tell the story of securing his schools’ playoff spot when they beat their district rivals when he was a senior in high school in Dallas. He’s all Al Bundy, ‘I scored four touchdowns in one game, by myself,’ but I guess one night after he got drunk, he decided he wanted to tell me the story of how he lost his virginity.”

“Senior year! Fuck me. Poor bastard,” Frank mumbled before he could gain control of his mouth.

“The same fuckin’ thing almost shot outta my mouth when the old man pulled me into his home office. We weren’t allowed to go inside his office so, of course, I wanted to be in there more than anywhere in the world,” Troy joked. “He told me to sit down on this big leather sofa he had in there. I didn’t even know he had a couch, let alone a big leather one.

“Anyways, he starts with telling his ‘four touchdowns in that one game’ story again, and I’m getting ready to ignore him as I usually do. He sees this and knocks me on my head with his knuckle. Didn’t hurt but got my attention,” Troy said while his focus goes off somewhere but quickly returns. “He tells me about how, when he got home after the game, there was a small envelope taped to the side door of the house. No one else but him and the help used that door to enter the house, but he said his mom let the help go for the weekend, on Fridays, after lunch. She thought she was a nicer boss by doing that.

“So he said he had gone out with a few friends after the game and then did some heavy petting with his girl, and she let him get under her sweater and feeling on some tit but no further. Anyways, he’s coming home, and he uses the help door since it is on the other side of the house from his parent’s room, and they can’t hear it whenever it opens or closes. Taped on the door, at eye level, was one of these,” Tony said, and he held up the envelope.

“Your old man got one of these before,” Rob exclaimed, almost with awe in his voice. Tony kept nodding his head with evident pride.

“He goes on to tell me about this house and how the women are wearing absolutely nothing but masks and guys walking around clothed and in masks. He said they had these different colored flags sticking on each door, and he was only allowed to go into rooms with the same color of the mask he was wearing. He said he went with the star running back, who he learned had been to the place a couple of times so, when they were walking up to the door, he told them about receiving a certain color, and those were the only places they could go. He said if you try to go into a room with a color where you aren’t allowed to go, they will kick you out, and there was zero tolerance for breaking the rules.”

“Wait a second,” Jeff interrupted. “Ain’t that like that movie with Tom Cruise, um, Eyes Wide Shut?”

Tony points his finger at Jeff and blurts out. “Exactly, that’s what I said. He leaned forward looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Where do you think they got the idea?’”

“So are you saying the five of us just got invited to some private, secret orgy out in the most expensive houses in the state?” Tim asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” The five took a moment to look at each other and, to a one, they smiled and made their way back to their lockers. They realized they were the last ones in the locker room.

They stopped at the security station just inside the large gated community Google Maps had shown for the trip. The security guard made an effort to admire Jeff’s GTO then gestured for Jeff to roll down his window. “And where do y’all think you are doing here?” The southern drawl was easily one of the most pronounced Tim had ever heard.

“Um, we are going to a party. We got invitations.”

“I ain’t been told about no high school party tonight. Y’all must have the wrong address. Go ahead and git on outta here a-fore I gotta call the cops on ya!”

Troy, who sat directly behind Jeff, raised his black envelope so the security guard could see it. The other four raised theirs as well. The security guard looked as if he had seen a ghost and visibly swallowed.

“Oh, um, oops, sorry about that sirs. I ain’t seen anybody showed up for the party, yet, not in a limo of some kind, but this sure as hell is a beautiful set of wheels.” The guard stepped back into his booth and hit the button to raise the gate. “Sorry about wasting y’alls’ time. Please enjoy your party.” He gave some weird salute, and the gate lifted out of the way.

A few seconds after passing through the entrance, the guys were laughing about the guard’s change in attitude while they made their way further into the gated community. Tim spotted something out of ordinary first. “Whoa, is that an AK-47?”

Everyone turned to see a large man with a gun hanging across his chest. He was dressed in all black and wore black sunglasses. He looked right at the five teammates in the car and raised his hand to an earpiece. A second later, the guard pointed toward the left of the intersection they were approaching. Jeff steered left, and the guys began seeing more guards with earpieces, and each guard carried what the guys assumed were AK-47’s. The joking stopped at the sight of the first guard.

Tim’s nanites had been pointing out even more guards posted behind corners and even in some of the darkened houses. There were not many places along the street toward the main house that did not have a guard somewhere nearby. The nanites pointed out the guards had a well-established perimeter around the large house. If law enforcement authorities came to break up the party, the guards would have plenty of time to react.

“Dudes, I’m pretty sure they got guns everywhere. I definitely would not start any shit in here. Rob keep your fuckin’ mouth shut while we in here,” Frank said with a growl of importance in his words.

“No shit, man. I got you. I don’t want no AK up my ass,” Rob promised. “Do we all still want to go? I didn’t expect no guns or shit.”

No one said anything for a few seconds. Eventually, everyone agreed to keep on. Everyone had questions and wanted to see this for themselves.

Their destination was easy enough to pick out as they followed several limos as they pulled up to the front door and well-dressed people made their way via the front door.

Jeff finally pulled up to the front door, using the circular driveway, and a man wearing a suit with a striking orange vest opened Jeff’s door. Three more men dressed in black, with bright orange vests, quickly and efficiently opened the other doors.

The five moved up the steps toward the front door. There were two men, both at least six feet tall and both dressed in a black suit with AK-47’s hanging over their stomachs, standing outside. Four more of these men lined either side of the foyer entrance of the beautiful home. These four moved to face the five teenagers, their hands steady at the wait.

One of the men in front of the door stepped forward. “Hello, gentlemen. Please stand still for a moment so we can check each of you for a weapon.” Another guard stepped underneath the covered entryway and began checking each teammate for weapons. When they checked Jeff last for weapons, the man said, “We will park your car for you and keep the keys here at the check-in desk, just inside.” Jeff nodded.

After all five were found not to be carrying any weapons, the tension dissipated like a cool breeze from a beach. “Gentlemen, please wait in the foyer until the Mistress shows you to the entrance room, and do not enter any rooms until you hear the rules. It is for your safety as well as the other guests. Welcome to Onyx.”

The guard opened the door and waved the five Rough Riders into the entrance foyer.

There were three closed doors you could see from the lobby. One to the right had a bronze plate that read, in a flourishing font, “Office.” The main focal point to the entrance, though, was the bifurcated staircase. The stunning design saw the main staircase lead up halfway between the first floor and the second floor. There, they formed a small in-between level, with two more guards setting up their posts, before the stairs came back to the front door, blocking the view to the next floor above. Two more guards were in front of a set of double doors, to the left of the staircase, and the bass from the music inside rung everywhere.

A few moments after entering the main foyer of the house and waiting for a sign of where to go next, the five saw the double doors open, giving a quick peek at what was inside. The music was easily recognizable as a current hit with repeating rhythms and a pulsating dance beat. On a stage, surrounded by LED lighting pulsing with the music, was a nearly-nude woman winding her way around a pole in the center of the stage. She wore only stiletto-heeled shoes and the bottoms of a yellow bikini. She was in the mid-spin on the pole, holding it with her legs, wrapped around it like a boa constrictor, and her arms extended out. The door quickly closed as a scantily-clad woman escorted a man in a perfectly-tailored suit up one of the stairs.

The five did not notice the devastatingly attractive and statuesque blonde woman who had walked up behind them. “Excuse me.” All five jumped at the sudden voice right behind them. Then the teammates admired her from head to toe, twice, as if all five acted as one. The blonde smiled.”My name is Alicia. If you would follow me, please.” She half pointed toward the door on the main floor, to their right, marked “Office.”

The five formed a line and followed her to the door. She opened it, and the other four went into the office while Tim gestured for the woman to go in first as he held the door. She gave a slight nod of thanks and went in herself.

“Please, each of you take a seat.” She made her way around a large oak desk at the center of the office. There were two guest chairs and a large sofa in front of the desk. Fully stocked bookcases lined the office. A quick read of the spines indicated a decidedly eclectic taste.

“Welcome to Onyx. Again, my name is Alicia, and I am here to explain who we are and why you are here. First of all, you must be asking why you are here. A member of our governing body has become interested in your football team. Even though Mr. Murphy’s play has been what struck the matches, he has become involved in the four of you as well. I know I am not speaking out of turn here, but Mr. Murphy, I’ve been told, is an exceptional football player, and your benefactor has decided to help your growth as a player. He does not want payment, and he will not ask for any favors later.

“That goes for any of you. It was Mr. Murphy who brought his eye to your team, but he noticed all five of you have the talent to go far in your current sport. He will help from afar as a fan. You probably won’t even notice his help, but it will be there. He has done this in the past, and he will make himself known to you all individually.

“Now, Mr. Smith, your benefactor left a note saying your willingness to move positions to help the team more than yourself was an amazing thing to see. He was impressed you realized moving from your position to inside would help the team as well as yourself. He hopes you enjoy making your choice of where to play college football. He said you would have a difficult choice but to trust your instincts.”

Alicia swiped right on her tablet and turned herself to look to Rob Newsome. “Mr. Newsome, your benefactor has noted that your talents have not been able to shine with the old offense favored by your coach, but he has indicated you need to make sure to take all the opportunities that are coming. He has described that you will earn a college scholarship for your track and field talents, but don’t forget about maybe walking onto the football team at whatever school you choose, as you will also have several choices. Next is Frank Robinson.

“As you know, you will have many choices, but the smaller schools you have already been hearing from are excellent choices should you go that route, but he warns you that the more you win, the more the larger schools are going to take notice of you. Having options is a beautiful thing, but having too many choices can also be a bad thing.

“Mr. Williams, it seems your future’s already laid out for you if you choose to go that way, but you, like Mr. Robinson, are beginning to open eyes of other larger football programs. If you follow your father’s planned route, your life will be fine but, if you decide to choose a different path, that will also be available to you.

“Finally, Mr. Murphy. With your youth and your talent, your future is wide open, and our benefactor looks forward to watching how you take the next steps.” Alicia put the tablet down and looked at the flabbergasted high school football teammates quietly working over what they had just heard.

“Okay, let me explain Onyx a little more for you. We are an organization built to help people of means to find fulfillment in their lives by making their innermost wants available to them – well, anything that is not breaking any laws, anyway.” She giggled and continued with her description. “We host parties all across the globe for our members and make those parties available for their guests as well.

“Tonight’s party is not necessarily for you five, but you can get an introduction to us and get a little sample of what we provide. I understand that Mr. Williams has already heard a description of one of our parties from his father but that none of you have ever heard of our organization before, correct?” she charged. Each of the five nodded, yes. “Good. Please keep it that way.”

“Onyx serves to entertain the elite members of society. You five have been gifted with the opportunity to become full-fledged members of Onyx. Please note the selection process takes many years and Onyx moves at their own pace,” the statuesque blonde said from behind the large oak desk.

“A member of our governing board has offered you five the opportunity to join our organization once you have become full members of society. We are watching how you grow up and become adults before we will offer you full membership within Onyx.”

Tim meekly raised his hand. Alicia pointed to him. “Um, I still don’t understand what this is,” Tim asked while waving around the room.

“Of course. I was getting to that,” Alicia said as she adjusted her legs, causing all, except Tim, to shift their eyes under the desk. Tim would have looked at her legs, but he was reading a quick update from the nanites. “We are currently counting three cameras focused on your group right now. When you were waiting in the foyer, there were several more cameras focused on you. Keep in mind, everywhere you go here is always being watched on camera and most likely recorded for future use. We wish for you to exercise caution.” The words disappeared from his sight, then, “End of transmission.”

Alicia noticed Tim did not go for the quick look to her flashing her legs and made a mental note to herself. “Everything associated with Onyx will be discussed with you at some time in your future but, for tonight, here are the rules.”

“We have four different levels of allowed behavior here at Onyx. The yellow, blue, and black levels are for members of Onyx, while the white level is for employees.” Alicia raised her hand and pointed to a white silicone wristband on her wrist. It looked like the type people prominently wear in support of fighting cancer or other causes.

“Here in Onyx, white supersedes all color levels and allows white cardholders to go anywhere. Since they work here, they need to be able to go anywhere to do their jobs.” Alicia paused and put her finger up to her ear, and the five could now see she was listening to someone on her earpiece. She stood up, and Tim went to stand up as well, but she waved him off. “Oh no, please excuse me a moment. My work is never done. Please, I’ll only be a moment.” She walked out of the room, and the anxiety filling the room dissipated quickly as the five focused on each other.

“What do you guys think?” Troy asked the others.

“Well, it sounds a little weird to me, but what I don’t understand is why we got picked. I mean, I can probably understand picking Mayhem, but I just had the game of my life, and I haven’t done anything near as much in any previous game I’ve played. No offense, Rob, but this is the first time I remember you getting more than five catches and a couple of touchdowns in any game since we were freshmen. Why did they pick you?” Jeff wondered aloud.

“Well, you heard her, she said it was because of what they expect me to do in track, not just football,” Rob defended himself.

The door opened, causing everyone’s head to turn to see Alicia reenter the room. “Sorry about the disruption. We had a bit of a fire in the kitchen and had to put it out before the fire department arrived. We would not want to cancel the party just because of a little grease fire that was easily put out.”

“Okay, let’s begin again, shall we?” Everyone nodded, and she continued her explanation. “The yellow card is a basic level.” She reached into a drawer of the desk and removed two plastic wristbands, passing them over to Troy and Rob. She waited a moment while both slipped their ring around their right wrists. Troy put it on his left initially, but Alicia pointed out it should only be worn on the right wrist.

“You are allowed into the main room, and you are allowed to eat and drink whatever you like. You are also entitled to play with whoever agrees to play with you – be they other guests or Onyx employees.

“I noticed when I first popped out to see you guys that you got a quick glimpse of the main floor. Think of Onyx as basically a traveling strip club but, here, you don’t just watch. You get to join in. If you see a stripper, and you like her looks, invite her to your table and have a couple of drinks. Talk and get to know each other a little bit. You can use your real names, but all employees use fake names to keep their real identities a secret. Trust us that we have vetted every employee thoroughly.

“So, in essence, we are a strip club where you get more than a lap dance and getting to go home with a rock hard hard-on. Instead of getting you hard and forcing you to take care of yourself once you get home, they’ll get you hard and take care of it for you.” The guys grinned and looked at each other happily. “Everyone here is clean and with complete bills of health but, of course, if you would prefer, condoms are easily accessible in many areas of the home.

“Next is the blue cards.” Alicia passed out the two blue wristbands and watched as Jeff and Frank put them on their right wrists. It was easy to tell that Frank’s wristband was a little too snug around his wrist, so Alicia found a larger sized one that fit perfectly around Frank’s more-massive-than-average wrists.

“These get the same privileges as a yellow card, but they also include access to our VIP level, where private rooms are. In these rooms, anything goes. You are the VIP guests, and you get to pick what happens — anything within the law, of course. We would not want to get anyone into any trouble. Each of these rooms also has video of the main room so if you see someone you are interested in, just let a waiter know and the person of your interest will come to you.

“I will tell you, a lot of times, these private rooms have nothing happening. Because of our top-of-the-line security, many businesses and even some countries have used our services to come hammer out political agreements or business deals. Of course, the best way to celebrate the completion of your deals or mergers is to be in Onyx.”

Alicia pulled out a black wristband but quickly put it back and dug further into the drawer. She pulled out a larger wristband, like Frank’s, but this one was black to match Tim’s card. “Black is the highest level here at Onyx and, to be honest, I’m not sure of the extra privileges afforded to you as a black member.”

“Hey, Tim, now you’ll finally get to be like me and have a black member,” Frank joked, causing everyone, including Alicia, to laugh.

“Later tonight, another black level guest is arriving, and they will take some time to introduce themselves to you and explain what you get as a black level guest here at Onyx.” Tim nodded his understanding.

“Oh, my goodness! I almost forgot one of the other main differences between Onyx and any other gentleman’s club. It is a small thing, but it does make Onyx the number one party in the world. Sometimes we have people you might recognize not only in the crowd watching the show but also performing.”

Alicia rolled herself to the side to give them a full view of the monitor behind her head. The music was turned up and was recognizable. When the black shoulder-length, curly-haired vixen slid across the stage and ripped off the remains of a top she was barely wearing, everyone could see Katy Perry working a microphone like a dildo. It was clear the singer was lip-syncing.

“Yeah, that girl will sit around naked and have drinks with a gaggle of rich, wealthy men and even go down on a few she preferred, but we never get her to sing. Ugh. Well, the guest who requested her went away happy, so I guess everyone is a winner, right?” Alicia said as she turned off the monitor and moved the chair back to where it was supposed to be.

“Are there any celebrities performing tonight?” Tim asked, happily thinking of the possibilities, while his teammates grunted their approval of the question.

“Unfortunately tonight, of Miss Perry’s standing, no, but we do hire members from the larger adult entertainment companies.” The eyebrows on a couple of the players went up as their interest was suitably piqued. Alicia reached for her tablet, once again, and started reading off names from a list.

“Vivid, Bang Bros, Brazzers, Digital Playground, Elegant Angel, Jules Jordan Video, Larry Flynt Publications, Naughty America, Playboy, Red Light District, Reality Kings, Sin City, and Wicked Pictures all have actresses who are either under contract with their company or have worked with these women, and a few men, here tonight. Tonight there is a better than average chance at finding one of them. We brought in a lot of talent tonight since there is some porn convention in Dallas next week.” Alicia giggled to herself and then said, “there will probably be a caravan of porn stars driving to Dallas on Sunday.

“But remember, there are a few guests here tonight you might recognize. Please try to respect their privacy. They are here looking for a good time just like everyone else. We like for our celebrity guests to realize that, once they are inside one of our parties, they are treated just like everyone else. If you are not a celebrity when you’re at one of our get parties, you are treated like a celebrity.

“Now, I understand tonight we have a five-star chef cooking. I have not, as of yet, been able to try any of his food, but getting him to come out and cook for us was an expensive proposition, so please enjoy the food as well.”

The group left Alicia’s office and made their way up the steps to the main entrance at the top of the staircase. At the main door was a guard whom Tim thought he recognized as the man who left the cards in their lockers. He was a large man, around seven foot tall and near 400 pounds. However, the guard was not fat. He looked like a Mack Truck. Even his voice was intimidating.