The Cable Monkey’s Nursemaid
By D.S. Maiorca
“Cable monkey! Get out!” He shouted across the crowded bar.
Rick knew the voice all too well. It was Jude Riot, roadie extreme, and his boss. He turned and nodded faking a surprised look hoping to pretend not to hear him. After all she was hot, really hot.
Jude was practically on top of him. “Cable monkey, I said get out!” He said as he pushed his way towards Rick.
“Look, Mr. Riot, I had no idea this was your place.” He said pulling back a little. “As soon as she gets here we’ll leave.”
“Who?”
“The Goth chick in the front row, wanted to meet me here.” He said smiling, god was she hot.
“We have more of a problem than I thought kid. I’m here for her too.”
“What, isn’t she a little young for you?”
“You’d be surprised kid. She’s a lot older than you think.”
He thought she was maybe twenty, and god she was hot. “You’re what, at least forty – old enough to be her father.”
“I lost count at a thousand. So yeah I’m at least forty.” He smiled a toothy grin. Rick laughed although it didn’t feel like Jude was joking. Jude set a wad of cash on the bar he was now facing. “I’ll have scotch straight, and get the kid what he wants.”
“I’ll have another beer.” Rick had only been a roadie for a few months and was still trying to get feel for it, but this really confused him. “I thought you wanted me out?”
“I’m not your nursemaid. You don’t want to go, you don’t go.” He slugged his scotch down, and grabbed the bottle before the bartender could take it and poured another one. “Leave it.”
Risk started talking to fill up the dead space. “Is it true what they say about you?”
Jude slugged another Scotch. “I’m not your nursemaid, but that doesn’t make us friends. Drink your beer, but don’t talk.” He pulled a cigar from a mirrored case and proceeded to chew on it. “You know kid over a hundred thousand people go missing in the United States a year. Most of them followed Goth girls to dive bars.”
‘Funny.”
“No, I’m being serious. Why do you think she wanted to meet you here instead of go to the party with the band?”
“So we could get to know each other a little first.” He said sipping his rolling rock.
“Are you daft or just a Romantic? No groupie wants to get to know you. You are just the second string, a stepping stone to get at the band. But groupies always want to go to the parties.”
Insulted he said. “So then she’s not a groupie. She didn’t want to go to the party.” He set his beer down hard causing a carbonated eruption. He knew he hadn’t been out of college that long, but he knew women. What the hell could this fossil know?
“So she’s really into you. A glance at the concert and a conversation in between numbers and that’s all you need to know.” He lit his cigar. “You cable monkey are a lamb to the slaughter. Girls like her will eat you for lunch and serve your heart up on a silver platter.”
“I know more than you think.” He said slamming his beer down on the counter, breaking the bottle this time; cutting his hand. The bartender quickly handed him a towel to clean the blood.
“Look kid, I didn’t mean to upset you. Go back to the bus and have the doc check your hand.
“You know what Jude, Fuck you.” He said wrapping the towel tightly around his hand. “I’m going to stand by the door, so I can leave when she gets here.”
“Your call kid. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror first, and decide if you’re man enough.”
Just then she walked in the door of the club. Red hair flowing past her breasts and blue eyes to pierce the soul, she was magnificent. The behemoth of a bouncer silently slid the bolt locking the door behind her.
“Kid,” he said throwing his cigar case to him, “take an honest look in the mirror.”
Rick fumbled with it as he caught it; “all the drugs must a fried Jude’s brains ,”he thought. God she was hot. She ran her hand under his shirt and started kissing his neck.
“I’m glad you came.” She whispered.
“So am I,” he said glancing down at the cigar case in his hand. He saw himself in ecstasy, but no one else. “What the fuck…” he thought as she tore into his neck. He felt the life drained from him as quickly as the blood, and everything went black.
“Ahhh,” he screamed. “What the fuck?” He flailed about wildly trying to stop the pain.
“Relax kid.” Jude said as he worked a silver dagger into Rick’s neck. A swollen river of blood ran off of Jude’s face.
“Kid, I may have just saved your life. Silver kills the parasite. Now do exactly what I tell you and I may no have to have to kill you myself.”
The room started to go black again and as it did Rick could clearly see the headless body of the Goth chic. God she was hot he thought as he blacked out.