Chapter 155

"He's done it again!" Trinity said when she walked in the house. Everyone had gathered in the study lounge. Adam had called to let everyone know they were safe but he told them nothing else. He got distracted when Trinity's head disappeared beneath the steering wheel before they even left the parking lot.

It didn't reappear until she had a mouthful of cum.

Still, her declaration when she walked in the door could have meant a variety of things.

"What did he do?" Rebecca asked. She was almost positive Trinity meant Adam stuck his foot in his mouth again. Her tone indicated that clearly.

Trinity gave her a smirk.

"Well, he filled my mouth with yummy, yummy cummy," she said. "But before that he almost certainly made sure Subarctic is going to lead the way on the industry healthcare issue."

"No kidding," Walt said. He could have done without the commentary about Trinity's oral experience but he was interested in what Adam might have accomplished. "How?"

Trinity glanced toward Adam but he appeared content to let her take center stage.

"Two ways," Trinity said. "First, he stepped forward with a plan. Everyone else is still focused on how this happened and he's already moved on to making sure it doesn't happen again."

"Wait, what's his plan?" Allie asked. "We didn't really talk about this, did we?"

"Not as such," Trinity said. "But the woman at the health department ripped AMS a new asshole. She basically said anything they've done in the past outside of testing samples is over. If they try this shit again, she will close them down."

"Oh, wow," Allie said. She had been in the industry for a year and had watched AMS run roughshod over anyone with a decent ideas that didn't mirror its policies.

"So we had to move quickly if we were going to be out in front," Trinity said. "Personally, I think it sounded well thought out. We spoke to Dr. Brannon right afterward. Then the reporter came over. He said the only way AMS can regain its credibility is to change the way it operates. It has to sever ties with the studios. It has to find other sources of funding. It has to have someone qualified as its leader and it has to have a board of directors with medical experience to provide guidance."

"That is good thinking," Sean said. "But I don't see how that gets us out in front. Sure, we spoke first but bigger groups will co-opt our message."

"No they won't because Adam already put a stop to that," Trinity said. "The woman who runs AMS made a total ass of herself. She was completely discredited by the time the conference started."

"Courtesy of Trinity," Adam said, contributing to the narrative for the first time. "I thought Wilma Scott was a moron but she confirmed it when she tangled with Trinity. Trini was awesome."

He couldn't believe it, Trinity actually blushed.

"Aw shucks," Trinity said. "Well, after I was done with her and the health department was done with her, Adam went over and spoke to her. He explained a few things to her and offered to help her regain her pride if she would agree to some changes."

"Well, that isn't exactly what I said," Adam protested.

"What exactly did you say then?" Trinity asked. "I only got a synopsis."

"I told her that she had two choices," Adam said. "She could continue the path she was on and find herself completely obsolete or she could change and work with the few people who are trying to move the industry forward and find a new way to get her message across. She quickly chose option two but we still have to see if she'll agree. She might get so much pressure from the studios she has no choice but to follow their tune."

Veronica shook her head.

"They're abandoning her," she said. "They are saying she misled them and they are reevaluating their decision to go dark for 180 days. RapidFire has already announced it will pull its sponsorship until a new director is appointed. The others will follow."

"AMS might not be able to open again in 180 days," Adam said. "I think she is too stubborn to backtrack on what she said. AMS will offer no tests for that long either."

"Which screws us," Sarah said.

"Adam made arrangements for our group to use Cedar-Sinai for testing," Trinity said. "Dr. Brannon said that she won't offer that to anyone else but us. See, our boy was on top of his game!"

"Aw, shucks," Adam said. He made it a point to glance at Rebecca and wink. "Still, there might be some other statements credited to me that will fall directly into what Rebecca fears."

"I don't really fear it," Rebecca said.

"Well, you probably should," Trinity said. "But it wasn't Adam. It was me. I gave the woman from the Chronicle a few good quotes but Adam said she could attribute them to him since he is better known and feels the same way."

"Such as?" Karlie wondered.

"Uh, where do I start?" Trinity wondered.

"She said Wilma Scott is either a moron or a crook," Adam said helpfully. "Then she said AMS is corrupt and the big studios are guilty of abusing their talent for their own profits. What else? Oh, yeah, the best part. The performers have to stop going to, what was it, Argentina to butt fuck some guy they don't know, whoring themselves out and sharing needles with junkies off the street."

He glanced down at Trinity with a smirk that was as close to hers as he could manage.

"Did I leave anything out?" he asked innocently.

"I'm sure she didn't say it that way," Mary remarked.

Trinity could only look at the floor.

"Not word for word but, uh, yeah, that's pretty well what I said," she admitted. Then she repeated as much of her diatribe as she could recall and waited for the eruption.

It came – but it was an eruption of laughter instead of anger.

"We sent you with him to keep him from doing that!" Rachelle said, wiping tears from her eyes and trying to stop giggling. "We actually discussed this. Who is the best choice to send with Adam to make sure he doesn't say what everyone thinks but knows to leave it unsaid? It was unanimous: Trinity. So what happens? She just cuts out the middle man and says it herself. Oh well, I'm sure it will make for good copy in the Chronicle tomorrow."

"I don't think she'll use much of it," Adam said.

He was wrong.

It was over breakfast the next morning, Saturday, when Tyanna, Jason and Cameron arrived with an armful of newspapers. They passed them out but were still short, so everyone had to share.

"'AMS Discredited; Health Dept. Shortens Leash, '" the headline read. It was on Page 1 below the fold but it was still right there. Also, in the lead paragraph was Trinity's statement about how avoidable the incident was and how one idiot had killed himself and two others. Of course, it was credited to "Derrick Driller, a relative newcomer to the industry who has quickly become known for his direct approach to curing the industry's ills."

The next two or three paragraphs dealt with the outbreak and the backlash for AMS. Then the story moved back into quotes Adam had made about how AMS could regain relevancy. Most interesting, at least to Adam, was how the story glowingly referred to the "Sweet Things" web site as being the most up-to-date place for unaffiliated performers and small studios and web site owners to get the real facts on the situation.

"How did that happen?" he asked.

Mary shrugged.

"Ronni was getting slammed with phone calls," she said. "I talked it over with the site holders and they agreed that the 'News & Notes' portion of the free section should be used to keep people informed. So Beth, Lucy, Erin and I started posting information as it came in. I got a lot of e-mails from people in the industry complimenting us on how quickly we moved to keep them informed."

"I can tell," Adam said. "Listen to this: 'AMS completely dropped the ball – again, ' Chad Raymond, owner of two adult web sites, said Friday afternoon. 'A lot of us were scrambling. We didn't know if we might have endangered a performer. You know, a lot of us in this business understand that these are real people, not just funny names and body parts. But we couldn't get any information from the place we were instructed to turn to – Adult Medical Services. Then we got an e-mail from the woman who runs 'Sweet Things' letting us know that they would do their best to keep current on the situation and to update their free site as soon as they knew something. It was a blessing for a lot of us. Like everything else that company does, they lived up to their promise.'"

Adam smiled at his tablemates – Allie, Shelly, Sarah, Lucy and Mary – then continued reading.

"'It wasn't only web site owners in the dark. Thousands of adult performers were left to wonder if perhaps they could be the next to test positive. 'I was really scared, ' the woman who performs as Jade Treat said. 'No one would tell me if I was at risk. No one would tell me who was positive and who they had worked with. Then a friend called to let me know that there was a web site, 'Sweet Things' where I could find the professional names of those thought to be at risk and those who confirmed positive. I'm thankful that I wasn't in danger but it doesn't make it any better for those who are.'"

"That's pretty cool," Shelly said. "I'm glad we could give a little peace of mind to some people."

"What's cool is that we got about a thousand new subscribers yesterday," Mary said. "I mean, the other part is cool, too. I'm not trying to sound like a bitch or anything."

"We know, it just comes naturally," Allie joked. "But you're right. It's good that we were rewarded for our kindness."

"You haven't even gotten to the best part," Cameron said with a huge smile. "It's on Page 8, with the rest of the story."

He opened the paper and read.

"'As is becoming a common theme in the adult industry, it is the up-and-coming generation of performers pinpointing the flaws in the industry and providing solutions. Driller, who is a dean's list student at a local university and one of the major players not only as an adult performer but in the entire adult industry, said it's important that AMS rebound.'"

"'AMS or something similar is fundamental to this industry, ' Driller said. 'But it cannot have an agenda, political or social. It cannot have financial ties to the industry. It cannot continue to be influenced by its biggest sources of funding. It cannot be run by someone who is clearly out of her depth.' Driller's list of reasonable requirements for Adult Medical Services were echoed by Dr. Brannon, who added she has offered to assist Driller and his corporation in making the industry safer for performers not only from an infectious disease standpoint but as a whole.'"

"'I get the impression from my discussions with him that this is not simply about limiting the risk of an HIV outbreak. That is important, but he envisions an industry that not only protects its employees but one that empowers them, educates them and prepares them for the future. He works the mainstream side but he also makes it a priority to stand up for those who work the same-sex portion. I have spoken to members of the board of directors at this health facility and we are willing to work with him and his businesses to ensure he succeeds.'"

Cameron raised his eyes to the group.

"Not bad for a day's work," Katey said. She wondered why Adam looked so uncomfortable.

"I didn't mean to give the impression that, you know, I'm the only one doing things," he said. "I'm sorry the rest of you didn't get your share of the credit. You deserve it, you know."

"Remember, Adam, that's your job," Rachelle said. "We planned all along that you would be the face of Subarctic Enterprises. I can't speak for the others but I think you're doing exactly what I hoped you would do."

"I agree," Sarah said, smiling. She was listed as the president of Five Friends Casting on paper but she couldn't be prouder of the guy she woke up beside this morning.

"Adam has gift," Katya concluded. Technically, she had no affiliation with any of the companies but her opinions had always been sought and she didn't mind sharing them. "We joke about words he says. Still, we cannot argue with them."

"I noticed that the first time I met you, Adam," Meredith remarked. "You seem to have this innate ability to be in the right place at the right time and to say just the right thing. Thank God you went into porn and not politics."

"Or a religious leader!" Walt chimed in. "The Cult of Adam has a nice ring to it though."

It was almost 11 a.m. before the whole group arrived at the houses. The newspaper was the topic of conversation until Shelly piped up.

"You know, all our finals are Tuesday," she said. "Walt's Dad and the workers are going to be hammering and sawing at the ass crack of dawn every morning and none of us have anything to do. We probably want to live up to our word and stay dark for another week. 'Dragon Lore' doesn't shoot until next Saturday. We're going to use the photo sets we've already shot for 'Sweet Things' and we've canceled the web shows because of the quarantine. What do you say we head to Vegas early? The utilities and everything are still on at Rebecca's old place. It's huge and we could just relax for a while."