Killer Genius 2: Attack of the Gym Rats

Author.

Prologue

September 19th, 2022

9:22pm

So, how long have you worked at Beastmode? Tony asked. Janice was nervous, not about the date so much as being spotted out in public with a client from the gym. She hadn’t bothered to read the part of the employee manual that covered such things, because until she had met Tony, the idea of dating a client hadn’t entered her mind.

I’ve been there about a year, she answered. It’s convenient for me with the school being a few blocks away. She glanced around and saw only three other couples in the restaurant. She was thankful that no one looked familiar.

You mentioned at the gym that you’re going to LIU on a full scholarship?

She stole a quick sip from her water glass before responding. Yes. If all goes as planned, I’ll have a Master’s Degree in sports therapy next year.

Working at the gym and school, that’s a tough load. Your folks must be very proud.

A look of pride mixed with lust filled Tony’s handsome, milk-chocolate face. She prayed her own face wasn’t betraying the fact that her heart was melting. She squirmed slightly in her seat. My folks are actually gone. Cancer took them both. Mom while I was in high school and dad last year.

Janice, I’m so sorry, Tony said. As the lust in his face turned to regret, she quickly made up her mind that she wasn’t going to let the conversation go down a dark path. This was a night for exploring new possibilities, not feeling sorry for herself. The conversation needed to go in a more positive direction.

It’s okay. I miss them, but I try to focus on doing my best to honor their memory. Make something of myself, live a good life and be happy. That’s what they wanted for me.

I’m sure they’re looking down with enormous pride, Tony was beaming again. Like her, he seemed eager to not let the dinner conversation go sullen. So, are you playing for a team, or is this an academic scholarship?

Academic, she answered. I had a really good GPA coming out of high school and LIU actually sought me out and made the offer. They keep paying and I keep taking classes. Other schools wanted me too, but I wanted to stay in Brooklyn.

Sounds like you were safe from ‘The Good Grades Killer’, in any event.

Janice recollected how a few years ago, a tech-savvy serial killer began a murderous campaign, killing a white racist talk show host, a misogynist rapper and a host of random criminals, bad teachers, cops and juvenile delinquents all to scare the five boroughs of New York into revamping its educational system. I was already out of high school during that craziness. But no, I don’t imagine ‘The Good Grades Killer’ would have come after me if I was.

"You know, it’s all over YouTube that he might still be alive. And that he is or was a she."

Nah! He or she must be dead or at least retired, Janice chuckled. Because this city is not suffering from a shortage of stupid people. Take it from someone who regularly sits at the front desk of Beastmode Fitness and then takes the train home to Queens four nights a week.

They laughed so hard that they didn’t see the waitress approach. Two Nightingale Nests and a side of pineapple rice? the server confirmed with a broad smile.

Yes, please.

Yes, thank you.

Their meals landed in front of them and they ate silently for a few minutes. Slowly, the look of lust returned to Tony’s eyes, as they shared approving nods and smiles over the food. Janice was relieved. So, you work in finance?

Yes, he managed through a half-swallowed mouthful of rice. Boring stuff. Demanding boss. But it keeps me off the streets.

"And living in the almost unaffordable part of downtown Brooklyn. Your folks must be pretty proud."

When they aren’t busy trying to convince me of how they were so much happier after their divorce, sure.

They do that?

It’s all they ever talk about, when they’re not asking about grandkids.

And you don’t want kids? The thought that this might make the date uncomfortable only occurred to her after she’d asked.

Of course, I do, Tony answered. Not right this moment, but yes.

They both laughed.

Getting the career together, first, she said while she slid her fork into a piece of chicken. I get it. Of course, I imagine you often find nice ladies to practice your baby making techniques with?

He nearly choked, then took a sip of water and regained his composure. I’m no saint, but I’m not seeing anyone serious, if that’s what you’re asking me.

Janice shot him a mischievous grin. So, there’s no special someone who would get mad if I were to go home with you tonight?

He squinted at her directness. I can’t really speak on other people’s anger, but I would say that currently no one would have the right to be mad.

Very slippery.

I can be.

By the way, my asking you that doesn’t mean you’re getting some tonight.

It doesn’t? What does it mean, then?

It means I have a 9am class and might want to sleep on your couch and spare myself the two hours of commuting just to come back to this neighborhood.

Let’s see if I understand this. You are inviting yourself over?

Yes.

Great. And I have a very nice couch. I’ll order dessert to go.

It’s like you’re reading my mind.

God, I hope so.

***

12:03am

Hi. I’m Chad! I’ve never seen you here before! And I certainly would have remembered you.

The music was so loud, she would have to yell to conduct the conversation. It was her least favorite thing about nightclubs. Hello Chad, I’m Clarissa! You’re right. This is my first time here.

His face brightened at her welcoming smile and noticeable accent. Ah! You’re Russian!

I am indeed, she said through the smile.

So, who did you come here with? Chad asked as the DJ shouted out drink special information and beams of light swirled around them.

Just my brother! She sipped her martini gingerly.

You party with your brother? Chad seemed disappointed, as if he’d already calculated that Clarissa’s brother being present would cut into his chances he’d have sex with her anytime soon.

Only because we are new to America and don’t really know other people. No need to worry, he’s not overprotective.

Her words were just enough to keep Chad interested. Clarissa took a moment to notice, then continued.

He’s over there, she pointed towards the cluster of booths on the furthest right side of the club.

Chad turned and saw an Adonis in his early thirties in a perfectly tailored, dark suit. Two olive-toned waitresses in skin-tight black tank tops and booty shorts had brought over an ice bucket and two bottles of high end champagne with lit sparklers flaring from the top of each bottle. The three attractive women who shared the booth with Clarissa’s brother seemed delighted at the sight of the bottles. But even as his companions cheered, clapped and seemed to purposely shake their sumptuous cleavages, his facial expression never changed. His dark eyes remained purposeful, as if the champagne were no more than a patronizing means to an end.

Chad believed he knew the end that Clarissa’s stone-faced brother was after and he wanted in.

Would you like to join us? Clarissa asked. Or, are you with someone?

I would love to join you and…?

Jon. His name is Jon.

Chad smiled. Lead the way, beautiful lady!

Clarissa smiled, took his hand and pulled him behind her as she made her way past the dancers and drink-seekers. Mission accomplished.

***

Not much of a talker, are you, Big Guy? In Chad’s opinion, Clarissa’s brother had spent most of their time together taking the ‘strong silent type’ thing a little too far. Chad could only assume that was why the two Spanish girls had left their drunk blonde friend with the not so verbose Russian. He had managed to bore them despite having purchased a king’s ransom in overpriced champagne. After drinking nearly an entire bottle each, the two swarthy beauties suddenly remembered that there was a salsa band on one of the higher floors of the club, excused themselves and never returned.

Jon didn’t seem bothered. In fact, he appeared content that only the blonde remained. Only, he didn’t talk to her either. As she rambled on about her day working a cosmetics counter in a MAC store, Jon barely listened. Whenever he bothered to look at her, he had the look of a man casually noticing a fly buzzing past him. Not exactly the stance of a man trying to get laid. After a while, the scenario had begun to annoy Chad, who among other things, hated ‘cockblockers’. As the four of them sat in their booth that vibrated as the DJ switched from top 40 dance music to bass heavy techno, Chad had begun to suspect the worse of Jon.

My brother is just tired, Clarissa excused. And while he’s very generous, he’s not much of a drinker himself.

Or he’s just pissed that the Spanish girls bounced and this is how he’s handling it.

Well, if you need me to chip in on the bottles, Big Man…

That will not be necessary, Jon answered flatly.

We are personal trainers with high end clientele, Clarissa revealed. Money is not an issue.

Then, what IS the fucking issue?

We should all leave now, Jon said.

Did I just spend all this time chatting this girl up only for her brother to pull her out of here?! Shit! He is a cockblocker!

Yes! Clarissa grabbed her clutch in one hand and slipped her free arm under Chad’s. Yes, let’s all go back to our place and keep the party going!

Your place? You guys live together?

Yes, but our place is big, Clarissa said before leaning closer to him. Our bedrooms are very far from each other. They’ll go in his room and we will go in mine.

Oh. Okay. I suppose that works.

Good! Let’s go!

Clarissa practically pushed Chad out of the booth and for the second time, dragged him through the crowd. As they made their way to the exit, Chad realized he was drunker than he thought. Where’s your brother? he heard himself ask.

He went to get the car.

Where do you guys live, anyway?

Downtown Brooklyn, she answered as they walked out of the door and past the large group of tall, black bouncers keeping a rowdy mob at bay in the front of the club.

How did I lose sight of the brother so fast?

Before long, a black SUV pulled up and Clarissa helped him into the backseat. He saw the back of the blonde’s head, titled slightly as she sat in the front passenger seat. Jon, stoic as ever, watched him from the rearview mirror. He tried to apologize but could feel himself blacking out. At least he was in the car, and if Clarissa was as into him as she was making herself out to be, he was about to have a really good time. But first, a nap.

***

Sleeping with a guy on the first date. Never did that before. He probably thinks I’m just some slut. I should just go home.

Instead of the euphoria that normally comes after a wildly passionate, multi-position sexual encounter, Janice lay in Tony’s bed feeling anxious and vulnerable. Her parents hadn’t raised her to be a one-night stand kind of girl, yet here she was, living in a one-night stand kind of world. While her parents, Cecilia and Terrence Thursby, had been a happily married couple with no infidelities between them that she knew of, they had been anomalies in their Generation X culture. Sleeping around was in fact the norm of adults back in the 1990s and early 2000s. And while psychologists all over the world would point to everything from reality TV to porn addiction to social media as the culprit, no one seemed to want to admit that the real problem is that in the core of their beings, many people were simply too selfish to commit to the kind of work that a committed relationship calls for.

Thanks to her upbringing and the idyllic example her parents had set, she was an anomaly of her generation, or at least that is how it felt. While most of her girlfriends treated sex as casually as their male counterparts treated a pickup game of basketball in a local park, she was still hoping to find something along the lines of what her parents had enjoyed. But without the elder Thursbys to cheer her on, the world had become a lonely enough place that she had finally decided that maybe her parents had given her the wrong playbook. After all, it made sense that a different generation would require different rules.

Okay, fine! I let him charm me into bed. We’ll just have to see how he acts in the morning. If he’s cold and unaffectionate, I’ll know he was just being charming at dinner so he could fuck me. On the other hand, if he’s all hearts and flowers, I’ll respond in kind. I’m sure I’m neither the first, nor the last woman to go through this.

Janice glanced over at the sleeping Tony and envied his untroubled slumber. Well, at least one of us is feeling confident about their first impression, she thought as she rolled over to her side and closed her eyes. A few seconds passed before she felt him turn towards her, snake his arm around her waist and pull her into a ‘spoon’ position. Her eyes opened.

This is encouraging.

***

They’re both asleep! Clarissa hissed in Russian. You gave them too much.

Jon was nearly done cutting through Chinatown and about to turn the SUV onto the Manhattan Bridge. He talks too much. Why do you always pick these chatterboxes?

The same reason you picked a shallow blonde that only talks about makeup. Because this thing we do is easier when the person is annoying, she said. Doing this with nice people sometimes bothers me and it probably bothers you too.

My conscience is clear. This is America. None of them are nice. You see how they treat each other on, what’s that thing with the fighting and the botched ass surgeries? PlanetStar?

Now you are being silly. And one website’s Internet traffic is not indicative of an entire country any more than anything else would be.

What about voting for an incompetent fascist dictator who won’t feed school children? Jon said.

We have dictators back home too, she countered.

Chad groaned. His heavy eyes opened to slits and then closed. Are you talking in Russian, baby? That’s sexy.

I hope he’s talking to you, Jon said with the first flash of emotion he’d displayed all night. See, we will be able to wake him and we won’t have to carry him to the elevator. Everything is fine.

I suppose I overreacted.

It’s okay, sister. I still love you.

I should hope so.

***

The night air had apparently revitalized Chad. Wow! Nice place! You guys sure you don’t know the president? I’ve heard some things about Russians knowing the president.

Chad’s enthused exclamation of wonderment was not the first time a guest gave a strong reaction to Jon and Clarissa’s apartment. Located in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, with a view of the side of the Brooklyn Bridge that could have inspired a thousand paintings, the palatial space seemed to have more square footage than most 2010 internet startups. Clarissa smiled and glanced at her brother while he watched their guest take in the Persian rugs, antique lamps, mirrors framed in bronze and unblemished hardwood floors that adorned the living room. Twenty paces away, a spotless kitchen and dining area filled with brand new appliances, framed by cherry-stained wooden cabinets trimmed in ebony and a marble kitchen island that could have been an altar in an ancient Aztec blood ritual stood to their right.

Except for the occasional moan, one would think the blonde in Jon’s arms was dead. In any event, she did have to be carried inside and had yet to come to.

I will take my friend in the back, Jon had clearly tired of Chad. The rest of the place is yours.

Chad wasn’t thrilled with Jon either. Hey Big Guy! Be sure she’s at least awake and consenting before you start railing her. We have laws in this country!

Given the way the rest of the night had gone, Chad half expected Jon to turn around and at best, tell him to go fuck himself. Instead, Jon ignored him and exited down a hallway that presumably led to the bedrooms. After a moment, they heard a door slammed shut.

Seriously, is your brother okay? I mean if she wakes up and realizes something happened she didn’t want to happen and called the cops… I mean, I don’t need to be put in the position where I am explaining anything to any cops.

My brother happens to be very nice. Girl is old friend. She will sleep it off and then he’ll make her breakfast. In the meantime, you and I have business.

Clarissa held Chad’s hand as she led him down the same hallway that Jon had just disappeared into. They passed two doors on the left and one on the right before entering a final bedroom roughly half the size of the living room. Other than the bed and a single night table, the room was empty, which gave the impression that she had just moved in. Long white drapes adorned the windows and seemed to billow in a gentle breeze. Over the bed hung a replica of Ivan Aivazovsky’s painting The Ninth Wave.

Chad didn’t know the first thing about art, Russian or otherwise, but he found it striking nonetheless. Nice painting.

Thank you. Take off your clothes!

Chad was suddenly taken aback, as if suddenly not believing that he was finally going to get what he’d been all but praying for all night.

Come on, you big, strong American bull! Show me what you’ve got!

That was all it took to motivate Chad into stripping completely naked in a matter of seconds. My pleasure, he said as he kicked his clothes away and walked towards Clarissa with his semi-erect penis springing more and more to life with every step.

Clarissa had positioned herself on top of the bed, kneeling with her arched back and supple-looking buttocks facing him. On the bed, roughly a foot away from her exposed vagina lay a condom in a blue wrapper.

Never taking his gaze from his intended target, he reached down, grabbed the condom and ripped it open. After accidentally putting it on the wrong way, Chad turned the condom around, slid it on and resumed his approach, getting on the bed behind her and putting a hand on her ass. He was smiling until he felt the sharp prick in his left butt cheek.

Even with his left leg giving way, he managed to turn around to see a naked Jon standing behind him with a deadpan expression and a hypodermic needle in his hand.

My brother. He gets jealous. Clarissa explained.

Chad tried to punch Jon but missed considerably as he was already in the process of falling on his back. He tried to speak, but could only produce a cough filled with a pasty froth. His head felt as if it was suddenly filled with cotton, but he could hear Jon clearly enough. Foolish man. You think I would let you fuck my sister? No one fucks my sister except me!

Chad began to convulse, seemingly after every third heartbeat. His skin had gone cold, but he could feel Jon’s hands slip under his arms. Incapable of willing himself to make the slightest motion, he watched as Jon dragged him across the floor and propped him up in a chair to the left of the bed.

Now you watch what a real man can do!

Chad watched as Jon joined his sister on the bed. Clarissa was no longer bent over, but waiting with outstretched arms and pouted lips. If nothing else, Chad got to see what Clarissa really looked like when she felt true love, even if it wasn’t directed at him.

They fell into each other’s arms and