All the Devils are Here

Sam is the Magic Word

Fallon

Sam: If you’re still looking for a job, I know a place that’s hiring.

Me: Coming from you, that sounds like a super pervy offer.

Sam: Only one way to find out. Go to the White Rabbit. Ask for Trinity and tell her you’re here for the job.

When I get Sam’s message to go to the White Rabbit for a potential job, I am very sceptical at first but, my only other option is to take Emily’s offer. I don’t know how much longer I can survive on potato chips and water. I know Rainer said nothing is going on between them but, I don't want to put that to the test.

It’s possible he’s just using it as an excuse to get me to come out to see him. I mean I’m not stupid - the way he looks at me; I know he's not just trying to be friends atleast not without some benefits. I don't mean to be presumptious but, I know guys like him. Although I could be wrong because he said I should ask for someone named Trinity, so that means he’s probably not even there. Maybe this Trinity person is the manager there and they are friends. I wonder.

I’m laying down on my bed, munching on a bag of chips and considering my options. It’s pretty easy for me to choose. It’s already well into the day when I get up to take a shower, brush my teeth and head out to White Rabbit. Once again, I have to make a conscious effort to be Hera. I pair my black pants with a navy green blouse that my mother got for me because ‘they make the green in my eyes pop’. I never know what to do with my hair so I leave it to flow around my face and down my back as always. A thought had crossed my mind that maybe I should dye it into another color, it'd make it much harder for me to be recognized but, I decided against it in the end. A Hunter from the compund would definetely recognize me irrespective of my hair colour and the other people here have probably never seen me in my Hunter days because only the targets got to see me. I was often the last thing they saw.

As I drive to White Rabbit, I feel a spark of hope ignite in me. Wasn’t it just last night when I almost got mugged and in a surprising turn of events a werewolf showed up out of nowhere and…….saved me. No. A werewolf showed up out of nowhere and murdered three people. It didn’t do it for me. I know Rainer wants me to move in with Emily because motels like Holiday are poorly secured and no one cares that much about what happens there. It’s for low lives and schemers. Hopefully, if there’s actually a job at White Rabbit, then I would be able to find better accommodation for myself. An apartment is nearly impossible to get unless I save for a while but at least, a motel in a nicer location.

I pull up to White Rabbit and miraculously, there’s a lot of free parking space. Definitely, because it’s barely 6 pm and clubs don’t fully open until much later.

I can’t forget that I killed a werewolf in here. No matter how hard I try to erase that from my memory, my first thought associated with this building will always be that hunt and me killing that rogue wolf. But, I’m a different person now. A normal person.

When I walk out of my car and into the building, I don’t take any weapon with me. No gun, no knife, no dagger. Just me.

The security guard glares at me for a few seconds before saying;

“We’re not open yet, are you here to see someone?”,

“Yes. I’m here to see Trinity”,

“Does she know you’re coming?”,

“I think so. I actually got referred to her by Sam? I don’t know if you -” before I say another word, he nods and opens the doors for me. I guess Sam is the magic word. I remember when I was here for a hunt and how I had to get in. I had to disguise myself as a member of a harem of girls that were moving around with a particularly notorious politician. There must be a policy with this establishment that protects them despite the disgusting things they do.

The scene in here tonight is much different from the two other times that I’ve been here. This is the behind the scenes of the memorable nights they give to their guests. I can see the beautiful ladies who I assume are the angels, sitting and getting painted on by the designers, I can see some other people already putting up the decorations for tonight, some cleaning is going on, discussions here and there and soft music playing in the background as all of this goes on. No one seems to notice me walk in. They’re all so engrossed in what they are doing. They have lives. Inside here is like a whole new world and all of these people are it's citizens.

After standing awkwardly for a second or two, I walk up to the nearest person who happens to be a guy holding a ladder for some other guy as he hangs some decorations.

“Uhm hi, I’m looking for Trinity? Any ideas where I might find her”, he barely glances at me before responding;

“Over there”, he points and as I follow his direction, I see her. She’s one of them; the angels. But I can already tell that there’s something so much more different about her. Confidence surrounds her effortlessly. She’s walking straight towards me from where she was and I swear it’s like the room slows down as she walks and everyone steals a look at her because wow, she’s beautiful.

“Hera, isn’t it?”, the way she approaches me is as though we’ve known each other for more than one nanosecond. I'm not shy by any means but, it takes me a full 20 seconds to will my mouth to work and give her a somewhat sensible response.

“Yeah. Hi, I’m a friend of Sam’s -”,

“I know, he called. Walk and talk with me”, I don’t hesitate, I follow her. Me in my black pants and green swetaer and her in a glittery robe wrapped around her majestically. She hasn’t gotten painted yet.

“Can you dance?”,

“Not even to save my life”, that causes her to laugh heartedly and I instantly decide that I like her;

“Okay. So becoming an angel is out of the question. No offence but, I could tell from your outfit that you’d not be too thrilled with the idea of stripping down to lingerie”, I take zero offence.

“We have been looking to diversify our bartending staff. I mean it’s twelve guys and only two girls. I think you’d make a fine bartender with a few nips here and there”, we’re walking to god knows where as she speaks, her hands poised gracefully in front of her. We take the stairs to the first floor.

“The ground floor is already full so this is going to be your floor”, she informs me as we arrive at the first floor. The scenery is similar to what is going on the ground floor but, the only difference is that there are several polls here somewhat imitating the allure of a strip club.

She pauses and looks at me;

“It gets a little crazy on this floor and sometimes we have straight-up lunatics up in here. Think you can handle it?’, there’s a tone in her voice. It’s not condescending or demeaning, it’s almost bothered. Like she actually cares about what my response will be.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”, I say as convincingly as I can. I’m tempted to brag about my reputation but, this is not the compound. And to everyone here, I’m just a regular girl.

“Perfect. Don’t hesitate to let me know if anything goes amiss. I’m sort of an unofficial manager here”, she says proudly.”, From where we are, she illustrates;

“Those are the angles over there, we have a rotation but, some constants on this floor are Willow, Sera and Felicity”, she points to each of them but, it’s so quick I’m certain none of that information registers in my head.

“The bartenders aren’t here yet, they come in a little later but, if you can hang around until they’re here, I’d introduce you to the head on this floor and he can let you know how to proceed from here on and fill you in with the paperwork”, she says in one breath;

“So Hera- when would you like to start? The best part about this job is the remunerations. Perfect for a girl on the run to make daily cash”, she says the last part like it’s our little secret. ‘ A girl on the run’. Did Sam tell her so much about me or is it that obvious that I’m running away from something. Even worse, could she possibly know about me from somewhere else? I struggle to make sure the paranoia doesn't show on my face and put on a plastic smile instead.

Whatever the case may be, I decide that it doesn’t matter. I’d take this over crashing on Emily’s couch any day. So to answer her question on when I’d like to start, I say;

“Tonight”.