Chapter 3: Lloyd's Bar

The activity in Lloyd's bar was quite down, Sagitar thought but knew it was expected. Well…it is a Sunday night. Though nearly empty, it turns out there were still a few people lingering outside in the smoking area. The air reeked of its dissolved cigarette ashes. Ladies hung around the social setting looking for men to go home with and the men themselves browsed the few available that they would love to knock up. Although socially there were not as many people as there could have normally been on a different day, Saturday before in particular, this social amount was still quite staggering for Sagitar. Even so, he thought nothing more of it, showed his identification proving he was legal then went directly towards the bar.

As he got deeper into Lloyd's, he scanned through the poorly populated area to see if he could find his friend Roland. However, what he thought would be a walk in the park soon became daunting because he could not find anyone that looked like his old friend waiting for him.

At the counter, two attractive women sat on large stools talking. They were two friends, chattering, smiling and at the same time, paying attention to all that was happening within Lloyd's. One of the ladies had long brown hair, whereas the other was an attractive blond woman with a large bust. The frame of the young and handsome man that stepped into the club caught their attention and they chose to stare.

"Wow!" the blond exclaimed, staring at Sagitar, who she found rather handsome and well dressed.

"Who is the stud?" the other lady with long brown hair asked.

"His name is Sagitar. We attended the same school," said the blond to a whisper.

"Stop staring, you'll freak him out," responded her brown haired friend.

Sagitar passed by the ladies with a smile, still looking around hoping to find Roland. For a Sunday night, despite there being a low amount of punters, Lloyd's bar was more populated than he had expected. Eventually, he stopped at the counter about a foot away from the two attractive women who had sunken into his limelight. He pulled a seat and sat before the bartender who seemed to be reorganizing the pint glasses. Sagitar sat there not saying a word until the bartender acknowledged his presence.

Immediately after the bartender noticed Sagitar, he approached him to take his order. "What can I get you sir?" The bartender asked.

"Magners Cider," Sagitar replied.

The bartender swung into action immediately, to prepare Sagitar's drink. While Sagitar awaited him, he decided to do one more observing sweep of the bar to see if he could find Roland. Eventually, Sagitar spotted his childhood friend hidden in the corner, seated at a table.

The bartender finally returned with Sagitar's bottle of Magners and a glass cup with ice to go along with his order. Sagitar paid him and made his way towards his childhood companion.

"Hmm…So he knows your gang man friend over there," the woman with long brown hair examined. She could see Sagitar heading towards Roland.

"Keep your voice down. He may hear you," the blond lady replied with a countenance that settled between adoration for Roland and fear of him as well. "That is Roland Vestibul that you're talking about dear."

"I don't care who he is, I'm more concerned about the stud," the woman with the long brown hair said. "He looks tasty," she continued.

Raising her eyebrow with a sly response, brightening up with a flush, the blond was in awe of the comment made by her friend. It struck her as unusual for her persona.

"You're keen tonight. Normally you don't give a crap about men," the blond lady mentions, completely surprised.

"That's true. Maybe we need to change that," her long brown haired friend responded.

Her gaze remained fixated on Sagitar.

At the corner of the bar a shadow covered Roland's phone while he was browsing the internet. Off guard, Roland nearly found himself startled but his fear was quelled by the friendly face of Sagitar in the shadow. Both men smiled warmly at each other.

"Sagitar buddy. It is so good to see you old boy," Roland said gingerly.

"The feeling is mutual," Sagitar replied.

"Come on now, sit down and loosen up," Roland instructed to a glee, giving Sagitar the indication to come sit by his side.

However, Sagitar took the opposite seat so he could face his friend whilst they were catching up. He placed his cider bottle and glass cup on the table, ready to have a time of reminiscence.

"I can't believe it. It's been a long time," Roland pointed out.

"I know right. How are you doing?" Sagitar asked.

"Well you know how it is," Roland paused. "You know if you're ever looking for work I could set it up," he suggested.

"I'm good. No really. There's no way I'll join the Mafia. It's just not me," Sagitar replied.

"I know but I just got to ask," Roland laughed. "You were the toughest boy back in the day. The people I know still respect you," he elaborated.

"Not interested," Sagitar said firmly.

"Too bad," Roland replied with a smirk.

The two began to catch up, talking about the friends they associated with, the people they knew back in school and how things had changed in the locality. Sagitar asked about the old boys and how they were doing. Roland inquired if Sagitar still kept in touch with any of their friends from way back. It is there they began to really set the ball rolling on their catch up, engaged about all that had happened in the short period of their lives that they had spent apart. There was a lot to talk about but the conversation however, began to get awkward when Roland started talking about his family.

"I've just been around my ma's. She never stops talking and she never stops offering me food. I guess I enjoy the food but the talk is crazy. She drives me mental," Roland complained.

"Oh I see," Sagitar murmured.

Roland realized that he had upset his old friend. "Oh great. There's me ticking off again. Sorry hoary chum. I should have realized…I know you just lost your parents and there's a lot going on…I apologize for my insensitivity," Roland retorted, stammering and babbling, not knowing how to frame his thoughts.

"No, it's alright really." Sagitar tried to shake off the feeling of gloom that was coldly creeping on him. "I remember going round your home for tea when we were smaller, your mother was always so fussy."

Roland replied, "Oh! So you remember too."

"Yeah, great times" Sagitar commented in response.

Then, both men laughed heartily.

Upon stopping, Roland looked at the bar briefly to notice an attractive long brown haired woman staring lustfully at Sagitar. It was made obvious, Roland could see that she was trying to get his friend's attention. What caught Roland off composure was the size of her blond haired friend's well shaped bust as she stood beside her. Figuring out that Sagitar would not notice the watcher unless he turned his head sideways, he had to tell him directly or they may just miss the night's fun. Almost immediately, the busty blond would notice Roland as his eyes caught hers once she had made sense of her friend's intentions. Roland smiled to himself realizing the night was going to be more interesting than he planned.

"It looks like we got admirers," Roland glees.

"Admirers? You being serious or is this just another one of your corny jokes?" Sagitar wondered.

His wonders were browsed as he turned towards the direction where Roland was looking to spot the two attractive women staring at them from the bar. In a quick twist of events, Sagitar had become mesmerized by the woman with the long brown hair. She had the perfect figure, a beautiful face and her lustful gaze pierced into his soul. There was something elegant, mesmerizing, and enchanting about her. He couldn't deny that in that moment she had peeked his interest.

"The long haired feline over there has been staring wildly at you," Roland claimed.

"I wonder what she wants," replied Sagitar.

He smiled confidently but tried to act clueless in front of his friend.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Roland. He got up and placed his hand on Sagitar's shoulder. "Come on old pal, let's go introduce ourselves," Roland said. He proceeded towards the bar with Sagitar following just behind.

"You sure are confident about your insinuations," Sagitar commented.

"Well with a wingman as handsome as you, of course I'd be," Roland replied with an assured smile.

Roland and Sagitar arrive at the bar.

Taking the lead, the supposed Gangster confidently chirps at the blond lady ready to introduce himself. "You want some company? Come, join us. We're seated just in the corner," Roland greets.

"As long as you buy us a drink," the blond lady replied.

"Sure," Roland agreed.

"The name's Cathy," said the blond woman, extending a handshake.

"Roland." He took her hand and kissed it.

Cathy blushed. "Oh I know. I've heard about you around," said Cathy. "Apparently you're dangerous," she declared.

"I wonder about that," Roland replied, ignoring the shadowy comment made. "This is my main man Sagitar, an old friend of mine. We're just catching up," he continued.

"It's a pleasure," Sagitar joined in converse.

The establishment of communication went smoother than Sagitar could have ever imagined. Though, the lady of his interest was yet to utter a word. It was as if she had gone shy all of a sudden. But in no time, she would respond to make a solid impression.

"Alma is the name," the long brown haired woman replied, staring at Sagitar's eyes seductively.

"Hey," Sagitar said, giving her a wave.

After introducing themselves, Roland purchased drinks for their party. For the ladies, he bought vodka and coke for each of them. For himself he ordered a pint of Fosters. Lastly, he purchased another Magner's Cider bottle for Sagitar. Not concerned about the return of shrapnel compared funds, to avoid disrupting the perfect vibe, he told the bartender to keep the change.

Cathy and Alma winked at each other, quickly finished their current drinks, before picking up their new glasses. After the drinks were collected from purchase, they followed the men to the place where they were seated, in the corner of the bar.

As they walked to their seat, Alma's interest in Sagitar, who was just behind her, was growing geometrically. Just as they were about to sit, Alma asked Sagitar, "You come to Lloyd's much?"

"I used to when I'd just become legal, but not so much nowadays," Sagitar replied.

Sagitar took a seat beside Alma. Roland, the last of the party took a seat by Cathy.

"So tell us about yourselves. What do you ladies do?" Roland asked.

"I'm a nursery nurse," Cathy replied.

"And you Alma?" Roland asked.

"I'm a nurse at the Bristol Royal Infirmary," Alma replied.

"Wow! Two nurses, that's interesting indeed," Roland commented.

"What do you do, Sagitar?" Alma asked.

"Well I am a freelance artist and a writer," Sagitar replied.

"That's pretty neat. Isn't it difficult to get work though, as an artist I mean?" Alma asked, quite concerned.

"Well it can be but I am used to it. Sometimes I get lots of clients and am raking in cash. It can keep me occupied but some weeks I hardly find any work. What I try to do whilst I am hunting for clients is to get writing and draw something inspirational that fits in with a self-governed project," Sagitar explained.

"Sounds more interesting than my job" Alma said.

"Well it all falls down to preference. The job I do isn't really a social one. Being a nurse seems challenging though. How long have you been working there?" Sagitar asked.

"Not long. I've only been in Bristol for six months. I move around a lot you see. I haven't really found a reason to settle down anywhere," Alma replied.

"Oh I see, maybe you'll find what you're looking for in Bristol," Sagitar responds.

"Maybe I have, maybe I will." Alma's response was accompanied by an awkward silence that lingered in the air, until Roland saved the day.

"So how did you girls meet? Considering you couldn't have known Cathy for that long," Roland asked.

"Through mutual friends at a party," Cathy replied.

"That's always the way," Roland chuckled.

Suddenly it dawned on the two men, they realized that they already knew Cathy from teenage years. "Yeah if I remember right, Cathy didn't you go to our school, Downend? I swear you were in the year below us," Sagitar uttered.

"Oh my word, I recognize you now," Roland added.

"Took you boys long enough," Cathy replied with a smirk. "You guys used to be so troublesome back in the day," she continued.

"Well I've grown up anyway. And my old boy maybe more... No, even more so. We've all got our attachments," responded Sagitar.

"Hey, the ladies love trouble," Roland corrected Sagitar comically.

Sagitar shook his head and chuckled at his friend's cheek.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase Vestibul," Alma said. "Are you like a gangster?" she asked.

"Who wants to know?" Roland replied with confidence in his voice.

"Cathy said you were," Alma blurted.

"Well I thought that was the case. I've heard all sorts about you," Cathy claimed.

"I do run my own crew, yes. A pivotal part of the smaller branch in the Mafia," Roland explained.

"You guys don't seem intimidated by this?" Sagitar realized. There is surprise in his tone.

"Should we be?" Cathy asked.

"Nope but just keep it to yourselves please. Safer for you, better for us," Roland responded.

Cathy and Alma nodded their heads in agreement.

"Hey, let's take a photo?" Cathy suggested.

"Sure," Roland replied.

Cathy got out her smart phone to take a photo of their group seated at the table. Alma smiled, Roland put his arm around Cathy and Sagitar displayed the peace sign for the shot.

"I'm posting this on Facebook," Cathy said. "You guys better add me."

Facebook is a Social Networking Site on the internet where users can interact with friends and family all around the world. It is a Networking Stream that rose to glory that got truly noticed in extremity in 2006 and bustled by 2010. Sagitar and Roland got out their mobile phones to access the Facebook application and added Cathy and Alma to their friends list.

After the group got acquainted, Roland and Cathy started to bond. They began to flirt with each other while in conversation. Alma noticed how they instantly clicked. In fact, the chemistry was so palpable at this point that it was perfectly delivered when Roland asked Cathy for her phone number. Considering the group was not as socially engaged as before and the conversation had become a one way interaction between Roland and Cathy, Alma wanted to temporarily separate from them.

"Hey I could do with some more alcohol in my system, shall we get a drink?" Alma asked Sagitar directly.

"What? You mean to the bar?" Sagitar conjectured.

"Well yeah. Where else?" Alma replied, rolling her eyes.

She couldn't help but try to close off her smile in response.

"Let's go then," Sagitar agreed.

They both got up and walked over to the bar leaving Roland and Cathy alone together. There was a bald headed man at the bar currently talking to the bartender which meant Sagitar and Alma still had to wait to get attended to. Without anything to do, Sagitar turned around to look at where Roland was in the corner.

"Well it certainly didn't take them long," Sagitar commented.

Not surprised at their actions, Sagitar could see Roland making out with Cathy. They had their hands all over each other and their bodies intertwined. Alma looked back as well and raised her eyebrows.

"You know, I've never seen Cathy snog a man before," Alma claimed.

"Well I guess it's probably because you haven't known each other that long," Sagitar replied.

"Well there is that. So, she's into the mysterious and dangerous type?" Alma wondered, muttering to herself.

"Who knows," Sagitar replied. "But he's into her and it didn't take Roland long to ask for her number though," he snickered.

"How come you haven't asked me for my number yet?" Alma asked unexpectedly.

Sagitar stopped laughing as soon as she popped the question. To turn up the pressure, Alma moved closer to him then leaned on the table as they waited to be served.

"Wait, what…are you for real?" Sagitar responded.

While he remained tensed, Alma presented herself invitingly. Her body was impeccable to look at, the way she curved her pose showed this even more. It wasn't the invitation he was looking for but Sagitar was a smart young man, he knew the game men and women played with each other in such settings.

"What, you don't want to get to know me?" Alma questioned yet again.

"No I was going to at the end of the night. I just didn't want to ask you for your number all of a sudden just because my mate asked your friend for hers," Sagitar explained.

Sagitar's explanation put a smile on Alma's face. The response he gave made her eager to engage with him. "I was just messing with you by the way. Just relax," Alma eventually responded.

"Oh right, I see," Sagitar replied incredulously.

"Not about my number though. Here…give me your phone I'll add it," Alma requested.

"Yeah…sure," Sagitar replied.

For a moment he was embarrassed but realized quickly that Alma was just being a tease. Sagitar brought out his mobile phone, unlocked it and handed it over to her. Alma quickly found his number and added it to her contact list. After adding his number, she gave him a phone call to make sure the number was correct. While leaning with her right hand on the bar table, with her left hand she confidently put Sagitar's phone into his trouser pocket. He felt himself slightly surge for a moment. She was daunting, dominant and her actions and had almost flustered him to a state of embarrassment. Even so, Sagitar handled it well. His mien was like a wall that remained impenetrable, Alma liked the challenge of trying to wear him down.

"You'd better call me by the way," Alma faintly perturbed.

"I will," Sagitar nearly chuckled.

He could see that she didn't waste any time but wondered whether there was more to her upfront actions.

"I've just called you, so the number will be in your history," Alma explained.

Sagitar nodded his head and turned towards the bar. After they had waited for a mini interval, the bartender was ready to attend to them.

"What are you having? I'll get the drinks," Sagitar questioned.

"No I got it. Watch this." Alma conjectured.

Sagitar looked at her, wondering what she was up to.

"We'll have ten shots of Sambuca, and we'll also have them for free," Alma said to the bartender.

For free? Sagitar wondered in silence, watching keenly.

Alma looked deeply into the eyes of the bartender who stood lifeless for five seconds. Sagitar raised one eyebrow, puzzled by the bartender's reaction that seemed as though he was being hypnotized.

What in the...? Sagitar murmured.

"Ten shots of Sambuca coming up," the bartender suddenly responded.

Then, immediately, the bartender began to prepare the shots. Alma smirked deviously while Sagitar was in complete shock.

"What was that?" Sagitar questioned.

"A magic trick," Alma replied casually.

Sagitar wondered what he had missed.

"No. You know the bartender right?" Sagitar questioned.

"It's actually my first time in this bar," Alma replied.

Sagitar was surprised. "Nah. There's no way."

"I told you. I've only been in Bristol for six months remember," Alma claimed.

"How in the heck did you do that?" Sagitar quizzed her. In Sagitar's mind, he believed that Alma had found a way to temporarily paralyze the bartender, such so that he yielded to her bidding. However, he was not sure—it could have been just a trick.

"It's a secret," Alma replied.

"OK. Whatever you say." Sagitar decided to drop the topic.

Now, Alma was the one in awe. She couldn't believe that he cared far less than she expected him to. She was left in wonder about what was running through the mind of such a person who didn't try to find out how it all broke down.

"There you go, all done," the bartender said with a smile. After attending to Sagitar and Alma, the bartender walked off, to attend to his other duties.

"We can really have these for free. Wow!" Sagitar teased.

"Just drink up already. Five for me, five for you," Alma instructed.

Without wasting time, Alma had picked up a shot immediately.

"Well if you insist, boss." Sagiter snickered.

Alma managed to finish her shots before Sagitar. By the time she was done Sagitar had only two remaining.

Disgusted by the after taste, Sagiter picked his fourth short steadily, ready to down yet another. "Well, here goes nothing," he said as he looked at Alma with a facial cringe.

Then, he smiled as he downed it. He was curious whether at some point in time Alma was going to try to hypnotize him or do whatever she did to the bartender. Though on guard, she hadn't made such an action.

"Because you took so long, I'm having this one for myself," Alma rambled.

She then picked up the last Sambuca shot incredibly fast before Sagitar could touch it. For a moment, he had wondered whether he had been hit with the alcohol in his system. She grabbed the last shot at a pace that seemed practically impossible. A paste that would most likely cause spilling leaving Sagitar puzzled.

"Come on, let's go back," says Alma, taking the lead.

"I am right behind you," Sagitar confidently replies.

The two walked back to get seated at the chairs in the corner. Seats facing each other on the table next to Roland and Cathy who had been preoccupied by lustful desires.

"Hey, we miss anything?" Sagitar questioned.

"Apart from you guys snogging," Alma chimed in.

"No, you haven't missed much," Roland laughed.

"Well you two seem to be getting close," Cathy mentions.

Sagitar found himself leaning in on the table closer than natural to Alma as they were looked at closely. She did not respond regardless of the comment made by Cathy that was directed right at her. For a moment there was an awkward silence. Neither Sagitar nor Alma was ready to give a response to Cathy's claims.

"Oh no. Not those guys. I never expected to see such faces in here of all places," Roland exclaimed.

This broke the silence from a still. Out of all the things to say, the conversation's movement took the party by surprise. Roland had found himself distracted and looking towards the direction of the bar leaving the rest of the party to notice two intimidating young men. They were bald, wearing looser smart clothing and looked ready for anything.

"Trouble in paradise," Cathy said.

"You could say that," Roland retorted.

"Just who are those guys?" Sagitar asked.

"Just a couple of street thugs who think they are untouchable," Roland claimed, uttering his answer quietly.

"Oh great," Sagitar replied.

"Keep this between us. The boss actually wants them eliminated. You see, they've been murdering too many people, good people too. They kill because they are just psychopaths and have murdered for pointless reasons then bragged to the wrong people just to look hard. They go after your stereotypical hard nut Barry. People who could possibly have potential for the Mafia too. It's aggravating the boss," Roland explained silently.

"They sound like creeps," Alma said.

"You could say that again," Cathy added.

Sagitar turned towards the bar to take a good look at the duo that was currently being talked about.

"Incoming, they are looking this way," he muttered quietly.

Roland nodded his head at the bald thugs at the bar and they both nodded back. It seemed that all they wanted was his acknowledgement.

"Well you're popular," Cathy notices.

"I guess so," Roland replies.

For a short while the two thugs at the bar were secretly the main topic of discussion between Sagitar, Roland and their female company. Roland quietly explained that local hard men had been getting murdered by the two thugs and that they should be careful around them. Sagitar understood Roland's concern because years back he was actually a known hard man himself and the local street gang in Downend knew him very well. However, things had changed. As he grew older, he found peace and secured work with his passion in art. He also realised that his old friend wouldn't be telling him this unless he knew they could pose a threat to his life.

Suddenly Sagitar started to feel heavy. The alcohol in his system finally hit him. He held his head with his right hand over his face to prevent himself from stumbling forward.

"Whoa!" Sagitar exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" Alma asked.

"Those shots we took have finally hit me," Sagitar replied.

"Now that you're drunk, you'll be in the perfect shape for the dance floor," Cathy exclaimed.

"You want to dance?" Roland wondered with a question.

With a groovy jive Cathy nodded in response.

"Yeah, we should all go and bust some moves," Cathy replied.

"I'm game for that. Could do with stretching my legs," Alma supported the proposition.

"You know, that sounds good. Though, I think I will give it a miss you guys. It's time for me to head home," said Sagitar.

Alma looked at Sagitar in wonder. She was about to ask him why he was heading off but Roland beat her to it.

"What, you're going now? We still got an hour before the bar closes," Roland contended.

Sagitar could see the disappointment on his face.

"Well it's just past two o'clock and that's pretty late for me these days. I've had too much to drink so I can't dance seriously anyway," Sagitar replied.

Thinking about how disappointed Alma looked, Roland didn't want to pressure the situation more than he usually would when he yapped at his friend in such situations. He realized that could cause some conflict considering he was stealing the attention from her friend. And with this, he decided to take a less playful approach to his response.

"It's cool bro, we'll have to catch up again sometime soon," said Roland.

Sagitar rose up from his seat. Afterwards, the other three seated by him got up to see him off. Roland then puts his right hand out for Sagitar to shake.

"It's been sweet old buddy, old pal," Sagitar said firmly shaking Roland's hand.

"Tonight was a good night, I think I just found myself a woman to make me an honest man," Roland replied and turned to smile at Cathy.

"Take care of yourself, Sagitar," Cathy chimed.

She responded to Roland's comment by holding his hand gently.

Sagitar turned to face Alma. He looked into her eyes.

"Maybe I'll see you around," says Sagitar.

"Maybe," Alma replies with a smile.

Sagitar stretched out his arms, open for a hug. Alma responded by embracing him. After the two had hugged, Sagitar left the club.

As Sagitar walked through the waterfront past many clubs and bars, he noticed that they were all empty. A lot of them had closed by this hour and had some people socializing just outside. After walking past the waterfront, Sagitar arrived at a main road. He crossed over to the other side of the street by the city's theatre. It was the Bristol Hippodrome—where some fascinating and bedazzling shows and plays end up performed. It was the perfect location for Sagitar to find a taxi as they would regularly show up there on nights looking to take people home, a place he knew all too well. Knowing it was a Sunday; Sagitar knew he would probably have to wait longer than usual. To pass the time he walked over to the entrance of the theatre to see what they would be showing next. The play they were going to be performing next was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Sagitar raised both eyebrows at the thought of it, considering whether coming for the play would be worth it. Alma instantly came into his mind and he began wondering whether he should ask her out on a date.

As Sagitar was looking at the date the play was going to be shown, the reflection of the most beautiful face he had ever witnessed his sights on manifested on the window of the theatre. It was a woman, with such intense beauty, so attractive it was unreal. A voice began to echo in his head and he nearly passed out from the friction of something supernatural trying to get into his consciousness. Sagitar thought for a moment, that it could be the woman in the theatre window trying to tell him something. He was sure he could hear her shouting out to him ushering the words of some sort of ancient language that he could not make sense of. Then in the pressure of the moment, one word was ushered.

"Magnus!" shouted the voice.

It was Sagitar's family name.

Suddenly, everything went pitch black and Sagitar blacked out for a second. Two seconds later he opened his eyes to blink rapidly. The woman was no longer at the window and the strange voices he was hearing could be heard no more. He put his hand on his head.

Am I losing it? Sagitar asked himself. It's got to be the alcohol, he thought.

Five minutes had passed by. Sagitar had to intentionally stop thinking about what just occurred. His focus was now on getting a taxi home. Briskly, he kept walking as if in patrol to the side of the main road to make sure he got noticed incase a taxi was driving by. Unfortunately that would be the least of his problems. Turns out that he didn't notice on his last turn from the road, two bald thugs arriving on the other side of the main crossing stopping to a stand. Once he noticed, he realised they were the hoodlums from the bar, one of the reasons he had wanted to leave. Their presence was quite suspicious because at this time, there was no one around and cars had stopped moving through the area as a repetitive regular. They looked directly at Sagitar, who immediately felt threatened but maintained composure. As the two trouble makers crossed the road to confront him, Sagitar began to wonder what their problem was but he did not panic—at least, not on the outside.

"I take it you are friends of Roland?" Sagitar asked as they arrive.

He was hoping to talk his way out of whatever situation that was about to muster. Though, the two bald thugs looked incredibly hostile like their next actions were pre-determined. The one that stood closer to Sagitar was holding something hidden under his jacket. Sagitar wondered if it was a knife or a gun. A knife, he could handle but a gun would be too problematic.

"Always the hard man Sagitar," one of the bald thugs said. This one in particular had a small burn on his left cheek and stood further away from Sagitar than the other thug who was the slightly taller of the duo. The burn had to have been a day old.

"What's the deal, you guys? You seem quite hostile," Sagitar mentioned.

"That's because we've come to end you," the taller thug said.

"Yeah we've heard stories about you. The old boys talk about you too much and we don't like the fact that your street cred is way up there," the shorter thug further away explained.

"Now hold on a second, that was a long time ago. One fight or two sticking up for myself doesn't count for," Sagitar responded.

"End him!" said the shorter thug.

The bald thug closer to Sagitar pulled out a pistol from his jacket and pointed it at Sagitar's chest. There was no escape for the threatened young man. For him, this really looked like the end.

"Whoa, hey, we can talk about this. Just put the gun down," Sagitar said, stretching out both of his hands to remedy the situation.

While Sagitar was trying to plead for his dear life—bang! The tall thug blew a hole through Sagitar's chest and he fell down instantly with blood draining out of his core.

"He wasn't as tough as they say," the thug with the gun claimed.

"That's the case because if he was, he wouldn't have made it as easy as it was put" his accomplice added.