Nightside 02 - Agents of Light and Darkness

nearby soda syphon and let the newcomer have it full in the face. He shrieked loudly as his face dissolved under the jet of water, then he suddenly disappeared, his clothes and cloak slumping to the floor. A large black bat flapped around the bar. Everyone present took the opportunity to throw things at it, until finally it flapped away up the stairs. Alex put down the syphon.
    “Holy soda water,” he explained, to the somewhat startled Tate. “I keep it handy for certain cocktails. Bloody vampires… that’s the third we’ve had in this week. Must be a convention on again.”
    “Put it from your thoughts, dear fellow,” Tate said grandly. “Tonight is your lucky night. All your troubles are over. I will indeed be paying my bar bill, and more than that. Tonight, the drinks are on me!”
    Everyone in the bar perked up their ears at that. They never had any trouble hearing the offer of a free drink, even with King Crimson going full blast. It wasn’t something that happened very often. A crowd began to form around the grinning Tate, pleased but somewhat surprised. Frankenstein’s creature pushed forward his can for a refill. Alex still hadn’t uncrossed his arms.
    “Absolutely no more credit for you, Tate. Let’s see the color of your money first.”
    Tate looked around him, taking his time, making sure he had everyone’s full attention, and produced from inside his jacket a substantial wad of cash. The crowd murmured, impressed. Tate turned back to Alex.
    “I have inherited a fortune, my dear boy. Taylor finally found the missing will, and I have been legally proclaimed the one and only true heir; and I am now so rich I could spit on a Rockefeller.”
    “Good,” said Alex. He neatly plucked the wad of cash out of Tate’s hand, peeled off half of it and gave the rest back. “That should just about cover your tab. Hopefully once you’ve paid Taylor, he’ll be able to settle up his bill too.”
    “Taylor?” Tate said disdainfully. He gestured grandly with what remained of his wad of cash. “I have creditors of long-standing and exhausted patience waiting to be paid. They come first. Taylor is just hired help. He can take a number, and wait.”
    He laughed loudly, inviting everyone else to join him. Instead, everyone went very quiet. Some actually began to back away from him. Alex leaned forward over the bar and gave Tate a hard look.
    “You’re planning on stiffing Taylor? Are you tired of living, Tate?”
    The fat man pulled himself up to his full height, but unfortunately he didn’t have far to go. He glared at Alex, his mouth pulled into a vicious pout. “Taylor doesn’t scare me!”
    Alex smiled coldly. “He would, if you had the sense God gave a boll weevil.”
    He looked past Tate, and nodded a hello. After a moment, everyone else looked round too. And that was when Tate finally turned around, and saw me standing at the foot of the stairs, from where I’d been watching and listening. I started towards the bar, and people who weren’t even in my way hurried to get out of it. The crowd around Tate quickly melted away, falling back to what they hoped was a safe distance. Tate stood his ground, chin held high, trying to look unconcerned and failing miserably. I finally came to a halt right in front of him. He was sweating hard. I smiled at him, and he swallowed audibly.
    “Hello, Tate,” I said calmly. “Good to see you. You’re looking your usual appalling self. I’m pleased to hear the inheritance is everything you thought it would be. I do so love it when a case has a happy ending. Now, you owe me money, Tate. And I really don’t feel like waiting.”
    “You can’t bully me,” Tate said hoarsely. “I’m rich now. I can afford protection.”
    His podgy left hand went to a golden charm bracelet around his right wrist. He grabbed two of the bulky, ugly-looking charms, pulled them free, and threw them onto the floor between us. There was a brief lurch in the bar as a dimensional gateway opened between the worlds and the two charms were replaced by the two creatures they’d summoned. They stood glowering between me and Tate, two huge reptiloid figures with muscles on their muscles and great wedge-shaped heads absolutely bristling with serrated teeth. The reptiloids looked at me, and I looked at them, and then they both turned to look at Tate.
    “ He ’s why you called us?” said the one on the left. “You summoned us here to take on John bloody Taylor ? Are you crazy