Downstairs, William stood by the phone with the receiver pressed to his ear. He'd answered, but there wasn't any voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hello?"

"Hey, Willy." Said the voice. At that very sound, William's stomach dropped. His jaw tensed as he immediately recognized who it was. He looked to the girls around him who chatted amongst themselves, obvious to the situation William found himself in.

"Ernie." William said in a low voice.

"Willy, see? You do remember me." Ernie said on the other end. "I called to tell you I haven't forgotten what you did. Couldn't help but be a big shot, could you?"

"I just did what I had to do." William said through the phone receiver, the tips of his fingers turning white from pressing the cone-shaped metal to his ear. "If we lost that stock, your boss would've had all our heads on a spike."

"And I was your boss. I never told you to act." Ernie reminded William.

"You froze!" William shouted. "What was I supposed to do? Have us robbed and possibly killed?"

"You did my job, you embarrassed me in front of everybody." Ernie said through the phone through gritted teeth.

William was silent. He knew the consequences of doing what he did at the boardwalk. But it was all too tempting. Something inside of him thirsted for reverence, for notoriety. The moment struck and his hunger got the best of him. His need to prove himself.

"Well I hope you're happy." Ernie revealed to William. "They dropped me."

"What?" William asked.

"I'm not associated anymore, nitwit! They dropped me. Said they need guys who can keep up." Ernie said through the phone. Guilt rushed through William. He hadn't realized that his actions would lead to that.

"I didn't know that'd happen to you." William said.

"You didn't? Because word on the street is you went to the top boss' house to make your case." Ernie said. William's blood went cold. "Asked for a bigger job. What, you wanted to be a big shot?"

William swallowed, looking around the room to ensure the coast was clear. "I need the money. I've got a girl and..."

"Your girl! About that." Ernie interjected.

William's blue eyes zoned in on the brass bells screwed onto the face of the phone. "You've never met her."

"The colored girl? I mean, I'd heard of her." Ernie said cryptically. William began to roll his jaw.

"What do you mean?" William asked.

"Yeah, Gigi." Ernie answered. William whispered an expletive under his breath. "I know you're just becoming a man. Your balls just dropped and now you wanna act tough. But you should should know, every bitch that runs with us, they know about her."

William went silent.

"Ran into her just recently." Ernie mocked.

"You didn't run into her." William growled into the phone. "Bullshit. You searched for her."

"Aha!" Ernie exclaimed through the phone. "Maybe you are ready to have taken my place. Definitely smart figuring that one out. And I must say, she was a pretty little negro. Very clean, spoke well too. Nothing compared to a Irish girl though."

"Clean?" William felt all his blood gather in his neck. His hand balled in a fist as he punched the wall. The girls standing nearby jumped at the commotion, all looking toward him and whispering amongst themselves.

"What did you do to her?" William asked with labored breath.

A laugh from Ernie's end traveled through the telephone wires. "Calm down, nothing this time. But she did smell nice. And her skin was soft and sweet too."

"I'll take you out. Then I'll hang your balls on the wall!" William barked into the phone.

"And it'd be no use, Willy." Ernie said. "If I'm gonna have my way with her, I'll have my way with her. And I'm protected, so if you come for me, you're dead."

"Protected by who?" William asked. "You're a nobody! A has-been!"

"You'll see." Ernie answered. "Just know that your little chocolate drop is on thin ice if you cross me again."

"Don't you ever mention her again. If you go near her, I'll fucking kill you." William passionately shouted into the phone.

"And how will you protect her after you're Swiss cheese?" Ernie asked. Then Ernie exhaled. "You know, I didn't take you as the romantic type. It's kind of nice."

"Don't you mock me." William mumbled.

"You're my bitch, William. Accept it." Ernie said. "Let me get straight to the point. I tell you to do something, you do it. I ask for information, you give it. I told you to suck my balls, you suck these motherfucking balls! And if you don't comply, having my way with her isn't the only thing I'll do."

"Not if I kill you first." William mumbled.

Ernie cackled, which was followed by a click.

"Hello? Hello? Ernie!" William shouted.

A female's voice took over.

"This line has been closed. Would you like to reconnect?" The operator said through the phone. Without saying another word, William slammed the phone shut on the operator.

William tried to cool himself down. He knew that if he didn't get a hold of himself, somebody might die that night. With the footsteps of a soldier, he made his way back to the area Connor and Bunny relaxed. They both chatted with the women, obviously to what had happened. But open William's return, their faces went blank and all talking stopped.

"Get these bitches out your lap." William ordered. "We've got somewhere to be."

The girls were quickly propelled from both men's laps. William made his way upstairs, opening every single door in the hallway.

Behind the first door was a black man, who had a girl on her hands and knees in front of him. They stopped to look at William. As William continued onto the next room, he could hear him shouting. "What's that about!?"

The next door William busted open had an older white man on his hands and knees. A feather headband was his head and pearls adorned his neck. In front of him a woman in a corset ordered him around. The man would object, but he was too busy being gaged.

Then finally, William found the door that Jack was behind. Jack was inside of the Peruvian girl from before, quickly thrusting his way in and out of her.

"Come on! We're leaving!" William shouted. Jack stopped in his tracks, humiliated by William busting in. "Now Jack!"

The boy pulled out and stood beside the bed. Quickly he began getting his clothes on. The jaded girl watched as they both raced out of the room. She could hear their footsteps stomp down the steps in the distance. After they'd left, there was a silence. She lazily slipped her naked body from between the bedsheets, then flung a robe around her body. She didn't bother to tie it shut. She went to the nearby table and picked up the cash. Then under her breath, she counted each bill.