Chapter 13: Gun fight at Boar's Head

Kim hugged her coat tighter around her as she walked through the cold wind. It had taken her longer than she expected to get to the tavern. She had hoped that the tavern Brotherson had told her about was close, but as usual he managed to play one last game on her. There were only two Boar's Head taverns, and both were two hundred miles apart from one another. It had taken her three days to get to the wrong tavern and another five days to get to this point. She had had just about enough of traveling through the Russian winter, as reached the door of the tavern she prepared for what was to come. As she pushed the door open she was nearly overpowered but the smell of cheep beer and strong vodka mixed in with what she had hoped wasn't the tavern food. She was however grateful for the warmth the place offered; she was tempted to shed her coat but fought the urge. The tavern was packed with people, a fair amount were probably resistance members.

The thought she could be recognized at any moment made her retreat into the shelter of her coat. She took a seat at the bar between two men who quietly drank. She couldn't help but size them both up to assure herself they would be no problem if things got out of hand. The bar tender, a wall of muscle from hat she could see, appeared in front of her. "What you want?" He asked coarsely. His accent was thick.

"Pint of the house brew." Kim replied.

Everyone in the tavern seemed to stop what they were doing. Kim felt all eyes on her. The bar tender leaned forward, his bushy eye brows furrowed into a serious glare. "Are you sure you want that? Perhaps a glass of vodka would suit you better."

Kim sensed the danger growing in the room. Was this man trying to save her from it or just giving her a fair warning? She shook her head. "I'm told the house brew is good here, I want a pint of house brew." She protested. The man frowned and reached under the bar for a glass.

"You should leave while you can." He whispered as he slid a glass of think looking dark liquid toward her. Kim swallowed the lump growing in her throat.

"Not until I find what I'm looking for." Kim said as she took the glass. As she downed the beer she quietly regretted her choice, it tasted like ash in all the way to the back of her throat. But that was the least of her problems. The moment the empty glass touched the bar the bar tender ducked down behind the bar and the two men next to her leapt out of the way. Kim dove over the bar as bullets whizzed over her head. The bottles lined up on the wall exploded as chaos filed the tavern. Kim sat behind the bar waiting for the haul of gun fire to end, next to her the bar tender sat scowling at her.

"I tried to tell you, vodka is better." He scolded loading his own gun. "Now I have the resistance shooting up my tavern. You know what this coast me?" He shoved the gun into her hands and began loading another.

"I'm sorry." Kim said over the noise. "But I was told that is what I needed to say in order to find the resistance."

The man next to her scoffed. "You got them. What now you invite them to tea?"

Kim glared at him. "No, they have my friend. He was kidnapped while he was overseeing the plant's repairs. I just wanted to get him back."

The two leapt up and returned fire, several resistance members fell before the rest took cover behind over turned tables. "You mean the blonde buffoonish looking man they drag into my tavern a week ago?"

Kim looked over at the man. "Yes. Do you know where they took him?"

The man nodded before snatching a bottle from one of the shelves below the bar. "Yes, I take you there." He took a long drink from the bottle before offering it to Kim who shrugged and took a quick drink before passing it back.

"How do you expect to get us out of here?" Kim asked.

The man stuffed a rag into the bottle and fished a lighter out of his pocket. He pointed to a small section of wall in front of them. "I build ways out when I build bar." With that he lit the rag and tossed it over the bar.

Cries of shock and braking glass could be heard over the gun fire. The man kicked the section of wall in front of them and ushered Kim through the hole. Within minutes they were standing outside the tavern watching the flames lick the wood and break the windows. The man seemed to soften at the sight of the tavern becoming engulfed by flames. Kim quietly rested a hand on his shoulder and led him away.

As they hurried away Kim couldn't help but glance back at the sight. She felt a pang of guilt as the tavern slowly fell apart and the remaining resistance members funneled out of the burning building. When they reached the town limits they stopped. The man had managed to harden to his usual expression.

"I'm sorry about your bar." Kim finally said, for lack of a better thing to say.

The man shrugged. "I build another one." He said. Though his voice seemed heavy with sorrow. "It was only a bar, I rebuild. Make it stronger than before. So long as I breathe I can always build new bar. It's only wood and stone."