“Sure thing. What do you need?” He paused his game and turned around.
“What are you playing?” I had been wondering this for a while.
“He’s actually training, thank you very much.” Constantine had slid back onto the back of the couch when I wasn’t looking.
“Training? In what?” Bartholomew’s training looked a lot more fun than mine.
“Multitasking, among other things. The boy’s a hacker. He must be at his best game as well.”
I couldn’t argue with Constantine’s logic, even if it didn’t make any sense. “Fair enough. Why can’t I do this?” My training sucked.
“Probably because you’re out in the field doing legwork. Happy now?” Constantine was not good at taking criticism.
“OK, fine.” I knew when to surrender. “Bart, I need some supplies.” I handed him a list I had made up that morning.
“Really? All of this? Impressive.” His eyebrows were arched as he read the list.
“Can you do it?” I had no idea what kind of resources Bartholomew had.
“Of course I can. Some might not be legal.”
I hadn’t thought about that. I didn’t want to go to jail, but I needed to be better equipped.
“Do your magic, Bart. Thank you.”
Constantine had moved over to the computer table and was reading with Bartholomew. He looked impressed.
“Always. By the way, here’s your earpiece. That way we can keep up with you, in case something goes wrong.” He handed me a little device that looked like a high-level hearing aid. I wasn’t sure why we needed it, so I just ran with it. Bartholomew helped me get the hearing aid in my ear. The piece blended in extremely well.
“We’ll do a comm check when you get out of the building. Be careful, now.” Bartholomew sounded more like my big brother, if I’d had one.
“Isis, don’t get killed now. We kind of like you.” Constantine was back in teacher mode.
“Well, thank you. I kind of like you two as well. OK, I’m off. Wish me luck.” This was getting way too sappy. I needed to get going before I missed the biker gang of evil witches.
Chapter 21
I wasn’t much of a drinker, so sports bars were not my thing. I also didn’t care too much for watching sports on TV, regardless how big the screen was. With all that said, it shouldn’t have been a big shock that I had never been to Shooters. I had passed it plenty of times on my way to the VA. They both sat on Frontage Road, parallel to Highway 30. The easiest way to get there was to take 30 to the state line exit and then stay on the service road. Normally the drive would be less than ten minutes, but I was dragging my feet.
For a Wednesday night, this place was pretty packed. Shooters sat in the middle of the lot, with parking spaces all around. I parked in the last row closest to the road. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. The plan was simple—find the witches and, hopefully, follow them to the victims. I wasn’t happy about being there, but we didn’t have that many options. I turned Bumblebee off and slowly climbed out. Keys, my license, and cash were in my front pocket. My cell was in my back one. The fewer things in my hands, the better.
I made my way slowly to the front of the building. From my right side, I saw a figure coming my way. My pulse increased, and I considered running back to Bumblebee. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie, with the hood over his head.
“Looking good, Isis.”
I exhaled slowly. “Why are you hiding in the dark, Angelito? Hasn’t anyone told you how shady you look?” What was wrong with this boy?
“Hey, I’m not supposed to be helping you. So pretend you don’t know me.” Angelito bent over to tie his right shoe or whatever he was pretending to do.
I pulled my cell phone out. “That’s not that hard to do. You look creepy. But what do you mean, you’re not supposed to be helping me?” I was trying not to look so obvious and to blend in.
“Look, my girl is friends with the chicks who jumped you. She’s not like them, but they’re still friends. I figured you might want some payback. That was pretty shitty, what they did to you.” He switched legs and started working on his left. “Be careful, Isis. They’re crazy. They’re hanging out by the pool tables.”
Without another word, Angelito got up and headed inside. That was all I’d gotten—I got, crazy girls by the pool tables. Angelito was in over his head. I doubt his little girlfriend was as innocent as he believed. I didn’t have time to worry about Angelito’s love life right now. Somehow I needed to figure out where the pool tables were located in this place. Since nothing else was holding me back, I made my way toward the door.
A very tall and very muscular bouncer stood at the door. I smiled at him, but he just nodded back. The man was focused. Inside the door there were girls standing behind a desk checking IDs. I walked to the right and handed one of the girls cash and my ID. I hadn’t realized they had a cover charge. I paid and made my way inside.
Shooters was divided into two sections. To the left they had a stage area, with a dance floor and tables around it. To the right they had pool tables. No wonder Angelito’s instructions were vague. You couldn’t miss the pool tables. There were at least seven on that side of the room. The two areas were separated by a bar in the middle. That way the bartenders could serve both sides without missing a beat. I liked the layout.
The witches were on the right side, by the far wall—at least five of them. They were flirting with a group