Darren chugged down the last of his ale then pushed the empty glass across the countertop.

"Top up, mate?" Joe asked.

Darren's gaze darted around the loud and busy bar, and he shook his head. "I might give it a miss tonight." He slid off the bar stool, reached into his back pocket, pulled out a five-dollar bill and shoved it into the tip jar.

Joe raised an eyebrow, Darren was usually too inebriated to remember to leave a tip behind.

"Haven't seen Stumpy in a few nights," Darren said as he took another look around.

Joe placed the empty glass into the half-full tray. "I think he's scarpered off to the Liberty pub over on Fernleaf."

"Hmmm... the Liberty you say... isn't that where Juliette and her bowling team now go?"

Joe's mouth set into a grim line. It was where all his old regulars now frequented. While his takings were up, he hated that the locals no longer felt comfortable in his pub. He preferred a Human punter over the new lot of Werewolves any day of the week. "Yep, we were getting a little too loud for them to have their team meetings."

Darren bit the inside of his lip and pushed his hands into his pocket. "Can't say I blame them. I hardly recognize anyone here these days..." He cleared his throat. "Well better go, Trudy will have dinner on the table."

Joe laughed. "Crickey, she won't know what hit her. You actually turning up for dinner on time, and not three sheets to the wind."

Darren waved, and Joe called out, "See ya tomorrow night."

Darren hesitated and turned back to the bar. "Ummm... I've got some stuff on so I might not be back for a while." He then gave Joe a nervous smile and scampered through the crowd and out the door.

Strewth! Another one.

Joe's jaw tightened, and he held back the desire to break something.

"You okay?" Marie asked. She placed a tray of empty glasses on the bar and made her way through the small trap door to stand next to him. Half of which were cracked.

"That was the last of my long-term regulars," he said, nodding towards the closed door. "Bradley and the rest of those fucking lunatics have scared away my best customers."

"They'll be back, you'll see," she said.

Joe reached for the tray of empty glasses and said, "I'm not so sure. Stay here, I'll be right back."

He headed to the kitchen to put a load through the commercial dishwasher. With the additional customers, hand washing was no longer an option. Bradley and the rest of Elise's converts had now pretty much taken up residence in his bar each night. The bully and the rest of his cohorts were supposed to be heading off down south for whatever bullshit Elise and her little army was up to. It turned out 'down south' was South Philadelphia.

One by one, his regular human customers, and the majority of his Werewolf ones, no longer frequented their previous home away from home. He had spent years building up his pub in the local community, only to see it destroyed overnight. Sure, the takings were up. But so too was the breakages. His insurance company was already bitching and moaning about his frequent claims.

"How did your hunt go today?" He asked Marie once he returned to the bar.

She handed a customer his drink and placed the money in the till. "Still nothing."

He had taken pity on the women and given her a part-time job while she searched for her missing mate. While she held out hope he would turn up, Joe wasn't as sure. It had been over two weeks and still no sign of him. However, he wasn't about to stress out a pregnant sheila, he'd heard enough horror stories to know better.

A small group headed to the bar for refills and Marie said, "I'll get this lot if you take care of the one at the end."

Joe headed to the far end of the bar where a new customer had just taken a seat. At first, he assumed the heavily tattooed and pierced woman was human, but as he drew close, he was surprised to discover just how wrong he'd been. "G'day. What can I get ya?"

The woman, part Asian, and part something else he couldn't put his finger on scanned the craft beer list on the board at the back of the bar. "A pint of Sly Fox."

Joe drew her a glass of the ale while keeping an eye on her. What's she up to? She was scanning the crowded pub while looking like she was pursuing the menu.

He slid a paper coaster across the bar and placed the beer on top. "Did you want to start a tab?"

She shook her head and slipped some money on the bar.

"New in town?" he asked when he handed her the change.

"What's it fucking to ya?"

Joe held his hands up. The woman definitely had an attitude. "Nothing, just making conversation." He wiped his hands on the towel over his shoulder. "How about we start over. I'm Joe and welcome to my little pub."

The woman warily sized him up. She eventually nodded and said, "Michele."

Michele took a sip of her beer. Her eyes missed nothing as she took a quick gander around the room. Something in the way she studied some of his punters made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He'd done this job long enough to know she was on the lookout for something or someone. Not that it was any of his business, but the bar was chocka, and he didn't fancy any more shenanigans tonight.

She pointed to the crowd. "You got some freak show convention going on."

Joe chuckled. "I wish, at least with a convention they go home at the end of the weekend. This lots like a blowfly. You can't get rid of them no matter how much you try, and they just shit everywhere."

"Well, with any fucking luck I will be," said Michele after she had taken another sip of her drink.

Joe raised an eyebrow and leaned his arms on the bar. She had attitude, something he liked in his women. "Where's home?"

"Iowa. Just in this rat-infested city for a job."

"Oh? What do you do?"

"I'm a Fugitive Recovery Agent."

Joe raised an eyebrow.

Michele let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "Bounty Hunter."

He stood up straight, and both eyebrows shot up. "Fair dinkum? A real live bounty hunter in my bar. Now that's one for the books." He leaned back down onto the bar. "You after anyone famous?"

"Na. Some motherfucker lowlife skipped bail in Kansas City, and I'm pretty sure he's hiding out somewhere in Philly."

He glanced over the bar and cast his eyes over her small, but very nice frame. "Where's the cuffs and gun?"

Michele snorted. "I chase down Humans for a living. You really think I need a fucking weapon for that?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders then winked. "Suppose not, but those cuffs sure do sound interesting."

Michele raised an eyebrow at him. "You wish dude."

Michele nodded towards the crowd. "So what's with this freak show? I heard that this was a local hangout for Were's, but this is a little twilight zone."

"The devil's come to town," Marie said. He'd been so focused on Michele he hadn't notice Marie had made her way over.

Joe froze and glanced around to make sure no one heard. "Shhh. I told you before. Keep your thoughts to yourself. There's enough gunpowder in here without you lighting the wick."

Marie made a face at him. She leaned closer to the bounty hunter and lowered her voice. "If you're not full-blooded, I'd keep it to yourself. There are some here that think themselves too good to sharing a drink with someone they consider below them. There's a new sheriff in town, and she's aiming to get rid of anything or anyone she considers trash."

Joe let out a groan and pulled Marie away. "Ignore my barmaid, she's pregnant. She says things she doesn't really mean." He turned to Marie and lowered his voice. "If you can't keep quiet, I'll have to send you home. I'm not going to risk world war three."

Marie threw her hands on her hips. "I don't know how you can take this so calmly." She then slipped her hands over her growing stomach and nodded in Bradley's direction. "That Neanderthal can't keep a secret to save himself. Anyone who doesn't fit her majesty's profile goes missing. On top of that, I'm pretty sure she's behind whatever happened to that pack in New York State."

Michele let out a snort, and Joe grimaced. Of course, she had heard Marie's outburst. "No wonder I want to be out of this dump in a fucking heartbeat. You are all batshit crazy."

Joe turned back to face Michele, trying to work out which way she fell on the now extremely volatile subject. Elise now had a tight rein on the city, and he wanted no part of the madness. He kept his thoughts to himself, poured their drinks, and that was it. Bloody Marie would be the death of him. Before he could work out what to say, Bradley headed in his direction and Joe broke out in a cold sweat.

Bradley slammed his glass on the countertop, and Joe winced. Another cracked glass. From now on he was going to have to serve the bully's drink in a tin mug. He'd be out of business before the end of the week at this rate.

"Top me up," Bradley bellowed across the counter. He glanced around the bar, and his gaze rested on Michele. His eyes narrowed, and he took a step nearer to her end of the room. From the sudden look of surprise, he hadn't expected her to be Were.

When sidled up next to her his gaze raked her up and down. "You got more tattoos?"

Michele leveled an unreadable stare at him then turned back to her beer. "What's it fucking to you?"

Bradley grinned. "Been thinking of getting me one. Just wanted to see if there was anything I liked." He pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill and threw it on the bar. "How about I buy you a drink, and we can get to know each other a little better."

Michele glanced at the note and raised an eyebrow. The movement was emphasized by the metal bar in her eyebrow. "Big spender I see."

He traced a finger down her arm and followed the path laid out by her tattoo. "Where have you been all my life sweet cheeks?"

Joe resisted the urge to gag. Marie, who was out of Bradley's line of vision pretended to throw up, and Joe cringed, hoping Bradley kept his focus on Michele. This was a classic Bradley the bully pick-up line. It never worked, so he wondered why the drongo even tried.

Michele cast a glance around the room. "Certainly not in this fucking dump of a town, that's for sure."

"Well, there's a lot more going on for it now. Things are changing."

"Yeah, well it can change into a fucking pink tutu for all I care. I'm tired of all the shitty rules that come with all the PC bullshit."

Joe froze, and his gaze snapped to Marie. Her face had lost all color. While Michele looked to be on the fringe, he hadn't expected her to have the same attitude as Elise and her little army of goons. Shit. Marie had said too much. Would the Bounty Hunter rat them out?

Bradley's chest puffed out. "Well, sweet cheeks times they are a changing. You are in the right place, and I am the right man to show you around the new order of things. I have a lot of sway with Alpha Lauzon if you know what I mean."

Michele let out a sarcastic laugh and held up her fingers and crossed her pointer over her middle finger. "Yeah, you and Elise are like that."

Bradley frowned and let out a low growl. "Are you calling me a liar?"

Joe tensed. This could turn bad in a heartbeat.

Michele swung her chair around and met his gaze head-on. "Did I fucking call you a liar? But you have to admit, Elise has more important things to do than bother with one of her foot soldiers." She glanced at her watch. "As much as I'd like to sit around and watch a bunch of dickwads drink, I have better things to do." She chugged down her beer, then pushed the empty across the countertop.

Bradley wasn't taking no for an answer. "You wound me. I'll have you know that I take my orders directly from Alpha Lauzon. In fact, it was her that gave my unit a chance to show her just how committed we are to the cause. She was very appreciative."

Michele ran her tongue over her lips and then bit her bottom lip seductively. "You don't say."

Joe groaned inwardly. His initial impression of the woman had been completely out of whack. She was one of those groupies that flocked to the bar and tried picking up a Were in a uniform. While technically not a uniform, the Sandalf crest on their idiotic baseball caps gave them the illusion they were part of an army.

Bradley pulled her up. "I've got a couple of people I think you should meet."

Joe scratched the back of his neck when Michele followed behind Bradley. He was confused. Something wasn't right.

"What's the matter?" said Marie.

He shook his head. "I have one superpower and one superpower only. And tonight, it failed me for the first time."

Marie giggled. "You're just pissed that Bradley got the girl you were interested in."

"No," Joe said then stopped himself. "Yes, but that's not the point. That bounty hunter is up to something."

Marie frowned and took another order. Once she was done, she asked, "Do you think she'll mention what I said to you?"

Joe studied the small bounty hunter with a big attitude and sighed. "Only time will tell."

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📎A/N. Well it looks like Michele agreed to go to Philly to get information for  Daniel and Parker.  And poor Joe, I think he was quite keen on Michele, only to be pipped at the post by Bradley.

I just hope she knows what she's doing.

Next chapter should be up late next weekend. Till then, take care and stay safe...

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