CHAPTER 15: Just the good ol’ boys

Tanner sipped his beer and peered around Mike’s bar with something between amusement and disgust. In truth he hated the bar scene and Mike’s was doing nothing to help sway him to think otherwise. Smells of stale beer, cheap perfume and sweat lingered in the air...not that it was a dive, for Mike the owner had his pride and kept it as clean as one could between happy hour and closing....but Mike was fighting a losing battle.
His expression was not due to the state of cleanliness of his surroundings but rather the people within it. A trio of men sat at the bar and were loudly commenting on the news and the utter incompetency of the federal government. Whose fault, naturally, it was that they were poor.
Another group of men, younger this time sat at a booth to his left and were virtually saying the same thing except they were complaining about the foreign over fishing and the closure of the food fishery...how the government could allow foreigners to fish but they couldn’t was complete bull shit.....
Tanner wondered what would happen if one of the older men died; did one of the younger men take his place at the bar or did they wait for all three stools to be vacated? He shook his head at the morose thought and took another swig from the bottle. There were a handful of other people in the bar but it was too early for a crowd yet. The waitress plunked down his fries and burger with a toothpaste grin and a promise to be back with another beer when he sensed without having to look that Wynter had entered the bar.
He returned the waitresses grin and slipped her enough money to pay for his food and drinks as well as a generous tip. Chewing thoughtfully he listened as Wynter exchanged small talk with the waitress before approaching him. He raised an eyebrow at her as she slid onto the bench across from him and took a fry off of his plate.
Her brow furrowed as she seemed to be looking for the right words to say. He held his tongue and continued to eat while he stared at her. She fidgeted under his gaze and finally found those elusive words. “I’m sorry” He waited but she said nothing else, only looked at him expectantly. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”she demanded.
“Get your own fries and leave mine alone?” he joked but saw that it failed to amuse her as she threw daggers at him with her eyes. “What is it that you want Wynter?” He suddenly felt very tired and yearned for this conversation to be over with so that he could enjoy his food in peace.
“Fine” she said angrily and reached into her purse she pulled out a sheet of paper which she then flung at him.
He had to reach quickly to snatch it before it went on the floor. Looking down at it he saw that it was a photocopy. He shot her another questioning look but she waved her hand at him to keep reading. Frowning he looked again and saw why she brought it to him. “Where’s the original?” he asked.
“Safe. You can read it then?” she asked tensely.
“Yes” he answered with a nod of his head. “Go home. I’ll swing by after...I need to check something.”
“But....” she began but he cut her off.
“Not here” he said and folded the paper and put it in his back pocket. Picking up his fork he began to eat again. She glared at him for a full thirty seconds then left with a huff.
He took another fork full of fries but didn’t eat them, he had lost his appetite. Annoyed he tossed it down and got to his feet. Muttering curses on the female species he waved the waitress away and exited the bar. Climbing into his jeep he did a courtesy check before gunning it out of the parking lot and onto the road.
“I thought it was against the law to speed” said a voice from the passenger seat.
“Not now Rathnait” said Tanner not even sparing the fey a glance.
“Oh my, you are in one of your moods I see...Tell me something; did Wynter Woods come to see you yet” asked Rathnait.
Tanner turned his head to look at her “Was this you’re doing?” he demanded.
“Tanner, do you really have to ask?” replied Rathnait in amusement.
Tanner gave a great sigh and scratched his forehead under his ball cap, “Mother asked you to interfere didn’t she?” Rathnait just chuckled and pressed her nose to the open window so that her ears flapped in the wind.
Tanner didn’t bother to ask any more questions; Rathnait had her way of telling things and no one and nothing could make her hurry in the telling. So he settled on brooding instead. If his mother had something to do with the Woods family then that at least explained why his father warned him to stay away from them...
Pulling into his parking spot he turned to speak to Rathnait but the little fairy was already gone. Shaking his head in annoyance he got out and headed up to his apartment. As the elevator doors opened he immediately knew that something was wrong....nothing obvious was out of place but he could feel it. So he moved forward with caution and toed his apartment door open....it swung inwards with a slight groan.
The sound of rustling and low curses told him that the intruder was still inside. A thump echoed in the nearly empty space and Tanner wished he had his gun...not that he needed it but it helped when dealing with humans. Cocking his head to the side he decided that the noise was coming from the living room.
Treading with quick light steps he moved along the corridor and ducked into the kitchen where he then peaked around the corner and into the living room. “What the hell?” he exclaimed as Constable Marche dropped one of the precious old volumes from his collection onto the floor where it splayed wide open at the surprised man’s feet with a plop. “What are you doing?” he asked and was in the process of rescuing his book when a stinging sensation hit him in the shoulder.
The sting turned into hot searing pain within a split second. Looking down he saw blood blossoming on his shirt; in shock he lifted his gaze to his fellow cop and saw the gun in his hand. Marche fired a second time and Tanner fell to his knees then onto his back. The pain was intensified three fold....and all he could do was lay there as Marche walked over to him.
“Stings don’t it? Iron bullets. Made ‘em special” said Marche crouching down next to him so that he could look at Tanners face. “I knew what you were the moment I saw you. You standing dere trying to act like one of the good ol’ boys....You didn’t fool me. No sir, I tells ya it will be a cold day in Hell before a fairy slips past me. “He placed the guns barrel against Tanners forehead “Say hello to the Devil for me”
“Do it yourself!” cried Wynter as she struck the man in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Marche crumpled to the floor and Wynter quickly dropped the bat and kneeled next to Tanner. “We got to get you to a Hospital.....”she said tearfully as she looked at the blood soaked shirt and his ashen coloured face.
“No...”said Tanner with a shake of his head “No...time...you must ...do..it.”
“Me? I’m no doctor!” Wynter exclaimed in horror. “I don’t even know what to do!!!!!” Tanner didn’t respond which made her panic even more.
While she was trying to rouse him the apartment filled with an eerily green mist and the huge fairy from the first night she had spent in the apartment stood over her. “Get out of the way mortal!’ he shouted while knocking her clear across the room as he reached for Tanner.
By the time she had regained her senses the fairy and Tanner were gone and she was left in the apartment with the still unconscious form of Constable Marche.