Bowery Girls -- Part Two

     "This would be so much easier if I had a glass," Sach commented, leaning against a door, trying to listen.
     "Definitely," Lauren agreed.
     "...won't get away with this!"
     "Sach!" Lauren called, then waved him over. "She's in here!"
     "Great, we'll go tell the Chief," he said, then turned the other way.
     "Sach!" she said, forcefully. "We've gotta help her now! Who knows what they may have in store for her?"
     "For her? What about us?" Sach asked, then joined her at the door. "They better not have guns."
     Lauren rolled her eyes, then tried the doorknob. "It's open."
     "It's a trap, I know it," he said.
     She peaked in. "I don't see anyone," she whispered, then eased the door open just enough to go inside.
     "Couldn't they've atleast left a light on for us," Sach complained.
     "She's probably in the next room," Lauren said.
     "Right behind ya," he said.
     "I can tell,&q uot; she said.
     They reached the door and listened.
     "I don't hear nothin'," Sach said. "Maybe we were wrong and they ain't in here. Let's leave." He turned to leave.
     Lauren grabbed his arm. "Oh, no you don't. I know I heard her voice come from in here and we're gonna find her..."
     The lights came on and they found two gangsters with guns standing in front of them.
     "...If it's the last thing I do," she finished, remorsefully.
     "Told ya we should've left," Sach said.

     The rest of the group met up with Slip.
     "Didn't find nutin' either, huh?" he asked.
     "Nothin'," Gabe said. "I could've sworn they were headed in this direction and that note said they were here."
     "Hey, Chief, what happened to Sach and Lauren?" Whitey asked.
     "They went down that way," Slip said, jerking his thumb in the direction they went.
     "Shouldn't they've gotten back here by now?" Butch asked.
     "How'm I s'posed to know?" Slip replied.
     "They gotta be around here somewhere," Chuck said.
     "Well, why don't we find them, then," Slip said.

     "So good to see you again, Lauren," Tony said. "I see you made a new friend."
     "What's it to ya, Anthony?" Lauren asked
     "Oh, now is that any way to talk to your former fiancé?" he asked.
     "Oop, stuck in the middle of things again. I'll just be leavin' then," Sach said, then started for the door.
     "Sorry, pal, but I'd suggest you stick around for a while," Scott said. "Why don'tcha have a seat, it could be a while."
     They sat down.
     "Fiancé?" Sach asked.
     Lauren rolled her eyes. "Former fiancé, yeah, guess I left that part out."

     "They couldn't've just vamoosed into thin air," Slip said, leaning against the wall.
     "Where could they have gone?" WHitey asked.
     "I'm wonderin' if they got caught," Gabe said.
     "I think we have a winner," Slip said.

     "Boss, there's a group of guys in the hall. Looks like they're snoopin' around," Scott said.
     Lauren and Sach exchanged looks.
     "Probably lookin' for these two," Tony said, motioning to them.
     "We've gotta figure a way to let the others know we're here," Lauren whispered.
     "I got it," Sach said, then paused. "HELP!!!"

     "What was that?" Butch asked.
     "I know that howl anywhere! C'mon," Slip said.

     "I think I'm deaf in this ear now," Lauren muttered.
     "Sorry," Sach said.
     "Can I plug 'em, boss?" Scott asked.
     The door flew open and the fellas came in.
     "You'll plug 'em over our dead bodies! Routine two!" Slip called out.
     The group rushed the two gangsters.
     "Give 'em a right, a left, another right..." Sach cheered.
     "Cheer later. We've gotta get Sarah," Lauren said, then went over and tried the door. "Locked." She knocked on the door. "Sarah?"
     "Lauren?"
     "It's me. Can you open the door from in there... what'm I asking?" Lauren said.
     "Nope."
     "Let's break in the door," Lauren suggested.
     "You mean we can try," Sach corrected.
     "Are you kiddin'?" Slip asked, coming over. "Why not use this key I got here." He turned the key and opened the door.
     "Chief, you're always so resourceful," Sach commented.
     "It's about time," Sarah said. She crossed her arms. "Wonderful guy you almost married, there, Lauren."
     "Married?" Slip asked. "Do tell."
     "Thanks alot, Sarah," Lauren said, then rolled her eyes. "That was the other reason they were after us. The poor moron couldn't stand that I dumped him."
     "That's my girl!" sach said, then draped an arm around her shoulders.

     "So, lemme get this straight, it's your uncle who owes those mugs money, hmmmm?" Slip said, then crossed his arms.
     "Exactly, but it's been a while since I've seen him. Apparently, those mooks haven't seen him lately either since they thought I'd be an easier target and boy were they wrong!" Lauren said. "I just wanna get out of this."
     "Too bad they ran before the cops showed up," Gabe said.
     "An' we found 'em once already, so now we hafta find 'em again," Slip said.
     "All this planning's makin' me hungry," Sach said.
     "Me, too," Lauren said.
     "Two of a kind, these two," Slip said, jerking his thumb at them.
     "Louie, get us a round of banana splits, will ya?" Sach called.
     "Not until your tab is below being tabbed out," Louie responded.
     "This is where I step in," Lauren said. She pulled out a money purse. "Louie, could you come here, please?"
     Louie went over to their table. "What can I do for you, dear?"
     She pulled out a small wad of money. "This should cover the ice cream and part of the boys' tab." She handed him the money.
     Louie took it and opened the wad. "I'll get the ice cream right away!" He stumbled his way to behind the counter.
     Slip's jaw dropped.
     "Careful, Chief, you're almost touchin' the floor," Sach admonished.
     "My eyes must be receivin' me. How much did you just give him… if you don't mind the inversion?" Slip said.
     "About thirty bucks," Lauren answered.
     "Louie'll need to go to the bank for this," Chuck commented.
     "And he'll want an armored car for it," Whitey added.
     "It'll be nice havin' a goil around," Slip said, then added, "in our little gang, that is."
     "Really?" Lauren asked. "That's great! Thanks, Slip!"
     "Yeah, yeah, just don't get all slushy on me," Slip said. "Anyway, we gotta figure a way to scare up enough dough to clear your uncle's debt or else we'll prob'ly be seein' a lot of those two joiks. How much is that tab, anyway?"
     "Well, it's a little out of my range, otherwise I'd give it to them, but I don't feel like being broke… although you fellas make it rather inviting," she said.
     "Ya know som'en, Lauren, ya talk too good," Slip said.
     "'Course she does! She's a college girl, ain't she," Sach said.
     "Thank you so much for the newsflash, Eagle Beak," Slip said.
     "Eagle Beak!?" Sach said. "Lemme at 'im, I'll hit 'im with his own hat!"
     Lauren held him back. "Down, Sach, down." She laughed "Why am I holding you back? You're doing a great job of it yourself." She smiled at him.
     Sach sat back, crossed his arms, and pouted.
     "Back to the matter, how much do we need to scare up?" Slip asked.
     "Let's see, if I pay what I can afford… about 500 bucks is what we need," Lauren replied.
     "Five hundred clams, huh," Slip repeated.
     "We could go fishin'," Sach suggested.
     Slip slugged him with his hat. "Shuddup an' lemme think awhile."
     "Why even pay those jerks? They were probably running and illegal racket, anyway," Sarah spoke up.
     "Already tried it, remember. The cops couldn't find 'conclusive evidence'. What do they want, a full blown confession?" Lauren said.
     Slip snapped his fingers. "That's it! We find out their racket, get into it, and get some intrusive evidence on 'em."
     "Conclusive," Sarah corrected.
     "I was usin' the past tense," Slip said.
     "Sounds like a plan to me," Lauren said, then sat back. "Let's see, when my uncle borrowed the money, Tony was… hm…"
     "Bothering us, in general," Sarah said.
     "I know that. I'm trying to remember what type of gambling it was," Lauren said. "I'm thinking dice games, but I'm not sure."
     "We need to know what they're up to now," Slip said.
     "Why don't we go an' ask 'em?" Sach suggested.
     "An' maybe ask 'em to beat us up while we're there, too," Slip said, sarcastically. "But if we found 'em, they'd lead us to their racket…"
     "I hope it's tennis!" Sach said.
     Slip backhanded him. "Knock it off."
     "Getting' tricky," Sach said.
     "Alright, we go find those joiks again and receive the needed clues to tip off the cops," Slip said.
     "Great," Lauren said.
     "Maybe you two goils oughtta stay here this time… it ain't easy tryin' to sneak around with a small army behind ya," Slip said.
     "Fine with me. We'll hold down the fort," Sarah said.
     "Okay, I guess so," Lauren agreed, grudgingly.
     "I'll stay, too," Sach said.
     "If you stay here, Sach, then who will I hide behind?" Slip asked.

     "Ain't much to woik with here," Slip said. "Turn this place upsidedown, there's gotta be som'en." He paused. "An' keep the noise to a mediocre volume!" He looked around. "Sach!?"
     Sach walked up behind him. "You called, Chiefy?"
     "Don't sneak up on me like that, it ain't good for my noives! Go out in the hall and watch for any superstitious people," Slip said.
     "Yessir," Sach said, then saluted. He went to the door and turned back. "Oh, Chief, it's 'suspicious' people." He turned and went out into the hall.
     "Slip, there's nothin' left here," Chuck said.
     "There's gotta be som'en here to lead us to 'em," Slip said. "If only we could figure out where they left that som'en."

     "I cannot believe there has been another disturbance up here."
     A man in a well-tailored suit and a policeman had just stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the room the boys were searching.
     "Let me handle this. Just keep watch," the well-dressed man said. He walked over to Sach, who was sitting on the floor, playing jacks. "Excuse me, but what do you think you are doing?'
     "Oop! You made me miss my five-sies! ...Me? What'd I do?" Sach said.
     "There is no one else here, is there or *is* there?" the man said.
     "Yeah, there is, there's a cop over there," Sach argued and pointed at the cop standing half way down the hall. "He's no one else."
     The man sighed. "Are you waiting for someone?"
     "Hey, you know those two guys that were in this room?" Sach asked, standing up.
     "The two gentlemen who work at the Blue Flacon, yes, I know them. Why?" the man asked.
     "Well, the next time ya see 'em, tell 'em I said 'hi'," Sach said, then went back in the room, slamming the door in the man's face.
     "Get reinforcements," the man said to the cop.

     "Whaddaya want now," Slip asked.
     "Find any clues yet?" Sach asked.
     "Nothin'," Butch replied.
     "We've turned this place upsidedown," Gabe said.
     "And inside out," Whitey added.
     "This is startin' to get very irrigatin'," Slip said.
     "Oh, Chief?" Sach said.
     "*What*?" Slip asked, loudly.
     "Ya don't hafta yell, but if you're lookin' for your voice it's in my ear," Sach replied, then added, "I found out those two crooks work at the Blue Falcon."
     "Why didn't ya say that in the foist place?" Slip asked.
     "Ya didn't ask me and I didn't know if ya already knew or not," Sach said.
     "I'd belt ya, but I feel more declined to get to that club and belt those two joiks," Slip said.

     "Alright, you guys stay out here and wait for the signal," Slip said.
     "Yeah, I'll give ya a nice loud scream for help," Sach added.
     "C'mon," Slip said and dragged Sach inside.

     Lauren and Sarah joined the rest of the guys outside the club.
     "What're you two doin' here?" Gabe asked.
     "We went to the cops," Sarah said.
     "We explained the whole thing and they should be here any minute now," Lauren said.
     "Wait, how'd you know they were here?" Chuck asked.
     "We asked the hotel manager," Sarah said.
     "Think we outta go in and tell Slip?" Butch asked.
     Lauren pointed down the street. "No time, here come the cops."

     "Had to call in the cops so soon, hmmmmm?" Slip asked.
     "Yeah, we just about had 'em, too," Sach said, then pouted.
     "Sorry, fellas, but I was getting tired of waiting," Lauren said.
     "That's goils for ya. Always so inherent. Can't wait for nutin'," Slip said.
     "We're impatient? I'm surprised the rest of you aren't hounding Sarah," Lauren commented, tossing her friend a look.
     "I wanted them to decide," Sarah argued. "I really wanted to watch them fight over me."
     Lauren glared at her.
     "Do I *have* to?" Sarah asked.
     Lauren nodded, a smile forming slowly on her face.
     "Alright," Sarah said, grudgingly, "but I'm gonna get you for this." She turned to the other fellas, then said, "Well, considering *I* was the English major..." She went over to Slip.
     "Me?!" Slip said, sounding rather high-pitched. "I knew it." He smiled.
     "Why Slip?" Lauren asked.
     "His flair for the English language, obliviously," Sarah said, then winked.

THE END