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From: Dee and Jerry
Good Fun
Dee practically skipped down the stairs from the Church balcony. "God I've needed a good fight!" she grinned at Jerry as they retrieved their wepaons from the doorman. It was true. She missed having Ryk or Alic to spar with, and now, as primogen, she couldn't afford for any of her clan to know her true strengths or weaknesses. And the rage had been growing ever since she buried Alic. She could feel its claws reaching out, hungry and persistent, demanding release. It was either fight or frenzy; she could feel it.
"Follow me!" she called to the big blond brujah beside her as she thrust her foot against the gleaming pearl Springer's kickstarter. If he answered, she couldn't hear it over the straight-pipe thunder of her ride, but was satisfied to hear its echo as he started his own bike. she let her heart soar on speed as she peeled down the lamplit Dallas streets toward the freeway. Not one to be outdone, Jerry cranked the throttle in his hands and did his best to keep up with his primogen. She grinned over her shoulder, playing cat and mouse with her clanmate but making sure he never lost her as she led him to the freeway then away, to an in-between little dive she went to for...exercise.
The Bucket looked just as she remembered it: battered but kept in repair against the constant abuse it took from its animated patronage. The parking lot sparkled in the light shed by the tavern's lamps, broken glass shining like stars on the black concrete sky. Chrome gleamed against three of the four walls of the building where motorcycles waited patiently for their riders' return. Dee parked in the shimmering jungle and waited for Jerry with a beaming predatory smile. She ran a comb through her tangled gold mane then walked with surety beside Jerry into the noisy bar.
Their eyes were greeted with acrid smoke. Classic rock blared from a jukebox and was punctuated by shouts and clacking pool balls. The smell of beer, leather and cigarettes was all-pervading, nearly leaving their tastes in the vampires' mouths. Dee grinned at Jerry, her eyes gleaming. It was clear to him that she was now in her element and loving every minute of it. She strolled up to a booth where a couple sat making lovey-eyes at each other.
"Looks like you two are ready for some privacy...why don't you go find some." She met their eyes without flinching, conveying a danger and confidence that left them feeling unsettled.
The man spoke up, pride and hormones giving him more guts than he felt. "I think we're fine where we are."
Jerry started to step up, fists ready, but Dee shot him a look that silently shouted at him to stay put. She leaned down, very close to the man's face, eye to eye. In a very low voice that resembled the growl of a tiger more than that of a beautiful woman, the Beast leaking across her features, she spoke, "I SAID it's time to go..." Her smile was unpleasant as the man's face went white and his hands began to tremble. Satisfied, Dee stepped back a pace to give the man room to get up. Beer splattered across the table as he knocked over his glass in his hurry to get up.
"Bubye now." Dee cooed in her best flight attendant's voice at the swiflty moving backs of the booth's fleeing occupants. Dropping the smile, she turned back to Jerry. "See how easy that was? They just don't have what it takes to deal with the Beast in even a hint of its glory." She seated herself comfortably in the now-vacant seat, one long leg tucked up under her.
Jerry sat down heavily, frowning. "Yeah, but where's the fight?" He eyed the patrons glumly, itching for his brawl.
"Patience, Jerry," Dee said as she took a good look around the establishment. "Look around, see what's going on."
Jerry did as he'd already done instictively, trying to understand what Dee what getting at.
"Tell me what you see." Dee said.
"I see a bunch of assholes in leather trying to act cool. What's your point, Dee?"
The primogen shook her head, irritation adding an edge to her voice. "Look over there." She pointed to a group of men at another booth having a heated discussion about something. They were obviously drunk, their voices rising as emotion heated them in their debate. "THAT is a fight waiting to happen. It can happen now or later, depending on things..." Her eyes scanned quickly to the three pool tables toward the back of the bar. A stack of bills on one of tables promised serious efforts at work on its stained green felt. Dee nodded to another set of bikers seated along the bar. A man and a very attractive woman sat side by side, but two stools down, a pair of men sat staring at the woman, shooting an occasional wink or mouthing things at her that they probably paid 900 numbers to learn. "That over there could turn ugly too..."
Dee stood and motioned for Jerry to follow as she headed for the pool tables. She drank the stares of the men like she might use blood, letting their admiration fuel her confidence and feeding them her smiles and winks as one might feed table scraps to a begging dog. As Jerry passed, however, their eyes sought other views than the unhealthy-looking visage of the big brujah. Coming up to the sharks swimming around the pool tables, Dee halted, leaning against the wall next to another onlooker. A few casual words determined that he was a friend of the player currently losing playing the stripes and that the stack of bills turned out to be $300. The two vampires silently watched the game for a few minutes, then Dee made an offhand remark. "You know, I think I've seen that guy play before," and she nodded toward the solids' player. "He got kicked out of a place up in Austin for cheating...got his ass kicked pretty good for it too."
She kept her eyes on the game where the stripes' player continued to lose while the seed she planted sprouted in the player's friend. She shot a wink to Jerry, who smiled wickedly back at her.
When the stripes-player missed again, Dee turned to his friend again. "Yeah, that's the guy...Did you see what he did when your friend took his shot? That had to have been a distraction. No wonder he's losing his ass."
"Son of a bitch...I think you're right. Dammit, 100 bucks of that is mine!" With that comment, the man stepped forward and spoke quietly in his friend's ear.
"Here it comes, Jer," Dee shot at her companion. "All it takes is a lot of money and a little persuasion. Watch."
A loud CRACK exploded in the air as pieces of a pool cue flew into the smoky air. The solids player fell to the floor in a heap, blood running from a cut on his forehead. One piece of the stick landed in the middle of another game, ruining the lay of the table and infuriating its players. Dee ducked a flying pounder as it whizzed past her head leaving beer-scented rain in its path then shattered against the wall she'd just been leaning on. A tangle of bodies erupted around the table and Dee jumped in next to the man she'd coerced into starting the fight, blocking a pool cue to his head with blinding speed that would go unnoticed in the confusion of fists, cues and boots. With a shout that sounded like joy to Dee, Jerry dove into the fray, sending bikers flying all around. Dee fought her way to his back where she could shout a warning to take it easy then happily began laying waste herself, using spiked bootheels and beringed fists to take on anyone that came their way.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the air, halting most of the combatants in mid-swing. The unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked for another burst stopped the rest. All eyes turned toward the bar where an angry bartender levelled the gun at those that remained standing around the pool tables. "That's enough!" He shouted. "I know none of you want me to call the cops, so knock it the hell off before I pick one of your sorry asses to use as target practice."
Many curses and much grumbling accompanied the shuffle of bodies struggling to their feet or being picked up by their friends. Dee grinned at Jerry then offered a hand to the stripes player as he picked himself up from the floor.
"Whew! I haven't had this much fun in weeks!" she remarked to him and Jerry.
The biker raised an eyebrow then took another look at the leather clad beauty whose hand he was still holding. With a twinkle in his eye, he raised the pale hand to his bloody lips and kissed it. "Marry me, woman!"
Jerry snorted something crass even as Dee was taking her hand back, a quick tongue flicking over the bloodstain on it. "Sorry, dude, no chains on this chick. But you can buy me a drink..."
The bikers eyes shot to the trashed pool table. "Damn. I can't. The last of my cash was in that pile. Looks like somebody snatched it in the fight."
Slipping a hand inside her v-necked black tank top, Dee shot a smile over the green stack she held in front of her chin. "You think?" she smirked evilly, extending the bills toward the man. Her hand disappeared again before his fist could close around the bills, leaving a little green corner teasing the man from her cleavage. She handed one of the fifties to Jerry then extended the stack toward the biker again. He hesitated before trying to take it from her, but finally made the attempt. She held the bills firmly as they slid between her fingers, feeling every wrinkle in the paper as the rider tugged them out.
His face flushed as she fed him one of her brightest smiles and followed him to a table. "See Jerry, wasn't that fun?"