The Night Beat

we looked at the last room, a room as devoid of Nero’s trappings as all the others were. He’d cleaned out his stuff and he’d done it fast.
    “He must have come back here, after the incident at the Little Church,” Ralph suggested.
    “Maybe. Maybe he came here during the incident. He’s a being big on creating havoc but he’s also good at getting out of his own messes relatively unscathed.”
    “He must have used one big truck,” Benny said. “He had a ton of junk last time I was here to check on things.”
    “It was all here the other day.” Whenever that was. Oh, right. “Sunday.”
    “It’s Tuesday night now. Plenty of time. Unless you all were watching the house.”
    I sighed. “No. We were watching other things.”
    Ralph leaned against me. “Stop it.”
    I stroked his head. “Okay. I’ll try, anyway.”
    “You two actually want to be alone?” Benny asked. “I was serious, I’m not in the mood to watch.”
    “Yes, we’d love to be alone. Sadly, we’ve got that whole trying to avoid Armageddon thing going, so we’ll hold it.” Nero had left the larger furniture, so I could sit down on a couch. Ralph hopped up next to me and I leaned against him.
    “I can’t speak for your partner, but I’d like to have some idea of if I’m going to survive the night or not.” Benny didn’t sound like he was joking.
    Neither Ralph nor I corrected Benny on the partner statement. “Okay, first, I need to call a couple of beings.” And I needed to come up with a full plan. I had a sorta plan, but not a real one. Something was missing. I knew what was going on and roughly how it had been done, I was sure of it, but I needed one more piece of information -- I just didn’t know what it was or how to find it.
    Ralph groaned. “You do this all the time. You hate sharing.”
    “True.” My wrist-com went live. “Merc, you there?”
    “Right here, darling. What’s shaking?”
    “The worlds. Did Freddy ever get time to tell you and L.K. what the Estates advertising slogans were?”
    “He did, and we’ve gone over them. You were right, they’re a spell for sure. We aren’t positive, but the goal seems to be to lull the human residents into a sort of stupor.”
    “That makes sense. Any analysis of who created it?”
    “P.T.’s working on it. His first guess is Hitler, but he stressed that he wasn’t sure by any means. Could just be someone imitating his style.”
    “Super. Can you and L.K. meet me at the Salvation Center? I think we’re going to need beings who can counter spells.”
    “I’ll bring along some support, then. Any suggestions?”
    “Surprise me. Just make sure they’re powerful.”
    “The Bard’s been complaining that no one ever lets him do active service. Want him along?”
    “Sure. If we don’t do it right, we’re all dusted or minions anyway.”
    “Love your sunny outlook, darling. Over but hardly out.”
    Ralph and Benny didn’t look happy. “Why aren’t you pulling in trained witches and warlocks for this?” Ralph didn’t sound happy, either.
    I rubbed my forehead. “You know as well as I do that the Count already has all of them working on counter spells. The few who showed up for the pre-Armageddon party are either hurt or back with the rest of their counterparts. They’re our last line of defense, so I’m not going to ask any of them to go to the front lines if I can help it.”
    “Why Merc and L.K. then? Or Will?”
    “Because Merc and L.K. are already deeply and willingly involved and both of them are really clear on the power of words. And we might as well have the best of the best with us, too, especially if he’s antsy to get into the action.”
    “The Bard’s more of a lover and talker than a fighter,” Benny offered.
    “Well, I’m hoping to have him focused on the talking side while the rest of us take on the fighting portions.” I tapped my wrist-com again. “Agent W-W-One-Eight-One-Niner.”
    “Agent Wolfe, the formality, it’s almost heart-stopping.”
    “Missed you, too, Count. Are Black Angels One and Two ready for action?”
    “Yes, and impatient for it, as well.”
    “Good. Have them meet me up at the Little Church of the Country as soon as they can fly by.”
    “Any other directions?”
    “Tell them to listen intently. They’ll know what to do when.”
    “Does your love of mystery drive Agent Rogers mad with desire or merely to distraction?”
    “Both. Count, I have no idea what she’s doing, just for the