The Night Beat

Evil Headquarters, for this part of town, at least. That something’s going on is a given. What or who we’re going to find in there is the issue. I just have no guess.”
    We started off after our “quarries”. “You think Abaddon and Apollyon are in there?”
    “Yahweh protect us if they are.” I meant that, and ensured I said it in a way Yahweh would recognize as prayerful, not flippant.
    “I second that. So, do bullets actually work on the undead?”
    “Some of us, yeah. I’d bring in our real weaponry, but I think it’ll be spotted the moment we cross the threshold. Gotta assume Evil HQ has some serious weapons detectors on their entryways.”
    “So we packed the trunk full for no reason?”
    “Oh, I’m sure we’ll end up using it. Just not at this exact moment.”
    “Okay, so you want us acting like we would have two days ago, right?”
    “Right. Human cops, hunting a perp, following clues.”
    “Think they’ll fall for it?”
    “Well, I’m sure some of them know who I am or will be able to tell I’m a werewolf. But who knows? Most of life and unlife’s a crapshoot, when you get down to it.”
    “The undead gamble?”
    “You have no idea. Unlife is long, and even the most dedicated like to take a night off. Gambling with undeads is a little different, though. If we ever catch a break in this case, I’ll take you to one of my favorites, The Crypt.”
    “Looking forward to it.” He stopped us before the corner, pulled me into a doorway, and kissed me. He was a great kisser, and my butt was doing its thing in a matter of seconds. He stroked my face as he pulled slowly away. “I never thought I’d have a chance with you.”
    “I felt the same way.” I had to admit, Slimy had been a precursor to the major evil, but he’d certainly given my love life a huge assist.
    He sighed and stepped away. “Back to work.”
    I nodded and we headed off. Turned the corner, walked briskly up the street, making sure to look very undercover cop-like. Rounded the next corner. No sign of Freddy or Sexy Cindy. This street was almost like an alley. The street our favorite alley led off of was a main street, well traveled in the day. This one, however, while running parallel to the bigger one, was infrequently used. I wondered now if the humans were being affected by The Pleasure Palace in some way, sort of psychically driven away. Maybe. We’d probably know soon enough.
    There weren’t a lot of people on the street, either. There was a large parking lot across the street from The Pleasure Palace, well filled with a variety of cars there from the standard lowlife POS to sleek BMWs and Mercedes. Whoever was doing business here covered all the walks of life. There were also a lot of dingy buildings that had clearly seen better days, perhaps when Prosaic City had first been founded. Most of them looked closed, not at night, but in general.
    Our side of the block was the same, and I noticed the storefronts around The Pleasure Palace -- most of them had “out of business” signs in the windows. I checked the other side of the street. Yep, I could spot the little signs if I squinted. Aside from The Pleasure Palace, only two businesses on the entire block were still active -- one was Killjoy’s Pawnshop, and the other was, against all the odds, The Salvation Center.
    “We need to check those two out, the moment we have a chance.”
    Jack nodded. “I worked this beat when I was a uniform. Never really went into any of these much, if at all, but they’ve all been here for years.”
    “How about the other businesses? Here or out of business when you worked a beat?”
    He looked around. “The block hasn’t changed. At all.”
    “Bad sign.” We reached the front door of The Pleasure Palace. I felt absolutely nothing from it. It smelled almost like it wasn’t there, and it gave off no sense of anything. “Definitely under a spell,” I murmured. “I get nothing.”
    “Huh. I…want to go in. It’s like it’s…welcoming me.”
    “Worse sign.” I made him look at me. “You need to be very careful in here. It repelled Cindy and Freddy, it’s giving nothing to me, but it’s attracting you. Whatever that means in the long or short run, your soul’s in danger the moment we step in.” I wanted to tell him to wait on the street, but I knew what he’d say.
    “No.” He grinned. “I can tell you want me to stay here. I’m not letting you go in alone. Two days ago, we wouldn’t have had this