Chapter 1.12

Roy walked through the bar smiling to himself.  Yes, things had gone well this evening.  He had demonstrated his value to Massoud and as a result thought he had cemented his part in the plot that was unfolding.  The bartender, an old friend of his smiled and waved at him as he walked to the door.  

“Roy, come over here and have one on me,” he said.

Roy actually considered this for a moment but he had one other thing to do before the evening ended.  Besides, sitting at the bar when Massoud walked out of the room was not at the top of his list.  He wanted no concerns raised in Massoud’s mind that he was working any side deals.  That thought made him laugh out loud.  “Thanks, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

The bartender gave him a funny look and then just nodded and waived him off, “suit yourself,” he said. 

Roy laughed, thinking nothing of it, and walked out the door into the dark chill of night.  He knew the streets well and was not at all concerned for his saftey alone this time of night.  Besides that, he probably knew all the thiefs and cutthroats that were prowling in this part of town. One thing Massoud had told him raised some concern though and he wanted to follow up with a friend before the night was over.  He needed to find out what Akane was up to.  That and arrange for Massoud to be discretely followed.  The attack on Massoud in broad daylight, even if it was an alley, was a brazen act.  He needed to find out what she was up to.  He was sure his contact knew, or could find out easily.

He was just turning into an alley to take a short cut to the Marseryn Tavern where he thought he could find his friend this time of night when he heard it.  The sound was unmistakeable.  An arrow had just been released, and he had heard the sound of it rushing through the air.  There was no time to react.  He had barely started to spin to flatten himself against the wall when he felt it hit him hard.  He was crumpling to the ground and the thought came to his mind, “and things were just looking up,” just before things went black.

~ by ridgewalker on January 23, 2008.