Blind Her With Bliss by Nina Pierce Page B

this moment, I didn’t really think I needed to see anything down here.”
     

    “You knew—”
     

    “ Shhh ,” from the camera crew.  

    Julie inhaled, reining in the anger flowing from her. “You knew he televised porn from down here, and you didn’t think to tell me before we traipsed into the depths of Starry Knights on this little field trip?”
     

    “I didn’t want to cloud your judgment,” Damon said. “Have an open mind. We might learn something.” Amusement sparked in his eye, but quickly faded with her withering look. “I mean find something out about Jason or Maura. You asked what else connected Maura and Jason. Obviously Elvis thinks you need to see the business to understand.”
     

    Julie walked up behind Elvis and stared dumbfounded at television screens filled with naked people.
     

    A ménage with two men pumping themselves into a woman whose screams of ecstasy could be heard from across the room filled one set of monitors. Next to them, another set of monitors showed two men from several different angles, in the act of fellatio.
     

    “This whole thing was Maura’s brainchild,” Elvis confided. “It’s what finally convinced me to bring her in as partner three years ago. The money we take in here is ten times the income from the night club and the private rooms upstairs that we rent to the patrons.”
     

    The moans of male orgasms filtered over from the ménage, and as the three actors collapsed together onto the pillowed floor, others walked in and began an elaborate striptease.
     

    “Who’s watching this?” Julie couldn’t disguise the disbelief in her voice.
     

    “The feed goes directly out to the internet.” Elvis pointed to the cameras and the monitors. “These controls here allow us to determine the best angle for the action.” His finger indicated a man with a headset. “We have some special viewers who pay big bucks to control the action from here. They request a particular angle, and this guy,” he patted the tech on the back, “makes sure they get the action or close-up they want. Our big rollers dictate, to a certain extent, what other people will see.”
     

    “And this is all legal?” Julie asked.
     

    “Freedom of expression, free trade and all that.” Elvis smiled. “Provided everyone is over eighteen. And believe you me, we check and recheck their IDs.”
     

    “So what was Jason’s part in all of this?” Damon asked without tearing his eyes from the live action across the room where two women were provocatively peeling clothing from one another. Julie smacked his stomach.
     

    Elvis pointed a finger toward a back wall. “Let’s talk over there.”
     

    Winding their way around cameras, cables and bodies, Elvis stopped them in a shadowed corner of the room. The feeble light playing on his stark features created a sinister profile.
     

    “I don’t want my actors to think there’s a problem,” Elvis said. “They were already spooked when the cops showed up here asking about Jason.”
     

    “The cops came down here?” Julie asked.
     

    “No, not here in the basement—Starry Knights.” Elvis’ voice was firm. “The cops don’t know about this place. We scramble the feed so it can’t be traced back to our computers. I have no intention of the local authorities discovering this business.”
     

    “But what about Jason?” Julie asked. “What was his role in this?” She grabbed Damon’s chin and brought his wandering attention back to their conversation.
     

    “Other than doing the well-checks on my actors, he didn’t really have one.” Elvis leaned in close to them. “But he wanted in.”
     

    Damon finally focused on Elvis. “Jason wanted a piece of the action?”
     

    “Right now we only have the two rooms. Jason suggested I add another two or three. Even with the money we bring in right now, it isn’t enough for the digital upgrade on the equipment and the added personnel. I needed more capital. Jason