The Walker

As Walker stalked through the crowd, shoving and bumping people out of the way, he could feel his mood sinking. No respect in the cities, he thought to himself. A man stopped directly in front of him; Walker didn’t slow, and knocked the man out of the way.

“Hey, fuck nut, watch it!” the man yelled.

Walker ignored him and continued on his way, Daisy scurrying along in the wake he made through the crush of people.

She called out from behind him. “Why are there so many people out at this time? Don’t they sleep?”

Walker ignored her too. Trying to talk over the crushing roar of the city would be a waste of effort. He couldn’t even roll himself a smoke. He scowled about him, looking for the pink and orange glow of Charlie’s bar. He started to head towards the lights ahead, when he heard the girl cry out again.

He turned to see her wrestling a man, who had grabbed at the money pouch on her belt. He sighed and went to step over, but stopped, surprised. He grinned to himself as the man wheezed, bent double. The girl withdraw her knee from his groin, before swinging her arm wide, knocking the man out cold with a blow to his temple.

Walker chuckled and strode over as people watched. Daisy shook her hand and looked down at the crumpled heap that had tried to rob her.

“Nice punch.” He said, calmly.

“Never punched someone from a city before.” She blew on her knuckles.

Walker chuckled and grinned at her. “More satisfying, right?”

She shrugged. “Hurts just the same.”

He stooped and briefly leafed through the man’s pockets, ignoring the gasps from the startled onlookers; some coins, paper money, probably from previous victims, and some tobacco. He pocketed the tobacco, grabbed the money and straightened up.

“Good pay for good work.” He handed her the money. “Where did you learn to fight like that, girl?” He glanced back at the moaning figure on the pavement behind them. “Groin shot like that, some might call that cheating.”

She glanced back at the man lying prone on the ground and shrugged. “Cheating is what the losers call it. Not really cheating if you’re fighting to win.”

Walker grunted as they strolled through the surging crowds. “Where did you learn that?”

She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her visor. “I didn’t. Better to be smart, think a little.”

He scowled behind his visor and sped up slightly. “Keep up. Nearly there.”

The club was an old building near the centre of the city. In past times is had been used as a sort of indoor arena for performances; actors and musicians would play here for the city, and before even then the building had once been used to showcase exotic animals. Now the building was mostly unused, boarded off. The only areas open were the lobby area which was now the main bar, and the backstage areas used by the bar staff.

From the street, the building looked out of place. Old stone stairs led from the newer, gleaming pavement up to large double doors, painted a red that shone darkly in the street lights. It squatted grimly between the modern sky scrapers that flanked it, ageing grey columns and buttresses shown in all their decrepit glory by the floodlights installed on the balcony overhead.

Walker glared up at it, the sinking feeling returning. He didn’t like Charlie, but he was the best man to get information from, without asking too many questions of his own. He began to head up the steps, but paused.

He turned to Daisy. “Girl, you must keep your head down in here. He’s tricky. Remember, be clever. Think a little.”

The bouncers watched him come. They were big men in big suits designed to make them look dangerous, but in a civilised, controlled way. They eyed him suspiciously. Having been instructed to ‘use their better judgment’ when it came to letting people in to the club these days, they had found their job decidedly harder. However, they knew that for someone to be allowed in, they shouldn’t look dangerous, or be armed, or look like they had been sleeping in the same clothes for several weeks.

The man approaching now, smiling up at them like a fox amongst hens, was all of these things, as was the girl behind him. Both looked dangerous, were fairly dirty and were definitely armed. The man was even holding his cloak aside, for them to get a better view.

He was a definite no-no on the bouncer’s mental entry-or-not-checklist. The more diplomatic, quicker thinking of the two bouncers stepped forward, genially blocking Walker’s path.

“Sorry sir, the club is at full capacity,” he lied. “We’ve been told to stop allowing entry tonight. Please come back tomorrow.” He smiled down at Walker in what he hoped was a disarming way.

Although the man was smaller than he was, the bouncer didn’t feel like getting into a fight. He got paid to push about the non-dangerous, smaller-than-himself kind of person, who had had too much drink or too many drugs; people who wouldn’t fight back even if they were in any state to.

His attempt at a smile melted as the man in the hat continued to smirk up at him. It was very disconcerting, he realised, not being able to see people’s eyes. He looked past the man to the girl who was rubbing her head slightly. She was also wearing a visor. The two of them in visors, the gun at the man’s hip. The light bulb of slowed understanding finally clicked on in the man’s head.

The bouncer hurriedly stepped back, and clicked a button on his ear piece. “Hey, it’s Rob. Tell Charlie there’s a... the Walker. He’s out here.”

Walker beamed at him. “I knew you’d get there eventually.” He stepped forward, pausing to pat the man on the arm as he went.

“Well done.”