Are We Out of The Woods Yet?

Part 24

Driving along, Robert thought about how he should have known. He hadn't seen Joe in almost two days. The answer had been obvious. He had a choice, should he go to the pub and tell Aaron what he knew...or should he go to the one place Robert guessed Joe might show up, the bar where he'd met him again? The fucking bar. Joe couldn't have done it alone, taken three people. He had muscle on his biceps but no, it wasn't possible. So, Robert figured, what about Joes mates...

He decided on going to the bar. The sooner he tracked down Liv, the better.

Pulling up in front of it, he got out of the car and walked in to the building. Just as he'd hoped, there they were, the three of them sat around the bar, downing the entire stock. However there seemed to be no sign of Joe. The bartender was the first one to spot Robert and he nudged one of the guys. It must have been a hard nudge because this guy cried out and went to retaliate when the bartender stopped him by nodding in Robert's direction. Mouths opened in surprise as the blonde man confidently strode in to the bar. The light coming in from the door behind him, casting a giant sized shadow over the flooring. It's dark, well built shape stretched to the men's bar stools. "Hello lads." Robert greeted them with a monotone voice, and his facial expression...well as the saying goes, if looks could kill...

The bartender, feeling uneasy, laughed. It seemed he started off a round. As suddenly every single one of the men broke in to fits of it.

"You're the guy who came in with your...boyfriend...the other day right?" The bartender wiped away a tear, at least that's what the bartender hoped Robert would think it was. In reality it was a droplet existing of the sweat of a man who knew he was guilty. Robert didn't blink, the title they'd named Aaron only made him more determined to end their sorry lives. Who would miss them? The till might become a little empty, but surely no one else would be affected? Robert walked further in to the bar, his shadow walking in front of him. He sat on a stool two away from where the last man sat. He rested one hand in his leather jacket pocket, another on his thigh as he sat side-ways on the stool to make direct eye contact with the enemy.

"So lads, I think we need to talk. Man to man...or should I say man to men...since there are more than one of you." Robert's eyebrows remained furrowed, however he spotted fear on his acquaintance's faces, so a smirk was pulling at his lips. He highly doubted he'd get what he wanted first time round. However, it was worth a shot. "So, which one of you intelligent men can tell me where I can find Joe?" He scanned their faces one by one. Not one of them appeared as though they were about to spill. He cleared his throat with the fist that had been rested on his thigh. "Ok...maybe you can tell me where I can find the kids. You know, the ones he took from Home Farm? Or should I say...the ones you took, since he couldn't really have done it on his own could he?" One of the men jumped to his feet from the stool, his fists were clenched and clammy, Robert noticed. The guy seated next to him put a hand on his chest. "Chill..." Robert heard him murmur. The man sank back on to the stool, apologising to his friends.

"Well?"

"We don't know what you're talkin' about." The guy who'd calmed his pal, told Robert.

"You do know how me and Joe met don't you?" Robert questioned them, thinking of a way to make them cough up. They were more than prepared to assume he and Aaron were gay and then mock them. How come they worked under the foot of a guy like Joe? He wasn't exactly hetero was he...

The men looked at each other. It seemed to only have just hit them that they had no idea how Joe knew Robert. They looked like they'd never even wondered about it. They were clearly too absent minded or the only thing that mattered to them was if they got their 'deserved' pay.