*Author's Notes*: Greetings, and welcome to the third chapter of The Darkest Nightmare. Here, the narration will switch to third person omniscient! Isn't that lovely, folks? Also introducing Deus ex Machina! And, as an extra bonus, we're welcoming Jack Skellington to the party! Thank you all for your lovely reviews! I really appreciate them. *Disclaimer* I do not own TNBC, obviously. That said, please read, review, and enjoy. Thank you for your time!

The Darkest Nightmare

Chapter 3: Speak Easy

Sally rested her forehead on the slightly sticky counter of the diner. Her headache had not receded, despite the numerous aspirin tablets she had taken. Instead, she felt as if the world had suddenly been magnified. She noticed everything, and everything irritated her. The lunchtime chatter of the diner's patrons was loud, obnoxious, and meaningless. The smell of fried food was making her nauseous. They didn't even have good coffee, she thought, glaring angrily at her empty cup. Normally, she wouldn't have cared. Normally, she would have choked down the food, thankful that it was cheap and the portions were generous. Normally, she would have rushed straight back to the station, eager to tell Hal her brilliant new idea about the case.

But she didn't have any ideas, and she didn't want to talk to Hal. So she had stayed at the disgusting little diner much longer than she had intended, silently fuming. That was where Jack Skellington found her, hunched over on her stool, rocking back and forth with an evil look upon her face, almost as if she was in the middle of cursing someone. He smiled broadly at this, pleased to see her. Her strange little habits almost always managed to amuse him.

"Bad day, Detective?" he asked in a voice that sounded like it had been made out of velvet. He repressed a chuckle when she whirled around to stare at him, looking almost like a startled cat. When she recognized him, her features settled into one of vague apprehensiveness.

"Jack," she said hesitatingly. "Er. Hello. Well. Um. Yes." She said, quickly glancing around the diner, checking to make sure that no one was paying attention to them. It wouldn't do for a police officer to be seen talking to a…speakeasy singer. The whole situation reeked of impropriety, of…of…criminality. It didn't matter how long they had been friends; Jack Skellington was walking the fine blue line between right and wrong. She shook her head mournfully. His mother would die of shame if she saw him now, she thought. He's so skinny, so lanky, so perfect. She flushed when she thought this, but she knew what her feelings for him were. What they had developed into during the past year. So what if he was a criminal? At the very least she could admire him from afar. But it was hard to do that when he was standing three feet away from her, impeccably dressed and grinning at her in a way that made her feel woozy.

"Hello, Sally?" asked Jack, a tad bit concerned. He knew that Sally had a tendency to daydream, but now she had a rather odd look upon her face. She quickly snapped back to attention, looking at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked. "What did you say?" Jack winced slightly as he noticed the heavy bags under her eyes, and her jittery, almost manic movements. Clearly, the woman needed a good night's rest.

"I asked if you were alright, Sally. Obviously not," he said, clearing his throat. Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm fine, Jack. Just a bit of…problems at work," she said, yawning. "Hal's had a bit of trouble dealing with our new case. We had an argument."

Jack harrumphed, which made Sally smile. She knew how much the skeleton man disliked her partner. "Nothing good ever comes from being a pigheaded smart ass," he would always say about Hal. She would then laugh at this, because Hal would always say the same thing about him. He didn't say it this time, but she knew that he was thinking it. Suddenly he turned to her, and asked:

"How's your father? Has he been giving you a hard time?"

Sally grimaced at this, thinking back to this morning's incident. The whole thing seemed so ridiculous now. So… unimportant, when compared to the prospect of certain death. She shrugged. "No worse than usual. What about your mother?"

He waved the question aside with a flick of his long, bony hand. "She's fine, fine. She's not happy if she's not complaining about something. Oh, Jack!" he said, mimicking her deep, throaty voice. "Why can't you be like your older brother? You have brought shame upon this family! What would your father think, if he were alive to see you? Oh, the horror!" He shook his head. "At least she's staying with Simon now. She can bother him."

Sally laughed.

"Well that's good." She said. She felt better, talking to him. He always found a way to lift her spirits. "How are things at the…" she dropped her voice down to whisper. "Speakeasy?"

"Wonderful. Not a raid in months," he said, grinning at her. His smile dropped before he spoke again. "But the Boogie Man's Boys have been lurking around, more than usual. The boss thinks that they're… trying to get new recruits."

Sally's jaw dropped. What were the odds? She thought, and then chided herself for being naïve. It's a trap, most likely. But maybe I'll get lucky. It's happened before.

"Well, isn't that serendipitous!" she said, forcing her tone to be jocular. "Here I am, looking for, at this very moment, a job as a bootlegger! I was wondering," she said, as she placed hand on his arm, "Whether you could enquire about getting me and my friend a job." She said, under her breath. Jack stared at her in shock, wondering if his friend had finally lost it.

"Are you insane?" he half-shrieked, half whispered. "Do you have a death wish, Sally? You can't do this. I…won't allow you to do this! I don't care what kind of crazy scheme you're up to, this is a trap!"

"Most likely," Sally said calmly, digging her fingernails into his forearm. "But it's my best shot. I have a job to do, and this is, unfortunately, the best way to do it. I want you to sniff it out for me. If it seems shady, then tell me. If not, well…" she said smiling. "Put in a good word with Lock for me, okay?" Jack hesitated for a moment, taking in his friend's determined expression on her worn face. He sighed. He knew Sally too well. She was like a dog with a bone. Even if he didn't agree to this, she would find a way to do it anyways. Isn't it better, said a small voice at the back of his head. If you help her? This way, she won't get killed. At least not right away… Jack silenced the voice before it could go any further.

"I'll help you," he said uneasily, prying her fingers off of his arm. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

She smiled gratefully, glad that he had agreed. If he hadn't, she would have concocted an elaborate plan involving a dramatic shoot-out and a large bowl of soup. "Thanks," she said, standing up and placing some money on the table. "Call me when you get some news." She gave him an awkward little wave as she walked out of the diner. She felt more optimistic than she had been all day as she walked down the street towards the police station. Maybe she would get lucky. Maybe everything would pan out.

Yes, and maybe Father will start being nice to me, she thought pessimistically. It was useless to hope. She just could not afford it. Who am I kidding? She thought gloomily, I've never been lucky in my entire life.