An Eye for an Eye

An Eye for an Eye

Disclaimer: Mine.

A/N: Sorry for the very long delay between updates. I had a lot going on in my life but I will try to be more regular in updating from now on.

***

Wylder’s Bar and Grille was as good a place to eat as any, Brian decided. He had seen advertisements for the restaurant chain on the TV in the rec room at prison. Once inside the door, Brian lifted his head and sniffed the aromas that filled the dining room. It had been so long since he’d had real food, he’d forgotten what it smelled like.

“Smoking or non-smoking?”

“Huh?” Brian turned his head and looked at the pretty hostess who had a menu in her hand.

“Oh. Non-smoking, please.”

“Come right this way, sir,” she said, her wide mouth curved up in a pleasant smile.

While she led the way to the table, Brian noticed that her figure was a little chunky but she had a pleasant swing to her hips as she walked. Judging by her face, she was not what a man would call gorgeous but she had her own type of beauty—there was a generous sprinkling of freckles over her nose and she had a gap between her front teeth but there was an honesty to her personality that made up for her lack of beauty.

When they got to a table, he noticed that she cocked her head and looked at him. “You look familiar somehow.”

“I guess I just have one of those faces. What’s your name?”

“Jessica,” she replied, her eyes twinkling as she pointed to her name badge that was above her left breast. “I haven’t been here very long so that makes us even I guess. I’ll be back to take your order.” She placed the menu on the table and walked away.

Brian had wanted her to stay longer and talk but she had other tables to serve. He had been starved of the company of a woman for two years and being this close to a pretty and friendly one like his waitress was intoxicating.

He picked up his menu and looked it over. There were so many choices; how could he make up his mind? However, there was no rush. Brian glanced over the crowded dining room, sighting his server as she weaved her way in and out of the crowd, taking plates from this table, then hurrying to deliver a meal to that one. He glanced at the menu again then made up his mind: onion rings, a cheeseburger with extra bacon, and a baked potato with extra butter.

His order came but instead of the onion rings, he had been given fries. Brian thought about bringing it to Jessica’s attention but decided not to. From what he could tell, Jessica was trying very hard to do her job well but was finding it difficult to juggle her assorted duties. Watching her was like watching an acrobat trying to spin ten plates at the same time. One wrong move and everything crashed around her. He decided to leave things as they were. As Brian ate his meal, he couldn’t help overhearing the patrons of an adjoining table comment on Jessica’s service.

“Stupid cow fucked up our orders. You were supposed to get the steak and I was supposed to get the ribs.”

His companion chuckled. “At least she got the orders to our table. C’mon, let’s eat, I’m hungry.”

A little while later, Brian’s face tensed as he saw the fat man wink at his friend before he reached down and pinched Jessica’s butt. Shocked, she straightened up abruptly, and in so doing, knocked the beer glass over and it spilled onto the floor.

“Are you fucking stupid? Look what you did!”

“I—I’m sorry, sir. I’ll get a cloth and clean that right up.” Jessica grabbed a napkin and knelt on the floor, trying to sop up the liquid before it seeped into the carpet. It was bad enough it was beer—if you didn’t get it out as soon as possible, the whole carpet would stink and have to be steam cleaned. Again. And the last time she had spilt something on it, her boss told her the cost would come out of her paycheck. Tears came to her eyes as she thought of the consequences. She barely made enough in tips, let alone her regular wages to pay for something like that and the last thing she wanted was to go home and admit she was a failure. Again.

“Damn right you will!” her customer snarled. “How they ever sunk so low as to hire you is beyond me!”

Without realizing what he was doing, Brian got up and walked over to the table. “Is there a problem here?”

The man looked him up and down. “What’s it to ya?”

“I think you’d better apologize to the lady. She was only doing her best.”

“Why the hell should I say I’m sorry? She fucked up my order!”

Brian bristled in anger. The man was talking about Jessica as if she wasn’t there. “Well, she messed up mine too but you don’t see me whining about it, do you?”

“Well, if she couldn’t do something as simple as pouring a beer, she shouldn’t work here.”

“She wouldn’t have spilled it if you hadn't pinched her ass, jerkoff. I saw you. Besides, if you don’t like the service, why do you keep coming back?” Brian reached into his pocket, pulled out some bills, and threw them on the table. “Your meal is paid for. Get the hell out. Now.”

The man opened his mouth to protest but thought twice about it. He outweighed the skinny little punk by at least forty pounds and could probably pound him into a bloody smudge on the floor but there was an expression in the kid’s eyes that was frightening.

“Are you all right?” Brian asked when both men had gone. He knelt down and gave Jessica more napkins. With the aid of water from the men’s drinking glasses, the mess was cleaned up. “I think we got it all, don’t you?”

“Thanks,” she replied and wiped her eyes with her hand.

Brian grinned. “No problem. I’d like to see those bastards stand in your shoes for five minutes. Then they’d know how hard a job like yours really is.” He handed her a clean napkin. “It’s a little wrinkled, but this one is for you, not the floor.”

“Jess, what is going on here?” A woman’s curt voice came from above them. “Get up off the floor.”

“Christ, its Mary,” Jessica muttered. “I’m in trouble now.”

Brian got to his feet and helped Jessica stand up. He nodded and introduced himself, stating what had happened. “So you see, it wasn’t Jessica’s fault that the beer was spilled. I hope you won’t punish her or anything, will you?”

His straightforward manner and boyish good looks disarmed the older woman. She pondered the situation before making her decision. “I was going to fire you, Jess, but I won’t. I see now that it would have been unfair to you if I had done so. You still have a job here but please don’t mess up anymore, will you?”

Jessica nodded enthusiastically. She still had a job! She glanced over at Brian. “I get off in an hour.”

“I’ll get a beer and wait for you to finish your shift, and then I’ll walk you home. How does that sound?”

***

“So tell me, Brian,” Jessica said once they were on their way, “what’s your story?” They were outside the restaurant and in no hurry to go anywhere. Jessica had protested when Brian insisted on walking her home. Once she knew that he wasn’t going to relent in his determination, they started on their way.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not good but I’ll tell you if you want. I’d rather not, but I won't lie to you.” He glanced at the young woman at his side but it was dark and he couldn’t see her face. Brian would have given anything not to tell her about his past—not many people like to be around convicts.

“Tell me. Please?”

“I just got out of prison.”

“What were you in for?”

“Murder and rape. But I was innocent.” He waited but Jessica made no move to run away. More importantly, she didn’t scream.

“How long were you in jail?”

“Two years.” He heard her sigh sadly in the darkness. “What?”

“Brian, remember in the restaurant I thought I’d seen you before? It took me a while but I remember your case. We studied it in school in my Sociology class.”

“What were you taking—Trailer Trash Who Get Screwed by the System?”

“No,” Jessica said, her voice soft. “It was pure injustice. If I recall, you were framed. It wasn’t your fault. But you’re free now. You can put all that behind you.”

“Right,” Brian sneered, unable to help himself. He felt the grief and anger from the last two years surge through him. It came out in a rush and he couldn’t stop himself. “And two years of my life were taken from me. Two years! Do you have any idea what I went through?” He felt her hand on his arm and by an unspoken mutual consent, they stopped walking.

“You’re right. I don’t know and I probably will never know. But you can’t let it affect the rest of your life. Let it go.”

“I can’t forget what happened to me in there! For two years, I couldn’t close my eyes at night without wondering if my cellmate was gonna…Damn it!” He felt tears well up in his eyes. What was happening to him? Why was he acting like a hysterical woman? No, he couldn’t tell her. It wouldn’t be fair to burden her with his memories simply because he didn’t have anyone to confide in. What would she think of him? They had only just met!

If she knew what he went through, she’d run from him and he’d never see her again. But, then again, maybe it would be better if that happened. He still had a job to do: he had to make Granger pay. And that was not something she could be a part of. When his job was done and he’d destroyed the cop who had destroyed his life, then maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to tell Jessica everything. Now was not that time.

“I’ll walk you home but after that, just forget about me. I’m not worth it. Besides, aren’t you forgetting something? I just got out of prison. I haven’t been with a woman in a long time. A guy can only take so much. Something bad might happen to you.”

“Brian, I know I don’t know you very well, but I think you aren’t capable of hurting me or anyone else. I can’t forget that you stood up for me. Right out of the blue, you told that jerk off. I didn’t ask you to. You did it because no matter what happened to you in that hellhole, you are a good man. Whoever hurt you did not kill the real you.”

He watched as she went up the walkway to her front door. He was surprised to see her turn around and wave. He returned the gesture, his heart sinking at the thought of not seeing her again.

When it was time to put his plan against Granger, he couldn’t afford to let his concentration slip for one second. While it was pleasant to think about what could happen with Jessica, Brian knew he couldn’t afford to let that happen. She was a good girl and if her house was any indication, she was too far up the social scale to become involved with him. She was an uptown girl who lived in a three-story Edwardian house with a BMW in the driveway, while he was an ex-convict with a prison record who lived in a boarding house with paper-thin walls. They came from two entirely different worlds.

He squared his thin shoulders and began the long walk back to the only place he could call home, a plan for the destruction of Lieutenant Detective Max Granger was already forming in his mind.