Welcome to the beginning of the next hunt!
Notes: It's been some time since we last heard from the duo, we're going to jump right into the thick of it!
The ratty old sports car was Wally's pick for the month, since they traded out cars on the first. A precaution of Artemis's that she'd picked up from one of her many mentors in the gig.
Artemis had to admit, he had pretty good taste.
"Demon weaknesses," She ordered as she reached over the redhead to roll down his window. The amount of food he would collect at every fast food joint they passed was astounding, and it was stinking up the car.
"Iron, holy water, devil's trap," He recited easily, leaning back to allow the blonde room and holding his French fries a little closer. She had a habit of stealing one every once and awhile, "Oh! And salt," He added.
"Good," Artemis smiled, her features falling when Wally couldn't resist blowing on her loose hair as she drew away from his side of the car, "Jerk,"
Wally just laughed, "So where are we going next, Captain?" He beamed.
"Some prissy city near the capital of Illinois, I forget the name," Artemis rummaged around the dashboard until she found the paper she was looking for, and then promptly dropped it into Wally's lap.
"Brighton," He read off of the corner of the page, "Oh, a ghost at a theatre, sounds dramatic," Wally nudged his companion.
"Hardy har har," Artemis rolled her eyes, "Quick, how do you kill a ghost?"
"Salt and burn the bones," The redhead answered excitedly.
"And?" She pressed on, doing little to hide the smile from their games, "What if there are no bones?"
"Burn whatever might be left, hair or dead skin on something they owned. Like Claire's hair brush," He pointed out, remembering the vengeful cheerleader in Colorado they'd fought two weeks before.
"God I hated her," Artemis mumbled, wrinkling her nose up before raising her voice to mimic the ghost, "My teammates let me fall! They deserve to die!"
"You're just mad because she flirted with me," He retorted, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"She tried to drown you in the school pool," Artemis laughed, "I hardly think that counts as flirting!"
"Naw she totally dug me," Wally jibed, popping the last few of his French fries into his mouth.
"Will you reread the article out loud? We're like fifteen minutes away," Artemis pursed her lips, "I think,"
"Aren't we getting a love shack first?" Wally leaned forward to squint at the passing highway signs, "Oh" He grinned, "There's a Cozy Corner Motel here. I love those,"
"Stop calling them love shacks. And we are not getting a Jacuzzi in our room," Artemis deadpanned.
"But I bought you that swimsuit…" He whined, the corners of his lips twitching upwards.
"And I have miraculously forgiven you for whatever you did to figure out my exact size," She raised an eyebrow at him. He chuckled when the car beside them honked at her for deliberately not letting her pass into her lane.
"If you know it fits, that means you tried it on,"
"Would you read the damn article Wally!" Artemis snapped, her face flushed.
Wally laughed while nodding and plucked the article from his lap.
"Basically," He announced, "There's this fancy theatre that everyone in town loves," Wally went silent as he read the next parts, "And people that work there have started dying," Another break, "Actors and stage crew, no audience members though,"
"How are they dying?" Artemis cut in.
"Accidents, there's no evidence of foul play but because there's so many deaths no one actually believes they aren't murders," Wally paused once more, frowning as they drove right past the Cozy Corner Motel.
"We don't need a Jacuzzi," Artemis reiterated, "Is there anything on the history of the place?"
"No, it just talks about how tragic the deaths are," He said as they pulled into the parking lot of a Northern Trail Inn, "You picked this place on purpose," Wally spoke with suspicion lacing his voice.
"No Jacuzzis here," She sang.
"Fun killer,"
"Hi, I'm Special Agent Tom Hayes, this is my partner Allison Williamson," Wally greeted the theatre manager, his and Artemis's badges already on display, "We'd like to ask you and your staff a few questions about the victims, is that alright?"
The manager, a bosom-clutching theatre enthusiast, had let them into her office with a flourish of scarves and used handkerchiefs. Artemis had let Wally take the lead.
"Of course! This situation is just so dreadful, I will do anything you require in order to bring the culprit to justice," Her voice boomed, "Feel free to interrogate anyone you deem fit," She spoke with malice, her hair bristling with emotion.
"Alright, thank you Ma'am," Wally nodded, ushering the blonde out of the office as fast as possible. Once outside and in the backstage area, the two began breathing normally again.
"Do you think they're all going to be like that?" Artemis groaned, scanning the bustling stage with distaste.
"No," Wally reassured her, leaning close to whisper his next words, "Just the actors,"
Artemis abruptly covered her mouth to hold in her laugher, using her free hand to slap the redhead across the chest. Wally chuckled and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"So, who first?" He questioned.
"The stagehands," The blonde said decisively, ignoring Wally's smirk as she strutted over to a man working with the curtain ropes, "Hello Sir, I'm Special Agent Allison Williamson and this is my partner, Tom Hayes. Are you free to answer a few questions about the recent deaths?" She asked, flashing her badge while Wally did the same.
The man looked around uneasily, as though attempting to find a distraction, and then sighed, "Yeah, I've got some time,"
"Great, so. Where you familiar with any of the victims personally?" Wally asked, pulling out a palm sized notepad and pen.
The man nodded sadly, "Gregory, I knew Gregory real well. He was a real nice guy, never really got into any trouble. He fell asleep on the job sometimes, but it never did any harm. He was working another job down at the station in the mornings. Didn't get a lot of sleep cause of it,"
Wally scribbled on the pad as the man spoke, a grave frown etched upon his face. Artemis leaned over to check what he'd written.
He hadn't written anything. It was a very crude caricature of someone in Shakespearean dress holding a skull up.
"Thank you so much for your time," Artemis cut in, reaching a hand around to pinch Wally on his side. He flinched. "If you think of anything else that might be of interest, please contact us,"
Once the duo had walked far enough away from the stagehand Wally spoke up.
"You didn't like my drawing?" He asked.
"You're terrible," She responded, knowing by his smile that he could read her face and could tell that she was amused.
"So Gregory," The redhead flipped the notebook back a few pages, "He was killed when a light fell on him. He was asleep at the time,"
"Poetic justice," Artemis mused, "Man falls asleep on the job one too many times, eventually he doesn't wake up,"
"You're grim," Wally pointed out, guiding them in the direction of an actor digging through a pile of tossed aside props.
"I'm thinking like a ghost," She amended. Then paused, eyeing Wally's hand that had begun rubbing at his upper arm, "Don't scratch at your tattoo," Artemis chided, "If it doesn't heal correctly then the seal doesn't work,"
"I know," He whispered back, "It's not like I want a demon to possess me," He rolled his eyes, "But it itches,"
"I'll re-bandage it later, alright?" Artemis offered.
"Thanks nurse," Wally cooed. Artemis elbowed him.
"Hello Sir," The blonde spoke up as they reached the actor roughly searching for something, "I'm-"
"Yes, yes, I'm aware," He cut her off without looking, his voice tight, "Gossip spreads fast around here. What do you need to know?"
"Uh, well," Artemis blinked a few times, "We were wondering if you knew any of the victims personally,"
"Sure did," He grimaced, beginning to toss objects around in frustration, "I knew nearly all of them, it's why I can't slow down,"
The blonde noticed that Wally seemed a bit fidgety and realized that he must have wanted to join the man and help him out in his search. So she pulled on his sleeve and gave him a frown to get him to settle down.
"Why can't you slow down?" She continued on, satisfied that Wally had stopped rocking on his heels.
"If you slack off, you die," The man turned towards them briefly, his face grave, "That's what happened to the others. It's not going to happen to me,"
"What makes you say that?" She tilted her head back, hoping that they'd found a lead.
"Look, just ask the others, they'll tell you what happened. I've got to go. I've got to keep working," He huffed, turning away and stalking off.
Wally turned to Artemis with raised eyebrows, "He was friendly," The redhead declared, "But informative,"
"Yeah," She agreed, "He's probably got the right idea,"
"Split up and search for clues?" Wally suggested with a smile.
Artemis snorted inelegantly to withhold and laugh and nodded, "Meet you back at the exit in an hour,"
"So," Wally drawled, putting his feet up on his bed, "All of the victims died while they were slacking off at work, and their death usually had something to do with what they were supposed to be doing,"
Artemis drew her lips into a thin line as she searched the web for information on the theatre, "So we know what kind of person the spirit was. Nitpicky, hard worker, concerned about whether others were doing their jobs,"
"A previous owner?" Wally questioned, frowning when Artemis slapped his hand away from her stash of licorice.
"Get your own," She scolded.
"I already ate mine," He shot back, attempting to reach for the candy once more.
Artemis retaliated quickly, snatching a knife out of her belt and whipping around to hold it to his throat.
The redhead gulped and bit his lip, his eyes drifting down to the weapon at his jugular, "I failed the test, didn't I?"
She gave him a look, "Yes you did," The knife was swiftly put back into it's sheath, "If I had been a demon, or a vampire, or anything else that's mean; you'd be dead,"
"Yeah," Wally said dejectedly, his shoulders drooping.
Artemis curled up her nose, unhappy that the redhead suddenly looked so sullen as he began working again. So she took a strand of licorice and wielded it just as she had the knife, spinning and attempting to land a hit on his neck.
He ducked and caught it in his mouth.
"What the hell Wally!?" The blonde snapped, righting in her chair to glare at the man who had begun to slowly pull the candy into his mouth with his lips. He chewed a bit before answering, his eyes just as wide and confused as Artemis's.
"I have no idea," He shook his head.
"Do you mean to tell me that when I put a knife to your neck you can't think fast enough, but when I'm about to hit you with candy you can move fast enough to catch it in your mouth?"
"It's instinct," Wally shrugged.
"You need to prioritize your instinct, then," Artemis spoke with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe I wasn't reactive because I'm never worried that you're going to hurt me," He suggested.
The blonde leaned back in her chair, a smug look growing on her features, "So I should start attacking you with intent to maim?"
Wally grimaced, "Maim? Why maim? That sounds so...painful,"
"Well I don't want you dead," Artemis clarified, turning away from him to continue searching newspaper archives.
"That might be the sweetest thing you've said to me," Wally mused, mocking a wistful sigh.
Artemis threw another strand of licorice at him, frowning when he caught it and had it in his mouth faster than he could draw a gun.
"Then again, there was that one time when I got caught by that ghoul," He grinned, "Damn you just came in raving mad,"
"Well you had to go and be the fucking damsel," Artemis snorted, pretending that she wasn't paying attention.
"Your cursing is like music to my ears," He sang, leaning back onto the bed, "I SWEAR IF YOU KILLED HIM I'LL FUCKING GUT YOU BEFORE I'M FINISHED WITH YOU," Wally quoted in a rough falsetto.
"I did not say that," Artemis snapped, a blush rising to her cheeks, "You had a lot of blood loss,"
"I could hear just fine," Wally grinned.
"Blood loss can give you hallucinations," The blonde retorted.
"No it doesn't!" He guffawed, crumbling up a piece of paper to toss into her lap. She flicked it away.
"You were probably concussed too," Her responses were becoming weaker.
"I'm starting to think that there isn't ever a time when we aren'tconcussed," He rolled his eyes.
Artemis let out a chuckle and leaned back in her chair to pop her back, letting out a contented sigh when she managed a satisfying crack from her movements.
"Hey Arty, can I ask you a question?" Wally leaned up on his elbows, his fingers flicking at the papers scattered around.
"You can," She shrugged, skimming another potentially useful article.
"How did you get involved in hunting?" He asked tentatively. Artemis turned abruptly, her mouth open to speak, "I know, I know. You don't like that question. But I mean," He sighed, "Who did you lose?"
Wally waited patiently as Artemis stiffened and her gaze fell to the floor, the only sound left in the motel room was the quiet whirr of the laptop. The blonde licked her lips, straining the silence.
"My whole family," She said quietly, her voice barely loud enough for the redhead to catch, "It was a demon,"
After her last word, her lips shut tight and Wally knew it was all he was going to get from her for this attempt, "I'm sorry,"
"Me too," The words were sharp and Artemis let out a harsh breath before donning her professional mask once more, "I found a potential suspect," She pointed to the screen.
"Lay it on me," He scooted to the end of the bed and peered over her shoulder.
"There was a theatre owner around fifty years ago, Cody Lutterman who lost his wife Roxy, an actress, to an accident there," She paraphrased from the article, "He committed suicide in the stage ropes two months later,"
"He certainly has enough connection to the theatre for his ghost to show up there," Wally reasoned, smirking when he was quick enough to sneak a hand around and grab another strand of licorice before Artemis could grab him.
"Yeah, and since his wife died in an accident that was likely caused by a negligent coworker, his spirit is probably try to prevent any more. By killing all of the workers who aren't doing their jobs," Artemis suggested.
"By causing accidents?" He frowned.
"Ghost logic, Wally," Artemis chuckled, "It's flawed,"
"Right," Wally nodded, "Bones?"
The blonde set into searching hacked record systems, the process only taking her a few minutes, "Cremated, same as his wife,"
"Damn," Wally pulled his hand down his face, "A cursed object in a theatre? It could be anything,"
"Let's just burn the whole place down," Artemis smirked, catching Wally's eye for confirmation.
"Now, Artemis. That would just be rude," He smiled back, "Let's burn down the town for good measure,"
A staring contest resulted, each keeping contact and trying to withhold their laughter.
Wally broke first, throwing his head back to laugh loudly. Artemis broke quickly after him, her smile stretching her face.
She thwacked him too, for good measure.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think!
Love, Veg