by kimmie81
The guy cackled like a sick hyena then placed the cigar back in his mouth. “I have a great seamstress if you need a few pointers on how to fit in,” he said.
“No thanks,” Dominic replied. “But if I ever want to look like a serial killing puppet, then I’ll let you know.”
“Touchy aren’t ya?” The guy asked but didn’t wait for an answer. He walked past him and into the club.
“Okay so I must of entered the Twilight Zone,” Dominic said. He made his way to the front door and entered.
When the lights slowly dimmed in the joint, Dominic nearly jumped out of his skin. He composed himself as the lights on the stage came on drawing everyone attention to the band. The announcer who was dressed in a white suit approached the center microphone. Dominic recognized him as Smooth Eddy.
“That’s right folks,” Smooth Eddy continued. “Infinity, give a hand for our very own Addison Lee.”
The entire building erupted in applause. Addison was beautiful. As she made her way to center stage, Dominic noticed her clothes. She was wearing a black silky dress with elegant flower patterns, the kind that Japanese women wore back in day with the v-slit on top showing off the crease line of her breast.
“I drew her a nice rack”, he said out loud by mistake. The couple sitting at the table made a disgusted snorting noise at his remark. Dominic needed an excuse. “I’ve got a condition where I say random crap to piss people off. Enjoy the show.”
He watched quietly just like the rest of the crowd as the band began to play but Addison wasn’t singing. Her golden eyes traced the room then locked on his. A mix of emotions appeared on her face. Dominic could see the shock and confusion in her eyes like she had seen a ghost. It only took a moment then her eyes went over his head and towards the front door. He turned his head to see what she was looking at and noticed the group of familiar guys standing in the entranceway. Then he saw Floyd.
Dominic felt a sense of amusement at the fact that he could tell that Floyd was wearing a comb over from where he stood. He even made a mental note to maybe give Floyd a better toupee. He was the leader of the underground thug unit that caused hell in the city.
The group began to split off into pairs around the club. Except for Floyd. His eyes went directly towards the stage and he gave an uncanny smile. Dominic turned back to face the stage as well only to see a flush of fear on Addison’s face.
Save her, a voice went off inside his head. You can’t let her die.
As the crowd gasped, Dominic rushed the stage and grabbed Addison’s arm. “Come with me,” he said quickly.
The two found their way to the stairs and headed upwards. Dominic never really envisioned the small things like the backstage. It was never a place he created scenes for in the comic book. But he was surprised to see all the small details like the orange rust on the metal stairs or the way it squeaked as they ran.
Dominic pushed open the door to the roof and made his way to the center before coming to an abrupt halt. He stumbled over his own feet before getting his balance again then turned to see an unwilling Addison watching him.
“Who are you?” Addison questioned. She yanked her arm away from him then slowly backed away a few steps.
“I don’t have time to explain, Addie,” Dominic replied back. “We need to get out of here.” He reached for her arm again but she rejected him.
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you answer me,” Addison insisted. “And how do you know my nickname?”
“Because I’m the one who gave it to…,” Dominic stopped. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He decided on another route. “Look, my name is Dominic but everyone calls me Niko.”
Addison didn’t take her eyes off of him. “What kind of name is Niko? Sounds like a pet fish.”
Dominic shook his head. “It is just a nickname. But I will explain more if you would just tell me where your car is so we can get out of here.”
“I don’t need your help, Niko,” Addison said. “If the underground thug unit wants to kill me then let them.”
Dominic had to think quickly. “Tommy wouldn’t want you dead. But if you want to be all gun ho about getting killed then go ahead.”
Addison’s eyes looked downward at her feet. “You sound like him.”
When the door swung open, Dominic rushed over to a stack of rusted pipes and grabbed one. He then ran back to stand in front of Addison. “Don’t leave my side,” he said as he watched Floyd and two other thugs come through.
“You know how to fight?” Addison asked.
Dominic shrugged. “I’ve seen a few Jackie Chan movies.”
Addison looked confused. “Who is Jackie Chan?”
The three underground thugs charged at them and Dominic swung the pipe at the first one to reach them. It connected to the guy’s arm and he flew to the ground in pain. He continued to swing the pipe like a baseball bat. Floyd dodged the attack but the third got a shot in the gut and fell to the ground.
There wasn’t enough time to turn around because Floyd had knocked the pipe out of Dominic’s hands. “You messed with the wrong group, stranger,” Floyd said. He threw a punch but missed.
“I’m not afraid of a guy who has a dead squirrel for a toupee,” Dominic commented. Floyd rushed him. He speared him to the floor and the two wrestled around on the ground. Dominic finally stood up but Floyd managed a headlock and began to squeeze. It wasn’t long before Dominic couldn’t get any air into his lungs and he reached at his arms to get free. He couldn’t move.
“The door will remain open,” Floyd whispered in Dominic’s ear. “As long as Scotty wants it.”
“How do you know Scotty?” Dominic managed to say but Floyd didn’t answer.
There was suddenly a loud thud and the hold on Dominic’s neck was released. He turned his body around as he started to gasp for air then he saw Addison standing above him with a pipe in her hand.
“I figured you need help,” she said.
Dominic slowly got his composure back. “I had it under control,” he replied back.
“You were losing.”
“It’s called strategy,” Dominic said as he pulled the weapon away from her grasp. He looked around at the thugs that were knocked out and knew that they only had a few minutes. “Can we get down from the roof?”
It didn’t take long for him to spot Addison white Cadillac from the rest of the parked cars. Dominic popped open the gas cover and grabbed the spare keys he remembered he added in the comic book series during a car chase. “Get in,” he told Addison as he unlocked the doors and jumped into the driver’s side.
The two sat quietly for a moment. They watched a streetlight flicker on and off before completely going out for good. Dominic finally turned to look at her. The black eyeliner had smeared leaving streaks down her chin from where she was crying.
“You look kinda sexy right now,” Dominic joked.
Addison made a huffing noise. “So you’re a pig, not a fish.”
Dominic smiled but it faded quickly. “No, just a guy stuck in a world he never thought he could visit.” He watched the confusing on Addison’s face then shook his head. “I need to find Scotty.”
He turned the key in the ignition and drove off down the streets of Krystal Bridges.
Espy Hunters