Page 2 of Fury

I moved through the chaos of smashed glass, felled tables and chairs with bent legs, the murmur of voices mixed with the thick thud of my dehydrated brain. I needed water and sleep, and a joint, not necessarily in that order.

“Pleased you could drag your sorry ass out of bed and join us,” Indie complained, cutting the conversation off with Tez, who sported a cut eyebrow and the early shadowing of a black eye.

“What the fuck happened here?” I gripped my nose, concentrating on the pressure of my thumb and forefinger, rather than the alcohol that pumped through my system, enough to preserve a body for a year.

“Ransacked,” Tez grumbled.

“Can see that. Bit late in the night for a bar fight?”

“Wasn’t a fight. We were closing, cashing up, tidying. We’d had a good night. Main doors were closed.”

“Get to the fucking point, Tez.”

“Alright, Princess. Just cos you’ve had a skinful…”

“Tez,” Indie chipped in, his patience swiftly matching mine.

“Someone smashed through the main doors. Thought it was a bomb going off.”

I felt Indie shuffle beside me. Tez continued.

“We ran down to see what was going on. Thought someone had crashed through them or summit, but they were totally ripped off. Probably was a car or van or summit.”

Indie gave him the look again, and I resisted the urge to slap the story out of him if it meant I could get back to bed quicker.

“When we got back upstairs, we saw them at the bar, clearing us out. One of them had armfuls of the spirits, another had something stuffed inside his jacket. There were three others, all with weapons.”

“What sort of weapons?” I asked, hoping the answer would at least give us some decent intel.

“A crowbar and a baseball bat. Think someone had a pool cue. We tried to fight them off, but one little rat smacked that pool cue over my head.” Tez pointed at the eyebrow that leaked blood down his face and over the side of his beard. “They threatened two girls, too. But no one touched them. We made sure of that.”

“Ok, ok. Any idea who they were?” Indie asked, picking up the base of a tumbler with only one side left intact, the remaining glass forming a dangerous point.

Tez shook his head. “They had ski masks on. Wore leather bike jackets, so could be bikers. Or just chavs in leather. Who knows?”

Indie stuck his arm in the air, catching the attention of Demon and Magnet, who were talking to two women, each wearing nothing but a bra and thong.

“We need to see the CCTV, Tez. See what we can make out.”

Tez’ eyes dropped to his feet momentarily before they fixed back on Indie with a little too much purpose.

“What’s wrong, Tez?” I asked, watching his throat bob with tension.

“I didn’t have the CCTV running,” he murmured, his gaze fitting between all of us.

“Did I hear correctly?” Indie growled. “Because I suddenly feel confused and maybe have some tinnitus. You didn’t have the CCTV running?”

Tez shook his head, staring at his feet now. Anger, laced with frustration, flashed across Indie’s face, displaying the same feelings bubbling in my alcohol pickled stomach. Dumb fuck.

“Why?” I asked.

“I…I turned them off.”

“Fucking got that bit, Tez. Haway, mate. What ya playing at?”

If Tez didn’t start spilling the beans, I had a feeling Indie may just spill his guts, the darkness on his face more than I’d seen on him in years, way back when we were serving together.

“The girls. We were having some fun. I didn’t want anyone to find out.”

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