Sofia pushed her glasses back onto the top of her head. The bar was quiet enough. A few regulars with more time than money occupied tables while the radio played quietly in the background. Besides the terrible din that passed for mainstream music these days, the only sound in the bar was the occasional dull thud of a glass on a wooden table top. She wrung her cloth out over the sink and wiped down the countertop. It was an old bar, evident by the patrons, more so by the state of the bar itself. The varnish was chipped and worn away. Grafitti from years gone by adorned it. Sofia wasn't even sure if half the names belonged to living people anymore.
Curtis rose from his seat. Automatically, Sofia reached for another glass and filled it with his poison of choice. He never left before she did, which led to her taking a longer route home more than once. "Tryna get me drunk?"
"Trying to make rent, sugar. The more you drink, the more I get."
"That don't seem like much incentive to keep drinking," he grumbled.
Sofia smiled sweetly although her skin prickled at the comment. "I'll be able to afford a new dress. Maybe then you'll whisk me away from all this," she said, marking off his drink on his tab. Curtis chuckled and headed back to his seat, glass in hand. Just then, her phone buzzed and she slipped it from her pocket to see the group message. "CY?"
Cy, all 5'4" appeared of him, appeared around the door to the stockroom. He was a kind man, and Sofia was always going to keep trouble away from his door. "I need to head off. Will you be ok a while?" Sofia and Cy had known each other long enough to know why she would need to get away. He nodded and looped his cloth through his belt loop while Sofia hanged hers behind the bar and headed out, saying bye to the patrons before the door closed behind her.
Sofia looped around the back of the building and out onto the opposite street. It was fortunate that her work was close enough to the meeting point that she didn't need much notice to get there if she was at work. It was still a solid ten-minute walk on a good day, but it was close enough. She strolled in through the back door to the room they usually used. People tended to remember seeing a girl with vibrant red hair. Rather than sitting, she leaned against a table where she had the full view of the room. A few of them had already arrived, and Sofia nodded to them. She looked at the client and over to Hayden. This guy wasn't their usual client, anyone could see that. He was the type the police tripped over themselves to help. She raised an eyebrow at her friend, waiting for an explanation.