Daytime was an ugly time of day on the Strip.  The sun was high and hot and it felt like living in an oven.  Most of the Strip didn’t come to life until the sun went down.  It was the knocking on the door that pulled Maddie from the large king size bed in one of the small suites at what had once been the Bellagio.  Something about the fountains had appealed to her, never mind the fact that the fountains hadn’t worked for years now and were in quite a state of disrepair.<br/><br/>The heavily tattooed woman rolled out of bed, yanking the sheet along with her and holding it with one arm in front of her otherwise naked body as she stumbled to the door.  The naked man in the bed grunted and rolled over as the sheet dragged over his face.  Madeleine blinked at him, wondering where he had come from.  Vague memories of a late night in the high stakes poker room lingered on the edge of her thoughts but she wasn’t too concerned.  It wasn’t the first time she’d brought a virtual stranger back to her bed and it probably wouldn’t be the last.<br/><br/>She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her free hand before using it to open the door.  Outside stood one of the ladies she employed.  Life hadn’t been kind to the young woman but she was able to make a decent enough living in what used to be Las Vegas.  After all, sex will always sell.  Maddie didn’t even bother to hide her yawn before she spoke.  “What’s up, Sunshine?”<br/><br/>“Just thought you might want to know...Nox was seen headed this way.”  Sunshine couldn’t stop glancing around nervously, unable to focus on anything for too long.  She picked at the fingers of one hand with the other before looking up long enough to meet Maddie’s eyes.<br/><br/>“Thanks, babe. Stay put for a second.”  She turned to disappear back into the room, the sheet trailing behind her like the train of some strange gown that didn’t cover the back of her.  It wasn’t long before she was back at the door, pressing a small pouch made of folded paper into the hooker’s hand.  “Here, you need this.”  A simple payment for a piece of information.  Sunshine could go take the edge off and actually turn some tricks.  She still had a decent body; the drugs hadn’t wrecked that yet.  The corset-thong-garter belt-stockings combo she was wearing actually accentuated a body that looked pretty well fed considering the state of the world.  “Do me a favor.  See if you can’t get him to head this way.  Make something up, I don’t even care how you do it.  If I don’t have to go out into that heat, I’ll be very happy.”  The emphasis placed on the last part of the sentence made it quite clear that Madeleine would be more than happy to compensate Sunshine based on how well she got Nox to come to the Bellagio.<br/><br/>Sunshine simply smiled her thanks before palming the packet of drugs and disappearing.  She’d snort the powder first to get her head on straight before making any attempt to get the man to come to Maddie.  It would be easier to formulate a plan once she wasn’t jonesing for a hit.<br/><br/>The dealer made her way back to the bed, dropping the sheet on the floor before nudging the sleeping man’s leg with her foot.  “I don’t care where you go but you can’t stay here.  Get your shit and get gone.  I’m gonna go take a shower.  You need to be gone by the time I’m done.”  Trusting that he’d heard and would listen, she wandered her way to the bathroom.  It would take some time to find Nox, the Strip wasn’t exactly a small place.  Then it would take some time to convince him to come to see her.  If she could get to him before any of the higher-ups became aware that he was around, any information or goods he had would benefit her and her alone.<br/><br/>There was another surprise in the bathroom - one of the cocktail waitresses mostly naked and curled up on the floor of the large shower using a towel as a pillow.  With a sigh, Maddie nudged the girl with her foot and gave her the same spiel about getting her stuff and leaving.  The waitress moved much faster, gathering her discarded uniform and hurrying out of the suite.<br/><br/>Finally alone, Maddie turned on the shower and waited for the water to get hot before stepping in.  There wasn’t an unlimited supply of hot water but somehow one of the Fiends had managed to rig something up so they could have hot water.  To be honest, Maddie wasn’t sure how it was done nor did she really care.  All she knew was that she could have a hot shower even if she couldn’t linger long.<br/><br/>Once scrubbed clean and more awake than she had been, she wrapped herself in a towel then ran a comb through her hair before stepping out the steamy bathroom.  Her room was now empty, just like she’d wanted.  She dug through her dresser and her selection of clothes before settling on a tiny pair of cut off denim shorts and a simple fitted tank top emblazoned with the logo from the MGM.  Both items of clothing showed off the vast majority of her tattoos, something she loved to do.<br/><br/><br/>A yawn escaped her as she crawled back onto the bed.  There was still some time left before she'd learn if Nox was coming to her or if she was going to him.  The pounding in her head told her that maybe she hadn’t slept off last night’s fun yet.  A short nap certainly wouldn’t hurt anything.