Pepper walked around the corner of the alleyway and to his surprise, the restaurant window had a big red sign which said, Pete’s. Pepper rolled his eyes at how he couldn’t have missed the location, but somehow, he had. There was an arrow sign in the window which continued to point him to the right. He followed the instructions and found the main door to the location was within the next alley over from the book shop.
That design caused Pepper to shake his head, not making any sense to him. He reached for the door and then realized that it was pure metal. The thing weighed a ton, and he found himself planting his feet down to generate the strength to fully open it. Once he got the door open though, he was hit by the savory smells of roasting meat and spice.
Amprage trotted inside and Pepper entered right behind him. His eyes were kept on the exterior wall where the locations window was set. It was then that Pepper discovered the door wasn’t the only metal plating, for the entire exterior wall that faced the street had what looked to be two-inch-thick metal sheets bolted onto it. He scanned over the rest of the small dining room area and couldn’t help but think the place looked more like a bunker.
On the opposite side of the room was a service counter with a large open order window which fed into the kitchen area. A red and white checkerboard theme ran along the trim of the counter, while the countertop itself glowed. The ambient light of the room reflected off its brushed aluminum surface.
Pepper walked over to the service counter and that’s when he heard the vibrant big band music playing from a stereo set in the corner. The crackling sound of the lower quality music made Pepper think of an old record player he had seen in movies. His eyes looked up towards the menu, which was displayed above the order window, but Pepper didn’t even have time to look it over.
A British voice then arrive from the back at the same time the distinct sound of a door opening and then closing quickly after. “Pete, I’m telling you mate. I can’t keep working at this pace without a kitchen staff. If you want us to stay open, then you must hire me a proper staff. That’s all there is to it mate.”
The voice was quickly countered by an accident Pepper could not place at first. “I told you Jez, I’m tryin, I’m trying. But there ain’t nobody applying for the jobs. I can’t force people to work for me. Just be patient, okay?”
Pepper could hear by the volume of the new voice that it was getting closer to the service door off to the left side of the order window. The door flung open and out walked an older man with pepper grey hair and a white chef’s apron draped over a light grey shirt. The man turned and saw Pepper patiently waiting there by the counter.
“Holy cannoli! Look at what the cat dragged in, a ginger.”
There was no break in the conversation the man had just left, for the British accent soon returned from the kitchen and called through the order window. “Pete, I understand that, but I can’t manage a kitchen, do all the cooking…”
The man Pepper now realized was Pete slapped his hand against the order window and cut off the cook. “Jez! Enough, enough. We got ourselves a customer out here.” The man turned back around and lifted his hand up to brush his nose. Pepper watched as the soft and aged blue eyes looked back at him while Pete retrieved a pen and order pad out of his pocket.
“What will it be kid?”
Pepper stood there partially frozen and didn’t know if he should look at the man or look at the menu board. “I, well… uhh.”
Pete began to wave his hand around. “Hey kid, I don’t got all day, you know what I mean?” The man quickly turned back over his shoulder and yelled back towards the kitchen. “Hey! Jez! Does it look like I am getting any younger to you?”
The British accent laughed. “Every day for the last five years I have been hoping you’d drop dead. Yet here you are still cursing me.”
“Ha! Wise guy.” Pete replied and returned while shaking his head. “You figure it out yet, or should I just start preparing for my funeral now?”
Pepper was now even more mentally shaken by the whole ordeal and nervously didn’t know what to do or say next. He was on the verge of asking a question, but his speed didn’t suffice.
“Okay, you know what kid. Let’s try something else. You hungry?” Pete said with a quick point of his pen.
“Yes.” Pepper finally muttered.
Pete sarcastically smiled, leaned back and extended his arms out in exaggeration. “Hey, look at that. The kid can talk.” Pete brough his hands back to the counter and prepared to write on the order book. “Beef or chicken?”
“Umm, beef.”
Pete furrowed his lip out. “Good choice kid. Okay, regular or spicey?”
“Spicey, I guess.”
“Look at you, a ginger living on the edge. You might wanna be careful with all these extreme risks kid.”
Pepper arched an eyebrow. Is this how they treat all their customers? How the heck are they even still in business? He didn’t have time to continue the thought as Pete brought in another line of questions.
“You want desert? Drink?”
“Uhh a drink will be fine. Thank you.”
“Sure, thing kid.” Pete replied and then reached over and grabbed hold of a red plastic dinners cup. “Alright that will be 12 Flex.” Pete then turned around and slapped the card on the order window. “Jez! Order, gyro special, kid wants it spicey.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The British voice started to ramble on, but it wasn’t loud enough for Pepper to make out. Instead, he heard the loud resistance of metal behind him and turned to see the front door begin to open. He watched as the man walked inside with a finely pressed military uniform.
Pete’s voice called out from behind Pepper. “Well look at Mr. tough guy wanting to come stop by and see old Pete.”
Well, I guess that does answer my question. I’m apparently not the only one who gets special guest treatment here. Pepper then watched as the serviceman closed the door behind him and smiled at the insult. He began to walk over in a confident stride and Pepper couldn’t help but admire the patches that were sewn onto the uniform. His eyes caught sight of an emblem on the man’s collar and was sure that it was his rank designation.
“Colonel.” The man said.
Pepper then realized he was practically staring at the man. He smiled and then nodded while he felt his cheeks slightly flush with embarrassment. He turned back to see Pete had both hands resting on the countertop and had a playful grin on his face.
“Kid, let me introduce you to Colonel Lawrence Gamble. Or as we around here like to call him, Law.”
Pepper turned his gaze back to the Colonel and saw a humble smile on his face. “How are you doing Pete?”
“Eh, my sciatica is acting up again. That and I’m just waiting for this crazy chef of mine to burn down the joint. Other than that, just giving the new blood here the usual warm greeting.”
The colonel arched an eyebrow and curiously glanced over to Pepper and looked him up and down. “I see.” The man dashed a glance back to Pete. “Well, I would love to stay and catch-up Pete, but…”
Pete quickly cut off the colonel. “I get it, I get it. No love for old Pete. Forget I’m even here.” The man then raspberried and swatted his hand at the colonel. “Let me go check in the back and see if Jez got your to-go order all taken care of.”
The man walked back through the service door and immediately started to verbally jab at his chef to hurry up. Pepper could hear the two going back and forth with jokes and insults, but he was surprised when the colonel began to inquire about him.
“So… you’re new to the area. Welcome to Atlanta.”
“Thanks. Just moved in from Michigan.” Pepper replied and then decided to take a seat on one of the barstools placed next to the counter.
The colonel formed a curious expression on his face. “Well, you ever thought about serving your country? Serving humanity even?”
Pepper hesitated and then replied. “Kinda. I mean. My dad served in the war, my brother than joined but was killed in an accident at his base. I’ve not given a whole lot of thought to it.”
“Well, if you’re in Atlanta then and I see you have a familiar. I can only assume you’re here for the Golem League.” The colonel replied and didn’t seem to be excited when he ended his statement.
“Yes sir.” Pepper replied. He then watched as the colonel didn’t seem too interested in him. Once he had admitted to being committed to the combative sport, rather than serve in the military, the officer chose to merely wait for his order to arrive.
Pepper on the other hand, was now curious and decided to ask. “Why does he call you Law?”
The colonel now appeared slightly annoyed by the question, but quickly composed himself back into a more professional demeaner. “Two reasons. One, it is a play on my name of Lawerance. Two, because when I say something, most people take it as the law which should be obeyed.”
Pepper could feel his face was shifting in ways which informed the Colonel that Pepper questioned what he meant. It was then that the Colonel chose to continue. “You see, I am the Commander of the Intel Company assigned here to the 56th Rift Gate Division. Information is my business. So, if I say that you should be hunkered down in your bunker on Wednesday at 1512, you had better be hunkered down in your bunker. Because that is when the demons are going to conduct a probe from the rift portal and our soldiers will being engaging the enemy.”
Pepper was now more curious than ever and couldn’t help but ask. “You know when the demons are going to attack?”
The Colonel shifted his weight slightly and then sighed. “Yes, we are able to predict their probe attacks to nearly 98% accuracy. There are rare times when we miss time one of the attacks, but as I said, those are rare. My job is to know our enemy, and I will say, I know them very, very well.”
Pepper couldn’t help but notice the thousand yard stare the Colonel had when he made his statement. There was no doubt in Pepper’s mind that there were some seriously intense stories and experiences hidden behind the man’s words. The blank stare the man had, conveyed one of sheer terror and Pepper dared not to pry any more than what the Colonel had just shared.
Pepper watched, however, as Law took a deep breath in and then blinked rapidly as if he pulled himself free of a vision. “Throughout the universe we find systems, patterns, series, habits. Though these demons are from a world not of our own, they had their own pattern. It is a sophisticated pattern and one that took years of analyzing. We brought in the best minds and researches throughout the private sector and government. Crossed any and all borders to ensure the right people were working on our project.”
“What project was that?” Pepper asked.
“It was called Operation Cartograph. From it we now have our predictable attack sequence reports that help schedule public warnings of when to get inside your bunkers.” The man paused and looked as if he read Peppers expression. “Are you not familiar with these bunkers?”
“Well, back home my dad built one under our house. My mom insisted he do it. I just moved here and now I am curious if the house I am renting has one.”
“I see. What area of town are you in, precisely?”
“North Druid Hills, Berkeley Ln to be exact.”
The Colonel pressed his lips together and confidently nodded. “You have a bunker at that location.” Law glanced at Pepper and then grinned when he saw Pepper’s reaction. “That just so happens to be my neighborhood. I made sure to help oversee the construction of all the bunkers when they were installed years ago. I can reassure you; you have one.”
It was just then that the swinging door between the kitchen and service counter swung open. Pete walked up and placed a large bag filled with to-go containers on the counter. “Sorry about the wait Law. I swear that Jez guy is writing books back there rather than making food.”
“Hey, listen here mate.” Jez tried to interject.
Pete waved his hand up and started to yell back with a mere audible noise. “Ahh-tat-tat-tat! Just get the ginger his food huh? The kid is practically skin and bones, hasn’t had a good meal in his whole life.” Pete then turned and began to walk back through the door while criticizing his chef. “The last thing we need is for our newest customer to drop over dead because you made him starve to death!”
The Colonel began to grab the bag of food and then continued now that Pete had departed. “I’m assuming your renting out the Benard’s old house.” A curious eyebrow arched upwards while he analyzed Pepper’s reaction. “The yellow ranch style with red workshop in the backyard?”
“Oh, yeah, I didn’t know the owner’s name. That’s the one though.” Pepper replied.
Law nodded and grinned. “When you walk out the back door and step onto the small concrete patio. Look down and to your left. There should be a small access hatch. Granted, it may be grown over a bit. But, you should find the handle there. Make sure you’re down inside it on Wednesday at 1512. When you hear all clear alarm sirens, you’ll know it’s all down and over with.”
Pepper chuckled. “Like clockwork.”
The Colonel winked and started to walk towards the front door. “Like clockwork.” Law took another step towards the front door, and that was when the explosion rang out.