“Sarg, we’ve got a live one here.” The deep voice penetrated through the pleasant haze Theo found himself in. That was right before a sharp stab, and then rolling throb of pain pushed its way through his somnolence.

  “Holy shit!” he groaned as he grabbed at the back of his head. A weight lay across his legs and pinned one of his arms underneath him. As his eyesight swam back towards clarity, he saw a heavily armoured tactical vest blocking his vision, and he tried his darndest to shift the weight off his body. No such luck.

  “Sarg, he’s been scanned, but there’s something odd with the readings. We should probably grab Pat and see what he has to say.” The voice came from the body lying across him, but he could not see who was being spoken to. The weight shifted slightly and pushed his legs further into the floor.

  “Jesus Christ mate, get your fat ass off me, you’re going to break my legs!” Theo continued trying to buck the man off him but shifted him no more than an inch. His head continued to throb painfully, and he pulled his fingers back, staring at the blood from his cracked skull. He swooned, and his head seemed to pulse in time with his heart, which to be fair, was racing like a purebred.

  He tried to gather his thoughts, but just couldn’t quite bring any sense to what was going on. He remembered meeting Daz and his lady friend, then making his way to the bathrooms. He must have time warped while in the loo, though he couldn’t recall anything other than the rampant buzz of the mushies and a very pleasant swim in a golden river.

  Fuck, he hadn’t pissed himself, did he? He couldn’t tell with the army man lying across his body. He hoped for his sake that he hadn’t. Hmm, well wouldn't be the first time on a big night out.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he said with some desperation.

  “Steady on buddy, just gotta get you cleared before we can get you out of here.” The man looked towards him, slowly shifting his weight off his body. “I’m going to lift up slowly, and I want you to just sit down nice and comfy like while we wait for my friend Pat. He’s on his way down here to have a quick chat with ya.”

  Theo groaned as blood began circulating through his limbs again, pins and needles stabbing with as much mercy as the pain in his head. “Is this a drug bust or something?” he asked through the pain.

  “Or somethin’. That’s above my pay grade matey, I’m just here to keep an eye out for the civ’s.” The soldier knelt back and gave him a visual once over. “Just keep yourself nice and calm, and you’ll be out of here before you know it.” He pulled a bandage from one of the pockets in his pants, handing it to Theo.

  Theo grabbed the bandage and held it against the back of his head, his vision swimming slightly at the quick movement. A light groan escaped him.

  “Likely a little concussed there, sorry ‘bout that. Can you tell me your name, where you are, and the date?” the man asked.

  Theo looked at him askance, but eventually responded. “It’s Théodore Rhodes, and I’m on the bathroom floor in a new club thanks to some man deciding to crash tackle me, and it’s Friday the twenty-seventh of January.”

  “Ok, Theo. Just stay still a moment and focus on your breathing. Someone will be able to get you looked over before long. If you need to barf, just lean that way.” He pointed to Theo’s other side before turning away and shouting at someone in the adjoining sitting room. “Sarg, what’s the ETA for Pat?”

  “Five minutes,” someone called back from the other room, just as Theo’s vision faded out.

  *   *   *

  Theo wasn’t sure if it had only been five minutes by the time he slowly came to. This time, there seemed to be much less pain, but with a godawful taste in his mouth. Fuck, he thought, as he pushed himself away from the puddle of vomit next to him. He felt at the back of his head, fingers coming away sticky, but with his scalp much less tender. What magic is this? He thought to himself.

  “Military grade topical analgesia,” the new voice seemed to answer his thoughts.

  Theo sat up, perhaps a little too quickly as his vision swam. He looked towards the man that crouched in front of him. He was more casually dressed when compared to the military getup of the brute that had previously manhandled him, though he still wore fitted black fatigues and tight black shirt and vest.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  This must be Pat. Handsome, short cropped dusty blonde hair, freckles, and full lashed brown eyes. He seemed early thirties, maybe. Must be the PR man.

  “I’m Patrick, Pat if you prefer. Let me quickly check that for you.” He leant forward and lightly touched the back of Theo’s head. An electric shock ran from his fingers into Theo’s skull, and Theo jerked back at the sensation.

  “Sorry about that, it must be from running up and down all the stairs.” Pat wiped his hands on his pants, a half-smile pulled at his full lips. “In any case, apart from a slight concussion, and some understandable shock, you’ll be right as rain in no time. Probably a bit of a blinder headache for a day or two, but nothing some rest won’t help.”

  Theo was not taken in by the poster boy charisma and charm.

  “Right, Pat. So can you tell me what the hell is going on here?” Theo asked. He wouldn’t normally be so abrupt with authority figures, particularly those with weapon access, but the stress had loosened his tongue it seemed.

  “Ahhh, as to that. We were tipped off about a recruitment drive occurring here for a known terrorist group. It seems you had the unfortunate luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Patrick passed him a bottle of water, which Theo gratefully took.

  “What about my friends? I came here with two other guys. One of them got tickets from some bird he had met,” Theo said.

  “If they were cleared, they’ll be outside and being debriefed.”

  Theo flashed back to the soldier’s first words. “And what about me? What did thick, buff, and heavy mean by odd readings? Am I cleared?”

  “A very good question, and one that I cannot answer easily for you here.” Patrick grabbed his arm, helping him slowly to his feet. He was just a bit shorter than Pat and needed the help to stay upright.

  “To answer it, we are going to have to go for a drive first. I know this has already been a big night, and you probably want to see your friends to make sure they are ok, but we won't be able to do that right now.” He must have read the resistance of Theo’s face. “I do promise to have that information for you before we send you home. You are not in trouble, and we don’t think you are with the organisation that ran this event.”

  “Then why the fuck do I have to go with you then, why can’t I just be debriefed?”

  “There are answers to your questions, but if I gave them to you here and now, they wouldn’t make any sense. In fact, they’d probably just confuse you more than you already are,” Pat replied.

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Fucking bullshit PR response.” Theo may have been in shock still. He was normally much more respectful than this. Thankfully, Patrick only laughed.

  “I know, I know. I would say trust me, and that it will all become clear, but for now I understand answers and action will help more than empty platitudes. And for that, we should probably get moving if you are ok to walk?” Patrick stepped back, keeping a light hold on his arm to make sure he wouldn’t fall.

  Theo grunted and gave him a nod, taking some small steps towards the bathroom entrance before feeling some stability return to his legs.

  “I must warn you though, what you will see when you walk out of here may be … upsetting.” Patrick grimaced slightly as he moved his way through the bathroom doorway and into the powder room beyond. He never strayed more than a few steps from Theo as they moved past the stone-faced military men guarding the entrance to the bathroom.

  “Holy fuck,” Theo breathed.

  While several heavily armoured men blocked the now open doorways into the private rooms, it didn’t completely cover the sight of the bloody, mangled bodies inside. Some rooms were empty, though blood stains covered the floors and walls as evidence that they too had born witness to horrors.

  “What the hell happened here?” he whispered, momentarily overwhelmed by the flashback of screaming, blood covered faces. His wide eyes turned towards Patrick, now feeling somewhat ashamed of his outbursts.

  “A very good question, one I would also like an answer to. As I said before, while you being here at all was unlucky, the fact that you are walking out right now means you are luckier than you know. I for one, would like to know why. And seeing this, I am sure you would also.” Patrick, waited for him at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the main club.

  “I’m sorry to say, it gets worse from here.”

  Patrick wasn’t lying. The bloodshed upstairs was horrifying, and Theo would have emptied his stomach again if he hadn't already done so downstairs. As it was, dry heaves wracked him as he tried his hardest not to look too closely at the bodies that littered the area around the bar. Crime scene workers scurried behind a wall of military guards, the flash of their cameras like the strobing lights of an electrical storm.

  Theo kept his face covered in the crook of his elbow to block the smell as best as he was able. He did scan them though to see if he could find Daz or Jimmy, which thankfully he didn’t. He did spot the recruiter girl, and tasted bile when he saw the state of her.

  Patrick grabbed his wrist and led him upstairs to the elite area. The top of the stairs was nestled into another alcove, though larger than the one downstairs. The opulence of the downstairs area was magnified on the balcony. To his left, there was another door, and it was to that door that Patrick led him.

  “This is the VIP exit.” Patrick’s voice flowed back towards him, though he never turned his head as they continued their way through the hall and out into a different city laneway. A black sedan with heavily tinted windows waited for them, its diplomatic numberplate warding against the ever-present ticketers that roamed the CBD parking strips.

  “Get in Théodore, let's get you somewhere you can wash up.” Patrick opened the back passenger door for him. Unlike earlier, Theo got into the car without any protest, the scenes from the club below stilling any resistance he may have used to argue further. Like Mr. Thick and Burly, this was now well and truly above his paygrade.