Day 4 - The Tap Room

As Titan entered the bar area he continued to grow in size until he was twice as big as the man he was pushing. He used his man as a broom, sweeping hoodlums out of his way. There were about twenty men in the room and three women. The women were barely dressed. One of them was on a raised stage and had probably been dancing but was now standing still with her mouth open.

About a third of the men were sitting or standing at the bar. A half-dozen more were sitting around the stage. The rest were paired up at tables, A large man at one of the far tables brought up a gun and aimed at Titan, who swung broom man in front of him as a shield. The waitress, standing behind the gunman, cracked her heavy tray against his head. The man pulled the trigger twice on his way down but the bullets went astray.

Titan saw the bartender reach down under the counter and flung broom man like a rag doll. Broom man and bartender went down in a shower of glass. Titan assessed the men at the bar as the most immediate threat and plowed into them, swinging his big fists with devastating results. The waitress in the corner took the gun from her victim and covered the hoodlums at that end of the room. She swung the gun between them and the men around the stage. Telling them to keep their hands where she could see them. Everyone there believed her.

Johnny chose that moment to make his entrance. As he came out of the hallway he stepped to the right, eyeing the two tables of men seated there. The two men at the closer table were already in the process of standing. They had not reached for guns. They were brawlers, used to using their fists. Johnny blocked a hurried swing from the closest thug and tapped him with his left. The thug rocked back but was still standing. "That's what I get for bein' gentle," Johnny thought. His ear stung as the fist from the second man grazed his head. He back-handed the man, not holding back. The second man sailed across the room and landed spread-eagled across the table of the two gents in the corner.

Johnny turned his attention back to the guy who was still standing. A quick one-two crumpled him. He swung back to the table in the corner. A dapper man in a hundred-dollar suit raised his hands even as his companion dipped his right under his coat. He was in an awkward position. He would have to draw his gun and swing it across his body to aim it.

Johnny got there first. With his left hand, he grabbed the guy's collar and lifted him out of the chair. He brought his right down in a hatchet chop against the man's gun arm. Bones could be heard to crack and the man howled and went limp. Johnny picked up the gun and covered the back half of the room.

The waitress in the corner told the two other women to go get some clothes on. She herded her charges up onto the stage, collecting guns as they passed by her. She directed two of them to drag the unconscious gunman with them.

Johnny liked the idea and did the same. Collecting the suit coat from the gentleman in the corner, he tossed it to the waitress. "Cover up," he growled.

She shrugged and draped the coat over her shoulders, the cover-up mostly symbolic.

Titan was tidying up at the bar. He had the bartender, the broom man, and four of the men sitting on the floor, their backs to the bar. The other two still lay where they dropped.

"Ruth Potter, FBI," She offered her hand to Johnny, who responded with his name.

"Who's the wrecking ball?" she asked. "Is that..."

"Titan," Johnny responded.

"I read about him but to see him an action..." the girl shook her head.

Johnny asked her "Where's your backup? You weren't working this alone?"

She indicated one of the men unconscious on the floor. "He was collateral damage. Just the two of you?" She sounded incredulous.

"Three. One in the back. We'd better check on him." He signaled Titan to watch the bunch and they left the room.

The back room was almost back to normal. All of the men were sitting on the floor against the back wall. Mark was holding one of their guns, the rest were stacked in the safe. The bookkeeper was on the only unbroken chair near the door, away from the rest of the bunch. A trash bag was tied off on the table.

Johnny introduced Ruth to Mark and vice-versa. "A DC puke huh? Ya did alright for a desk jockey." She pulled the coat tighter across her front, suddenly conscious of her appearance as she caught Mark's distracted gaze. "I gotta call this in."

Johnny put a hand on her arm. "Two things. You might want to wake your partner first and brief him. Save him some embarrassment."

She nodded, "And the second?"

"We weren't here."

She hesitated. Mark stepped over to her, "You heard noises in the back. A rival gang was raiding the place. In the melee, you slipped into the back room and recovered the ledger book and the bookkeeper. He'll back you up."

The little man nodded his head. "I can tell you everything but you gotta protect me."

Mark continued' "That ledger gives you pay-offs to dirty cops, politicians, the works. You'll be a hero. Your partner sustained an injury but managed to take control of the taproom. The rival gang got away and you called it in."

"And the trash?"

"We take that. Victim recovery fund. We won't keep a penny of it."

"Two things," Ruth said. She nodded to the garbage bag. "Each of the dancers gets a small bundle of that 'trash'. Call it hazardous duty pay."

"And the second?" Mark asked, echoing her.

"My partner and I got control of the taproom and then I came in and rescued the bookkeeper."

"You'll go far in the Bureau," Mark said. "Done." He nodded to Johnny and handed a couple guns to Ruth. Johnny pulled two bundles of cash from the trash bag and dropped them on the table. He passed the bag to Mark and they went out to the taproom, herding the backroom hoods before them.

Titan had been busy. He had identified the two men who had worked over the shopkeeper and had shared with them his personal feelings about their handiwork. The rest of the men were more or less alert, including Ruth's partner who was still a bit groggy. Ruth helped get him upright, told him about the plan, and handed him a gun. He was not introduced to Mark or Johnny.

Titan was almost back to his normal size but looked a little rocky on his feet. Johnny offered him an arm and they stepped out the front door. The limo was waiting at the curb. Mark loaded the trash bag in the back and they drove off.