Chapter 1: A Priest, a Rabbi, and a Synth Walk into a Bar
Chapter 2: Roses Are Red, Blood Is Too
Chapter 3: Trouble at the Third Rail
October 2289
A Hubflower for Magnolia: The Case of the Jilted Lovers
Chapter 4: Crooners and Swooners
That night, I decided to fill my role as the gumshoe on the prowl. I decided being on the scene might help me out a stalker-killer in the midst.
I walked into the Third Rail, the kind of joint where trouble was always brewing. The dimly lit room was packed with characters, each one with a story to tell. The smoky air was thick with tension, and I knew I had to keep my wits about me if I was going to solve this case.
As I sat at the bar in the Third Rail, I couldn't help but notice Magnolia singing on stage. She had a voice like an angel, and the way she swayed to the music made me forget about everything else for a moment. Hell, I imagined I was the real Nick Valentine for a minute there the way my own body reacted to watching her stage act.
But my attention was quickly diverted when I saw one of the guys in the crowd make a move on her. I didn't like the way he was looking at her, and I knew I had to keep an eye on him.
As I scanned the room, I tried to pick out any other suspicious characters. There was a group of men huddled in the corner, whispering among themselves. They seemed to be up to no good, and I made a mental note to keep an eye on them.
There was also a woman at the bar who was drinking heavily and making a scene. She was loud and obnoxious, and I couldn't help but wonder what her deal was.
As the night wore on, I continued to observe the patrons in the Third Rail. Some were just regulars, there to enjoy the music and a few drinks. But others seemed to have something to hide, and I knew I had to stay alert.
Magnolia was on stage, belting out a tune with her sultry voice. She was a real looker, with silky brunette hair and a figure that could make a radstag kick a hole in power armor. As I watched her perform, I saw one of the ghouls in the back corner making eyes at her. He was a shady character, the kind of guy who always had a trick up his sleeve. I had to keep an eye on him.
But as I scanned the room, I saw other characters who could be up to no good. Whitechapel Charlie, a grizzled old-timer who had seen it all, scanned along with me. He was wiping down the bar with a rag, eyeing the patrons suspiciously. And then there was the couple in the booth near the door. They were whispering to each other, their heads close together. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but something about their demeanor put me on edge.
Magnolia finished her song, and the crowd erupted in applause. As she left the stage, I walked over to her.
"Great performance," I said. "But you need to watch your back. That guy in the back corner has been eyeing you all night."
Magnolia looked over at the guy and shuddered. "Yeah, that’s One-eye Mack, one of the regulars who never says a word or nothing. He gives me the creeps," she said. "Of course, a lot of them do. Thanks for the warning, but I don’t think One-eye Mack is our guy."
I nodded and headed back to my stool at the bar. As I sat down, Whitechapel Charlie floated toward me.
"Detective, Nick! You seem like a man who's looking for trouble," he said.
"Looking for trouble and trying to keep the peace," I replied.
"Well, keep your eyes peeled," he said. "There's some bad blood in this joint." Whitechapel Charlie sighed. “There’s always bad blood in this joint. I’m just happy if they spend their caps and spare the bloodshed.”
I nodded, took a long drag of my cigarette, and scanned the room once more. This was going to be a long night. But I was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on in the Third Rail.
As Magnolia began her next song, I kept a watchful eye on the characters in the bar. I listened to Magnolia and ignored One-eye Mack to find other shady characters. Who knew what secrets they were hiding? I listened intently to the lyrics of Magnolia’s song, hoping for some clue to the mystery that was unfolding before me through insight of melody. But for now, all I could do was wait, watch, and hope that I would find the answers I was looking for.
As Magnolia's second song drew to a close, I scanned the room once more, looking again at the suspicious characters. My eyes fell upon a man in a silver fedora, lurking in the corner. I couldn’t see his face, but I could see that he was scanning the room just as I was. He mostly seemed to be keeping an eye on Magnolia. And me. I couldn't help but wonder what his motives were. I couldn’t place him, but he was the most suspicious of all the characters I had observed thus far.
Just as I was about to approach him, another man sauntered up to the stage, leering at Magnolia with a lascivious grin. He whispered something in her ear, and she recoiled in disgust. "I don't have to listen to this," she snapped, glaring at him. But he wasn't deterred and continued to make advances toward her.
The other patrons of the bar didn't take kindly to this behavior, and a couple of regulars stepped in, pulling the man away from the stage. I watched as they ushered him towards the door, but not before he shot Magnolia a furious look. “You will love me!”
As the commotion died down, I turned to one of the other patrons and asked where Ham was. "I heard he's dealing with a bunch of fight upstairs," she replied, gesturing towards the staircase. I nodded, grateful for the information, and made my way toward the stairs to see if I could assist.
As I ascended the stairs, I could hear the sound of scuffling and shouting coming from the street above. My hand tightened around the handle of my revolver, and I steeled myself for whatever lay ahead. At the top, I indeed saw fighting and scrapping, broken bottles of booze peppering the greased streets. The young man who had approached Magnolia was getting roughed up by the regulars and other chaos ensued. I ducked back into the Third Rail sure that my chances of remaining an intact bucket of bolts was in my best interest.
I went back to Magnolia who had not yet begun her next set. At the same time, she sashayed like she always did, almost as though she had forgotten the encounter before. I realized, too, that I had forgotten about the mysterious character in the fedora and looked back to where I last saw him. Neither man nor fedora remained.
“Is this how every night goes?” I asked Magnolia.
“One of the less eventful nights,” she said with an eerie monotone. She had seen much worse than this.
I ended up making a sweep of the joint. Despite all the suspects gathered in a room, no one was such a suspect that he, or she, could be accused of serial killings. Magnolia indicated she was going to finish her array of songs, and I sat back again acting more like bodyguard than detective.
At the end of the night, as Magnolia finished her set, I breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long night, but I was glad to have kept everyone safe. Well, at least, I had kept Magnolia that way. As I was going to find out, the chaos on the street above was much more complicated.