'Pleased to meetcha, Peekay. You a boxer then?' Peekay rose slightly awkwardly. Geraldine was pretty and she had a great bosom. 'Hello, Geraldine, nice to know you.' He looked around awkwardly, trying to keep his eyes from her spendid decolletage. 'Wow! What a place. It's all a bit much for a country boy.'
'Keep your hands off that boy, you slack tart.' Tony handed Geraldine her tray of drinks.
'Look who's talkin'!' Geraldine shot back. 'See you both later then, I'll have my numbers by half eleven, I'll buy you a drink.'
'Better get ready, darling, show time!' Tony called after her.
Togger looked surprised. 'You going on, then?' Geraldine laughed, though a little nervously. 'It's me debut; wish me luck.'
'Break a leg,' Togger said as Geraldine left with the tray. He turned to Peekay. 'She's a nice bird, is Geraldine, very tasty. She comes down with Carmen to the gym sometimes.' Peekay was too polite to enquire about Togger's sister and Togger didn't seem to be looking around for her. He filled his glass with the remaining brown ale from the bottle. Just then the music stopped. Togger nudged him and indicated with a nod and a look in the direction of Tony behind the bar. Peekay turned to see Tony putting a record on a gramophone. He was wearing a top hat and white gloves; a black malacca cane with a silver top rested at the side of the gramophone. Tony saw Peekay looking at him and pursed his lips in an imaginary kiss. 'You really are a very pretty boy,' he said. Then he pulled at the lapels of his coat and picked up his cane.
Tony let himself out from behind the bar and skipped up towards the small stage just as a single blues note sounded from a trumpet. He did a small dance routine on stage, no more than a dozen steps, with a tapped finale, which brought him to a halt with his arms wide. Holding his cane in one hand and his top hat in the other, the microphone adjusted exactly to his height he said, 'It's show time, boys and girls! Show time at Tony del Grado's Fleshpot! London's hot-to-trot spot, where the spirit is willing and the flesh is sleek!'
Togger spoke quietly out of the corner of his mouth. 'His real name's Arthur Higgins. His dad's a bleedin' costermonger, got a barrow down Shepherd Market!'
The trumpet sounded low and sweet as it worked the blues number and Tony, in tune with it, allowed his voice to take on a sincere note. 'In the immortal tradition of the great Gypsy Rose Lee and in the name of all the artistes from the Folies Bergères and the Lido in gay Paree we bring you, for the first time tonight at the Fleshpot, the sensational Fifi la Tombo!'
The drums cut suddenly and a new, langorously slow blues number started. The house spots dimmed and a single spot opened on the stage as the curtain opened to reveal Geraldine in a black evening gown and long black velvet gloves, the gown hugging her body and slashed to the thighs. Her routine wasn't exactly Rita Hayworth; it was mostly easy stuff, the timing not critical, but nevertheless the audience seemed to like it. Peekay found his chest feeling constricted and the tight stove-pants held his erection painfully. He pulled at his collar, trying to stay calmâ¦Lifting his glass to his lips, his eyes fixed on Geraldine, he poured brown ale down his chin, missing his mouth by half an inch.
Geraldine finally stripped down to a small red G-string and the lights cut, leaving the room in darkness. As the curtain closed, the house spots came on to tremendous applause, even the hostesses standing up to cheer.
'I've seen a lot worse in me time.' Togger exclaimed.
'Blimey, Peekay, her bristols must be made out of bleedin' marble. Didya see how they stood straight out?'
'I didn't notice.' Peekay said, sotto voce.
Togger looked up in surprise. 'You lying bastard!' They both broke up in laughter. 'Christ, Togger, I'd throw a world title for a night with her.'
'Oil Steady on, lad, when you've got the world title, just imagine the birds you'll pull an' all!' Togger stood up on the crossbars of the bar stool and reached over and under the bar counter for another couple of bottles of brown ale.
Peekay laughed. 'Don't think I haven't thought about that!'
The house lights dimmed and the spot returned to rest on Tony at the microphone. The record began to play a soft continuous timpany, more a feathering of the drums than a beat, the drummer tickling the skins, making them scratch and pant. To Peekay's surprise Tony addressed the microphone quietly, his voice hardly raised. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring youâ¦Carmen Brown!' He reached into an inside pocket of his tails and produced a harmonica. The spot dimmed, though it remained on him, and a second spot opened up onto centre stage as the curtains lifted. Peekay could feel Togger go rigid beside him. Standing completely still, her arms raised high, wearing a white evening gown cut not very differently from the one Geraldine had worn, stood a beautiful coloured girl. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders and her skin was the colour of mimosa honey. The drum started to pick out a syncopation and Tony's harmonica blew a sharp, clean note as Carmen began to move, her slim body jerking to every drum beat and sliding to the soft roll of the harmonica. She couldn't possibly be Togger's sister. Ginger, freckled Togger. No bloody way! Her routine was. the most sensuous thing Peekay had ever seen, a whipped cream experienced way beyond anything he'd ever fantasised, but out of respect for Togger he desperately willed himself not to become aroused. But he might as well have tried to stop his heart beating. By the time her routine was complete her honeybrown body was bathed in sweat as she bumped and smoothed to the drum beat and the harmonica. The harmonica rose high and held, the drum spat a series of sharp rattat-tat-tats and cut dead as Carmen raised her hands and spread her feet wide in the same position she'd opened with, though this time she stood only in a diamante G-string and high heels. The lights went to black just as she brought her arms down and hooked her thumbs into the silver G-string, pulling downwards. The place went wild. Carmen was something else all together: erotic, wild, she easily broke every demarcation the Apostolic Faith Mission could in their wildest imaginings have laid down for penultimate sinnership.
Peekay wanted to say all sorts of things. His heart was pumping and his mouth was dry. He placed his hand on Togger's shoulder, which was still rigid, but relaxed as soon as he felt Peekay grip it, as though his friend had somehow released the tension. 'Your sister, how can she be your sister, Togger?'
Half sister, me old man's from Haiti. He jumped ship in Bristol when he was seventeen. Me mum is Irish and 'ad a bun in the oven, which was me without a known daddy, so she hitched him to give him citizenship and make her respectable. A quid pro quo.'
'Put it there, partner,' Peekay stuck his hand out.
'What for?' Togger took his hand.
'Well, I don't know who my daddy was either!'
'Honest?' Togger laughed, 'Funny that, ain't it? I mean not knowing who your old man was. Mind, I can't explain, old Doug, that's me old man, could'na been better, he gets a bit mad sometimes when he's had a few snorts. But he's never put an 'and on Carmen or me mum, not ever, not even once. And I soon bleedin' learned to stay out the way when he'd had a few.'
'So your sister, I mean Carmen, she's younger than you?'
'Yeah, I musta been just about ready to pop outa the oven when me mum got hitched to Doug, a year and two months. We went to school together, we was like twins. That's how come I learned to box. I was always fightin' some bastard because he called Carmen a nigger, like.'
'So who's the good lookin' friend, Togger?' A female voice said suddenly behind Peekay.
'Hello, Carmo!' Togger said, smiling broadly. Togger's sister moved to stand between them, bending down she gave Togger a peck on the side of his face. 'Peekay, this is me little sister, Carmen Brown.' It was obvious from the formal way he named her and the tone of his voice that Togger was proud of the beautiful young woman who stood beside him.
'You were marvellous, Carmen. I've never seen anything as wonderful in my life.' Peekay said.
Carmen laughed. She had a big mouth and her teeth were even and white and her dark eyes danced. 'I hope you mean sexy, Peekay? I'm paid to be sexy, not wonderful! Tony del Grado's Fleshpot don't want no class acts.' She looked up at Tony, who was back behind the bar. 'Ain't that right, Tony, baby?'
'Art doesn't pay the rent, darling. We're peddling pussy not Picasso!'
'No honestly, Carmen, I'm not an expert, this is the first time I've ever seen a strip show, but you were the best by far!'
Carmen looked at Peekay in surprise. 'First time?'
'Where've you been, lovey, under a rock? I don't suppose you're still a virgin, are you?' Tony said archly.
Peekay went beetroot, unable to respond. 'Only in the sense that he hasn't been sodomised by a berk like you!' Togger shot back angrily.
'Now, now you two!' Carmen said firmly. 'Nice to know you, Peekay, we'll have a drink afterwards.' She jerked a thumb in Tony's direction, 'I've got to go and hustle drinks for the fairy with the top hat and wand.'
Just then three sharp rings sounded from a buzzer under the bar. 'Shit! Trouble! It's Les. At the door!' Tony said in alarm.
'Cmon, Peekay!' Togger flew off the stool and was heading for the passageway. Peekay followed quickly.
The door stood ajar and Les sat in the doorway, his arms covering his head. Three men were bent over him, two holding him down while one kicked him in the ribs. Togger let fly with a right which sent the kicker backwards just as Peekay caught him in a rugby tackle. The big man was forced backwards, knocking the back of his head against the wall on the far side of the steps. Peekay was up in a flash as a second man's boot landed, just missing his groin but sending him backwards into the arms of the man he'd just tackled. Fortunately the impact where he'd hit his head against the wall had dazed him and Peekay was able to leap up again towards his attacker. There wasn't room to throw a punch so, grabbing the man by the lapels of his coat, he gave him a Liverpool kiss, his forehead smashing into his assailant's face connecting with the edge of his brow and the base of his nose. The man dropped to his knees clutching at his face.
Togger was on the-ground with the third man on top of him. Both the man's hands were around Togger's neck, and he was bringing his head back to kiss Togger in the face with his forehead. With Togger's head already on the ground the 'kiss' to his forehead would damn near kill him.
Les got to his feet just as Peekay dived onto Togger's attacker, grabbing him in a neck-lock and pulling his head back. Les threw an upper-cut at Togger's attacker at precisely the same time as Peekay jerked the man's head away, his own head twisting sideways to take the punch from Les directly on the nose. Peekay thought he'd run into a train.
Everything went black and red, but somehow he managed to hold onto the man's neck as they both went sprawling.
Peekay was too dazed to hang on much longer and the man forced his arm from his neck and stood up. Through a daze of red and black lightning, his head spinning, Peekay grabbed frantically at the villain's legs, hugging them into his chest just as Togger, who'd climbed to his feet, hit the guy with a right upper-cut that came at him from the floor. Les's arm shot out, grabbed the man by the hair and jerked his head down, bringing his knee up at the same time, smashing the man's face into his knee.
'Let him fall, Peekay!' Togger shouted. Peekay released the man, who seemed to fall in slow motion, unconscious before he slumped to the floor.
Peekay crawled from out under Togger's attacker, his head clearing. He was laughing, blood pouring from his nose. Togger began to laugh and then Les. The first two attackers struggled to their feet, shaky and somewhat dazed, not sure where they were. Togger grabbed hold of the second one, and Les grabbed the bigger one, turning him around and wrenching his arm behind his back.
'Who fuckin' sent you?' demanded Les. 'Answer or I'll snap your soddin' arm off!' Behind him, Peekay giggled and Les started to laugh again. Somehow it wasn't the threat but the laughter which seemed to terrify the man.
'Nick Poultos, he paid us to do the place over,' the man panted.
'The Soho wine importer?'
'That's right.' It was the second guy who spoke.- He had his hands in the air, blood pouring from his nose, down his chin and onto his white shirt front.
'C'warn, piss off you two!' Les managed a fierce expression at last. 'Take yer mate and fuck off outta here before I call the fuzz! Tell Poultos we'll be comin' for him.' The two men lifted the third man up and between them they dragged him up the steps.
Les looked up at the people who'd gathered at street level and were watching them over the railing. 'Okay, show's over. Hoppit, ladies and gentlemen, it's all quiet on the West End front.'
Peekay covered his nose, using both hands. It hurt like hell, but he looked up at Togger and started to laugh again. The passageway was crowded with girls and some of the patrons pushed forward to see what had happened. Carmen was suddenly beside Togger, holding him fiercely by the shoulders. Togger grinned. 'I'm orright, luv.'
Carmen dropped to her knees beside the still laughing Peekay, blood from his nose running through his fingers. At her touch he stopped and moved his hands away. He saw the alarmed look on her face. 'Jesus, Peekay, the bastards have hurt you!'
Peekay grinned. 'Hi, Carmen. One hundred and sixteen fights, if you count today, one hundred and eighteen, all of them defending my dumb nose. Thank Christ it's broken at last!' He attempted to get up but Carmen held him. She pulled his head gently into her bosom, her fingers running through his hair. 'You're beautiful, Peekay, you're a beautiful man, broken nose' an all.' She kissed him lightly on the forehead. 'Tonight you're coming home with me. It's time you broke something else as well.'