Dwalin glared at the mirrors above the bartender's head, hating the way it gave him a clear view of… well, himself.
However, it meant he could also see everyone else in the bar, so he continued to stare, wishing he'd thought to wear a better hood.
Once he deemed the place safe, he ordered a whiskey on the rocks, taking a gulp of the amber liquid nearly as soon as the glass hit his outstretched fingers.
He was hoping he wouldn't have to wait long, but after at least twenty minutes of nursing the melted ice and alcohol medley at the bottom of his glass, he began to wonder if Balin would show at all.
It wasn't until he finally broke down and ordered a second drink that he began to notice the atmosphere in the bar had changed.
He wasn't sure if he'd been followed, or if it was just coincidence, but there was definitely a small crew of thugs watching him from the darkest corner in the place.
Figures. They had to be cliche.
He gripped his glass tighter.
Come on Balin. Where the hell are you?
Maybe he was just being paranoid.
He chanced another look back at the four of them, and sure enough, all were focused right on him.
"Well, that settles it then, doesn't it?" Dwalin growled to no one in particular.
He got more than one strange look from that, but he hardly even noticed those anymore.
Not since he was nineteen-
He cut off the thought before it could go further, stretching his muscles as he stepped away from the bar.
Immediately the men in the back stood, muttering things to each other as they pushed and shoved their way towards the exit.
He gave them exactly 15 steps outside before he turned, greeting them with a grim smile.
Their chatter stopped immediately.
"Hello boys," Dwalin snarled in his most sarcastic british accent.
… Maybe Fili and Kili were right. He'd binged watched way too much Supernatural.
He barely had time to finish that thought before there was a punch being directed towards his face.
Like always, he had to resist the urge to dodge and let the blow land directly on his left temple.
The guy let out a high pitched shriek of pain as the bones in his hands gave a satisfying crunch.
Dwalin threw back his hood, revealing the glint of metal that made up half his body, "Might want to do your research next time guys."
He thrust his left fist into the stomach of the first attacker, hardening the metal of his fingers into points. The man collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as he bled out from five puncture wounds to the chest. He had a chance of surviving, if someone called an ambulance quickly enough. Did Dwalin much care either way?
Not particularly.
One of the remaining men decided he'd had enough and took off.
The other two, unfortunately for them, were not so smart.
Dwalin feinted an uppercut, instead sweeping the legs out from under the fellow with bright red hair. The man, who had to be at least 6'3", landed with a loud thud, one repeated when he had a steel toed boot slammed into his side.
His last attacker came at him from behind, but instead of the having the element of surprise, he received a metallic hand around his throat for his troubles.
One light brown eye met his attackers panicked gaze, while the other vacantly stared off into the distance, nothing more than a glass orb, "Would you like to die? Or take a message back to your employer?"
The man made an odd squeaking noise.
"Right. Can't talk with me crushing your throat, now can you?"
He released his hold, letting this poor excuse for an assassin crumple the the ground.
"Message!" the guy finally croaked, crawling away from Dwalin and his redheaded companion.
"Next time your boss decides to attack me outside a bar," he paused, narrowly avoiding the energy bolt shot from behind (how did he not notice one of them had a gun?), "send an army."
He whipped around, kicking the guy in the side of the neck so hard that his spine snapped.
When he turned, he was alone except for the dead and the nearly there.
"Fuck this," he muttered.
Screw waiting for Balin.
He was going to this Bilbo fellows to wait for everyone there.
He'd had enough of the public for one day.