A History Of Violence - Violentine AU

Chapter Twelve: Tennessee Whiskey And A Truck From Florida

The bar was packed with customers, odd considering it was a Thursday. There were no shortage of people looking for a drink, Clementine struggled to keep up with the scores of customers demanding more and more alcohol.
She quickly mixed a gin and tonic and placed it on the rubber mat, taking a ten dollar bill from the one who ordered it and sticking it into the till. Aside from her, there were three other bartenders serving drinks so that they weren't swamped with a backlog of people waiting. Despite the stress that naturally came with being swarmed by customers, Clementine found herself enjoying nights like this at the bar. It meant she could get into a rhythm of pouring, mixing and serving, one after another, without having to wait around between orders.
A tap on the shoulder interrupted her flow, she turned around and saw Mitch standing there.
"What's up?" She asked.
"I was out back having a smoke and I saw some weird guy sitting on the hood of your car." He said, a concerned look on his face.
"What did he look like?"
"He was bald, had a beard. Want me to get rid of him?" Mitch offered.
Clem racked her brain trying to think of someone she knew matching the description. It was entirely possible that whoever was sitting on her car was just some random creep, but her meeting with Max a few weeks earlier sowed doubt in her mind. There was also the chance that the man outside was with them.
If that was the case, getting Mitch involved would prove dangerous for him. That wasn't a risk Clementine was willing to take.
"That's okay, Mitch. I'll deal with it."
"Are you sure?" He sounded genuinely worried.
"Yeah I'm sure, don't worry about me. Seriously."
"Fuck.... I'll wait by the door inside. If you need help just yell for me, okay?"
"Got it, thanks Mitch."
Clem patted him on the shoulder and left the bar, heading through the kitchen to the back door. Sure enough, a bald, bearded man was sitting on the hood of her car. She approached him, he noticed her walking over and jumped down, the stomp of his boots echoing out into the night.
"You finally showed up then, huh?" He said with a smirk.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"You wouldn't know me, but you know who sent me, don't you?"
Clem glared at him, she didn't bother dignifying that with a response.
The man rolled his eyes and stopped walking in front of her.
"Call me Badger. Anyway, I got something for ya."
He pushed back his jacket and reached into his left pocket, Clem caught a glimpse of a pistol tucked into his waistband. He withdrew his hand and held out a folded piece of paper for her to take.
She unfolded it and read the printed note on the inside;
'Tomorrow. Parking lot on Andrew Young Blvd. 11:00 am. Don't be late.'
"What the fuck is this?" She snapped at the man.
"That's where you're gonna be tomorrow. If you've got plans, I suggest you cancel them." He sneered, leaning on somebody else's car.
"I'll tell you the same thing I told Max, I'm fucking done. Tell her to find someone else."
"You're gonna fuckin' be there, if you aren't, we're gonna have problems. Actually no, you're gonna have problems."
Clementine was furious, she was sick of dealing with people like Badger and Max. She stepped forward, jabbing a finger in his face.
"Listen you fu-."
Badger immediately sprung upright, his hand reaching for the pistol, gripping it tightly behind his back.
"No, you listen. You want me to fuckin' take you there right now? Because I promise, I'm not gonna be polite about it." He domineered over her, spitting with anger.
"You got two fuckin' choices, either you're there tomorrow on time and everybody's happy. Or, you keep pushing it and see where that fuckin' gets you."
She kept quiet, scowling at him. She was seething, but there wasn't much she could do while Badger was armed.
"Yeah that's what I thought." He let go of the gun and stepped away from her.
"You better show up to that meeting tomorrow, or else I'm gonna pay your little shit-head son a visit."
It took every ounce of self control she had in her not to say anything, not to do anything. As soon as AJ was threatened, she wanted to jump Badger, take his gun and put an end to him right then and there. The thought passed as quickly as it had come to her. Clementine shook her head and came to her senses. She couldn't let herself go down that road, not again.
She dismissed it, instead she glared at him, boring holes into the bearded man with her stare.
"That's all I'm here for, now be a good girl and get back in there, eh? I'm sure there's some boozers that are waiting for you inside."
Badger began walking backwards, spitting on the ground and making for the exit of the parking lot.
Once he was out of view, she went back inside the bar. True to his word, Mitch was waiting inside by the back entrance.
"Everything okay?" Mitch asked.
"Yeah, all good." Clem lied.