PURR Chapter 9 - Crossing the Pond

While still in the US, even New York City didn’t intimidate PURR. First, they did four memorable shows in the Meadowlands in the suburbs of New Jersey, then they crossed the East River to do four shows New York City’s Madison Square Garden. New Jersey’s favourite son Bruce Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa joined them for the last show at the Meadowlands to do his song “I‘m on Fire” and joined in with the PURR girls on their song “Burnin‘ With Desire.”

Since it had been impossible to charter a non-stop flight from Seattle to new York, Gracie had to book them on a commercial flight that included a layover at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Besides the jet lag with the time differences, it was virtually impossible to disguise who the famous PURR girls were. The whole experience afforded them little rest and left them with a bad taste in their mouths for flying on flights where they were not insulated from the public at large.

It was on to Montreal, Canada for a three day event. Since none of the girls were looking forward to another plane flight with memories of their recent transcontinental flight still fresh in their minds, Gracie leased a small fleet of limousines to take the girls that chose to do so for the seven hour ride to Canada in comfort.

Kat, Jen and DeeDee were sharing one roomy stretch limo as they enjoyed the lesser traveled roads of the Empire State, as they had requested the driver to “take the scenic route.” Although trio could have had the driver stop at any restaurant they saw to get anything they wanted to eat for lunch, they spotted a roadside pizza and sub shop along the way.

“Hey Jen, I don’t know about you, but I have a real taste from some good old fashioned pizza!” DeeDee exclaimed when she saw the little Mom & Pop pizzeria. “It doesn’t look like anybody’s there right now. What do you say if we go in and have a sit-down lunch?

Jen enthusiastically agreed. “This could be fun!” Kat smiled a devilish grin as her two band-mates got out of the car to go into the pizza joint. She already had here eyes on Nick the chauffer and relished the idea of having him to herself. She also had seen him appraising her assets as the trio of guitar girls first climbed into the roomy limo.

“You girls have fun in there. You know you’re celebrities. You two might like playing that part for people, but I think I’ll just wait here and keep Nick here company and maybe listen to the CD deck with him. Take your time. Know what I mean?”

DeeDee and Jen recognized that smirk. They‘d seen Kat on the prowl before. They smiled knowingly and gave Kat a wink as they got out and headed towards the otherwise deserted shop‘s door.. When the nerdy guy working alone behind the counter saw the two gorgeous women stroll into his shop, his unbelieving eyes nearly popped out of his head as he yelled to his manager, the only other person working there.

“Hey Joey! You gotta come out here and see this!” The flabbergasted manager emerged from the back to see four shapely legs coming from extremely short pairs of Daisy Duke denim cut-offs that barely covered two of the cutest behinds they’d ever seen. “Oh my God, I know who you are! You girls are in PURR! I’ve got all their CDs! And I’ve got posters of all of you all over my walls. I can’t believe this!”

Joey could hardly contain his own excitement. “Yeah, Dave, that one’s DeeDee and oh my gosh, that’s Jen! She’s my favourite PURR girl! Dave, you get these ladies whatever they want. On the house!”

The dazzling pair of guitar girls figured that the two geeky looking young men looked like they were probably somewhere in their mid twenties and obviously had never been laid, even by the local girls. They weren’t what you would call ugly, but neither were they exactly studs . Most girls would probably not even give them a second look.

The two women looked at each other while thinking the same thing. It was Jen who spoke first. “Do you guys know what we really like? We need some real life working men, not the kind of guys we usually meet. Tell you guys what, you two don’t look like you’re doing to much business right now. Why don’t you just close up shop for a couple of hours and we can have some fun. Would you guys be up for that, if you know what I mean.”

Joey and Dave nearly tripped over themselves as they locked the doors an pulled down the widow shades., flipping the Open/Closed sign in the door to tell anyone who came by that the shop was closed for cleaning.

“Yeah, we’re gonna clean your pipes, alright! Drop trou, both of you.,” DeeDee said as she slipped her shirt over her head as Jen did the same.

The inexperienced pizza boys couldn’t believe the sight of four of erect nipples all staring right at them “If you boys want to see these shorts off too, you’ll strip off right now. Everything! We’ll show you ours if you show us yours.” DeeDee was giggling as the two nervous guys did exactly that. The girls were pleased to see two surprisingly impressive hard-ons just begging for attention.

As the pair of nymphs exposed everything, Joey and Dave were obviously boggled to see the nude panorama right before their eyes. Jen asked the question she already knew the answer to. “You two have never been with a woman before have you? It’s okay. I’ve always fantasized about breaking in a rookie. You two are perfect. Come to Mama. I’ll show you how to please a woman.”

First the guitar girls gave the pizza boys the first blowjobs they ever had, probably the best they would ever have, occasionally switching off between the two of them. As the deliriously happy guys were still catching their breath, DeeDee suggested to the eager young men, “Now I think you two should learn it can be better to give than to receive. With that, both girls sat back on the sofa in the office and spread their legs wide.

“C’mon guys, don’t be shy now.” as she spread her labia open with her fingers to display her dewy pearl to Dave, her wide-eyed beginner. Jen followed her lead and made her button open for business as well. “Try it Joey, I think you‘ll like it.”

They patiently instructed their trainees held the young men’s heads in their hands, gently stroking their hair. When they were satisfied with the progress of their trainees, the smiling girls exchanged knowing looks and DeeDee said, ”Okay boys, I think you’ve just graduated to the main course.“

She and Jen laid back on the two couches in that office, and pulled the ecstatic guys on top of them. As both guys were rookies, they each guided those untested dicks into their soaked love tunnels. Again, they alternated during the action so each one got at least a few minutes of the unbelievably accessible sex kittens.

It naturally didn’t take very long before both guys were deposited their satisfaction. DeeDee and Jen kissed them. They all got dressed and the girls went back out to the still waiting limo. They driver had been instructed to give the girls al the time they needed for whatever they were doing. The driver had assumed that would mean shopping, but he smiled when the tousled guitarists returned with smiles on heir faces. Meanwhile, the two pizza boys became men and had gotten an education they would never forget.

They returned to the limo to find a disheveled but beaming Kat still pulling her shirt back over her head, her denim cut-offs still on the car’s floor next to Nick‘s hastily discarded boxers. “I hope you ladies had a nice lunch break. Nick and I sure did.”

The sweet aroma and memories of sex permeate the car. No one seemed to mind and Nick didn’t stop grinning all the way to Canada.

The PURR limos all reunited in Montreal, where the recharged band gave three memorable performances. Their next scheduled three-day stop in Boston, where their special guest performer in the final show there would be Debbie Harry of Blondie. It was a special thrill for Angela and Roxy to share the spotlight with her as they did their cover of “Call Me” paired with the PURR hit “Crawling Through the Telephone Line (To You)” before they boarded the plane at Logan Airport to fly with the rest of the band to Heathrow Airport in London.

Meanwhile. Tone was having mixed emotions on returning to London. That was not only the land of his birth, but he had a considerable history there when he was grown. He knew that would require a lot of explaining it all to Gracie. Then it would be on to the rest of Europe and Japan, finally returning to his current homeland of Australia, or Oz as he affectionately called it. Their last gig to wrap up the tour would ironically be in Brisbane, within driving distance of his home there.

That wouldn’t be for a long time yet, but it was always in the back of his mind. He’d have to explain the details and reasons why he moved to that continent. It was probably one of the smartest things he’d ever done, but now he had Gracie to think about as well. Again, a lot of splainin’ to do. There were people and places that were important in his life there. There was more to his life than PURR. He liked living in this Rock ‘n Roll fantasy with the band, but he knew his worlds would collide once he was back in Oz.

He had made a new life there, but Rock ’n Roll always superceded his other priorities. That’s why that phone call from his old cohort Jake about joining the Cool For Cats tour revived those rock memories that wouldn’t leave him alone. Now the Hideaway and all the people there were an undeniable part of his life.

That world would now have to make room for Gracie. She was his new life now. There would have to be compromises to be made on both their parts, but she’d already become too important to him to lose her now.

Though Tone knew Gracie had other things on her mind preparing for what would be the first trip overseas for many of her girls, he would need to talk to her on the plane en route to Heathrow. He figured it would be better to prep her before they got there.

As the time approached for the tour to hit London’s Wembley Arena, Tone became increasingly more anxious. He had trepidations about his return to England and London in particular. It had been eight years since he’d left under something of a dark cloud. Neither Gracie, Jake nor anybody else around him for that matter knew anything of the dangers that faced Tone should word get around that he was back in town. In eight years, though things should have calmed down - or at least so the Marlboro Man hoped.

Now under the guise of a sax player in dark glasses and a Stetson, he felt sure nobody would put the two together. Anyway, Tone having a serious risk addiction among other concerns, was prepared to give it a go nonetheless. It just pumped him up that much further. He wasn’t prepared to leave Gracie now and up until then, he wasn’t going to tell her a thing about his past. Well, at least particular parts that could surface in the immediate future in London.

In any case, he would be shrouded in the enclave of this rock and roll circus. Tone's dilemma had nothing to do with sex, drugs and rock ’n roll. Gracie had noticed on the plane to Heathrow that Tone was hitting the wine a little harder than usual.

“You okay, Honey?” she enquired.

“Yeah I’m really looking forward to showing you round my old manor, darling. We got some good times ahead.”

But Marlboro Man was anxious for everybody’s safety as it dawned on him the kind of trouble that could be awaiting him in ‘The Big Smoke’ As it turned out, he had good reason. They didn’t get out of the airport before the shit hit the fan. As the troupe tried to clear customs, it hit:

“Anything to declare sir?”

“Open you bag please, sir.”

Something was found in Jake's bag - a large amount of cocaine and in Tone's bag a shooter wrapped up in his socks and boots. Oh, this was not going to be funny or easy to explain. They were immediately taken away for further questioning, stripped searched and subjected to all the other indignities that go with a drug bust.

Thankfully, Jake and Tone managed to convince the authorities that the ladies of PURR were totally innocent of any involvement of the whole affair. Tone had a bona fide US license for his ‘shooter’, so all they could do was to confiscate the piece and let him go. However, for Jake it was quite a different story. He was ‘fucked up’ and they took him down.

Tone met the ladies of the band in a reception room where they were all waiting for news. Gracie was elated to see Tone walk freely into the room and rushed forward threw her arms around him, but Tone showed little emotion. Other shit was on his mind overriding everything else. Tess broke down in hysterics as Tone explained that he thought Jake had been set up.

Everybody knew Jake liked a bit of a puff and snort, but he was nobody’s fool and would never have it in his suitcase, especially in the quantity that was purportedly found. He revealed that Jake would be charged with conspiracy, illegal possession and trafficking.

They had found more drugs on the plane apparently and that led them straight to Jake. They could throw the fucking book at him, lock him up and throw away the key. He had just stepped off the plane and hadn’t even got out of airside, and the guy was looking at a 20-year stay courtesy of ‘Her Majesty’s Pleasure.’

Tone felt sick, angry and twisted up. He pulled Gracie to one side and tight against him.

“I knew I never should have come back here,. This ain’t right, I know Jake well enough, he’d never have that shit anywhere around in a situation like this. He’s never had that amount of shit around in his life. This is a "fit up" babe, and I reckon it was meant for me!”

Tess was devastated, verging on hysterics again. “Gracie, fucking sort her out will you? Get her back down to earth and let’s figure this thing out."

“Fucking figure it out, Tone? What’s to figure out? Jake's facing 20 years in a poxy UK jail,” she screamed.

“Look Gracie, shut the fuck up and shut Tess up too. I got to think here, and if we can all calm down, I might be able to sort it!” shouted Tone.

Gracie went over to Tess, who was inconsolable by the other ladies of the band, shook her and then slapped her hard across the face. “Tess shut up, fucking calm down, Tone’s got something in mind and he wants to put us in the picture!”

The shock of Gracie’s slap brought her down to earth, and Tone picked up the thread.

“Look ladies, this is a shit situation. Get yourself under control Tess. I think I can sort it out. It’ll take me a little time, but I reckon I can have him out in a few days. Trust me Tess please, I know a few ‘faces’ around this town and some owe me big favours and now is my best time to pull em in.”

As he spoke, he put his hands on Tess’s shoulders and looked into her eyes as the tears ran down her cheeks. For the first time, she felt she trusted him and knew he really was a man of integrity, a man that had a code, even if it was his own. He was her only hope for in all legality Jake was ‘‘banged to rights‘, ‘stitched up’ and ‘fucked up.’

“Trust me Tess, I’ll get him out or I may die trying . Look, lets all pull ourselves together and calmly get out of here. There ain’t nothing to be served standing around here cryin‘. Come on let’s go! Gracie, stick with me. Stay tough or the whole fucking show is goina be falling apart before we get on that stage at Wembley.”

Jake sat in his cell wondering what the fuck was going on. He couldn’t believe it was happening to him again. He'd had troubles in the past with his habits being out of control, but he'd pretty straightened himself out, or so he thought. "Oh shit, is my past coming back to haunt me? What the hell am I gonna do now?"

He knew the ramifications of his situation and he knew he was innocent of any crimes this time around, so why had he been stitched up now?

Tone had been allowed a few minutes alone with Jake and had told him he would do all he could to get him out of this shit. It could take a few days and he would have to sit tight and trust him. And under no circumstances should he tell any of the inmates that he was on the PURR tour

Some hours later as Jake sat in the tiny sweatbox alone in the back of the wagon being transferred to the remand prison, he pondered his fate. Could he really be facing a 20-year stretch in jail for a crime he had no knowledge of? Could Tone do anything really? His mind was in a spin and he felt physically sick and desperate, shit scared and alone. He’d been in precinct jails overnight before but never to prison, not a UK prison and certainly not the infamous ‘ville. Pentonville was primarily a short-term transit prison and for inmates of up to about 18 months, as well as people on remand awaiting trial, like Jake.

Through the tiny barred windows of the wagon he could see the busy streets of London rushing by. He had never felt so lonely in all his life. As his thoughts turned to Tess, tears streaked his face. He was so close with her, but now he may never see her again except across a prison waiting room. Just then, the wagon came to a halt and he heard voices large steel doors swing open the vehicle started up again and moved forward, the steel doors slammed ominously shut.

Thus began Jake’s first taste of ‘Her Majestie’s Pleasure’. Suddenly ‘Killer Queen’ became a very desirable option in comparison, but he was far from being in a comical frame of mind. The thought of Angela and Tess made it all seem so helpless and now of another world altogether.

After the endless questions, form filling, medical reports, and a complete body search came the constant opening and closing of barred gates, rattling keys, and abusive guards. He was ushered into a room where he had to hand over all his personal items. They were bagged but not until after lewd comments were made about the pictures of Tess in his wallet. Out in the free world he would have belted the prison officers for such disgusting remarks, but that was certainly not an option here.

He was finally led to his cell, three paces by five, wherein he would be incarcerated till midday tomorrow, eighteen and a half hours of solitary confinement. In the next cell was a teenager charged with shoplifting. His first offence, not even convicted yet and he is being locked up for the same period, this is the UK in the 21st century, not Kosovo, but London.

Jake was given no food until breakfast next morning and it was inedible, the sight of it makes him sick and he threw up in the toilet pot beside his bed. One thing he will never forget about the ‘Ville is the smell of sweat, fear and excrement and the noise of shouting inmates that is inescapable night and day and the awful knowledge that he is innocent of any crime.

Meanwhile Gracie was surprised at Tone's sudden grip of the situation and the way he just took control. Tone knew he had to, as he was far more aware of the implications of the situation and how more shit might come down on him, if not everybody else.

“Gracie, just get the ladies into the limos and the fuck outta here now and into the hotel. I’ll see you there later. I got calls to make and people to see. I've been out of the manor for some years now. Things will have changed, but in my favour I hope. I must act quick and keep it out of the papers before the whole deal becomes too high profile.”

Tone knew only too well in his mind that he could soon be in serious shit and his cover would easily be blown as soon as he made his first phone call, but hopefully these were to the right people and all would be well.

All the phone numbers were out of date and he couldn’t raise a soul that he knew. He grabbed the yellow pages and looked up Danny’s club, the ‘La Vie En Rose’. That at least was still listed. Tone dialed the number and a voice answered “Good afternoon, ‘La Vie En Rose’."

“May I speak to Danny Bannion please”?

“I’ll see if he is available. Whom may I say calling, please?”

Tone hung up; he had all the information he needed. The club was still around and so was Danny, alive and kicking and at the club. The way to go was to personally arrive at the club and surprise Danny. That way there could be no traces and he would get a one-to-one with his old mate. If anybody could pull the right strings to get Jake out, Danny Bannion was Tone's ace in the hole...