Page 77 of Scarred King

All my customers have been served. I sit on the barstool and look at Charlie. He is unpacking crates of beer and putting the bottles in the refrigerator. I'm thinking of my strange man who is sitting in the club, maybe being treated to a private dance by one of the exotic dancers. The thought bothers me, and I shake my head to chase it away.

The twins go upstairs, and I watch as they disappear up the staircase. I wonder what's their difficult story. I ask Charlie for a bottle of water. He goes to the refrigerator and the front door bursts open loudly. Ten uniformed policemen wearing protective vests pour inside with their weapons drawn. They spread out in an arrowhead formation, signaling one another to go in. I hear cries of panic from the girls' tables, and see Charlie raise his hands in surrender. I look around for Liam and notice the thick green file on the round table. He left the file that he takes everywhere with him. Without thinking, I jump out of my seat, run to the table and pick up the file. I stand up only to find that two policemen are standing in front of me, aiming their weapons in my direction.

I glance to the sides quickly. Two policemen are cuffing some of the girls, who are cursing them loudly. Four policemen are dragging some girls and panicked men down from the upper floor and one is aiming his weapon at Charlie. It’s utter chaos. The connecting door opens, and the three partners come running in. Before the door slams. I see a riot going on in the club as well. Three policemen grab the partners, who surprisingly don’t object. Liam stands up straight with his hands cuffed behind him and looks at the round table in horror. He looks at me and sighs in relief when he sees that I’m clutching the file, but then he notices the two policemen aiming their weapons at me and he is horrified once again.

I’m still holding the file and my entire body is shaking. The tall policeman who raided the place last time walks around the other two and stands in front of me. “I’m sorry,” he hisses in Liam’s direction. “This came from above.” Liam ignores him and focuses on the green file. “We have a warrant to take everything we think is relevant.” He displays the piece of paper and Liam nods.

“I have specific orders to arrest everybody here.” This time he looks at me, and I swallow nervously. “But I don’t want to ruin the life of a physics student,” he says, signaling the policemen behind me to lower their weapons. “I know that you’re only a waitress here, so take this as your first and last warning. If we raid this place again and you’re within two blocks of here, I’ll arrest you and put you away with the hookers, junkies and any other scumbags you can think of.”

I nod quickly, and I can’t say a word.

“Give me the file,” he says harshly, and my brain takes over like magic.

“It’s my schoolwork,” I say as my eyes fill with tears from all the tension. “I need to hand in the paper tomorrow, and I was finishing it on my break.” I don’t wait for his reaction and open the file, take out a few pages and wave them in front of him. “See, they’re just some tables I summarized in a quantum mechanics class.”

“What mechanics?” he asks in confusion. “Okay, never mind.” He pulls me to the counter. “Take your stuff and get out of here.

“Okay,” I take my bag as the policemen drag the partners past me.

“Elena,” Liam says quietly. “Call Ralph. And don’t leave the house!”

I nod as the policemen haul them away.

30

The cab stops outside the house, and I get out and make a “V” sign with my fingers at the guard standing on the wall. The gate opens and I sigh in relief. I run inside, sit down on the sofa, bring my knees up to my chest and hug the file.

The thoughts are reeling in my head. Oh my God, that was a terrible experience! With trembling fingers, I pick up my cellphone and dial Ralph’s number. No answer.

What am I supposed to do now? Maybe I should just run back to my apartment? Should I go to the police and tell them about the blue Volvo? I’m so confused, and I can’t stop shaking.

“Elena, get a hold of yourself!” I scream in frustration and close my eyes, having a conversation with my brain. I really, really need you now, so wake up and tell me what to do. Slowly, my breath becomes calmer and my brain focuses and organizes the information for me in neat drawers in my head. I open my eyes and go over to the computer, going into news sites and looking for information about the arrests tonight. Nothing. Like it was all just a dream. I chuckle bitterly and return to the sofa. Suddenly a shudder sweeps through me. If they searched the business, surely that won’t be enough. The next step will be to search their private houses. I run my hand on the worn file and open it, read through it page by page, photograph it in my head and file it away inside a drawer in my brain. Several minutes later I realize I know much more about their business than I should or want. Much, much more. Names of suppliers, lists of distributors, accurate distribution areas down to addresses and apartment numbers. I’m surprised that some of the names are familiar to me from the newspapers. Lawyers, judges, celebrities… there’s also a list of the bar and club’s regular customers, lists of debtors, personal information about each employee, even me – including information about my parents, Professor Sawyer and Johanna. The last few pages in the file list details of the competitors’ activity. All this is arranged neatly in a worn file, which even a naïve girl like me can see is no ordinary file, but rather explosive information that could blow up the entire state.

I walk over to the sink, find a lighter in one of the drawers and start burning page after page, until there are none left. I take my backpack, put the empty file and my laptop inside and call a cab.

When I reach my apartment, there's no sign of Johanna. I try to call Ralph again, but I get his voicemail. “Please call me back,” I say, then hang up and lie down on my bed. Each time I think I’ve hit rock bottom, the universe laughs at me and proves that the bottom is lower than I thought. I can’t close my eyes all night, as I tensely wait for a sign of life from the man who has sucked me deep into the black hole.

Morning arrives and I drag myself to the shower. The water hits my head and calms me a little. Suddenly I think I hear my cellphone ringing. I run back to my room and answer.

“Elena,” I hear the voice I’ve been waiting for and I burst into tears of relief. “Stop crying,” he orders firmly, and I sniff and wipe away my tears.

“Where are you?” I ask, hoping to hear that he is at home and will come to pick me up soon.

“Locked up,” he replies shortly, and I shrink on my bed.

“Don’t you get just one phone call?” I ask wearily.

“That’s right.” He continues in the same hard tone. “Tommy’s already called our lawyer, and now I need you to concentrate.”

“Okay,” I sit up tensely.

“I don’t know how many days we’ll have to be here, but I’m sure we’ll be out soon.”

“Good,” I mumble, and he continues rapidly.

“Did you get hold of Ralph?”

“No, but I’ll keep trying.”

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