Characters:
Narrator
Macy Hayes
Paige
Julian
Johnny Vasquez
Stella Decker
Tasha
Mama Wang
Doctor

Narr: Macy Hayes had woken up about three hours ago in Paige’s apartment. The first thing she’d seen was Paige’s face, followed by Julian’s. Having spent the last few days in a brainwashed and insane state, the last thing Macy remembered was Lexi cutting off the little toe of her left foot. After calming her down, Paige and Julian filled her in to the best of their ability. Macy had a hard time swallowing all of the terrible things she did, so Paige brought up her recorded files on her computer. Now, curled up on Paige’s futon, she absent-mindedly fingered the stump where her toe had been while she was assaulted with the sounds of her forgotten experiences.

(from tape, drip of water)

Macy: One thousand nine hundred and eighty-two.

Lexi: Lansberg’s not Company, Macy. He’s not even private security. He’s just some Mafioso who wants to have you as a hired hand. He’s paying me to break you. Good thing we went through torture prep together, right? I know all the things you hate. I know all the things that make…you…freak.

(drip of water)

Macy: One thousand nine hundred and eighty-three.

(drip of water)

Macy: One thousand nine hundred and eighty-four.

(click of a mouse or something)

Macy: (taken aback) How…how could this happen? Not Lexi. Not my Lexi. But Lansberg, I knew he was trouble. Could he have brainwashed her too? How can such a close…partner…be so cruel? Gosh, I’m so ashamed.

Narr: Paige shot a questioning glance at Julian.

McGuiness: She really should know.

Macy: Should know what?

Paige: It’s going to be rough, hon. But Jules is right. You need to hear this.

(click of mouse)

Macy: Oh Lexi, how romantic. You always know what revs my engine.

Lexi: I’ve always known you better than you know yourself.

Macy: When are we supposed to meet with Lansberg?

Lexi: We have a lunch date with him in about an hour and a half.

Macy: That gives us a little time to play cops and robbers.

Lexi: The only one who has to be jealous around here is Stella.

Macy: Stella who?

(click of mouse)

Macy: Oh…oh god! What have I done, Jules? How could I…and she was faithful to me and I get jealous when some bimbo seduces her and she kisses that dumb blonde…how could I…

McGuiness: It’s not your fault, Mace.

Paige: Listen, hon. They brainwashed you. Lexi took advantage of you. Stella will understand.

Macy: Oh god, Stella! (starts crying)

Paige: Sssshhhh. There, there.

Macy: (still kind of crying) Jules. Jules, we have to get Stella. It’s time for her to know, this has gotten way out of hand. I have to tell her…I have to see her. We have to get this thing straightened out, but I don’t have my wits about me, and I need Stella. I…I want Stella.

McGuinnes: (ribbing her) Stella who?

Macy: You are so not funny.

Narr: In South tip, Mama Wang had company. Normally she would have been less than thrilled to welcome a Spider into her Home of Ill Repute, but this was Johnny Vasquez, leader of the spiders, the man who had captured and raped Stella’s ex for the past 17 years, and he was out cold. Mama had given Stella one of her underground rooms so no one, not even she, would hear what sounds came from it. Johnny Vasquez was tightly bound on the floor and just coming to. As he blinked his eyes open, his vision adjusted to reveal Stella sitting in a chair against the opposite wall.

Stella: (super sarcastic) Nice of you to join me, Johnny. I was starting to think you’d forgotten our date.

Johnny: (groans, and kind of mumbles) What…what the hell?

Stella: So you don’t remember me, do ya Johnny. That makes me very sad. I thought we had something going.

Narr: As Johnny’s vision adjusted, he took in his surroundings. He was in a fairly large room with a bed. On the bed were all kinds of toys, things that Johnny recognized. Things he had used for evil.

Stella: I hope you don’t mind, I raided your closet, Johnny boy. Waiting for you got lonely, so I had a peek around. It’s a nice place you’ve got there. Looks like you have a lot of fun.

Johnny: (groggy, a little taken aback) St….Stella?

Stella: Well, it’s good to be remembered.

Johnny: So it’s you. You’ve slaughtered my brothers and sisters. How does it feel, puta?

Narr: Stella got up from her chair and walked over to the bed. She pulled up a black roll-out bag, and unrolled it across the bed. It contained several knives and daggers of different shapes and sizes. As she spoke, she selected a glove she had made for herself that ran four blades over the knuckles of her four fingers, effectively giving her a huge claw. She also selected a small curved dagger, which she put aside, and two different toys, which she put with her dagger.

Stella: I won’t lie to you, Vasquez. The taste of victory never ceases to be oh, so sweet. But even better than victory these days, my poor doomed friend, is the taste of revenge. I’ve been rolling it around my tongue for a few hours now, and I have to tell you it’s an incredible taste.

Narr: Stella walked over to where Johnny was hunched up against the wall, and stabbed her forefinger blade into his thigh. (He groans.) She knelt down next to him and looked him in the eye.

Stella: (hushed) Don’t ever call me a whore again, you hear me Johnny? You couldn’t dream of deserving a class act like me, and you don’t know how to treat a whore.

Narr: Stella began tracing her blades down Johnny’s right arm from shoulder to elbow.

Stella: (hushed) You were stupid to come back to your place, Vasquez. Pride always was your downfall. Did you think I’d let you go? Did you think I’d ignore the years of abuse, and disgust, and filth you heaped upon my poor, sweet, innocent Tasha?

Johnny: (hiding pain and showing pride) You women disgust me. You’re just jealous you’ve never had a real man to show you how things are done. Tasha got what she wanted, don’t let her tell you otherwise.

Narr: Stella sliced at Johnny’s face with the tips of her glove, and smacked him with her left hand.

Stella: Poor Johnny. I’m sure you don’t know what you’re in for, but I hope you’re looking forward to a taste of your own medicine.

Narr: Stella got up and walked over to the bed, where she picked up the toys she had set aside.

Stella: I will never understand what the appeal is.

Johnny: (getting a little louder, cockier, and crazier) Bring it, you Blade. You Bladess! You think you can beat Johnny Vasquez, you think you can be the downfall of the Spiders? You stupid martyr, pathetic excuse for a slasher. Do your worst, it’s all been done before.

Narr: Stella came toward Johnny with a rather large phallic symbol and her curved dagger.

Stella: The name’s Stella, dearest. I’m just reminding you so you know who to beg for mercy.

Narr: Outside the door and down the hall a ways sat Mama Wang in a red upholstered chair sipping tea. A smile broke her lips as she heard the first blood curdling scream of the night pierce the air in her underground lair. Uptown, outside the office of Decker and Hayes Detective agency, a sedan pulled up and parked near the sidewalk. Macy, Paige, and Julian emerged from it.

Macy: I’m nervous. What if I can’t look her in the face?

Paige: Who knows if she’s even here? She didn’t pick up the phone.

McGuiness: We’ll go in first, Mace. It’s going to be a bit of a shock to her to see you, let alone to find out what’s happened to you. We’ll bring her down gentle-like.

Macy: (hesitant) Well, okay. I guess you’re right.

Narr: The three went in the building, and Julian knocked on the door marked Decker and Hayes Detective Agency: The Toughest Private Dicks in Town. There was no answer, so he opened the door and took a few steps in.

McGuiness: Macy! Oh god, Macy, come quick!

Macy: What is it? Oh god! Oh no! How did this…oh god, what happened? Tommy, Tommy…what happened to you, Tommy?

Narr: Macy knelt next to Tommy’s body, which lay on the floor next to the desk in a pool of blood. Paige picked up the phone, dialed, and told the police their location.

Macy: He’s been shot! Tell them he’s been shot! I don’t think he’s breathing. I can’t find a pulse, Jules, I can’t find a pulse. Oh Tommy, who did this to you.

Paige: They’re on their way.

Narr: In the waiting room at Our Lady of Mercy…

Macy: Explain again how you…what you do again?

Paige: I record people’s conversations and background noises for the sake of helping my employers find out the truth. I’m a truth-giver.

Macy: I see. And Stella hired you?

Paige: Julian gave Stella my name a while ago when she needed to hack someone’s credit card information. I guess she liked my work.

Macy: Gosh, the secrets we keep from each other sometimes. (beat) I really love her.

Paige: I know you do. And she’s pretty nuts about you.

Macy: Jules?

McGuiness: Yeah, Mace?

Macy: You don’t think…

McGuiness: No.

Macy: It’s not even a possibility?

McGuiness: Everything is a possibility.

Macy: I don’t know how I’d live with myself…

McGuiness: You didn’t kill him, Macy. I'd already picked you up last time Paige saw him.

Macy: I shot at him before. I came so close to killing him…

McGuiness: Macy, you have to get over this. None of this is your fault, and we’ll straighten everything out. But we need you to keep your head.

Macy: You’re right. You okay, Paige?

Paige: I’ll be fine. I’m a little worried.

Narr: An ER doctor came into the waiting room.

Doctor: You’re the family of the gunshot victim?

Narr: Paige practically sprung up from her seat, and the three of them followed the doctor into the hallway for some privacy.

Doctor: I am so sorry to be the bearer of this news…

Narr: Upstairs, on the third floor, Tasha’s phone rang.

Tasha: Hello?

Stella: (on the other end) Tasha. You don’t have to worry. A Blade always has her sister’s back.

Tasha: Stel? Stella? What are you talking about? Where are you?

Stella: (tired) I’m at Mama’s. I can’t explain everything now, but I want you to get a good night’s sleep tonight. Everything’s going to be okay.

Tasha: Well okay, Stel, but I hope soon you’ll tell me what’s going on. You’re going to give me weird dreams.

Stella: I’m sorry kid. I’ll come by tomorrow and we’ll talk.

Tasha: Okay. Good night, Stella.

Stella: Good night.

Narr: Stella hung up the phone and collapsed on Mama Wang’s lap, smeared with blood and sweat. Mama smoothed her hair back slowly.

Stella: I still feel so empty, Mama.

Mama: Give it time, dear. Time will heal all.

Narr: Meanwhile, Macy, Julian, and Paige had hauled their tired and cried out bodies back to the office of Decker and Hayes, at Macy’s insistence. She knelt know around Tommy’s dried blood in the carpet, tears still streaming slowly down her cheeks.

Macy: Tommy, Tommy, my poor Tommy.

Narr: Paige sat, completely dejected, at Tommy’s desk. Suddenly, the phone rang. The three looked at each other quizzically for a moment, and Macy burst back out into tears. Paige took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

Paige: Decker and Hayes Detective Agency.

Narr: Who’s calling the girls? What will Stella do to Johnny? How will Macy find her and break the news to her? And how will all four of them figure out who Lansberg and Drake really are? Tune in for next week’s episode of Decker and Hayes: Women of the Night.