Kip stood and reached for his gun. “May I?” He asked Porter.
“I am afraid you’re going to need it,” Porter said.
Kip and Annie made it back to the hotel without incident and were escorted to the hotel room. As Kip entered and closed the door behind them, he looked for the notebook on the floor where it was when he left. It was not there. Annie saw him scan the floor with his eyes.
“Better Than Me” By Hinder
“You read it, didn’t you?”
Kip did not answer. He went to the kitchenette and poured a glass of Jack Daniels and downed it in one gulp. “It’s been another long day Annie,” he said.
“I wrote what I wrote before I gave it as much thought as I should have,” she said.
Kip turned around and faced her. He had the bottle on his hand. He skipped the glass this time and just tilted the bottle into his mouth.
“What do you want me to say, Annie?”
Annie thought for a moment. “That you believe what I just told you. I will not write what you don’t want written.”
“It’s not really about that, Annie. I am not even sure I care about what goes in the book or what stays out anymore. Mainly I just feel betrayed. You wrote that entry in your notebook after we had made our agreement.”
Annie nodded. “Yes, I did. But like I said, I hadn’t thought it fully through. And it was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I started to realize I was having some feelings for you.” Annie said. “Before I began to learn there was more behind the rock star.”
Kip took another swig and a commotion broke out just outside his hotel room door. Kip pulled his nine millimeter from his belt and chambered a round. He rushed to be at Annie’s side, which made her feel secure.
Then the door swung open and the officer that Porter had assigned to watch over them stuck his head in. “There is a Jack, Stabbs and a Lock here to see you. Do you know them?”
“You don’t listen to rock and roll, do you officer?”
“Strictly a country guy, sir,” The cop said.
Kip laughed. “They are part of the band. Let them in.”
The cop threw open the door and the three guys strutted in, all scowling at the cop as they walked by. Then they were followed by Becky and Becky, the two naked girls from the club on the night of their last concert event.
Jack tossed Kip a bottle of Jim Beam, which Kip caught despite having his hands full of a bottle of jack and his gun. Kip had never dropped a bottle of alcohol. “Nicely done, sir,” Jack said, nodding appreciatively.
“Jacky, what the hell is going on?”
“Well, it looks like we are going to be in a shithole for the next week, so we thought we’d have a little going away party here,” Jack said. “Do you know there ain’t no alcohol over in Afghanistan? What kind of a fucking country doesn’t have any alcohol?”
Kip nodded. “Like you said Jacky, a shithole country.”
“Anyway,” Jack continued, “you know, you’ve got the biggest room out of all of us, so we thought, well, you know?”
“Sure Jacky, I am on board. Hell, I’ve already started,” Kip said as he held up his bottles of Jim and Jack in one hand while he tucked his gun back into his belt with the other.
“Alright then!” Jack yelled. “Stabbs and Lock, we need tunes and more girls!”
Lock went to the phone while Stubbs went to the stereo.
“And Becky and Becky, you know what to do!” Jack added.
Becky the blonde and Becky the brunette commenced to undress while they danced.
“Nope! Nope! What have I taught you girls? Come on, you know the drill!” Jack yelled at them.
Becky and Becky then started to undress each other. Before long, they were completely naked and dancing across the floor.
Jack looked at Kip and Annie and smiled. “What can I say, I have them trained. I should open a school!”
Kip looked over his shoulder at Annie. Annie smiled but it was very reserved. “So, what do we do, now?” she asked.
“We’ll talk more about this tomorrow,” Kip said.
“You mean, tomorrow on the plane?” Annie asked.
Kip smiled at her. “You’re still invited, Annie. You have to go. You’re in danger here and you have nowhere else to live. Besides, you’re my biographer.”
Annie’s smile turned south. “I was hoping you would say I was more than that,” she said.
Kip winked at her. “Like I said, we’ll talk more tomorrow. This isn’t really the time or place anymore.”
“Party Hard” By Andrew WK
Just then one of the Becky’s danced in between Kip and Annie and grabbed her hand, pulling her along. Annie started to dance along with the two Becky’s.