"And, that's a wrap. Thank you all, I think this is going to be our best season yet!" The Director pats the console with satisfaction, then stands up to go back to his office for a celebratory cigar.

"Mr. Strauss?" the young assistant calls as they make their way down the hall. "Er, Mr. Strauss, in light of the unfortunate incidents involving Enrico, it is really a good idea to proceed with the broadcast?"

"'Unfortunate incidents,' Philip? Go ahead and say murders, save the mealy-mouthing for the press."

"Yes sir, but -"

"It's hardly the first time something like this has happened," Strauss says evenly. "This is an inherently dangerous game, after all. But the men sign waivers, and in any event we make a point to choose contestants who won't be missed if they don't make it back. I wouldn't shed a tear for any of them; as far as I'm concerned, we did humanity a favor by taking 'em out of the gene pool."

"I suppose so, sir," Philip says, looking more than a little uncertain. "But, there's also the matter of how we're going to stage the season conclusion. Since Jade refused to take the consolation prize, we don't really have a winner."

"Philip, it's easy to see you're new at this," Strauss says. "We've never actually had a winner, not in the sense that anyone's ever walked away with the full ten million. We know how to write contracts; there's always a technicality we can nail them on, and they're always willing to take a settlement rather than try to fight us in court. Our viewers don't need to know that, of course."

"Yes, sir."

"Take our latest 'winner', for instance... Fox violated the terms almost at moment one just by losing her pager. That's the one that gets almost everyone. Then she broke the screen in the shelter, which wasn't technically destroying the camera equipment, but close enough for our lawyers to argue it. She even left the island at one point - sure, she only got a quarter-mile off the coast, but we can call that 'out-of-bounds' if we want to. There's at least half a dozen other little violations we could pick from. You know the situation she's in. Fox doesn't have time to go through a court battle; she needs money now. She'll take the deal, it's just a matter of time. Now, I believe you have work to do?"

Strauss turns into his office, failing to observe that his secretary is trembling and as pale as a ghost - but he can't help but notice that someone is sitting in his chair, turned toward the window. "Excuse me, just who the hell are you?" he demands.

The doors to his office suddenly shut behind him. Strauss turns to see two large men flanking him, looking as though they'd forgotten to take off their football pads before putting on their suits.

"What's the meaning of this, who are you people?" he asks, rapidly losing confidence and trying not to show it. "I'll have building security up here in half a minute to have you removed -"

"Have a seat, Strauss," the man in the chair says.

Before he can make a move, Strauss finds himself grabbed irresistably by the arms and dragged into one of his guest chairs, where he is **** to sit.

"I demand to know what this is about!" he shouts, his voice beginning to crack.

"You owe this young lady a substantial sum of money, I understand," the man in the chair says, pointing off to his right without turning around.

Strauss looks in that direction, and sees a petite young redhead, her hair tied back into a bun, dressed in a white pantsuit with heels. "Fox?" he says, involuntarily.

"You will refer to her as Ms. Saunders," the man in the chair says, spinning the chair slowly about. "Now, do you recognize me?"

Strauss turns back to look at the man in the chair again, and the blood drains from his face. "You're... you're Sebastian Marino."

"Very perceptive of you," Marino nods, raising a glass of whiskey. "So, to the business at hand: Ms. Saunders is due ten million dollars from your production company, and so I expect to see that ten million dollars in a briefcase, on this desk, within the next fifteen minutes. You see, it so happens that Ms. Saunders owes a fair portion of that money to one of my associates... but since you refuse to pay her what she is due, she's unable to pay my associate, and that is very disappointing to me."

"Jade - er, Ms. Saunders - is well within her rights to sue us for the money," Strauss says, tugging at his collar.

Marino sits back in the chair with a brief sigh. "Now Strauss, don't you think it would be better for everyone if we could settle this without bringing the lawyers into it? It's really so very simple... you pay her the money she is owed, and we will escort her and the money from the premises, and you can get back to your business. I don't see the need to complicate this by dragging it through the courts, do you?"

"This... this is extortion," Strauss whispers.

"That's just insulting, Strauss. Extortion would be if Ms. Saunders were to threaten you in order to get money to which she is not entitled. That's not what's happening here at all. I'm simply facilitating the transfer of funds owed by you to Ms. Saunders, so that I may receive what I am owed by her, and we can all go to bed tonight knowing that our accounts are settled. Why, I've even brought along a notary public to stamp the receipt. It'll all be very legal, completely above-board. But I am a very busy man, and the brief time I have to allot to this matter is almost expired... and this desk remains a good deal emptier than it needs to be in order to conclude our business. Mr. Winchell, please hand Strauss his phone so that he may arrange for the money to be brought up."

Strauss takes a deep breath, but it comes out shaking. "Mr. Marino, please, you must understand... the studio doesn't keep cash in such amounts on the premesis! I couldn't get that much money up here if my life depended on it!"

Marino leans forward slightly. "It upsets me when I am lied to, Strauss, it truly does. Do you really think I would have taken the trouble to come down here personally if I hadn't first made certain that the money was available? Now, a few more carefully-chosen words from you into that phone, and what has become a very unpleasant meeting can be concluded. I would elaborate upon what is at stake here... but it would seem that you've already guessed."

"As we agreed, Mr. Marino... here is the money my father owes your associate, with interest; and an additional fifty percent to you as payment for helping me to acquire it. And once again, I'm very grateful to you for agreeing to assist me."

"Think nothing of it, Ms. Saunders," Marino replies, indicating for one of his men to take the bundle from Jade. "As you must be aware, there's nothing more important to me than family. It does my heart good to be able to help out a young lady who obviously loves her father so much as you do. If I may be so presumptuous as to ask... what do you intend to tell him? It would surely break his heart to know what you have done on his behalf, and yet you must understand, it would not be in my own interests for him to believe that the debt was simply forgiven. I have a reputation which I must uphold, and I cannot afford to allow those in debt to me to believe that they need not pay me what I am owed."

"My father believes that I have spent the last week at an all-expense paid seminar for building confidence through outdoor activities," Jade says. "Insofar as the money, my father saved a number of men's lives when he was in the war. I'll tell him that one of them heard about his debt and sent me the invitation to the seminar for the purpose of giving me this money, as he felt obligated to help the man to whom he owed his life - and that he wished also to remain anonymous because he feared my father would refuse if he had the chance to do so. My father, and any other interested parties, will know that you received payment in full. I'll put some of the remaining winnings into an account and tell him it was from the same source - enough so that my father won't have to worry overly much about money again. It may wound his pride a bit, but we can both live with that. The rest of money, I'll need for other purposes... I have a few obligations of my own, and I'm certainly not done with Mr. Strauss yet."

"You strike me, Ms. Saunders, as the sort of person I would very much like to have on my payroll," Marino says, saluting Jade with his wineglass. "That having been said... I think it would be best if your family and mine did not do business again. Everything between us is now settled; let us leave it at that. If your father wishes to continue trying his luck at the tables, it would make me happiest if he not do so in any of my establishments."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Jade agrees.

"Then, as I believe we are approaching your stop, I wish you every success in your life's endeavours."

The limousine pulls up to the curb in front of a three-story brownstone. Jade picks up the briefcase with the remaining money, and steps through the door. The driver shuts it behind her, tips his hat, and then drives the long black car away.

For a moment, Jade simply stands under the streetlamp which sputters to life as the twilight deepens, feeling the weight of nearly nine million dollars in her hand, but a much greater weight lifted. She glances at the alley across the street, and smiles. I used to be so afraid to even look down that alleyway after dark, she thinks to herself. I wonder if there's anything left in the world that can scare me now? Except... the smile melts from her face. Except the nightmares. The dreams that send me back to the island. Maybe they'll be with me for the rest of my life, who knows? But dreams can't hurt me. And it was almost worth it, because now I know what I'm really capable of when I'm up against the wall. I learned that I'm strong. I learned who I really am.

I'm The Fox.

She heads up the steps, opens the door. "Dad? I'm home!"

Two Weeks Later...

"All right, let's give it up for Leela, Sapphire, and Tiffany!"

The men in the club applaud lightly, a few whistles sound out, and Tiffany collects up the dollar bills and lingerie on the stage, blowing kisses to the crowd as she makes her exit. A waitress comes up to her as she descends the stairs.

"One of the customers in the back asked if you could do a lapdance," she says.

"Sure, I'm up for it. I just need to put something new on, and I'll be back there at the start of the next song. Where is he?"

"She's a she, Tiff. West corner, under Nikki's poster."

"Sounds good!"

Tiffany heads back toward the dressing room, stopping at the DJ booth on the way. "Hey Brad, what's the song after this one?"

"Hendrix, Foxy Lady!"

"Thanks!"

Back in the dressing room, Tiffany puts her hands on the counter to look in the mirror. I can't believe I'm still doing this, she thinks to herself. That five thousand dollar consolation prize didn't go very far, though. Oh well, if what I heard was true, I should be glad I got off that island with my neck intact. I can dance for another six months, if that's what it takes. And it's not so bad... oh, who am I kidding, it sucks. But the money's good and that's what we need right now.

She flips through her costume rack and selects a seashell bikini top and a grass skirt (actually made of polyester, so it doesn't itch), platform jellies, and tucks a flower into her hair. A quick touch-up on the lipstick follows, and a spritz of the "lip-lock" spray that keeps it from smearing. If she's pretty, I might want to give her a kiss, Tiffany thinks. Kissing the girls is more fun than it used to be... maybe I took a little something away from that island.

The previous song is ending as Tiffany makes her way back onto the floor, and toward the high-backed sofas in the corner. The first strands of "Foxy Lady" start playing as she finds her customer, a petite woman sitting in the far corner. She's wearing a long coat and a fedora, and keeps her head down. Closet lesbian, Tiffany thinks. She puts on her dancer's smile and sits down on the sofa, very close, leaning slightly into the smaller girl. "Hey sweetie," she says. "How's your evening so far?"

The woman flips off her hat, revealing a familiar mop of red hair. "Better than the last time we ran into each other."

Tiffany's eyes go wide. "Jade? Holy fuck, what are you doing here?" She pulls Jade into a hug, which is gratefully accepted and returned.

"It's good to see you again, Tiffany," Jade says.

"My God, I haven't seen you since... wait, how did you find me?"

"Well, I -"

"I heard you won and that they fucked you over anyway," Tiffany interrupts, a glare in her eyes directed at the people who aren't there to see it.

"They did... and I fucked them right back. Let's just say I had connections to some seriously intimidating people. They paid up."

"No shit? Girl, I was right about you. Something about you told me right from moment one that you'd be dangerous to cross! So, what are you gonna do with the money?"

"Well, I had to pay off an important debt. That's done. And, I've filed suit against the bastards who produced the show, charging them with reckless endangerment, fraud, ****, extortion, you name it. That's how I found you, by the way - we've already subpoenaed a truckload of their records. And every other girl I've found so far is going in on it with me... Kayo, LaShonda, Anna and Eve, all of them. There's also about two dozen girls from previous seasons, and I've even got some of the men on board; a lot of them were **** into doing their part. My lawyers say that we've practically got an open-and-shut case, even the big fish won't be able to get away. Of course, lawyers cost money, so a good part of the winnings is going to them. And then, there's this." Jade pulls a slip of paper from her coat pocket, and passes it to Tiffany.

"What's this?" Tiffany looks at the paper. "This is a cashier's check. Jade, this is a check for a quarter million dollars. Jade, this check is made out to ME."

"I wouldn't have won without you," Jade says. "Not only that, but I probably would have ended up gang-**** a dozen times over. I owe you a lot more than just money, but money is what I have to offer. Take it, please. I really want you to have it."

Tiffany stares at Jade, then back at the check. "I get the feeling that you're not going to take no for an answer."

"Not a chance."

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" she says, sniffling slightly. "Now I'm going to have to redo my eye makeup and miss a whole set."

"I'm thinking you could probably go ahead and leave early tonight." Jade points out. "But first, there is one thing..."

"Name it!"

Jade opens up her coat to reveal only herself underneath. "I'm kind of curious to see what kind of lapdance I get for a six-figure tip," she says with a smile.

The End