Doctor Who_ Deep Blue - Mark Morris [21]
It was still early evening, only just opening time, and Tegan was The Captain Cook‟s first customer. Within minutes, however, the door banged open and a group of men in their early twenties bustled loudly in. They wore tight T-shirts and jeans so flared they flapped like sails as they walked. Each and every one of them had a helmet-like mop of shoulder-length hair. One of the men spotted her and nudged his companions and they turned with leering smiles.
„All right, darling,‟ said one.
„Drinking alone, love? Why don‟t you come and join us?‟
invited another.
Tegan sighed. „No thanks,‟ she replied curtly.
„What‟s the matter, love? Don‟t you fancy us?‟ asked a man with a pockmarked face and a scrubby blond moustache.
„Not much, no.‟
„Ooh, too good for us, are you?‟
„Here,‟ said a man, whose thick dark fringe almost covered his eyes, „where you from? You an Aussie, are you?‟
Tegan looked the man squarely in the eye and said, „Look, I just came in for a quiet drink, so I‟d appreciate it if you‟d all go away and leave me alone.‟
Her words were met with a barrage of comments:
„Playing hard to get, are we, darling?‟
„Tie me kangaroo down, sport.‟
„Hey, you know what they say about Aussie birds.‟
The blond man with the moustache and the pockmarked face leaned forward, resting his knuckled fists on the edge of Tegan‟s table. In a voice that was quieter and more threatening than his friends‟ he said, „We only want to buy you a drink, lady. We‟re only trying to be polite.‟
Tegan‟s temper flared. She couldn‟t help it. „No, you‟re not,‟
she snapped. „You‟re a bunch of annoying little boys, all trying to act the big macho man in front of your mates.‟
She saw the blond-haired man‟s face change, a strange blankness come into his eyes, his lips curl aggressively.
Astonished, she watched as he drew his arm back, his hand closing into a fist. She had no doubt that he intended to punch her in the face.
At that moment she was aware of someone barging through the crowd of youths, and a split second later the blond man‟s head jerked up and he was yelping in pain. The man who had grabbed her would-be assailant‟s wrist and twisted it behind his back ignored the threats from around him, and leaned over the blond man‟s shoulder so that his mouth was positioned directly beside his ear.
„Get off on attacking women, do you, sonny?‟ he said. „That about your level, is it?‟
„Let me go,‟ the blond man cried through the pain.
„Or what?‟ said the newcomer. „Will you tell your mummy?‟
„I‟ll tell the police you attacked me. I‟ve got witnesses here to back me up.‟
„I am the police,‟ said the man, thrusting an ID card into the blond man‟s face.
The way the others melted away from the scene, some of them sidling over to the pool table on the far side of the pub, a couple even sneaking out through the door, almost made Tegan smile.
The last vestiges of defiance drained from the blond man‟s voice and he became whiny, craven. „I didn‟t do anything,‟ he said. „We were just messing about.‟
„Well, I don‟t think the lady found it very funny. Do you?‟
„Er... n-no, probably not.‟
„So what do you say?‟
„Er...‟
„I think an apology is called for, don‟t you?‟
„Oh. Oh yeah. Sorry, officer.‟
„Not to me, you moron, to the young lady.‟
„Oh... er... yeah. Sorry... er, miss.‟
Tegan snorted and rolled her eyes.
The policeman said reflectively, „Now, what shall we do with you? I think a night in the cells might make you think twice about throwing your puny weight around, don‟t you?‟
The blond man quailed. „No... no, don‟t, please. I mean, I‟ve... I‟ve learned my lesson. I‟ve never been in trouble before, honest. I won‟t do it again.‟
The policeman was silent for a moment, making the blond man sweat. Finally he said, „You know, I really can‟t decide what to do, so I think I‟ll ask the young lady here. Miss, would