Teagan's eyes had to adjust to the light as they passed through the door. It appeared that they had entered a bar of some sort. The right wall was lined with booths, covered in deep auburn leather with dark brown tables. The bar itself ran the length of the left wall, which had a mirror running the length of the wall as well. There were pool tables towards the back of the bar.
The man carrying Ginny set her gently into a booth seat, stating he was going to get help. There was no one in the bar except the two men and two women. Teagan was struck by how odd all of this had been. Suddenly the man came back with company. He returned to Ginny's table with a man, who responded to her like he was trained medically, if not an actual doctor.
A few more minutes passed, while Teagan stood next to the bar awkwardly. Words were exchanged between Ginny and her doctor, while the other two men were planted firmly at the door. There was no order for Teagan to sit or an invitation to have a drink. Something was off, and every passing minute Teagan's anxiety grew more.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, three more men walked through the swinging door that lead further back into the bar. Two of the men were dressed in black suits and flanked a slightly shorter man who was dressed just as nice but more relaxed. Recognition shot through Teagan, making things even more confusing for her. The two body guards stopped and the familiar man took to more steps towards Teagan.
"Do you know who I am?" the familiar man asked Teagan, his hands holding onto the fronts of his vest.
"Yes, Mr. Giovanni", Teagan nodded, "I work at your law office right down the street".
Mr. Giovanni nodded then motioned towards a booth, "Join me for a minute miss…"
"Teagan" she finished for him. "Teagan De Lupo".
Teagan and Mr. Giovanni slid into opposite sides of the booth, facing each other.
"Miss De Lupo" Mr. Giovanni started, "do you know what is going on here?"
"Honestly? I'm seriously lost. It seems like there is a lot going on and I am a very small part".
"Hmpf" Mr. Giovanni grumbled what appeared to be an attempt at a laugh. "Observant, Miss De Lupo, but I guess there is a reason you were offered a job after your internship" he pointed out.
"Oh… uh, I guess so", Teagan was surprised that Mr. Giovanni knew her by name.
"You know my brother and my Law Office, obviously. And this…" he swept his hand across the room, indicating the bar, "is my bar. Membership only, of course. And that…" Mr. Giovanni pointed at the booth where Ginny was being treated, "is my daughter, Ginny".
"Oh", Teagan inhaled, realizing how much more severe the situation really was.
"Why don't you tell me what happened and how you got caught up in all of it?" Mr. Giovanni prompted.
"Yeah, okay" Teagan nodded, "shouldn't we call the police though? I was trying to take her to the station but she insisted on coming here."
"Go ahead and explain, let's just start there" Mr. Giovanni dismissed Teagan's question urging her to just tell him what happened.
"I was just walking home from work when I saw a couple of guys knocking around your daughter. I just helped get her out of there, that's all. I tried to take her to the police station but she just kept insisting on coming here. I'm glad you have someone here to help but I'd be much more comfortable if we did this how we should".
"Don't worry about that Miss De Lupo. Be confident in knowing that I know how to handle situations like these." Mr. Giovanni dismissed Teagan's concern. "Did you hear them talking?" he pressed further.
"No", Teagan shook her head, "only laughing".
Mr. Giovanni's face didn't change, but when his eyes met Teagan's, she could tell he was more upset than he was letting on.
"Anything you can remember about how they looked?" Mr. Giovanni continued probing for more information.
"Yeah, a little. They were probably in their twenties, a blonde and the other one had dark hair. They alley was pretty dark. They should both have head injuries though, the blonde one's knee might be hurt from where Ginny took him down", Teagan smiled glancing towards Ginny's med booth.
"Scars, tattoos, accents, clothes?" Mr. Giovanni was clearly tiring of the polite conversation.
"Nothing too special. They were dressed nicer than street rats though. Black slacks, rolled up sleeves on their collared shirts. That's all I got" Teagan ended, feeling defeated. "Oh, wait!" She interrupted herself remembering one more thing, "there's this", Teagan removed the gun from her back and put it on the table. "That, should be everything".
It was quiet in the bar, Teagan hadn't noticed before she stopped talking. Ginny and the medic were sitting at their booth, eyes down, but all other eyes were on her. She was suddenly concerned that she had done something wrong.
"um, I'm sorry if I was rude at some point. It has been a long night." Teagan stammered. "I should go".
"Thank you Miss De Lupo."
"It was nothing more than any other decent human being would have done. Really. I am not your legal council, but I seriously recommend you make a police report and take Ginny to see a professional. I'd be happy to make a statement, but it's her decision."
Teagan had slid out from the booth and was making her way towards the door. "We appreciate the advice and all you've done Miss De Lupo. Manny and Nicco will drive you home".
Teagan stopped, "Oh no, that's not necessary…" she started to object.
"Those men could still be out there Miss De Lupo. So please, let me return the kindness you have shown us. These two wouldn't hurt a fly." Mr. Giovanni smiled.
Teagan knew this was an argument she was not going to win. In fact, the two men that had brought her and Ginny into the bar, then posted up at the door, were now hovering just behind Teagan, waiting for her.
"Okay…" Teagan sighed cautiously, as she followed he two men out the door and back into the damp New York streets.