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All Roads Lead To Sol...Unless Stated Otherwise: Chapter 3
Posted By: S7N<n.j.r.jones@brighton.ac.uk>
Date: 12 June 2003, 10:59 PM
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Chapter 3
2045 Hours, March 16, 2547 (Military Calendar) /
151st Street, Downtown New York
Earth
As the night progressed Manny found himself relaxing more and soon was chatting with all of them, with the exception of Harris. He couldn't help but notice that every now and then the bigger man would look over at him, and it wasn't a look of friendship. Greggs was generally chatting with everyone, making jokes and some such, Sarah's friends couldn't stop staring at Manny, and Grace and Tanya couldn't stop downing drinks.
The surprise of the night was that Sarah seemed to be getting more and more uncomfortable sitting next to Harris, and she seemed to be turning more and more away from him. When she tried to get out to get away from him, he'd just say "Do you want another drink?" and would run over to the bar and get her one. Every now and then she'd glance over at Manny and smile. He'd smile back but what he really wanted to do was pick her up and take her home.
"So," one of Sarah's friends turned to Manny "you live two floors below us, right?" He couldn't remember for the life of him which one was which.
"Yeah, lived there all my life." He sipped at his third beer of the night and lit up another cigarette.
"I can't believe we've never met before." She said, twiddling the straw in her drink. "I'm sure I'd remember you if I did." She winked at him and Manny felt himself turning red. He laughed and looked down at his glass.
"Yeah, I'd probably remember you, too." He swigged at his drink and puffed on his cigarette.
"I bet you would." She replied. She stared at him with puppy dog eyes and sucked on her straw. He heard a protest from Sarah as Harris insisted on buying her another drink.
"Look, I'm fine," her voice was laced with irritation.
"No your not, I'll get you another one." He said, smiling sweetly at her. He stood up and walked over to the bar. Manny followed him with his eyes. Even the man's walk was arrogant. He was surprised that no one had picked a fight with him yet, what with the way he waltzed over to the bar expecting to be served right away.
He positioned himself next to a smallish man in a grey, all-in-one bodysuit. The small man glanced at Harris, then got back to chatting with one of the bar maids. Harris tapped on the bar impatiently, glaring in turn at the bar maid then at the man next to him. Manny couldn't help but watch and allowed himself a small grin of satisfaction.
"Hey," Greggs called over "What you looking at?"
"Oh nothing." He looked over his shoulder "It just looks like Harris is just about to get his first taste of New York City life." Manny sat back against the table and watched the events unfold.
"Excuse me," Harris piped up. "Can I get some service here?" his eyes pierced the barmaid. She looked over at him, raised her eyebrows and got back to chatting with the man in the grey bodysuit. Harris felt rage flow through him. The man next to him looked like he was in his mid-forties. He wasn't a big man, but he looked like he worked out. But Harris was confident he could lay the man out if the chance came.
"HEY!" he yelled. "I wanna drink right now!" he waved a handful of credit chits, purposefully bumping into the smaller guy.
"I think you'll find," the smaller man said in a low voice. "That me and this lovely young lady are having a chat at the moment." He looked away from Harris and back to the bar lady.
"Listen, old man," Harris shouted "I am part of the UNSC Marine Corps and would like to be shown some respect." The smaller man turned to him, resting his elbow on the counter.
"You want respect, go to the military bar on fourth avenue." He turned back to the bar again. The anger in Harris was growing and he didn't have time for this fellow's rude remarks. He planted a firm hand on the man's shoulder and twisted him round to face him again.
"You want to watch what you say, old man, I have been trained to kill." Harris puffed out his chest, and stepped closer to the small male.
"I don't give a damn what you can do, I'm chatting with this young lady and I would like to be left alone." He shoved Harris's hand away and turned back to the bar. Harris almost burst with fury. He looked over at the table where Sarah and the others sat. They were all staring over at him. The girls and Greggs had a look of worry on their faces. Manny, on the other hand looked amused by it all. That made it even worse. How dare he think he can mock him! He would show him, right after he beat this old guy to a pulp.
He stepped back from the bar, grabbed the older man by the shoulder and spun him round. He pulled back his arm and released, throwing a punch to the man's face. But before he impacted the guy dodged out the way, coming up to his side. He grabbed Harris's arm and twisted it away from him, landing a clean kick to his ribs, sending him down. Harris grabbed at his chest and coughed as he fell to the floor. He winced in pain and managed to get back to his feet.
This old man was more than met the eye. He would have to be careful. He noticed that the other patrons had moved away from the scenario. He locked onto the old man again.
"That will be your only chance," Harris uttered then launched himself at the man again. He swung a left hook, but hit clean air. He felt three solid impacts to his back and a sharp kick to his right leg. He went down on one knee and grabbed at the bar to keep himself from falling over. He managed to stand up again, despite the pain and turned around. Before he could take in what was going on, the man landed a punch to his head, sending him reeling back against the bar. As he bounced off of the metal furnishing he found himself confronted with another fist. This one caught him squarely on the nose.
Pain exploded in his skull and he felt cartilage give way from the impact. He fell to the floor, landing on all fours. He felt a boot catch his side and sent him onto his back. There he lay for a few seconds, dazed and throbbing. When he managed to open up his eyes he saw the old man and Manny standing over him.
"Dan Harris?" Manny said, a grin lining his face, "I'd like you to meet my dad."
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