Chapter 1
MarkWarrior
Well-known member
Chapter 1
“Ow!” I muttered as my body ached and my muscles were sore. “Where the hell am I?” I looked around at my surroundings for a moment in shock and awe before patting myself down for any possible injuries.
“Alright, I don’t have any new holes, and I’m not bleeding from anywhere,” I observed as I checked the pockets of my gray cargo pants and the backpack on my back only to discover that I only had my wallet and some extra clothes on me before reaching to check the small of my back to make sure that my concealed carry was there.
“Well, I’m still armed, and I’ve got,” I opened my wallet to see that all of my cards were gone and all that was left was five hundred dollars in cash. “Well it’s not much, but hopefully I’ll make this work.” I moved out of sight of the main road to double-check the state of my weapon and the magazines that I had with me. The Sig P226 appeared to be functional, but without a firing range, I couldn’t test that. My magazines were both loaded and didn’t appear to have any issues so I concealed everything again and prepared to emerge from the alleyway.
“This isn’t Florida,” I said as I stepped out into the streets and heard a mixture of Midwestern accents intermixed with foreign ones. “Did I take a wrong turn and end up somewhere in Ohio when I wasn’t looking?” I muttered to myself as I walked down the street. Peering around at what appeared to be a decent-sized city with quite a few larger buildings in the distance.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I stopped a well-dressed businesswoman in order to ask for directions. “I seem to have somehow gotten on the wrong bus and have no clue where I ended up. Could you give me directions to a place where I could pick up a map and maybe a quick bite to eat?”
“Sure thing,” the woman looked me up and down before answering. “There’s a good burger place called Jacks Bar should you manage to find a map, and there’s a convenience store about a block south of here.”
“Thank you very much, ma’am,” I replied. “I’m Mark if you ever find me again.”
“Dr. Annete Birkin, I’ll be on my way now,” the pretty blond replied before taking off at a brisk pace.
“Thank you again!” I called out after her before making my way to the corner store that she had pointed out to me. “Where are your maps?” I asked the young gentleman at the counter before heading over to where he had pointed. “Thank you.”
“Raccoon City?” I asked myself. “Why does that sound familiar? Oh well,” I shrugged. “I’ve got to prioritize getting a place to stay and some food.” I found the place that had been recommended by Dr. Birkin and mapped out a route that I could take to get there.
“Alright, looks like a good hour or so to walk,” I muttered to myself as I checked my watch to see what time it was. “Assuming I’m in central time that puts me there around sevenish local time.”
–
–
I walked into the bar and grill and smiled at the ambiance. There were a couple of off-duty police officers and some other assorted bar-goers.
“What can I do you for?” The owner of the bar, Jack, asked me.
“Well, you got a menu I can take a look at?” I asked with a cheery smile on my face. “I was pointed in your direction for some decent grub.”
“Cindy!” Jack called out, attracting the waitress’ attention. “Can you get this man a menu and whatever his poison of choice is?”
“On it!” Cindy replied as she artfully maneuvered through the somewhat busy bar and grill. “Here you go,” She said as she handed me a menu. “I’ll be right back to take your drink order.”
“Take your time,” I replied as I moved to a recently vacated table where I could see the main entrance and the windows. “I’m not in any rush.”
I looked down at the menu and saw what was essentially common bar fare, with a fair amount of burgers and other assorted American staples.
“All right, what can I get for you?” Cindy asked as she came back with a notepad and a pen.
“I’ll take the Bacon cheeseburger,” I replied. “Medium rare, and no onions, pickles, or lettuce, please. What beer do you have on tap?”
“We have Guinness, and a couple of other brands, but we do have an assortment of bottles on hand if you have a preference,” Cindy replied. “It’ll cost you a bit more though.”
“I’ll take a couple pints of Guinness,” I replied. “And I’ll take some mozzarella sticks as an appetizer.”
“I’ll be right back with your drink,” Cindy smiled and then was off to the races getting my order to Will, the cook on hand for the evening.
“You must be new in town,” A deep voice spoke up as a trio of people came up to the table that I was sitting at. “And you stole our table.”
“It’s a free country,” I replied to the three off-duty LEO members. “And, there do happen to be three free seats should you want them.”
“Thanks,” the burly man replied. “We just finished our paperwork slots for the evening and are ready to chow down.”
“I’m Mark,” I stood up for a minute to introduce myself. “And you three are?”
“I’m Chris, the brawn” the biggest member introduced himself with a firm handshake. “That’s Jill, the beauty, and Barry, the brains,” Chris grinned as the two of them nodded.
“Don’t let muscles over here fool you,” Jill laughed as she sat down to my left. “He’s got plenty of smarts that he puts to use when he wants to.”
“And I’m not the brains,” Barry laughed. “I’m just the family man here.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet the three of you,” I replied and smiled when Cindy returned with my beer and mozzarella sticks. “Thank you, Cindy!” I smiled at the waitress again. “I haven’t eaten in hours.” I took a sip of my beer and slapped Jill’s hand away when she tried to sneak one of my cheese sticks.
“What can I get the three of you?” Cindy asked the trio.
“Just the usual for me,” Jill replied.
“Ditto/Same,” Barry and Chris spoke up at the same time.
“Alright then, I’ll be back with them in a bit,” Cindy responded before leaving to go attend to other guests.
“Unless you have paid for them you cannot have them,” I told the brunette. “These are mine, and I don’t recall you being here when I ordered them either.”
“Fine,” Jill laughed. “What are you doing in Raccoon city anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.” She then shrugged. “Admittedly though, that’s not that hard to accomplish, I’ve only been here for around six months or so myself.”
“We’re all a little new in town,” Chris laughed. “Got recruited for the local SWAT equivalent.”
“Well, I think I boarded the wrong bus,” I replied. “Because I went to sleep headed for West Palm Beach, and ended up here.”
“Damn!” Barry laughed at me. “Florida is a long way away, how’d you sleep through that much driving?”
“Beats me,” I shrugged as I ate another mozzarella stick. “I’m just happy that no one decided to steal my IDs or cash.”
“You serve?” Barry asked, taking note of what I was wearing and the look I had cultivated.
“Nah,” I replied with a frown. “I tried to join the Navy, but an eye injury prevented me from being able to join.” I shrugged. “Went private security instead, worked with a bunch of good operators though.”
“Was it a good gig?” Chris asked. “I’ve heard that some contractors do some serious deniable ops.”
“The pay was good,” I took a sip of my beer. “But I got let go because of politics and ended up drifting for a bit.”
“Well, there’s a decent motel down the street if you’re looking for a place to stay,” Jill told me as my food and their drinks arrived. “Price isn’t bad and there are a couple of decent job opportunities if you’re looking for work in the city.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be staying in Raccoon City for the long term,” I replied after swallowing down a mouthful of my burger. “But I’ll look into it should my stay be longer than expected.”
“Well, we’re around if you need us,” Chris said as he took a sip of his beer. “I’ve got the card around here somewhere,” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card that said STARS on it. “Here’s our office number and the email address if you need to reach any of us.”
“Thanks,” I replied with a smile. “But I think I’ll handle any trouble that comes my way on my own.”
“Have it your way,” Chris said as he left the card on the table and continued to drink his beer.
“I’m not going to go looking for trouble,” I told him bluntly. “But I won’t back down from it should it come my way either,” I took another sip of my beer before snagging a couple of fries to eat.
“Well, you look like you can handle yourself,” Jill told me, “But I’d watch out for thieves and pickpockets,” She smirked mischievously.
“Oh, like you?” I asked as I held out my hand for the watch she had taken off of my wrist. “And I would like my wallet back as well.”
“Spoilsport,” Jill pouted. “Most people don’t notice until they’re about to leave.”
“I need the money to tip the nice lady who is bringing your food,” I said as I nodded towards Cindy, who was indeed bringing their food to the table.
“Jill, did you have a street address for that motel?” I asked once Cindy had brought their food and had topped off my beer.
“Yeah, you got a map?”
“Yep,” I brought out the map that I had folded up and placed inside of my jacket pocket alongside the pen that I had. “Care to show me where it is?”
“Right here,” She circled it. “It’s about a thirty-minute walk from here though.”
“That’s fine,” I replied as I finished the last of my burger and fries before downing the last of my beer. “It was a pleasure meeting y’all, I’ll be seeing you around.” I stood up and made my way to Cindy. “Here,” I handed her one of my hundred dollar bills. “This is for the meal, and you can keep the rest of the change as a tip.”
“Thank you,” Cindy told me with a slightly shocked expression.
“Have a good night, thank you for the good service,” I replied before making my way out of the bar and heading for the motel in order to bed down for the night.”
“Ow!” I muttered as my body ached and my muscles were sore. “Where the hell am I?” I looked around at my surroundings for a moment in shock and awe before patting myself down for any possible injuries.
“Alright, I don’t have any new holes, and I’m not bleeding from anywhere,” I observed as I checked the pockets of my gray cargo pants and the backpack on my back only to discover that I only had my wallet and some extra clothes on me before reaching to check the small of my back to make sure that my concealed carry was there.
“Well, I’m still armed, and I’ve got,” I opened my wallet to see that all of my cards were gone and all that was left was five hundred dollars in cash. “Well it’s not much, but hopefully I’ll make this work.” I moved out of sight of the main road to double-check the state of my weapon and the magazines that I had with me. The Sig P226 appeared to be functional, but without a firing range, I couldn’t test that. My magazines were both loaded and didn’t appear to have any issues so I concealed everything again and prepared to emerge from the alleyway.
“This isn’t Florida,” I said as I stepped out into the streets and heard a mixture of Midwestern accents intermixed with foreign ones. “Did I take a wrong turn and end up somewhere in Ohio when I wasn’t looking?” I muttered to myself as I walked down the street. Peering around at what appeared to be a decent-sized city with quite a few larger buildings in the distance.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I stopped a well-dressed businesswoman in order to ask for directions. “I seem to have somehow gotten on the wrong bus and have no clue where I ended up. Could you give me directions to a place where I could pick up a map and maybe a quick bite to eat?”
“Sure thing,” the woman looked me up and down before answering. “There’s a good burger place called Jacks Bar should you manage to find a map, and there’s a convenience store about a block south of here.”
“Thank you very much, ma’am,” I replied. “I’m Mark if you ever find me again.”
“Dr. Annete Birkin, I’ll be on my way now,” the pretty blond replied before taking off at a brisk pace.
“Thank you again!” I called out after her before making my way to the corner store that she had pointed out to me. “Where are your maps?” I asked the young gentleman at the counter before heading over to where he had pointed. “Thank you.”
“Raccoon City?” I asked myself. “Why does that sound familiar? Oh well,” I shrugged. “I’ve got to prioritize getting a place to stay and some food.” I found the place that had been recommended by Dr. Birkin and mapped out a route that I could take to get there.
“Alright, looks like a good hour or so to walk,” I muttered to myself as I checked my watch to see what time it was. “Assuming I’m in central time that puts me there around sevenish local time.”
–
–
I walked into the bar and grill and smiled at the ambiance. There were a couple of off-duty police officers and some other assorted bar-goers.
“What can I do you for?” The owner of the bar, Jack, asked me.
“Well, you got a menu I can take a look at?” I asked with a cheery smile on my face. “I was pointed in your direction for some decent grub.”
“Cindy!” Jack called out, attracting the waitress’ attention. “Can you get this man a menu and whatever his poison of choice is?”
“On it!” Cindy replied as she artfully maneuvered through the somewhat busy bar and grill. “Here you go,” She said as she handed me a menu. “I’ll be right back to take your drink order.”
“Take your time,” I replied as I moved to a recently vacated table where I could see the main entrance and the windows. “I’m not in any rush.”
I looked down at the menu and saw what was essentially common bar fare, with a fair amount of burgers and other assorted American staples.
“All right, what can I get for you?” Cindy asked as she came back with a notepad and a pen.
“I’ll take the Bacon cheeseburger,” I replied. “Medium rare, and no onions, pickles, or lettuce, please. What beer do you have on tap?”
“We have Guinness, and a couple of other brands, but we do have an assortment of bottles on hand if you have a preference,” Cindy replied. “It’ll cost you a bit more though.”
“I’ll take a couple pints of Guinness,” I replied. “And I’ll take some mozzarella sticks as an appetizer.”
“I’ll be right back with your drink,” Cindy smiled and then was off to the races getting my order to Will, the cook on hand for the evening.
“You must be new in town,” A deep voice spoke up as a trio of people came up to the table that I was sitting at. “And you stole our table.”
“It’s a free country,” I replied to the three off-duty LEO members. “And, there do happen to be three free seats should you want them.”
“Thanks,” the burly man replied. “We just finished our paperwork slots for the evening and are ready to chow down.”
“I’m Mark,” I stood up for a minute to introduce myself. “And you three are?”
“I’m Chris, the brawn” the biggest member introduced himself with a firm handshake. “That’s Jill, the beauty, and Barry, the brains,” Chris grinned as the two of them nodded.
“Don’t let muscles over here fool you,” Jill laughed as she sat down to my left. “He’s got plenty of smarts that he puts to use when he wants to.”
“And I’m not the brains,” Barry laughed. “I’m just the family man here.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet the three of you,” I replied and smiled when Cindy returned with my beer and mozzarella sticks. “Thank you, Cindy!” I smiled at the waitress again. “I haven’t eaten in hours.” I took a sip of my beer and slapped Jill’s hand away when she tried to sneak one of my cheese sticks.
“What can I get the three of you?” Cindy asked the trio.
“Just the usual for me,” Jill replied.
“Ditto/Same,” Barry and Chris spoke up at the same time.
“Alright then, I’ll be back with them in a bit,” Cindy responded before leaving to go attend to other guests.
“Unless you have paid for them you cannot have them,” I told the brunette. “These are mine, and I don’t recall you being here when I ordered them either.”
“Fine,” Jill laughed. “What are you doing in Raccoon city anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.” She then shrugged. “Admittedly though, that’s not that hard to accomplish, I’ve only been here for around six months or so myself.”
“We’re all a little new in town,” Chris laughed. “Got recruited for the local SWAT equivalent.”
“Well, I think I boarded the wrong bus,” I replied. “Because I went to sleep headed for West Palm Beach, and ended up here.”
“Damn!” Barry laughed at me. “Florida is a long way away, how’d you sleep through that much driving?”
“Beats me,” I shrugged as I ate another mozzarella stick. “I’m just happy that no one decided to steal my IDs or cash.”
“You serve?” Barry asked, taking note of what I was wearing and the look I had cultivated.
“Nah,” I replied with a frown. “I tried to join the Navy, but an eye injury prevented me from being able to join.” I shrugged. “Went private security instead, worked with a bunch of good operators though.”
“Was it a good gig?” Chris asked. “I’ve heard that some contractors do some serious deniable ops.”
“The pay was good,” I took a sip of my beer. “But I got let go because of politics and ended up drifting for a bit.”
“Well, there’s a decent motel down the street if you’re looking for a place to stay,” Jill told me as my food and their drinks arrived. “Price isn’t bad and there are a couple of decent job opportunities if you’re looking for work in the city.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be staying in Raccoon City for the long term,” I replied after swallowing down a mouthful of my burger. “But I’ll look into it should my stay be longer than expected.”
“Well, we’re around if you need us,” Chris said as he took a sip of his beer. “I’ve got the card around here somewhere,” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card that said STARS on it. “Here’s our office number and the email address if you need to reach any of us.”
“Thanks,” I replied with a smile. “But I think I’ll handle any trouble that comes my way on my own.”
“Have it your way,” Chris said as he left the card on the table and continued to drink his beer.
“I’m not going to go looking for trouble,” I told him bluntly. “But I won’t back down from it should it come my way either,” I took another sip of my beer before snagging a couple of fries to eat.
“Well, you look like you can handle yourself,” Jill told me, “But I’d watch out for thieves and pickpockets,” She smirked mischievously.
“Oh, like you?” I asked as I held out my hand for the watch she had taken off of my wrist. “And I would like my wallet back as well.”
“Spoilsport,” Jill pouted. “Most people don’t notice until they’re about to leave.”
“I need the money to tip the nice lady who is bringing your food,” I said as I nodded towards Cindy, who was indeed bringing their food to the table.
“Jill, did you have a street address for that motel?” I asked once Cindy had brought their food and had topped off my beer.
“Yeah, you got a map?”
“Yep,” I brought out the map that I had folded up and placed inside of my jacket pocket alongside the pen that I had. “Care to show me where it is?”
“Right here,” She circled it. “It’s about a thirty-minute walk from here though.”
“That’s fine,” I replied as I finished the last of my burger and fries before downing the last of my beer. “It was a pleasure meeting y’all, I’ll be seeing you around.” I stood up and made my way to Cindy. “Here,” I handed her one of my hundred dollar bills. “This is for the meal, and you can keep the rest of the change as a tip.”
“Thank you,” Cindy told me with a slightly shocked expression.
“Have a good night, thank you for the good service,” I replied before making my way out of the bar and heading for the motel in order to bed down for the night.”