Chapter 4 – Drunk Nessie
The cool breeze felt nice against her skin. It wasn't too cold it was just right. Ajay looked down at the time of her phone. She was still five minutes early. She gazed up into the sky. She could only made out a few stars as the soft glow of lights drown out most of the clear night sky. HQ was one of the larger buildings in the city. The city was pretty busy. Most of the people that inhabited worked for Apex. They maintained the grounds for the city and the map. They made sure that the day-to-day operations we running smoothly. This little planet's economy ran off of how well Apex was doing. The perk of working for Apex was that their residence was paid for in full. The same for Ajay, any money she made from matches went for some necessities and extras.
The minutes started to melt away as Ajay was lost in thought. Warmth crept into her face and poured down Ajay's body. She was feeling a bit giddy and less concerned with medial thoughts. The pill that she took earlier was finally kicking in. She was less worried about the time. She felt more free and was even laughing at small things that probably weren't even funny to others. She decided to check her phone while she waited. She wasn't overly attached to her phone. Besides, she really had no one to talk to at this point. She did have a new text message from HQ:
Legends:
Congratulations on a job well done. Tomorrow you will find you funds transferred to your account. Our televised ratings having been increasing within the past few weeks. With that being said we have decided to introduce a new Legend soon. Details soon to follow. Enjoy your days off and get some training in for the next battle on Saturday.
Work always communicated through text message unless it was an emergency. She wondered who this new Legend would be. Often the release of information of a Legend would not be until the day before. HQ did not want any preparation from the other Legends before a match, at least that's what Anita had mentioned to her during their decent into Kings Canyon during their most recent match. She hoped this new Legend would be fun. Not that the current Legends were not fun, they just were not her kind of fun. She found herself dwelling too much on the past. She put those thoughts to rest as she put her phone into her pocket.
When the other Legends finally made it outside of HQ they found Ajay waiting for them. Makoa gave Ajay a smile and a small laugh with his hand on his belly. He found her walking toe-to-toe with her arms stretched out like she was walking on some kind of tight rope; she was even wobbling and staggering like she was about to fall. When MRVN saw her the clapped his hands in excitement as he had never seen his friend do that before. MRVN walked up behind Ajay her and tapped her on the shoulder. Ajay stopped and turned around. She smiled and watched as MRVN tapped his screen to reveal a smiley face. MRVN then waved at her, "Hello friend!" Ajay gave the metal robot a hug and the three of them had a good laugh.
Anita was the next to join them, surprisingly she was not on time. For Anita this was not a job so she didn't need to be on time. She caught the back end of what was going on. She raised an eyebrow, "Drinking before the party starts Ajay?" Ajay could only smile and twirl on her feet before making eye contact with Anita, "Someting like that ya know." Before Anita could say anything else, Renee was there. No sign of Bloodhound. It wasn't until this point Ajay realized this, she did not know Bloodhound's real name. She made mental note to ask later. Apparently Bloodhound was not coming because Makoa motioned for them to get going and off they went.
The bar that they were going to was within walking distance. There weren't many vehicles in this city, everything seemed to be in walking distance or perhaps everyone just seemed to enjoy walking. The city lights seemed to sparkle and glitter more than usual tonight, at least for Ajay. They approached the bar, a neon sign read "Drunk Nessie" with a neon Nessie dancing next to it. Ajay laughed entirely too hard at the sign and almost fell over. Renee caught her in a hurry, "I saw this coming." She helped Ajay to her feet, "Are you okay?" Renee's face twitched a little. Ajay nodded but before she could answer Anita cut in with some excitement in her voice, "Amateur hour's over, time for the big leagues." Anita looped her arms through Renee's and Ajay's and drug them into the bar. Makoa looked at MRVN, who was running in place with excitement, and shrugged. They both followed behind the ladies into the crowded bar.
After a few minutes everyone was situated at a table in the far corner of the bar. Anita used her intimation skills to get drinks quickly. Shots went around to everyone. Even MRVN tried a shot, which he just dumped on himself and pretended to be buzzed. Anita's shot was just a bottle of whiskey. She wasn't picky about the choice of whiskey if they getting shit faced. Makoa put back a few beers back and then started working on a mai tai. Renee fancied up her whiskey with a glass of ice. Ajay lost count of how many drinks Renee had, but Renee was drinking vodka and cranberry juice. Renee's face was a little less tense, "Maybe those drinking were easing the voices."
Ajay put away a few drinks, maybe more. Every once in a while she caught a glimpse of bar patron eyeing her but every time she tried to make eye contact, the man would quickly look away. She found herself staring at him from across the room, as though he was the only other person in the room. His hair was brown with some waves to it. His brown locks were short but, from what she could tell, his bangs were long in the front. He was in some bright yellow tee shirt, plain jeans, and boots. He was adorned with some sort of head piece, sunglasses or maybe they were goggles. She couldn't tell from where she was sitting. Eventually he left and she sat looking at his empty seat.
Ajay's Red Stripe beer and then spiced rum. Just straight up rum. In between drinks of rum she enjoyed a few shots of whiskey with the girls, at least they knew how to put some drinks away. The air in the bar was warm and stagnate. As the night went from Saturday to Sunday and the crowd thinned out the air was a little less dense. The lights were dim and everyone seemed to having a good time and carrying on. Occasionally Ajay would nod in agreement and smile. They stayed until the bar was closed at 3am. Ajay got up to pay her tab and Anita sat her right back down and shook her head, "Winners don't pay." Makoa and MRVN got up and paid the tab. They all met outside and said their goodbyes. They didn't live in the same building but they all lived nearby. Everyone seemed fine and not overly intoxicated to find their own way home. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
Ajay was pleasantly happy and intoxicated; it had been way too long. She danced as she walked, she even twirled as she walked. She was happy and free. It might have been the alcohol or the pill or both but she felt great. The city's lights were not as bright as before but they were still beautiful in their dim setting. She closed her eyes and twirled again. The cool air engulfed her body. She felt so light. She felt as though she could fly. She spun around until she was dizzy and then THUD.
