Keep It PG
"They call me mister Noon because I'm always on time." He tipped his hat.
"Well, hi, Moon man," the bouncer said, "you're not on the effen' list."
The evening smelled like Neon. Neon doesn't have a smell itself, but a broken sign spitting sparks only smells one way. As patrons came and went from the bar, they ground the broken glass into sand under their feet, but that was a slow process.
Noon shook his head, flopped his free arm at his side. His other held a black briefcase "You know you're the first one to say Hi to that, and you couldn't help but get the name wrong."
A man in a hooded jacked inside the bar straightened up and took a step towards the door, hands in his pockets. A messy haired woman with a violin case flipped the latches on the box and turned to face the door. The bouncer stood a full foot taller than noon. He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes down at the interloper. "What?"
Noon waved his free hand in the air. "It's Noon, so you're supposed to say 'Hi, Noon" like "High noon" the time, but you said it like Moon and that ruined the joke."
The bouncer shook his head slightly.
Noon sighed. "Maybe it doesn't translate well."
The bouncer looked over his shoulder. The man in the hood shook his head. When the bouncer looked back, Noon was holding up a folded piece of paper.
"Look, I know it's King's birthday, I came to give him a present." The piece of paper was brown and fragile, like it had aged in the sun for weeks. "I spilled my coffee on it this morning." said Noon. "Don't mind that."
The man on the inside began to walk quickly towards the two of them, gripping something in the folds of his jacket. Noon reached into his pocket.
"Leave it." said the woman, opening her violin case and propping her feet up on the table in front of her.
The man in the hood paused, and stepped forward more slowly, drawing out a pair of glasses. Without turning, the bouncer took them from him and put them on. He took the note from Noon, unfolded it, and he began to read. After a few moments, he handed it back to Noon. "A'rite." he said. "Enter at your own risk, mate."
Noon stepped into the bar, glass grinding under his feet. It was a clean coat, in contrast to the bar and the people in it. A girl in a blue hoodie and a gas mask quick stepped up, hopping to the side of the bouncer without a word and fell in behind Noon. "I'm with him." she said.
"She's with me." said Noon.
Noon came to a stop in the middle of the bar and looked around.
"You look like an idiot in here in the cowboy getup." said the girl. The denizens of the bar all wore black, mostly shirts with the logos of bands and they only knew what else on them. Noon wore a brown leather coat and hat, a bolo tie, and high leather boots. The bartender and the woman with the violin case both watched the two of them.
"Shush you." said Noon.
The two of them stepped towards the table of the woman with the Violin case.
As they stepped forward, the girl wrapped her hands around something in the pocket of her hoodie.
The woman at the table held up a finger. "Stop."
The two of them stopped.
The woman reached into the violin case, and the two of them tensed. The girl began to pull out her hands, and Noon shifted his weight and held the briefcase in front of himself in both hands.
The woman pulled out a violin.
The two of them relaxed.
The woman set her bow to string, but before she could play her first note, a middle aged asian man with bleached blonde hair opened a door to the side of her table. "Oh, Noon, don't let her keep you, she just likes to hear herself play."
Noon tipped his hat, and the girl chuckled.
"Much obliged" said noon.
Moments later they sat in King's office surrounded by a dozen or so similar looking band posters and a single poorly hand written note written in Khmer and framed. King wore a black shirt with no logo on it, and tight black jeans with a chrome chain looped from one pocket to the belt. He was built like a brick wall. His jacket barely fit him. He sat on his desk rather than behind it. "So what's the occasion?" he asked, smiling.
Noon set his suitcase on the desk. King smiled, slow and wide. "You brought me something I can make some money off of?"
Noon opened the case and King shook his head, clicking his teeth. "It's pure?"
At that the girl narrowed her eyes.
"Pure as anything you find on the trail's going to be." said Noon holding up a clear white stone. "Found it out on a hike, and knowin' it was your birthday coming, I figure'd you'd like it."
The girl blinked.
Noon handed King the stone and King held it up to the light. "Very cool." he said. "I miss our Geode team." He set the stone down on his desk, and his smile slipped. "Now, we do have some business to do." he said softly.
Noon pulled a stuffed bear out of the suitcase. The girl gasped.
King and Noon both looked at the girl, confused for a second. She shrugged. "It's nothing." she said.
King and Noon both laughed. "I know your granddaughter would have thrown a real fit if I visited you and didn't leave her a present."
King smiled and shook his head. "Nah, she's a good girl. She wouldn't complain, but she'd be sad, and I'd have hated to disappoint her."
Noon nodded to the note on the wall. "She's growing up."
King threw his hands up in the air. "She's already writing in more languages than I can speak. She'll be incredible someday. Hell, she already is!"
Minutes later, Noon and the girl were out on the street again. The bouncer was sweeping up the broken glass.
"That was weird." said the girl.
"What was weird about it?" asked Noon, straightening his hat as they walked.
"That place seemed shady. You said you knew that guy from way back but he was super wild. I thought they were going to pull a gun on you."
Noon coughed violently. "Lord, girl!" he said "He's a party animal is all. King's a serious businessman!"
The girl shrugged. "Well, it also really sounded like you were about to sell him drugs in there. Like, a stuffed bear? Pure rocks? Was that another one of your puns?"
Noon stopped dead in his tracks. "For fucks sake you little cunt!" he shouted. "I stick my fucking neck out for you all this time and you think I'd sell fucking drugs in this town?"
The girl turned, eyebrows raised. "Hey keep it PG-13, I'm still a kid."
Noon shook his head and sighed. "Have a little faith." he muttered.
The girl rolled her eyes.