The hunt started after the briefing.
To Szandor, this was even more of a reason why we should be going out and partying. I'm sure in his mind, he saw himself going out, getting drunk, impressing some hot girl who would want to go home with him, then he'd wake up in the morning, magically rested and not at all hung over, ready to be the best team member ever. I had a feeling that he'd resorting to his fake hangover cure tomorrow, but I wasn't about to tell him his business. Well, not seriously, only as cutting jabs between siblings. Mentally I prepared to haul his ass out of bed tomorrow. I'd done it before.
Szandor went home to clean up and relax before our night out. I laid down on my couch and threw on a movie. If I fell asleep and took a nap, that would be fine, but I didn't want to force it. I looked for something sea serpent related, but I didn't find a related movie that I wanted to watch. I settled on 1981's Dragonslayer with Peter MacNicol. Few would call it a great movie, but it had its charms. Honestly, it's far underrated, especially for when it came out. It was from long before my birth, so I can't claim nostalgia, but I dig fantasy movies. And a dragon was still a big old serpent, so it at least sort of satisfied my urge.
I did fall asleep. I vaguely remember bits of the film: befuddled mages, fire breathing, and unreasonable medieval politics, but it was mostly all a blur of a dark and dirty age. I awoke to the sound of my phone. It was Szandor, telling me he was leaving and would meet me at the bar. I was groggy, but I texted back that I'd be there soon. It was already nine and I had slept through most of the afternoon and evening. I pulled myself out of bed and microwaved a Hot Pocket as I changed into some halfway clean clothes. Then I groggily chewed on that Hot Pocket while I ran a brush through my hair. I turned to the mirror and grunted Good enough.
I didn't drive over to Southend. It was walkable even if it took half an hour, and I saw no reason to risk a DUI. Szandor and Lem were closer than I was, so they didn't need me to give them a ride. Dickie was around the corner from the bar, so I didn't expect him to show up until an hour or two after we got there. The day's rain had stopped and there was just a damp mist over the city, so I didn't even need an umbrella.
The name of the bar was the King's Crown, a name that seemed to be attempting to appeal to both bohemian Southenders and the working class from the east side neighborhoods, since it was right at the edge of Southend. I had never been there before, but if it was like many Southend bars, I expected the next time I was by this way it would be called something else - Southend bars were volatile in ownership, name, and style. You'd never find a solid and stable neighborhood bar in Southend unless the owner had deep pockets to survive the whims of trendsetters. Since King's Crown wasn't a dance club but just a bar, there was no line for entry tonight. Despite that, I did see my brother and Lem standing outside.
As soon as they saw me, their concerned faces became even more worried.
"Oh, hey, Mikkel," said Lem, nervously. "We were thinking we should go to another club."
"Why?" I said.
"The girls in this place are..." said Szandor, his hands up as if to stop me. "Well, they're not good tonight. We should go elsewhere. I called Dickie and he's going to tell us a better bar. When he wakes up. " Szandor rolled his eyes.
"How are the women 'not good'?" I asked. I was confused. That was just a strange thing to say. I'd expect Szandor to say they were ugly, that it was a sausage fest, or that he had already struck out with all the women. Saying this instead was weird. "I thought this was Dickie's favorite bar for seducing women."
"Yes, but not tonight. We should go somewhere else. And!" Szandor said with an abrupt suddenness that made the word almost its own exclamation. "And this club was severely lacking in men for Lem. We discovered that this
To Szandor, this was even more of a reason why we should be going out and partying. I'm sure in his mind, he saw himself going out, getting drunk, impressing some hot girl who would want to go home with him, then he'd wake up in the morning, magically rested and not at all hung over, ready to be the best team member ever. I had a feeling that he'd resorting to his fake hangover cure tomorrow, but I wasn't about to tell him his business. Well, not seriously, only as cutting jabs between siblings. Mentally I prepared to haul his ass out of bed tomorrow. I'd done it before.
Szandor went home to clean up and relax before our night out. I laid down on my couch and threw on a movie. If I fell asleep and took a nap, that would be fine, but I didn't want to force it. I looked for something sea serpent related, but I didn't find a related movie that I wanted to watch. I settled on 1981's Dragonslayer with Peter MacNicol. Few would call it a great movie, but it had its charms. Honestly, it's far underrated, especially for when it came out. It was from long before my birth, so I can't claim nostalgia, but I dig fantasy movies. And a dragon was still a big old serpent, so it at least sort of satisfied my urge.
I did fall asleep. I vaguely remember bits of the film: befuddled mages, fire breathing, and unreasonable medieval politics, but it was mostly all a blur of a dark and dirty age. I awoke to the sound of my phone. It was Szandor, telling me he was leaving and would meet me at the bar. I was groggy, but I texted back that I'd be there soon. It was already nine and I had slept through most of the afternoon and evening. I pulled myself out of bed and microwaved a Hot Pocket as I changed into some halfway clean clothes. Then I groggily chewed on that Hot Pocket while I ran a brush through my hair. I turned to the mirror and grunted Good enough.
I didn't drive over to Southend. It was walkable even if it took half an hour, and I saw no reason to risk a DUI. Szandor and Lem were closer than I was, so they didn't need me to give them a ride. Dickie was around the corner from the bar, so I didn't expect him to show up until an hour or two after we got there. The day's rain had stopped and there was just a damp mist over the city, so I didn't even need an umbrella.
The name of the bar was the King's Crown, a name that seemed to be attempting to appeal to both bohemian Southenders and the working class from the east side neighborhoods, since it was right at the edge of Southend. I had never been there before, but if it was like many Southend bars, I expected the next time I was by this way it would be called something else - Southend bars were volatile in ownership, name, and style. You'd never find a solid and stable neighborhood bar in Southend unless the owner had deep pockets to survive the whims of trendsetters. Since King's Crown wasn't a dance club but just a bar, there was no line for entry tonight. Despite that, I did see my brother and Lem standing outside.
As soon as they saw me, their concerned faces became even more worried.
"Oh, hey, Mikkel," said Lem, nervously. "We were thinking we should go to another club."
"Why?" I said.
"The girls in this place are..." said Szandor, his hands up as if to stop me. "Well, they're not good tonight. We should go elsewhere. I called Dickie and he's going to tell us a better bar. When he wakes up. " Szandor rolled his eyes.
"How are the women 'not good'?" I asked. I was confused. That was just a strange thing to say. I'd expect Szandor to say they were ugly, that it was a sausage fest, or that he had already struck out with all the women. Saying this instead was weird. "I thought this was Dickie's favorite bar for seducing women."
"Yes, but not tonight. We should go somewhere else. And!" Szandor said with an abrupt suddenness that made the word almost its own exclamation. "And this club was severely lacking in men for Lem. We discovered that this
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