The Fifth Ch. 10

"That'll be twenty bucks." he announced.

Jared almost choked. "For a small glass of milk?"

"Supply and demand, my friend." Harry intoned again from the end of the bar. "We don't have much of a supply and you had a great demand. So now it's time to pony up."

The previous snickers from the table behind him now became a barking laugh.

"I guess you have a good point." Jared agreed, offering back a small smile of his own. He laid one of the twenties that Deanna had given him onto the bar. He then took the glass of milk and went over to the farther of the two tables by the front door and sat down to slowly nurse his drink.

About five minutes later Deanna and Belle made their entrance. If an apparently out of place Jared had caught the momentary attention of some of the regulars, two unknown women did even more so. With a great show of nonchalance Deanna led the way for the two of them over to the bar.

Jack grinned at them after they had settled themselves onto bar stools. "What's your pleasure?" he asked.

"That depends." Deanna smiled back. "But we'll start with a couple of beers."

Jack's grin got broader as he opened two bottles of beer and put them with two empty glasses in front of the pair. Deanna disdained the glasses, picked up one of the bottles and handed it to Belle, then grabbed the other and took a healthy swig. Belle followed suit with a much smaller swallow of her own.

After a couple of minutes the two men at the nearby table got up and sauntered over to the bar. Both were rather big and burly and certainly appeared physically imposing.

"Looks like we got some new meat here tonight, Jack." one of them said to the bartender, loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.

Deanna turned toward him and smiled again. "What a coincidence. I was just saying the same thing to my friend Belle here."

The man grinned back. "Well then, what say my friend and I buy you two another round and we all get to know each other a lot better."

"It'll take a lot more that a couple of beers to do that." Deanna laughed.

The man turned to his friend leaning on the bar next to him. "Ooo, it seems like we got a couple of live ones here, Artie."

Deanna in turn looked to Belle and said loudly enough for all to hear as well. "The more important question, Belle, is do we have any live ones ourselves."

"Well why don't we all find out." the first man laughed in response. "Jack, another round for all of us, and have Sweetpea," nodding over at the barmaid, "bring em over to the table for us."

"Sure Nick." Jack replied.

Nick made a small mock bow toward Deanna and with a sweep of his hand indicated their table. "Ladies." he offered.

Deanna arched an eyebrow and waited several beats as if considering. Finally she spoke up. "Why not, Belle. Let's see what the goods are." and she then stood up and led the way over to the designated table, with Belle and the two bikers right behind. Nick sat down next to Deanna, with Artie next to Belle.

Several more rounds of beer followed, with Deanna and Nick trading increasingly more suggestive quips and jibes. Nick, not particularly used to this kind of interaction with women, seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Deanna. After a few more beers she found herself sitting on his lap, occasionally fending off in mock horror some, but purposefully not all, of the advances of his roving hands.

Belle remained far more quiet and drank far less despite Artie's efforts to further engage her. Most of her responses were one or two words or a weak smile. "You're quite the shy one, ain't ya." Artie reckoned. "But that's alright. I like em shy. Who needs all that much yappin when we get down to it."

"Yes, I suspect that talk would be quite a hindrance to any of your conquests, Artie." Deanna piped in. Artie grinned in agreement, while Nick smirked, seemingly at his friend's expense. A slow Country Western song came up on the juke box.

"If you don't want to gab, why don't we get up and dance." Artie suggested with a leer. Belle stiffened.

"Oh, go on Belle. Give the guy a thrill."

Belle nodded at Deanna's charge, and Artie stood. "We'll see who gets the bigger thrill." he said. He guided Belle over to the area in front of the juke box, wrapped his arms around her, and began to sway in a semblance of a dance.

"Your friend's pretty uptight, ain't she." Nick observed as one of his hands worked its way under Deanna's shirt.

"Oh she's fine." Deanna retorted. "It's just that it's that time of the month for her."

Nick guffawed. "Artie's going to love that when he finds out. And be fuckin pissed. Looks like I picked the right one tonight."

"In more ways that one." Deanna laughingly agreed, allowing his hand to find her breast.

"Holy Fuckin Shit." Artie suddenly bellowed from across the room, breaking the spell. "This Fuckin Cunt is a Fuckin Fag"

While dancing he had slipped his hand down the front of her miniskirt and Belle had been too startled and terrified to remember the 'on the rag' strategy. "You Fuckin Bitch." he screamed as he ripped her skirt down so that everyone could see that she was most definitely not.

Deanna shot off Nick's lap and started to rush over. "Leave her alone, asshole" she screamed. But Nick was just as fast. He grabbed her from behind. "What, are you a fuckin faggot as well?" he roared. She swung around and tried to push him away.

"Get your filthy paws off of me." she yelled back. Nick responded by hitting her with a full clenched fist across the face, knocking her to the floor, blood spouting out from a huge cut above her eye. He raised his arm to strike her again when he pitched forward and down to the ground himself, tackled from behind by Jared. Utilizing his surprise, Jared scrambled up and punched Nick in the jaw, keeping him stunned and on the floor. Jared got up just in time to see Artie, leaving Belle behind, rushing over to his friend's aid. He took a wild swing at Jared who ducked underneath and delivered one of his own to Artie's gut, doubling him over, and then followed it up with a blow to Artie's head staggering him back.

"Get her out of here, Belle. Now." Jared used the moment's respite to shout, before turning his attention back to his two combatants. Belle needed no further encouragement. She grabbed the still dazed and bleeding Deanna by the arm and half dragged her toward the front door. As they got there Deanna had begun to recollect her senses and turned back just in time to see one of the other bikers in the bar strike Jared full in the back with a bar stool, knocking him down to his knees before Artie then grabbed and pulled him up holding him in a bear hug as Nick got to his feet and approached.

"Jared." Deanna wailed. "We've got to help him."

"Honey." the barmaid who was also standing by the door chimed in. "You two best get out of here as fast as you can before them boys turn their attentions back to you. And you can be sure they won't be gentle when they do."

Much as she hated herself for agreeing, Belle could see that there was nothing they could do for Jared here, who was now surrounded by a whole group of bikers taking their turns punching and kicking him as Artie held him fast.

"My Lady, she's right, we can't help him here. We've got to get out and call the police." She pulled the struggling Deanna through the door, who fought her to go back. But Belle would not be deterred. "Your phone, My Lady. Where is it? We have to call the police."

Given an alternative course of action Deanna turned away from the bar. "It's in the car." She started to race in that direction losing both shoes along the way. Belle was right behind her. Unlocking the car door as fast as she could she scrambled in, found the phone and rapidly dialed 911.

"They're killing him." she screamed when the operator came on. "Who Ma'am, where?" the operator answered. "The bar, 'Harry's Haven'. I don't remember the address. You've got to help him. PLEASE HURRY" she cried. "We've got a fix on your phone Ma'am. We'll dispatch a police unit right away."

For what seemed like forever but was only about two terrifying minutes later a police car with lights flashing rapidly pulled into the lot in front of Harry's. Within another minute two more squad cars screeched up, and together a group of six policemen rushed into the bar. Belle had to physically hold on to Deanna to keep her from running back.

"The police are there, My Lady. They'll take care of things, but it still might be dangerous for us."

"But Jared ... I have to know how he is. They were beating him so badly."

"The police will take care of him, My Lady. We'll stay here and wait and when they bring him out we'll get him."

Deanna was barely placated and as the minutes ticked by with nothing seeming to happen either inside or out she became more and more distraught. Finally she could take no more and made to get out of the car to go back. Just as she did, an ambulance, lights also flashing, pulled up in front. Two paramedics jumped out, opened the back, pulled out a stretcher, and rolled it quickly inside. Four of the policemen came out to form a perimeter around the front lot to keep away the onlookers that had started to gather. Deanna moved forward as far as one of them, who stopped her.

"Is ... Is anyone hurt inside?" she asked, panicked.

"It's a police matter Ma'am, I can't say much more." the policeman replied. He then saw the large cut over her eye that was still oozing. "Are you alright?" he asked

"I just want to know that ... that everyone in there is okay ... I have a friend ... friends ..." she didn't know what more to say.

The policeman further took in how she looked. They all knew about Harry's and that was why they had responded so quickly in such numbers. "Well there is a guy in there who's pretty busted up that they're taking down to Riverside General. That's all I can tell you.. The rest is a police investigation."

At that point the paramedics hurriedly wheeled out a man on the stretcher. Though he was strapped in and covered and wearing an oxygen mask, Deanna could see the shoulder tops of the powder blue sweater. Shaken, she turned back to Belle who was right behind her and handed her the cell phone. "Call ... call Edward and tell him what happened, that we're following the ambulance. Tell him to meet us at the hospital. Tell him ..." she couldn't go on anymore. She rapidly made her way back to the car.

Belle got Edward on the phone and briefly described what had occurred, "... and I think the Lady's going to have to be seen at the hospital as well. I think she's going to need some stitches." she added at the end.

As she reached the car she hung up and got into the driver's seat next to the numbed Deanna. She started up the car and began to follow the ambulance that had just pulled out and begun to speed away.