Belle’s

The Madam checked the clock on the the wall. It was time.
 She signaled the two huge bouncers, Jerry and Jim, to open the doors.
 Jerry was naked. Gorilla naked. Xhuman, now a Gorilla with his original human intelligence thanks to DNA splice technology.
 Jim was Off-World, non-human, and communicated through Jerry. Jim was analogous to a Centaur with four legs but with four arms also. Jim's' face was red and topped with goat like horns, his teeth sharp as if each filed to a point. A smile from Jim made one feel like dinner.
 Then Jerry and Jim opened the wide double doors and the noisy mob of male and female soldiers poured through.
 The 27 companions, male and female, in the adjoining room shifted nervously...it would be a busy night.
 Jerry and Jim abandoned the front doors to start mingling with the crowd.
They were not there to socialize. They were there to cool emotions.
The soldiers outnumbered the companions by over 3 to 1.
Jerry and Jim seemed to know exactly the right time and place to be when emotions started heating up. By their very presence an island of calm would ripple out and around them. This crowd was going to be difficult.
Soldiers by their very nature are not easily cowed.
As the smell of alcohol, hemp and sex began to fill the room the risks for violence increased. Jerry and Jim knew violence well, it was the death that sometimes accompanied it that they continuously tried to avoid.
 The Madam, Belle, had hired Jerry and Jim 3 monsoon seasons ago.
They had shown up on her doorstep in the midst of a downpour. Bedraggled, wet, and hungry.
 The sight of a forlornly soaked Gorilla and Satanic faced, four armed Centaur caused Belle to step back away from the door. It was an involuntary move, more from surprise than fear. Belle had seen it all. So she had thought.
 Jerry spoke first, "Good evening Madam." The words were distorted because of the long canines which were made more visible when he talked. "My name is Jerry and this handsome devil to my left is Jim. I am Xhuman and Jim is Off-World from a place that is not pronounceable by human or Xhuman throat. Actually Jim is not his real name but the name that I have given him. But I digress. We are both strong and willing to work. We are also hungry. Would you have something that we could do that would earn us a meal?"
 Belle had intuitively known that she was going to be touched upon for food at the minimum. While Jerry was explaining his and Jim's presence on her doorstep, she was tallying up the To-Do's that had piled up since the last bouncer/handyman had mysteriously disappeared.
She smiled, "I do have some things that need repair, but by the looks of both of you I can see that food should first be offered. The first meal is on the house as should be to troubled travelers. Then we will see what you can do to earn a dry place to sleep and more meals.”
 She stepped aside and motioned the odd couple to enter.
“Tell me, what are you able to eat?"
 ...that was 3 monsoon seasons ago. Jerry and Jim were perfect as handymen. Well at least Jim was. He always seemed to be able to lend a hand at something. For brute strength they were both equally matched, Jerry's agility and climbing ability were a plus when heights were involved.
It was their abilities as bouncers that Belle found to be the most helpful.