Bar
No assignment was easy. Tonight was no exception. Kovacs gently rubbed his face as he limped through the cold streets of downtown Dante City. He checked his phone to see if he was at least paid for his troubles. The funds came through. Money made it all worth the blood, screams and violence. He didn’t look back to see if they were dead, he never did. All that mattered now was to have a few drinks and go home for the night. His regular bar was open, he can see the pink and green neon sign flickering about twenty metres ahead.
Kovacs looked around to see if anyone were trailing him. One thing he didn’t want was his assignment haunting him after work hours. This was a seedy, bad part of town. No law abiding citizen came here ever. He can smell the night rats hiding in every corner, ready to jump victims. They knew better not to bother him. The night air was getting colder by the minute. Few metres out from the front door to the bar, he stopped and checked the dark corners of the streets then entered.
Stacey, the waitress always greeted him with a big hug and a kiss. They might have had a thing once but he couldn’t remember for the life of him. He sat down at his usual corner with the whole room in his sight. In a few minutes, Stacey brought him a big jug of beer and a cheeseburger and fries. It was as if she read his mind. It was busy tonight for a Wednesday. He profiled the low-lives that drank and ate as he started eating his much-needed dinner. None of them were a danger to him, Kovacs concluded. Again, as if Stacey read his mind, she brought him a big bucket of ice. He nursed his bloodied lips and cheeks with a handful of ice. It felt good.
Suddenly, he felt that thing that he senses just before a job. His fists clenched up as he looked up. The front door opened slowly. The man in black suit stood there. The man wore a well-fitting, tailored suit, white shirt and black ties, and black sunglasses. Kovacs knew full well that they worked in pairs. There was no escape with these guys. He peered through the frosty window. The other one stood in the street scanning for anything. Kovacs took another bite of his burger. He didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention with these two. The fist black suit man came inside and sat at the bar. Stacey looked nervous as hell. The other one continued standing slowly scanning. Kovacs’ piece was empty. Even if he had a fully loaded weapon, there was no way he could take these two on. Kovacs continued eating and poured himself another glass.
He was ready for anything.
After about a minute, the black suit man slowly turned his head towards Kovacs and took off his glasses. Kovacs was not the type to look away from a hundred yard stare.