Bound to the Beast

Chapter 01

    
In Perspective of Lara Anderson
Bound to the Beast
     Chapter 01: Slow Night at Pepper's

     It was just another night in Pepper's, a billiard hall in Bournecott, Illinois. It had been an assortment of businesses, under a dozen names that have been around since the Great Depression. The old building wore its age well, the battle scars adding character to its otherwise simple and unassuming façade. There were a few bullet holes in the walls, intentionally left unrepaired in several places. The old massive bar in the corner had its share of scratch marks and scuffs; and a door behind it leading to an empty kitchen. It was a remnant of when Pepper's had once been a restaurant, though its long been torn from its hinges. In front of the bar were many high-top tables, and a jukebox that played everything from Elvis to Everclear, Madonna to Metallica and anything in between. The overall ambiance was charming, drawing in all walks of life throughout the night. It was a gathering place where business men and bikers alike could have a drink or two while playing a few games on the best tables in town.

     The tables were the one area where no expense had been spared. Every singe one, from the quarter tables to the ten footers, was in pristine condition. Twenty-two tables in all, were clean and Heaven help you if you got caught setting a drink or cigarette down on one. The one rule of Pepper's was plastered on the front door when you came in, and if you were an unfortunate individual who broke that rule, you'd be thrown or carried out the door. What the rule didn't disclose was that there were many things that could be considered violating the tables and that some of them, like fighting or excessive drunken behavior, would get you banned for life and a mug shot taken from security footage of you plastered on the wall of shame. After twenty years, the wall of shame had over 340 pictures on it and some older ones had to be replaced by photos of the new generation of degenerates when they had run out of room on the walls.

     I stood in the doorway that led to the employee only area to survey my little kingdom. Business had been a bit slow tonight but that had been expected on a Wednesday evening, though a slow evening had its perks. The odds of someone being thrown out were dropped drastically on a slow night. I listened to the buzz of conversion in my earpiece, a small device wedged in my ear canal. Everyone who worked for me wore the same setup while they were on duty. Communication was very important to survival at all times and it had nothing to do with the bar crowd. Every person who worked at the establishment was wanted for something, even her, and we all did our part to keep each other safe.

     Seeing that everything was running smoothly and convinced it was going to be a busy night, I turn on my heels to head over to my office. If anything, I could take care of a few things I've been too busy to tend to. I seated myself down at my desk, shuffling through a few papers in a futile attempt to organize them.

     "Hey Lara, some guy is sitting at the bar asking for you. He said Spence sent him. Oh, and that karaoke girl is back as well. What do you want done about that?"

     I quickly laid my head down on the pile at my desk. God how I hated karaoke. The only acceptable time I considered singing along with music to be permittable would be in the vacant vicinity of a car, where no one else could hear. So far I had politely explained to the woman that this wasn't the kind of establishment for it, and that I simply wasn't interested. After five attempts to try and bring me around, you would think this woman would give up. However, Pepper's was a very popular business and Carrie, was that her name or was it Carol? Whatever. The singalong freak was determined to set up shop here. Besides the fact she's been obnoxious when coming here, she has spent her time here harassing customers to petition me for a karaoke night. Apparently I was going to have to make my refusal a little more clear this time. I suddenly picked up my head from my now crinkled stack of papers with a smile.