Ablaze Without Flames

Chapter 6, Part 1 - Thea

Floppy Fringe sat alone at the bar staring at the screen of his phone with a frown so intense the creases between his brows looked like they might leave permanent wrinkles. He had been there an hour. That wasn't so strange in itself, but he was on his third glass of tap water and hadn't asked for so much as a bite to eat. He was waiting for something. Thea recognised him; he and Baseball Cap were regular non-drinkers at the Shieldmaiden, but they paid for their water or coffee or whatever and never took up much room. This was the first time she had seen him during a lunch shift.

When a sufficient gap appeared between customers, Thea sidled over to him and made a show of drying off a wineglass that had come back from the kitchen. 'Where's your friend?'

He glanced up, met her eyes, and then looked around to make sure she was addressing him. 'Oh, I'm not sure. S'what I'm trying to find out,' he added with a wave of his phone.

'Think he's stood you up?'

'Looks like it,' he said with an exaggerated sigh and a sip from his glass. 'Nah. I think he's working. It's not exactly a nine-to-five deal we have.'

'Oh?'

He met her curious gaze with a smirk, his fringe flopping over one eye. 'I'm not actually allowed to talk about it.'

Thea raised her eyebrows, hung the glass from the rack above the bar and surrendered her palms. 'Then I won't ask anymore, DCI.' Turning away to serve a group of already-tipsy women, she kept an eye on him whilst laughing politely at their stories. His grin had fallen back into a frown and he tapped furiously on his phone screen. When she returned, she leant over the bar and lowered her voice. He jumped.

'You'll burn a hole through your screen. I'm sure he's fine.'

His responding chuckle was strained. 'I'd prefer he text me so I'd know for sure.'

'Is this a dangerous job?' The look he gave her was answer enough. 'In which case he's trained for it, right?'

He scratched the back of his head. 'Sure, but it's not that simple.' He pressed his lips between his teeth for a few seconds and shut off his phone screen, dropping it on the counter. He leaned closer to Thea. 'I'm not supposed to talk about it, but you guys – you know, bar staff – are kind of the eyes and ears of the city, you know? So – and please don't ask questions – you haven't seen a guy around that looks like he really doesn't belong here, have you?'

Thea blinked to mask the wash of icy dread across her skin. 'How do you mean?'

'I don't know; maybe his clothes are odd, or he doesn't speak to anyone, or he looks strange. Maybe he wears a hat? A hood? Probably a long coat too. Brown-haired and about my height, wiry.'

'Why're you looking for him?'

'I said don't ask questions. This is completely off the record, all right?'

'Fine. Then that's a really vague description and we get all sorts of weirdos in here sometimes. Your job is looking for people?'

He stretched up and rolled his shoulders, glancing about to make sure no one was listening. 'Of a nature. If you see him you'll know what I mean.'

'Uh huh.'

Dropping his arms and leaning on his fists, his smile was wry. 'Bet you think I'm one of those weirdos now, right?' Thea covered her face in a smile and shook her head, all the while her mind looping hunter hunter hunter until the word became little more than a jumble of noise. She excused herself to the other side of the bar when another customer wandered over and she prayed they would order another drink.