HELLBOUND [Liskook]

Part 10

Chapter 20 (Lost angle)

The next night, Rosie brought Lisa to a bar, as promised. Rosie was a party girl so she was well acquainted with what went on inside these bars. She was reluctant to take Lalisa but the girl insisted, so there they were, in a dark, smoky bar, about to join the crowd of people who were there mostly looking to have a good time.

They walked through the corridor, their shoes sticking to the ground with every step - the remnants of alcohol spilled on the floor from the night before. As they waded their way through the sticky path, Rosie couldn't help but ask her friend again. "Lis, are you sure about this?"

"Yes." Lisa's response was quick and to the point. There was no hesitation.

Rosie sighed. She had never seen her friend be this stubborn before! "Make sure to stay beside me inside the bar, okay?" she could only warn.

"Okay."

The corridor opened into a large double storey area. The place was already quite crowded with about the same amount of women as there were men. Most of the people were leaning over the bar, which was situated on the left side of the room, trying to catch the bartender's attention to purchase some much needed alcohol.

Lisa's first impression of a bar was that it was quite dirty, but after a few drinks in them, people probably wouldn't care too much about hygiene, she guessed. She looked around and saw that the place attracted all sorts of different people. There were some wild looking people, with lots of piercings and tattoos, but then she looked up to the second storey and that seemed to be filled with more mature guests in business suits.

"Come here, Lis. It's too crowded down here. I'm afraid some bastard will grope you," said Rosie, as she grabbed Lisa's wrist.

Rosie had looked around and determined that the ground floor was too crowded for her to protect Lisa. The second storey looked less chaotic than the ground floor, so she dragged Lisa through the crowded dance floor and up the stairs.

Lisa could only follow her best friend's lead.

The upstairs area was definitely quieter with people mostly minding their own business or looking down at the chaos on the ground floor with interest. Lisa felt that these people who were watching the goings on the ground floor were looking for their next prey and she couldn't help the slight shiver of repulsion that came over her.

Rosie found a quiet corner for them to sit in and it looked clean as well - a rare find indeed. She walked over to the bar - yes, there was another bar on that level - and bought them a couple of drinks.

Unbeknownst to both of them, there was a certain male sitting in his own secluded corner, who immediately recognized Lisa. He took his cellphone from his pocket and started to dial a number.

The receiver picked up after just three rings.

"What is it?" the person on the other end of the phone sounded impatient.

"It looks like a little lamb just walked into the wolves' den," he cryptically said knowing full well the other person on the line would know exactly what he was talking about. He hung up straight away not bothering with farewells and continued to nurse his drink, all the while, keeping an eye on the little lamb and her hooligan friend.

Meanwhile, at the corner booth, Rosie was giving her friend some advice.

"Lis, you're not used to this place so I think for now, why don't you just observe first, okay? If you don't like being here, just tell me and we can go, alright?"

"Okay, don't mind me, Rose. Go and I'll watch from here."

Rosie ventured out into the crowd and made her way to the bar to buy them some drinks. The bar was full of people and there was a huge line, unfortunately, so Rosie would have to wait a while to get their drinks. While she waited, she glanced in Lisa's direction and was relieved that she followed her advice and just observed. She turned her attention back to the bar menu and thought about which drink Lisa might like and if she should get some nibbles too, so she didn't see a waiter approach Lisa and give her a drink.