Miss Brook

It was a damp and dreary night in the tavern in which young miss Brook resided. It had been raining for a whole three days and the streets were damp, so the tavern was filled with only a few regulars and a drunken young couple kissing in a corner. Miss Brook, a sixteen year old girl who came to this tavern only for shelter and the comfort of others, was sitting in her usual place three tables back and two tables over from the door with a book and a warm coke.
As Miss Brook was gathering her things and getting ready to leave, a mysterious man walked through the tavern door. He was wearing a long dark brown trench coat, a similarly colored detective-like hat, and dark, dark, DARK sunglasses. He also wore a pair of black, steel-toe work boots, all of which was soaking wet. The man looked around curiously, and felt at something under his coat. As the man’s eyes scanned around the tavern, his eyes fell on a young-looking girl, reading a book and looking very interested in it. His eyes stopped scanning and he looked even the more curious as she met his gaze with unflinching courage. Although discouraging, he took this as a minor set-back. There was work to be done and he would do it.
Miss Brook looked up from her book just as the man’s eyes fell on her. She saw something in this man’s eyes that told her to run away. It told her to leave the tavern and never come back, not while this man was here. There was something about him. About the way he stood, the way he looked, the way he kept lifting his hand to feel under his coat at something. Yes, there was something definitely wrong. Miss Brook HAD to get out.
She looked around at the other people in the tavern as calmly as she could, so she wouldn’t make known the fear that was building up inside her. There was a young man, about the age of twenty, sitting at the table next to her. Also, about two tables down, was a drunk-looking woman drinking the last of something and calling for another. These were the two closest people to her and miss Brook decided the man would have to do. Without any more thought on the matter, she got up and walked over to the young man of twenty, leaving her book and drink behind.
At first the young man looked bewildered. It’s not every day a good-looking young woman comes up to you in an almost-empty tavern to ask whatever it was this girl was going to ask. He quickly glanced down at himself to make sure he looked decent, and wiped his hands on his jeans for good measure. Having done this, he looked up at the young lady who was now standing right in front of him, smiling politely. This was great! This was fantastic! Could it really be so easy? She was going to ask him for a drink! He knew it! Just knew it! She was going to ask him…

“Excuse me, sir…Could you walk me to the door?”

Miss Brook could see the excitement drain from the young man. It was all she could do not to laugh. She wasn’t cruel or anything. In fact, she might even have felt slightly sorry for the lad, but it WAS kind of funny. You had to admit. She watched, always smiling, as the young man composed himself and cleared his throat to say the inevitable gentleman-like response…

“Why of course I will, young lady. “ He says “Anything for a pretty girl like you.”

With that, he winked and took her arm, then led her around the tables and up to the door. She held on to him politely, trying to keep her grip as loose as possible, so she could run the first chance she got. As they neared the door, she saw the man with the long coat. He was looking in her direction again and she could see little strands of wavy black hair hanging out the hat. Here it goes.
The young man whom Miss Brook had brought with her to the door now stopped five feet from it, seeing how the other man was staring. He looked curiously as the man who was staring lifted something straight out in front of him. The young man couldn’t see what it was, but it didn’t look good. Now Miss Brook, who had walked ahead a few paces, forgetting about the man completely, looked back and saw that the other man, the one who was staring, was pointing something at her. She thought quickly and grabbed the young man of twenty. He was at her side just in time to block the man’s shot.
The young man stood for another second, shocked, and then fell to the floor. He was dead. Panic broke out and the few people who had been in the tavern now rushed for the door. The man with the gun had little choice but to shoot them. He couldn’t have anyone knowing about this. He brought them all down, one shot each, and walked around, looking to see if he’d shot the girl. He hadn’t. She had run when that man had been shot and was long gone now. The man smiled and shook his head, clearly amused. He hadn’t known the girl was so smart. He chuckled a little and said to no one but himself…

“She’s got instincts.” And with another laugh… “Yup. She’s got some instincts.”