Vinewood Night (Alpha and Sacred)

It was moment's like this that made Max reconsider his life. The choice to move out to Los Santos from Vice had seemed like the smart thing to do for an intelligent young man looking to make it in the entertainment world as a screen writer. But after two and a half years of doing whatever random jobs he could find, of living in a shitty little apartment in a neighborhood with bars on the windows and having to keep a cheap gun in the table by the front door.

Most people found themselves at the Vanilla Unicorn on a Tuesday night to enjoy the girls and the drink. Max found himself there for the cheap All-You-Can-Eat all night buffet. He had just wrapped a fourteen hour shift doing security work at the Richard's Majestic lot, so far the closest he'd gotten to any studio. The bus ride back to this part of town had been fairly empty the but he had kept his hand in pack the whole way where he had kept gun just in case someone decided he looked like easy pray.

Max was a tall guy, standing over six feet tall with a wirey build, a shaggy mane of sandy colored hair, his features thin and narrow and he sported a pair of narrow, rectangular rimmed glasses.

He chased a stray bit of pasta around his plate with his fork, glancing up for a moment to the main stage before slouching more in his seat.

The story of moving to Los Santos with big dreams was definitely not one that was unique in the large, glamorous city. It was a story that many desperate failed actors and directors could say, all with film degrees they would never use and crippling amounts of debt, be it student or worse, debt to one of the many criminal enterprises around the city that victimized these desperate individuals. A weekday night strip club was definitely a good place to find these kind of people, and the curly-haired redhead was no exception.

Sandy Davis got quite a few looks as she walked inside of the club. She looked far more like one of the women on the pole than the clientele mostly of creepy, middle-aged men. She was a sight to see, with 5'6” of lightly tanned skin accompanied by wide hips that pressed her dress out and DD-cup breasts contained in the decently high neckline of her dress. Long curls of dark red hair flowed down her shoulders and framed her dull grey eyes. A few of the male clients came of her looks as she walked in, but much to their chagrin she didn't go for the changing room or the pole, but instead plopped down in a chair next to the youngest male that she could find at the club.

Her reason for entering the club was simple. She was tired and needed a place to sit down and the club offered no cover and maybe a male who would buy her a few drinks. With a sigh she plopped down in the chair and looked up to see a young blonde trying to put herself through college wiggling her hips back and forth. “How's the food?” Sandy muttered to the male sitting to her right.

Max glanced up from his plate at the woman who had spoken to him. His jaw slowly fell open at the sight of her. She was gorgeous, better looking even than the dancer currently on stage. It took him several moments to realize that she was wearing for too much clothing to be one of the dancers. He cried to play it cool, tried to play it off as just a normal night for him and this wasn't the most substantial meal he would eat all week, forgetting he was still in his work uniform, black cargos and a matching button down shirt with the Richards Majestic logo on the sleeve and his name plate pinned above one of his shirt pockets.

"I suppose its good enough. I mean for a seedy strip joint." he replied with a casual shrug before taking a sip from the glass of water next to his plate, "so...uh...you come her often?"

When the male that was watching her turned his attention to the attractive woman that sat down next to him the dancer couldn't help but glare at Sandy for a moment. She didn't like this woman taking attention (and as a result, money) away from her, but right now she wasn't going to argue with it. As long as the redhead tossed in a few bills she would keep going at it. Sandy was smart enough to know that she would have to make some contributions to this. As she looked the male next to him over she opened her purse to find a few bills that she could give to the attractive dancer.

“I guess so.” Sandy replied as she jammed a five into the dancer's g-string. “Do I look like the type to go to a strip club on a Tuesday night?” The redhead added as she looked over at him. “What about you? Most people working in the movie business wouldn't come here on a day like this.”

"Shows what you know about the movie business." he replied with a snort, absentmindedly pushing stray bits of salad around his plate with a finger before pointing towards several men clustered around the main stage hurling bills towards the blonde, "That lot there are casting directors." He then directed her gaze towards an older man heading into the private dance room with a pair of dancers probably half his age, "That one is a producer and at least two directors are already in the back room."

He plucked the stray tomato from his plate and flicked it in to his mouth, "So as you can see there are plenty of movie folk here on a Tuesday night. You have no idea how many B list actresses get recruited from this place. Or maybe other ones like it."

Max flagged down a passing waitress, ordering himself a drink then glancing towards his companion, "Drink?"

“I guess that explains a lot.” A small mutter came as she glanced around and nodded at the mention of several different important movie producers being in the area. She had heard that they tended to hang around this part of town, but in the past she had always claimed that she was too classy to reduce herself to something like this to get a job. It looked like if she wanted to get anywhere in this town she was going to have to reduce herself to some pretty low and disgusting shit, which she was luckily currently desperate enough to do.

“Hmm? Sure, I'll take a gin and tonic. I could use something to drink.” The redhead replied. “I'll probably end up somewhere like this.” Sandy murmured once the waitress had walked away with their order.

Working security was simply what Max did to pay the rent in his shitty one bed room apartment, but it had taught him a few new skills, and cheif amoung those was that he had learned to pick up details about a person.

He leaned back against his plush chain, folding his hands across his chest and focused his attention on her, picking out the details and puzzling then together. There was an air of tiredness and desperation about her. And as the drinks where set down on the table in front of them Max broke the silence that had hung there for some time.

"Guessing you're not from here."

When the drink was set in front of her Sandy quickly reached over and picked it up. She didn't exactly order a feminine drink, but being lady-like wasn't what she was looking for at the moment. She grabbed the drink and took a swallow while feeling him looking her over for a moment.

She slowly lowered her glass as she nodded at his statement. “I was born and raised in Alderney. I moved down here out of the hope of getting an acting job, but so far the only callback I've gotten turned out to be a for a porn shoot. I might take that now, but back then I was nowhere near that desperate.” She explained with a sigh.

Max took a slow sip off the piss warm beer that had been placed in front of him and cringed slightly at the taste before taking another sip, and found it slightly less disgusting but still bad.

His brows perked at the mention of her considering porn, from what he could see of her he knew he'd buy it. Most girls who did porn in Los Santos where 95% plastic. And from what he could tell the woman sitting next to him was real. It was one of the give a ways that she was from out of town.

"I came up from Vice City myself about two and half years back looking to sell a screenplay. The security gig is the closest I've gotten to working in the movies since then."

He titled his bottle towards her in a friendly salute, "Max Archer, nice to meet ya."

She wasn't surprised to hear that he wasn't from Los Santos originally anyway. A lot of the people in town around their age were drawn in by the nice beaches, attractive people, and the promise of stardom just to find that the dreams of success were rarely destined to become anything more than just dreams.

“Sandy Davis. It's nice to meet someone else who knows how shitty this town is.” Sandy replied as she raised her drink in his direction for a moment. “So, Mr. Archer, what do you do then? At least you seem to have some sort of job involved with movies.” The redhead added.

The neck of his bottle met the rim of her glass in a barely audible clink, drowned out by the music of the club and took another were wretched mouthful of the beer. He decided he liked this woman, this Sandy Davis, she seemed to be ib the same situation that he was.

Down and out and fed up with glam and grime of Los Santos. Sick of the crooks and the pushers and the gangsters.

"The whole city is full of fake tits and real assholes." Max replied around around another mouthful of beer before answering her question, "I work security over at Richards Majestic. Its not gonna make the kind of money to afford a fancy car like the Comet out in the parking lot. But I don't have to work three jobs to pay for my shitty apartment at very least."

His dismissive comments on the city got a chuckle out of Sandy as she leaned forward and tossed another bill onto the stage. She had no problem spending a few bucks on this to keep the dancer from realizing that she was currently the focus of Max's attention instead of her. It was definitely an interesting sight to watch the woman dance anyway so she might as well help pay for it.

“That seems like a fitting gig, and not bad at all. I'm a hostess at a local restaurant in between looking for acting jobs. I thought that coming down here with an indie movie that I filed back in my hometown under my belt would help, but it looks like my hair's too red and my boobs too real for any of these movie guys to hire me to be in any of their films.” She replied with a shrug. “I'd love to drive a ride like that Comet. It would be pretty wild.”

"Well I don't think there is anything wrong with either your or hair or your boobs." He replied, casting a glance towards her chest straining against the fabric of her dress and wondering for a moment if they looked as nice without the clothing as they did with it. He brought his bottle to his lips only to find it empty, muttering into the bottle, "especially your boobs."

He signaled a passing waitress for another.

This strangness of his current situation dawned on him. Here he was sitting in a strip club on a Tuesday night, having come for the buffet and not the eye candy, chatting up a woman who wasn't a dancer wile she kept slipping bills to the girl on stage.

Fingers drummed along the side of the empty bottle, his thoughts wondering to several different things.

The shitty choices he had made in his life.

Why he was paying for such shitty beer?

What was Miss. Sandy Davis would be like in bed?

What would it take to get her in bed?

His eyes shifted away from his companion towards the bar, watching the tender count out a stack of bills from the till, watched him make change for the girls waiting tables. And a slow realization struck him that there where no credit or debit machines in the club. The only thing that used plastic was the ATM by the door.

"You ever think the only way to get ahead in this town is to become a crook like everyone else?"

She turned her attention back towards him with a curious expression when he refuted the claim that she would have to redo her body in order to gain success in the city. She had thought that no one would be into that, but it looked like one guy was, even if it was a guy that didn't have much power at all to get her into the industry that she wanted. “Thanks.” Sandy muttered at his compliment before taking a small sip of her drink. At this point she would accept any positive comment made towards her, even if it was little more than a comment on her ample, perky rack. She was trying to keep her drink going for a long time in case he wouldn't buy her another, since she didn't want to spend too much money on booze tonight. She still had to buy some food.

When finally he spoke again Sandy leaned back in her seat and turned towards him. “A crook? I guess I've never really thought about it, but it seems that way sometimes. If I went ahead and just acted like an ass like everyone else I might get a bit of leverage in town.” The redhead agreed after a moment of thought.

A fresh drink was brought and deposited on the table in front of him and he drained half of it in two quick gulps before slamming it down on the table, rattling the empty plate from his dinner. His eyes darted quickly around the club, his tongue running out over his dry lips before he leaned across the table, speaking quietly so no one else could hear him other than Sandy.

"Think about it for a sec. This place is a cash only only business. At a guess they probably due at least five, six thousand on a slow night. I have a gun in my bag under the table. The bouncers are paid to toss drunks, there is no way in hell they're paid enough to get on business end of a loaded gun. It wouldn't be that hard to walk into the back office and....."

Max trailed off, realizing that he was sounding like some kind of dangerous psycho with talk like that, "I mean, hypothetically speaking of course." he said nervously, draining the rest of his beer.

When he leaned forward the redhead could tell that he had something in mind so she quickly did the same in order to hear what he was saying. She set her drink down and her right hand on the table to rest her weight on as she listene to him explain what he had in mind. Sandy could tell that despite just meeting this guy he seemed to like her, and fortunately for him she felt the same way.

A curious eyebrow cocked as she listened to the details of what he said. The details were definitely true, with the bouncers likely being too big to even put up a good fight against anyone that came to attack them. The idea was absolutely crazy, but still, she liked it.

“Yeah, and if hypothetically if I remembered how to hotwire cars from when I lived in Alderney I could get the Comet started and we could be halfway across the city by the time the cops get here. Hypothetically, of course.” The redhead replied in a soft voice.

Was she suggesting what he thought she was?

Was she actually encouraging him to go ahead with this insanity?

"Yeah but, I mean, this is all just hypothetical." Max said with a nervous laugh, pulling his bag closer to him with one booted foot, "I mean come on. A struggling actress and a failing screen writer. We're no criminals."

He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, Sandy, or himself.

He glanced down at his watch, then snatched her drink off the table, downing it in a quick gulp, glancing towards the dressing room door. The office had to be back there. It was the only place there would be space for it.

So what, he would storm into the office, shove a gun in the face of whoever was back there, get them to open the safe and stuff as much cash as would fit into his gym bag. Bolt out the door into a stolen sports car and ride off into the night with a bag full of cash and a hot red head.

The whole thing seemed so stupid. But at the same time it seemed sane, like the only real option left to get ahead. He pushed himself to his feet, shrugging on his jacket and digging an old cap from his bag, pulling it down low over his face and turning up the collar on his jacket. He sucked in a deep breath through gritted teeth and slipped a hand into the bag, his hand settling across the grip of his 9mm automatic, "Five minutes. Have the car outside the front door in five minutes. If we head towards El Buro Heights it will be the fastest way out of the city."

That said he moved away from the table, committed now to this insanity.

A bouncer by the dressing room door stepped in his way but Max discreetly slid the pistol from his bag and pushed it into the man's stomach, the action doing all the talking for him. The heavy took a step back into the dressing room, Max moving with him. A quick survey of space and he nudged his hostage towards what he assumed was the office. With his free hand he pushed open the door, then shoved the bouncer forcefully into the office, drawing the attention of the fat, middle aged balding man behind the desk.

There was a strange sense of calm he felt as he turned the weapon towards the other man and throwing his bag towards him, demanding he open the safe and empty the cash into the bag. The bouncer recovered from the boot to his chest only to be met with a pistol butt to the head, sending him sprawling to the floor and leaving Max free to keep his attention on the man filling the bag. Once the safe had been emptied he slung the bag across his shoulder and hurried back out into the club, and hopefully to a waiting get away car outside.

“Oh, of course. Purely hypothetical.” Sandy replied as she leaned back in her seat. It was true that she had never put much thought into crime in the past, but right now she couldn't help but think how great the idea was. She could use the money, and she knew that some criminals ran out of here so the chances were low that they would ever think to call the cops on them. All they had to do was grab the money and they would be out of there. Was it crazy? Sure. Was it risky? Absolutely. Did it sound like the best time she had in years? You fucking bet.

Still, she didn't think it would happen, but then suddenly, it was. She looked a bit surprised at his reply, but it felt like her body went onto autopilot. As he went off towards the office she broke away towards the door to get outside. The bouncer didn't pay her much mind, and when she reached the Comet she nearly started laughing when she found that the asshole that owned it hadn't even taken the time to lock his door. That allowed her easily inside of the car, and once she was in there she reached under the dash and went to work doing the kind of thing that she had gotten pretty good at when she lived back in Alderney and ran with some less-than-proper groups of people.

The engine roared to life, and right as she pulled the car to a stop in front of the get away car she saw Max coming for the door. She reached over and opened the passenger's side door before pushing it open so that he could come and get inside with the hopefully money-filled bag that he had with him.

Max slipped into the car, stuffing the bulging bag behind the seats and throwing his cap along with it. Adrenaline was pounding through his system, his heart racing. Had this really just happened? Had they just robbed a place and gotten away with it. He kept expecting to hear the whine of sirens and flash of red and blue lights, but there was nothing other then the usual sounds of the city at night.

They needed to get out of the city, someplace that would be empty at this hour. Count the money out, figure out what they where going to to do now. His hands where shaking as he ran them through his hair, trying to steady his rapid breathing, calm his nerves. Had it really been so easy? He hadn't even given his actions a second thought during the entire exchange, hadn't hesitated to drive the butt of the pistol into the man's temple to keep him subdued. Didn't bat an eye when he had to turn the gun on a living person and probably wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger if he needed to.

It was all so easy.

"Head east through El Buro, up to the old oil derricks outside of town. Should be nice and secluded this time of night."

After she hit the gas and the sports car roared off into the distance what had just happened finally managed to hit the redhead driving. She had just casually, without thinking, been an accomplice to an armed robbery and was now driving said armed robber away from the scene of the crime in a car worth more than she had made in the past five years that she had stolen. Sure, she had been aware of what she was doing, but at the moment Sandy couldn't help but wonder if this was the start of something new, a first step down some new, crazy road that would change her life forever.

“Got it.” She replied as she roared off. Sandy stayed right above the speed limit so the cops wouldn't stop her for speeding. “So... We just robbed that place. What now?” Sandy said finally as she looked over at him for a moment. They were in possession of quite a lot of stolen property, and it wouldn't be too long until either the cops or a bunch of criminals came looking for the car, the money they had stolen from the club, or both.

Max leaned back against his seat, his eyes closed breathing deeply. He had tucked pistol into his waistband and could feel it digging into his side just below his ribs, acting as a cold reminder to what they had just done. His head was swimming with different ideas, a dozen different thoughts and feelings, he was trying to piece them together.

"What now?" she had asked, and the thought stuck in his head. What did they do now? Split the money between the two of them and go their separate ways? The would probably be easiest in the long run, would he harder for the cops to try and find them. He cast a glance sideways at his partner. Would going their separate ways really be wise? Here they where, two of a kind, two people from a different place stuck in this snake pit of a city and regretting the choices they had made that brought them here to begin with.

He wanted to reach over and kiss her, taste her lips, feel her skin under his hands. But that wasn't something you did to a person who was driving.

"Lets get the money counted out and then figure out what next."

His comment about how she should wait for them to make a decision on what to do next got a frown out of the redhead, but still she didn't struggle as they continued to drive off towards the edge of the city. She pushed all of the worries out of her head as she focused on the fact that she wouldn't be able to make a decision on what was going ot happen next until they reached the edge of the city. Sure, she was getting impatient, but right now she was able to keep herself from freaking out too much at the worrying thoughts in her head.

It wasn't too long of a drive in the expensive sports cars.  Sandy tended to spend most of her time in the downtown areas of the city so she hadn't been over to the old oil fields on the eastern half of the city before.  She had to slow down when they reached the  unpaved parts of the road, and then finally she pulled to a stop in the parking lot of what looked to be an abandoned building. “So...” The redhead remarked as she shifted the car into park and turned towards him.

The lot they had come to a stop in looked out across the Los Santos, the lights of downtown glowing vibrantly on the horizon. For several moments Max sat there, waiting, still expecting the cops to show up and cart them off to jail for the rest of the natural lives. But nothing, just the whisper of passing traffic on the freeway. He pushed open the door of the car and stepped out onto the loose gravel of the lot, the bag in his hand. From the outside the city didn't look anywhere near as bad as it was. It looked enchanting, magical. It didn't at all look like the squalid hell hole he know it was.

A shaky hand reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a crumpled pack of Redwoods and shaking one loose and lighting it with a stick match before tossing it aside.

"What now...." he asked himself, looking out at the city lights.

When he got out of the car she looked over at him with a look of confusion, but without turning the car off she climbed out and left the driver's side door hanging wide open. She set her forearms up on the roof of the stolen car and leaned forward on it as she watched him pull a cigarette out of his pocket. She looked between him and the expansive city laid out in front of them. She had a few flashbacks to when she was first on the flight to Los Santos and was extremely excited about what would come, but that just led her to remember how completely her dreams of stardom had been crushed since she arrived.

“I guess we've really got two options. One, you give me half the money, I dump the car, and we go our separate ways. Two, we decide to do this together again.” Sandy muttered before giving a small shrug. “I guess we don't have to rush into any decision.”

Max turned slowly, tossing the cigarette to the ground, "I really don't think walking away and going back to the way things where is really a valid option. " He moved around to the driver's side of car, looking into those pale eyes of hers. The bag slipped from his fingers and he reached out, pulling her into him, his lips pressing firmly against hers, his tongue pushing its way past her lips to invade her mouth. The adrenaline was still running hard threw his system.

His hands pawed clumsily at her dress, eager to feel her skin against his. He wanted her, wanted her more than anyone he had met in his life. She was different from the other people he had met in this city, bitter, jaded, angry, and most importantly she was real.