Bartender, threat and on the run
"Bartender! Beers!" A group of guys shouted. I nodded and grabbed five glasses, poured some beer in them, then placed the glasses on a platter, and then I balanced it over to the table.
"Five beers coming in." I said and placed each glass in front of every guy.
"Thanks, Jackson." Big Bear said and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Just doing my job." I shrugged and walked away. Big Bear was one of my regulars. He always comes at night and brings the creepiest guys, but at least I get a good sum of money. I place myself in my regular spot behind the bar and start to polish the glasses.
Lost in thoughts, I did not see a group of people come into my bar.
"A whiskey, please," a guy with a goatee said. I glanced at the man and reached underneath the counter and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. I poured some in a glass and pushed the glass over to the guy, the glass making a sliding sound against the wooden table. The man nodded, satisfied.
"We'll just take five glasses of water," a woman with furious red hair said. I nodded and placed each glass in front of the five people.
"Can I get a beer instead of water?" A blond, longhaired guy asked. Can't they make up their minds?
"Thor no. You are having water." The redhead said.
"A beer is coming up," I said. The redhead sighed, I ignored her and gave Thor his beer. He smiled at me at the sight of his beer, but I just gave him a dead look back. He widened his eyes. I returned to my spot and began polishing glasses again, listening in on a few conversations. I could feel Thor staring at me, but I just ignored it.
"...catch a kid no one has a clear picture of?" I tuned in on the conversation the new group was having.
"I don't know Tony, but first of all, we need to know what kind of guy we're looking for." A blond guy with blue eyes replied.
"SHIELD has sent us a file on him, but none of the pictures is clear enough to see his facial features. It's like when he looks at a camera, his face automatically gets blurred out." Redhead said. I froze. SHIELD. These people were with SHIELD.
"Yes, can you open the file?" Blond dude with blue eyes asked.
"Sure," Tony said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a hologram of a file of a person.
"Hmm," Redhead leaned forward. "He was last spotted here in Manchester, so he got to be around here." I grabbed a new glass and started to polish it.
"The only information we have on him is his criminal record, who his parents are, and his name." Blonde guy said.
"Hey, excuse me, bartender," the redhead asked. I turned and looked at her.
"Yes?" I looked bored at her.
"Do you by any chance know someone or heard of someone named Perseus Jackson?" She looked at me with an analyzing look. By the mention of the name Perseus Jackson, all talking in the bar stopped, and everyone in the room froze. A few men, including Big Bear, stood up. She glanced around then, looked at me again. "Do you?"
I looked at her.
Big Bear walked over to the group and crossed his arms, looking quite big. "I think it's time for you and your friends to leave." He said with a low and threatening voice. I glared at the woman with red hair.
"Uhm, I think not." Tony said and looked at Big Bear, and stood up and crossed his arms, trying to look bigger than him, he failed at that, he still looked insignificantly minor compared to Big Bear. Big Bear stepped closer to Mr. Goatee, the blond guy had to pull Tony back, before he would do something he might regret.
"Tony. He's not worth starting a fight with." The blond guy said and pulled Tony further back.
"Thank you, Steve, but I can take care of myself." Tony said. I watched closely as Tony and Big Bear tried to kill each other with their glares. I sighed.
"Okay boys, outside if you're going to fight. I just got new furniture." I spoke. They both looked at me surprised. "And Big Bear, you know better than to start a fight with this small guy." I crossed my arms, and slowly Big Bear withdrew. I nodded in approvement at his movement.
"I'm not small!" Tony protested.
I looked at him. "You're going outside if you're going to fight anyone." I said, my voice cold and sharp. He swallowed and nodded. I grabbed a new glass and started to polish it but kept an eye on Tony and his friends. Big Bear walked back to his table and began to play poker again.
Slowly everyone began talking again and went back to the things they were doing before. The group of seven slowly began talking again with quiet voices. I grabbed a new glass and began polishing it. I placed the clean and polished glass on the shelf.
"Jackson! Beers!" A guy yelled from the table Big Bear was sitting at. My head shot up and I just registered Big Bear kicking the guy over the shin. I glanced at the group from SHIELD, and slowly reached under the counter to grab the glasses for beers. As I poured beer into the glasses, I could feel seven pairs of eyes staring at me. I grabbed the glasses and walked down to the table and placed each of them in front of a guy. I gave Big Bear a sharp look, and he nodded. As I left, I could hear Big Bear quietly scolding the guy who had shouted my last name. Now SHIELD knew I was the guy they were looking for. I walked back behind the bar and grabbed the cloth again and began polishing a new glass. Their staring eyes burned into my skin.
"Excuse me," I mentally cursed, and looked at the guy with blond hair and blue eyes, which name I still did not know of. "Jackson, right?" His piercing blue eyes bore into mine. I slowly nodded.
"And you are?" I asked, if my voice were a drink, it would be filled with ice, which is how cold it was. Why did I compare my voice with that? Do not ask, it was a funny thought.
"Barton," the guy answered. So now I know Tony, Steve, Thor, and Barton. Of course, I knew Barton was his last name, but now I did not have to call him 'blond guy with blue eyes.' I nodded at his answer, then returned to polishing the glass I had in my hands.
I could still feel them staring at me, but it was better to ignore it for now. I did not want to start a fight, and especially not in my own bar, and especially not when I just got new furniture. I mean, this new furniture looks sick! It is impressive! It really gives this place this cozy feeling that a bar should have. In my opinion of course. I placed the glass on the wooden table and walked towards the door to the back. I threw the cloth out in the laundry basket and opened the door to the back and entered. There I grabbed my deep blue trench coat and put it on. I walked back into the bar and over to Big Bear's table and bent down so my mouth was right out of his ear.
"I'm heading home, will you look over the place?" I asked quietly.
He nodded, "Of course." He smiled and returned to his game of poker. I straightened my back and walked over to the door, quickly glancing at the seven people from SHIELD, then opening the door out to the chilly winter breeze and left the bar.
I walked down the street with my hands in my pockets, and my shoulders up to my ears. Gods, it had begun to get cold at night though it was only spring. I turned left and walked a few blocks then stopped up and found my keys in my pocket and unlocked the door. I stepped inside and closed the door after me, and then began the endless climbing up the stairs. I swear to the gods that these stairs would never end. I do not know what I was thinking when I bought the apartment on the fifth floor, or I wasn't thinking at all, like always. I never think, I just act. After five to ten minutes of complete suffering and rethinking every life choice I have ever made, I finally reached the top. I inhaled some of the old crusty air up here and walked over to the door and unlocked it. And that would be where I would have dropped my keys, and they would have fallen all the way down. Trust me when I say it, that sucks when that happens. I have tried it like twice, and I do NOT recommend it. It really sucks.
I walked into my small apartment, closed the door, and took my shoes and jacket off. I walked into the old kitchen and poured some water in a glass. I took a small sip of it, then I placed the glass on the table and sat down on one of the chairs around the dinner table. I leaned back in the chair and stretched my arms over my head. I yawned and took another sip of my water and got up. The creaky floors underneath my feet bent down a bit as I walked into the living room. I swear to the gods that if I fall through these floors, I am going to flood this place. A bit harsh, but still, I am not falling through these floors.
A picture on the shelf caught my eyes. I smiled slightly at the seven figures on it. I missed them, I had not seen them in ages. It was two years ago since I left. Since I left my friends and family. Of course, I had not left without saying anything, I had left them a note, saying I needed time off. Saying I needed space. And for once, the gods had listened. I had not seen or heard from them for two years now. Though I missed them, I was not going to go back. I could not. If I did the gods would just ask me for a favor and force me out on a quest, like they always did. I picked the picture up and looked at it. We were all smiling, though we all had a worried look in our eyes as Leo's hair had caught on fire. He almost burned Piper's hair. Next to him stood a smiling Piper who was leaning against Jason. I smiled sadly at him. I missed him, more than I missed any of the others. It still hurts me to know that we had lost him. I did not blame Apollo though, it was not his fault, Jason chose himself to help. He knew of the consequences. He always did. My eyes moved on to a small girl in the arms of a big guy with a cute baby face. I wondered how Hazel and Frank were doing, being Praetors and all is hard, I could tell from the one day I had been. It was hard. Annabeth's gray eyes had a sparkle in them as my arms were around her waist. The photo had been taken in the middle of her laugh. I could almost hear her laugh. I shook my head and put the picture back down on the shelf. I walked over and sat down on the soft couch and leaned back. I closed my eyes, but quickly opened them again as a knock on the door could be heard in the quiet apartment. I looked towards the old door.
Slowly I got up and approached the door. I looked through the peephole and a man with a goatee stood outside with a redhead. Great, now I had SHIELD agents after me. I backed away silently as Tony knocked on the door again, then I turned around and sneaked into my bedroom, grabbed a backpack, and put some clothes in it along with the picture from the shelf and a water bottle. I sneaked over to the fire escape and opened the window, which is when I heard a loud thud and the front door creaked. I quickly got out on the fire escape and closed the window after me and took the backpack on. As I walked or half ran down the fire escape, an arrow rushed by my face and bore into the wall, I stared at it for one second then looked towards where it had been fired from. A man in some black leather clothes kneeled on a roof, almost hidden. I recognized him as one of the guys from the bar. Barton. I continued running down the fire escape and avoiding arrows, I even caught a few, and ran down on the ground, which was when I could hear shouting coming up from my apartment. I looked up and saw that Tony and the redhead were in the middle of getting out through the window. I turned around and ran out of the alley, dodging an arrow and ran out on the street. I could hear footsteps behind me and sped up. Suddenly out of nowhere metal pieces came flying at me, I dodged them, and they flew past me. I looked back and saw that the metal pieces flew onto Tony and turned into a metal suit. I looked forward again and turned left at a corner and sped more up. I ran at full speed down the streets turning right and left a few times, when I looked back, I could not see anyone following me, but I kept running.
I looked up and saw Tinman aka Tony flying over me, aiming at me with his hand.
"Styx!" I cursed and turned left as he shot an energy blast at me. I ducked and ran as fast as I could. I was lucky not to be burned. Would I be burned to ashes if I got shot by his repulsors? I ducked and dodged another blast and ran down a small alleyway. Annoyance filled me as it was a dead end. Of course, it was a dead end, my luck was so bad. I looked back and saw Tinman land on the ground and begin to walk towards me. I looked around for a way to escape through, but I could not see any, I was trapped. I looked around another time, still not finding anything, except for the cover to the sewers, which did not help much... The sewers. Of course! I quickly bent down and took the cover off and looked down. Yuck! I looked up and saw Tinman had speeded up his pace and lifted his hand to fire at me. I quickly made the decision to jump down through the hole. I landed in greenish brownish water. It took me everything not to vomit, gods it smelled disgusting! I saw some feces flow around. I held my breath as I quickly walked through the smelling and muddy water. I looked back and saw rubble fly everywhere as Tinman blew a bigger hole in the sewer, to get in. I began running through the disgusting water and turned around a corner, then around another corner and ran for a few minutes. I could not hear Tony's suit anymore, but I had a feeling he was near me, though I could not see him when I looked. I walked over to a metal ladder and crawled up and removed the cover, the sunlight from the sundown gave everything an orange gleam. I crawled up on the ground and slid the cover over the hole to the sewer again. I still had this nagging feeling that Tony and the others were nearby, but I could not sense them or see them. I began walking and walked out of the alleyway, when I looked around, I recognized the place. I was on Stark Street, which meant that I was near his apartment. I just had to walk down the road from Canal Street and down to the apartment with house number 67. It was only a few meters, so it was not that long. I speed walked down the street, looking back every second step. Finally, I reached the black glass door, I looked at the thing where you could press a button to the person who lived there, I searched for the name and pressed the white button when I saw it.
"Yes?" A scratchy voice said through the speaker.
"I need a ride," I said and looked over my shoulder. It took a while before I got an answer.
"Got it." The voice said, and it went silent. I looked at the speaker then took a step back and looked at the door, through the glass and on the stairs. Soon enough a black-haired guy, with black slim fit pants and a black belt, a buttoned up black shirt with long sleeves and black sunglasses on, walked down the stairs. He buttoned up that last top button and put his hand in his pocket in his pants, and with the other hand he opened the door. His back was straightened, and he looked like a chauffeur or bodyguard.
"So, a ride?" His upper lip curled a tiny bit up in a smile.
"Yes," I nodded. He nodded too and walked over to a black Volvo S60. It was a nice car, and I knew from experience that it could drive fast. He walked over and opened the door to the passenger seat and held the door as I sat inside on the seat, he then closed the door and walked over to the driver's seat and got in the car. He put the keys in and turned the car on and backed out of the small parking space and drove down Stark Street.
"Where are we going, Boss?" He asked as he drove to the right on Elm Street.
"I honestly don't know." I spoke. At that he raised an eyebrow. "A group of people from SHIELD are chasing me, but I shook them off in the sewer, but I have a feeling they're nearby." I explained.
He nodded, "Got it," He took his sunglasses up in his hair and sped up. He overtook every car in front of us and avoided crashing the car. He stared concentrated at the road and sped even more up. I looked out the windscreen and held my breath as we almost crashed into another car, but he was able to avoid crashing into it, and then passed the car. I glanced at him, he had a concentrated face on, and I knew that he was not only focused on the road. He was also listening. How could I see it? He had a wrinkle between his eyebrows, and he only had it when he was listening.
"They're nearby," he said and sped down, so he was going normal speed. I nodded and looked out the window to see if I could see them.
"Do you know where?" I looked at him.
"They're behind us somewhere, but I don't think they've seen us." He spoke. "Where do you want to go, boss? I can drive us anywhere." He smiled and looked at me for a quick second then focused back on the road.
"I don't know, got any ideas?" I leaned back in my seat.
"If you want to lose them boss, then we should get far away from Manchester." He spoke. I nodded. "What do you say about New York?"
I stared out the windscreen for a few seconds before answering, "New York sounds good," I said. "Though I really do not want to meet anyone from camp or mom and Paul. Not right now at least."
The chauffeur nodded in agreement, "New York it is then," I looked at him and he grinned. I smiled at him, he was getting better, he had begun to loosen more up, which was good. He showed more emotions now and talked more.
He speeded up and passed cars as he drove towards the city that never sleeps.
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Helloo, welcome to the rewritten version of The Bartender!! Most chapters are gonna be this long or a bit shorter or longer. But this is what I'm going for in length. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it. You are always welcome to leave suggestions in the comments and feedback.
Have an amazing day<3
-Leo