Evolution

CHAPTER 24 | the bounty hunter

Darren chugged down the last of his ale then pushed the empty glass across the countertop.

"Top up, mate?" Joe asked.

Darren's gaze darted around the loud and busy bar, and he shook his head. "I might give it a miss tonight." He slid off the bar stool, reached into his back pocket, pulled out a five-dollar bill and shoved it into the tip jar.

Joe raised an eyebrow, Darren was usually too inebriated to remember to leave a tip behind.

"Haven't seen Stumpy in a few nights," Darren said as he took another look around.

Joe placed the empty glass into the half-full tray. "I think he's scarpered off to the Liberty pub over on Fernleaf."

"Hmmm... the Liberty you say... isn't that where Juliette and her bowling team now go?"

Joe's mouth set into a grim line. It was where all his old regulars now frequented. While his takings were up, he hated that the locals no longer felt comfortable in his pub. He preferred a Human punter over the new lot of Werewolves any day of the week. "Yep, we were getting a little too loud for them to have their team meetings."

Darren bit the inside of his lip and pushed his hands into his pocket. "Can't say I blame them. I hardly recognize anyone here these days..." He cleared his throat. "Well better go, Trudy will have dinner on the table."

Joe laughed. "Crickey, she won't know what hit her. You actually turning up for dinner on time, and not three sheets to the wind."

Darren waved, and Joe called out, "See ya tomorrow night."

Darren hesitated and turned back to the bar. "Ummm... I've got some stuff on so I might not be back for a while." He then gave Joe a nervous smile and scampered through the crowd and out the door.

Strewth! Another one.

Joe's jaw tightened, and he held back the desire to break something.

"You okay?" Marie asked. She placed a tray of empty glasses on the bar and made her way through the small trap door to stand next to him. Half of which were cracked.

"That was the last of my long-term regulars," he said, nodding towards the closed door. "Bradley and the rest of those fucking lunatics have scared away my best customers."

"They'll be back, you'll see," she said.

Joe reached for the tray of empty glasses and said, "I'm not so sure. Stay here, I'll be right back."

He headed to the kitchen to put a load through the commercial dishwasher. With the additional customers, hand washing was no longer an option. Bradley and the rest of Elise's converts had now pretty much taken up residence in his bar each night. The bully and the rest of his cohorts were supposed to be heading off down south for whatever bullshit Elise and her little army was up to. It turned out 'down south' was South Philadelphia.

One by one, his regular human customers, and the majority of his Werewolf ones, no longer frequented their previous home away from home. He had spent years building up his pub in the local community, only to see it destroyed overnight. Sure, the takings were up. But so too was the breakages. His insurance company was already bitching and moaning about his frequent claims.

"How did your hunt go today?" He asked Marie once he returned to the bar.

She handed a customer his drink and placed the money in the till. "Still nothing."

He had taken pity on the women and given her a part-time job while she searched for her missing mate. While she held out hope he would turn up, Joe wasn't as sure. It had been over two weeks and still no sign of him. However, he wasn't about to stress out a pregnant sheila, he'd heard enough horror stories to know better.