Everything went smoothly. Certainly King Jackson thought so right up until the moment when the drug kicked in and he passed out on the bed. Krissy disentangled herself from his now limp embrace. They didn’t usually get that far with her, but he was a big man in really good shape and very, very determined. He’d actually gotten a hand under her dress and on her tit just before his eyes rolled up. Her skin crawled where he’d groped it. She ignored the feeling and set to work. She could always take a nice hot shower once she was back home.
She was so practiced in her routine now that she barely had to think about it as she carefully looted the man’s pockets, turning up an expensive but thin wallet and a thick wad of cash in a gold money clip. The wallet yielded up half a dozen credit cards, but she only took two: One gold and one platinum. She ransacked his room and luggage, turning up some very nice gold jewelry and a small-caliber pistol in a zippered black leather case. She left the gun as she’d found it. She knew perfectly well how to use one, but the city had some really stringent laws about even thinking about owning one and it was best to avoid trouble whenever possible. She usually took everything valuable, but this time she left behind the less-expensive looking jewelry and his watch. It was a break from her usual method of operation. With any luck, the cops wouldn’t connect this with most of her previous escapades.
After she scattered some misleading hairs about she went back to Mr. Jackson. She tore open his shirt and pulled up his t-shirt, then planted some kisses on his torso in bright red lipstick. She hated the feel of hairy male flesh against her lips, but it was another break from what she usually did and given how big this score was, she’d just as soon muddy the waters as much as possible. Unbuckling and unzipping his pants was easy enough, but the mattress was so soft that after a while she gave up trying to tug his pants down. That done, she took one last look around the room, satisfied herself that everything was in the proper disorder, and left, carrying her coat over one arm. Instead of heading for the elevators, she went to the stairwell. On the trip up here, she’d noticed that the elevator had a security camera. Most of the really high-class hotels had them now, but somehow the stairs never came in for the same level of scrutiny. All the same, once the door had closed behind her she looked around to see if an excess of caution had prompted someone to put surveillance on the stairs. She didn’t see any, so she took a moment to switch her heels for comfy jogging shoes, doff her wig and stuff it into her trusty purse and then put on her nondescript coat. As she made her way down all eleven flights to the ground floor, she felt quite pleased with herself. King Jackson had been a very, very big score indeed, almost worth him actually getting his hands on her. With what she ought to be able to get from Tito for the credit cards and jewelry, it would come to a nice, tidy sum. But she’d have to move fast. It was getting late, and she’d have to hustle to get to Tito’s place before it closed.
She made it all the way downstairs without seeing anyone else. When she slipped through the door there was only one other person to be seen in the carpeted hallway, a tipsy man trying to get into his room. He gave her a bleary smile and nod as she strode past him. From his appearance, it was all he could do to stay upright. Tomorrow morning he wouldn’t remember her at all.
The doorman opened the door for her as she approached, giving her a smile and a nod. Krissy nodded briefly in response, but didn’t smile. She’d taken off most of her makeup back in King Jackson’s suite, including the bright red lipstick, and she was back in her Krissy character so there was no reason for him to recognize her, but it was best not to flash him a smile as she walked past him anyway. You never knew what some people might remember if the police questioned them later. She walked quickly, but not too quickly, away from the hotel until she had rounded a corner and then picked up her pace. She’d memorized all the bus schedules for this part of town, and the one she wanted to catch would be arriving in five minutes or so, two blocks away. It was late enough now that if she missed it there wouldn’t be another on that route until the next morning. In a pinch, she could actually walk all the way to Tito’s if she had to, but it would be a very brisk walk and she’d get there all out of breath. Also, the route would take her through some bad parts of town, and she’d just as soon not run that risk, not with all the loot she was carrying tonight.
She saw the bus pulling up to the stop and sprinted to catch it. Sometimes, but not often, they arrived early. She yelled out as she heard the door hissing closed. The bus, which had just started to pull away, lurched to a stop. She dashed up to it and gave the driver, a big, surly-looking Hispanic woman, a big smile as she boarded.