#gunslingerkennex

John watched the video and started laughing. He hadn’t been that drunk. But He’d been drunk enough to cause a problem. His dad was going to find it hilarious, but his uncle was going to want to punish him…

[text]Okay, I was pretty drunk. But that was hilarious.

[text]Do it again tonight? You do the kicking.

John entered the hotel in search of a burglary suspect that had run inside. He’d been knocking on doors for the last several minutes, becoming more and more disillusioned that he’d find the guy he was looking for. This was the last room in the hallway, before he’d give up and go to the counter and ask to review security footage.

So, he knocked on the door with a heavy hand. He ran that same hand through his short hair, sighing heavily. He didn’t know what he was doing, and should have called for back-up before going in.

John straightened up when the door was opened. He cleared his throat quickly, and swept his eyes up from the floor, realizing very suddenly that he had made a horrible mistake. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am… Have you seen…?”

When his eyes fell on Charlie’s face, he wasn’t sure what to think. He hadn’t gotten up the nerve to ask her out on a date, and he hadn’t told her what station he was from… But here she was, dressed in the sexiest lingerie he’d ever seen… But she was the beautiful woman he’d met at the opera. Why was she here? “Charlie…?”

There was so much confusion on his face that he didn’t know how to respond to her, nor why she was apologizing to him. His suspect was immediately forgotten while his brain tried to process what was going on here in front of him. “Charlie, why are you here?”

Charlie forced herself to take a deep breath before she could start crying. Crying wasn’t going to help anyone. 

“My friend’s daughter is in the hospital. Bar tending has great tips, but I needed something else to help with the bills. I swore I’d never go back to this life, but it’s all I know how to do, and I don’t have enough time to get a better-paying job. This child needs the money now. 

Me: This is exactly the kind of thing Sandra warned her against her whole life

Mary: Omg Charlie, no

The angel appeared suddenly behind the person he deemed to have ill-intent toward the young woman he’d been set to watch. He had no idea who this person was, only that they appeared to wish harm on her.  He was visible to his charge now, a dark expression on his gaunt face.

John lifted a hand and quickly clamped it down on the man’s head. He summoned his Heavenly power, causing the person’s eyes and mouth to glow brightly with the smiting that occurred from his iron grip. Once the glow had gone, John released the head, allowing the body to fall to the ground.

He stepped closer to the young woman, assessing her for injuries and other signs of trauma. “Are you hurt?” he asked calmly, his voice deep and ancient, filled with purpose and a strong sense of self.

Charlie gaped up at him, shocked at the display. She’d known John since she was a child, but she’d never seen him kill before. At least, not that she could remember. The young woman shook her head, but she folded her arms around herself and stepped back instinctively. 

John laid still once the shooting stopped. He’d long since learned that playing dead in an active-shooter situation was the way to keep himself safe. He tried to look natural while listening to everything in the sudden deafening silence. He had no idea how many of his friends and coworkers were dead. And what about his partner…?

How many were doing what he had and just waiting for the gunmen to leave? The whisper of his name was almost too good to be true. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the thought that someone else had survived. But he recognized that it was his captain. “Sandra…?” he asked in a hoarse whisper, slowly turning his head as if his body was just slumping. “Are they gone?”

“Yeah, they’re gone. At least, I assume so since I’m not dead,” she whispered back, worried someone might hear her anyway. “So far, we’re the only two survivors. How bad are you hurt?”

John’s body tensed instinctively at the rage he felt from the woman. He’d known she would react this way. there was no way she could do anything else. He had lost her daughter, she’d been taken on his watch, and he’d been powerless to do anything about it, or get her back without telling anyone.

“Okay… Okay… We’ll go there now.” The man swallowed nervously and released her hands. He stepped back and turned to lead her out to the car so they could race back to the city he’d just come home from. He’d already informed his dad about the situation, and they had eyes on it… But… damn it…

They got into the car, and after Sandra buckled up, she relaxed slightly. The woman turned to cousin and made sure he had eye contact with her before she said,

The taller man came into the room carrying a couple cups of coffee. It’d been a week since they’d managed to retrieve the girl from the monster that had taken her. A monster that was known to their family, but still…

John couldn’t do anything for the girl they’d lost for a few years. He just had to spin his wheels until she was able to come around on her own. She’d been sleeping for much of the time, but at least nothing seemed physically wrong with her.

“Sandra… How long are you going to sit here? A watched pot never boils, right?” He tried to inject a bit of humor into the situation, that being the only way to keep himself from breaking down and beating himself up further for not being able to protect his little niece. “Come on. I found us a job. Well, dad found the job, but he wants us to go out and do it.”

Despite offering the work, John sat down beside his cousin and leaned over to nudge her with his shoulder. He sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair for now. “She’s going to be okay. No matter what that demon did.”

“As long as she needs me to,” Sandra replied, not moving an inch. “I’m not taking the job. Uncle Dean means well, but he’s not distracting me, not when we’ve finally gotten her back.” 

She turned to John, looking more haggard than he had ever seen her.