~~Young~~

Chapter Thirteen

   Gage stepped up to the bouncer once Sera was inside and gave him a nod- surely he didn’t need identification- but was met with an upraised hand.

   “Hold it buddy. We’re at capacity. You’ll have to wait for someone to take off.”

   Seriously, this seedy little bar was worried about fire codes, it was laughable.

   But nevertheless it was what was so Gage gave him a nod of acceptance and moved to lean against the side of the building beside the door. It also just happened to give him the perfect vantage point to see where Sera had taken up post. It was the only empty table Gage could see in the place, the high-boy most likely empty because it was directly below the TV mounted on the wall. One couldn’t see the screen from where Sera sat.

   But everyone could see Sera. Any other night and that would have been the perfect spot if you just wanted to slip in unnoticed for a drink, a lone table tucked into the back corner, but not tonight. It didn’t seem as if many had noticed her. The few men he could see only gave her a passing glance before turning their attention back to the old school tube TVs mounted about. Someone approached her after a moment, but with his apron Gage assumed he was just the bartender asking for her order. ‘Just a beer, whatever you got’ he saw her say before the tubby man walked away.

   “Haven’t I seen you before,” the bouncer asked.

   Gage reluctantly turned his attention away from Sera to the hulking man, “maybe, I dunno.”

   “Nah…I know I know you from somewhere,” he wagged a finger at Gage.

   “Oh yeah, where?”

   “I don’t know, but I know I know that jacket.”

   Well what do you know, an astute Neanderthal.

   Gage shrugged an indifferent shoulder, “my old lady got it for me at some flea market, so who knows.”

   “No that’s not where I’ve seen it.”

   “Then where,” Gage asked, bored with this already. He just wanted to get inside.

   “Last week, when I had my fist wrapped around it so I could toss your ass out for selling drugs in my bar.”

   His bar? Gage had to raise his eyebrows at that. This man didn’t look to have any sense in his juiced up head never mind business sense. But that also meant he wasn’t as observant as Gage thought he was as the man who was truly selling drugs had vacated the premises not a moment before Gage appeared.

   Good thing he had taken the time to rid himself of the contents of the pockets.

   “I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

   “I don’t make mistakes,” the man moved to loom over Gage.

   He wasn’t scared, “Here,” Gage held his hands out, “search me if you want, I ain’t got no drugs on me.”

   The man took the invitation and checked everyone of Gage’s pockets, finding only his money clip…which did have Gage cringing internally. It may not be as incriminating as the drugs, but in this part of town the only assumption that man would have is that Gage was a drug dealer carrying around that kind of cash. Hell even up-town a couple of thousand dollars in large bills would seem suspicious.

   “So what’s this then?”

   “Pocket change,” Gage shrugged unperturbed.

   That was until he saw who had begun slinking towards Sera’s table, Twitchy. So then the bastard had just been waiting for someone to leave, much as Gage was forced to do…