0155

Mary pushed the buzzer outside the door to the Geisha House, hoping it was the right place.

"Who is it?" a seductive female voice asked through an intercom.

"My name is Mary, I'm here to see Mina."

"Oh," the voice said, "just one moment."

After about a minute, the door was opened by the two male vampires that were driving Mina earlier. They both bowed and gestured for her to come inside. Mary entered to find a female vampire waiting for her. She was wearing an asian inspired dress that ended mid thigh with a slit on one side that went almost to her waist.

"Hello, my name is Sin. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mina is busy at the moment, but if you will kindly follow me, you and I can wait for her in the control room."

"Sin is an interesting name, I assume your parents didn't give it to you. Did Mina?"

"No, actually, my mother was a prostitute and did, in fact, name me Sin. She said I was her burden for living a sinful life. She thought the name was fitting."

"Oh, I'm..." Mary sputtered.

"Don't be sorry. I enjoyed killing my mother once Mina took me in. Mina wanted me to change my name, but I refused. Please, follow me," she said with a smile.

Mary felt incredibly awkward so said nothing while they walked through the dark halls of what was an old strip mall. The walls were covered with blood red drapes and bathed in red light from brass chandeliers. They passed at least two dozen dark wooden doors. At what appeared to be a dead end, Sin moved a drape to reveal a door. She opened it and asked Mary to walk through.

The room had no lights, but was, instead, illuminated by hundreds of television screens. Some were dark, others well lit. Mary could see that every inch of the brothel was covered by a camera. There were two vampires in the room watching the screens. Neither looked up.

"This is very impressive," Mary said.

"Mina is quite thorough. Please, follow me," Sin said, again leading the way.

At the far end of the room they passed through another door. This room was much smaller than the last, and was a mix between an office and a living room. There were four monitors on the wall opposite a couch and one on a small table in front of the couch.

"Sit," Sin said, pointing to the couch. "Would you like anything? Some blood, perhaps?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'll get you a glass. While you wait, please feel free to explore our home," Sin said, handing Mary the remote control for the monitors.

Mary sat down on the couch, sinking in to the soft cushions, and hit the power button on the remote.

The monitor on the table flickered to life with an image of the front door. There was a label showing the location and time at the top left of the screen. Text at the bottom right indicated that this was camera one of 636.

"How big is this place?" Mary said out loud, with a little bit of shock.

"We have 10 guest rooms here, 20 rooms for us, and a dozen or so control and storage rooms," Sin said from the door, as she walked in with a goblet full of a viscus red fluid.


[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005. All rights reserved.]