A new start

The ware house was old, silent, dark. It had a deadly threatening
feel. As he drove up to the side door he could feel the fear curdling
in his stomach. The voices in his head said "you chose this place, you
wanted it to be scary", he ignored it and carried on. Stepping out of
the car he could hear sounds from inside the ware house. This was it he
had to go in he didn't know what was going to greet him when he got in
there. He opened the main door when he got inside there were two doors.
The one on the left was marked entrance the one on the right was marked
"exit" something seemed odd about them but he couldn't place it. He
stepped through the left hand door.

His mind went back

He walked in. there were two men in the firing range one was taking
shots the other, slightly strange man stood and watched. The watching
man stood by a small table covered in assorted guns, and ammunition, he
was about 5'10" with short black, greasy hair in a side parting, he
looked like a child picture of a man with his hair greased flat against
his head with a slight Italian look and a thin moustache spread over
his top lip. The other was taking shots at a target. He was taller,
bulkier and had huge shoulders he was about three inches taller than
him. He was one of those people who looked like they had been folded
over three or four times so that they could fit into their clothes and
under door frames, he was the type of person who would akways seem to
be squeezed into anything he wore, even if it was a tent.
He walked over and joined the two men. As he walked in they seemed to
hardly notice him. He walked over to a position next to the large man
took up a hand gun that was ready to go on a table and opened fire on
his target. Then when he had run out of bullets he picked up another
weapon and emptied that on the target all of his shots were dead on
target. The tall bulky man followed suit, he two was spot on
accurate.

They went again the he knew for some reason that he had to beat the
large man. He turned to the unreal man and said "we go again".

The man took an unusually long time to answer, he paused as if he was
reading something only he could see, just in front of him 'yes' the
distant reply. He spoke in a strange far off almost tinny voice.

Nervous now He picked up his weapon of choice reloaded it from the clip
on the table aimed, tried to pull the trigger, but through the sweat,
anxiety and possibly some other unknown reason he dropped the
gun.

"That was unfortunate" the thin man croaked. "Pick it up again"

He picked it up and fired all 10 shots were perfectly on target.

He went for the other gun and realised he was out of ammo. His heart
punding, he looked around desperately and found only one bullet.

'You should've conserved your ammo' observed the thin man,
distantly.

He looked round at the large man and realised that he still had shots.
The large man turned and smiled a huge grin at him.

Almost dreamlike now he heard the thin man say 'it started off a good
idea, good intentions. 'yes' He replyed in a preoccupied tone. He
looked in the dark across the room between him and the target were
tables, on top one of the tables his mind focused on a wine glass. He
thought. I could win if I hit that. He aimed.

BANG!

The shot was fired; he saw the glass topple slightly
Ping!
The bullet ricocheted off the glass, impossibly leaving it
intact.
It wobbled.

The edges of his world went black all he could now see was that glass.
He remembered.

He realised he was where he had been when it all started.

It was the opening night of the restaurant and he was sat at his table,
with his co-founders, the thin man and the large man. He saw her
filling that same glass for someone as his vision lit up again. It was
as if he had gone back in time and was reliving the last months. She
looked up and their gaze met. She was beautiful, blonde but not totally
blonde the colour sometimes called 'dirty' blonde, she had eyes of
bluish green colour and was wearing the regulation cream blouse
unbuttoned to her chest and jet black knee length skirt. She moved over
to the next table. He stood up and went over to her. 'Hello' he said.
I'm Craig Rogers co-owner of this place. I assume Manfield employed
you'

'Yeah' was the reply. Her voice was as sexy as the rest of her. 'Him
and the other one, Bryant, he doesn't say much does he?'
'no he gets a little shy'
She smiled and looked into his eyes, the kind of seductive look that
only women know how to do and men long for.
'I'd better get on with my work, wouldn't want you to fire me now!' as
she smiled her blue eyes sparkled and she turned to serve the man at
the table.

That was it, the beginning of the tale and the end, of course that
wasn't totally the beginning of the tale, or indeed the end, but we
could argue that the story starts with Craig meeting Manfield and
Bryant in an underground Boxing club, or further back when his father
was a small and slightly irritating child living in a remote place just
about to be discovered by two travelling strangers for his amazing
mental speed.
However this is where this story begins and we will leave the rest for
when the author decides to make more money from the Rogers franchise
and writes a "prequel", because his other ideas aren't as easy to pull
off.

Chapter 1

Sometimes you think that you're crazy. Sometimes you think you must be
in a dream-and a not very good one at that. You pinch yourself or check
your feet to see if you have the right shoes on, because invariably in
a dream you don't, that if you have shoes on at all. Then you try to
wake up and usually you do because; yes, you were asleep. But sometimes
you don't wake up you have those same brown brogues you bought last
week and you are definitely NOT in your pyjamas. This is real even
though it seems crazy you are definitely awake- Deal With It.

You have to.

You cant just turn off or start all over again or live another person's
more interesting life, even if you could you'd find out most lives are
as bad as yours. Except for those on T.V. or in computer games where
the heroine can run around Africa shooting wild animals and running
through ruined cities in skimpy outfits for no other reason than
"because".

Craig sat down at the bar and ordered himself a Singapore Sling. He sat
with his drink and admired his work. The restaurant was full. People
were chatting, eating and waiting for their next course. The bar was a
master piece personally designed by Craig. A lot of people there were
people who had worked on the project and been offered a discounted meal
on the opening night as a thank-you, some were those toffs from around
the town who thought they were in high society, and others were those
people who genuinely were high society gentlemen who could afford these
prices, and actually appreciated the view. It was a good view. Across
the bay, you could see the new barrage and the small boats sailing in
the evening light, the red sunset glinting off the water and the tips
of the boat masts. Heading away from them was the old paddle steamer
the Wavery taking people back across the channel. Everything was good.
Life was good people were enjoying themselves and the summer was like
nothing ever before.

At that moment the stage across the room from Craig lit up and the room
fell silent. The piece de resistance, the entertainment. Today it was
comedy. Other nights it would be music, some nights it would be open
mike for all those society wannabes to try and make an impression and
the real society people to show off their clever and comical use of big
words, and of course, unfortunately somebody would probably slip in a
knob gag along the way. the sad thing was it would probably be funnier
than most of the other wannabes' attempts.

Tonight being the first night they had booked a collection of big-time
stand up comedians most of whom had shows on TV. This was a good crowd
puller.

Craig turned to the barman. "So how are things going? Getting along
ok?"
"Fine, fine" he replied "a couple of teething problems but then what do
you expect on an opening night?"
"Good" said Craig he saw the waitress step into the kitchen "good well
done keep the work up" he said in an airy tone staring at the still
closing door of the kitchen. Still watching the door he stood up and
walked over towards the door.

Inside the kitchen it was hot, and loud. There were chefs and kitchen
Porters bustling everywhere, the place a din of calling and shouting
and the sizzle of various meats frying, with the occasional beep of a
microwave or oven. Craig walked across to the hotplate from where the
food was picked up by the waitresses.
Next to him a bell went off. It was the steamer he turned it off and
opened the door, but he forgot to duck and got a face full of scorching
steam, he stepped back and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Watch it you oaf!" a familiar female voice said. He turned round it
was her again he realised he still didn't know her name "I nearly
dropped that!" she cried. He looked at her and then her at him, she
realised who she was shouting at "oh sorry!" She said "I didn't realise
it was you!"

"Don't worry about it! I won't fire you." he said! "You can make up for
it by working late!"

She smiled and looked him in the eye putting her head to one side.
"Right," she said half seriously "anyway I've got to get these plates
out!"
"Don't let me stop you"
Craig tuned back to the steamer took a cloth and took out the
vegetables that had been steaming in there, He looked around saw the
head chef and called him
"Lee! Where do you want these?"
"Oh hi Craig, cheers, um just put them in the hot plate with the other
veg"
"Right you are, so how's things going? Hectic I see, not having much
trouble are you?"
Lee looked up from a duck starter he was dressing "no just a few
teething problems, but what can you expect on the first night?"
"Exactly! Good" said Craig. "Staying for a drink after?" he asked
Lee.
"Yeah sure it'll be just like old times! I'm really enjoying all this,
you know I thrive on a good panic!" Lee was forced to raise his vice
over the general noise of the kitchen.
Craig had known Lee for years ever since He'd been working in a
restaurant as a waiter when Lee was a trainee chef.
Behind him the door bust open and someone hurried in.
"Hey" shouted Lee "no running in my kitchen!"
"Sorry" replied the newcomer Craig realised it was the young lad they
had employed to see in deliveries and watch reception "I was looking
for you Mister Rodgers"
"Well you've found me, what is it you want in such a hurry?"
"there's a man in reception, he looks mean and he's definitely angry.
He said to tell you Jeffry was here"

"hmm" Craig looked at his feet. He was wearing the same brown brogues
he had put on that morning. He still tried waking up anyway.
Unsurprisingly he wasn't asleep.
"Damn" he thought better go and face the music then...