The Story of Max Cale, chapter 19
by pari106
{…chapter one…blah blah blah…}
Chapter Nineteen…
" 'Husband'?…" The bartender looked to the man who'd gone snitching on Syl and then
back to Logan. "I didn't hear anything about anyone harassing anyone's wife," he said.
"Eddie here said somebody was out here causing trouble, attacking my customers."
Eddie nodded, hanging slightly behind the bartender and staring at Syl with wide eyes.
"Yeah. We didn't know she was some guy's wife!"
Like that made harassing a woman okay. Like that would have deterred Eddie or any of
his friends if they had known Syl was "married". If Logan didn't think it would hurt his
cause to roll his eyes, he would have.
"Does it matter?" he asked instead, feigning husbandly fury. Actually, it wasn't all that
hard to do. Logan felt the adrenaline rushing through his body and knew he was almost
halfway to furious, husband or not. "Six guys hit on a woman, she makes it clear that
she's not interested, and they pursue the matter. That's harassment, any way you look at
it."
"Hey, we didn't hit on nobody!" Eddie exclaimed. "We were just minding our own
business. *She* attacked *us*!"
"Why, you little shi…" Recovering from her shock, Syl took a menacing step towards
Eddie, as he took a step back with a frightened squeak. But Logan grabbed Syl by the
arm, holding her back. In any case, laughter and small, disbelieving "Yeah, right!"s
started to echo through the crowd as certain customers, who were apparently familiar
with (as Syl liked to think of him) "little shit" and his friends, decided there was nothing
unusual to see here.
"You actually believe that?" Logan said, covering for Syl's outburst as he silently willed
her to act like a damsel-in-distress. Fat chance. Syl didn't play the distressed damsel role
very well. At the moment, the look in her eyes was more like the type you'd see in a
dragon's, right as it was about to eat a small group of townspeople.
Thinking of that analogy didn't make Logan comfortable with the odds that they were
gonna get out of this situation smoothly.
"It's true!" Eddie yelled, in the meantime. "She beat the hell out of Rodney, just look at
him!" He motioned to one of the men lying prone on the ground. For the most part, they
were all still out for the count, but Logan could see that a couple were coming close to
stirring.
'Shit…shit…shit…,' Syl thought, seeing the same thing.
Logan laughed, hoping the sound came off as incredulous, as he'd intended. "Oh, come
on!" He looked to the bartender, as if seeking for a sane person amongst madmen. "This
kid's wasted!" he said, continuing his act.
"Just look at him!" Eddie repeated. "She could have killed somebody!" For all his
professed concern, however, Syl noticed how Eddie made no move to help any of his
friends, or to check how badly they'd been hurt.
"I should be so lucky," she mumbled so that the men couldn't hear. Logan did, though,
and gave her a sharp glare.
"I had to defend my wife's honor," he said, sounding indignant.
'Oh, please!' Syl hoped she looked upset, biting her lip…rather than like she was trying
not to laugh, like she was. Hey, this was kinda fun… Maybe she'd let Logan play the
thing out. Syl put on her best 'I'm-so-frightened/protect-me,-you-big,-strong-man'
expression…and tried not to be nauseous.
Logan did a double take when he saw it and looked at Syl like she'd grown horns.
"He didn't do crap!" Eddie claimed. "It was the woman! She's like…some kind of
freak, or something…"
Logan sensed Syl stiffening at his side, and saw her expression go blank through the
corner of his eye. It took some effort to keep his hands from balling into fists.
"She's got, like, super strength!" Eddie continued.
But apparently Logan and Syl had been successful in discrediting the guy's charges,
because more and more of the crowd that had gathered outside the bar were going back to
their drinks, throwing caustic remarks his way. Logan relaxed, just slightly. Eddie,
pathetic excuse for humanity though he was, looked like he wanted to cry. He eyed Syl
the way a small chicken eyes a chicken hawk.
"Do we really have to listen to him babble?" Logan asked.
"You expect us to believe you took on these five guys all by yourself?" a man standing to
the other side of the bartender asked snidely. He looked Logan over with a smirk. Being
about a head taller than himself, Logan supposed he felt he had the inclination. Although
that didn't make Logan any less insulted.
"Someone's got more testosterone than brain matter," Syl muttered, again under her
breath.
Logan glanced over at her in surprise.
"And you think I did?" Syl went on, in a voice loud enough for the other men to hear.
She tried to make her tone nice and docile, and cowered next to Logan's side. 'Look
intimidating,' she willed him silently. If "intimidating" was an achievable look for
Logan. "Damned sexy", perhaps… Okay, so there was no 'perhaps' about it…
'Focus, you idiot!' Syl thought. 'What the hell are you thinking?'
Syl's words made the men stop and think. They'd come out here on the word of a known
alcoholic and troublemaker, after all.
"What are you going to do about this?" Logan demanded.
The bartender drew himself up and narrowed his eyes. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. You run this establishment?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, so."
"So a woman was very nearly attacked on your property. Don't you think we ought to
call the police?"
At the mention of the authorities, the crime scene cleared quickly and Syl had to try not
to laugh. Logan's lips felt suspiciously close to twitching, as well. Even 'testosterone
guy' beat it, leaving only a few people besides Logan, Syl, the bartender – looking very
uncomfortable – and Eddie, looking panicked.
"Hey, now. We don't really need to involve the cops," he sniveled.
The bartender rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Okay, okay…" he said. Eddie looked at him frightened. "Get your ass home," the
bartender told him. "Little shit" didn't move. "I said beat it! I ain't callin' the cops, so
get outta my site before I change my mind. And take your brother with you."
Finally, Eddie complied, helping one of the men, who was now just about coming to
(Logan and Syl guessed he was the "Rodney" Eddie had mentioned earlier), to his feet.
"Wha…"
"Shut up, man! Let's get outta here!"
Logan watched the pair leave, with a smile. The other men who'd hung around helped
Syl's other "victims" to their feet and around the bar. Logan wiped his face clean when
the bartender turned back to them.
"You're not calling the cops?" he asked in outrage. 'Oh, thank you, God…'
"Hey, I'm not responsible for your wife's safety. This is a bar, not a tearoom. Seems to
me a pretty little thing like her wouldn't be hanging around places like this if she weren't
looking for trouble."
Logan's eyes narrowed and Syl's widened. "Hey!"
"Maybe you oughtta worry more about taking care of your wife and less about causing
trouble for other people," the bartender suggested in a threatening tone, as if Syl weren't
even there. He gave the couple a meaningful look. Then turned to go back in the bar.
"You slimy son of a …"
Logan's hand, still on Syl's arm, kept her from doing anything rash – like chasing down
that barkeep and showing him some *real* trouble - since Syl knew, even as angry as she
was, that that would be just plain stupid. But she really wished it wouldn't as the
bartender threw one last look over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner.
After a moment of silence, and a breath of relief, Syl finally found the ability to smile, a
warped, bitter little smile.
"Aw, humanity…makes me glad I'm not a full member of the club," she said. "Can't
you just feel the love around here?"
Then she turned to Logan, and saw the dark look on his face. "What's your pr…"
Syl didn't get to finish her sentence before Logan interrupted with: "What the hell were you
thinking?"
"What do you mean, what the hell was I…"
And she didn't get to finish that sentence either. Because then Logan interrupted…with a
kiss.
by pari106
{…chapter one…blah blah blah…}
Chapter Nineteen…
" 'Husband'?…" The bartender looked to the man who'd gone snitching on Syl and then
back to Logan. "I didn't hear anything about anyone harassing anyone's wife," he said.
"Eddie here said somebody was out here causing trouble, attacking my customers."
Eddie nodded, hanging slightly behind the bartender and staring at Syl with wide eyes.
"Yeah. We didn't know she was some guy's wife!"
Like that made harassing a woman okay. Like that would have deterred Eddie or any of
his friends if they had known Syl was "married". If Logan didn't think it would hurt his
cause to roll his eyes, he would have.
"Does it matter?" he asked instead, feigning husbandly fury. Actually, it wasn't all that
hard to do. Logan felt the adrenaline rushing through his body and knew he was almost
halfway to furious, husband or not. "Six guys hit on a woman, she makes it clear that
she's not interested, and they pursue the matter. That's harassment, any way you look at
it."
"Hey, we didn't hit on nobody!" Eddie exclaimed. "We were just minding our own
business. *She* attacked *us*!"
"Why, you little shi…" Recovering from her shock, Syl took a menacing step towards
Eddie, as he took a step back with a frightened squeak. But Logan grabbed Syl by the
arm, holding her back. In any case, laughter and small, disbelieving "Yeah, right!"s
started to echo through the crowd as certain customers, who were apparently familiar
with (as Syl liked to think of him) "little shit" and his friends, decided there was nothing
unusual to see here.
"You actually believe that?" Logan said, covering for Syl's outburst as he silently willed
her to act like a damsel-in-distress. Fat chance. Syl didn't play the distressed damsel role
very well. At the moment, the look in her eyes was more like the type you'd see in a
dragon's, right as it was about to eat a small group of townspeople.
Thinking of that analogy didn't make Logan comfortable with the odds that they were
gonna get out of this situation smoothly.
"It's true!" Eddie yelled, in the meantime. "She beat the hell out of Rodney, just look at
him!" He motioned to one of the men lying prone on the ground. For the most part, they
were all still out for the count, but Logan could see that a couple were coming close to
stirring.
'Shit…shit…shit…,' Syl thought, seeing the same thing.
Logan laughed, hoping the sound came off as incredulous, as he'd intended. "Oh, come
on!" He looked to the bartender, as if seeking for a sane person amongst madmen. "This
kid's wasted!" he said, continuing his act.
"Just look at him!" Eddie repeated. "She could have killed somebody!" For all his
professed concern, however, Syl noticed how Eddie made no move to help any of his
friends, or to check how badly they'd been hurt.
"I should be so lucky," she mumbled so that the men couldn't hear. Logan did, though,
and gave her a sharp glare.
"I had to defend my wife's honor," he said, sounding indignant.
'Oh, please!' Syl hoped she looked upset, biting her lip…rather than like she was trying
not to laugh, like she was. Hey, this was kinda fun… Maybe she'd let Logan play the
thing out. Syl put on her best 'I'm-so-frightened/protect-me,-you-big,-strong-man'
expression…and tried not to be nauseous.
Logan did a double take when he saw it and looked at Syl like she'd grown horns.
"He didn't do crap!" Eddie claimed. "It was the woman! She's like…some kind of
freak, or something…"
Logan sensed Syl stiffening at his side, and saw her expression go blank through the
corner of his eye. It took some effort to keep his hands from balling into fists.
"She's got, like, super strength!" Eddie continued.
But apparently Logan and Syl had been successful in discrediting the guy's charges,
because more and more of the crowd that had gathered outside the bar were going back to
their drinks, throwing caustic remarks his way. Logan relaxed, just slightly. Eddie,
pathetic excuse for humanity though he was, looked like he wanted to cry. He eyed Syl
the way a small chicken eyes a chicken hawk.
"Do we really have to listen to him babble?" Logan asked.
"You expect us to believe you took on these five guys all by yourself?" a man standing to
the other side of the bartender asked snidely. He looked Logan over with a smirk. Being
about a head taller than himself, Logan supposed he felt he had the inclination. Although
that didn't make Logan any less insulted.
"Someone's got more testosterone than brain matter," Syl muttered, again under her
breath.
Logan glanced over at her in surprise.
"And you think I did?" Syl went on, in a voice loud enough for the other men to hear.
She tried to make her tone nice and docile, and cowered next to Logan's side. 'Look
intimidating,' she willed him silently. If "intimidating" was an achievable look for
Logan. "Damned sexy", perhaps… Okay, so there was no 'perhaps' about it…
'Focus, you idiot!' Syl thought. 'What the hell are you thinking?'
Syl's words made the men stop and think. They'd come out here on the word of a known
alcoholic and troublemaker, after all.
"What are you going to do about this?" Logan demanded.
The bartender drew himself up and narrowed his eyes. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. You run this establishment?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, so."
"So a woman was very nearly attacked on your property. Don't you think we ought to
call the police?"
At the mention of the authorities, the crime scene cleared quickly and Syl had to try not
to laugh. Logan's lips felt suspiciously close to twitching, as well. Even 'testosterone
guy' beat it, leaving only a few people besides Logan, Syl, the bartender – looking very
uncomfortable – and Eddie, looking panicked.
"Hey, now. We don't really need to involve the cops," he sniveled.
The bartender rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Okay, okay…" he said. Eddie looked at him frightened. "Get your ass home," the
bartender told him. "Little shit" didn't move. "I said beat it! I ain't callin' the cops, so
get outta my site before I change my mind. And take your brother with you."
Finally, Eddie complied, helping one of the men, who was now just about coming to
(Logan and Syl guessed he was the "Rodney" Eddie had mentioned earlier), to his feet.
"Wha…"
"Shut up, man! Let's get outta here!"
Logan watched the pair leave, with a smile. The other men who'd hung around helped
Syl's other "victims" to their feet and around the bar. Logan wiped his face clean when
the bartender turned back to them.
"You're not calling the cops?" he asked in outrage. 'Oh, thank you, God…'
"Hey, I'm not responsible for your wife's safety. This is a bar, not a tearoom. Seems to
me a pretty little thing like her wouldn't be hanging around places like this if she weren't
looking for trouble."
Logan's eyes narrowed and Syl's widened. "Hey!"
"Maybe you oughtta worry more about taking care of your wife and less about causing
trouble for other people," the bartender suggested in a threatening tone, as if Syl weren't
even there. He gave the couple a meaningful look. Then turned to go back in the bar.
"You slimy son of a …"
Logan's hand, still on Syl's arm, kept her from doing anything rash – like chasing down
that barkeep and showing him some *real* trouble - since Syl knew, even as angry as she
was, that that would be just plain stupid. But she really wished it wouldn't as the
bartender threw one last look over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner.
After a moment of silence, and a breath of relief, Syl finally found the ability to smile, a
warped, bitter little smile.
"Aw, humanity…makes me glad I'm not a full member of the club," she said. "Can't
you just feel the love around here?"
Then she turned to Logan, and saw the dark look on his face. "What's your pr…"
Syl didn't get to finish her sentence before Logan interrupted with: "What the hell were you
thinking?"
"What do you mean, what the hell was I…"
And she didn't get to finish that sentence either. Because then Logan interrupted…with a
kiss.