The next day no one said anything about the woman or the door.

Things go fine at Vixens the next two weeks go relatively fine. One of the girls has a problem with her dealer that spirals. Other then that just the regular stuff.

Then early in the night as your scanning the club the red head is back and you know she didn't go past you.

    Dean knew that Cindy had problems.  Broken home, some bad life choices, and definitely some mental health issues.  She was trying though, but she had fallen off the wagon and was back into the drugs.  The dealer, a local called Baron, was trying to het her to hook for him, and he was using the drugs to do it.  Dean found him slapping her around in the back alley for money she owed him, and got into it with the guy.  Dean slapped him back, disrespected him, and sent him on his way.  Baron left issuing death threats to Dean, and threatening other things to Cindy.  It was only a matter of time before the asshole came back, so Dean moved quickly.  Cindy needed to dry out, so he dragged her to the local hospital and got her Baker Acted.  Involuntary seventy two hour medical hold, renewable if the doctor saw fit.  She was pissed, but it would at least get her some medical help and a chance to get through her DT's.  He used about half his savings to get her a room in a different section of town, paid it three months in advance.  When the Baker Act ended, he sprung for her rehab  He and Jill moved all her stuff, went through and got rid of any drug paraphernalia.  He left some brochures from the local community college with a note saying that if she decided to go, he'd pay for it for two years provided she kept a C average or better.  It was a one shot deal at a better life for her.  Now it would be her choice.

  Then came the redhead one night.  Not through the entry.  Maybe she had been there somewhere before he came on shift, but he was sure he would have noticed her sooner.  Figures that Jill had taken the night off to write a paper.  He scans the crowd, has Dixie get him a drink to bring over, and pulls up a chair again as he places down the drink in front of her.

  "Millenia.  Long time, no see.  How's things?"

Millenia seems to be humming along to something when Dean sits down. Her eyes flicker to him.
"Hello handsome, has it really been that long ?" She offers a warm smile.

Seeing the drink she looks to him, "For me ? Careful some might suspect you a gentleman."

  “Two weeks since you left me sitting here staring at the door all night.  You’ll have to show me the trick to opening it some time.  You and Rocco really got us good.”

  He laughs when she calls him a gentleman.  Apparently she wasn’t familiar with that particular drink on sight.  “Oh, I don’t think anyone around the Quarter will ever mistake me for that.  Not by a long shot.”

  He waits until she’s tried the drink.  Vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice, of course with a skewered cherry.

  “Like it?”

Millenia gives him an odd little look.
"Who is Rocco ?" Her face shows instant engagement instead of passive interest.

She lifts the glass downing it till the glass is empty. "It's good, though I am not a big fan of Vodka, thank you though."

She looks distant a moment, "Two weeks, yes that sounds about right, I am not really good with time, thanks for the reminder. You really stared at the door all night ? I should have told you I wouldn't be back this way for a while."

"Ok, you bought me some drinks, what is on your mind ?"

In reply to Millenia (msg # 44):

  “Rocco owns the place, and I assume he was the one who put you up to opening the door.  Maybe he didn’t give his name when he hired you.  Heavy set, swarthy guy, wears a lot of gold chains...ring any bells?”

  She doesn’t let on that she knows him.  Okay, maybe he used an intermediary.  He watches her down the drink.

  Dean nods to the glass.  “It’s called Sex on the Beach.  Told ya I’m not much of a gentleman.”

  He smiles, “Well, a very beautiful woman manages to get in here without me seeing her enter, opens the door and exits into what looks to be a ballroom but can’t possibly be just based on the size of the building, and then pops up here again two weeks later.  Color me intrigued, Millenia.  Who are you, and how did you do it?”

Millenia nods slowly, "I know his type, if I don't know him specifically."

"Lot's of Rocco's running hooch in Miami." She smiles slyly, "Nice name for the drink, is that what it is supposed to result in ?"

She gives him a really odd look this time, "I am Millenia, you already know that but the second thing I can show you if you would like." She gets up and then says, "You should warn your friend." She looks to the dancer, "Her heel is about to give out." She then walks over to the door waiting by it.

  Dean looks over. “Hey Carla, check your shoe.”

  He then follows the redhead to the door.  He wanted to see what the trick to opening it was.

Carla looks down and checks her shoe and one of her heels is indeed loose and looks ready to come off. Carla shakes her head, "Thanks eagle eyes."

She heads to change into new heels.


Millenia says, "Ok, it is pretty simple you just grab the handle turns it clockwise and pull it open." The door opens a bit.

"See."

  Dean let’s out a laugh.

  “I and at least a few thousand others have tried exactly that.  You are the only one that I have ever seen open it.”

  He looks at her hand to see if maybe she was wearing a ring, or a bracelet that would signal what had to be a mag lock to release.  Or maybe it was in her bag

“May I?”  He asks, reaching for the door...

She does have a ring or two no wedding ring.

She waits for him to put his hand on the knob. She then steps back.

The Door instantly starts to shut as if someone was pulling on the other side someone like The Hulk, or Thor.

Millenia said, "Be good."

The Door went slack and stopped closing on Dean. He isn't able to open it further then it is but it stays open to the point it is at and has ceased closing.

The same large hall with paintings and crystal chandeliers is beyond. A bright white hall and  definitely larger then what should be on the other side of the door.

  Dean considered wedging a foot into the door, but decided against it just from the force he felt closing it.  He looked through, blinked, looked again.

  “Ok, what gives?  This isn’t supposed to be...can’t be here.”

  He hadn’t drank anything, so she couldn’t have drugged him.  He looks again, then looks at her, clearly waiting for an explanation.

"Why is that ?" She looks under his arm.

"Why, what do you see ? Your not one of those odd writers hopped up on opium are you ?"

Opium?? What the heck was she taking about?

  “Never touch the stuff, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m losing my marbles.  This was, where the door is, should lead into a storeroom or something.  But that room...that’s bigger then the whole building.  And why cantI pull the door open more?”

"Well, it is a special door a capital D, door. There are only about five of them on this continent. So you see something larger then should be on the other side, could you describe it to me though. This part is important."

She opened it a bit more and it stayed open at the new position.

  “It’s a really big, white ballroom, with paintings and crystal chandeliers....sorta like the final scene from Beauty and the Beast.  Why, do you see something different?”
This message was last edited by the player at 06:33, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

"You can see it as it is." Millenia has a rather shocked look.

"Now do you have to be here ?"

In the background the pounding music of  Daddies Girl plays as Carla spins about the pole to admirers. Some bills raining down on the stage.

  Dean scans the crowd.  While it doesn't look like there are any serious troublemakers in the crowd, potential disaster was always just one-too-many beers away.  He looks back through the door.

  "Yeah, I kinda gotta be, at least until I can get one of the other bouncers to come in and cover me.  I'm all these girls have to keep them safe, y'now?  If you can give me like an hour, I should be able to get someone in..."

  He pulls out his phone and sends a text to the other two bouncers that worked the club.  Hopefully one of them was free and could come finish up for him.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

She nods, "Understandable."

Millenia waits and gets herself a drink nursing it.


As Dean is at the door a few girls come over and look through the door.

  "Finally!"  Dean says, making the call to the one that texted him back.


  "Bobby?  Yeah, need you to cover me till closing, man, something came up.  Yeah, soon as you can get here.  Thanks bro, I owe you one."

 He sends a text to Jill.  RED IS BACK! SHE OPENED THE DOOR AGAIN!  GONNA CHECK IT OUT!  CALL YOU LATER!

  Dean nods to Millenia. "He'll be here in twenty minutes.  Soon as he gets here I'm free."

  He asks one of the dancers, Barb, what she saw when she looked in through the door.

Barb gives Dean a strange look like he is crazy for asking and walks through the door he is holding. Just like that, like someone changed a channel. The white brightly lit hall with paintings vanished and a dark small closet with tools and old items on wooden shelves snapped into place. There was a safe in there too. Barbra says, "Uhm just a lot of old junk, don't know what is in the safe though."

Jill texts back wait for her she wants to see what is in there.

  Dean dials Jill's number and hands his phone to Barb to tell her what she saw.  She saw what he had expected was there, minus the safe, he decided to let her tell it, even maybe send her a pic.  He didn't want her to race down there just to find that Dean had had a little mental break with reality.

  From there it was a waiting game.  Waiting for Bobby, unless Jill still decided to come and got there first.

Barbara shrugs but takes some selfies and one of Dean holding the door open.
She hands him back his phone. "Kind of anticlimactic really."

Bobby will show up.
"Sup Dean, feeling sick or something ?"

Jill hadn't arrived yet or texted his phone.

  Dean smiles and gives Bobby a firm handshake.  "Nah man, just something came up.  Redhead over there at the bar, man, she opened the freakin' door, dude.  I'm trying to figure out what the setup is on this.  Gotta be Rocco playin' me, man, but it was a slick setup so I'm gonna go along with it and see where she wants to take me."

  He nods at the patrons. "Nothing going down here today, but you heard about that thing between me and that asshat Baron, right?  Well, try not to get in the middle of it.  I don't trust that little shit as far as I can kick him, and I think he's gonna try something shitty with me.  I'm not worried, I'll beat his ass if he does anything to anyone from the club.  Anyway, I know Jill wanted to see what's going on with the door, so I'm trying to give her time to get here if she's coming.  I don't know if she is or not though.  If I'm off before she gets here, tell her I tried to wait for her." 

  Dean pulls out the copy of the schedule from his jacket pocket, looks at it. "I'm off for the next 2 days, so maybe a fun weekend ahead for me.  We'll see though.  Anyway, thanks again.  You need me to cover you whenever, just say the word."

Bobby shakes his head, "Baron, little piss is bad news. Thinks he is five times his size because he carries. I see him I'll give the NOPD a call. Always leaches like that around the girls."

He looks around, "She opened the door ? I mean I can see it's open but her ? How ?"
He shakes his head not believing it since like you he tried his hand at opening it many times.

"Yeah I'll let you know if I want a night off, picking up extra hours and cash ain't that bad though."


Jill shows up about five minutes later dressed more like she was studying then anything else. She moves over to the door.