Demons Grasp

Chapter 11

Something warm hits my face, then I hear a clank and a thud.

I see no light, no long lost relatives.

Slowly, I open my eyes. The stranger - I still have no idea what his name is - lies on his back in front of me. His one good eye stares into the night sky, unblinking. A hole gapes in his forehead, blood oozing from it.

He is dead.

I scramble backwards, landing on my butt, kicking away from the body. When I touch my face I can feel something wet. Brining my fingers in front of my eyes I realize that my face is covered in his blood.

I barely register the steps behind me. I am grabbed below my armpits and dragged to my feet. Someone puts an arm around me and starts leading me towards the exit of the alley. I see Tess running towards me. But I do not know if she reaches me. Because my knees buckle suddenly. And then there is only blackness.

********

I wake up and find myself lying on a leather seat. I smell wood, booze and perspiration. And blood. Why do I still smell blood? Oh right, I am covered in it.

Slowly I sit up and look around. I am in a dimly lit dive bar. One wall is occupied by a dark wooden bar. Shelves stacked with an impressive collection of bottles line the wall behind it. Scattered throughout the rest of the room are tables with mismatched chairs. There are booths along the wall opposite of the bar, separated by L-shaped leather benches like the one I am sitting on.

Tess sits on a stool, with her back to me. A blond woman, clad in leather, stands opposite of her behind the bar. She notices me first. "Good morning, sunshine. How are we feeling?" Her voice is rough, like that of a heavy smoker, but friendly. "Peachy" I respond. "What happened?" Tess swirls around and hops off her stool. She comes over, slides next to me into the booth and pulls me into a hug.

"Damnit, MC. You had me worried sick. When I walked in here earlier I noticed that you were not behind me. I went back out but you weren't there either. I had a really bad feeling about this. So I called Jacky" she nods to the woman behind the bar "and her people to help me look for you." "People?" "The others are still out taking care of the body" Jacky chimes in.

"We got lucky and found you in that alley with that dude holding a gun to your head. This is when Jacky sprang into action. He was so focused on you, he did not even see her coming. She was the one that shot him."

"Thank you, Jacky. You saved my life. But I'm sorry I put you in such a position." "Not my first rodeo," she shrugs. "You look like you could use something strong." I nod and get up to walk towards the bar, legs still wobbly. I gratefully accept the glass she filled for me generously and knock it back in one gulp. Dan would be proud. But this does take off the edge a bit.

"So, this place is yours?" I ask. Jacky nods again. "Have been for twenty years." "Tess mentioned that you could help us. More than you already did, I mean?" Another nod. "We are accepting private security gigs, like protection from domestic violence, transport of valuables and so on. Most of my people are vets. They found a home and a purpose here, after they got home."

"I can send six men," she continues. "My best. Their services are yours for ten grand." I have to swallow hard. That is all my savings plus some. I will figure it out. "Thank you."

As she fills up my glass again, I notice a phone lying on the bar. "Is that his?" "Yes" Tess picks it up. "He received a call from his employers, right before..." my voice trails off. "That is good news. We might be able to trace back that call and extract more information from the phone itself." Tess seems to be genuinely optimistic about this, which I find comforting. "Let's head back to the others and get to work, then." she chirps.

"Before we do that. Tess, I could really use that shower now." "Sure thing."

Jacky puts a card on the table and pushed it over to me. "My number. Let me know when and where you need us."