Mooney entered the bar after his shift ended at 1:00 a.m. He walked across the main room as all manner of people and things stared at him. He was fully aware of the clientele that frequented The After Dark Saloon.
A group of werewolves sat in a booth in the corner. The full moon had passed, so they looked like regular guys drinking a pitcher of draught beer. Six vampires sat at different spots at the bar, drinking Bloody Marys. This was the only place in town that made them with real blood.
Mooney walked up to a stool far away from the vampires and hoisted himself up. It took quite a bit of effort, and he noted that it was quite a ways down.
"Hey Mooney!" Susie, the bartender, called from where she was washing glasses at the other end of the bar. "The usual?"
"Yeah, the usual. How you been?" he asked as she set his beer down on the bar.
"Good. These guys have been keeping me busy with Bloody Marys all night." She indicated the vamps sitting at the bar. Susie hated vampires and hated making Bloody Marys even more. She was a novice witch who'd gotten this job in order to be exposed to the magical community. Mooney thought she might be feeling a little overexposed.
"I got something that I need your help with," he said in a whisper. She leaned in close, supporting the feel of secrecy.
"With what?"
"Somebody ordered a hit on a mortal. I need to find out who is picking up the contract."
"Who ordered the hit?" she asked.
"Carolyn."
"Whoa. This is me not wanting to get involved with that," she said, putting up her hands and taking a step back.
"I really need your help with this, Susie," he asked pleadingly, but with a flirty smirk.
She leaned back in to talk with him more privately.
"That bitch is bad news, and very powerful. We all know the kind of shit she can do. I don't feel like getting turned into a frog today."
"Just a name of anybody that might have taken up the contract."
"Orlando," she sighed, resigned to Mooney's charms. "He'll do just about anything for the right amount of cash."
"Where can I find him?"
"He's sitting right next to you," she whispered.
Mooney turned his head and looked at the vampire sitting at the closest stool. He definitely did not look like the vamps in those books or the ones on TV. This guy looked like he had spent the better part of a year buried in an underground crypt. He was pale, even for a vampire, and he was as skinny as a rail. Mooney wondered where a scrub like this guy had gotten the money to throw back six drinks at twelve dollars a pop. The After Dark Saloon was not known for its low prices.
Mooney hated vamps and wolves, too. They smelled bad, they were generally nasty, and they didn't like witches much, either. Just as he finally worked up the gumption to approach Orlando, Carolyn opened the door to the bar and strode confidently in. She walked straight up to Orlando and sat down between him and Mooney.
"So, this is what you do with my money? Drink it all away?" She snapped at Orlando's back.
"Hello Carolyn," he replied calmly.
"Why haven't you done the job that I paid you for?"
"I can't find her. If I don't know where she is, how can I k…, uh, deliver the package?"
"Well, sitting on your dead ass in a dive bar doesn't help, does it?" Carolyn looked around, daring Susie or anyone else to contradict her.
"Un-dead ass, actually,” Orlando corrected. There was an audible gasp throughout the bar. Everyone in there was afraid of Carolyn. She had a reputation for not putting up with anyone's shit. Not even vampires and werewolves. She was obviously not happy with Orlando's flippant attitude.
She got very close to him and said in a low, angry whisper that Mooney almost couldn't hear, "Get the fuck up and go find that little bitch now. From this moment on, you will spend every waking moment searching for her. As soon as you crawl out of that shithole graveyard you call home, you will start searching. No more spending money that you haven't earned, you stupid bloodsucker."
Orlando turned on his stool to face her. He had an air of defiance that immediately made the whole bar hold their breath in anticipation.
"Why don't you calm down, witch. I said I would find her, and I'll find her. You just have to wai…"
That was all that Orlando was able to get out before Carolyn sunk the wooden stake deep into his chest. As the cloud of dust settled, she looked smugly around the bar to see if anyone was planning to comment on, or challenge, her actions. The other five vamps just sat at their stools nursing their drinks. The wolves in the corner went back to their beers. Susie was cleaning the bar, and Mooney was studying the bottom of his glass as though it contained the secret to eternal happiness.
Carolyn simply glared around the bar one more time and then walked out the door as if she had just come in to use the restroom.
"Fucking useless vampires," she mumbled on her way out.
Everyone in the bar had gone completely silent. Susie looked at Mooney as if to say, I told you so.
Mooney gulped the last of his beer and hopped off the stool. He placed a ten-dollar bill on the bar and nodded a goodbye to Susie. Some of the activity had resumed in the bar, and in a few minutes, it would be as if nothing had happened. Susie was getting the dustpan from behind the bar as Mooney walked out the front door and headed home.