Out of Time 01 - Out of Time

into Eugene with vicious blows. All sense of purpose was gone, only blind rage remained. All his pent up frustration was unleashed in each strike. He pinned Eugene to the floor and pummeled into him. His hard fist mashed into the man’s soft face. Eugene cried out for mercy, but Simon didn’t care. He gripped the man’s shirt front and hit and hit and hit.
    All thoughts of pity had evaporated in the heat and the unquenchable anger. It wasn’t Eugene he was hitting, but King. In his mind, all he could see was that swarthy bastard’s face, smirking at his helplessness. Eugene couldn’t fight back, all he could do was try to fend off the blows.
    Roy recovered from the blow to his head and pushed the broken table to the side. He jumped up, grabbing Simon by the collar of his coat, and pulled him to his feet.
    Elizabeth tried to intervene, but Roy swatted her aside like an annoying housefly. A kid in a man’s body—twice as strong as he was smart—he spun Simon around and cracked him hard on the chin. Simon tried to find where Elizabeth had gone, but the world dimmed. Like in an old fashioned movie, his vision tunneled, a circle of light fighting against the fade to black. Desperate to find her, he tried to push away the encroaching darkness.
    He stumbled and grabbed onto to whatever he could, then opened his eyes to see Jimmy’s grinning face. The prospect of a good fight (a good fight being one where they outnumbered the other guy three to one) pushed all worries of his flattened nose aside, and he punched Simon in the gut. Bile rose in Simon’s throat as his diaphragm did its level best to fly out of his mouth. He gasped for air, but his chest burned like he’d been skewered with a fiery poker.
    Elizabeth scrambled to her feet and grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder. Cocking her arm, she lunged into the punch. Her father’s advice rang in her ears. Keep your wrist tight! Don’t tuck your thumb in! Turn your hand over right before your arm extends!
    Her tiny fist smashed into Jimmy’s head right under the temple. Her knuckles popped as the tendons stretched and snapped back like rubber bands. It hurt like hell, but she set her feet and was about to throw another punch when, out of nowhere, Lester stepped in.
    A blow to the temple was an E ticket ride to what boxers called queer street. Lester took him the rest of the way.
    Without missing a beat, Lester grabbed Elizabeth by the arms, picked her up and set her aside. She was about to step back into the melee when another set of strong hands clamped around her arms.
    “Let him do his job,” Charlie said.
    Elizabeth struggled in his grip and watched as the bouncer did what he did best—bounced.
    Roy had picked up a chair and raised it over his head to finish Simon off, but Lester was too fast. He lunged forward and slugged Roy with a swift, straight right. Roy stumbled and dropped the chair. Lester delivered a quick one-two combination and Roy crumpled to the floor.
    As quickly as it had started, the fight was over.
    Jimmy lay unconscious, his broken nose oozing blood, Eugene, long since having given up, sat huddled on the floor, and Roy had enough sense left in his head to know when to call it quits. He was no match for Lester and he knew it. Everyone knew it. “Just havin’ a little fun.”
    “Get your boys and get out,” Lester said. “Or would ya like me to show ya the door? Up close and personal like?”
    Roy flushed and finally shook his head.
    Simon staggered to his feet as Roy brushed past. He started forward, but Lester put a strong hand on his shoulder. “S’all over, Professor,” he said. “Sorry it took me so long. A few others tried to join in.”
    Simon shrugged out of his grip, the searing pain in his back slowly subsiding.
    “Come on, Jimmy,” Roy said, as he slapped him back to consciousness.
    As Eugene crawled across the floor to his side, Jimmy came back around. He looked up again, only to see Simon glaring down at him. Cutting his losses, he blearily got to his feet. Lester stepped forward and escorted the trio to the door.
    Charlie let go of Elizabeth and turned to the rest of the bar. “All right. Show’s over. Club’s closed.”
    The patrons buzzed with the excitement of the fight and reluctantly made their way to the door. A few even stopped at the bar to even up tabs with Dix, who’d been hiding behind it.
    Elizabeth came to Simon’s side. “Are you all right?”
    He nodded, although it was clear from the pinched look