<div align="center"><strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 36pt;">RAINBOW</span></span></strong>    <strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 36pt;">CAKE</span></span></strong></div><br/><div align="center"><strong>The Rainbow Cake Bakery</strong></div><br/><em>The rain-slick streets of Anchor Town seemed to glow in the midst of the storm, the bright street lamps not withstanding. People roamed, stalked, clopped and stomped through the driving sleet and wind. One of the still brightly lit buildings in the grayness of the early evening sky was a three-story high building, the walls of red brick now soaked to a darker color from the rain. On the top and middle floor were rooms, converted from storage rooms into small apartments for certain individuals who could either pay the price for them, or had employment in the shop on the ground floor.</em><br/><br/><em>A brightly colored sign proclaimed 'The Rainbow Cake Bakery' to all and sundry; not even the rain could diminish the colorful letters. Peering through the door and the one large shop window revealed numerous cakes, pastries, cookies, and other goods. The main room is just through the front door, the black and white checkered floor showcasing the bright colors of all the different treats.</em><br/><br/><em>But those in the know don't go immediately to the cakes and cookies on display. They ask if they can arrange a delivery of the Rainbow Cake's namesake; a six-layer cake of different colors, covered in an icing of their choice. When the delivery is made, the customer is given a slip of paper with a time and a date; their 'appointment' of entering the store and from there, into a hidden world.</em><br/><br/><em>From the back of the bakery, people one at a time ask if they can be let into the bakery for a slice of the cake 'with whipped cream on top'. These code words grant access from the back of the shop to a storage closet with a false shelf, showing a stairway leading down into several other rooms, and finally, at the end of the stairs... a bar, serving bathtub gin and illegal hooch to the paying customers.</em><br/><br/><em>Cigarette and cigar smoke waft in the air, as the sounds of a seductive saxophone, tinny piano keys, heart-pounding bass and tap-tap-tap of the drums brings out the dreamer in everyone. There's always a bartender on duty, every time of the day. Fresh air is vented through several ducts and air vents on the ceiling, keeping it muggy but serviceable. Pool table, darts, cards, vices of the gambling sort are as easily to find, and maybe even more easy, than a soft shoulder to lean against.</em><br/><br/><em>This is the age of Prohibition, of hot jazz and cold drinks, of what is the law and what is right. This is the city of Anchor Town, USA. This is the story of the Rainbow Cake Bakery and those who called it home.</em><br/><br/><br/><br/>