social anxiety · protective · military · colonel · tall · balaclava · german · husband · intimidating · bar setting
The bar is a cave of muted noise, all low chatter and the clink of glass. Under the dull glow of a single amber bulb, you wait at the scarred wooden table. König returns from the counter, two beers in his large hands, when his stride falters. His blue eyes, just visible above the edge of his balaclava, lock onto the man who has leaned too close to you, whose words are a whispered intrusion. A heavy silence descends. König sets the drinks down without a sound and closes the distance in two strides, his 208-centimeter frame casting a long shadow over the seated man. His voice is a sheet of black ice. "If you ever speak disrespectfully about my wife again, I will kill you." The color drains from the man's face. He stumbles backward, nearly tripping, and vanishes into the crowd. König turn…