Honeyed Cabernet | H. Bartinelli ✔

[16]

It was not a new thing for fights to break out in the Iceberg lounge but those fights would often turn lethal with gunshots fired and arrows plunged deep. As the place was frequented by people who were known to be quite deadly in Gotham city, it was no wonder that the fights that took place there were deadly too.

That night, one similar situation broke out and in no time, the whole place had turned into a war zone.

Helena's grey eyes flickered towards the bar, widening slightly as she saw their new bartender under attack. 

A fist had collided with his face and his vision blurred as he stumbled, reaching out to the counter for support. The Huntress couldn't let her prey be under attack from someone else, hence she dodged the blows coming her way and reached the counter, pushing Alexander down so that he would not get hurt further. 

But he could not see her as his eyes had started to water for the punch had almost knocked him out.

"Stay down," her hand brushed gently against his cheek and he couldn't hear the rest of the words due to the noise raging on in the club. 

He flinched as something cold touched his face and blinked twice to clear his vision. As his eyes adjusted he saw Helena dabbing at his nose with some ice cubes that she had taken out of the ice box stored under the counter. Her hand lingered at his cheek as she gently iced the reddened skin on his nose. 

His spectacles had also gotten crooked due to the intensity of the fist, the glass shattered from one side but thankfully it had not punctured into his skin.

She had carefully removed the thin shards and the broken frame as well as she iced the left cheek which was also getting red slightly due to the force with which the punch had landed on his face.

"Rule number one," she spoke up noticing that he was conscious enough to register her words, "whenever you hear a crash, take refuge under the counter and do not come out until the noise dies down completely."

Alex still had no idea what had happened but he noticed that the two were indeed under the counter of the bar. The noise around them had started to fade gradually and when there was a considerable silence, Helena cautiously looked over the counter, her hand still on Alex's shoulder, refusing him to get up.

"All clear," she breathed at last and helped him to his feet. His head swayed once again as he took in the disastrous situation of the Iceberg Lounge; bodies were scattered on the floor as well as the tables, bullet holes denting most of the furniture.

"I bet no one mentioned how often this happens when they were getting you to sign the contract." Helena was rather casual as if quite accustomed to the occurrence.

"But they are... They're dead?"

Her sharp eyes met Alex and a slight smile played upon her lips taking in his baffled expression. "Rule number two, what happens in the Iceberg Lounge stays in the Iceberg Lounge."

He did not say anything, his eyes darting around the place in a mixture of shock and alarm. The bar area had been damaged really bad too with most glasses and bottles shattered such that there was a pool of liquor and blood at their feet, the stench of which was almost nauseous.

She led him out cautiously avoiding the glass shards scattered everywhere and took him to the back of the club. A dreadful silence resonated in the empty corridor which was flanked by sinister looking doors on both sides.

"Where are you taking me?" He whispered at last, keeping his voice down for he was still unsure of the surroundings and did not want to attract attention.

"Rule number three. It's better to not overthink when such situations arise. So kindly shut up."

At that moment he could not decide whether the edge of the broken liquor bottles would be sharper or her voice as it pierced through the silence.