I’d make myself known right off,” Lazarus said.
“By getting in a fight,” Candy said.
“Nope. By whipping someone’s ass,” Lazarus responded.
“You think you can just pick somebody out and whip them? You don’t know anything about anybody in this bar,” Candy said.
“And they don’t know nothing about me,” Lazarus said.
About that time a loud slap rang out and the other girl screamed as her hands came up to hold her face.
“Told you to stop fucking looking over there!” one of the guys playing pool yelled at her as she cried and pressed her hands to her face.
Lazarus watched as the bartender ground his teeth and placed his hand on a baseball bat he kept behind the bar.
Then he watched as the man grabbed the girl by the shoulder and shoved her toward the bathroom. “Go make yourself look worth a damn. You look like shit,” he yelled at her.
“There ain’t no call for that,” Lazarus said, getting to his feet and moving Candy out of his way.
“Fuck you!” the guy called out. “You think you got something to say to me? Fucking bitch will learn to keep her eyes where they belong, and it ain't on a piece of shit like you.”
Lazarus shook his head as he walked over toward the group of men playing pool at one of the pool tables. “You’re a dick. Anybody has a right to look at anyone they please. And if I had to look at your ugly ass all day long, I’d be looking at anybody else. Poor girl probably can’t even remember what it’s like not to have her damn eyes hurt when you’re all she gets to look at,” Laz said calmly.
“What the fuck you trying to say?” the man said, spinning the pool cue in his hand as he walked out from behind the table to face Lazarus who strolled across the barroom toward him.
“You ugly, dude. And to have to beat a woman to make her stay with your ass… that’s some low class shit,” Lazarus said.
“You want to start something, motherfucker? You got it. Come on,” the man said, tightening his grip and raising the pool cue like a weapon. “Ya’ll stay out of this,” he said to his friends.
“Oh, I see how it is. You one of those with the little weenies,” Lazarus said, nodding to himself.
“What the fuck are you talking about?!” the man yelled.
“You. Got something to prove. Must have a little bitty weenie,” Lazarus said. He held up his thumb and forefinger and held them only about an inch apart. “Cocktail weenie.”
“I’ll fucking kill you!” the man bellowed, charging Lazarus.
Lazarus smiled as the man attacked. He waited until the man was right on top of him, then he sidestepped and threw an uppercut that had the man’s teeth clacking together as his head flew back. Lazarus caught the pool cue in the air as the man let go of it and stood back, waiting for the man to get up.
He struggled to his feet, breathing heavy, chest heaving, blood pouring from his mouth as his eyes promised Lazarus he was coming for him again.
“You dropped this,” Laz said, tossing the pool cue to him.
The man raised it over his head and charged at Lazarus again.
Lazarus lifted one hand, stopping the pool cue as it came down at him. He stood there, face to face with the man, clearly showing no exertion as the man struggled to battle him. He reached out with his other hand and squeezed the man’s wrist until it snapped and the man screamed, but he still came at Lazarus.
Lazarus took the pool cue from him and brought it down over the man’s back.
The man screamed in rage and launched his body at Lazarus. Lazarus caught him mid air and turned, letting the man’s weight and momentum take him down on the nearest table. Lazarus grabbed the back of the man’s head, holding him by the hair and smashed his face into the table until the man stopped struggling.
“You had enough?” Lazarus asked.
The man tried to get up off the table and Lazarus slammed his face into it again.
“Enough?” Lazarus asked again.
“Yeah,” the man mumbled.
“You touch her again, I’ll find you, and I’ll kill you. We clear?” Lazarus asked. “We clear?” Laz repeated on a shout.
“Yeah,” the man answered.
“Get the fuck out. Don’t come back until you can play nice,” Lazarus said. “I tolerate a lot of shit, but I will not tolerate anybody hitting a woman,” Lazarus said, letting the man