The music was almost deafeningly loud inside the club.  Katy turned around and leaned against the bar as she scanned the dance floor.  She smiled when she saw Chris and Joey.  They were sitting in a booth in the far corner of the club, with some friends.  The intelligence they had gathered while in Orlando had been correct.

            Mandy leaned in close to ask Katy what the plan was.  She sat there sipping her drink, her eyes fixed on their targets.  Mandy couldn’t help but think how attractive Joey was in person, the way he smiled and joked with his friends was heavenly to her.

              “We wait.  By the way I believe that we discussed this, you’re not supposed to be drinking.” Katy said.

            “It’s non-alcoholic.” Mandy explained.  “What exactly is it that we waiting for any way?” 

            “Let them have a few drinks and limber up, why don’t you call the others and tell them that it’s going down tonight.  We’ll call them again once we have what we came for, or for bail money whichever the case may be.”  Katy explained, she studied they way they moved, watching for signs that they might be feeling the effects of the alcohol.  Mandy glanced at her nervously then snuck away to make her phone call.

            The club was fairly packed, Katy wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.  The lights were kind of giving her a headache, she wanted a drink so bad to help loosen her up, but it was important to stay sharp.  A strange man approached her and began to hit on her.  She rolled her eyes and wished Mandy would return soon.  Katy giggle playfully at him and whispered in his ear.  He smiled and licked his lips.  When Mandy returned Katy grabbed her arm and led her to the dance floor, waving good bye to her new friend.  He watch intently as the two of them walked away.

            “Okay what was that all about?” Mandy questioned once they were on the dance floor.

              “He was bothersome so I told him that you were my girlfriend.  And you were way cuter than him.” Katy said with a smile.  Mandy hit her in the arm as hard as she could.

            “I am not a lesbian!”  She snapped.  Katy shook her head; she had thought it was a complement, not an insult.  Mandy was after all a very pretty girl, with soft features and a warm smile.

            “I didn’t mean anything by it; you know that I am not gay and that I would never hit on you.  Besides maybe Joey likes lesbians.” Katy joked and spun Mandy around so that she could see Joey.  They were closer now and he was looking even better than before.  Chris was there too, with his hat pulled down and a stiff drink in his hand.  The two of them laughed a joked with each other.  You could tell that they were good friends.

            The girls dance and spun around the dance floor for the better part of an hour, moving from time to time to avoid suspicion.  Mandy loved to dance and was really enjoying herself, but she never lost sight of the mission at hand.  Deep down inside she really wanted to dance with Joey instead of Katy and the random men that got between them.

            Finally Katy could tell by their demeanor that they were starting to feel pretty good from the alcohol.  She pulled Mandy in close to her and fixed her hair.  Mandy asked her what she was doing, a little freaked out by her friend’s behavior.

             “Have you ever been to a magic show?” Katy asked her.  Mandy nodded.  “You know how the magician distracts the audience with one thing while they do something else?” Katy added waiting for Mandy to confirm that she understood where she was going with this.  “Well you my dear are the distraction.”  Katy took her hand and pulled her toward Chris and Joey.

              “Why do I have to be the distraction, why can’t you?” Mandy questioned nervously.

             “Because I have to work the magic, but I will be right there with you flirting and misleading them.  Two is better than one, right?  But mostly it’s you because you um… have more… Oh just more!  Guys drool over you all the time.” Katy assured her.  Mandy smiled to herself, she was pretty popular with the boys after all.

            Joey had his back to them as they approached him.  Katy nodded to Mandy to proceed with her role in the plan.  Mandy lightly tapped him on the shoulder and he quickly spun around to see who had tapped him.  He smiled when he saw them standing there.  They were pretty attractive but seemed coy.  He finally asked them if he could help them, his eyes fixed on Mandy.

              “Well we were hoping that you and your friend would let us buy you guys a shot, we’re big fans.” Mandy said pointing to Chris, who wasn’t paying any attention to them.  She batted her eyes at him playfully and smiled sweetly.  Katy held tight to Mandy’s hand and just looked up at him as innocently as she could.  Joey looked at Chris and thought for a minute.  It was a sweet gesture and who was he to say no to a fan.

            “Absolutely” Joey answered turning back to them.  Mandy couldn’t help but notice that he reeked of booze, yet she couldn’t help but become lost in his big brown eyes.  That is until she felt Katy push her closer to him.

            “If you watch my friend for me, I will go and get the shots.  Is there anything special that you like?” Katy asked.  Mandy reminded her friend that she had promised to stay together.  “Relax Mandy; I am sure Joey here will take great care of you.  I’ll only be a minute.” Katy explained.  Joey smiled at her and told Katy that anything was fine; He and Chris weren’t picky drinkers.  He wrapped one arm around Mandy and pulled her over to their group, While Katy slipped back to the bar to get the shots.

              “Hey guys this is… Mandy was it?” Joey questioned, he had never been very good with names.  Mandy waved to the group and smiled, after all Joey did have his arm around her.  She felt safe and warm in his embrace.  Chris noticed the way she was looking at Joey and knew right away that she was a star struck fan.  They were easy to spot.  He greeted her with a nod, not that she noticed.

            “Mandy and her hot friend want to buy us a shot.” Joey explained.  Joey saw Chris’s eyes widen a bit and he pointed back toward the bar.  Katy had been watching them out of the corner of her eye.  As they looked into her direction she lean in a bit and looked over her shoulder toward them.  Flirtation was not her strong point but she gave it her best effort.  Katy turned to the bar tender and ordered four shots of the strongest liquor he had in stock.

            Chris smiled in approval, though there was something different about the way Katy was behaving.  She didn’t have that star crossed look in her eyes that Mandy did.  He sipped his drink and watched Katy for a minute.  Mandy finally snapped back to reality and commented to Chris about the hat he was wearing.  It wasn’t that she liked it; it was just the only thing she could think of to get his attention diverted away from what Katy was doing.

              “You guys are way cuter in person.” Mandy thought out loud, both men just chuckled at her.

            “You should have seen us 10 years ago, we were even cuter back them.” Chris joked.  It had been awhile since he had thought about the group.  Chris and Joey hung out together a lot but the others were in California.  So he didn’t see as much of them anymore.

            Finally Katy rejoined them, carrying a tray with four shots.  She smiled at Chris and then handed him a glass.  He took it from her and looked her over one more time.  She quickly passed out the rest of the drinks.  Mandy hesitated to take it but then thought it wise to go with the flow.  One shot surely wouldn’t mess her up too much.

            “What shall we drink to?  How about we drink to two of the hottest guys on the planet?” Mandy questioned, rising her glass.  Katy followed her lead and waited for the guys.  Chris blushed a little then he and Joey joined in their toast.  After all who was going to turn down free booze?

              They quickly drank them down and Katy collected the glasses.  Mandy coughed and complained that it had tasted like paint thinner.  Katy just laughed at her, she kind of thought that all alcohol tasted that way, especially the strong stuff.

            “So I didn’t get your name?” Chris asked looking at Katy.  Katy studied him for a moment; he was shorter than she thought he would be.  He leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on her waiting for her to answer.  She smiled sweetly and extended her hand to him.  She gave him a friendly introduction as she shook his hand.  He noticed that she had a strong hand shake for such a tiny girl.

            The girls stayed close to them, not that Mandy was going to leave Joey’s side any time soon as it was.  It helped that Joey was a flirt too.  They were totally playing off each other’s unique skills in the art of seduction.  Katy sighed and stood next to Chris as he chatted with his friends.  Finally she tugged on his sleeve; it was time to test his awareness.

            “This is going to be an issue for me, isn’t it?” Katy asked pointed at Joey and Mandy, who were giggling and touching each other every chance they got.

            “Depends, did she drive you here?” Chris asked.  Katy nodded and made a pouty face at him.  Innocence really wasn’t a look Katy was used to conveying, she was much better at showing confidence or appearing guilty.  “Then yes, you may have a problem.” Chris explained, his speech somewhat slurred, but he knew full well that Joey liked the ladies and would probably talk Mandy into going with him somewhere.

            It wasn’t so much the answer that interested Katy, but his speech and they way he supported himself against the wall.  He struggled to find some words as he spoke and kept one hand on the wall at all times for balance.  Joey was sitting so it was hard to tell but she figured if one was ready they both might be.

            “Well I am not going to lose my ride.” Katy snapped.  She playfully adjusted Chris’s cover shirt and licked her lips.  Her green eyes twinkled in the dimly lit club.  “I couldn’t help but notice that you are a little drunk yourself.  Why don’t you let me take you home, after all your safety is important to me.  We could drop those two off somewhere along the way.” 

            Chris tried to think but the harder he tried the less sense everything made.  Maybe it was a good idea to let someone take him home.  It was clear to him that he was in no shape to drive and why waste the money on a cab when she was there and willing to drive him to his house.  He finally just nodded to her as if he couldn’t think of the words that he needed to say.

            “Perfect. Now say good bye to your friends, and I’ll get the love birds.” Katy explained.  She slid over to wear Mandy and Joey was and whispered into Mandy’s ear, all the while giving Joey a smile.  Chris’s friends were concerned about them leaving with people they barely knew but they had seen the girls and they had to admit that they were attractive and friendly.  They knew why they were letting the strangers take them home, but they didn’t have to like it.

              Katy lovingly latched on to Chris’s arm in an attempt to support him as they stumbled out of the club with Mandy and Joey in tow.  Katy tried her best to steer Chris into the right direction but he was weaving badly and hard to control.

            “Seriously how much did you have to drink?” Katy finally whined.

            “Apparently more than I thought I did.” Chris answered softly, finally falling to his knees in the parking lot.  Joey just laughed and then tried to help him back up.  Mandy and Katy stood aside watching them.  Mandy asked her if they should help him, Katy just shook her head and laughed.  She knew she couldn’t lift Chris so it was best to let Joey give it a try while he was still able.

            After much thought Katy came to Joey’s aid and they dragged Chris over to the car, where Chris finally passed out.  They laid him on the ground and Katy lifted the hatch to her car.  Joey peered in and became somewhat confused.

            “Why are your seats folded down?” He asked.

            “Because our luggage was in there?” Mandy questioned looking at Katy for a better answer.  Katy just shrugged, that sounded like a good enough answer to her.  She motioned for Joey to help her with Chris.  Katy knew it was only a matter of time before he too passed out and she really didn’t want to have to lift them both.

             They slid Chris into the back of the car.  Joey looked in the car and then at Mandy.  You could tell he had an idea by the way he looked at her.  He stumbled over to her and wrapped his arms around her and fell into the back of the car with her.  Mandy squealed and called to Katy for help.

            “That works for me.” Katy stated, just happy that he was in there, never mind the means.  “Watch your feet.” She added and slammed the door shut.  Katy went around and got in the driver’s seat, she didn’t look in the back for fear of what she might see.

            Joey softly kissed Mandy’s neck and ran his hands over her perfect body.  Mandy was kind of creeped out by the fact that his best friend was laying 2 inches away from them, but Joey didn’t seem to mind.  He still reeked of alcohol, even his kisses tasted like rum and coke.  This is not at all like Mandy imagined it would be.  But soon the kisses slowed and eventually stopped.  Joey laid still and Mandy realized that he had passed out.

            Mandy shoved him off of her and sat up.  He looked so peaceful now, like a big teddy bear.  Katy tossed her a roll of duct tape and told her to tie them up.  It was hard to move in the back of Katy’s tiny car, but Mandy found her way over to Chris first and began to wrap the tape around his limp wrists.  She then carefully placed a piece over his mouth just in case, before moving on to Joey.  Once she was done she climbed into the front seat with Katy.

            “Do you not know the meaning of the word help? “ Mandy asked.  Katy just laughed, after all it didn’t appear to her that Mandy was in much danger and it had kind of been what Mandy had always wanted.  “How long do you think they will be out?” Mandy added.

            “I don’t know, a few hours maybe.”  Katy explained.  She had never drugged any one before, so she wasn’t exactly sure on the time frame.  She was just hoping to get far enough away from the city before they came too.