Caffeine Withdrawal | T. Drake ✔

[17] A Squirrel In The Wolves' Den

A fist collided with his face and his vision blurred as he stumbled, reaching out to the counter for support. The next thing he felt was someone making him sit down but he could not see as his eyes had started to water for the punch had almost knocked him out.

"Stay down," a thin hand brushed gently against his cheek and he couldn't hear the rest of the words due to the noise raging on in the club. A fight had broken out among two groups in the club and soon enough the whole place was reduced to a battlefield.

He flinched as something cold touched his face and blinked twice to clear his vision. As his eyes adjusted he saw Helena dabbing at his nose with some ice cubes. Her hand lingered at his cheek as she gently iced the reddened skin on his nose. His spectacles had also gotten crooked due to the intensity of the fist, the glass shattered from one side but thankfully it had not punctured into his skin.

She had carefully removed the thin shards and the broken frame as well as she iced the left cheek which was also getting red slightly due to the force with which the punch had landed on his face.

"Rule number one," she spoke up noticing that he was conscious enough to register her words, "whenever you hear a crash, take refuge under the counter and do not come out until the noise dies down completely."

Alex still had no idea what had happened but he noticed that the two were indeed under the counter of the bar. The noise around them had started to fade gradually and when there was a considerable silence, Helena cautiously looked over the counter, her hand still on Alex's shoulder, refusing him to get up.

"All clear," she breathed at last and helped him to his feet. His head swayed once again as he took in the disastrous situation of the Iceberg Lounge; bodies were scattered on the floor as well as the tables, bullet holes denting most of the furniture.

"I bet no one mentioned how often this happens when they were getting you to sign the contract." Helena was rather casual as if quite accustomed to the occurrence.

"But they are... They're dead?"

Her sharp eyes met Alex and a slight smile played upon her lips taking in his baffled expression. "Rule number two, what happens in the Iceberg Lounge stays in the Iceberg Lounge."

He did not say anything, his eyes darting around the place in a mixture of shock and alarm. The bar area had been damaged really bad too with most glasses and bottles shattered such that there was a pool of liquor and blood at their feet, the stench of which was almost nauseous.

She led him out cautiously avoiding the glass shards scattered everywhere and led him to the back of the club. A dreadful silence resonated in the empty corridor which was flanked by sinister looking doors on both sides.

"Where are you taking me?" He whispered at last, keeping his voice down for he was still unsure of the surroundings and did not want to attract attention.

"Rule number three. It's better to not overthink when such situations arise. So kindly shut up."

At that moment he could not decide whether the edge of the broken liquor bottles would be sharper or her voice as it pierced through the silence.

Helena pushed open the door on her right and brought him inside. The room was empty except for a chair in the corner and a four poster on the other side. The dim lighting made it feel twice more sinister.

"Sit down," she ordered and he felt as if there was no other option but to comply.

A small kit was fastened onto her waist which she unzipped and took out some basic first aid stuff.

"Alexander, I know you are not accustomed to this and you're probably feeling very uncomfortable but you should have thought that before applying for a job in the wolves' den. Now deal with it."