There Are No Cameras In The Alley Out Back

Through the fire doors at the back of the club. A brick-lined alley, closed at both ends from older construction. But there were no cameras here. Lois Lane felt oddly exposed as she stepped out the door, beneath that sliver of exposed sky, trapped in a brick box...but the bartender had been specific.

Lois walked down to another door set in the wall. No knob, no buzzer, just an eyehole. The reporter knocked, as she had been instructed.

"Shave and a hair cut...two bits..." the reporter sang softly under her breath, and despite the coolness of the night, Lois felt warm, felt the buzz of the alcohol. She hoped she wasn't too drunk to do this...but that she was inebriated enough to be effectively undercover.

The door opened inward. Lois Lane gathered her courage and stepped forward...into warmth, light, heat...and a sword that kissed the back of her neck. A chill line that raised goosebumps on her skin.

The reporter froze. The size and shape of the room were obscured by heavy cloth curtains and hangings, as though she was in some big tent. Naked women with masks lounged on great cushions, smoking from great communal water-pipes. The room reeked of marijuana, sweat, and that weirdly chemical odor Lois associated with opium.

A naked Asian woman, face hidden by a wooden mask like a Japanese oni, stepped forward and ruffled through the reporter's clothes. Found her smartphone, wallet...and her hidden stash of cash. Lois Lane's eyes ran up and down the woman's body. She was supermodel-thin, and there were scars from bullet and blade on the naked flesh, and there were wiry muscles that bulged. Lois felt she was in the presence of someone dangerous, veteran of many battles.

"First time," the woman said, her English perfect. "We take everything you have. And give you everything you can pay for. No names. You try and hurt the girls, we cut you up into little pieces. Understood?"

"Understood," Lois said, with a gulp...and she felt the blade leave the back of her neck.

"So," Oni-mask said. "What do you want?"