Crimson Oath | Chapter 6 Scene 2 - The Interruption
What began as a guarded conversation between Mia and Elijah takes a sharp turn when Alex Rivera joins the booth, raising questions neither of them are ready to answer.
Mia met Elijah Kane at The Brass Monkey after receiving a mysterious photograph linking him to her late father. Over beers in a shadowed booth, she finally admitted the truth: something happened in the fire that shouldn’t have been possible, and Elijah wasn’t like the others either. Their quiet exchange cut through the noise of the bar, until the moment fractured when Alex Rivera slid into the booth, smile easy, cigarette smoke clinging to his jacket.
The Brass Monkey – 2045 Hours
Alex took a pull from Elijah’s beer, settling into the booth like he’d been invited. His eyes moved between them, assessing.
“Especially not with company,” he added, gaze lingering on Mia.
Mia stiffened, then leaned back, forcing her body to stay loose. The way he’d said it made it sound less like coincidence, more like a test.
Elijah didn’t flinch. “Long week.”
“Yeah.” Alex angled his body into the table, elbow propped just close enough to crowd the space. “Long week.” His glance slid to Mia, then back. “Funny, though. Tasha and Jax are still laid up, and here you are, Caldwell. Beer in hand.”
The words carried weight under the casual tone. Mia’s fingers tightened around her bottle.
“I’m fine,” she said flatly.
Alex smiled, but his eyes stayed cold. “That’s one way to put it. Word is that room flashed. Gear doesn’t just crumble like that unless someone’s cooked. Yet here you are, walking out with barely a scratch.”
Mia felt the press of heat climb her throat. She forced her voice steady. “Maybe I was lucky.”
“Lucky.” He gave a soft chuckle, low and humorless. “Guess we all could use a streak like that.”
Elijah shifted, his body turning just enough to cut the angle of Alex’s stare. “Drop it.” The words weren’t loud, but they landed heavy, final.
Alex raised his hands, mock surrender. “Relax, Kane. Just talking.” He leaned back, tipping Elijah’s bottle toward them with an easy grin. “Crazy world, though. Some people get torched, some walk out untouched. Makes you wonder.”
Mia kept her eyes on the condensation ring her bottle had left on the table, rubbing it away with her thumb. She wanted to bite back, but Elijah’s quiet steadiness anchored her. She borrowed it.
“Wonder all you want,” she said, voice calm. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
Alex studied her for a beat, then smiled wider, too pleased with the exchange. “Fair enough. Just surprised, that’s all. Kane doesn’t usually do this.” He gestured between them. “Not much of a bar guy. Not much of a people guy, either. Except, apparently, tonight.”
“Maybe I’m persuasive,” Mia said.
“Or interesting.” His smirk lingered, but didn’t touch his eyes.
The jukebox switched tracks, Zeppelin cutting loud enough to turn heads from the pool table. Around them the bar carried on with laughter and clinking bottles, but in the booth, the air had thinned.
When the waitress came back with the check, Elijah slid bills onto the tray before Alex could move.
“Leaving so soon?” Alex asked, but he was already leaning back, making room for their exit like he’d expected it.
Mia stood first, Elijah close behind. The bar’s warmth followed them to the door before the harbor air hit.
Outside – Thames Street
The harbor air hit cool, tinged with salt and diesel. Streetlamps shimmered off wet brick, laughter drifting from bars in crooked halos of light.
They walked a block in silence before Mia finally spoke. “Thanks.”
Elijah glanced at her. “For what?”
“For not letting him box me in.”
“You didn’t need me,” he said simply.
“Maybe not.” She slowed as they reached her Saturn, keys cold in her hand. “But it helped, knowing you were there.” She hesitated, jaw tight. “Doesn’t answer why you wanted me here tonight. Why the picture. Why now.”
Her hair slipped loose across her face in the breeze, but she didn’t brush it back. Her eyes held his, demanding more than deflection.
Elijah exhaled slowly, shoulders heavy. “Because answers come with risk. Tonight wasn’t about risking more.”
“So when?” she pressed.
Elijah glanced back toward the Brass Monkey, where Alex’s laughter carried faintly on the harbor breeze. When he looked at her again, something had shifted in his expression.
“Walk with me,” he said quietly. “There are things I can’t say in there.”
Mia glanced back toward the bar, then at her car. Safety was three steps away—keys, ignition, home. But so were all the same questions that had been eating at her since the photograph arrived.
After a moment, she dropped the keys back into her pocket. “Which way?”
“Harbor,” he said. “Fewer ears.”
Next in Crimson Oath: Mia follows Elijah into the night, where answers wait in the shadows of the harbor.