Ink, Scars, Guns and God
By: Amanda Schultz and Chelsea Moore
Chapter 1
The smoke was the first to hit them, then the noise. As the two women made their way into the bar all the noise slowly died down. Apparently this bar didn't get many women in it.
Conner and Murphy McManus knew all the other guys saw two very hot women, and they did too, but they also noticed stuff past that. They noticed that the taller one was leaning more on the smaller one when walking then should be even for someone drunk. They also noticed that the same one never lifted her head to look around the bar like a normal person would when entering an unknown place. She acted more like she trusted the short one to deem the bar safe. It was this fact that made the brothers focus their attention on her. They both maneuvered their way through the bar to a booth in the back corner. The brothers knew that particular booth had a view of all possible entrances and exits as well as having no possible way to sneak up on whoever sat in it. They also assumed that if the taller one was hurt, there would be no reason to choose that booth except to keep an eye on the place; there were much closer ones to the door.
The girls seemed to be sisters, but Connor and Murphy weren't really sure. They both had strong protective expressions on their faces. When the shorter girl whispered in the taller ones ear and kissed her on the forehead, Connor and Murphy knew they were sisters. As the shorter girl made her way to the bar, the taller one struggled to remove her jacket, revealing a bandage wrapped around her neck as well as what could be bandages on both wrists. At this revelation the brothers share the "twin look" as Doc, the bartender, would call it. They were going to find who and what happened to these girls.
It was St. Patrick's Day, Charly knew that much. It was one of the reasons they decided to pick an Irish pub. They figured it would have a lot of people. But, alas, they just had to pick the one pub with only a handful of guys in it, and by the way it got quiet when they walked in, this pub didn't see many newcomers, or women for that matter. Charly just rolled her eyes as she helped her sister to a booth as all the men just watched. She looked out of the corner of her eye at Codi. Charley knew she almost lost Codi, but she kept her promise to protect her no matter what. With a whisper of "you're safe now" in Codi's ear and a kiss to the top of her head Charly made her way to the bar to get them drinks and maybe just something a little stronger than normal for Codi.
Pain. That was the only thing Codi felt right now. She was just one big walking flesh of pain. She knew they almost killed her, but she was more worried about Charly because she knew she was hurt as well but just hiding it. Charly stitched up her wounds and always made sure she was ok because she took her older sister role a little too seriously. Codi just sighed as she watched Charly walk to the bar.
"Four shots of whiskey and two cokes please" Charly asked the aged bar tender. She glanced around for a brief second as she waited for their drinks. Of course she checked on Codi as she always kept a watchful eye on her. Then noticing others about the bar; a group of young guys pounding down shots, a lonely man sitting at the end of the bar, then two, what looked like brothers, sitting near the bar tender. She only glanced at them, but from what she gathered they were watching her, and Codi. This made her a bit uneasy, but she wasn't about to show it.
"Here you go sweetie. Anything else for ya?" said the bar tender.
"No, that's it for now. Thanks" replied Charly, picking up the tray of drinks. She turned and headed back to the booth while watching out for anything.
"What are these?" questioned Codi trying to figure out what kind of liquor Charly ordered.
"They're what's going to help with the pain." Charly smirked in a joking manner smiling up at Codi as she sat in the booth. "Drink up."
"Whatever you say." Codi adjusted to grab the shot glass. Both took their shots and starting sipping on their cokes.
"You see those guys watching us?" Codi asked in a quiet voice.
"No" Charly replied acting like she wasn't paying attention even though she had been watching them like a hawk ever since she sat back down.
"Well they have been staring at us since we sat down."
"I wouldn't pay any attention to them. They probably just think were hot" Charly said winking, even though she knew something was off.
"No, something's not right." Codi readjusted her neck.
"How bad does it hurt?" Charly asked with worry in her voice.
"Not that bad." Then she grunted softly rubbing her wrists.
"Liar".
"Well I'm not the one with a few broken ribs and a sliced arm" Codi snapped softly.
"I'm fine. Just drink up and we'll figure out what to do next." Charly said rubbing her shirt over the self stitched wound on her arm.
"Anyways, you're worse off than I am Codi and you know it" Charly added softly knowing her sister was getting edgy because of the pain she was in.
Codi giggled, which was Charly's signal that the alcohol was finally kicking in.
"So do you think they will come looking for us? This bar is on the block they wanted to buy up" Codi said with uneasiness in her voice as it finally dawned on her what part of the city they were in.
"I heard talk that they weren't going to kick people out for two weeks or so" Charly replied right before the bartender quieted the guys around the bar. The girls decided to stop their conversation out of politeness and to gain some more information on the people in the bar; hopefully even a little more about the two brothers that wouldn't stop obviously staring at them.
Conner and Murphy were busy in their own world trying to figure out what the girls were conversing about. They could read lips pretty well but they were having trouble reading them. Conner smirked as Murphy slammed his shot down a little too hard; obviously letting his frustration show now.
"Alright quiet down you lot quiet. These will most like be one of your last nights in the bar" Doc said while looking down, wiping an already clean glass.
"What ya goin on about Doc?" Murphy said as he turned away from watching the girls who had also turned to listen to what Doc had to say.
"I am going to have the close the bar. The Russians are trying to buy the block along with other buildings around the city. I can't afford to keep it open" he said hanging his head. "Fuck, Ass!" Doc proceeded to yell, due to his mental illness.
"You're shittin' me Doc" Conner said emptying his shot glass.
"No. They made it very clear I couldn't stay open paying them what I could" Doc explained placing both hands on the bar and slouching over. Codi and Charly looked at each other knowing more than what it seemed like to others. As the men at the bar begin to converse about ways they could help keep the bar open, Charly turned to Codi and started talking in the lowest voice she could hear.
"Do think they would go through the trouble of us when they got all that other shit to worry about?" Codi asked again.
"Hard to say. But we can't go back and we need to keep moving to avoid them as much as possible." This wouldn't be too hard to accomplish. The Russians were taking over the city, but that didn't mean they knew the city like most that lived there, including Codi and Charly.
"That shouldn't be too hard to do; they're easy to spot" Codi established having a glazed look on her face as if she was picturing a few of them.
In a sudden crash, the bar door was kicked open and three guys walked in.
"I am Ivan Checkoff and you will be closing now" said the huge guy in front. While everyone at the bar stared for a second, Charly's and Codi's eyes locked. They knew they were trapped, and probably wouldn't get away this time.
