Samael walked into the bar and looked around. It was an upscale location that had a bar and lunge situated above a nightclub. The bar had calming music and a relaxed atmosphere. There were tables lining the outside perimeter of the room and a large double sided bar taking up the middle of the room.
Stella, Ava, and Lucy had all sat at a table together and had already ordered something to drink. Samael made his way over to the bar and sat down. He could easily see the table that Stella was at from his seat so it was the best position for him.
"What are you drinking?" The bartender asked as he walked over to Samael.
"Aged whiskey, double shot light on the ice." Samael said as he folded his arms on top of the bar. The bartender grabbed a glass and made the drink for Samael, setting it down in front of him before walking away and helping other customers.
Samael took a drink of the whisky as he looked around the room. There were several other groups of people sitting around at the tables and some people sitting by themselves at the bar. Everything seemed to be normal, no one out of the ordinary.
He could hear that the girls were talking about things to do now that they were done with college. With his hearing it was easy to listen in on them if he wanted to, but he was in no mood to listen. He was focused on his drink and looking to see if anyone was approaching their table.
Some time had passed as the girls were having a good time talking and drinking. It was at times like this that Samael wished he could feel the effects of alcohol. He was on his fourth drink when a rather rowdy group of young men entered the room.
There were three of them and based on the way they moved and talked it was a good bet that they were in the military. They sat two tables over from where Stella was. It was only a matter of time before they would go over and talk to them.
Samael had also seen a woman slowly getting closer to him as time had passed. She was young from what he could tell, no older than 21. She had on a light blue dress that complimented her dark brown hair and light brown eyes.
"Is this seat taken?" The girl asked as she walked over to Samael.
"It is free." Samael answered as he took another drink of his whiskey.
"Thanks. So what are you drinking?" The girl asked as she sat down.
"It is aged whiskey." Samael said as he finished his drink.
"Could I get you another one?" The girl asked with a smile.
"I appreciate the offer but it is an expensive drink." Samael said as he gestured to the bartender to get him a refill.
"That is true. But I could have covered it. So what are you doing all alone in a place like this?" She said as she took a drink from her drink.
"I am working." Samael said as the bartender set another drink in front of him.
"What kind of work do you do?" She asked as she looked at what Samael was wearing.
"I am afraid I can't say what it is I do." Samael said as he pulled up her record on his hud. She is Governor General Nicole Varden, She is in charge of all military within the capital city. Even with her young age she is a prodigy and highly educated.
Samael has also met her before. They met when he was learning the in's and out's of commanding from her father. He had also saved both of their lives when an assassin from the warring country tried to kill them. At this time it was hard to tell if she recognized him or not.
"That is a shame. I was wondering what kind of work you do to afford such a nice suit. But where are my manners? I am Nicole by the way." Nicole said as she reached out her hand for a hand shake.
"Nice to meet you Nicole. I am Samael." Samael said as he shook Nicole's hand.
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you. Or should I say to meet you again." Nicole said as she took another drink of her drink.
"So you did approach me knowing who I am." Samael said as he looked over at Nicole.
"I had my thoughts that it was you. But I did not know for I never got a good look at your face when I was little." Nicole said as she set her empty glass on the table.
"Is there something you wanted, Governor General?" Samael said, shocking Nicole.
"So you know who I was. I think that makes us even now that we had both been holding information back." Nicole said.
"If you want to see it that way you can. But you did not answer my question." Samael said as he pulled up her recent activity on his hud.
"Do I really need a reason to talk to someone that has saved my life? I mean It has been a long time since we have even seen each other. I really did just want to talk, I have been working a lot so it was nice to talk to someone outside of my work." Nicole said as she got a new drink from the bartender.
"That is understandable." Samael said as he watched the three soldiers walk over to Stella's table.
"Something have you on edge?" Nicole said as she saw his eyes tracking the soldiers.
"Just doing my job is all." Samael said as he watched the interaction unfolding at the table. The three men had not yet done anything that warranted intervention just yet.
"Does your work involve my men, or are you looking after one of the girls at the table? Based on when I saw you walk in I would bet you are watching one of the girls over there." Nicole said as she watched the same table Samael was looking at.
"At this time I am watching your men. Unwanted actions have consequences, and if your men don't behave I will have to intervene." Samael said as he finished off his drink and watched the three men talk to Stella and her friends.
"I think we can keep things non physical. I am their commanding officer and it is my job to look after them.'' Nicole said as she watched one of the soldiers sit down and put his arm around Ava.
"That will depend on your men." Samael said as he stood up, and as he walked over to the table another one of the soldiers sat down at the table, next to Stella.
"Ya we just finished jump certification. So all of us are now part of an airborne combat unit." The soldier that sat down next to Stella said.
"That is nice but we were just about to leave." Ava said as she tried to get away from the one sitting next to her.
"Come on, stay for another round it is on us." The one standing said.
"Is everything ok?" Samael said as he stopped behind the one still standing.
"No it is not. We were finishing our last drinks and wanted to leave but the soldiers here will not let us." Ava said as she again tried to get away from the man sitting next to her.
"We are not doing anything wrong, we just want them to have a drink with us." The soldier standing said as he turned around to see Samael.
"It seems the lady's here do not want to have a drink with you. So pack up and move on, soldier." Samael said as he made eye contact with the man standing.
"And what if we don't want to. It is only one drink. What is the harm in that?" The man sitting next to Stella said.
"The harm is that we don't want you here." Stella said, moving closer to Lucy.
"Come on baby, that is just cold." The man said as he moved closer to Stella.
"How about this? Move one inch closer to her and I will guarantee a closed casket at your funeral." Samael said, looking at the man next to Stella.
"Did you just threaten me?" The man said as he got up from the table and moved closer to Samael.
"I think he did." The one sitting next to Ava said.
"That was not a threat." Samael said as he grabbed the man's shirt and lifted him off the ground with one arm. The man grabbed onto Samael's arm in an attempt to get him to let go. But Samael's arm did not even move.
"Ok. Let's calm down all of you." Nicole said as she walked over.
"We did not do anything wrong ma'am." The soldier in Samael's grip said as the one still sitting stood up.
"He is right, it was this guy." the other soldier started to say but was cut off by Nicole.
"This guy? This is Samael. And right now you three are lucky that he is trying to be nice." Nicole said as she placed her hand on Samael's shoulder.
"Are you saying that you don't think we can win in a fight against him ma'am?" The soldier that had been standing the whole time said.
"Think. He could have killed you a long time ago if he wanted to or if the person he is guarding told him to. Can you please set him down." Nicole said as she placed her other hand onto Samael's arm prompting him to slowly set the soldier back onto the ground.
"Seems your men need more training." Samael said as he released his grip.
"That would seem so. Now the three of you, outside now and get back to base. You are in for one hell of a day tomorrow." Nicole said, prompting the men to quickly leave the building.
"Thank you for helping us out." Ava said, looking at both Samael and Nicole.
"Not a problem, and Samael I paid your tab. If you have some free time, don't be a stranger." Nicole said as she walked away and left the room.
"Are you alright?" Samael asked as he looked back at the table.
"I am good." Ava said with a smile.
"We are ok but the mood is ruined now." Lucy said as she looked over at Stella. She had her head down so her hair was covering her face.
"I think we should call it a night." Stella said as she stood up from the table not letting Samael see her face.
"No, Stella, you go home. I wanted to talk to Ava for a little bit." Lucy said, grabbing Ava's arm and stopping her from getting up from the table.
"I will contact another driver to get you home safely." Samael said as Stella started to walk to the exit.
"Thanks Samael." Ava said as Samael followed Stella out of the building. Before getting to the vehicle he sent a message with the address to the nearest driver and asked him to get both Lucy and Ava home when they were ready.
The ride back to Stella's house was silent, she would not even look over at Samael. He could not tell if she was sleeping or just underling the influence of the alcohol she had consumed. Samael had seen many soldiers get drunk when he was on the front lines but he had never seen Stella drink.
The second the vehicle stopped Stella unlocked her seat belt and got out of the vehicle not even saying anything to Samael. It did not take Samael long to park the vehicle but as he got out and walked over to the front door he saw that Stella had already gone inside. Something felt off but he could not put his finger on it.
Samael thought it was just the alcohol in her system but he did not realize how wrong he was.