Connor's POV
The day had already been rough enough that seeing the familiar bar our friend Doc owned brought a smile to my face. As my brother Murphy and I walked in, we heard the excited yells and hollers that usually greeted us when we walked in. The Doc welcomed us a different way; our normal drinks already set out on the counter at our usual spots. Looking to Murph, we exchanged smiles before joining our crew and enjoying our Saint Patrick's Day night .The entire day disappeared as we watched our friends act like drunken idiots, celebrating the one day it was alright to drink and not get called an alcoholic. Turning back around in my seat, I faced the Doc and raised a brow. The Doc gave a look before shaking his head. "Oh no, don' ya start ya little fucker." I couldn't help but laugh at his demand. Lightly hitting Murphy's arm, I nodded toward the Doc with a smile. Murphy instantly knew what I was up to and quieted everyone down. Murph nodded to me and I looked to Doc. "Not this time ya little shit."
"Why don' you…" I yelled.
"Fuck!" Doc yelled; I knew he couldn't help it with his condition.
"Me up the…"
"Ass!" Everyone in the bar began laughing as the old man sighed and shook his head.
"Hey fuckass, get me a beer." Turning around, I saw the familiar face of Rocco, Murph and I's best friend. Murph gave him a hug while the rest of us dog piled on him; the usual greeting. After we all calmed down, we were at the counter just making conversation.
"Listen boys, I've got some really bad news." We all stopped talking and immediately looked up to the old man. "I'm gonna have to close down the ba-b-bar. The Russians are buyin' up buildin's all over the town, includin' this one." The Doc yelled out his usual Tourettes words before continuing. "And they're not lettin' me renew my lease."
"Let me talk to my boss," Rocco suggested. The rest of us rolled our eyes and sighed at his offer. "Maybe he can do something."
"Wha' the fuck's yer boss gonna do?" I asked him, cigarette high in the air.
"Listen fellas, I don' wan' anyone to know so keep yer traps shut! You know what they say: People in glass houses sink sh-shi-ships." Everyone laughed at his saying before Rocco spoke again.
"Hey Doc, I gotta buy you a proverb book or somethin'. This mix and match shit's gotta go."
"Wha'?" Doc asked, offended.
"A penny saved is worth two in a bush, isn' it?" I asked, pointing out one of his flawed sayings.
"An' don' cross the road if ya can' get out of the kitchen," Murphy added, making us have another reason to laugh.
"Wha's this then?" Turning around, we finally noticed the three new men joining us. The one in the middle was a lot bigger than the other while the other two were obviously the 'backup men'.
"I'm Ivan Checkov, and you will be closing now." I rolled my eyes and looked to Murphy, who had a smirk on his face.
"Checkov." Murphy started as he wrapped an arm around Rocco. "Well, this here's McCoy, we find a Spok, we've got us an away team." We all laughed except for the Russians who seemed very irritated.
"Me in no mood for discussion." Checkov pointed to the Doc. "You, you stay. The rest of you, go now."
"Why don't you make like a t-tree, and get the fuck outta here," Doc yelled, making my group groan again. I turned to the counter and grabbed my drink.
"Ya know he's got the week's end, right?" I asked, taking a small sip from my beer. "Ya don' have to be hard-asses, do ya?"
"Yeah, its Saint Patty's Day, everyone's Irish t'night," Murphy followed, putting his cigarette in his mouth. "Why don' ya jus' pull up a stool an' have a drink with us?" Ivan wasn't too pleased with the offer since he smacked Murphy's and my drink to the ground.
"This is no game! If you won't go, we will make you go." I looked to Murphy before looking back to the Russian.
"Listen, if ya wan' a fight ya can see yer out numbered here. We're tryin' to be civil so I suggest you take our offer."
"I make the offers."
"Hey Boris, what would you do if I told you your pinko Commie mother sucks so much dick, her face…" Rocco could finish his question before the Russian let his fist make contact with Rocco's face to shut him up. I looked to Rocco who was still conscious, holding his face.
"Теперь, это не слишком вежливо, не так ли?"
"Я боюсь, что мы не можем допустить, что один раз, Иван!" The Russian looked to us confused; surprised we actually spoke his language. I looked to Murphy while we both took one last shot of vodka before both charging at Ivan, his knees being the target. The rest of our guys followed suit with attacking Ivan while Murphy and I attacked the henchmen. I began hitting him in the stomach, weakening him before throwing him into the mirror. Before he could regain composure, I took him by the collar and threw him on the ground. Looking to Murphy, I noticed two of our guys helping my brother. Pulling them off, I pushed them toward Ivan.
"Stay away from him; he can take care of himself!" As soon as I spoke, Murphy took two wine bottles hanging from the wall, and smashed them onto the henchmen's head. All three of the Russians were unconscious and I had an idea. "Get Ivan onto the counter!" We all hoisted Ivan up on the wooden counter, lying face down, and tied his hands and feet down so he couldn't move; the pig he was. Pouring some vodka on his ass, I lit a match and threw it on him, watching the flames burn. Ivan screamed as the fire burned through his clothes, the rest of us laughing. "Alright Doc, I think we all had enough fun fer one night." I put out the fire and nodded to Murphy. "Let's get out of here." My brother agreed as we both headed out, waving to everyone a goodnight. As soon as we stepped out into the night, we were greeted by a cool night breeze. "Well, that was fun."
"Yeah, we should do it again sometime." Exchanging glances with my brother, I couldn't help but laugh. "Ya know brother; I gotta say, its times like these when I'm thankful yer my blood." Lightly pushing him, I smacked my lips.
"Fuck off!" Murphy pushed me back with a glare.
"I'm tryina have a sentimental moment, brotha, an' ya push me away?"
"Help!" I stopped in my tracks, hearing a very faint cry.
"Ya know, ya should learn how to take a compliment." I shushed Murph, frozen, trying to hear the cry again. "Don' fuckin' tell me what ta do!"
"Will you shut the fuck up? I'm tryin' ta listen."
"For what?"
"Help!"
"That!" I started walking toward the alley where I heard the cry come from. Slowing my walk, I listened again. This time, I didn't hear a cry, but a whimper. "Hello?" Looking behind the dumpster, I gasped at the sight; a poor young woman lying on the ground all bloody and her clothes torn. "Dear God!" I kneeled down to her and held my hands up as she flinched away from me. "I'm not goin' to hurt you sweetheart, I just want to help." She looked at me with a skeptical look but quickly nodded. The cuts on her face were pretty severe and her left eye was swollen to the point where she couldn't open it.
"Wha' are we gonna do with her Con?" Murph asked, also kneeling down, looking her over. "We can't take her to the hospital like this." As Murph mentioned hospital, she frantically shook her head. "Okay, no hospital."
"We can take her to our place, just for tonight so she can get cleaned." The woman nodded and stared at me; I knew her from somewhere. "Wha's your name sweetheart?" It took her a little to get her voice back, but when she did speak, she introduced herself as Melanie.
"Well Melanie, our place isn't far from here; would you like us to carry you?" She nodded and tried to stand, but her legs were so bruised up, she could barely move them. Murphy helped her up and then carefully lifted her body, holding her bridal style. Before we started walking, I looked to her, but her eyes were closed and she was unresponsive; she needed her sleep.
Walking into our run-down apartment, Murph gently laid her on our mattress; it wasn't much but it was soft. While Murphy carefully situated her on the mattress, I walked to the kitchen, grabbing a cup of water. "She's so beat up," I heard Murphy whisper as I set the glass next to the mattress. Nothing was said as we both covered her mangled body with a blanket. Murphy shook his head before walking over to the shower area. I followed him, but headed to the couch to lie. Covering my eyes with my arm, I sighed. The sight of the woman was so horrifying; how could someone hurt another human being like that? Her face was so wounded that she was almost unidentifiable, her arms were covered in bruises and cuts, her legs were the same. The dress she was wearing was torn in many places, almost showing her entire body. "We're gonna have to clean the wounds before they get infected." Uncovering my eyes, Murphy stood over me, in his robe, looking distracted. "I know you want her to sleep, but all that blood is going to stain her skin and the wounds will get infected." Murph was right; we needed to help her clean up. Sitting up, I looked to Melanie, slightly scared. Nodding to Murph, we made our way over to her.