Chapter 2

Lawton checked into his hotel using his Charles Phillips license and credit card. Once he had unpacked and checked over his pistol and ammunition, he then went over to the hotel where Infante would be tomorrow. His dark web source had told Lawton that Infante would be staying overnight at the hotel where he was having a business dinner. Lawton wanted to familiarize himself with the layout. This was a very high end resort hotel overlooking Lake Michigan. Lawton went through the lobby and located the elevators and the side exits. He went out through one of the side exits and let it lock behind him. To enter required a hotel key card. That was no problem. Lawton had a card that would open any hotel door in the country. It had cost him ten thousand dollars, paid to a source on the dark web, but it was worth every penny.

After leaving Infante’s hotel, Lawton had dinner at a good seafood restaurant. By the time he finished dinner, it was time to go to the nightclub and find a plump companion for the night.

The club was called The People’s Pub. Lawton had checked it out online before traveling, and it looked like it was what he wanted. He walked in and it was moderately crowded. The music was mostly classic rock played at a level that still allowed conversation. Between the music and people talking, it was loud but not painfully so. He found a place at the bar that gave him a view of the room and ordered a draft beer. Most of the people at the bar were singles. His experience was that singles might be looking to meet someone, but typically wouldn’t hook up for the night. There was a small dance floor with a few people on it. As he looked around the rest of the bar he saw a variety of people at the tables. There were a couple of groups of five or six women. He wrote those off. Groups that large were generally celebrating something and wouldn’t want a stranger to intrude. Some were couples, so never mind them. There were groups of men, usually two or three, obviously hoping to hook up. Lawton could usually spot which one was the wingman. He would be the one waiting for his que to help out his buddy trying to hit on a woman. Then there were about a half dozen tables with two or three women. Lawton focused on those. He dismissed the ones that were all skinny. That wasn’t what he was here for. He left those to the guys who were hunting and their wingmen. That left three tables with two or three girls that included a nice fat one. He preferred the groups of two. Especially if they were both fat. There were two tables that fit that bill. He noticed that one pair of chubby girls were both drinking margaritas. Bingo. Margaritas are liquid courage, and the reason for liquid courage is to hook up.

Lawton walked over to the pair and introduced himself, using his fake name of Charles, of course. The girls’ names were Penny and Meagan. He had timed it so that a slow-ish song was playing. Meagan was the fatter one, not by a lot, but enough to be noticeable. They were both dressed similarly. Black yoga pants and a loose colorful blouse. He asked Meagan to dance. It’s an old trick for a guy to be nice to the plain one in order to pick up the prettier one, but in Lawton’s case, he was hoping that he would end up with Meagan. She was about five foot four, and probably weighed 200 pounds, maybe a little more, with modest breasts and full hips. A butterball with blonde hair, and blue eyes. He had appraised Penny, and she was probably the same height, and maybe 180 pounds, with light brown hair, and brown eyes. He would be okay with her, but he preferred the fatter Meagan.

They danced a couple of songs and came back to the table. Lawton asked if he could join them, since it appeared that someone had taken his seat at the bar. As Lawton expected, they were happy to have him sit down. He knew that he was a pretty good-looking guy. About five foot ten and 160 pounds, he had dark hair and eyes that were almost black. His heritage was Mediterranean, mostly Greek and Italian. They exchanged small talk, with Lawton giving them his story that he was in import/export and meeting a buyer in Chicago. Penny was the receptionist at a dental office, and Meagan worked for an advertising firm. Lawton managed to time drinking his beer so that it was running low at about the same point as the girls. When the waitress came by Lawton asked them if he could buy a round, which they readily agreed to. They continued to talk, and by the time they had finished that round they were all friends. Lawton could be very charming when he wanted to be.

He noticed small glances exchanged between the girls. They were both considering hooking up with Lawton, and communicating with looks and gestures. Lawton ordered another round, and the girls decided that they needed to use the ladies room. It was decision time for them. When they came back, they picked up the conversation as before. But he noticed that Meagan had moved closer to him, close enough that their shoulders brushed. A few minutes later Penny looked at her phone and said she had better leave, she had to open the office in the morning. Lawton asked Meagan if she’d like to stay for one more drink, to which she eagerly agreed. Paydirt.