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"They have the signs in Swiss, French, and German," he pointed. "I speak two-out of three, so I know we're in the right place. This will just take a minute."

Austin left Kaori in the waiting area at the front of the office playing with her phone, and using his language skills he managed to find the right clerk and the right file and the right tube full of technical plans. He returned victorious with a large poster tube over one shoulder.

"So do you want to pick up some supplies for dinner and go over these at the hotel or back at the chalet?" he asked as he held open the door for her.

"Too much restaurant food isn't good for the digestion, so I was thinking about picking up the pieces for a cold platter," he said. "Cheese, bread, summer sausage, olives, maybe a bottle of scotch. Finger-foods and that sort of thing."

He opened the car door for her. She really looked like a lady with her new clothes and new purse. Maybe if Nixie really did leave someday, he could be Kaori's body guard and driver. He kinda liked that idea.

"So we'll hit a market and head back to the hotel," he confirmed as he slid into the driver's seat. He navigated the streets until they were back at the hotel. It was small but very luxurious, and they picked up a spare key from the polite concierge.

"You're back," Nixie commented dryly when they walked into the suite. "Good. I have a bit of a...conundrum."

"So what was in the envelope?" Austin asked, setting the bag of groceries on the kitchenette counter.

"The conundrum," Nixie replied. "Turns out Sovenn owned a club I didn't know about. A fetish club. I want to get in to check the safe in case there's anything there I need. I want to trade the deed for that, but I can't really go in alone."

"Why is that?" Austin asked slowly, but he could guess why.

"Because it's a chauvinistic cesspool," Nixie growled. "It's a place where males dominate and females submit. Feminists are not welcome, and if the assault charges are to be believed, they are forcibly removed. We need to get in and get to the back room and get out in one piece. So, suggestions?"

Austin glanced at the deed sitting on the coffee table.

"There won't be blueprints of this place," he said. "At least, not accurate ones. It was built during World War 2 so no matter what sort of firepower we have, we won't get in."

"That's what I was afraid of," Nixie confessed. The next sentence stuck to the roof of her mouth, but she managed to get it out. "The only way in I can see is...was your escorts, Austin."

Austin's eyebrows shot up. "My escorts? So I get two beautiful women hanging on my arms? Will you two make out if I ask nicely?"

"Not that kind of fetish," Nixie retorted.

"I don't like it either, but it would be a worse idea to leave anything of a personal nature in that club," Nixie replied firmly.

"Wait-wait-wait," Austin held up his hands to slow down the conversation. "What sort of fetish? What's the dress code."

"Leather."

The thought of Nixie and Kaori wrapped up in leather for his entertainment flashed through his mind and it took him a moment to form a responce.

"And how many of us need to go in?" he asked.

"All of us," Nixie said. "I'll have the deed, but I'm going to need backup. I'll need both of you if we're going to get out unmolested."

Austin didn't like the way she intently slicing the sausage.

"I didn't say anything!" Austin defended himself. "And actually, if we play our cards right, we could do this. Just hear me out. Kaori, you're a hand-to-hand and knife fighting expert, right? And Nixie, when you put your mind to it, you can be more alluring than all of Sinbad's sirens. Put the two of you under my thumb, and that would make me even more bad-a** than I already am. Then we come up, exchanging the deed free and clear for anything a shady business partner might have left in the safe. They're not gangsters. They're just under ground and they want to stay that way. We're not a threat--we're an opportunity."

"What's the catch?" Nixie asked cautiously.

"You just have to let me take the lead on this," he said simply.

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to go unarmed. In fact, the more knives they think I allow you to wear, the more prestige that will give me," Austin said. "We just need the right outfits."

"Right. If we go shopping tomorrow morning, we can hit the club tomorrow night," Nixie planned. She started working on her phone. "There's a boutique warehouse we can hit that should fill all our needs--including knives."

Austin rubbed his hands together and tried not to look too eager.

Austin noticed Kaori's response and went over to her.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked softly. "I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I know how these types work. You'll be safe with me."