Chapter 3.

Tuscaloosa Maundy Thursday McHales Bar lunchtime

Even sheltering in the shade of the bar there was little relief from the stifling humidity outside. Finn O'Hanlon drew a hand across his brow as he made his way through the white shafts of sunlight that cut the lazy clouds of drifting cigarette smoke floating in front of him.

He was heading for a table next to the emergency exit at the far end of the tar-blackened, oak-panelled bar.

Finn sat with his back to the wall making sure he had a clear view of the entrance: force of habit from years of making quick getaways.

Two things to know: who's coming in and the quickest way out.

He scratched at his beard and involuntarily licked his lips in anticipation of a cold beer.

The waitress headed over.

She was attractive; looked a little out of place serving in a local joint like McHales.

'Hi, my name's Marie. You wanna order from me or at the bar?'

'Who's serving at the bar?' asked Finn.

'Me,' she replied, 'but I make more on tips if I serve you at your table.'

'I'll get you at the bar then,' said Finn, making to stand up.

'Okay, sit down smart-ass. But be warned, "no tip, no hurry". It's an ancient Chinese proverb,' she said with a genuine smile that told Finn she hadn't been completely screwed over by life yet. 'What can I get you?'

'The coldest beer you have in your fridge and a razor please.'

'Is the razor for your face or your wrists?'

'My legs,' he replied.

Marie smiled again.

'Any preference of beer?'

'As long as it's cold and it doesn't have the letters B, U or D anywhere near the label, I don't care, Marie,' said Finn.

'Where's your accent from . . . Scotland?'

She had an easy laid-back manner that Finn liked.

'Ireland,' he replied.

'Shoot, I was going to say Ireland. I knew it was one or the other. It's just a slight twang, but it's still there. My great-grandparents were from Limavady in the north . . . The Mathisons?' she said as a question, like Finn should know them.

'Protestants?' he found himself saying.

It was dumb, but he hadn't bargained on getting into a conversation.

'Who knows?' replied Marie with a shrug.

'Over there, it's essential to know what side of the denominational border your name lies on or you could end up dead.'

'Sounds a scream,' she replied. 'My grandfather helped build the first Presbyterian church there: one of its founder members. So I guess that makes them . . .' she paused, knowing she was going for the gag, 'Muslims.

'You living over here? continued Marie'

'Sort of,' replied Finn.

'Sort of whereabouts?'

'Up near Cottondale,' said Finn, being deliberately vague.

'If New York's the city that never sleeps, Cottondale's the town that never woke up. You do something to offend someone in a past life?'

Finn didn't answer the question.

'You new here?' he asked.

'Been working here for just over six months,' replied Marie. 'You a regular? Can't say I've noticed you before.'

'Been in a few times, but not regularly.'

'I love your accent. "Sort of" say something else.'

'I'm thirsty,' said Finn.

Marie caught that one square on.

'Oh sure! An ice-cold beer on its way. That's the first line of the Irish national anthem isn't it? Be back in a sec.' Marie threw the line over her shoulder as she headed back towards the cooler.

Finn liked McHales. He never went to the same bar on a regular basis and usually only ever stayed for one drink: two at the very most, but he was getting lax. The years spent looking over his shoulder were starting to give him neck ache.

There was a lot to be said for familiarity: it was much easier to spot something out of place. That's why Finn had broken his own rules and been to McHales a few times.

It smelled of stale alcohol and had a perpetual haze of cigarette smoke: a boon to a reformed smoker like himself. The red leatherette booths were cracked at the edges and the long curving bar top looked like it had been covered in red Formica some time in the early Fifties. Spilling a drink in McHales only added to its character.

It was one of the few places Finn could relax.

He needed to relax.

A few regulars sat on tall stools, leaning over their drinks: heads cranked round to watch a re-run of some vintage baseball match on a television that hung precariously from the wall above them. The game was old enough to be in black and white, but that didn't stop them behaving like it was live. They banged the bar with their fists and muttered abuse at the screen every time the opposition scored a home run.

The usual office crowd sat near the front window making more noise than was necessary and having far more fun than the occasion warranted; happy to let everyone else in the bar know they were enjoying the 'Good Friday feeling' a day too early.

That's when Finn noticed the two guys sitting at the table next to them.

A skinny black guy and an ugly-looking dude with slicked-back hair, and shades too dark to be wearing indoors.

The black guy seemed uncomfortable: just staring at the floor or into his beer.

The pair looked out of place and anything out of place made Finn uneasy. He made a mental note to ask Marie if she'd seen them before, even though he suspected he already knew the answer.

Marie arrived with a beer and started to pour just as the office workers let out another raucous laugh. 'Same in every country,' she said, 'mix a suit with some alcohol, you get an asshole.'

Finn couldn't help smiling.

'They've been here since lunchtime, drinking Bahias,' she continued. 'I've stopped putting alcohol in them, but they're too stoked to notice.'

Finn's eyes were on his beer: Marie had the angle of the glass all wrong. Before he could stop her, a large frothy head had formed, leaving just an inch of golden liquid at the bottom.

'You live in Cottondale, this one's on me,' she said, looking at Finn like she felt sorry for him.

'Am I supposed to drink that or use it for shaving my legs?' said Finn.

Marie laughed out loud. 'Sorry. The college I graduated from didn't teach "life skills". I'll bring you a newspaper to read while it settles down I'll bring you two, looks like it might take a while,' she continued. 'No razors either I'm afraid, but if you are contemplating suicide we've a shotgun behind the bar: it'd be messier, but it'd be over a lot quicker.'

'It's just an itchy beard.'

'Oh. Sure. Well if you change your mind let me know and I'll stick a couple in the barrel.'

'Don't look round when I ask you this, but the two guys sitting at the front door: they part of the furniture?'

'Never seen them before in my life, but the one with the Aviators thinks he's something: got a nasty bark. Kept staring at my ass like that's where I was speaking from. Didn't once look up to my face. First time ever, I considered talking out my ass could be a good thing. I could tell him what his chances were in a language he would understand.'

She was off again.

Finn followed her shapely, tanned legs as she headed towards the office workers' table with a tray full of impotent Happy Hour cocktails. In a way he could hardly blame the guy in the Aviators for staring too.

Finn watched the black guy stand up and shuffle out of the bar. The other guy stayed behind, leaning back in his seat giving the table of office workers a sideways glance.

Something wasn't right.

Finn tilted the glass slightly, poured in some more beer and waited patiently as the cool, golden rivulets ran down the inside, pulling some of the froth with it. He let it settle for a few more seconds before lifting it to his lips.

The first drink was always the best. Finn loved the cold fizz against the back of his throat: he looked forward to the initial wave of euphoria as the alcohol took hold and gently lulled the demons away.

But as Finn tilted his head back he caught a movement over to his left: the guy with the Aviators was on his feet pulling something from under his jacket.

Shouting now.

'Got a message from the boys back home, motherfucker!'

The guy was striding towards Finn, arm outstretched.

Finn was already on his feet: his wariness having given him a split-second advantage that could be the difference between living and dying.

Suddenly the air around him exploded.

Finn's glass of beer tumbled from his hand and caught on the edge of the table, flipping its contents in a large frothy arc over the booth.

He was halfway through the fire exit when the second shot slammed into the wall beside him.

Almost immediately another burst the doorframe just above his head and a fourth seared across the top of his shoulder.

The shots were so loud it was like the guy was holding the gun right next to Finn's head.

Finn sprinted down the alleyway at the rear of the building: his ears ringing, muting the everyday sounds of the street and turning the ordinary surreal.

A muzzle flash from up ahead sent him diving headlong over the bonnet of a parked car and crashing heavily to the ground on the other side.

The black guy he'd seen in the bar just a few minutes earlier was firing at him from the other end of the alley.

They must have been following him, watching his movements, waiting for him to drop his guard. But how could they have found him, how could they have known where to look, unless . . .

The windscreen above disintegrated, showering him in tiny shards of glass.

Finn was up on his feet heading back towards the fire exit when another bullet whistled past him and thudded into the wall, bursting the brickwork only inches from his face.

Just at that moment the guy in the Aviators appeared at the fire exit; his Magnum raised, ready to loose off another round.

Finn had nowhere to turn, nowhere to take cover.

He sprinted forward, covering the short distance to the fire exit in an instant, then launched himself at the guy's outstretched arm with a flying kick.

As Cola Conrado moved instinctively to block, Finn's foot caught him full in the chest, knocking him winded to the floor. Finn tried to scramble over him, but a large hand grabbed him by the ankle in a tight grip and started to pull him over: trying to topple him onto the ground.

Finn rained punches down on the guy's head as he struggled desperately to stay on his feet, but he couldn't break free. He was going down.

With a final desperate effort Finn lunged forward and grabbed hold of a fire extinguisher hanging from the wall.

As his legs buckled under him he managed to pull the extinguisher from its mounting and spin his upper body round, slamming the folded-steel base of the canister down with all his strength.

The hard rim struck the guy's face with a sickening thud.

Cola Conrado's grip relaxed instantly; enough for Finn to pull his leg free, but the fight wasn't over.