Rarity

[petal_storm]

Who: Orchid, Any
When: Several years in the future in a baaaad dystopia but not quite as bad as some.
What: Medical debt is a killer.

Some days living was a pain.

Hell, most days honestly, especially when you were delicate. She was in hospitals more than out as far back as she could remember and eventually, like most longer term need people, debt got to a point there was no way for her family to pay it back. Her father had been lost when his plane went down on a mission out of states, and the nannies she'd been left with, well...

...they found employment elsewhere when the 'care' fund was drained due to medical.

She hit eighteen somehow which meant her debt officially went on the market, and, well, a lot of businesses ran on debt contracts.

Luckily she was...interesting. Visual appeal, much less textural, meant higher end places were willing to take on her whole debt instead of several having to group together, and that was how she ended up a headliner at 'Rarity', one of the more exclusive gentlemen's clubs. They didn't ave a cover charge, they didn't sell nickel peeps, no. Rarity had a yearly membership fee that was terrifyingly high and tips were more in the high end jewelry and vehicles range than bills in stockings.

She was lucky she supposed; it was high end enough her rooms met her needs and she spent less time in the hospital but...

...just like those in lower clubs they had a high drug use and burn out rate. How not?

Drugs were cheaper than medical care honestly.

"Ilya I told you not to let anyone slip you things," Orchid sighed, petting the poor girl's hair as she rested her head on the bar. They were were a twenty four hour business but they closed every six hours for a few hours to let people rest and the like.

"Didn't..." Ilya whimpered softly. "I don't know when, or how..." But she was drugged, her friend Orchid was like a living drug test, if she wasn't drugged Orchid would be touching her skin instead of her hair.

"Water," Orchid winced, "I'm sorry. I'll check your clothing and makeup, that's the last things that were delivered to you right? How close are you to debt free?"

"Two weeks," she sobbed softly. "I was doing so well..."

Damn it all. Orchid patted her hair again, "I'm sorry. I won't send you to the hospital, nor will the bartenders okay? You just have to fake it if the boss comes in while I'm gone okay?"Please?

"Try," she agreed, shivering. God she felt nauseous and numb now...

Comments

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"Mmhm."

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"Anyway hi Reggie you didn't kill anyone! I'm proud of you!"

"Haha," Reggie grumbled. "It was close."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"No one congratulates me when I don't kill people."

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"I tell you I'm proud all the time," Orchid pointed out.

"Anyway, hello kids," Reggie sighed. "I'm betting my people were not precisely reassuring?"

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"Hmm, yeah." He nodded. "You do."

"Hello."

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

Orchid kissed his cheek and leaned against him yes.

"Well, here's the facts, the owner here was an utter gobshit and did things that included blackmailing customers for genetic material etc etc. We're here on that but the death meant we could step in sooner. Likely you'll all be held here for one to two weeks with the club closed and medical and psyche in to see you all as we get you all sorted for return to a life."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"Mmm... okay." He frowned.

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"And frowning because...?"

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"Because things are never that easy. Never."

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"Psyche evals and such are not easy with traumatized people," he countered simply.

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"And if we don't want one?"

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"Then it's harder to push the abuse angle," he admitted. "But we'd manage if necessary."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"He killed our children. That's easy to prove without you poking at me."

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"Yes, and that'd get a degree of compensation but abuse cements freedom," he sighed.

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"That wouldn't on its own!?" he snarled.

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"I'd need the data but the american laws are utter shite and they put a lot in place based on 'age at ending pregnancy' and factor if they would have come to term at all and so forth."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

Jaeger took whatever was nearest... a dumbbell weighing about fifteen pounds and throwing it across the room. "THAT'S BULLSHIT! THEY WERE OUR CHILDREN NO MATTER HOW FAR ALONG THEY WERE!"

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"I agree," he admitted softly, not even flinching. "Another reason we'll be offering to relocate all of you, ever person in this place, to better countries when the proceedings are done."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"Its too fucking late isn't it?! They're gone!" He was not okay and he was throwing more things and pacing around yes.

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"Maybe."

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"What do you mean maybe!?"

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

"I mean he blackmailed interested customers with 'you can buy these or your genetics will be up in the free market." They could be alive. Ish. Frozen likeliest.

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

"They were ours... there was no one to black--" He turned and walked toward the door yes.

Re: Rarity

[petal_storm]

Orchid...yelped softly and scrambled to her feet to follow him?

Reggie followed her!

Re: Rarity

[code_jaeger]

He was heading to the front door dead set on finding what he was after.