Chapter 27: Dancing the night away.

We headed back to our respective places to clean off, and agreed to meet at seven for more of 'me trying to keep up with her, ' as Claire put it succinctly. The driving arrangements took a bit of doing, however.

"My car or yours?" she asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, where we're going, your spanking new Integra might not be out there when we come out. My hatchback's less, um-"

"Chop-shop worthy? Why, that's very sweet of you."

"Besides, I like to drive."

I clutched my hands to my heart and staggered. "So, that's why you offered to drive. You weren't concerned about my car being stolen," I said mournfully. "I feel so... so betrayed."

"Oh, stop it already. Pick you up at seven?"

"Sure." We had reached my car, and she started walking toward hers. "Um, Claire, do you know where I live?"

She stopped and turned around, a look of chagrin on her face. "Haven't a clue. I should really ask you while you're still here, shouldn't I?"

"Might help," I deadpanned.

"So, where did you want to go?" Claire asked as I slid into the passenger seat.

"You've been around Boston for a few years. You tell me."

"Any special requests?"

"Actually, do you know a good seafood place that's not big on lobster or crab?"

"I think I can arrange that."

An hour and a half later, we were looking for a parking space around the club district, having enjoyed a lovely dinner of fish and shrimp--mostly fish, as I was watching my cholesterol. Filling, but not too filling; dancing on an overly full stomach is not part of the recipe for a wonderful evening. Don't believe me? Try it yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you.

After we finally tracked down a space, we window-clubbed for a few minutes--most of Claire's favorite hangouts were rather empty this early in the evening. After she turned down the third place (which I thought had nice music and a reasonable crowd, albeit a mostly teenybopper one), I was starting to get a little impatient. Suddenly, as we turned a corner, an old memory resurfaced. "Claire?"

"Hmmm?"

"Is the Eclipse still bouncing around?" I asked, naming one of the most well-known underground clubs in Boston. Its notoriety had driven its owners to move its location on a nightly basis.

"I think so, but we wouldn't be able to get in, even if I found out where it is tonight. They like to keep it rather exclusive." She looked at me curiously. "How did you know about the Eclipse, anyway?"

"Long story. But the thing is, if you can find out where it is, I think I can get us in."

"I'll see what I can do." We slipped into a greasy dive that had definitely seen better days as Claire pulled out her cell to make a few calls. Ten minutes later, she clicked off. "We're in luck," she said triumphantly. "It's only a few blocks away, in a restored warehouse."

We walked over to the Eclipse, and found a line of about a hundred people already milling in front. Six well-dressed muscle guys with headsets were doing a more than adequate job at crowd control, and there was every indication they could handle a group twice this one. We stopped for a second near the back of the line, as I tried to locate the leader among the six bouncers.

Claire nudged me. "It's your turn to work some magic."

I nodded absently, having spotted the leader. "Let's go," I said, walking toward the door. We stopped at arm's length from the guy I had pegged as the leader. "We're here to see Jasan," I said, my voice pitched low so as to not reach the rest of the crowd.