Color Me Grey: Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles (4 page)

I quickly scanned the room. Most everyone was
out tonight. There were a few new faces so I made a mental note to
remember they were here before I was. I hadn’t told anyone where I
was going so the people already here shouldn’t be looking for
me.

I found myself shaking as I walked to the
booths to find a suitable hiding place. This wasn’t a game, this
was real. If it weren’t White and Associates it could be a
kidnapper. My parents did have money after all and were well-known
for spending tons of it on me, their one and only child.

I was grateful for my training; otherwise I
may never have noticed what was happening. At the same time, my
training had never really prepared me for the possibility that I
might truly need it someday. Of course I fantasized about saving
the world James-Bond style but then I was never placed in any real
danger. The closest I had ever come to real danger was when I was
involved with the drug crowd in college. Some of those people are
really rough, but they aren’t professionals either.

I was scanning the booths and found my old
tutor and best friend, Colin DeLange. His mother is deaf and I had
asked if he would tutor me in sign language when we were younger.
At first I just wanted to be around Colin. He was a few years older
than me and not at all hard to look at. By the time I got the
basics down for signing we had grown to be very good friends.

Over the years we had remained best friends.
We might not have seen each other for months but we could always
fall right back into the friendship. I walked toward him and he
smiled. Colin had joined the Navy a few years ago and was
considering making it a career like his dad. He had already been in
for eight years and had just re-upped for another four. Sometimes
when Chief Slade was drilling me, Colin would come over to benefit
from his services. I think our Dad’s had worked out a system that
Colin would tutor me for lessons from Chief Slade. Colin’s tutoring
would have gone on without the extras that my dad paid for but my
dad really liked Colin. I think our parents had conspired together
hoping something other than friendship would blossom between us. I
guess Colin could be considered my first boyfriend, but there had
never been anything sexual between us. We both thought of the
possibility, I’m sure. It was just an unwritten rule that we were
to remain friends and in no way did either of us want to jeopardize
that friendship.

Colin had one of those personalities that you
just couldn’t dislike. He smiled easily and was very charismatic.
When he was around I was drawn to him like a bee to honey. He was
always happy and hardly ever had anything bad to say about anyone
or anything. I reached the booth and he stood to give me a
welcoming hug.

He immediately sat to where he could see the
door. Chief Slade may have gone a bit overboard with the training
for watching your back. I knew I had to sit there too. I was sure
the person following me would be in soon, if not already here. I
skootched in next to him. He looked at me a bit funny so I mouthed
at him, “I want to see the door.”

Colin was an expert at reading lips, not only
did he have the benefit of growing up in a deaf house hold, he had
been given specialized training in the Navy for just such things. I
think my father played a roll in Colin’s good luck in the service,
but if anyone deserved to be treated well it was Colin.

“
What’s going on?” he mouthed back at
me with his hands up already signing what he had just said. Having
a friend that signs and reads lips to sit with at the Skylight was
nice. I didn’t have to leave my voice behind in the bar when I
left. The music was permanently loud and a person had to yell to be
heard.

“
I think I was followed,” I said in my
normal voice.

This brought an incredulous look from Colin.
“Are you getting paranoid in your old age? Or did Master Chief
Slade visit you lately?” He smiled.

“
MASTER Chief?” I said. This was a new
development. “How long has he been a Master Chief?” I
asked.

“
A few months.” Colin had stopped
signing everything he was saying making me work to read his lips.
Once a tutor, always a tutor I guess.

I wasn’t so good at reading lips, but I could
usually catch enough words to make out the main topic of
conversation.

“
Is that the guy?” he said nodding his
head in the direction of the door.

I looked away from Colin toward the door and
he most definitely wasn’t a familiar face. He was scanning the
room. I don’t know if he was looking for me or if he was just
checking out the scene. I involuntarily slouched in my seat.

“
I don’t know,” I said to
Colin.

Colin sensed my nervousness and both of us
were quiet as we watched the man pick a seat at the bar. He could
see us and we could see him. He was quite a large man with a rough
face and a sandy blonde military-style haircut. He reminded me a
little of the actor Dolph Lundgren, except he wasn’t as refined
looking. We watched him order. “Bud please,” Colin repeated.

Colin and I had spied on people like this
before; this was nothing new to me. I think it was Colin’s way of
trying to teach me to read lips better, but it was my way of
eavesdropping on conversations across the room.

The bartender, who happened to be my one and
only ex, Anthony, was working. I didn’t harbor any hard feelings
for him anymore, but he steered clear of me all the same. I had
caught him with one of the other waitresses in the women’s bathroom
one night. I had been infatuated with Anthony and very naïve. I had
been taken by total surprise. When I saw them together, her on the
sink with him in front of her admiring himself in the mirror, I
pulled him off of her and then literally picked her up over my head
and threw her out of the bathroom. Anthony had grabbed me to stop
me from going out to finish the job but I just flicked him away
like a fly. By the time I had gotten away from Anthony and out the
bathroom door, the little floozy still hadn’t gotten her panties up
from around her ankles and there was a crowd building. I squared
off with her but she was horrified so it took some of my anger
away.

About that time Anthony came out of the
bathroom. He was furious and grabbed me by the hair and whipped me
around. He backhanded me and I was slammed to the floor. Some of
the men in the club were on their way to take care of the woman
beater, but I beat them too it. I stood up, bawling like an idiot,
and grabbed his arm. I had it pinned behind his back before he knew
what hit him. Then I forced him to his knees. “Apologize to me,” I
had regained my composure and said this in a quiet voice.

“
What? Let go of me you bitch!” he
yelled back at me.

I wrenched his arm harder and heard it snap.
Oh shit! had been my thought at the time, but only for a
millisecond. I leaned down toward his ear and spoke into it so he
would hear me over his screaming. “I said apologize to me, you
prick. I can make it worse or you can make it better by just
apologizing to me like a gentleman.”

Anthony couldn’t say, “I’m sorry,” enough. He
was still apologizing while they put him in the ambulance. For some
reason breaking his arm made me feel better. He probably could have
pressed charges against me but decided against it because the
witnesses there would have told the cops that I had broken his arm
after he hit me. I walked around with a black eye for about a month
after that. Then I became a bitter single girl working in a bar and
came unglued any time someone touched my butt. I eventually gave up
the job for the greater good of the public. Anthony finished
college and continued to work part time at the Skylight. As far as
I knew, his sex life has never been the same.

Women talk and they all knew about how he hit
me that night. Some women gravitate to that kind of thing, but the
ones who do are already attached to the man who is beating them. My
sex life was non-existent after that because I imagine men talk
too. Nobody wanted a girlfriend that might break your arm.

Colin nudged me to get my attention, “I said,
they’re talking about you.”

“
What are they saying?” I asked him.
Before Colin nudged me I had been intent on the two of them at the
bar, but now my eyes were locked on Colin’s lips.

“
Army Boy wanted to know if Anthony
knew you. I can’t tell what Anthony’s saying though. Do you suppose
he’s telling him about how you kicked his ass?”

“
Probably more like how he’s had me.
That’s more Anthony’s style,” I said.

Colin and I both went back to watching them
talk with Colin translating Army Boy’s words.

“
Really?” “Is she here?” This turned
Anthony around to point in our direction. “Thanks.” Then Anthony
saw to his other customers.

We could clearly see Army Boy and he could
see us. He was a bit stunned to see the two of us staring right at
him. He was made and he knew it.

Colin yelled in my ear, “Go to the other side
of the booth, I’ll keep an eye out and tell you anything else he
says. He doesn’t need to be staring at you.” I could tell he was a
little upset at the situation. Sometimes I thought Colin was in
love with me but other times he was just my big brother watching
out for me.

I got out of the booth and moved to the other
side. This bothered me because I couldn’t see Army Boy anymore. I
turned in the seat and got up on my knees to look over the back
like little kids did when you were in a Perkins or Denny’s booth
trying to eat your breakfast. Colin grabbed me by my pants pocket
and pulled me back down before I could get my head up over the back
of the seat.

“
What is going on?” he
asked.

“
I don’t know.” I told him about the
Crown Victoria and how it had followed me around and how I was
pretty sure Army Boy was the person operating the vehicle. Then I
told him about the job interview with White and Associates. I told
him about Mr. White and the interrogation. I yelled all of this to
him over the band because he wouldn’t take his eyes off the bar and
Army Boy.

Colin finally looked at me when I finished my
story and said, “Are you kidding me? What the hell have you gotten
yourself into?”

“
I don’t know. I’m just glad that you
were here so I could tell you about it. I’m actually having some
fun with this, but it would be more fun if I knew exactly what was
going on.”

“
Well, I guess you could go up to the
guy and ask him what he’s doing here asking about you. You’re in a
public place and I think he probably wouldn’t try anything here,”
Colin said.

“
Yeah, I suppose I could.”

I started to get out of my seat and Colin put
his hand up and said, “Wait, he’s making a call.”

I sat back down hard. Great, now I was going
to have a chance to think about the confrontation with Army Boy. It
was always harder to build my courage up than to just jump in with
both feet without thinking. If I had just gone right then and there
I wouldn’t have even thought about it until it was over. Telling
Colin about my day had put it in a new light. All of the excitement
was starting to fade and be overshadowed by the fear and worry that
I felt.

“
Yeah, boss.” Colin was giving me the
one-sided conversation being held at the bar. “I have a problem.” A
small pause, “The Skylight on 1
^st
and Main.”
“Alright.”

“
I wonder what that was all about.”
Colin said.

“
He called his boss and told him he had
a problem,” I said a bit peevishly.

“
I know that, I meant what does that
mean for you. Man, you need a nap or something,” Colin yelled over
the music.

A waitress had strutted to our booth now that
we weren’t on the same side anymore. You learn quickly at the
Skylight to leave the couples in the booths alone until they are on
opposite sides of the table. It was Sara McNenny. She had started
working here shortly before I quit. I liked her well enough, but we
weren’t close.

“
Hey guys,” she said. “Can I get you
anything to drink?”

Colin ordered his regular, a tap beer, and I
butted in and ordered a shot of whiskey and a Coke back. This
brought surprised looks from both Colin and Sara. I rarely drank
anymore and it usually spelled trouble.

“
Be right back.” And then Sara started
her bar wench walk up to Anthony to fill our order.

Colin was giving me a look so I said, “What,
I’ve had a rough day. I’m over twenty-one, I can legally drink.” He
was still looking at me. “Alright,” I said. “I’ll be good.” I gave
him the most sincere smile I could muster. “Hey, I could have
ordered a bourbon,” I added.

“
This is true,” he said. “I’ll make
sure you get home safe.” Then he grinned because he knew I would
probably be just fine once I had some liquor in my
belly.

I began to watch the band. The big white sign
with changeable letters next to the stage read, “Incompetence.”
What a name for a band. I hadn’t heard of them but they were doing
a pretty good job. Not too incompetent.

Colin had kept his eyes on the big guy at the
bar. Then Sara returned with our drinks. I took my shot straight
from her tray and threw it back and said, “Will you bring me two
more?” I handed her a fifty for the lot and sat back to await the
arrival of my other invincibility potions.

“
You’re going to be sorry,” Colin
said.

“
I know it, but I have to gather up
enough courage to go face off with the guy. Besides, I get a little
flirty when I drink so I think I might be able to flirt the guy to
death.” I smiled. I hadn’t drunk alcohol in several months and I
was already feeling the effects of the first shot.