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The Queen of Hearts

Chapter two

It was an hour later when he was dropped back off at the street corner with one hundred and fifty dollars stuffed into his bag. It had been hard to leave the hotel and go back out into the cold, but he had been anxious to leave the client behind and get back to the people he knew.

Jamie had returned by the time he got back and as soon as the client drove off, he crossed to the boy, wrapping arms around his slender form.

“Hey Jay,” he said softly, resting his head on the other’s shoulder. “Sorry I wasn’t here to see the client…I know he’s a bad guy.”

The particular client Jamie had seen for him was one that had taken to visiting him regularly. He was quite an old guy, in his late fifties, Madison suspected, and he liked nothing more than pretty teenage boys that he could tie to his bed and fuck. He actually took them to his home, which was pretty rare, but he didn’t seem to care.

Madison hated the guy. The client liked to abuse him by pushing toys that were too big into him or gagging him and binding his hands tightly. One time he had invited four of his friends over and they’d taken turns in fucking Madison as he lay tied to the bed and gagged so he couldn’t voice his discomfort. Still, he wouldn’t dare drop the client, he paid five hundred dollars for that one night and always paid well every time he turned up.

“It’s okay Maddy,” Jamie answered, petting his hair softly. “How was your guy?”

“Forceful. Gunna have damn bruises on my hips for a while now.”

Rob approached and the three of them moved to sit on a low wall and have a cigarette. There were two other boys there, but they stood huddled together, not really too bothered about talking to the three of them. Madison didn’t blame them, they probably just wanted to get work over and done with so they could go home.

“How long do you think we’ll be here for?” Jamie asked, shivering suddenly in the cold and pulling Madison closer for warmth. The two of them really were best friends, they were comfortable doing anything and everything with each other. They’d slept together when they were younger, and they did now and then, but since they started doing it for a living, it didn’t seem special anymore. Still, Jamie was the closest thing Madison had ever had to a boyfriend.

“Pretty slow tonight,” Rob answered, taking a long drag from the cigarette. “Probably only for another hour. The winter months suck, I’m so strapped for cash right through until late spring. Unless I get a party to go to.”

Parties were quite rare, but they paid well. One of them would collect the others up and they would attend a party, where groups of men got together to drink and just fuck. Rob seemed to be good at finding them and he often asked both Jamie and Madison along with him. They each went away with three hundred for the night and they got to spend it in the warmth so they didn’t care.

“That reminds me, I got a party in a fortnight. Guy says he wants two more, you guys wanna come?”

“Yeah. Could do.” Madison looked up as a car rolled by, but it didn’t stop, just carried on up the hill. It really was a slow night, one of those lazy days in the middle of winter when men couldn’t be bothered to go out and pick up a hooker. Maddox also hated the winter months, when his horde of whores would bring him much less money than normal.

Madison looked up again as a car started down the hill and then suddenly froze.

“Shit! Cops!”

The five boys instantly scattered, the other two running off round the corner while Jamie, Rob and Madison crossed the street, walking at a brisk pace away from the scene. True, the most the cops would do was hold them for the night, but they didn’t want to spend the night in the cells.

The car turned the corner and came after them and Rob and Jamie picked up their pace, unaware that Madison was lagging behind. He was about to start running after them when the car pulled alongside him and a man wound down the window.

Madison carried on walking, barely glancing at the man, but not walking fast enough that the cop would think he was trying to run.

“Can’t be getting much business on such a cold night, hm?” the cop asked him and Madison just shook his head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me kid. Get in the car.”

The cop stopped the police car and Madison considered running, but he stopped himself. Running would only increase the charges- if he cooperated, it would all be over and done with as quickly as possible. With a sigh, he stopped and turned back to the officer that had climbed out of the car. The man moved to open the back door and Madison slid into the vehicle, wincing as the cop slammed the door shut.

As they drove down the road, Madison looked for Jamie and Rob, but they were long gone, most likely dived into some alley to avoid being picked up. He wasn’t angry at them for leaving him, it was sort of a code between them, he knew he would be fine and it was better for them to get away without incident.

“What’s your name, kid?” the cop asked, turning the car onto the long road that would lead to the station. Madison was pretty sure that he thought he was a girl, which might work in his favour. The cops tended to go easier on the females, treating them a little better when they brought them in.

“Madison Fisher.”

“Age?”

“Nineteen.”

The man grunted and fell silent, keeping an eye on him through the rear view mirror as he drove to the police station. It wasn’t a rare occurrence to pick up a hooker working the streets in the late hours of the day. The cops knew where they tended to congregate and on days when they had nothing better to do, they would drive out looking for any to pick up. Madison had been taken to the station only once before, when he first started- they’d cautioned him, but he was back out on the street the next day. None of them knew why the police bothered to take them in, it made no difference.

The station was quite empty when they reached it, only a cop standing behind a desk when they entered the building.

“Name? Age?” the cop sighed, taking a form out from under the desk.

“Madison Fisher, nineteen.”

He glanced at the man that had brought Madison in. “For prostitution, I assume?”

The cop nodded and Madison was instructed to surrender his bag and any items he had in his pockets. He did so without fuss.

“I’ll leave her in your capable hands, Dawson, I got some more patrolling to do.”

“Okay. Take a seat miss.”

Madison moved to sit down on one of the plastic chairs, crossing one of his legs over the other. As he suspected, they thought he was a girl, which was fine until they pulled up his details.

He sat for some time, growing more and more bored until at last a man stepped into the waiting area, looking at him over a pile of paper in his hands. He was tall, almost six feet, and slim, with a head of shaggy, blond hair and bright, blue eyes. His face was soft, almost too soft for a cop, but his crisp, clean suit and intelligent eyes made up for it.

“Madison Fisher?”

He spoke with a pronounced English accent, in a smooth, rich tone that made him seem rather cultured. Madison guessed from his suit that he was a detective.

“Yeah.”

“Follow me, please.”

He rose to his feet slowly, following the man into the back of the station where a radiator was on and it was nice and warm. He was lead through to an interview room and sat down at a table.

“Can I get you a drink before we start?” the detective asked, and Madison nodded.

“Coffee…please.”

It was a few minutes before the man returned, placing a plastic cup in front of him.

“Coffee machine didn’t want to make it for you.”

Madison forced a half smile, watching the detective sit down opposite him, fiddling with a machine on the table. He started through the formalities, and the boy just sat, listened and occasionally nodded.

“I’m Detective Zach Todd,” the detective told him finally. “I’m one of the only ones in the station right now, so they asked me to interview you. I looked over your file and I must say, I’m impressed. You pull off the look very well.”

Madison couldn’t help but smile softly, sipping the hot coffee the man had brought him. “Those other cops thought I was a girl.”

“I daresay I would still if I hadn’t read your file.”

“I’ve had a lot of time to perfect the look.”

Madison sat and listened as Detective Todd read over the forms he had with him, telling him why he was there and that he would be detained for the night in one of the cells.

“Do you have anyone you want to call?” the man asked and Madison just shrugged.

“Not really. The people I live with will probably know I’m here by now.”

“Well then, follow me please.”

The interview done, Madison was lead out of the room and down towards the cells. He was given a blanket and he clutched it to his thin chest as he walked, feeling the temperature drop as they reached the cells. They were all empty and he was shown to one just inside the entrance.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Detective Todd told him as he entered, “I’ll be back to let you out in the morning. Then we’ll go over a few things, understand?”

“Yes, detective.”

“Good boy.”

Madison sighed as the door was pushed closed and he heard the sound of the detective locking it securely. The cell was small, dark and incredibly depressing, with nothing but a simple ledge just big enough for him to curl up on. He did so, pulling the blanket up around him in an attempt to keep out the cold and just lay in silence.

As he lay, he had time to think things over, to really wonder if it was all worth it. He had spent the night cold and miserable, then he was fucked by a man he didn’t want anywhere near him, and then he had ended up in jail. But tomorrow he would go back home and then when the evening came, he would be out on the street again. It was a tough and boring life…he wished there was something else he could do, but there wasn’t. He was fated to be a whore for as long as men would be interested in him.

That was the main thought that stuck with him as he lay there. It was early into the morning when he finally drifted off, cold, sore and uncomfortable for a few hours of sleep before he would be woken up once more.

Madison was awoken early the next morning by the clanging of the metal door to the cell. His eyes opened sleepily, trying to focus as Detective Todd entered the cell, crouching down on the floor next to where he lay.

“Time to wake up Mr Fisher.”

The man laid a hand on his arm as he struggled out of sleep and eventually sat up, yawning widely. The detective was being surprisingly nice to him considering he was a criminal, not harsh like some of them were with the people they brought in. Madison found himself attracted to the handsome, blond policeman, happy that he’d had him to deal with for the night instead of some fat old cop.

Detective Todd stepped back as Madison rose to his feet, then took his arm to lead him out of the cell. There were a few more forms to fill in which they did so as quickly as possible. It was all formality, something he’d been taken through before and still remembered distinctly. The first time he hadn’t been so lucky, he’d ended up with a nasty cop that had treated him rather roughly.

“Well you’re free to go, Mr Fisher. Your friend is waiting for you out the front.”

The detective’s hand was at the small of his back as he was lead out of the interview room towards the front of the station. As they reached the lobby, he saw Jamie sitting on a chair, flicking through a magazine on the table in front of him, which he dropped when he noticed Madison.

“Mr Fisher,” Detective Todd spoke, just before he left, “You seem like a smart boy, don’t think prostituting yourself is the only way to earn money. I don’t want to see you brought here again, understood?”

The man almost seemed like he cared and Madison smiled wryly before nodding.

“I’ll try my best to avoid that,” he replied, shaking the cop’s hand before moving over to Jamie, hugging him suddenly.

“Oh I’m so glad to see you Jamie, how did you know to be here?”

The boy grinned, taking his hand and leading him out of the station and onto the street. It was a brisk, cold morning, the streets almost empty at the early time of the morning and the two walked quickly, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

“I’ve been at the station a few times before, knew this was the usual time they let you out.”

“God Jamie,” Madison sighed, pulling the other boy closer as they walked, “You’re the best friend I could ever ask for. Was Maddox mad I wasn’t there to give him money?”

“Yeah,” Jamie replied, reaching up to brush dark, brown bangs out of his face. “He was demanding money, I gave him some of mine for you, but he said he wants the rest tonight. How much did you end up earning last night?”

“Hundred and fifty bucks.” Madison sighed again. “Thanks Jamie, you’re a good friend…always got my back.”

“I know you got mine too, Maddy.”

It wasn’t long before they reached their home and the two shuffled in, glad to be home. Alysia was in the kitchen when they arrived, cooking breakfast. He was tall, with long, blond hair that fell in soft curls down his back and dark, green eyes. Alysia had taken the decision some years before to dress permanently as a girl and he seemed to always look good. That morning, he was dressed in a warm, cream jumper and hip hugging jeans that looked good on his long, slim legs.

“Welcome back Madison,” the blond said, not turning from his cooking. Jamie moved to help while Madison sunk into a chair at the table, sighing softly. “How was the cell?”

“Cold.”

“Cops treat you okay?”

“I guess.”

“You sound fed up, hun,” Alysia noted, placing the plates on the table before sitting down opposite Madison. “Want to talk?”

“I just don’t want to sleep with guys for money anymore.”

Jamie sat down next to him, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. He knew how the boy felt, the two of them had often talked about how much they wanted to get out.

“I can see if there’s a job going at the club if you want?” Alysia asked.

Madison sighed. “I can’t. Maddox wouldn’t let me quit.”

He took a few bites of the breakfast- eggs, bacon, juicy tomatoes and mushrooms, but his appetite was low. He forced himself to swallow as much as he could before he pushed it away.

“I’m going to go have a bath.”

Madison was happy to enter his bedroom, seeing the familiar bed, his clothes strewn across the room and the mess he was used to. He stripped off the clothing he was wearing, throwing it on the floor and walking naked to the bathroom. His hair was pulled down from the pigtails and it draped down his back, brushing gently against his skin.

It was a few minutes later when he sank into the bath with a deep sigh. The water was extremely hot, just how he liked it and he’d used nearly half a bottle of bubble bath, filling the tub with piles of white foam.

He sat sideways in the large tub, dangling his legs over the edge, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. As he suspected, it was only a few minutes before he heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs and then two heads peered round the door.

“Room for two more?” Jamie asked and Madison cracked open his eyes and nodded, giving the two as much of a smile as he could manage. The two stripped off their clothes quickly and slipped into the bath next to him, one on each side.

Jamie wrapped his arms around Madison and laid his head on the boy’s shoulder. “We worry about you, Maddy,” he said softly, slowly stroking his friend’s side beneath the water soothingly. “You’ve been really down lately.”

“I’m just fed up with life…I’ve never done anything that I’m proud of.”

“Oh honey,” Alysia took hold of his hand, “You should be proud of the fact that you’re still here…after everything you’ve been through…you’ve showed such strength.”

“I don’t want to do it anymore.”

He was crying. He hadn’t cried in a long time- he always forced back his tears. But after a night in the station, and strangely, the kindness of the detective, he’d had time to think about his life. He wanted so badly to get out, but Maddox would never let him go, not when he was making money.

Madison raised his hand to rub it across his eyes, trying to wipe away his tears.

“Maddy, don’t cry…” Jamie stroked his hair softly, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“I don’t want to do it Jamie.”

He fell silent, laying his head back and letting his arms drop down to his sides. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so down, when he did the same hated job night after night. Usually, he would grin and bear it, knowing he had to do it to get by, but something about being caught by the police had really hit him.

Alysia had brought up a newspaper with him and he picked it up to read, flicking to an interesting article as he sat back in the bath. It was a usual thing for them to do once or twice a week, gathering in the bath with the paper or a magazine that they’d read through together. It was nice to take a break from their lives and just relax.

“Hey, you two,” Alysia spoke suddenly, causing the other two to look round at him, “Listen to this…they found a body over in West Town, an eighteen year old boy who they found out had been working the streets for eighteen months. It says it was the second murder that happened in the same way…the victim was sexually assaulted, tortured and then drowned until he died. His body was dumped in an alleyway naked, holding a playing card…the Jack of Diamonds. The first one had the Jack of Clubs. It says there’s an ongoing investigation, but no leads have been found.”

Madison sat up and took the paper from Alysia’s hands, scanning through the article quickly.

“Max Tanner…Chris Fuller…I know both these boys…I knew them anyway. They’re both…dead?”

“How’d you know them?” Jamie asked, moving to rest his head on Madison’s shoulder, reading the article with him.

“I did a party with them once…”

“You two…this isn’t good.” Alysia took the paper and folded it up before placing it on the closed toilet lid. “There’s a killer out there targeting prostitutes…West Town isn’t that far away, what if he starts on this area?”

Madison frowned, suddenly climbing out of the bath, wrapping a towel round his waist and leaving the room. The job was hard enough as it was without having to worry about a killer on the loose. Hopefully, as long as he stuck with the others, there would be nothing to worry about.

Madison towelled off and climbed into bed, happy to curl up under the covers and get his head down. After a night in the dark, uncomfortable cell, it felt good to be back at home- he would try to catch some sleep before going back to work that evening.

As he was just drifting off, the door opened and a moment later, the cover behind him was lifted and a warm body pressed against his back. Jamie had slipped a pair of shorts on after getting out of the bath, but his skin still felt damp. He moved close, wrapping his arms around Madison and nuzzling his wet hair.

“It’s going to be okay, Maddy,” he whispered, “I’m going to look after you.”

Madison didn’t answer, just shifted back closer to Jamie, twining his fingers with the boy’s.

He fell asleep feeling safe for once, happy and comfortable within Jamie’s arms.

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