It was late afternoon when Dave made it back to the Cliffside Hotel. He was tired and confused, having spent the whole day chasing people around the city and the countryside, achieving what felt like absolutely nothing. Sneaking around the corridors with steps as light as he could manage, he got back to his room without running into the concierge and sat down in his chair by the window.
After seeing Tom and Skinner disappearing into the darkness of the mountains, he decided to check in with Agent Simpson. He took out his phone and saw that he still had no missed calls from his superiors who were supposedly looking for him.
‘Dave, how are you doing?’ she said as soon as she answered his call.
‘Okay I guess. Feels like I’ve been chasing my tail all day.’
‘Have you seen Tom and Skinner?’
‘Yes. I’ve just seen them. They were being driven into the mountains. I lost them as they took a turning onto what looked like private land. I’m back at Blackchapel now.’
‘Okay. Wait there for now.’
‘Have you picked up everything you were looking for?’
‘Not yet. We’ve got two more stops to make but we have met someone.’
‘Who?’
‘I’d better not give you too many details over the phone. I’m confident we’ll be able to recover everything we need. Just stay there and keep an eye out for Tom and Skinner. I’ll give you a call when we’ve got everything.’
They said their goodbyes and Dave was alone again. To hell with this, he thought as he got to his feet, I’m not sitting here looking out of the window all day.
Dave suspected that wherever Tom and Skinner were being taken, they would be there for a long time. After all, it was bad news for them to spend too long outside during daylight hours. He felt sure he wouldn’t see them again until sunset. This gave him plenty of time to kill so he decided to explore his new surroundings.
More specifically the bar next to the hotel.
He managed to avoid the concierge on his way out of the hotel and found himself faced with a wall of rain that refused to stop. Careful not to slip on the wooden steps at the front of the hotel as he ran from the front door and across the car park to the bar, he flung the door open and stepped inside, shaking the rain from his clothes.
The bar was as dead as the rest of the tiny town. It was a sports bar with a large plasma TV hanging on the wall that would usually show football games but with no sports events worth watching, it was tuned to a twenty-four hour news channel. Thankfully, some B-list celebrity had been caught driving under the influence so the reporters had lost interest in Dave and his friends for now.
Dave cast his eyes around the dimly lit room. It was empty apart from the barman, who was leaning on the bar watching the news. Another man returned from the bathroom and perched on a stool, addressing Dave in his chirpy voice that was really beginning to become annoying.
‘Hello sir,’ the concierge said, ‘Fancy seeing you in here. Did you have a good rest? How was your lunch?’
‘Fine thanks,’ Dave replied and approached the bar.
‘I haven’t seen you here before,’ the barman said, ‘Do you work at the mall?’
‘No, but I’m starting to think everyone in this town does.’
The barman looked at the concierge. ‘You’re not too far from the truth. You want a beer?’
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