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The cab stopped on the dingy street. Two figures got out, one of them holding a baby.
"You sure this is the place?" Klaus asked.
"Betbe," Sunny mumbled as she curled into her sister's arms, away from the cold of the night.
Violet looked at the piece of paper she was holding. "Yes," she said. "This is it."
The three orphans walked into the dark interior of Devil May Cry.
When they came in, they saw a woman with something that looked like a bazooka on her back playing pool.
Looking up, she was surprised at the three new faces. "What're you kids doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be in-"
"Devil must die," Klaus calmly stated.
The woman straightened up. "Follow me."
She led them to a door in the back of the room. Opening it, they saw an ancient mahogany desk. Behind it, there was someone wearing a red trench coat with their face buried in a Game Informer magazine.
"The hell?" they heard him mumbling. "What do they think they're doing? I mean, the hair isn't even close to right, the angel and devil mode sounds borderline idiotic, and he looks like some emo d-bag."
"Dante," the woman said in a bit of an annoyed tone. "We have some kids here."
"Then send 'em packing," came the reply. "You know I hate kids."
The woman then walked up to the desk and yanked the magazine away. "They have the password."
The orphans could now see the man's face. He had silver hair, pale features, and a scowl on his face.
Violet stepped forward. "You must be Dante."
He nodded. "Yeah."
"We are in need of your services," Klaus added.
Dante leaned back in his chair and grinned. "What for? Monster in your closet?"
"Ignore him," the woman said as she leaned against the desk. "What are you here for?"
"Well, I'm Violet Baudelaire," Violet said. "And these are my siblings, Klaus and Sunny."
"We're orphans," Klaus supplemented. "Our parents died in a house fire, and left their fortune to us. Problem is, our distant relative, Count Olaf-"
"Count Oaf?" Dante interrupted. "Why'd you have to worry about someone with a name like that?"
The woman reached back and slapped him in the face. "Sorry. Continue."
"Thanks. Anyway, he has been trying to get our fortune for God knows how long, and we've grown sick of it."
"Sicovit," Sunny punctuated.
"So you see, we came up with a plan. If we can transfer the money to Switzerland, then he can't touch it, and we might have a bit of peace for once."
"Everything's worked out," Violet added. "All we need to do is go to Switzerland and sign some papers, and then he can't come within a mile of it."
"So where do I fit in?" Dante asked.
"Count Olaf has a well…history of trying to defraud us of the money, by force if necessary. We needed some form of protection, and all of my sources say you're the best."
Dante nodded. "Good sources. Now, about payment…"
"We're willing to pay you seventy five grand," Violet coolly stated.
"One hundred," Dante replied.
"Eighty."
"Ninety five."
"Ninety."
"Deal." Dante held out his hand, and Violet took it. "Now," he said as he rose from his desk. "I have some gear to grab. Then we can go."
Dante reached under his desk, and to all the children's' surprise, pulled out a massive sword. He placed it over his back, then reached down and picked up two pistols. "Okay, where to?"
Klaus pushed up his glasses, nervously eying the handguns. "Well, er, we have a train ticket. It leaves in two hours."
Dante walked around the desk then headed for the exit, motioning for them to follow. "You're in charge Lady," he said over his shoulder to the woman. "Tell any customers that show up to wait a couple of weeks."
Lady nodded. "Alright Dante. Don't get yourself killed out there."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
XXXXXXXX
As the group walked outside, they failed to notice one of the gargoyles on a nearby building turning its head to follow them. The Count had paid him well to keep an eye on these ones, and this demon was no one to fail its duties. Jumping into the air on stone-like wings, the creature flew back to its master, ready to tell him of the new information it had gathered.
XXXXXXXX
"What was that?" Violet asked as they heard a rustling above them.
"Probably a rat. Those mothers grow pretty big around here," Dante answered, not breaking stride.
They walked in silence for a while. Then, Violet cleared her throat. "So, uh, Dante, you do these kinds of jobs a lot?"
He shrugged a bit. "I do all kinds of jobs. I took down some weird cult, I've kept my brother from opening a gate to hell, you know, shit like that."
Violet was nodding, staring intently at their protector. To be perfectly honest, Klaus was a little nervous at the look she was giving him. That look was normally reserved for a particularly interesting piece of machinery. Could she be-
"You know," Violet chimed, interrupting his thoughts. "I could see your neon sign was flickering a little. I could probably fix it. You know, just a bad connection somewhere."
"Huh," Dante answered. "This the train station you were talking about?"
"Yes," Klaus answered. "We should have around an hour and a half before we have to go."
Dante nodded and walked with them up to the platform. On their way up, they passed a bum leaning against a trash can.
"Spare change?" the filthy man asked. They all ignored him and continued on. "Hey, I'm talking to you, ya lousy jackholes!"
Dante heard the man get up. He also heard the small but telltale chittering.
In a single motion, the Devil Hunter turned around with his pistols drawn. The bum had gotten up, and where his arm should be there was a massive blade coated in insects. The man was just raising the weapon as Dante opened fire.
The demon fell from the assault just as Sunny started screaming. Dante calmly walked up to the downed creature and lined up its head in his sights.
"Nice try. Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me who paid you…"
"Please, spare me! It was-" the creature was cut off both metaphorically and literally as a sword much like its own came whizzing through the air, neatly slicing off the creature's head.
There was a pause. Then, Dante holstered his pistols. "Well, ain't going to get anything off of it. Might as well go wait for the train."
The children stared first at the body, which had already started to decompose, and then at Dante.
"He…He's dead," Klaus said, eyes wide open behind his glasses.
"It," Dante corrected. "Lesser demons like that one don't have a set gender."
"Still," Klaus continued, frazzled by the interruption. "It was a sentient being, and you just shrug and walk away."
"Listen Socrates," Dante said as he turned to him, arms raised in a surrender gesture. "I really don't want to have an ethics argument right now, so I'll tell you this: I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help you kids get to Switzerland. You don't question it, I just do it. Kapeesh?"
The twelve year old just shook his head and followed his siblings and the Devil Hunter up to the platform.
Well, here's my first chapter. Hope all of you liked it! Please review!