Page 15 of Metal & Mud

"Look, the mix wasn't professional," the guy admitted, "but let's be frank, it's karaoke. I just liked that you didn't have to blend with the screamer part. That never made sense to me."

"What do you mean?" Sabby asked, and the guy grinned.

"I mean, look at the lyrics in that section. In the Halocene version, he's metal screaming at the beginning of what most people think of as the female verse. Seriously, screaming about Daddy and shopping on Rodeo Drive? That's-"

"'Bout as stupid as the rest of that song," a haughty, sneering voice said. Sabby and the guy both looked over, and she saw that it was the table that had been laughing at her, and the guy who had just spoken was the one who booed her. "What the hell do you think you're doing, singing that stupid shit in here?"

"Hey man, back off," her apparent admirer said, standing up to his full height. He was taller than average, which meant he practically towered over Sabby and was a good few inches taller than her heckler. "It's karaoke night, people can sing what they want."

"Not when she's ruining a good time with that perverted, twisted shit," one of the other guys said. "Nothing but a bunch of groomer music, you asked me."

"You can cut that shit right now," Sabby growled. "You do not know who you're fucking with."

"Seriously," her new guy added. "Save your fucking prejudice for when you're at home, feel me?"

Her detractors apparently didn't, as the third spoke up. "And who the hell are you to play white knight?"

"I'm just doing the right thing," the guy said. "I'm complimenting someone and not being a sanctimonious fuckhead."

"You know what, I want your name and rank, right now," the first guy said. Sabby could smell his breath, the guy clearly had had a few beers, and she could see both him and the new guy square up. She was nervous. She didn't know the three harassers, but she could tell they were at least members of the same unit, if not buddies.

They weren't going to back off over a physical threat from one guy, no matter that the guy was clearly in phenomenal shape, better than the three guys that she pegged as National Guard.

"No," her protector replied, tilting his head.

The boo-bird blinked. It was the last thing he'd expected to hear. "Excuse me?"

"Guys," Sabby said, trying to defuse the situation, "I don't think-"

"Rank doesn't matter when you're being a harassing, sexist and phobic asshole to a civilian. Besides, we're not on duty or in uniform," her protector said. "So let me correct myself. You want my name, rank, unit? Fine. Pull out your ID cards, let's slap 'em down on the counter right here. We can all swap our info, and go talk to the IG as soon as they open up Monday. But we can also call the MPs, maybe get a breathalyzer or two going here."

For a tense few moments, Sabby thought the three would call the guy's bluff. But the mention of the breathalyzer seemed to be enough, and the leader of the three nodded, pursing his lips. "That's how it's gonna be, huh?"

"I don't want no trouble," her protector said reasonably, "but I won't let you harass an innocent girl either."

The leader snorted. "White knight son of a bitch."

Apparently though, insults to her protector didn't matter to him, as he shrugged. Seeing that they weren't going to get him to jump and do something stupid, they took another step back. "Fuck it, guys," their leader said. "Don't need this stupid shit anyway. They wanna celebrate the perverts, karma'll get their asses eventually."

The trio left, and the guy watched them go out the front door before turning his gaze back to her, giving her a little smile. "Sorry if I stepped on your toes there, but people who act like that have always pissed me off. Did we join the military to sort of, I don't know, stop people doing shit like that?"

"Don't worry about it," Sabby said, smiling back. "Three on one though?"

The guy sighed in amusement, and ran his hand through his short hair. "Yeah, my sergeant probably would have kicked my ass if they'd seen that."

Sabby nodded, and leaned onto the counter. "Well, if they do, I'll happily put in a word that you were doing it for the right reasons. But it's happened before. Not those guys specifically, but not too many folks appreciate metal around here."

"That's their damn problem," the guy said, and Sabby laughed with him. When they stopped, his gray eyes met hers, and he offered a hand. "Logan."

"Sabby," she said, shaking his hand, and as their fingers touched, she felt it.

A spark.

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9

LOGAN

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