Thyra snorted through her nares and shook her head. “As much as I would enjoy ripping your disgusting tongue out of your mouth, I’m not going to.” Thyra paused for a second. “Yet...”
Matthew’s eyes narrowed as he stood up, visibly clenching his fists on his desk and looking down at the three. He was becoming afraid, and trying to make himself look bigger to them. “You putrid animals dare come into my house of worship and threaten me?!”
His gravelly voice rouse higher with each word. It carried around the office and suddenly the doors behind them opened up. The three gryphons turned to look at the two same men as they entered the room, checking on the sudden commotion. Matthew looked up at them and then back down at the gryphons.
“I dare you make one more racist remark, Bishop ” Aadhya said, her voice growing dark and deep.
She took a couple steps forward, looking directly into Matthew’s eyes. She grit her beak as she roused her white feathers and unfolded her black peppered wings. “Go ahead, human. Make one more remark and I will tear your spine clean out of your body. I will devour your bones as a snack, and leave this place unharmed.” Aadhya continued and pressed her great curved beak close to Matthew’s face. “You think these two men will stop me? I think not.”
Matthew’s eyes grew wide once again, staring back into the yellow and red eyes of the gryphon. He had been putting up the strong guy act for as long as he could, but took a step back as Aadhya came in closer.
“What do you want?” he finally asked.
“You will not bother Thyra or Johnathen ever again. You will cease these fascist speeches and go about your own business. If you do not comply, I will personally see to your head on my dinner table.” Aadhya cocked her head and clicked her beak once more. The two men on the opposite side of the room froze, waiting for a command or to act quickly. Aadhya glanced over to them with a wicked chuckle and then back at Matthew. “Do we have a deal?”
Thyra and Antonio stood silently, staring wide-eyed at this new Aadhya they were witnessing. The usual calm and collected gentle giant they knew was long gone in that instant, replaced by an angered feral beast. Matthew took a step back again and waved his hand to dismiss her and the other gryphons.
“Fine. Deal. Now get out of my sight!” Matthew turned away from them and tucked his hands behind his back, staring out the window, defeated. Aadhya put on a smug smile.
“I’m glad you came to your senses, human.” The great bearded vulture turned away and walked between the two men, shooting them both a glance. All though they were both armed, she still was able to strike enough fear into them that they took a step back. Thyra and Antonio quickly followed behind Aadhya down the corridor and out the front doors.
Thyra let out an excited laugh once they were in the parking lot, her nerves started to settle as she bounded up next to Aadhya. “I can’t believe that! Where did that come from?”
Aadhya took in a deep breath and chuckled to herself, wings shivering slightly. “I am not sure. Something came over me,” she responded and looked down at her gigantic foreclaws. “I could not let that man talk to us in such a demeaning tone and I know of all the evil he has brought upon you and gryphon kind.” Aadhya turned to the other two gryphons and beak grinned once more. “Also, I knew he was afraid of me. It is exciting to use my natural size and intimidating looks to my advantage, every now and then.”
“I was beginning to believe he was going to collapse from fear!” Antonio chimed in. Thyra gave them a nod and rubbed her beak against Aadhya’s.
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Thyra commented. Aadhya shook her head and bumped her shoulder against Thyra playfully.
“No need to thank me. Although, some of Johnathen’s cooking would be a start.”
Chapter 13 Pleading
Daniel looked down at his phone and checked the location. He was sure it was the right bar. Neon signs displaying various domestic beers flickered in the windows and multiple motorcycles decorated the parking lot in a perfect line. He brushed his blond hair back with his fingers and sighed before turning off the ignition. Daniel opened up the car door and slammed it shut, standing in the dimly light parking lot. Crickets chirped all around as his phone dinged with a message. It was his wife, Kathy.
*What time will you be home?*
*I have some business to take care of. May be an hour or more,* Daniel quickly responded before stowing the phone in his pants pocket.
He walked across the parking lot and opened the door. He was immediately greeted by a cloud of cigarette smoke and loud classic rock. Billiard balls clanked against one another from the far end of the room, and a long-haired blond waitress looked to him from behind the counter.
“Have a seat wherever you like, hun. I’ll be with you in a minute,” she said, gesturing to the tables.
Daniel thanked her and glanced around the crowded bar, looking for the two particular bikers he was looking for. He had been given a very rough description by Jack: two burly biker men, both with long beards and wearing leather cut off vests. There were several that met that description, but with the glancing looks he was already receiving as a non-regular, he decided to sit at the bar instead of blindly asking around.
The televisions behind the bar were playing the highlights from the latest gryphball games, many of them being the Redtail’s recent games. Daniel knew Thyra was on the Redtail’s team, and immediately brought his attention to one of the televisions.
A human commentator was talking to a well-dressed black gryphon sitting next to him. “The Redtail’s currently sit at the top of the second league, with eight wins and zero losses. With only two games remaining, I think they have a good chance at winning the finals and advancing to the first league. What do you think, Derek?”
“Well, I’m impressed by their performance this year, especially with such a dramatic player change,” the gryphon commented and moved the papers around on the desk before him. “If you look here at yesterday’s game, you can see just how organized they are! I say they are first league material,”
The television played a compilation video of the multiple game winning goals the Redtail’s had made over the past weeks, but only a few short shots of Thyra herself. The commentators went on as Daniel looked around again, trying to look less obviously out of place.
He spotted two men at a booth at the far end of the room. They were exact matches to the description he received. The two heavyset biker men sat together, smoking cigarettes while one talked and the other listened. They looked as intimidating as the men Jack had described.
A feminine voice broke his train of thought. “How you doing, hun? What can I getcha?” He looked towards the waitress and waited for a moment, but she didn’t bother to hand him a menu.
“Um, what kind of merlots do you have?” He responded.
The waitress stared at him for a second and let out a loud laugh. She turned to point at the draft selection on the blackboard on the wall and looked back to him. “Well, fancy man, we have Bud light, Miller light, and Coors light. What would you like?” she asked with a grin on her rosy cheeks.
Daniel looked over to their slim alcohol and draft selection. Typical for a dive bar, he thought to himself. He typically was not a beer drinker, but anything to keep up the image of a paying patron was good enough. “A Miller light is fine,” he said, defeated.
She turned and grabbed a frosty mug before pouring the golden yellow liquid into the glass. Daniel turned around again to survey the scene. Many different types of people sat in booths or at tall tables, carrying on in conversation and laughter. Billiard tables took up the center of the room and there were a couple groups of dart players towards the rear.
He returned his gaze to the two men in suspect and watched them for a moment. The talkative one seemed to look around occasionally as well, checking up on the people. Suddenly, they made eye contact. Daniel froze for a minute and saw a change in the other man’s face immediately.
“Here you go!” came the f
eminine voice once more. Daniel turned to see the full frosty mug of beer had been set before him. “So you want to start a tab?”
“Yeah, put it under Danny,” he replied and picked up the mug to take a sip of beer.
She nodded and pulled out a small notepad before replying. “Would you like to see a menu?”
Daniel shook his head and placed his mug down. “No, but I would like to buy those gentlemen a beer.” He turned around and pointed towards the far end booth. The waitress looked over to them and chuckled gently before nodding.
“You got it. Do you know Saul and Carl?” the waitress asked curiously, scribbling on her note pad.
“You can say we are acquainted,” Daniel responded.
The waitress nodded and turned back to the computer to tap on the touchscreen for a moment before grabbing a couple mugs and filling them with beer. Daniel looked nonchalantly at the television in front of him as she brought the mugs over to their table. He waited for a moment before turning his head to glance over. The waitress was pointing directly at him and talking.
Both Saul and Carl listened for a moment before laughing and looked over to Daniel. One of them waved him over, inviting him to the table. He took a deep breath and picked up his mug before making his way over to the booth. His nerves were in full force. He had prepared himself for what he was about to say. He wanted to make this as civil as he could. After all, he was in their territory.
“Well! I appreciate the drink, buddy, but I don’t swing that way,” the bigger man said. Daniel laughed nervously and approached the booth.
“No! It isn’t anything like that,” Daniel said and took a sip of his beer. “You mind if I join you all?”
One of the men scooted in his seat to offer the booth to him. He look directly into Daniel’s eyes. “Not at all. I’m Saul, and this here’s Carl. But something tells me you already knew that.”
Daniel sat next to Saul and placed his beer on the table with a shrug. “Not exactly, no. I’m new to the area and just trying to make friends,” Daniel replied with a smile and lifted his beer mug to them. Both Saul and Carl clinked their mugs with his.
“You sound like you ain’t from around here. Where are you from?” Saul asked.
“I’m from Atlanta. Moved down here for business and I’ve just been looking around,” Daniel replied.
Saul laughed and motioned around the room. “Here? You moved down here of all places for business?” The big man leaned back and drew out a cigarette before throwing the pack on the table. “You got me curious now.” Saul leaned forward again, making sure his eyes never left Daniel’s. “You happen to wander into this dive bar of all the places around this town, buy us a drink, out of all the people here, because you want to make new friends?”
Saul lit his cigarette. His mood had shifted from one of casual enjoyment to serious questioning. Daniel’s fake smile turned into a stare as Saul dragged on his smoke.
“Well, buying fellas a beer around here can be taken in two ways; your either gay, which don’t get me wrong is just fine but this ain’t the place for it. Or it’s just a friendly way of sayin’ hello,” Saul said with a chuckle and turned up his fresh beer mug. He finished and slammed it down on the table with a serious look on his face. “I don’t buy either excuse.”
Daniel took a sip as well and looked over to Saul for a minute. He could see that the man was serious. This was not the first time someone has approached him in this way. Daniel placed his beer mug down and folded his hands on the table, looking directly over to Saul as he leaned back in the booth.
“You two threatened one of my employees,” Daniel said firmly.
Saul and Carl shared a glance for a moment and looked back over to Daniel. “An employee? You mean Jack, the fella watching Johnathen?”
Saul took another drag of his cigarette. He acted casual, even in the tense situation. Carl said absolutely nothing, simply giving him a firm stare. He understood why Jack had feared the both of them, especially the quiet man. He didn’t let that stop him, though.
“Yeah, Jack. Listen.” Daniel forced himself to exude calm while looking over to them. “I don’t like this situation any more than you, but I can’t do my job if my employees are being harassed.”
This response seemed to anger Saul. He leaned forward with an imposing frown. “And exactly what is your job that involves our friends?” Saul and Carl both crossed their arms, waiting for an explanation.
Daniel considered his next words carefully. “As of right now, I’ve been just been hired to observe their movements and report back. I don’t know what Thyra and Johnathen have done to warrant this kind of action, but frankly, I don’t care as long as my employer doesn’t ask for more than mere observation.”
The looks on the men’s faces turned stony. Saul looked over to a group of other bikers and motioned for them to come over.
Daniel slowly turned his head to see a small number of large men make their way over to the table. “I don’t plan on harming your friends, if that helps.”
“You know who you’re working for, right? He’s a white supremacist, disguising himself as a priest. You’re being paid with dirty money. Does that not bother you in the least?” Saul picked up his beer mug and took another deep draw. “I would consider your next words very carefully.”
The group of bikers pulled up chairs and sat down at the booth with them, all eyes on Daniel now. The lithe blond man, by comparison, was definitely feeling nervous. Jack was right. This was not worth the money. Still, he had no choice.
“Look, I don’t like Matthew either, but he pays well and my family needs the money. Right now, this is the only work I have,” Daniel responded while glancing over to the other bikers, casually sitting in their seats. The bar began to grow quieter as everyone turned to watch the small commotion. The smoky air was thin in comparison to the tension in the room.
“I want you to listen here and listen good, boy, because I’m only going to give you this one chance.” Saul leaned forward again, and his brown eyes stared directly into his own. “Quit. Quit doing his bidding and get out of town, if you know what’s good for you and your family. Next time, I won’t let you walk away.” Daniel stared back at him resignedly and picked up his mug with a sigh before downing the rest of his beer. Saul raised an eyebrow as Daniel continued to sit for a minute. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Daniel finally replied. He stood up out of the booth, causing the other bikers to rise from their seats. They all said nothing as Daniel pulled out his wallet and placed a fifty-dollar bill on top of the check sitting on the table. “I was hoping we could reach some agreement, but it seems we can’t.”
“You’re damn right we can’t. We won’t abandon our friends, ever,” Saul stated and watched as Daniel walked away silently. Before he reached the door, the biker called out again. “You tell Matthew that too!”
Daniel glanced back and nodded in acknowledgement. Then calmly walked out through the doors. Once outside in the cool air, Daniel stopped in the parking lot, closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Those men could have easily put him in the hospital, or worse. He stared up at the night sky, staring at the full moon and lost in thought.
Daniel repeated Jack’s words once again. “It ain’t worth the pay.”
He was tangled up in a bigger mess than he initially thought, one he doubted he wanted part of. In the past, he had run into similar issues, but ones that could be solved easily with negotiations and money. This was the first time he had to deal with a group with moral conviction.
Daniel unlocked his Lexus and stepped inside, sinking down in the leather once again. He stared out the front windshield and watched as Saul’s crew walked outside. Saul lit up a cigarette and leaned against the wall. Daniel turned the ignition and started the car, which earned a goodbye wave from Saul. As Daniel drove out onto the street, he pulled his phone out and searched his contacts for a minute. He put the phone to his ear and waited as it rang.
“Hey Ja
ck. Yeah, I just left….No, not at all… Is there somewhere we can meet? Ok, I’ll be there in twenty.”
Chapter 14 From The Sidelines
Thyra sat in a crowded dark room, watching the projector screen play clips of past gryphball games. She had brought a notepad as instructed by Victor, and scribbled down notes as the game continued on. Victor sat at the front of the room, watching the screen looking for a particular moment. He paused it just as the camera zoomed in on a Bateleur Eagle after it scored an air goal.
“This is Phera. He was recently transferred from the South African Lions to the Asheville Jays. He was a first league player over on his old team, but got himself into trouble and was transferred here as punishment. He’s loud, fast, and very skilled. He doesn’t mind playing dirty, and has done so in the past.”
Victor’s large gray crest feathers rose up as he spotted Rachel playing with her phone the great Harpy Eagle gryphon’s voice boomed, “Kestrel! Pay attention!” His large black eyes stared her down as she compressed her feathers and put her phone away. “This gryphon can accidently kill someone your size.”
“Yes sir.” Rachel replied and straightened her back, her eyes now fixed on the screen.
Victor stared at her for a moment more, then took a deep breath and clicked the play button on the remote in his massive gray foretalons. “As I was saying, he is a formable opponent. In the Eastern First League they call him the Black Mamba. Fitting, for a snake eagle.”
The video played again, showing Phera move around impressively fast for a gryphon as large as he was. His dark red-skinned face and legs stood out from his black plumage even as the camera panned away to show a field view. His chestnut colored tail feathers were so short that Thyra could see most of his legs as he flew.
“Look how he maneuvers and memorize it. He’s going to be our main focus and we will have to adapt plays depending on his position. The other gryphons on the team are of no matter. The plays you have memorized will work for them,” Victor continued on while the video played.
The Gryphon Generation Book 2: A New Era Page 15