Interlude: New York City, 1986

[Miko's POV]

Brngg, brngg

Miko groggily reaches over to her nightstand, and clumsily knocks the phone off it's stand and onto the floor.

"Fuck" she says, fishing for the handset among the clothes next to her bed. Yawning, she brings it to her ear. "Hello?" she yawns.

"Miko. Valeria called in sick. Are you available tonight?" the voice on the other end of the line says.

"Ughhhhh. I'm supposed to be off tonight. I'm going out with my boyfriend" Miko says exasperatedly. Miko has had to cancel on her boyfriend Jimmy twice this week already. He doesn't know what she does, yet. I'll tell him... she thinks, Eventually.

"The date pays $3,000, but you'll have have to split it with Janet. The clients are two women, so it's no big deal. Do you want it or not?"

Fifteen-hundred is a lot of money Miko thinks. I guess Jimmy can wait...

"Look, yes or no Miko? I have other girls to call."

"What's the address?" Miko says, getting the notepad and pen from her nightstand.

Miko checks herself her makeup in the mirror of her compact, as her can takes her to the address her madame gave her. Park avenue. Ritzy Miko thinks. Pursing her red lips, she blows a kiss in the mirror and then closes the compact. She puts the compact into her bag, next to the toys that her madame told her to bring.

Janet is by no means her favorite to work with, but this sounds like a good job. Well paying, and she always likes the female clients.

Miko, now twenty-two, has been an escort for three years. For now, though, she is a bombshell, and she might as well profit off of it. She tells close friends (and even some family) that she is "only doing this short-term to make some money", but she is lying. Miko likes her career, and she's good at it. Miko knew from a young age that she liked sex. If she can make money having sex, why not?

Miko often stands before a mirror, admiring her smooth, tan, Asian skin, her full breasts topped with large dark nipples, the generous swell of her hips, her thick black hair. She is curvy for an Asian girl, and men (and some women) are willing to pay for it.

Miko worries about what will happen when she ages, and her looks inevitably deteriorate. She spends a fortune on skin creams, beauty treatments, personal trainers, etc. Miko's friends are shocked at her narcissism when Miko says that her one and only ambition in life is to stay 'young' as long as she can. They think she is joking, but she isn't.

The cab pulls to the curb. She's here. It's a steel and glass apartment building that looks pricey. Stepping out of the cab, she grabs her bag of toys and smooths her black evening dress. It's a warm night. In the car window, she does one last adjustment to her puffed up hair before the cab drives away. My looks could kill she thinks vainly.

As if they had coordinated (they didn't), a second cab pulls up to the curb. A tall leggy blonde steps out. Janet. Her blonde hair is dyed (from an original brown), and Miko smugly notes Janet's fake breasts (as compared with her own real ones). Everything about Janet is fake, even her name Miko thinks, but the men love that plastic toy thing. Miko can't say she enjoys working with Janet, but Miko is a professional. Janet wears a short, form-fitting red dress, and heels that are entirely too big for her to walk naturally in. Janet looks good now, but is young. With how she lives, she'll burn out in a few years Miko thinks judgmentally.

"Hi Janet" Miko says, waving. "Do you know anything about tonight's date?"

Janet shrugs. "Two ladies" she says, "that pay well. That's all I know. I thought you were off tonight?"

Miko shrugs. Probably some Wall Street types who get off on the power trip more than actually being attracted to women. Need to show that they can party as hard as the boys. These ones can get mean... Miko thinks. Miko and Janet go to the buzzer.

"It's Miko and Janet. From the agency" Miko says.

"Come up" says a female voice through the intercom, followed by a buzz. Something about the voice seems oddly... confident, but Miko realizes that sounds crazy.

Miko feels a rush of adrenaline, like she does before every 'date'.