Murphy made his way behind the bar. He pulled Mary into a comforting hug. "Ya alright?"
Mary nodded and hugged him back. "I'm fine thanks to her."
"What! Connor and I don't get any of the credit?"
Meanwhile Connor had his gaze focused on the girl who was at the moment throwing away the broken bottle. The blond lifted her hand to her mouth and began suck at a cut on her palm from the glass. At the same time she bent over and retrieving her hat and sweatshirt from the floor.
When she stood she made eye contact with him. Her injured hand dropped to her side and she looked at him unwaveringly. Her face no longer held contempt but was calm and void of any emotion and her brown eyes seemed lighter. She looked ethereal.
Connor took a step toward her but stopped when he saw her eyes go dark again and her body stiffen. "You should let someone look at that cut." She didn't say anything, just flicked her eyes over toward Mary. Connor took that to mean she wanted her help rather than his. "Hey Mary, we've got cut that needs taken care of."
Mary pried Murphy's arms off and reached under the counter, pulling out the large first aid kit that was kept there for occasions such as these. Since inheriting the bar from Doc she had learned that at McGunity's there was guaranteed to be at least one bar fight or altercation of some sort in the week that required medical aid in some form or another. And then of course there were the MacManus brothers who would come around at all hours on some night with various degrees of bodily damage. So Mary had stockpiled a very impressive array of medical supplies and had become quite proficient with dealing with a number of different injuries.
"There you go Connor."
Connor shook his head. "I think she would rather have you look at it."
Mary looked at the girl who nodded her agreement. "Alright, come have a seat." The girl sat back down at the bar and laid out her hand palm out. The cut ran all the way across the palm of her hand but wasn't too deep. It wouldn't need stitches. Mary opened the kit and pulled out some cotton balls and the disinfectant. "This might sting a bit."
The girl didn't even flinch as Mary swabbed her hand. Connor and Murphy both shared a look. They knew from experience that the particular bottle of disinfectant that Mary was using was extremely strong. And it didn't just sting; it burned. Still the girl continued to sit there passively, her face blank.
"Thanks for pulling that jackass away from me." Mary took a roll of gauze and began to wrap the cut.
"Your welcome."
"I'm Mary Flannigan by the way. I own this bar."
"Do you now." It was not a question and the girl's voice sounded bored. She pulled her bandaged hand away and curled her fingers over a couple times. "This will do nicely."
Mary raised her eyebrows as the girl pulled the sweatshirt back on and taking her long hair twisted it into a knot which she then shoved back under her cap. "So that's it? You're just going to leave?"
"What reason do I have to stay? My hand is bandaged, and my beer is finished."
"Ya could have another beer and make friends with us." Murphy disappeared under the bar and reappeared with more alcohol in his hands. "Ya know, drink and be merry and all that fun stuff. Sides, it's quite funny to watch a guy get fucked up by a girl. We should celebrate yer victory."
Connor crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as the girl deliberately ignored his brother. Instead she just picked her bag up off the floor and made her way toward the door.
Murphy just shrugged as she walked away. "Guess not."
Connor however wasn't about to take such blatant rejection from anyone. He quickly stepped moved to the door blocking her path. "Now hold on. The least ya could do is thank us for our help and be nice about refusing to stay."
The girl looked at him and the corner of her mouth twitched every so slightly upwards. "You want me to thank you? To thank your kind?" Her grip on the strap of her bag tightened so much that her knuckles turned white. She moved so that she was standing toe to toe with him and looked up into his face. "Thank you. Thank you for making my life a fucking hell hole from day one."
Connor opened his mouth only to close it again. That was not the answer he was expecting. He glanced over at Murphy and Mary. They had similar looks of confusion on their faces.
He barely even noticed as the girl brushed past him and out the door. Only when the door closed with a bang behind him did he make his way back over to the bar. He sat down and took the beer Murphy handed him without a word.
"Yer kind? Ya don't think she meant the Irish now do ya?"
"Murphy I don't think that little outburst had anything to do with Connor being Irish."
"Then what the fuck did she mean?"
Mary leaned her elbows on the counter. "I think it had to do with him being a guy. I mean when you think about it, other than telling Joe to leave me alone and right there with Connor, she didn't say a word to a single guy in this bar. She barely even looked at you."
The only answer that Murphy and Connor had to that was to tip their bottles up and drink.
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"What I tell you in the dark; whatI whisper in your ear. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell, for I am sending you forth to face the burning gates of hell and judgement." She cocked her gun.
"Who are you?"The man's eyes were wide with terror as she pressed the gun to his forehead.
"I'm your angel." Her blond hair hung over her face shielding her dark brown eyes.
"Angel?"
"Of death." The shot echoed through the ally
The body fell backwards and to the side, the blood pooling quickly. She knelt down and stuck her fingers into the blood, standing she went over to the wall and carefully traced out each individual letter...
