Heaven’s Rejects - Episode 5

Episode 5 – “Sin City, Here We Come!"

Previously:

Hi, I'm Demona, and I'm the new girl on the team.  I'm supposed to be the demon expert, but I'm more a researcher than anything else.  Last week, I managed to distract ghouls by offering myself as bait.  That doesn't sound as good as it did at the time.

I'm Ian.  I work with my partner, Nadia, and our new, I guess you'd call her an apprentice?  An intern?  Trainee?  Anyway, Demona.  We cleared out a nest of Confederate ghouls in Des Moines, so I'm hoping for something less threatening to the public.  One where if we mess up, no one gets eaten.

The Chief owes us.  He sent us into a situation blind.  That we got out with our tuches in one piece is a bloody miracle.  I'm going to spend the time catching up on Doctor Who, Coronation Street, and Dirk Gently.  Anyone disturbing me better have coffee with them.


Now
Nadia strode into the Chief's office, not caring that she was half an hour late.  She dropped into a free chair.  "I thought we were getting a week off."

The Chief looked up from his paperwork.  "So happy you could make it, Ms Wallach."

"I was watching a Doctor Who marathon, Chief.  I told you that I was going to be incommunicado.  What the hell were you thinking, sending Ramona?  Without coffee, even."

"Done?"

Nadia settled into her chair.  "Done."

"Good."  The Chief slid an envelope over to Ian.  "Team One One Seven requested you.  They've been tracking some oddities in Las Vegas.  You three get to go help them."

Demona held up her hand.  "Um, sir?  Las Vegas?  Sin City?  That Las Vegas?"

The Chief levelled his stare at the former librarian.  "Unless there's another one in the world, yes, that Las Vegas."  He leaned back in his chair.  "Everything you need to get to Vegas is in the envelope.  Talk to Marcie about shipping any other gear you need.  Team One One Seven should have supplies, too."

"I can't go to Vegas!"

Ian opened the envelope and looked inside.  "Sure you can, Demona.  There's a ticket for you here, too."

"That's not what I mean!"

"Oh, for," Nadia let the rest of the sentence trail off.  "Sin City isn't literal.  I don't know what you're worried about, other than competition."

Demona glared at Nadia.  "That's-- Never mind.  Chief, I can't go.  My mother said I wasn't to go there, ever."

"How old were you when she told you that?" the Chief asked.

"Fourteen."

Ian smiled.  "There you go.  You were told to avoid a city filled with casinos when you were a teenager."

Nadia stared at Demona.  "Wait, your mother is a succubus.  She has a problem with you gambling and having sex?"

Demona returned the stare.  "Dad also said I should stay away from Vegas, okay?  And stay out of my love life!"

"Touchy."

"Ms Wallach, please."  The Chief turned his full attention to Demona.  "Were you told why you couldn't go to Las Vegas?"

"No."  Demona shrugged.  "I wanted to be normal then, so I didn't bother to ask.  I figured that the reason would be all about the supernatural and demons and I didn't want to deal at the time."

Ian set down the envelope.  "And you've never asked since?"

"I never wanted to go to Vegas.  What would I do there?"

The Chief glared at Nadia.  "Not a word."

Nadia raised her hands in mock surrender.  "Wasn't going to say a word, Chief."

"Just go see what Team One One Seven needs.  We'll deal with the fallout later."

-**-

I really don't want to go.  I'm not afraid.  It's just that when Mom and Dad agree on something, they usually have a good reason.  But the Chief's insisting, and my library is still being fixed, so what can I do?  I'll call Father Roy and see if he can help me.

Vegas, baby!  And we're flying in!  About time!  I am so tired of seeing the same ads on the highway.  And the complaints.  "I need to pee.  This coffee's awful.  Is it much further?  This coffee tastes like battery acid that's gone bad."  And the kid can get over herself.  Mom probably didn't want competition in the soul stealing department.  Let's face it, if you're hunting tainted souls, Las Vegas is full of them.

I have two problems when it comes to flying.  The first is I have to find away to get my weapons to where we're going.  Airlines aren't happy when someone comes in with half a dozen sharp pieces of metal.  At least we're close enough to have anything I need overnighted to the hotel.  The other reason is that those seats are way too small.  I get crammed in, knees against my chest.  What do they expect me to do, cut off an arm and both legs to fit?

-**-

Demona stared at the hotel once she was out of the cab.  Nadia pushed around the woman to go get her luggage.  "Never seen a hotel before, kid?" the woman said.  "Get the lead out.  Gawk like a tourist after we've checked in."

"I wasn't expecting the casino to be right there."

Ian walked by with his gym bag.  "Welcome to Las Vegas, where you don't have to go outside to lose your shirt.  Nadia, want me to let Team One One Seven know we're in town yet?"

"They can wait until after dinner."  Nadia grabbed her bags from the cab's trunk.  "Sweet cheeks, let's go.  I want to get to the buffet line early."

Demona hauled her suitcase from the trunk.  "I don't like this."  She put the luggage down and pulled on it, rolling it to the hotel entrance.  "It's unseemly."

"Unseemly."  Nadia rolled her eyes.  "It's just a casino.  People go in, lose some money, go home poorer."

"But they could be using the money for their families, not gambling it away."

"People make bad decisions all the time.  It's human nature.  Half the problems we run into are because some idiot gets in over their head.  Some do it because they don't know better.  Others because they want to make things worse.  What are you going to do, preach at them to be better?"

Demona frowned.  "No, but this seems wasteful."

Nadia turned to face her new partner.  "Think of it this way - what would happen if there was no Las Vegas?  What would the people who wanted to gamble and cheat and whore do if there wasn't a city built around providing a place to do just that?  They wouldn't resist.  They'd just go underground, and it's a damned shade harder to root out the problem then."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."  Inside, Demona blinked to try to see now that she was out of the bright sunlight.  "Just being here makes my skin crawl."

"We'll find you a library you can hide in."  Nadia walked up to the front desk.  "We have reservations, probably under a corporate booking."  She flashed a smile at the desk clerk.  "Should be under Wallach, Markowitz, and Bell.  Or maybe Marcie."

The clerk brought out the paperwork to get the three agents checked in.  A bellhop came to escort them to their rooms, leading them past the casino to the elevator.  Their rooms were close to each other, at the end of the wing near the fire escape, just as the Agency arranged.  Demona's room was the first reached.  She unlocked the door and walked in without a word.  Ian's room was the next one.  He ducked in, dropping his gym bag on the floor before the door closed behind him.  Nadia took the last room.  She gave the bellhop a tip, then tossed her bag on to the double bed in the middle of the room.

Nadia took off her black leather jacket.  She tossed it on to the room's chair.  As much as she considered the jacket part of her uniform, it was too warm for the desert.  Nadia opened her bag to get out a change of clothes.  Laying out her t-shirts, she started regretting wearing only black.  Nothing to be done for it now.  She stepped into the room's bathroom to clean up.

Her phone blared in the quiet of the room.  Nadia dashed out of the bathroom to grab her jacket.  The phone rang twice more before she could fish it out of her jacket's pocket.  "Wallach here."

"Hi, it's Kaye Ortiz, Team One One Seven."

"What's up?"  Nadia pereched on the corner of her bed.

"Just trying to get an ETA for you and your team.  Your plane should've landed by now."

Nadia cursed the Chief under her breath.  "Yeah, we're in town.  We've just checked into the hotel.  Has something come up?".

"Nah."  Kaye laughed.  "I just wanted to consult with you and Ian, pick your brains for a bit.  Nothing urgent.  Just weird.  Got any plans for dinner?"

"I was going to hit the buffet here.  All you can eat?  Can't beat that."

"Marcie put you in the usual hotel?"

"Yeah.  It's not bad.  There's a bed, a fridge with overpriced alcohol, a buffet, and it's not like we spend all that much time in the hotel."

"How about this?  I meet you at the hotel bar and we can talk over drinks."

Nadia smiled.  "I like your thinking.  Seven tonight.  That'll give me time to waddle to the bar.  I'll be the one with the camera crew."

"Camera crew?"

"Long story and not my idea.  See you at seven."

"See you then.  Bye."  Kaye ended the call at her end.

The smile faded from Nadia's face.  She tossed her cell phone on to her bed.  "So much for the nice easy night."  She got up and smoothed out her jeans before leaving the room.  Stopping first at Ian's door then Demona's, she knocked hard on each.

Ian stepped out into the hall first, wearing just his jeans.  "What's up?"

"Quick meeting."  Nadia went to pound on Demona's door, only to have it open before she could knock.  "There you are."

Demona scowled.  "It's official.  I hate this place."  She held up a neon coloured flyer.  "Do you know where I found this?"

Ian took the flyer.  "Never heard of this club before."

"It was in the room's Bible!"

"You don't have to go there if naked women are a problem for you," Nadia said.

"I am never going to feel clean ever again."  Demona turned to return to her room.

Nadia grabbed Demona's shoulder.  "Not so fast.  I got a call from Team One One Seven.  We're meeting them in the hotel bar at seven tonight, so don't go far."

"Trust me, I'm not planning on leaving my room unless absolutely necessary."

"That's the spirit.  Ian?"

Ian rolled up the flyer.  "I'll be there."

"Good."  Nadia began walking towards the elevators.  "If anyone needs me, I'll be having dinner."

-**-

Okay, I wanted some more down time for me.  I would have called Team One One Seven eventually.  Or had Ian make the call.  Tomorrow morning, definitely.  Just one night off the clock, is that too much to ask for?

I hate this place.  It's too hot, too bright, and too sleazy.  I am a good Catholic girl.  I shouldn't be here.  And Nadia?  She's part of the problem.  She's way too eager to be here.

I hope this is a simple mission.  Demona's in a rough spot and Nadia is being Nadia.  Never go into an assignment when teammates are fighting.  It just leads to tears and blood.  Usually mine.


-**-

Nadia was the first to arrive in the hotel's bar.  She found a table large enough to handle half a dozen people, then ordered a draft beer.  The camera crew did get some attention from the other people in the bar, but with the video equipment facing the wall, the novelty faded as other distractions called.  Ian arrived next, head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd.  People cleared a path for him as he walked through the bar.  He sat down beside Nadia.

"Any bets whether the princess will show?"  Nadia hid her smirk by taking a drink of her beer.

"Ease off her, Nadia.  Really.  She's a sweet girl."

"She's a pain in the ass, Ian.  Something isn't right with her, even taking into account she's a half-demon.  We're in Vegas, where we can drop our inhibitions."

"Some people don't want to do that."

"They don't have to come to Vegas, then."

The waiter arrived to take Ian's drink order, leaving with a request for a whiskey, neat.  Before Ian could say anything more to Nadia, a short woman with curly short hair arrived.  "Nadia Wallach?"

Nadia raised her hand.  "That'd be me."

The newcomer offered her hand.  "Kaye Ortiz, Team One One Seven.  Pleased to meet you."

Ian shook Kaye's hand.  "Ian Markowitz.  Hi."

Kaye sat down.  "Is this your entire crew."

Nadia nodded.  "Yes."

"No," Ian said.  Seeing the confusion on Kaye's face, he added, "We have a rookie with us."

"A rookie who won't be out of her room while we're in town."

"Lay off Demona, Nadia.  Besides, there she is."  Ian pointed at the bar's entrance.  Demona entered, walking stiffly.  He waved to her.

Nadia suppressed a sigh.  "Yeah, Demona Bell, rookie."

Demona sat down at the table, smoothing out her sun dress.  "Hello."  She turned to Nadia.  "I had to go through the casino to get here.  People stared at me like I was a slab of meat.  I am not a slab of meat, Nadia."

"Keep your voice down, sweet cheeks."

"I am not meat."  Demona folded her arms over her chest.

Kaye blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what just happened.  "Right.  Okay, I just want to pick your brains for a bit."  She signalled for a server.  "Weird shit's been happening."

"Define 'weird'."  Demona's tone lowered the temperature several degrees.

The waiter returned.  Kaye placed her order, a glass of the house white wine.  She looked expectently at Demona.  "Not having anything?"

"I can get water in my room."

Kaye shrugged.  "Suit yourself."  Once the waiter left, she began to explain her problem.  "I've been talking to the guys on the night shift in the morgue.  They've been seeing something, well, odd the past few weeks.  They're coming up short."

"Short?"  Nadia took another sip of her beer.  "What do you mean, short?  Like, they're down a body or two?"

"Bingo."

Ian drained his whiskey.  "That's not possible, is it?  Corpses just walking out?"

Kaye laughed.  "That'd be easy to spot, a dead man walking out.  No, just that every few days, at random, there's a John Doe missing.  And always a John Doe, an unidentified man.  Never a woman or someone with ID."

"And you want us to figure out why?" Nadia asked.

"More like brainstorm ideas.  The team is chasing down a few ideas.  And it'd mean a lot to the guys on the night shift.  They\ve helped us out more than you can imagine."

Nadia's eyes narrowed.  "You told them who you are?"

"I've found that letting key people know what's going makes it easier to get their trust.  No trying to remember the lies."

"What part of 'secret' have you forgotten?"

Kaye pointed at the camera crew.  "You tell me.  You're the one with the recording equipment."

"Not my choice.  It was the Chief's idea."

"Guys, we're getting off track here."  Ian set down his glass.  "How are these bodies going missing?"

Kaye leaned back to let the returning waiter set down her glass of wine.  One he had left, she answered, "That's the million dollar question.  How?"  She shrugged.  "The guys at the morgue don't know.  All they know is that there's one fewer body than were signed in on some nights.  They know the John Doe was dropped off and signed in, but on count, gone."

"Is this happening on the other shifts?" Demona asked.  "Or is it just the night shift?"

"I was wondering of anyone was going to ask."  Kaye picked up her glass of white wine.  "It's just the night shift noticing.  However, given the paperwork each corpse generates, if there was something happening in the other shifts, someone would've heard by now."

Ian nodded.  "Makes sense.  Easier to disguise a body when it's dark out."

"Dark, except for all the neon," Demona said.

"Las Vegas isn't just the Strip."  Kaye sipped her white wine.  "Get away from the casinos, you've got the usual.  Stores, homes, police and fire stations, libraries, churches, suburbs, none with neon.  You want all neon?  Try Miami."

Nadia raised her beer glass.  "Okay, the bodies disappear and then, what?  Sacrifices need the living.  Necromancy, maybe, but if someone's stealing bodies to turn into animated drones, why haven't any appeared?"

"Get the bodies here, animate them somewhere else?" Ian suggested.  "While Las Vegas is waiting for a wave of walking dead to hit, New York City won't know what is about to hit them."

"That's way too much effort.  First, you're going to have to rent your own truck.  None of the shipping companies are going to take a stack of corpses without a ton of permits on your part."  Nadia finished her beer.  "Next, it's not like large cities don't have a shortage of dead people.  Goes with the territory.  The more people there are in an area, the more dead there are, too, unless you live near Jessica Fletcher.  Third, there's too much of a risk of being pulled over by the cops even if you did your own hauling.  'Oh, hi, officer, I'm just taking my family home to the ancestral burial plot.'  No one's going to believe it."

"Hey, what about monster chow?"

Kaye stared at the man.  "Monster chow?"

"Monsters have to eat.  We took out a nest of ghouls in Des Moines last week."

Demona raised an eyebrow.  "One body every few days?  What they feeding, a giant lizard?  Wouldn't it be easier to steal a cow?"

"Unless you know which ranch to hit, it's dangerous," Kaye said.  "Some of the local ranchers aren't playing with a full deck."

Nadia looked over at Demona.  "Okay, Miss Demon Expert, know any demon who collect bodies?"

"No."  Demona glared at her teammate.  "Look, demons prefer souls.  Bodies just clutter up the place."

"Okay, that's a new one on me," Kaye said.  "What about eating them?"

"I haven't heard of any."

Nadia tapped the table.  "There's usually something else involved, too.  This many John Does making deals and not living up to them?"

"We are in Vegas," Kaye said.  "How many people would give anything to win a mega jackpot here?"

"Point."

Ian shook his head.  "Someone would notice.  It's a big deal when one person wins a big payout.  How many bodies have gone missing so far?"

"The guys at the morgue think it's a couple dozen or so.  Maybe more.  It took them time to notice that it was a pattern.  Let's face it, if there's a miscount, the first thought is a problem with paperwork, not with bodies going missing."

Demona sat back in her chair, her posture still stiff.  "Maybe it's a prank?"

Kaye looked over at the former librarian.  "What do you mean?"

"Like something done by a frat.  If there's a med school around, a frat hazes new pledges by having them steal a cadaver?"

"I'll get Darren to follow up on that.  It would be great if this was something mundane."

"What about a brothel?" Nadia suggested.

"A what?"  Demona's expression soured further.

"They're legal here.  However, some tastes aren't."

"Oh, ugh, really?"

"I'm with Demona here," Kaye said.  "That's a little too far, even for Sin City.  And what good is a partner that just lies there?"

Nadia shrugged her shoulders.  "Just a suggestion."

"We'll leave that one for after we exhaust everything else."

"Do you have a list of the missing bodies?" Demona asked.  "I could try to find out if there's something in common."

"I'll have what we've got to your room.  Vera's done her own look but a second set of eyes wouldn't hurt."  Kaye finished her glass of wine.  "I'm going to be with the night shift at the morgue tonight.  There's no pattern, but it's worth a shot even just to see what happens on a regular night there."  She got up.  "Demona, it was a pleasure meeting you.  I hope you have a good time while you're here.  Nadia, thank you for coming out.  Are you going to be in town long?"

"We're here as long as you need us," Nadia said.  "Feel free to need us as long as you want."

Kaye beamed.  "Great.  Enjoy your stay here.  Ian, great meeting you and I hope we see each other again."  With a stop at the bar to pay for her drink, Kaye left.

Nadia leaned back in her chair.  "You heard the lady."  She waved at the waiter.  "Let's enjoy our time here.  Consultants have it easy."

"Until it's time to get paid."  Demona got up.  "I'm going back to my room to try to scrub off this awful city."

-**-

This mission keeps getting worse.  Sex?  WIth a dead man?  /Why/?  I am not leaving my room.  It's not temptation.  I just don't want to be a witness to the end of morality.

I hope I don't jinx the mission, but this is an easy one.  We're here as advisors, not the spearhead against a supernatural threat.  I get to take time to play tourist and see the sights.  I hear the shows here are amazing.

You know what?  Even Demona can't ruin this trip.  She can hide away in her room.  Me, I am going to take advantage of being here.  I have this system I've been wanting to try since that vampire hunt in Atlantic City.  Without a threat pressing down on us, I have the time to hit a casino and the money to lose if it doesn't work.

-**-

Next Week:

Sin City.  Yeah, this is a place that I'll fit in.  Why couldn't we have gone someplace pleasant?  I hear Monte Carlo is nice this time of year.

Not much to do, really.  We're the backup.  Why not check out the sights?

This is my kind of town.  Cheap buffets, cheap shows if you know where to look, all on the company's dime.  Nothing can bring me down.