St. Louis Plaza Security Detail

A security guard slowly trails a man wrapped in dirty bandages. Another potential confrontation with a street creature who is looking to make one of the hidden alcoves around the strip mall complex into his on the strip condo or high end outhouse, which around these cross streets directly across from the Stratosphere hotel can probably be considered an easy night, especially in a neighborhood known for its high concentration of hookers, dope dealers, and the predators who prey upon those people. On the other side of the plaza, two cop cars have small line of people handcuffed sitting on top of a small curb while looking for more charges to add to the ones that already have them in restraints in the first place, who knows could be gang related, turf related, money, hoes, drugs, or whatever. In either direction lies an array of wedding chappels and hourly motels. The north end of the strip is slow tonight, even for a friday, weather is too cold for most ladies to hit the street for any good reason, unless the rent is due and the few I have seen lately are all dolled up in fake furs, knee high leather boots and skin tight designer blue jeans. Affectionly known as the dawn patrol, these women roam the blocks near my condo with the only thing seperating us being a twelve foot high brick wall with sharp pointed metal arrows along the perimeter of the estates. Working the business schedule has me up at 6am where a few of the ladies are still milling about all too aware of the pending shift changes this time of morning; either going home or off to work who does not need a quick hummer to get the day off to a great start or proper closing.

Dressed in that store bought almost movie prop like clothing of black bomber jacket, polyester slacks, and a dark cap that says security, the light blue shirt, and navy blue tie, as the street lamps reflect off the semi polished surface of the security guard's black dress shoes. The man tails the bandaged urine bandit along the sidewalk until the semi conscious, unshaven, and weather beaten transient wanders off into the stealth sharpened teeth of a mouth that has devoured everyone who has every passed inside. The killers live on this street, no lights, the random patrol car, silhouetted shapes shift, moving between duplex housing and the few remaining trees that have not been given the ax. Teenage youth are going down to Clark County tonight, flashing lights, red and blue that set off a certain feelings inside my gut, evading the long arm of law, not too fortunate this time yet no sooner than the paddie wagon pulls out of the strip mall plaza, a fresh reinforcement of recruits make their way back onto the block, yo what's for sale, the grind is back on and soon enough with the warmer weather the ladies will return like the migrating birds from the south.