With that, the decision was made. "And no fucking backdown,“ I muttered to myself, packing my bag and smartphone and heading to the club.
It had been a good decision to call an Uber for me. My own car was a piece of junk– and I didn't feel like arriving atthe Tucheparking lot in it. They would probably send me home by return mail for that reason alone.
I kept quiet for the rest of the trip, busy imagining the club in full operation. It had already been impressive when empty, so I couldn’t wait to see it tonight.
As soon as we turned into the parking lot, it quickly became clear that the club was the place to go within a radius of several kilometers. I could even say that none of the nightclubs in Naples was as well attended asthe Tyche.
There were certainly one or two good reasons for this. Apart from the luxurious appearance, there were also rumors that the most beautiful women in Naples danced here. Dario had also mentioned the booming drug business, and if I wasn't mistaken, the club also regularly hosted special event nights. At least, that's what I remembered.
I paid my driver, got out, and walked toward the entrance to get into the line that gathered there.
"Your ID, please," the doorman grumbled in my direction after waiting a while and held out his hand to me. I dropped the plastic card in it, and after giving it a quick glance, he nodded. "You get one of those green ribbons. That allows you access to every floor and offer."
I raised my eyebrow, but held out my wrist to him and watched as he fastened the paper tape. Well, this could only make the night successful.
Until now, I had not been aware that the club had different floors that were not accessible to everyone. At least Dario had not mentioned it.
"And what is not allowed to be seen by everyone?" I wanted to know, but was already pushed from behind so that I stumbled through the double door into the interior of the club without an answer.
A short, dark-painted hallway led to a staircase that went up a few steps and then opened into a sprawling room that was filled to the brim. Bodies jostled against bodies, lights twitched wildly throughout the otherwise dark room, and music poured into every corner. On my first visit here, I hadn't paid attention to details and had been happy to sit in Dario's office. Now, I took my time and let my eyes wander.
The lighting conditions made it difficult to see much, but I liked what I saw anyway. The ambience alone was different compared to my visit a few days ago. So only the visitors brought the club to life. An interesting observation.
I already felt comfortable. It had obviously been a good decision to come here. A smile spread across my lips as I pushed my way through the crowd and made a first stop at the bar to order something with a lot of alcohol. My nerves would thank me.
After downing the drink, I returned to the crowd, only to find that there was a circular balcony in the middle of the dance floor, several meters in diameter. If you looked down, you saw even more people. However, it didn't seem as crowded down there. Had I also noticed this feature on my first visit? I didn't remember, because other things had simply been more important that night.
Determined, I went in search of a staircase or something similar and actually found it. There was an elevator whose doors opened only with the help of the ribbon. Green probably meant that I was authorized to go down, because that's what the elevator did as soon as I stood in it.
The doors had barely opened again a few seconds later when I already noticed I liked it much better down here. Everything seemed even more luxurious. On the small pedestals, which were distributed everywhere in the spacious room, dancers were about to reveal their most intimate secrets.
It took me a few minutes to take my eyes off them, but I remembered the location of Dario's office and actually spotted the glass front behind it as well. Of course, it was mirrored so that he could look down, but no one could look up from below.
I would have liked to know if he was sitting in his office staring down. Maybe he spotted me in the crowd?
There was still plenty of time to find out. So I first got myself another drink and then headed to the dance floor to blur with the heaving masses and enjoy the night as much as I had control over it. The bass of the music vibrated through my body and under my feet. The bodies moving right next to me made me feel what really mattered in life.
It was all about one thing: enjoying the moment. And I enjoyed this moment so much that I threatened to lose myself in the music and the people, in the alcohol and my floating thoughts.
I forgot what had happened in the last few days and pushed the worries that permanently accompanied me far away. With a smile I raised my arms, let the music flow through me and even danced with some strangers, whether they were men or women.
At some point I found myself at the edge of the dance floor, so I took the opportunity to get another drink. My gaze slid to the window front again behind which Dario's office was located, and I wondered if I would find a way there.
The doorman had said I could go anywhere and if he didn't want to include Dario's office in that, surely he should have specified that better? Shouldn't he?
I systematically searched the walls with my eyes to find a door, but discovered none. There was only the elevator. So maybe the corresponding door was upstairs? But that didn't fit when I recalled the layout of the rooms.
When Dario had brought me here, we had only walked through the club itself in places, many paths had been behind the scenes.
What if the elevator stopped at an intermediate floor?
I struggled in that direction and was relieved to find myself alone in the far too brightly lit elevator. This time it didn't just start moving, so I had time to study the various buttons.
I decided to press the button, which was not labeled, and waited. Sure enough, the elevator moved up, but when the doors opened, I found myself not on another dance floor, but looking straight down a bare hallway.
It actually looked familiar when I looked around. I remembered how I had wondered about the rather large tiles on my way into Dario's office, which didn't fit here at all.
With a triumphant feeling in my chest, I stepped out of the elevator and took a quick look around so I knew which direction to go. Theoretically, it should only take a few seconds from where I was to reach his office.