Ladies Night At The Palace

It was a busy night at The Palace. The DJ turned up the bass, and the hen parties screamed their appreciation, hundreds of heads nodding in time with the beat. Far too many cheap sambuca shots were having their desired effect, and bodies created shapes that in a sober world would have looked grotesque. But not here, this was The Palace, and all shapes were welcome. Strobe lights flickered around the dance floor, and everyone was a superstar for just a few seconds. The air was thick with sweat and cheap perfume. Suddenly the dance floor started to clear, it was eleven o'clock and happy hour was about to start. Two drinks for the price of one. Six bar staff were struggling to cope, the orders just kept coming and coming. It was ladies night at The Palace, and those ladies knew how to party. There were just two men amongst the sea of women, Tony and Glen, the doormen. If the ladies needed something extra to help them have a good time, then these were the boys to see. Tony put his hand in his pocket and pulled out two bags of pills, he handed one to Glen.

“You take the bar on the left, and I’ll take the right. These are new. Synthetic, made in a lab somewhere, guaranteed to blow their socks off.”

Glen was intrigued. “What's in them?”

Tony shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck knows, don’t care. They were cheap, and we’ll earn a fortune tonight.”

The two of them mingled in the crowd, stopping every few moments to take a twenty-pound note from their willing punters. It wasn’t long before their pockets were beginning to bulge.

Glen heard a scream, nothing unusual at The Palace, but this was different. This wasn’t excitement, this was a scream of panic. He turned quickly and saw a young girl on the floor having what looked like a seizure or maybe a fit. He moved quickly through the crowd, he knew first aid, maybe there was something he could do. But before he got close, there was another scream from behind him. Then another from behind the bar, one of the bar staff was slumped over the counter. Right in front of him, he saw two girls collapse like falling trees onto the dance floor and then begin to shake. He looked for Tony, but Tony was already outside and running as fast as he could along the high street.