Chapter 5

Katherine's Story:

Taking the stairs two at a time, I hurried out of the hotel down the emergency stairwell just at the end of the hall. My mind was a jumbled blur as I went over what had happened: the Rose Petals had been arrested, thanks to my timely placed call to Charlie and his friends in the Las Vegas Police Department. But things hadn't gone as well as I thought, for Eliza Dushku had not only managed to avoid being picked up by the cops, but I was almost 100% sure she saw me at the end of the hall, out of harm's way.

My hands shook as I gripped onto the cold metal of the hand rail, going down the stairs rapidly. If Eliza really did see me, and in my mind I knew she had, what would happen? Certainly the fact that I darted away before she could even think to come after me and question me looked suspicious, but already I was trying to calculate an alibi. I had told the girl's at Jessica Biel's initiation that I was stepping out to get some ice, but would any of them, especially Eliza, believe that? They weren't stupid, but then again I doubted that they would have expected me to just walk up to the cops, arms extended to be led away.

I paused on a landing of one of the floors for a moment to catch my breath, the blood pumping through my ears. Listening, I could have sworn I heard some one up above me on the floors that I had just descended, they too taking the steps very quickly. Even hesitating for a moment was a big risk, but now that I had stopped, I could not hear a single noise in the stairwell, save for the hum of the track lighting over head. Gathering up more momentum (the adrenaline in my body was going too fast now to make me really notice the growing pain in my legs from rocketing down the stairs in high heels), I continued down ward, each step just like the rest as I went down.

Finally reaching the ground floor, my face soaked with sweat, I paused by the exit and opened it slowly, peaking out. The lobby of the hotel was full of guests and gamblers, all going about their business. Even at 11 at night, the place was hopping, thanks I'm sure in no part to the lack of clocks anywhere in the building. Stepping out slowly, I shut the heavy metal door behind me as quietly as possible, and straightened my dress and hair as best as I could, walking slowly outward towards the exit. I kept a slight smile on my face so that people wouldn't notice the sheer panic that was bubbling inside me. Moving slowly, I scanned the lobby for Eliza. It was hard to make out a single person, even one as strikingly attractive as her, for people moved like ants around the lobby, coming and going in all shapes and forms possible.

I let out a slight sigh of relief as I reached the revolving exit door and stepped out into the Vegas night.

I began to walk more quickly now, immersing myself with the crowd as I continued on, trying to seem like one of the pedestrians by mingling with an eclectic group of drag queens in front of me, their conversation like cat howls as they gossiped and joked with one another, their deep voices and obvious sign of what really lay beneath their fancy dresses.

A few blocks past the Mirage, I spotted a pay phone, shrouded slightly from the garish glow of the Strip. I had left my purse and everything else in the hotel room when I left, so my call to Alex would have to be a collect one.

Picking up the receiver, I scanned around me nervously again, the mixture of faces a blur as they moved past me, cars honking along the busy street as I cupped the mouth piece and dialed the operator. I waited patiently, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as I watched the people once more, waiting on Alex to accept the charges.

"Hello?" his voice said, a familiar life raft in the storm that was raging inside me.

"Alex! It's Katherine!" I said into the phone, ducking my head into the terminal.

"Katherine? What's wrong? Did everything go alright?"

"Yes, I mean no, I mean... sort of. The Rose Petals were arrested by the LVPD just a few minutes ago. They took Tara Reid, Kate Hudson, Jessica Biel and Jamie Pressley," I said to him.

"That's great then. What's the problem, why do you sound so upset?"

"They didn't get Eliza,"

There was a pause on the other end. "Shit."

"It gets worse. I made my exit like I had planned, waiting and watching as they were led out of the room in cuffs. But after the last cop had walked out of the room, I saw Eliza at the other end of the hall,"

"Did she see you?"

"Yes, I think so,"

Alex sighed loudly into the phone. "Fuck. Then she probably knows something is going on, especially since you weren't taken away. Did she say anything to you?"

"No. She saw me and we made eye contact for a few seconds and then she bolted before the cops could see either one of us. I left the hotel as fast as I could and here I am calling you,"

"Do you think she suspects you of something?"

"How could she not?" I replied, my voice tense. "It did look a little odd,"

Another pause.

"Alright, well let's assume she saw you. That means that, with her free, Vegas isn't a good place for you to be right now. If she isn't looking for you herself, then certainly someone will be in no time,"

"Right, and that's what I'm afraid of. Oh Alex, I wish you had come with me! I'm scared out of my mind!"

"Calm down Katherine, it's going to be alright," he said, trying to reassure me. "Where are you now?"

"I'm at a payphone on the street, a few blocks from the Mirage,"

"That's probably not the best place to be right now,"

"I know that Alex," I hissed into the phone "But I had to call you, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. Calm down Katherine, let's think this thing out. You need to get out of view of anyone who might be looking for you. A hotel or driving back tonight would probably be your best bet,"

"I don't have my purse. I had to leave it in the room,"

"Shit. Alright, well look. Here's what you do: find yourself a Western Union. That shouldn't be hard in a town like Vegas. Find one as far away from the Strip and the Mirage as possible and then call me. Tell me where you are at, and I'll wire you some money right away. Then, once you get the money, take a cab and find a hotel - nothing fancy or expensive, but not in the ghetto either. That might be the first the place they look. Pay for your room in cash, under a fake name, and hole up there. Once you get into the room, lock the doors and call me. When I know you are safe, I'll leave right away and probably be there first thing in the morning to come get you. Don't open the door or answer the phone for any reason, alright? I'll knock four times on your door to let you know that I'm there, and only then should you answer the phone. You got all that?"

I sighed. "Yes, I think so. This entire thing is nerve racking Alex. I'm used to people wanting me for my celebrity and appearance and all that, but never like this,"

"It's going to be fine Katherine, I'll be there as soon as I can. Just get to the Western Union as fast as you can and call me. You need to get off the street," he said.

"I will Alex. But please hurry,"

"I'll be there as soon as I can Katherine. We can talk more about this when I get there. Right now, you need to get going, alright?"

"Yes, ok. Bye Alex,"

"Bye Katherine. I'll be waiting by the phone for you to call,"

Eliza's Story:

Leaning against the frame of the wall, I listened for the cops to leave. As soon as I heard their heavy footfalls fading away, I looked around the corner again for Heigl. She was gone. This was not a good sign, and certainly didn't do much to convince me about her role in what I had just witnessed.

Why the fuck was she just standing there, letting her sisters get taken away? Something wasn't right here, I just knew it. And now that she had run away, rather than wait and try to talk to me? Yeah, the bitch was certainly up to something.

But she could be dealt with later. My head was throbbing already from the headache this ordeal was sure to cause. Part of me wished that Salma or Hapsboro were here right now to help me deal with this, but the inevitable call to them would have to do. Walking out into the hall, I passed by the suite with the yellow police tape over the door. Scanning the hall to make sure I was alone, I ducked inside the suite quickly, careful to move as quietly as possible.

On one of the tables, I saw the residue of some coke. So, that's why they had busted the girls. I knew that our contacts in Vegas wouldn't just go looking to stir up trouble, so something had let them know that the drugs were in here. Or perhaps more fittingly, someone. Walking around the room quickly, my eyes scanning over everything, the place had pretty much been demolished from the ensuing carnage of the girl's arrest. Chairs were knocked over, pillows were strewn about the floor and someone had left the television on.

Making sure not to touch anything, I approached one of the bedrooms. The bedspread on the queen sized bed was rumpled and, as I ran my hand over it, still warm. The faint smell of sex was still present on the air and from all indications, it looks like I had missed out on some pre-initiation fun. I turned to leave the room when something caught my eye: a purse.

Moving towards it, I stopped for a second to make sure the cops weren't coming back. Then, picking it up from it's resting place on the chair, I opened it up. Inside was a cell phone and a wallet, plus a key ring full of keys. Opening the wallet, I hit pay dirt: it was Katherine Heigl's. Whatever had made her leave the room had been important enough for her to leave incriminating evidence behind. Her mediocre driver's license photo smiled up at me as I closed the wallet and put it back into the purse. Stepping over a discarded bottle of champagne, I walked towards the exit of the room and, ducking again underneath the police tape, I left the suite with Katherine's purse in tow.

Heading towards the elevator, I waited patiently for the ding and then stepped in, the doors closing in front of me as I leaned back against the wall. So as not to arouse suspicion (with the cops in the building, I knew the hotel's security would be watching the elevators and the guests like hawks), I casually opened the wallet and took out the cell phone.

Pushing one of the arrows, I looked at the last two numbers dialed. One was just a set of numbers from an LA area code and didn't seem to have any special purpose. Punching the arrow down again, the plot continued to thicken. On the small screen, the name ALEX appeared, with a phone number beneath it. Holding the phone in my hand, I almost pushed SEND and dialed the number, curious to see who would pick up. But my judgment got the best of me and I instead hit clear, setting the phone back into the purse as I draped it's thin strap over my shoulder.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, into the chaos of the bottom floor. The cops bursting into the hotel had caused a ruckus that hadn't been there even a few minutes earlier when I arrived, and I knew it best to just make my exit as quickly as possible. Stepping outside, I reached into my own bag and took out my valet ticket, handing it to the pimply kid who stood there gawking at me slightly. With a sneer, he got the hint that I wasn't interested and left to go get my car.

A moment later, he pulled up expertly in front of me and, rounding the hood of the Jaguar, handed me the keys. I gave him a polite smile and climbed into the convertible. The kid shot me a distasteful sneer of his own at the fact that I didn't tip him, but as I pulled out towards the street, waiting on the mess of traffic to clear, I flipped him off and pulled out quickly between two cars, following a few cars ahead the caravan of cop cars headed for the station.

Sitting in traffic, I reached into my purse and pulled out my cell phone. Dialing Gordon's number quickly as I switched lanes, I waited a few rings before his groggy voice picked up.

"Yes?" he mumbled. "Who is it?"

"It's Eliza Gordon. I'm here in Las Vegas and we have a problem," I said to him as I inched through traffic.

"It better be fucking good to call me this late," Hapsboro said bitingly.

"It's not good in the slightest Gordon, that's why I'm calling you. I was at the Mirage tonight, for Jessica Biel's initiation and, well, things went wrong,"

There was a pause on the other end.

"Went wrong how? Jesus Eliza, you fucking actresses and your theatrics..."

"Just shut up and listen Gordon, I'm explaining," I spat back at him.

Telling him what I knew, about how the girls had been arrested and the cops had taken away the drugs with them, and how that Heigl woman had been standing around watching the whole fucking thing like it was a television show.

When I finished, Hapsboro was silent.

"Where are you now?" he said calmly.

"I'm on my way to the jail, where do you think? This is really bad PR Gordon, and not just for the Rose Petals either,"

"I know that. Alright, listen to me. How long till you get there do you think?"

"20, maybe 30 minutes. Traffic is a bitch,"

"Alright, good. When you get to the jail, I should have everything taken care of. I'm going to make some calls. Tell them that you work for Mr. Willis when you get there and they should let you back. Try to calm the girls down, but tell them not to speak to a single person about what happened, only to you. If you have any problems, call me back. I'll tell them to expect you, and speak to you further about this in the morning. Clear?"

"Crystal,"

"Good," Hapsboro said, before hanging up. I set the phone back down in my purse and thought to myself about the whole situation. I wished the Heigl bitch was around right now so that I could pin her down and ask her what the fuck she was doing. But thinking about her more just pissed me off, so I tried to get a level head as the cars in front of me opened up and I got a clear path towards the city jail, the cops a few cars ahead of me.

Pulling into the police station a few minutes later, I waited and watched as the van with the girls pulled around back. Counting off two minutes in my head, I turned my car off and stepped out, walking towards the entrance.

The room had that desert smell in it, the police force obviously not trying to recreate the ambiance of the rest of Vegas. Walking assuredly towards the front desk, I rapped on counter top with my fingers, waiting for the overweight donut muncher to hang up the phone.

"Yes, how can I help you little lady?" he said with a deep Western drawl.

Great, a cowboy. I bit my tongue and tried to remain as professional as possible.

"Wilton Willis sent me," I said.

The cop stared at me blankly for a moment, his brow furrowed as he looked me over in my dress.

"And?"

"And nothing. Go speak to your supervisor, he will tell you what that means,"

"Look lady, I AM the shift supervisor tonight and if you think you can come in here and hassle me then..."

"Fine, look, shut up for a second and listen to me,"

"Did you just tell a police officer to shut up?" the man said, lifting his considerable girth from the chair as he interrupted me, standing up. I remained poised, smiling at him sardonically.

"I'm sorry. Excuse me, officer. Please call your superior and speak to him. He will clear this whole thing up,"

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you value your job, you'll do it,"

The man, whose name I now read as Chacer on his nametag, scowled at me. An on duty cop entered into the room from behind him, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Billy, come here and watch this one for a second, I gotta make a call. I wouldn't even be doing this you know miss, if you weren't so damn beautiful,"

"But I am," I retorted with a savageness in my voice. "And you are going to make the call. So please go do it,"

Continuing to shoot me a nasty look, the cop named Billy came over and stood next to Chacer by the desk, setting his coffee cup down as he looked at me warily.

"I'll be back in a second," Chacer said, moving past Billy down the hall and disappearing into an office.

I smiled politely at Billy. He was kind of cute in a rugged sort of way - strong jaw, nice build. If I didn't have more important things on my mind, I knew I would probably flirt with him. But given that I wouldn't even BE here if it wasn't for what happened, the point seemed moot.

We stood there for a few minutes until the heavy breathing sound of Chacer emerged from the hall. He ran his hand through his balding head and flopped down back into his chair, the thin slats of wood groaning under his weight.

"Go on back Ms. Dushku. The guards have already been informed," Chacer said, a tone of defeat in his voice. Billy looked at Chacer with a look of disbelief as I passed by them around the corner, but Chacer simply shrugged and gave Billy an "I know, I know" look.

My heels clicking on the tiled floor, the hallway grew darker as I headed towards the end. Another cop sat in a chair to the left of a barred jail door, reading a sports magazine. He glanced up when I approached and, straightening himself out to look presentable, he cleared his throat.

"You Willis' girl?"

"Yes, I am. Would you open the door please?"

"Yes ma'mm," he said, reaching onto his belt buckle for the keys. Sliding a long one into the slot, he turned it and with an echoing click, the lock opened and he pulled the door back.

"They are in cell 8, last one on your right," the cop said as I walked briskly past him.

Entering the walkway between the cells, I was smart enough not to favor one side or the other as I walked, the cat calls coming from the cells almost deafening as arms and faces pressed through and against the bars, futily trying to grab me. At the end of the hall, I turned to look into the cell, seeing my protégés, lovers and friends looking dejected on the cot, their cell door surprisingly open. The cop at the end of the hall stood with his hands on his hips, watching me, but he didn't say a word.

Jessica Biel and Tara Reid sat huddled next to each other, their heads pressing together. Their clothing looked matted and wrinkled, obviously thrown on in a rush, and their faces were streaked from crying. Kate Hudson sat at the end of the cell bed, her feet kicking back and forth as if she was bored, the straps of her dress hanging off her shoulder. Jamie Pressley meanwhile, leaned in the corner of the cell, her arms across her chest as she watched me enter, her green eyes conveying nothing as I walked in with a smile.

Upon seeing me, Tara and Jessica jumped to their feet, mobbing me in a mass of arms and hair and tears as they babbled into me, relieved at my presence. Kate stood up from the cot and walked over to me, giving me a simple hug as Tara and Jessica continued to talk and make a general noise, their arms hugging my waist tightly.

I turned back to look at the guard.

"Isn't it time for you're break?" I said to him over my shoulder. The guard rolled his eyes, but seemed to agree with me and walked away down the hall.

I wrapped my arms around Jessica and Tara's shoulders and led them back to the cot to sit them down, Kate walking calmly (she was still quite stoned) over to them and sitting down. Only Jamie hadn't moved since I got there, her eyes still seeming to calculate me, to judge me. I ignored her.

"Hey ladies, sorry about all that's happened. Mr. Willis is on top of things though, and this whole thing should be over really soon," I said to them, soothing them like little children as I ran my hand over their hair.

"Eliza, we are SOOOO relieved you got here. This was like totally the most scary thing I have ever been through!" Tara said. "The cops... I don't know how they got in or what but they were so mean!"

"Shh... I know Tara. But it's all going to be over soon. Gordon is working on getting you four out right now, so don't worry. And believe me, this won't end up in the papers, so you can feel at ease about your careers too," I said, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Jessica said, leaning into me, her head just inches away from my pussy as the top of her head pressed against me. "Oh Eliza, I didn't know I was going to get in trouble for this!"

"It's ok Jessica, this sort of thing never happens. As soon as you four are out of here, believe me, we will figure out just exactly what went wrong,"

Kate's eyes seemed to light up, as if she was coming out from a prolonged sleep, her lithe body bouncing on the cot.

"Hey, where's Katherine?"

Jessica and Tara looked puzzled for a second, then realized who Kate was talking about. They glanced at each other, then at Kate, then up at me. I tried to reassure them.

"We are figuring that out right now, but I'm afraid that she might have been involved in all this. I can't prove it yet of course, but we are looking into it,"

There was a silence for a moment as the girls took this information in, Jessica's anxiousness causing her to rock back and forth on the cot. Jamie finally spoke, startling us and breaking the silence of the room.

"Where were you tonight Eliza? How do we know YOU weren't involved?" she said bitterly, her eyes locked onto mine as I spun on my heel to look at her.

"What did you say?" I said angrily, stepping away from the girls, Jessica's arm falling away from my waist remorsefully as I turned completely now towards Jamie.

"I said, where were you? Why weren't you brought in here with the rest of us," Jamie said, her voice flat as she spoke, but her eyes saying far far more than words ever could.

I felt anger rising up through me - Jamie and I had never gotten along, and I was against bringing her into the Rose Petals, but Salma's insistence ended up overruling my objections. The clash had undoubtedly come because both she and I were alpha women, both wanting to dominate things. But with the headaches of tonight so far, I was in no mood to put up with her shit. Time to make an example out of her.

I moved closer to her. "You think I was involved in this mess?" I said coldly.

"Well, you certainly weren't cuffed and led away in a squad car, that's for sure," Jamie said with a bitter smirk. "And you were supposed to be with us tonight, right?"

I turned my head back to look at the other three girls. They were huddled together against the far wall of the cot, their arms wrapped around each other as they stared in fear at both Jamie and me. Like little children watching their parents fight, it was clear that they were not going to get involved.

I glared at Jamie.

"How dare you say that I had something to do with this. If it wasn't for me, you would be spending your entire fucking night here in jail, your career in jeopardy and your future flushed down the toilet," I spat back at her.

"All I know is that you were supposed to be in the room. You weren't. You were in charge of the initiation, and yet you weren't there. And when the cops busted in, their to arrest us because someone tipped them off about the drugs and the sex, you were nowhere to be found,"

"I just got there when you were being led out. I would have stopped them but then they would have arrested me to," I said, maintaining the last bit of patience possible in my voice.

"Whatever," Jamie replied, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she looked away from me in disgust. I had had enough.

"Look bitch, you need to learn you're place. When the Mistress isn't here, you answer to me. Got that?" I said, now just an inch or so from her face.

Jamie laughed at me. "Mistress... God, I had forgotten about all the stupid little title and rules of this organization. How everything is so proper and mysterious. Mistress, that's rich,"

"I'm tired of your lip Jamie. It's time you learned where you stand in the grand scheme of things," I said to her, my blood now boiling with anger.

"Ooo, what are you going to do Eliza? Take away my dildo?"

I couldn't take it any more. Rearing my hand back, I slapped Jamie viciously across the face, my hand leaving a red mark on her cheek almost instantly as she recoiled back in pain. I heard the other girls gasp behind me, but I didn't care. My adrenaline was pumping far too hard right now to be bothered with what the weaker girls thought.

Jamie turned her face back to me as her head snapped back. She had a snarl on her face - not one of contempt or even simple anger but rage. Pure and simple rage. For a moment, I hesitated in my anger, realizing for just a split second that Jamie was taller than me and that she had an advantage by being against the wall. This proved to be a costly mistake, for not even a second later, she lunged at me, shoving me backwards with her arms as I lost my footing and stumbled back against the jail cell door, the thick metal slamming into my back.

Recoiling in pain, it didn't take Jamie more than a moment to be on me again.

"Bitch? I'll show you a bitch!" she said, grabbing me by the hair and slinging me towards the bed and the other girls. I managed to catch myself before I hit, collapsing rather than slamming down onto it, my arms unsteady as I bent over it. Things seemed to be moving in slow motion now, for as I stood up from the bed, straightening myself, I was better prepared for Jamie as she threw an actual punch at me. Ducking it, I ran forward slightly and hit her in the stomach with my shoulder, driving her back against the cell wall.

Reaching down, she savagely grabbed my hair and lifted me up as she pulled my head away from her stomach, where I had been busy landing as many scratches and punches as possible on her. Tilting my head up, Jamie spit at me, her saliva hitting my cheek as I spun away from her, freeing my hair despite the pain. Spinning back, I pressed myself against her towards the wall, trying to get her arms over her head to immobilize her. But Jamie was a bit quicker and saw my tactic, instead reaching out her arm and pulling my dress down as she grabbed my breast firmly in her hand and twisted it slightly, causing me immediate pain.

Instinctively, my knee shot up and caught her in the stomach as she now placed both hands on my breasts and held onto them tightly, twisting them as I fought back the tears of pain she was causing me. The blow to her stomach caused Jamie to double over slightly and as I leaned hard against her, my weight finally pinning her to the wall as her hands held onto my tits as my dress sagged beneath them, I used my leg to part Jamie's legs. Through the material of her green dress, I quickly placed my hand over her cunt and pushed my fingers in hard, working them into her dry slit and causing her to cry out in pain and surprise.

My fingers buried in her and her hands on my breasts, we each inflicted pain on each other for a few more moments. I stared at Jamie and she stared right back as we reached a stalemate, neither one of us knowing what the other one would do. The decision was made for us a moment later however, as two cops burst in through the far jail door and ran down to our cell. Within a moment, they were on me, yanking me off hard as Jamie's fingers got the last word, clawing my breasts painfully as I was pulled off of her.

"Hey, woah ladies, stop that! Calm down!" the guards were yelling at us, one of the bigger ones holding my arms pinned behind my back as I struggled instinctively to get free. I finally stopped a minute or so later, catching my breath as Jamie looked at me over the shoulder of the cop, smirking.

"You two going to rip each other's throats out if we let you go, or no?" the one holding me said.

"No, we are fine officer," Jamie said smartly. "Isn't that right Eliza?"

I lunged at her again, but grunted "Yes" as the cop let go of my arms. Looking down at my breasts, I saw the red marks from Jamie's nails left distinct lines down them. Fixing my top, I turned my attention to the two cops.

"You ladies made bail. But don't think we won't just pick you up again if you decide to continue this outside," the big cop said.

"We won't officer, thank you," Jamie said again, playing the coy and innocent girl just to piss me off.

"Alright, well you are free to go,"

I made a motion to leave right after Jamie as she walked out the cell door, but the cop next to me put his meaty hand on my shoulder.

"Wait," he said in a nonplussed voice.

I waited, despite my instincts wanting to just lunge at Jamie and rip her clothes off right there, throwing her in with some of the other prisoners, as she left the cell, the other girls walking quickly behind her, their eyes not even looking at me.

The cop lifted his hand as Jamie made her way out of the hallway, the prisoners now yelling even louder than before at the parade of beautiful young women walking past their cells. I stepped out of the cell, shrugging the cop off as I followed them out.