Chapter 55: The Mutt Of The Group

Joe and his crew gathered outside of the bar called the “Milky Nips”. The bar had a giant neon sign with the silhouette of a woman drinking a cocktail. There was no window at all on the building to the bar, and loud music could be heard playing inside. There was a pair of thick metal doors leading in. One door for VIP’s and the other for everyone else. The bar seemed like it was a popular place, as there was a lineup of people waiting to get inside.

Dan: “Is this the place?”

Joe: “I guess?” he said, sounding unsure.

Dan: “Why don’t you sound sure?”

Joe: “This place used to be a shit hole the last time I was here years ago, but it has changed a lot since then. There’s actually people waiting to get in,” he said while looking at the lineup of people dressed like they're ready to party.

Mike: “Are we sure that our guy still even works here?”

Joe: “No, but only one way to find out,” he said as approached the front of the bar.

Standing at the door to the bar were two large and muscular mutant men both wearing matching white t-shirts and brown suspenders. One of them was a Lion mutant with a feline head and a full golden mane and fur. The lion mutant had no tail. The other was a crocodile mutant with a long snout and rows of sharp teeth like the animal he took after. The mutant crocodile man was covered in leathery scales from head to toe with a thick tail sticking out his back.

They were clearly bouncers for this establishment.

Lion Mutant: “To the back of the line with ya.”

Joe: “I’m here to see Cory.”

Crocodile mutant: “Who’s asking to see that mutt?” he said, with his arms crossed while leaning near the entrance of the bar.

Joe: “Go fuck yourself!” he yelled out.

Dan and a bunch of people in the nearby line who saw this were all shocked. All the onlookers were thinking the same thing: “”.

The crocodile mutant straightened his posture and made a hissing sound similar to what his feral animal counterpart might have made as a warning. His reptilian expression made it hard to tell what he was thinking, but between the sound he was making and what was said, everyone would assume the mutant man was angry.

The mutant crocodile man walked over to Joe. He got real close and bent down to stick his face right into Joe. He stared down the detective with his reptilian eyes, clearly trying to intimidate him. Joe continued with a deadpan expression and refused to show any sign of what he was feeling.

The rookie officer watched on as his leader was confronted by a much bigger and scary-looking mutant man. Sweating with worry that this was about to turn into a confrontation.

Crocodile mutant: “Are you friend or foe to that mutt?”

Joe: “Why does it matter?”

Crocodile mutant: “It doesn't,” he said as he backed away from Joe. “But, if you are a foe to Cory, I will tell you this. If you want to rough him up a bit, me and the rest of the boys will look the other way.”

Joe: “What's that supposed to mean? Is he not popular around here or something?”

Crocodile mutant: “Heh. You have no idea,” the mutant lizard man said before walking over to the VIP door and pulling it open. “Anyways, in ya go,” he said while gesturing to Joe and his crew to head inside with his thumb.

Some of the onlookers waiting in the line looked surprised and confused that they were just being let in.

Joe and Mike immediately headed inside. Dan lagged behind for a second, confused about what just happened, but immediately caught up and followed behind.

The air became a little warmer and the sound of the blaring music could now be physically felt. As it caused the air to vibrate in here. The group walked up a flight of stairs that took them to the second level of the bar, exclusive for VIP’s. As they climbed, Dan started to ask his seniors what just happened.

Dan: “What the fuck was that about. Why did he let you in after telling him to fuck off.”

Joe: “It’s the password.”

Dan: “Password?”

Joe: “Yup, if you drop the name of someone that works here then tell the bouncers specifically ‘go fuck yourself’, they’ll let you in.”

Mike: “It is kind of a good password. No one in their right mind would say that to a bouncer.”

Dan: “But you said it was years ago since you were here. What if they had changed their password since then, or if this Cory guy doesn't work here anymore?”

Joe: “Then… that would have gone poorly.”

Dan was stunned at the recklessness of Joe. Using an old password that could be easily mistaken for an insult seemed beyond foolish without prior knowledge that it still worked. Yet, that was what just happened.

The team made its way to the second floor of the bar. Music was blaring and everything was illuminated by colored lights of some combination of red, purple, and blue. The second floor had a balcony that looked over the main floor. Below was a stage with an attractive young lady dancing on a pole. At the edges of the stage where people were cheering on the dance with drinks in hand, some throwing money at her. There was also a large dance floor below with people dancing to the music.

The second floor had fewer people here than the one down below, but the bar looked stocked with even more expensive-looking drinks.

There were rows of doors leading to a private room, likely where most of the VIPs were currently.

Joe saw a bartender currently not serving anyone and just standing behind a bar table. Joe went over to talk to him.

Joe: “Hey, do you know where Cory is?”

The man was cleaning a glass and looked up to see Joe. He wore a fancy bartender suit with a red tie. His clothing tightly clung to his body. He had an athletic build. The bartender had short salt and pepper hair and looked rugged with an intimidating tattoo of a snake on the side of his face.

Bartender: “Who wants to know.”

Joe: “A customer.”

Bartender: “What’cha buying?”

Joe: “Is that any of your business?”

Bartender: “It kinda is. Since I'm the owner. This is my bar.”

Inwardly, Joe was surprised to hear that. He didn’t expect this bartender to be the owner of the Milky Nips. However, he made no indication with his facial expression or body language of his surprise. He was doing everything to not reveal his emotions to anyone here.

Joe: “I see…”

Bartender: “Did that surprise you?”

Joe: “Should it?” he said, trying to be obtuse.

Bartender: “Maybe. Hmm. You’re not from around here, are you?” he said, placing the glass he was cleaning down and leaning forward slightly.

Joe: “Why would you say that?” he said in an elusive way.

Bartender: “You wouldn’t have casually come up to me if you knew who I was. It's Barney by the way,” he said, introducing himself.

Joe: “Well, Barney. I’m here to buy information.”

Barney: “From Cory? Pft. Why would you buy information from that mutt?”

Joe: “I take it he’s not very popular around here.”

Barney: “Now why would you say that?” he said with a cocky smile, parroting Joe’s obtuse answer from before.

Joe: “Because you don’t sound impressed that I’m asking for him, and the guy at the front said I could beat the shit out of him if I wanted.”

Barney: “Guy at the front? Oh, yeah. Ken is watching the door today. I guess he would ask you to do that. But yeah, that fucking mutt is the bane of my existence. So if you want to beat the crap out of him, you have my blessing too.”

Joe: “What did he do to piss you off?”

Barney: “Hmm. Normally I wouldn’t tell you that kind of information, but it’s Cory. So I don’t give a fuck. There’s not one thing I specifically hate about him, it’s a lot of stuff. But if you force my hand, the main thing I hate about that shit is him waving around the Nighthounds name so casually. The guy’s a fucking mutt and just thinks he can drop our name and get what he wants. Because of that, I’ve had to clean up his mess so many times”

Joe: “OK, sounds like you really hate him.”

Barney: “We all hate him. I’m not even surprised Ken asked you to beat the shit out of him. It’s taken me a lot of effort to keep Ken from killing Cory after what he did to his sister. Beating up on a brothel girl whose mutant brother works here is not too smart, and under normal circumstances, I would kick him out for that if he didn’t have that stupid ‘get out of jail free card’ the higher-ups gave him a decade ago.”

Joe heard through the grapevine that the Nighthounds gave Cory some special privileges from his activities in the past. It sounded like those privileges were tying Barney's hands. However, those same privileges didn’t seem to help grow Cory’s rank in the organization either by the sound of things.

Joe: “I see, still as pleasant as I recall,” he said while making a mental note of this to potentially use against Cory later.

Barney: “Yeah… You're like a private investigator working for a noble or rich guy, right?” he said while looking at Joe’s clothing and noticing the outline of what he assumed was a firearm under his jacket.

Joe: “Yes, but I’m not going to say who we work for.” he said, lying.

Barney: “That's fine. I know how you guys work. But, let’s cut a deal between you and me. Cory always pushes the line of what’s allowed as a Nighthound, but never crosses it. He has some immunity, but he knows if he crosses that line, he’s fucked. So if you can get some compromising dirt on Cory, I can pay you.

Joe: “What are you offering?”

Joe didn’t actually care about the deal. He intended to refuse the offer, but he had to play the part of an unscrupulous investigator to keep suspicion down.

Barney: “Hundred thousand glint, and any information you want for free. I have higher access to information than Cory does, so whatever you're looking for, I'll probably have a better chance of finding it than that mutt.”

Joe: “That’s… a lot,” he said, surprised by the amount that was being offered.

Barney: “That’s how much I want that fucker gone. You find information about him going against the Nighthounds, like working with other gangs or cops, and it's all yours. No questions asked. Cory is enough of a fuckup I'm sure he’s done something like that recently or in the past.”

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At the mention of cops, Dan made a slightly nervous twitch. Thankfully, Barney didn’t see it.

Joe: “We’ll keep that in mind. But first, we still would like to talk to Cory.”

Barney: “Hmm, fine. Go to private room eighteen. I’ll send him over to you. And, remember my offer,” he said before walking off somewhere.

Joe nodded and walked away with his team. He looked at the nearby doors and saw that they were numbered. He walked along the row of doors until he found room eighteen.

They entered inside.

The walls of the room were covered in a mix of red velvet and giant mirrors. In the center of the room was a mini stage with another metal pole in the center. Surrounding the stage were crescent-shaped couches with a tacky leopard print pattern on them. They conformed to the shape of the elevated area they were facing. Off to the side was a small table with a dozen clean empty glasses and a cabinet before it to hold liquor.

Dan: “This is the Red-light district, right? Is it safe to assume this room is used for more than just private dances?”

Mike: “I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

Dan: “OK. Good to know. I’m not touching anything.” he said, with a look of disgust and concern about the bodily fluids the furniture in this room may have come in contact with.

Joe: ”I wouldn’t worry about anything here being dirty if that’s what you're worried about. These are the VIP rooms for their big paying customers. So, they're gonna make sure everything is scrubbed down good.

Dan: “Even so, I’m gonna stand just in case.”

Joe: “Suit yourself,” he said as he took a seat on the couch.

Mike followed Joe's lead and took a seat beside him. Dan just stood beside the both of them, making sure he didn’t touch anything. A few minutes went by in silence. Dan felt uncomfortable with the silence, so he started to ask a question.

Dan: “Um, can I ask some questions about this Cory guy, or is that not OK to do here?”

Mike: “Nah, it’s fine. Just keep in mind that there’s a good chance this room is bugged and the Nighthounds are listening. So choose your words wisely, or I might not be able to answer.

Dan: “Um, ok. Is he a dog mutant? I’ve noticed everyone here that knows him keeps calling him a mutt?”

Joe: “He is a mutant, but is no dog mutant with any major animalistic traits. Just an extra toe if I recall. He looks mostly human. Mike taught you that there are mutants that can look like a completely normal human, right?”

Dan: “I already knew that.”

Joe: “Just asking, you were pretty ignorant about mutants when we first met.”

Dan: “Still, why are they calling him a mutt?”

Joe: “It’s a ranking in the Nighthounds. Mutts are the lowest rank.”

Mike: “Yeah, I’m surprised he’s still at that rank after all these years, but at the same time I'm not.”

Dan: “Why do you say that?”

Mike: “Oh, that's because—” he paused mid-sentence from the sound of the door opening.

The door to the private room swung open to reveal a smarmy-looking man who walked into the room.

The man, who Dan assumed was Cory, wore a dirty black suit with a messy white undershirt. He had short oily black hair with a large forehead and a face that could only be described as rat-like. Despite having no visible inhuman qualities, Dan couldn't help but feel like this guy really looked like a rat to him. He was just one small mutation away from people just assuming he was a rat mutant.

Cory: “Oh, fuck me. It’s you.” he said, while glaring at Joe and the door closing behind him.

Joe: “Nice to see you too, Cory.”

Cory: “Do you have brain worms? What part of ‘let us never see each other again’ did you not understand,” he said, referring to their last interaction.

Joe: “C’mon, It’s been years. Me and Mike, have missed you,” he said, sarcastically.

Cory: “Fuck off. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t yell that there's a pig in the house, and get the whole gang to bust in here and fill you with lead.” he said, threatening Joe.

Dan, standing behind the couch Joe was sitting on, eyes widened. He started to get worried and a little scared that his life was in danger.

Joe didn’t know how many members of the Nighthounds there were in this bar, but there were probably a lot. If Cory screamed out that they were cops, they wouldn’t be making it out of this unscathed. However, Joe expected this and was prepared.

Joe: “I know you won’t. Because you're a coward.”

Cory: “Fuck you.”

Joe: “Your standing in the Nighthounds doesn't look that good. I get the feeling no one would come even if you called for them. And if they did, would they even believe you? And let's not forget, this so-called hypothetical pig has a giant case file and evidence on you that might get utilized if said hypothetical pig doesn't return.” he said, choosing his words carefully. So, as not to confirm they were cops, on the chance someone else was listening.

Cory: “Oh, you’re threatening me now? Well, your case file is gonna do jack. Nothing you can do to me as long as I’m with the Nighthounds. I’m above the law.”

Joe: “Maybe, but I would be more worried about what the Nighthounds would do if that case file got released. I wonder how much they know about when you turned on the Skull Crusher during the bloody days and then joined their side in that conflict.”

Cory just glared at Joe with an intense amount of hatred.

Joe knew Cory wasn't going to do anything to him or his team. The former Skull Crusher gang member turned Nighthound was a massive coward. He would be too afraid to try an act out against Joe if it risked information about his activities during the Bloody Days got out.

Joe learned about Cory's activities during his investigation of Rob back in the day. Cory was pretending to be a turncoat and joined the Nighthounds to get information on them, all under Rob’s order. The veteran investigator learned about that and used that information against him, turning Cory into his own informant back then. That was until Rob disappeared and the situation finally stabilized. The former Skull Crusher ended up actually joining the Nighthounds fully, and contact had been cut off between Joe and him for some time now.

In Joe’s mind, it was likely that Cory never bothered to fully explain the duplicative nature of his betrayal of the Skull Crusher to the Nighthounds, and Cory's reaction seemed like that was the case. The Nighounds would never tolerate a snitch, and Joe was using this fact to shield himself and get information from the Nighthound mutt in front of him.

Cory: “Tch, what do you want?”

Joe: “Information.”

Cory: “I know. You wouldn't be bothering me otherwise. What information?”

Joe: “How about you take a seat and let's talk about it. Maybe catch up, or tell us what you’ve been up to?” he said, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Cory: “My personal life is none of your business,” he said while taking a seat across from Joe.

Joe: “Fair enough, but you should do well to keep your personal life out of your business.

Cory: “What's that supposed to mean?

Joe: “I heard you have been beating up girls. Wasn't even really asking for that information, but got it anyway. Your compatriots seem to hate you, Cory."

Cory: “Fuck me. They're still going on about that. I paid the bitch, so I have the right to do whatever I want with her."

Joe silently thought to himself, inwardly disgusted at Cory.

Joe: “Right… If you want to fuck up your life, be my guest, but do it after you help me out. Not that I'm confident you can help. A mutt? Really? How long has it been, and you're still at the lowest rank? They even give you special privileges for betraying the Skull Crushers, and you still couldn’t increase your rank.”

Cory: “Pft, as if you know anything.”

Joe: “I know that access to the Nighthound information network is based on rank in the gang. The higher the rank, the more info you have access to.”

Cory: “You think I want to be a mutt? They don’t trust me for shit. I gave them everything, and they still treat me like dirt.”

Joe: “Not surprising. They value loyalty. Probably wondering how loyal a turncoat from another gang really is.”

Cory: “Did ya quit your job and join the Nighthounds, cause you sound an awful lot like them.”

Joe: “How much access do you have?” he said, ignoring the comment Cory made.

Cory: “Tell me what you want to know, and then I'll tell ya. Oh, and if this is anything related to the Nighthounds themselves, forget it. I won’t help you then.”

Joe: “I want three things. I want any information you have on your former boss Rob, then I want information on everyone that used to live on 666 Vaal Street, and finally, I want to know how to get in contact with an expert on curses.”

Cory: “Let me think…” he mumbled, as he looked like he was in deep thought. “Not sure about Information on Rob, but the information on him would be old, so I might have some access. Info on people living somewhere on Vaal Street should be easy enough to get a hold of. An expert on curses? That one is odd. Why are you looking to curse someone?”

Joe: “I'm not looking to curse anyone. I’m looking for someone who knows a lot about curses. Not a common mage, but someone of exceptional power and knowledge on the subject. Maybe someone equivalent to an archmage who specializes in curses, if that was a thing.”

Cory: “Ahhhh, don’t know about that. I’ll look, but I doubt I’ll find anything.”

Joe: “What about the keeper of secrets?”

Both Mike and Dan looked at Joe surprised by the fact he brought up such a vague rumor from Wren.

Dan: “Joe, that’s just a rumor.”

Cory: “Who’s this kid?” he said, finally noticing Dan's presence for the first time.

Joe: “Don’t mind him. Just tell me if you know where I could find this keeper.”

Cory: “Well, that kid is right. It’s just a rumor that’s been going around. Nothing more.”

Mike: “Is that the Nighthounds opinion, or is this yours?” he said, chiming in.

Cory: “Ugh, probably mine. If the higher-ups knew about someone that has a bunch of ancient magic and artifacts, they definitely won’t tell a mutt about it.”

Joe: “So that means it is unlikely you’ll find anything, even if there was.”

Cory: “Yup, your shit out of luck there. Anyway, it’s going to take me a while to find this info for you. I’ll contact you later once I have something.”

Joe: “OK, call this number when you do,” he said, handing a piece of paper with a phone number to Cory.

Cory: “Uggh, this got me stressed. I’m going for a smoke. Wanna join me, Joe?”

Joe raised an eyebrow curiously. Cory hated him with a passion, and wouldn’t just casually ask him to go smoking with. He knew there was a deeper meaning to what he was being said. The senior investigator's gut told him to go along with what Cory was offering.

Joe: “Sure…let’s catch up.”

Dan: “Huh?”

Joe: “You guys go wait in the alleyways we were at earlier. I’ll meet up with you in a little bit.”

Dan: “But ah—”

Mike: “Sure thing, Joe,” he said, cutting off Dan.

Mike grabbed Dan and they left the bar. Cory got up and left the private room with Joe following behind. They walked past many bar tables as they entered another stairwell at the back. They descended down to a door that opened into an alleyway by the bar.

Stepping outside, Joe could feel the cold crisp air of the night. The pleasant cool feeling he got was ruined by the smell of piss that also hung in the air.

Cory looked around the alley to make sure no one was around. Once he saw only he and Joe were the only ones there, he pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette for himself. He inhaled deeply before blowing out a puff of smoke.

Cory: “I want you to destroy that case file on me and never bother me again. This time for real.”

Joe: “I see, so you want payment for this information.”

Cory: “Yeah, I’ll even tell you about the keeper of secrets if you do this for me.”

Joe: “So this person does exist. Why didn’t you tell me this back inside?”

Cory: “Because those rooms are bugged. And, part of me giving you this information involves also promising to never reveal where you got it from.”

Joe: “That serious? Wait…are you not supposed to tell others about this?”

Joe realized that the caution Cory demonstrated was for a reason. He could only imagine Cory had information that he wasn't supposed to be sharing.

Cory: “I’m not answering any more questions. Either agree or fuck off.”

Joe was already facing a dead end in his investigation. He knew he didn’t have much more time before Murdock forced a bunch more work on him. Once that happens, he won’t be able to dedicate as much time to figuring out who murdered Rob. Recognizing this, he nodded, agreeing with this deal with Cory.

Cory: “Good. There is this place on Eld Street. It’s like an antique store between a bakery and an alchemist shop, and apparently, it is really hard to find. The keeper of secrets guy you’re looking for is probably there.”

Joe: “Probably? Why don’t you sound so sure? I thought you were telling me where this keeper of secrets is?”

Cory: “I am. I think? The information might have a few holes in it. It’s like giga classified. Waaaaay above my rank. So the amount I know is limited. I’m not even supposed to know what I know about this, let alone tell anyone about it.”

Joe: “Then why do you know?”

Cory: “I may have come across it by accident while looking through a computer connected to our information broker network.”

Joe: “How do you accidentally come across super classified information?”

Cory: “Look, it actually was an accident. The computer I was using bugged out and gave me the file on that location. I probably shouldn't have looked, but it’s not every day you get access to the highest rank of classified information in the network that only the Nightqueen herself could access.”

Joe's eyes widened in surprise. The Nightqueen was the leader of the Nighthounds. Cory having information that only his boss should know was beyond what Joe ever expected.

Joe: “Wait, it’s that classified?! OK. I get what's going on. This is why you’re being so secretive. If the Nighthounds find out about this…”

Cory: “This is why you need to shut your mouth, 'cause if they find out I told you this, you're dead with me.”

Joe: “Fine. But is this keeper of secrets real?”

Cory: “The file I read didn’t specify that this guy was the keeper of secrets, but it did outline that the person living there is super powerful, like unimaginably powerful if what I read was true. So I'm assuming the keeper of secrets and the guy on Eld Street are the same person.”

Joe: “Is he like, can cast ancient curse magic powerful?”

Cory: “That’s like baby magic with what I read. It’s more on the level of ancient giant’s magic, maybe even greater."

Joe just gave a look of disbelief at what was just said. He couldn’t imagine someone having magic on the scale of ancient giants. The stories of the magic those ancient creatures could wield were said to be capable of terraforming the entire world. They would create mountains of impossible sizes and cities that could fly through the sky. They could even create entirely new continents and oceans. It was on a scale few could imagine today. A forgotten magic that modern-day giants can’t use anymore, as it was lost to time from what Joe understood.

Despite what Cory was saying, Joe didn’t believe this person was as powerful as was being claimed. However, he was still willing to entertain that this guy was powerful.

Joe: “Right… Have you met this person? Eld Street is actually not too far from here. Also, does this guy have a name?”

Cory: “No on both accounts. The file had missing info in it, which included this guy’s name.” seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Joe: “Is there anything else you can tell me about this guy?”

Cory: “He can be identified by his red eyes and a white dog that constantly follows him around. Anything else, you’ll have to go talk to him yourself if you want to know. Just be sure you don’t piss off that guy’s dog. I don’t know how or why, but apparently the dog that follows him around is extremely dangerous. Anyway, you know where to look now. And, remember what you promised. Destroy those files, and don’t tell anybody where you got this info from. I’ll contact you later when I get your other information you wanted.” he said, before quickly leaving.

Cory departed and went back into the Milky Nips, leaving Joe alone in the alley.

Joe: “Sigh, it's not great, but it’s something. I guess we will check out that guy on Eld Street later. Hopefully that guy knows something,” he mumbled, before departing to go meetup with his team.

( For reference to help understand the value of currency in this world, 1 Glint = 1 USD.)