“Variety 9” – by Mark Hanson

The city of Declan was filled to the brim with chaos. Not a pure soul was to be found here. It is hard to believe that there could be any sort of beauty within a place like this. But that does not mean that it did not have its value. There were all sorts of valuables down there, whether it be objects or information. Yet everyone knew that if they wanted such things, a price had to be paid.

Dillon knew this well, but this did not stop him from going to the nightclub known as Variety 9. It wasn’t just any normal nightclub though. This was single-handedly the greatest source of information and gossip in the city. No one knows how this came to be and they do not care. All anyone cares about is getting the information they need. Dillon needed information on the recent uprising of androids that caused chaos and death wherever they went. This was not the first time such a thing has occurred, however, the first android to escape 15 years ago was never found. 

But that was the least concerning thing on Dillon’s mind at the moment. He took a deep breath and walked to the front doors. He could already hear the music loud and clear. There were two bouncers that glanced at him before letting him through with no issues. Dillon couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as he slowly walked inside. They didn’t even inspect him for weapons. In his eyes, the owner was either extremely confident, stupid or a combination of both.

His eyes widened at the spectacle of this place. Almost the entire place was just one massive room with lights of seemingly all colors shining around. If there were other side rooms, Dillon couldn’t see them. Even if the room itself allowed him to, the sheer amount of people around made the toughest man claustrophobic and unable to get much detail. Humans and aliens alike were sitting at tables, standing around, going to the bar or dancing like there was no tomorrow. All of them had hughes of blues, violets, reds and greens on their bodies from all the lights. Despite all this action and limited vision, there was no way he could miss the DJ in the center of it all.

She was up on an elevated platform, surrounded by tables of soundboards and other equipment. It was hard to tell specific details about her from all the lights, though Dillon still tried his best. She had long hair that seemed to be navy blue. She let it hang down past her shoulders, but it didn’t stay there and she head-banged and danced while doing her job. Bright neon blue accented her black outfit that appeared to be made of leather. Unlike many of the other ladies in the room, she left things to the imagination. Despite this, it seemed most people had eyes on her, though it was unclear whether it was due to lust or some other reason. 

Dillon managed to weave and squeeze through the crowd, trying to find some way to get connected to the owner of Variety 9. They were the one who knew all of this information after all. The issue was he had no clue what the owner looked like. The best he could do was guess. He figured that he would ask one of the bouncers to start out. 

“Hello, may I ask who runs this joint?” Dillon asked, getting straight to the point.

The bouncer looked down at him, his dark sunglasses reflecting the vibrant atmosphere of the club. He did not say a word, instead holding up his arm and tapping a button on his watch. After a few more seconds of silence from him, he looked to Dillon once more.

“You shall see soon,” Was all he said, before crossing his arms and standing at attention.

Dillon tilted his head in confusion and was about to ask for more before he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see a girl just a little shorter than him standing there in a nice red outfit. 

“Follow me, I will take you to her,” The lady told him.

Confused, Dillon slowly nodded as he followed the girl through the crowd. He was surprised that he could keep track of her the whole time. Yet as they walked, he noticed that the DJ was no longer jamming out to the music. Instead, she seemed to be waiting patiently, eyes locked on him. A small smile was on her lips as he was led up to the platform. It was then he noticed that there was a door right behind the stand, which the DJ gestured to once he got up there.

“Ah, I heard you were asking for me,” She said, taking her headphones off. She sounded like she had voice modification. “Your name is Dillon, correct?”

Dillon’s eyes shot open in surprise. “I…how did you know my name?”

“Dear, I know nearly everyone. I know what you seek. You’re working together with the police and the laboratory to find the rogue androids, correct?”

Dillon could only nod, thus the DJ continued. “You can call me Lockdown by the way. Come with me.”

Lockdown smiled as she quickly flicks a few switches on the panels surrounding her. The music began to fade as a new song began to play. As it did, many of the guests stopped dancing despite how catchy it was. They slowly looked at one another and began to leave the building. Those who didn’t leave were all at tables, staring up at where Lockdown and Dillon were. Despite this, Lockdown did not seem phased and she escorted Dillon to the back room.

Dillon had to shield his eyes for a second. He felt as if he stepped into a completely different world. The music was still playing, muffled as it was, but it was just a meeting room lit by normal lights. It felt like he was in someone’s house rather than in a nightclub. Lockdown gestured to a chair before sitting in one herself. As he accepted the seat, Lockdown began talking.

“I would normally offer food and drink, however, we do not have that kind of time,” She said. Despite this, she didn’t reflect her own words, casually leaning back in her chair as if she had all the time in the world. “I understand that Dr. Esper has been losing control of her androids once more. She should know better than to mess with things like that. I saw this coming.”

She smirked a bit as she mentioned this, but Dillon did not pay that much attention to it. “That doesn’t matter. Yes, she lost control again. I need your help to locate the rogues.”

   “Fine by me. The matter is, I really do not need to locate them. I know where they are. Once you know how to track them, it is almost ridiculous how easy it becomes.”

   “Where are they? How do you track them?”

“I don’t have the time to tell you how to track them, Dillon. Did you see how many people were out that door? They are not here for fun. There are two gangs out there who wish me dead for news I have on their inner-workings. If I stay in here for too long, they will burst in here and it will not be a pretty sight, trust me. However, what I can do is provide the known locations of those androids of Esper’s.”

Lockdown quickly takes out a tablet and begins typing on it, her eyes scanning it faster than one would believe possible. Suddenly Dillon felt his communication device buzz. He looked at it and saw a list of coordinates that were sent. He didn’t have time to ask how she managed to send them. 

“What do I owe you for this, Lockdown,” Dillon asked. “I know that this sort of stuff isn’t free.”

A tiny smile spread across Lockdown’s black lips. “Let’s just say that these androids have been bad for business. Giving me issues if you will. Your payment will be their capture or elimination. Without them, things will be much better for me.”

She checks her tablet again and quickly stands up. Dillon also stood as well as they both began hearing shouts over the music. Lockdown nodded towards a back door.

“Head back there, Dillon. You shouldn’t have any sort of trouble getting out that way. Once you’re out, go find those androids. With the information I’ve given, they should all be sitting ducks.”

“What about you, Lockdown?” Dillon asked. “How are you gonna deal with all those criminals? There are at least 20 if not much more.”

Lockdown shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about me dear. I have my ways of dealing with them. Now go.”

Dillon stood there for a moment, thinking about the situation. Then he just ran out the door she indicated. This was fine by him. He didn’t have to deal with those gang members out there. The android issue was enough of a problem for him after all. And Lockdown was right, they were pretty easy to find.

Once Dillon was out the door, Lockdown sighed in relief and headed for one of the walls. She hit a very particular part of it, pushing it in. The act triggered a panel to reveal itself on the wall next to her.

“About time he was out of here. I have enough to deal with already. I don’t want anything to do with those inferior androids that Esper made. She clearly hasn’t learned anything from that first incident. I do hope she does. I don’t need her on my back again.”

She pushed a button on the panel and spoke into the speaker next to it. “Protocol Epilepsy is a go. Once the beat drops, you know what to do.”

The bouncers all throughout the club nodded and watched the group of criminals grow ever restless. Some even started heading towards the DJ platform. The bouncers didn’t stop them though. In fact, it would just make things even more simple for Lockdown.

Just behind the door of the DJ platform, Lockdown reached her arms to her lower back, listening to the music very carefully. She heard one of the criminal’s yelling from behind the door.

“There’s nowhere to run! Come out now and we promise we will make things easier for ya.”

Right after saying that, the beat dropped and everything seemed to happen at once. Every light turned off, just to turn on again. They repeated this pattern to the beat, turning the entire room dark, light and dark again in matters of milliseconds. A few criminals cried out as their eyes were assaulted by this strobe light effect. None of them could tell what was going on. Their eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough to these rapid changes. 

At the same time, Lockdown kicked the DJ door and sent it flying straight into three of them. The impact of the metal door sent them straight off the DJ stage and onto the dance floor. Lockdown rushed out straight after it, looking towards a few criminals and charging forward. The lights made it seem like she was teleporting with every flash of them. From her lower back, she pulled out two submachine guns and sprayed bullets into the guts of those before her. 

In the chaos, the gang members began firing wildly at where they last saw Lockdown, only for her to appear a good ten feet away from that location milliseconds later. One criminal shot towards where he saw Lockdown last only to take a foot to the face. The music was so loud that no one could hear the crack that came from the blow as he fell to the ground. She ducked down and fired up towards a few others, shooting as if she had infinite ammo. 

But of course there came a time when the magazines of Lockdown’s guns were finally empty. She could reload if she wished, but instead she threw the two guns at some of the gang members, the lights making it seem like it just teleported straight into their face. Then she reached to her leg and seemed to pull out a sword from nowhere. She rushed forward and slashed the neck of the closest criminal. 

She was not the only one fighting though. While everyone was distracted by Lockdown, her bouncers took out these massive guns and just sprayed bullets into the remainder of the gang members. Their planned assault was turned into a panic the moment the beat dropped. Lockdown slashed and seemed to dance through everyone, spreading blood on the dance floor with every strike. One by one they fell to her hand until only one was left. He lifted up his pistol and fired straight at Lockdown while she stood still. This one time, the bullet hit its mark and nailed her straight in the eye. Her head whipped to the side from the sudden impact. 

But there was no celebration. The criminal watched in horror as Lockdown slowly turned her head back to face him, sparks flashing within the area where her eye once was. She smirked at him before rushing straight at him, her face being the very last thing he saw. As soon as she delivered the final strike, the music stopped and all went quiet as the body hit the floor. Lockdown sighed as she stood straight up. Her bouncers gathered around, getting ready to listen to her orders.

“Gather the bodies and clean the blood from the dance floor,” Lockdown said simply, holding a hand over her eye, still shooting sparks. “We will open again tomorrow. I need to repair myself.”

The bouncers nodded as Lockdown walked up towards the DJ platform and through the area where the door used to be. Despite everything, to her it was just another night for Variety 9.

By Mark Hanson, 2023.