Author note - welcome back readers! Sorry for the delay, I experienced some writer's fatigue, so I took a day off to recharge and then another where I wrote without a deadline. The song Taylor sings is the same one Charlie sings at the beginning of the pilot episode (That's Entertainment), as I thought it went with the theme of the club. Lastly, this story is up to 28-33 favorites and followers, wow! Welcome to kimurakosama and Spiked29, I'm glad to have your vote of confidence. And I am always glad to get reviews, I sometimes wonder which chapters you all liked the most, so I'd love to hear about it! Enjoy the read!
Chapter 42: That's Entertainment
Tonight was going to go smoothly, Taylor told themselves. The guest list was confirmed, contacts had eyes on Rosie and the entrance to the club to ensure no surprises showed up, and Taylor had broken some contracts that morning, so they were full of vim and vigor. And yet there was a persistent sense of foreboding they couldn't shake.
They scanned around the club to try to take their mind off the trepidation they were feeling. Mimzy's club was styled after a 1920's speakeasy, with a hidden entrance at the top of the staircase descending into a spacious room decorated in warm reds and mahogany wood paneling and furniture. One side of the club housed a well-stocked bar with every kind of spirit you could imagine lining the wall. In the middle of the space was a dance floor for patrons to dance, mingle, and listen to the performances from the stage in the back of the room. All around were tables and booths with plush seating. Despite the openness, it still felt cozy and intimate.
"What's eating you, doll?" came Mimzy's nasally voice beside them. Taylor glanced over as she lit up a cigarette and took a drag. They shrugged.
"Nothing, just pre-show jitters is all." They replied casually while hiding their displeasure of being in Mimzy's company.
"Well, shake it off! I need you hitting on all sixes so we can rake in the dough tonight. You think a swanky joint like this comes cheap?" She said unsympathetically as she gestured to the space.
Taylor suppressed the desire to roll their eyes as they spoke in an obsequious tone of voice.
"Ab-so-lute-ly, boss. I'll do my best!" They simpered with a smile.
"Attagirl! Now scram!" Mimzy answered, dismissing them with a wave.
'One more night. Just one more night of this.' They reminded themselves through a strained smile as they made their way to the back of the stage to wait for the club to open.
The night started off with lots of fanfare. The dance floor was bustling with activity, with the crowd drinking, milling around, and couples tearing up the dance floor to peppy jazz numbers and stage performances. Mimzy entertained the audience with her showgirl flair and contagious energy before giving the weary dancers and performers a much-needed break by introducing Taylor and their singing act before she sauntered her way over to the bar.
Taylor graciously took the microphone from the demoness before subtly looking toward their contacts around the room. The top of the staircase near the entrance, one of the bartenders, a waiter, their piano accompanist, all were either putting in ear protection or nodded quickly when they made eye contact. With a final nervous deep breath and a nod to the pianist, they began singing "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by the Dolly Sisters.
"At the end of the rainbow, there's happiness. And to find it, how often I've tried. But my life is a race, just a wild goose chase. And my dreams have all been denied." They crooned mournfully.
Taylor watched as the murmurs of the crowd fell silent and actions such as gestures and motions were halted as all seemed to stop what they were doing and listen in to their siren song.
"Why have I always been a failure? What could the reason be? I wonder if the world's to blame. I wonder if it could be me?" They sang wistfully.
They looked over to confirm that their target was gazing at them with a dopey smile and completely relaxed.
'Perfect.' Taylor thought in relief. They continued their check the room as they sang but their eyes stopped on a demon in a white tuxedo and fedora with their back to them. They seemed alert and the only one not watching them, perplexing Taylor. As they continued, they waved to the waiter contact roaming the floor and indicated to the demon in question.
"I'm always chasing rainbows. Watching clouds drifting by. My schemes are just like all my dreams, ending in the sky." They intoned morosely as they watched the contact check on their mystery audience member.
The contact put their serving tray under their arm and made a motion of the demon being on their phone with their hands, surprising Taylor.
'Who comes to a live performance venue just to be on their phone?' They thought incredulously. 'Looks like I'll have to use the heat exhaustion ability after all.' They lamented in their head as they made their way off the stage and toward the white-clad demon in the audience as they continued their rendition.
"Some fellows look and find the sunshine; I always look and find the rain. Some fellows make a winning sometimes. I never even make a gain, believe me." They quavered forlornly as they approached the demon.
On closer inspection, he was a weasel-like demon with yellow sclera and red irises wearing a white gangster outfit, texting away animatedly and chuckling to himself. Taylor tilted their head and saw he was wearing wireless ear buds, explaining why their hypnotic singing wasn't having any effect. They tried to snatch the buds out of his ears, but they kept flickering this way and that too quickly for them to do it without risking interrupting the song. They rolled their eyes and then began focusing their gaze to form a heat blanket as they stood behind the demon and continued their performance.
"I'm always chasing rainbows! Waiting to find a little bluebird, in vain." They belted out woefully as they finished. The room was quiet barring the hissing chuckles from the weasel demon near them. They took a breath and spoke in their normal tone of voice.
"Thank you all for listening. Now it's time for you all to chase rainbows in your dreams! Please take this time to get some beauty rest for, say, an hour. Good night, everyone!" They directed into the microphone as their audience started to yawn and lay their heads on the tables, booths, or bar counter drowsily. Before long the room was awash with soft snores and content sighs.
They saw the weasel demon look up from his phone and then around at his companions dozing off confusedly. Taylor silently stood behind him as they narrowed their eyes and focused harder to force heat into them quickly.
"Oi, what's with you knob heads? Was the music really that bad?" He asked his companions in an accented voice. He got up to try to wake one of his friends, but before he could touch anyone, Taylor grabbed him by the back of his suit and pulled him out of his seat.
"Hey, hey, hands off!" The demon cried out as he managed to shrug himself away from Taylor and turned around. He glared daggers at them before his eyes widened. "Blimey! Glowing yellow eyes… yer that nutter that's been going after dealmakers!" He exclaimed before he vaulted over the booth and made a run for it.
"Shit!" Taylor muttered under their breath. They turned to their contacts quickly. "I'll take care of him, lock up and get out now!" They called out before dashing after the runaway wannabe gangster.
By the time Taylor caught up to the weasel in the backstage hallway, he was stumbling as he searched for a door out of the club. He yelped when he saw Taylor approach and fell out a door into the alleyway.
"Help! It's the De-" he shouted as Taylor shoved him hard, slapped a hand over his mouth, and slammed him into the alley wall.
"Shh, shh, none of that now." They shushed as they stared intently into the terrified weasel's eyes. The demon flailed his arms and legs around trying to get away, but Taylor's strength belied their disguise's slight frame. Within a minute his eyes lolled back in his head, and he went limp. Taylor sighed as they let go and he slumped onto the floor of the alley.
"Okay, now back to business…" they started when they realized the door back into the club had closed behind them. 'Great. Just great. Now I'll have to break into the club to get to the target.' They lamented as they rubbed their eyes in exasperation. They were about to head out to find a way in, but they heard the clinking of chains in the quiet alley that gave them pause. They looked back at the collapsed weasel demon and saw two red cuffs appear on his wrists when they focused.
They were torn; they could risk intoxication by going after two targets in one night, but they also needed to get stronger faster with them being on Overlord's radars. Deciding to chance it, they went over to the weasel demon and grasped both bunches of chains at once to speed things up. Putting a foot on the demon's chest for leverage, they pulled back hard and willed the silver flames to start melting the chains. They felt the chains stretch and rattle as their vision blurred with flashes of light and a wave of dizziness washed over them. Gnashing their teeth, they pushed through the vertigo and yanked harder. They stumbled back as the chains splintered loudly enough to wake the dead and Taylor looked worriedly around to see if anyone noticed. With the coast looking clear, they wiped their brow and straightened up and waited for the red smoke to come together impatiently.
Alastor strode confidently along the main road toward Mimzy's club. After his chat with Rosie, he decided it was high time to pay his fierce friend a visit and enjoy a drink and fine entertainment for once. It had been nearly a month since the last time his quarry had surfaced, making him wonder if they had gotten themselves killed. But seeing as the papers hadn't mention it, he doubted it. A night off from his stakeouts would do him some good, he thought with a satisfied grin.
He let himself into the main entrance of the establishment, where a simple bar space served as the front for the speakeasy. The area was pretty empty, with only a spooked-looking bartender and a few drunks passed out among some tables. He grinned widely at the barkeep and moved to the back of the space where a wood paneled wall bereft of posters or bar decor stood, the false entrance into to Mimzy's club. He knocked thrice and waited. And waited. His eyes narrowed in irritation, but he couldn't hear any noises beyond the door indicative of the doorman being nearby. He was loathe to disregard decorum, but he sank into the shadows and passed through the door regardless. As he thought, no one was manning the entrance.
'I'll be sure to let Mimzy know about the lack of professionalism.' He gritted as he made his way through the darkened corridor.
Thoroughly expecting the jazzy notes of clarinet, saxophone, horns, or bass along with the babel of exuberant club goers, he was perplexed to find the area silent. He stood at the top of the balcony looking down at the club. It looked like he was very late to the party; everyone appeared to have gotten splifficated and were sleeping off their drunkenness together. Something was amiss, he thought as he scanned the room and spotted Mimzy at the bar. He sank into the shadows again and appeared next to the demoness and shook her gently to awaken her. She groaned before she gazed up at him with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Oh Alastor, sweetie! It really is a dream come true! How about we cut a rug like old times?" She purred as she nodded off again.
Alastor decided to let sleeping dogs lie and summoned his shadows to investigate the space for the source of the befuddled masses. While he waited, he moved about the space and observed everyone was in similar straits, all slumbering like babes in their cribs. He smiled maliciously at the prospect of such easy prey, but his musings were interrupted by one of his shadows returned, hissing excitedly for him to follow. Intrigued, he sank into the shadows and traveled to the area indicated by his familiars.
He remained in the shadows as he investigated an otherwise unremarkable dimly lit alleyway. He heard an ear-splitting echoing clang that made him wince slightly as his eyes locked onto the other two demons in the area. He was left dumbstruck, and his grin went impossibly wide in excitement as he saw them, his prize, the object of his search for the past few months, a means to free himself from his deal, was within his clawed grasp. They took the appearance of a ruby red horned devil demoness decked out in a flapper dress similar in style to Mimzy this time around, but the yellow eyes and the chains gave it away.
He disappeared into the wall when they looked in his direction as the noise resounded in the space, but they didn't seem to notice his presence. He would need to proceed carefully, he thought. His prey was flightier than the deer he used to hunt in his time alive and he couldn't squander his chance. They saw the Dealbreaker Demon stand up straight and stood around waiting for something, and he saw his opening. Moving to the end of the alleyway, he made his entrance.
"Well, hello there!" He called out playfully.
Taylor recoiled as an unexpected loud static-filled voiced greeted them. They turned to see a widely grinning Alastor at the end of the alleyway underneath a solitary lamp post that flickered ominously. They went into a cold sweat as their heart began to pound and their eyes darted between the Radio Demon and the small red sphere still expanding on the ground.
Alastor seemed to take Taylor's lack of answer in stride as he continued.
"Quite the lovely evening we are having, wouldn't you say?" He chirped pleasantly as he tilted his head.
Unable to come up with a better plan, Taylor decided to stall for time while the energy sphere finished forming.
"Yes, quite the pleasant night." They replied in a false falsetto to mask their voice. As a precaution, they reached to the outer side of their thigh where their dress covered something strapped to their leg. They flipped a switch as the device started to hum softly.
"Yes indeedy! But where are my manners? Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, quite the pleasure! And you are?" He prompted amicably.
Taylor's eyes anxiously flitted back to the sphere again, but it still wasn't finished. They opted to stoke his ego. They smiled in recognition.
"Oh, the infamous Radio Demon! Quite the show you put on the airwaves, very impressive! It's nice to put a face to the name, I'm honored!" They gushed as they deflected the question.
His smile raised slightly as he started to approach them eagerly.
"Ha ha! Flattery will get you everywhere and nowhere, my dear!" He replied cheerily before his tone took an edge. "Seems I never caught your name, care to remind me?" He warned as red symbols started to float around his head dangerously.
Taylor swallowed thickly before they answered.
"I'm nobody important." They replied carefully.
Alastor's eyes gleamed red as Taylor noticed his shadow crept along the wall with a wide grin and wide antlers despite the demon himself looking normal. He stopped and stood before them.
Alastor wagged his finger at them. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Lying just won't do, dear. We both know that isn't true." He leaned over so his face was inches from theirs, making Taylor shiver at the closeness. "Isn't that right, Dealbreaker Demon?" He said in a low voice as his eyes turned to radio dials and the hiss of static intensified.
Taylor flinched and their muscles clenched before Alastor stood up suddenly and stepped around them. When Taylor turned to keep him in view, his eyes were back to normal.
"I see that you're busy, so I'll cut straight to the point! I have a wondrous opportunity that would benefit us both!" He said animatedly as a recording of "oohs" played in the background.
Taylor quirked an eyebrow at him, suspicious. They didn't want anything to do with Alastor's plans, no matter what he offered. They looked down and the sphere was hovering gently above the ground. They stared back at the deer demon squarely.
"So you're saying you want to help me?" They pretended to ask with hope.
His gleeful grin reminded them of a child scarcely able to wait to open presents on Christmas.
"Of course! If you'll hear me out." He said enticingly.
Taylor put a hand on their hip and made a contemplative face. They moved their hand down to their thigh and put a finger on a second switch.
"What do you say, my dea-" Alastor pressed as Taylor flipped the second switch.
The soft static that overlayed Alastor's voice turned into a loud cacophony of jarring hisses and whines as he clutched his head and screeched. Taylor grimaced at the harshness and quickly reached down and snatched the energy sphere. They were off like a shot, barreling out of the alleyway as their heart felt like it was going to beat out of their chest, and they could run for miles. They stifled their giggles as they ran like their life depended on it.
Still in the alley, the air around him turned green as Alastor summoned some horned doll-like shadow familiars with sharp pointed teeth and glowing red eyes. As he commanded his band of minions, his voice was distorted with nonsense speech and interrupted with buzzes and clicks.
"Find them." His tone was harsh and clipped.
As the source of his affliction got farther away, Alastor grew taller with sickening snaps as his features turning gaunt and spindly. His eyes turned pitch black and wide as his fingers stretched into scythe-like claws and a crown of antlers grew atop his head. He scraped his claws against the wall as his fury overtook him. The chase was on.