Chapter 6 - Episode 6: "Man Eater"

It was another boring day in the office as Enid was catching up on the myriad of paperwork that needed to be done. She frowned at the client file she held in her hand. Sabo, she had meant to get Sabo out of the S section, but instead she was holding the file for Cunningham, Sarah. Enid frowned and rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Damn it, Agnes! Alphabetical order by surname! Not first!" she said to the empty room. With a huff, she stood and went back into the office to collect the right file. She would have to rearrange those files later.

The phone started ringing and she scurried back into reception to answer it as she juggled the files, placing them on the desk as she dived for the phone. "Hello! Wednesday Addams Preternatural Investigations!" she said as cheerfully as she could.

"Enid!" the voice on the other end snapped, unimpressed.

"Ah! Oh, hi, Mum!" Enid said as she winced, her eyes widening in surprise. "How are you?" she asked, as she made a yikes face.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted Wednesday coming down the stairs.

"It's my mother," she mouthed silently to Wednesday as Wednesday gave the slightest of nods and floated down the hallway into the office.

"My condolences," Wednesday muttered as she passed, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Enid! It's been over a month and we've not heard a word from you," her mother complained. "Don't you have time for your parents anymore?"

"Oh, no.....I mean, of course I do," Enid said, forcing a chuckle as she sat at her desk. "I've just been really busy lately, that's all. You know what Wednesday's like, and the agency has been super busy lately. A month? Surely it hasn't been that long!" Enid exclaimed. "Man, time really flies when you're busy, doesn't it?"

"Uh huh, always full of excuses as to why you don't have time for your elderly mother," her mother chastised her. "I mean seriously, Enid? You should really be more grateful for all your father and I have done for you."

"Hey Mum! I'm grateful! Super grateful! If it weren't for you guys sending me to Nevermore, I never would've met Wednesday and got the amazing job I have," Enid replied.

"Uh huh," Esther said, unconvinced. "Well, you can show us the extent of your gratitude when we come to visit in two weeks. It's been too long since we last saw you, so we're going to come visit and see how you're coping in the city."

"I'm coping just fine, really!" Enid insisted with a nervous chuckle. "You don't want to come all the way from Maine to New York just to check up on me. I swear everything's going great! I've been really busy lately, that's all. And isn't that a sign things are good?" Enid asked, her grip on the phone tightening.

"Well, we will soon see," Esther replied. "Your father needs to visit a competent hospital for some more scans. I don't trust the simple citizens of this crumbling backwater," she said with a snort of disdain. "The werewolf commune is fantastic, but the downside is that it's far from any semblance of civilisation and competent professionals."

The mention of her father's health made Enid grind her teeth. "Mum, Dad's fine. We've been over this before. He just needs to watch his diet and get some exercise. Sitting around eating roast chicken and pork rinds while watching TV and drinking Bud is his problem," Enid said.

"Thanks for your opinion, Doctor," her mother retorted. "But he's at that age where he needs regular check-ups and medical guidance. You know what your father's like."

"Yeah....I know what my mother's like too," Enid muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing! Anyway, Mum, it was good hearing from you. Sorry about not checking in sooner! I look forward to your visit! Gotta go now, bye!" Enid said, hanging up before her mother could protest.

Across town Agnes sat alone at a table for four as she kept an eye on the door, thinking that everyone who entered might be them. They were late, but then they usually were. Her dad thought showing up on time to anything was classless, and that someone of significance should always be fashionably late. She sighed in frustration, tapping her fingers on the table as she played with the ice in her empty glass, swirling it about.

"Would you like another coke, miss?" the waiter asked.

She gave a slow nod. "Sure, why not?"

He smiled in response. "Who are you waiting for?"

"My parents. We have lunch together today, but they're running late.....as usual."

"Ah," he said, shooting her a look of sympathy. "I'm sure they just got caught up in traffic or something," he assured her. "You know how the city can be."

Agnes didn't reply but nodded. Her drink soon came, and she drank it before she picked up her phone and looked at the time. 2.30pm, they were an hour and a half late. She messaged her mother for the third time. "Where are you?"

Agnes blinked rapidly as she stared at the delivered messages that hadn't been read, then looked up and saw the lunch patrons of the restaurant were tidying up and finishing their meals.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you have to order now if you're going to have lunch. The kitchen closes until dinner in five minutes," the waiter told her, his looking knowing and sympathetic. He had been keeping an eye on her since she had entered. Her enthusiasm and energy had drained from her completely.

She nodded, sniffed and took a deep breath as she pulled herself to her feet, accepting that they weren't coming and had likely forgotten all about her....again. "No, that's fine," she muttered, avoiding eye contact. "I'll just go." And with that, Agnes, her shoulders slumped, head down and blinking back tears, shuffled from the restaurant and back out onto the busy, cold, uncaring street.

Wednesday sat at her desk with the newspaper open in front of her as she read the front-page article.

Thing scurried back and forth beside the paper in excitement.

"Four victims in the past four weeks. That's an obvious pattern if I have ever seen one," Wednesday said as she studied the photos of the crime scene. "The matter with the King in Yellow provided a welcome distraction for the first victims, but with that threat having been dealt with, it's now become a priority for the police department and, more importantly, has caught my attention," she said, looking at Thing. "Notice any patterns?"

Thing gestured rudely.

She gave a nod. "Correct, the victims are all men aged between 25 and 40, and they were all killed in hotel rooms after apparently mating with an unknown woman. As is typical, the police suspect a serial killer is on the loose, but female serial killers are especially rare. I suspect there is some bigger picture to this story that the authorities have overlooked in their ignorance....yet again. And by no mere coincidence, our dear friends Detective Gallows and Doyle get the more unusual cases."

Wednesday stood and strode over the door, grabbing her coat and shrugging into it. "Come Thing, we have work to do."

Gallows and Doyle were at their desks, piles of paperwork around them. The department's offices were a chaotic scene of officers milling about, working feverishly at desks and dealing with members of the public at the entrance coming with various grievances and matters of business.

Wednesday bypassed them and showed herself into the offices where more than a dozen detectives were hard at work on various cases.

Doyle was rambling in annoyance as usual, his frantic gesturing and scowl showing his mounting frustrations with the case. "Leave us with the messy garbage cases that no one else wants. Can't solve it themselves, so they dump it in our laps," he said with a snort.

"Someone had to see something," Gallows said, ignoring his complaints as Wednesday approached. "People spotted a few of our victims at local clubs; one even saw our latest leaving with that woman. But aside from that, nothing. We gotta find some link between the club and them ending up a bloody mess on a bed in a seedy hotel room."

"Your perpetrator is a succubus," Wednesday said, interrupting him.

Gallows looked up and smiled when he saw her. "Hello Wednesday!"

Doyle frowned. "A succubus? We're cops, not Mythbusters," he chided her. "I'm well aware of your penchant for inserting yourself into police business, Miss Addams, but just for once, leave the police work to the actual police," he said with a look of annoyance.

Wednesday ignored him. "Correct, a succubus. Your victims are all men between the ages of 25 and 40 who were out for the night at local clubs where they met an attractive woman who approached them and suggested they retreat to a nearby hotel for....relations. There they mated and she consumed them, leaving behind a gruesome mess to be discovered in the morning," she said with absolute certainty.

Doyle pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh boy! Look, Wednesday, I know you love all that supernatural stuff, but not every horrific crime has some monster or creature of the night behind it. Sometimes humans do horrible things, and in this case I think we've just got ourselves a good, old-fashioned serial killer," he said, chastising her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't patronise me, Detective Doyle. I'm well aware of that. But you're missing that I am an expert on matters of the supernatural, and I'm telling you this case is a textbook example of a succubus."

Wednesday turned to Gallows. "You have the results of all the toxicology reports?"

He nodded. "Yeah, down in the lab. Although they haven't found anything substantial so far."

She nodded and gestured away from them. "Lead the way."

Doyle shook his head and turned to the pile of paperwork as he waved them off dismissively.

Gallows led the way to the lab downstairs, where Wednesday immediately made herself at home, fetching the physical copies of the toxicology reports and reading them as they talked.

"You have questioned patrons of the bars the victims attended?" she asked.

"Yeah. Didn't really come up with anything helpful though," Gallows replied. "Crowded night clubs; it's easy for most people to go unnoticed and unremembered. One of the doormen recalled seeing one of the guys leave with a beautiful blonde woman, and another thought he recognised one of them, but apart from that, nothing. The bar staff were even less helpful."

She gave a curt nod as she didn't look up. "Surely you learned something from all your questioning."

"Nothing that really helps or that we didn't already know," Gallows said with a look of irritation. "It's ironic, a crowded place full of people, yet they were invisible because of it."

"Yes," Wednesday agreed. "Let me guess, all four victims went alone to a night club they weren't regulars at, alone, without the company of friends or a group. They blended in with the crowd, yet felt out of place and spent most of the night between the bar, dance floor and drifting through the crowd trying to meet a woman they could establish a connection with and hopefully engage in relations by the end of the night," she said, flicking through the pages of the reports.

"Like a hundred thousand other guys do on a weekend," Gallows replied. "It doesn't leave us with much."

She studied the photos of the autopsies. "All four of the victims are decent-looking, I suppose. But none of them stand out in one way or another. Our predator was careful in choosing its targets."

"Makes me wonder why they didn't go for the guy holding up the walls," Gallows said.

"Too obvious. The social outcast stands out too much. Think about it; said type typically spends all their time at the bar going remembered by bar staff by virtue of being in front of them for hours. Their poor attempts to converse with and court women are likely to be remembered for their awkwardness and inevitable failure," Wednesday pointed out.

"Yeah, fair point," Gallows replied.

"Furthermore, this demographic is used to social failure. Paradoxically, having success drop into their laps with apparent ease would make them nervous and/or immensely suspicious, triggering a flight or freeze response that draws attention to them and makes it significantly more difficult for our succubus to work unnoticed or successfully lure the victim to their deaths. It has a 50/50 chance of ending in failure to ensnare the target. A more socially competent target is more obliging," Wednesday added, her eyes dancing over the pages.

Gallows nodded in acceptance, unable to argue with her rationale. "That shows an advanced understanding of human social dynamics. Are you sure such a creature is capable of that sort of psychological knowledge?"

She nodded. "The succubus is a predator, an ancient and powerful one. As primitive as their nature may be, they are cunning and calculated killers," Wednesday explained. "There are only three reports here," she said, still not looking up.

"They're probably yet to complete the fourth," he said as he wandered around the lab.

A few minutes later a lab technician walked into the room, froze and looked at Wednesday with a puzzled expression. "Um, can I help you?"

Her dark eyes flicked up from the reports. "No thank you; I can manage," she replied, then her gaze returned to the autopsy reports.

The lab tech's look changed to one of annoyance. "Excuse me!" he protested.

Gallows came rushing over. "It's okay, Stan! She's with me!" he explained. "This is Ms Addams; she's helping with the multiple murder case we're investigating."

"Ah! Well then I should think you would be interested in reading the fourth report," Stan said, waving the report around. "It's very interesting indeed."

"There's nothing unusual about the others," Wednesday said, closing them and handing the pile to Stan.

"That's what makes the fourth so interesting," he said. "Forensic evidence collected from the crime scene showed trace amounts of carbonic anhydrase IV. An enzyme typically found in the femoral gland secretions of various types of venomous lizards," Stan said. "How it got to be at a murder scene in a hotel room is anyone's guess."

Wednesday was silent for a few seconds. "No, that makes perfect sense," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Detective Gallows and I have all the information we need," she said, then turned and left.

Hours later Wednesday and Gallows sat in her downstairs office, going over the murder cases.

"How did you find out which clubs they went to?" she asked.

"A few of them told friends they were going there; the fourth, we still don't know which club he had been to, but his murder fits the profile," Gallows replied.

"And adds additional forensic evidence not found at the other scenes. Have you looked at the security tapes of the clubs?"

"Yeah, but we didn't find much. Already confirms what we know. Except our second victim, Malcolm Grant, is seen leaving Bed with a blonde woman. We ran a search on her, and guess what?"

Wednesday stared at him.

"Her name's Giselle Daugherty, and she died three years ago," he finished.

Wednesday didn't look surprised. "I take it she died under mysterious circumstances. Succubi often take up the visage of their victims, those they consume or otherwise."

Gallows nodded in confirmation. "So how are we going to find its next target? There's hundreds, maybe thousands of clubs in New York. We can't possibly watch them all or predict which will be next."

"We don't have to," Wednesday said. "Succubi are territorial creatures of habit and ritual. What we have to do is figure out the pattern and get inside the creature's head, and the answer will present itself. Considering the locations of the three clubs, we can confidently say it is operating in this area," she said, drawing a circle in red pen on the map in front of her. "That rules out eighty percent of the greater New York metropolitan area."

"Great! That only leaves us with another twenty percent to deal with. Not a huge area at all," Gallows said sarcastically.

"Within a few minutes I narrowed the creatures potential hunting ground down by eighty percent. Imagine what I'll have accomplished a few days from now," Wednesday replied, indifferent. "….I might even find Jimmy Hoffa," she added.

Gallows snorted in amusement, looking on beside her. "Can you figure all that out? I mean, it's a lot of information and factors to consider."

She looked at him. "Of course. It will take some time and investigation, but Succubus are ultimately simple beasts, just another animal really. Their primary functions are sleep, eat and mate."

He smirked. "The old feed n' breed," a universal male impulse," he joked.

She raised an eyebrow. "Crass attempts at poetry and social commentary aside, the succubus follows base natural instincts. Everything it does, thinks or plans is in service to those base biological functions. It's a specific pattern in itself, one we can utilise and exploit; no matter how messy and undignified the business is," Wednesday said, turning back to the files spread out on the desk.

It was Gallows' turn to raise an eyebrow. "What, you mean you haven't….you know?"

"Of course I have!" she cried before she collected herself. Her expression remained a forced mask of indifference. "Many people experiment with such things at university. I was no exception. Although my experimentation took a more clinical approach than most. Being serious scientific experiments with a carefully chosen lab partner to test data," she explained, like she was talking about any other science experiment and not her sexual experiences. "Then of course the differing experiments had to be replicated to test the data's validity."

"Uh huh. And what was the conclusion?" he asked, amused.

Wednesday glared at him, then returned her attention to the case files, straightening in her seat. "It was sufficient."

He laughed. "Just sufficient?"

Wednesday frowned. Her hand shot out and a manicured black nail flicked his ear.

"Owww!" He howled in pain, grabbing his ear. "Damn, that hurt! What was that for?"

"Focus!" she snapped. "We are here to study the succubus crime scenes, not discuss my history of….intimate relations," she chided him, blinking rapidly.

He apologised, and they both turned to their attention to the files.

Wednesday glanced sideways at him as he caught her eye and she quickly snapped her gaze to the files and began talking about the first thing she read.

Gallows parked the car as he and Wednesday climbed out. "I don't see what questioning the staff of the nightclubs again will achieve," he said. "As I told you before none of them really noticed or remembered anything."

She looked directly ahead as she walked. "That's because they were questioned by yourself and Detective Doyle, not me. I can be very persuasive and have a talent for jogging people's memories," she replied. "There's also the fact your line of questioning revolved primarily around the victims and not the perpetrator. A glaring omission in investigative tactics. Especially considering an extremely beautiful woman such as Giselle Dougherty is far more likely to be noticed and remembered than another one of a hundred mediocre men."

He frowned. "Hey! We questioned them about her!"

"How thoroughly?" she asked, not looking at him.

He grumbled and scratched his chin. "Okay, so we didn't question them about her as thoroughly as we probably could've," he admitted.

She shot him a look that said 'I told you so,' but didn't comment as they approached the first club.

"How was I supposed to know the files are organised by surname?" Agnes protested.

Enid sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because that's how every filing system, like ever, is organised."

"That's dumb. It makes a lot more sense to do them by the person's first name. It's what comes first after all," Agnes insisted as she rearranged the folders in the big metal drawers.

Enid went to retort, then stopped and thought about it. Why were they organised by surname? She shook it off and focused. "Regardless, that's the way it's done, and that's the way most of our files are organised. So please take care to do them all like that in future."

"Okay, fine!" Agnes replied, her voice muffled by her face being in the depths of the filing cabinet.

Enid left her to it and returned to her desk at reception. She collapsed into her seat with a sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. Her computer beeped and she dared look down to see a new email. Clicking on it, she opened her mail folder to see several dozen unanswered emails. "Yikes! I'm falling behind," she thought to herself as she brushed strands of pink hair out of her eyes and began the arduous process of replying to all the unanswered client emails. She gritted her teeth and typed furiously as she worked through the list, shaking her head in annoyance at some of the stupid questions people asked about such or such supernatural mess they had got themselves into; or the hobgoblin they had called up for a gag that had taken over their home.

"$5,000 to dispose of a hobgoblin? That's a fortune!"

She scoffed at the attitude and began a reply. "Tough luck, that's what you get for meddling with things you don't understand and can't control, you….." then stopped and deleted it and wrote a more professional reply. The phone call from her mother yesterday was still fresh on her mind. All day Enid had found her thoughts drifting back to it, much to her irritation. "Stupid Mum," she said with a snort as she typed. "I don't know why she can't just leave Dad alone….and me!" she said, raising her eyebrows as she rolled her eyes.

She finished the email, buried her growing frustration at her mother and got up and headed back into the office's kitchenette to get a snack. She looked around the room; Agnes was nowhere to be seen.

"Hhmmm, I hope she's finished," Enid said to herself, getting a can of soda out of the fridge and cracking it open before she grabbed a packet of spicy Doritos on her way out.

Enid had just turned back into the empty hallway when Agnes suddenly appeared in front of her. "Waaaaahhh!"

"Aaaaahhhh!" Enid screamed with a violent jolt as the soda splashed all over her shirt. "Agnes, you idiot!" she snapped.

The smile from Agnes's face vanished as she folded in on herself, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry….I'm just trying to have some fun," Agnes whimpered.

Enid huffed. "No, it's fine. I'm just in a bad mood because my mum's being a pain again."

Agnes looked up, her expression sad. "At least yours knows you exist."

Enid looked at Agnes with a sinking feeling in her stomach as any annoyance evaporated. She stepped forwards and hugged the other girl tight as Agnes embraced her in return without a word.

They retreated into the briefing room and Agnes sighed as she told Enid about what had happened. "It's not just that they didn't come, but they completely forgot all about it. My mum was too busy to even see or answer my messages," Agnes said, studying the table as she spoke. "Not only was it disappointing and heartbreaking, but it was humiliating. I sat there in a restaurant for an hour and a half waiting for people who never came. Staff and other customers were watching me, just sitting there at a table by myself like a loser, waiting like an idiot."

Enid cringed at Agnes' intense self-criticism. "Hey! Don't talk like that!" Enid chided her. "You're neither of those things. They're the ones at fault here, not you," she assured Agnes.

Agnes nodded meekly. "It's the same old song and dance they're always too busy for me. I'm never a priority for them, anything and everything else comes before me," she said, her voice breaking.

Enid's heart broke for her as she wiped a tear from her eye and reached out, taking Agnes's hand in hers. "I'm sorry Agnes, it's so unfair! You're a wonderful daughter and they're too busy and selfish to realise it." She wanted to say something else, something to make Agnes feel better and take the pain away, but anything she thought of sounded hollow and insufficient.

Agnes nodded sadly, then looked up and forced a smile. "Thank you," then as if she could read Enid's thoughts she added. "Nothing you can say will make me feel better, but the fact you're trying and care means the world to me."

Enid smiled back. "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for! …although I wish there was something I could do to help. It makes my own parental issues seem dumb in comparison."

"Is your mum being a pain in the ass again?" Agnes asked.

Enid nodded. "When isn't she?"

"Your issues aren't dumb," Agnes insisted. "Your mum is a lot to deal with. We've got like the two complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Mine doesn't notice me, yours is overbearing and always hovering over you, even when she's a thousand miles away. I'd laugh if it wasn't so depressing."

Agnes smiled. "If only they could influence each other. They'd both balance out."

"Ha!" Enid cried. "Mine would be lecturing yours on how she's not watching you closely enough or needs to give more unwarranted advice and criticism," she said, rolling her eyes. Then chuckled. "It is bitterly ironic though, isn't it?"

Agnes nodded. "Mmm hmm," then gave a sigh. "I just wish there was something I could do about it."

"Try talking to her again. But like get her to sit down and stop for ten minutes in a quiet, static environment where her attention is fixed on you. Then she'll have to listen and actually hear what you're saying," Enid suggested. "Just tell her what happened and how it makes you feel. She won't be able to argue with that."

"You'd be surprised," Agnes replied with a look of disdain. She sighed. "But I guess you're right. It's worth a shot at least."

Enid smiled and nodded. "That's the spirit!" She released Agnes' hand and sat back in the seat with an exaggerated exhale. "Meanwhile I've got to prepare for my parents impending visit. Which is sure to mean lots of unwanted advice, criticism and unnecessary comments on anything and everything that doesn't fit her specific standards or inklings."

Agnes was thoughtful. "Hmmm….well if you decide you've had enough and want to get rid of her we could always arrange an unfortunate and frightening run in with a ghost," she said with a cheeky grin.

Enid smiled back. "That's a good idea. A solid plan B I may just take you up on. Agnes you're a genius!"

Agnes beamed. "I try!"

Elsewhere in the city a luxurious apartment sat cold and quiet, seeming like any other old, two storey dwelling in the tall, narrow federation building. The only difference or immediate sign anything was amiss was the expansive bloodstain on the living room floor. Outside a neighbour complained about a disgusting smell emitting from the premises, but the new owner could never be found to address the issue. "It all started not long after old Mrs Henderson died and her granddaughter moved in," he gossiped to another neighbour. "Speaking of which, have you seen her? Wow wee! What a stunner!" he said with a chuckle.

Inside the apartment, the master bedroom was a completely different story from the rest of the nearly immaculate apartment. The floor was black with mould, the walls dripping with green, yellow and brown goo that looked like mucus. On what had previously been an antique king sized bed was now a filthy, fleshy pink mass of a nest, resembling a squished and pustule covered brain. Then...a woman emerged from the walk in closet, dressed in a tight, short and revealing red dress with a low cut cleavage that showed off her ample breasts, her long legs ending in a pair of blood red high heels. She flicked her lustrous, long blonde hair over one shoulder and assessed herself in the mirror with a malevolent smirk of approval. The angelic features of a woman in her late twenties looking back at her as she toyed with her visage in the reflection, striking a pose and sticking out a long, forked reptilian tongue. "Time to go to work," she said, her voice a venomous hissing rasp. With a cackle she turned and walked from the room, leaving the apartment with a handbag slung over her shoulder.

The sun was sinking beneath the horizon as Wednesday and Gallows walked down the street and entered the last of the three clubs, The Boardroom. A venue that had adopted what Wednesday thought was a poor choice of theme, that of a high end corporate office. Thus far they had been unlucky in gaining any useful information about the beast wearing Giselle's face. A few of the staff had remembered seeing her, a woman that beautiful was relatively rare and stood out, but apart from confirming she was there they had nothing to tell them.

"You questioned us before. I don't think I can tell you anything I haven't already," the door man said to Gallows.

The detective nodded. "We're just doing some follow up questioning based on some new information."

Wednesday held up a photo of Giselle from a lingerie modelling photoshoot the real woman had done. "Have you seen this woman!" Wednesday asked, her expression blank.

The large Samoan gazed down at her and studied the picture. "Yeah, I remember her. She came in a few nights ago. Beautiful woman. She came in alone. Which I don't see often. Beautiful women typically come with a group of friends or with their partner, not by themselves. She left a few hours later with some guy."

"Who arrived first? How long afterwards did the other enter? Approximately how long afterwards did they leave together?"Wednesday asked.

He frowned down at her, towering over Wednesday. "He did. I dunno, she showed up quite a bit later. Maybe two hours after him. Then I guess they were in the club for a couple of hours before they left.

I only noticed him because he was nothing special to look at. Struck me as a bit unusual, you know? I figured she must've been an escort or something," he said with a shrug. "Remembered him because of the woman he left with."

"An escort?" Wednesday asked. "Typically an escort escorts their client to an event as well, don't they?"

"Maybe. Yeah, I guess. I dunno," he replied, his gaze drifting elsewhere.

"Did you notice if he came with anyone?"

"Nah, he came by himself. Wasn't with a group of friends or nothin' like that."

Wednesday asked some more questions that proved unhelpful and then thanked him and turned and motioned for Gallows to follow.

"Well, that was a whole load of nothing," he said, walking beside her.

Wednesday didn't reply as she was deep in thought. It wasn't until they had been driving for a good ten minutes before she finally spoke.

"Succubi are predators who take care in choosing their victims. Selecting a target and seducing them and leaving within a couple of hours is a tight time frame, considering the options available to it. The bouncer's casual mention of her being an escort has me thinking. What if our succubi already knew her target from elsewhere and had arranged to meet him there? It makes for a more compelling hunt and the of seduction that these creatures find irresistible," she said, staring out the windscreen.

"I guess," Gallows said, hesitantly. "Why not come together, though?"

Wednesday glanced at him. "It could be for any number of possible reasons. Perhaps the thrill of the game, the succubi had other matters to attend to, the victim didn't want to be seen going into the club with her for some reason," Wednesday said, frowning at the stereo where Motley Crüe was playing.

Gallows' brow furrowed as he drove, thinking about the puzzle that had presented itself.

"The escort thing makes perfect sense, but you're not convinced?"

"No. It's not implausible, but succubi are typically uninterested in working and human preoccupations like material wealth. It would be easy enough to find suitable prey without having to do that much groundwork," Wednesday explained.

"So, we're dealing with an ambitious and entrepreneurial Succubus?" Gallows said with a smirk.

"It would appear so," Wednesday replied, nonchalant. "Is there a register you can search to locate her?"

Gallows shook his head. "While escorting is legal, as long as there's no sex for money involved, there's no regulatory body or registration of any kind."

"Unfortunate. That could've been very helpful," Wednesday said, turning to look out the side window. "Although escorting is an inefficient way of screening suitable prey. It could go through dozens of clients before it found a suitable one," she added. "So it's not an escort. I am certain of it."

"Ugh, yeah true. It would need to be doing something where it encounters a lot of men, not just a small, irregular select few," he said, as he started thinking again.

"What makes someone a worthy target? Isn't the whole point to feed on them? I mean, food's food," Gallows asked.

"That, and getting pregnant. Feed and breed, remember? The Succubus is looking for not just suitable meals that are sufficiently healthy, but a fertile sire for its young," she explained.

Gallows nodded as he drove, pondering the situation.

The song Girls, girls, girls started and he started singing along before he slapped the steering wheel. "Strippers!"

Wednesday raised an eyebrow. "Strippers? Is there a reason for this sudden and unprovoked outburst; or are you declaring your fondness of women who dance and take their clothes off for financial compensation?"

"Huh? What? No, I'm not into strippers," he protested. "I mean, if someone wants to that's their…." He stopped and grunted in frustration. "Strippers," he said again.

"Yes, we've established that."

He shot her a dirty look.

She gazed back impassive.

"Strippers…..they have a lot of customers. Many men who see them dance and a good number who get private lap dances," Gallows' began. "Every now and then they'll get a prostitute come in and claim to be a dancer, then they use the club to gain new clients, soliciting men for their prostitution services. Which is very illegal," he explained. "Back in the day when I was a beat cop I had to attend clubs a few times to get statements from the staff and management. The club managers hate it because they can get in a lot of trouble, so they have to report it to the police if they know it's happening," he explained. "I suspect that's exactly what our succubi is doing! Screening her dance clients for potential victims and then offering them to meet up for a date and sex."

Comprehension immediately dawned on Wednesday's face. "Using exotic dancing to moonlight for prostitution and solicit new clientele. It provides sex workers with a steady stream of income while providing a means to network and build a base of regular clients. It's legality aside, it's a far more effective system than walking the streets," she said. "And as a means of predation for our succubus, it provides it with the perfect opportunity to assess potential targets and essentially let them seal their own fate," she nodded. "The strip club functions as a high end screening facility while the private dance is the equivalent of a medical examination prior to consumption. This model is vastly superior to random predation; it minimises effort and risk while maximising the quality and reliability of the food source," she said, her brain clicking into overdrive. "We must shift the focus of our investigation to local strip clubs and find the creature's base of operations."

Gallows nodded. "Right, well let's get started."

They had barely began when Gallows' phone rang. It was Doyle. The other detective grumbled away as he explained. "Debrief and the chief wants you present," he concluded.

Gallows sighed. "Okay, no problem. I'll be there."

He looked at Wednesday. "I'm going to have to cancel the investigation of the clubs," he said. "Doyle says I'm wanted back at the precinct. I won't get a chance tomorrow either. We've got to go check out the hotels, question the staff and write up all that paperwork."

Wednesday gave no sign she had heard. "Attend to your official duties. I will take Enid with me tomorrow and conduct the investigations of the strip clubs. Once we find where she is employed it is only a matter of time before we track the creature down."

She swayed her hips from side to side, shaking her rear tantalisingly close to his face, so close that the tip of his nose almost brushed her crotch. She pivoted and span around gracefully, replacing her rear with her ample cleavage, wiggling her naked breasts in his face as she teased him. He watched, eyes wide, grinning from ear to ear as she chuckled at his expression and shoved her boobs in his face as he gleefully motorboated them. She giggled, stepping back as she lifted a leg onto the seat of the couch, gyrating her hips as she teased him. "Like what you see?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! I sure do!"

She smiled back at him and licked her lips. "Don't you wish you could see more?" she teased, grabbing the material of the tiny G string she wore and sliding it down to just above her sex as his eyes grew wider in excitement and his breathing became heavier, as his pulse quickened.

He nodded again, his eyes glued to her crotch. "Oh hell yes!"

She threw her head back and laughed. Then smiled coyly at him as she purred. "I'd love to show you everything you see here….and everything you don't," she winked. "What's your name, stud?" she growled, leaning in close and nibbling his earlobe as she reached between his legs and squeezed.

He let out a gasp of surprise. "T....Tom," he sputtered, pleasantly surprised.

She licked his face and placed her hands on his chest, running them under his shirt and raking her nails slowly down his chest. "Mmmmm Tom, do you like to have fun?" she cooed.

He nodded vigorously. "I love to have fun!"

She chuckled and winked at him again. "So do I!"

"There's a great new nightclub in town called Atlantis; it's the hot new thing. Wanna go check it out this weekend? Then we could take things elsewhere for a….." she trailed off as she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "….private party."

She grabbed hold of his tie and yanked him forwards, giving him a good, close-up view of her chest as she gazed down at him. "It'll cost you; lover boy. But I promise the night of your life," she purred, licking the tip of his nose.

He smiled back and nodded. "Of course! Whatever you want, I'm yours!" he gushed.

She smiled, a predatory grin. "Good boy! I promise it's a night you'll never forget!"

"I know she just wants what's best for me, but I'm old enough to decide what that is for myself. Not what she thinks I should do," Enid complained, sitting at her desk in reception as Agnes sat beside her.

"You'd think being an alpha would please her and keep her quiet," Agnes said.

Enid snorted. "It did....until she realised she could just twist it into what she believes an alpha should be."

"Hhmm….Isn't that the whole point of being an alpha being a lone wolf and making your own rules?" Agnes asked, wide-eyed.

"Thank you!" Enid cried, thrusting a hand towards Agnes. "See, my mother doesn't understand that! Or if she does, she thinks she knows better anyway."

Agnes nodded. "Regardless of what she thinks, you've done pretty well for yourself. She should be happy for you."

Enid nodded slowly. "Uh huh. Nope, nothing will ever be good enough for her. No matter what, she will find something to pick at and take issue with, have something to say about this or that," she exhaled dramatically. "But you know the worst part?"

Agnes shook her head.

"She's right!" Enid declared, gritting her teeth in frustration. "My life in New York isn't working out the way I had planned. It's been two years, and I'm still where I was on day one. I haven't had the time or the energy to go out and build myself a new life because I spend it all here," she said, waving a hand around. "Now they're coming to visit, and they're going to see that two years on I still haven't got my life together."

Agnes looked around but didn't respond.

"I know that all too well, yet I have my mother and Wednesday both telling me to go out and live my life; I'd love to!" she cried, collapsing into her seat with a sigh.

"Your mother having a point about your life not being perfect doesn't make her right," Agnes said. "If that's the metric you use to measure things, you're always going to be doomed to failure."

Enid scoffed. "Perfect isn't what I'm aiming for. How about just functional? Having a life outside of work? I would love for nothing more, but I spend all my time and energy here. By the time the weekend comes around I have no energy or motivation to do anything. Sure I have a load of money, but no life to spend it on."

Agnes nodded. "I can relate. Oh god, how I can relate. Between work and uni I don't have much free time, and everyone is always demanding it, or I'm trying to get my parents attention when it's not purely at their convenience."

Enid looked at her with a soft smile, then sighed again, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't even mention to Wednesday that I'm struggling. If I do, she gets all…" she trailed off.

"Wednesday?"

"Right! She gets all Wednesday and tells me how I should be grateful that she pays me 'twice what other receptionists earn….with a generous hazard pay.'" Enid rolled her eyes. "So I'm stuck."

"Hhhmmm; Wednesday can't relate because she's always doing something. When have you ever seen her just relaxing and not consumed by some task?" Agnes asked.

"Like, never!" Enid said.

Agnes was thoughtful. "There's an empty space."

Enid raised an eyebrow.

"In the agency. You've got your desk at reception; Wednesday's office is upstairs, my desk is in the back office, and the desk beside it is empty. It's only ever used when Wednesday needs a computer, which is rare," Agnes explained. "I think the agency was always meant to be a team of four, but for whatever reason that fourth member never materialised."

"Oohh," Enid said, understanding. "Oh yeah. I've long suspected Bianca was supposed to be the fourth member, but then she had that…..incident; and ended up in the psych ward. I dunno, I think Wednesday just, like, kept the spot for her out of some hope that she would get it together."

Agnes frowned. "If Wednesday's anything, it's pragmatic, and waiting for someone who lost their marbles and went on a rampage to get their marbles back isn't that."

Enid shrugged. "True. I dunno then. I think you're right about Bianca, though. Wednesday always liked her more than she let on, and she would've been a good addition to the team. I guess Wednesday always intended to fill the spot with someone else but never found the right candidate."

Agnes nodded. "And keeps putting it aside. But yeah, that's why it's often so busy. You're doing a two-person job."

Enid nodded and started to reply when Wednesday walked down the stairs. "Agnes, thank you for coming in," she said flatly.

Agnes nodded. "I can listen to the lecture recording later if I need to."

Wednesday gave the smallest of nods. "Enid, come. Detective Gallows is otherwise occupied, so you're going to accompany me in searching for our succubus. We have deduced the creature is working as an exotic dancer as a means of vetting and selecting its victims and breeding partners."

Enid's eyes widened. "A stripper! …Of course! That makes so much sense," she cried, then added. "In a really seedy, creepy, predator sort of way….Which is apt. Alright, let's go!"

Agnes watched them leave. "Huh, from lamenting your personal situation to hunting succubi at a strip club. Talk about a distraction from your problems," she said. Then looked to the fuzzy toys and figurines scattered around Enid's workspace. "Looks like it's just us, guys."

Enid blinked as they entered the club, the dark, shadowy interior took a few moments for her eyes to adjust after being out in the daylight. "Ugh, why's it so dark in here?" she whined. "It's daytime and it's like it's the middle of the night."

"It's a specifically curated aesthetic to distract from the passage of time so customers stay longer and drink more," Wednesday explained. "Being in a strip club at this hour feels like being in a museum of poor life decisions, curated for taxation purposes," she added.

They made their way to the bar as one of the bar maids, a scantly clad woman sauntered up to them with a smile as she finished serving another customer. "What can I get ya, gals?"

Wednesday held out the photo of Giselle. "Does this woman work here?"

The woman leaned in for a closer look as she peered at the photograph. "Nope! Never seen her before."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've been here three years, I know all the girls in one way or another. I don't recognise her."

Wednesday gave a curt nod of acknowledgement as she turned and swiftly left; Enid scurrying along behind her.

The process continued over and over for the next few hours as they questioned staff at various strip clubs and again and again walked away empty handed. The sun set as night settled over the city and as they entered the next club they could hear wild cheering, as a stage show featuring four dancers getting very up close and personal with each other was taking place.

Wednesday stared at the spectacle as Enid watched wide eyed. "Whoa! Okay! Was not expecting that!"

"A predictable escalation now that the sun has gone down. The hooting and hollering of desperate Neanderthals sounding their mating calls is sure to only grow in pitch, volume and intensity as the night progresses," Wednesday said.

"Well, it's not our sort of fun, but let's let people enjoy themselves! …no one likes the fun police!" Enid said, avoiding looking at the stage.

Wednesday looked from the stage to Enid. "I'm not denying anyone their…..fun," she said. "I'm merely commenting that it's unfortunate that a pair of breasts is all it takes to reduce most males to the level of screeching primates."

Enid turned her attention to the bar. "Oh now you're just exaggerating."

A man nearby leapt to his feet and started hoping up and down on the spot waving bills around in each hand, bellowing cackling with enthusiasm.

Wednesday gave Enid a look that said, 'you were saying?' and Enid sighed.

They questioned staff and left empty handed once more, the next club didn't produce any results either as Wednesday stood captivated by the woman dancing on stage. Tall and curvy like a pin up model, she had flawless alabaster skin and long, flowing ebony hair, wearing nothing more than thigh high black boots and a tiny red g-string. She looked like the vampiric image of feminine sexually and perfection, her ruby red lips, and erect, pierced nipples grabbing Wednesday's attention.

Enid came up to her with a shake of her head. "No such luck! The DJ doesn't recognise her either. It's annoying, we've tried like twenty clubs now and none of them have seen her. Maybe we're looking in the wrong place?"

"No. She's an exotic dancer, I'm sure of it," Wednesday insisted staring at the gothic goddess on stage as several men around her cheered and thrust bills at her.

She glanced sideways at Enid. "We should leave before I start questioning my sexuality."

Enid stared up at the dancer and nodded. "Uh huh."

"Have you seen this woman?" Wednesday asked, flashing the photo at the bar tender. "Oh yeah! I know her; new girl started about a month or so ago," he replied with a nod as he poured two beers. Almost a dozen people were lining the bar with as many dancers on stage and roughly another forty patrons drinking, cheering and hurling money at the strippers.

"Finally!" Enid cried. They had searched about twenty clubs; now it looked like their persistence was paying off.

Wednesday's expression remained impassive. "Do you know if she is working tonight?"

He shook his head. "Couldn't tell ya. You want to see Monica, the manager. She's in charge of all the girls." He turned to another of the bar staff and told them to go get Monica, while Enid and Wednesday waited by the side of the bar.

"Woo hoo! What have we got here? Sugar, spice, and some fresh coochie that's nice!" a voice cooed as an older man in his late fifties stood gawking at them.

Wednesday glanced sideways at him, then switched her attention back to the bar. "Sir, if you value your physical safety, I would highly suggest you vacate our vicinity immediately," she said deadpan. "Your continued presence only heightens the risk to your personal safety, not to mention your sanity."

"Ha ha!" he cackled with a seedy grin. "Oh, we've got a feisty little debutante here!" he gushed, turning to Enid. "How about you sweetie? Care to give us a look at that….apple pie!?"

Wednesday whipped around, her eyes blazing.

Enid narrowed her eyes at him. "Eewww! Gross! Do as Wednesday said and get lost!" she demanded. "Or you'll be sorry," she hissed icily, holding up a brightly manicured hand as her claws extended.

The creepy old man's eyes went wide and he took a step backwards. "Now beat it, or I'll cut you in ways that'll make you useless to a woman, you creep!" Enid snarled, emitting a low wolfish growl, the beast inside her ready to hunt.

He turned and bolted, not away from them, but out of the club entirely.

A woman came over. "Hi, I'm Monica. How can I help you?" she asked. "Trev tells me you're friends of Giselle?"

They both turned to Monica. "More like associates," Wednesday replied. "Has she been talking about wanting to frequent any nightclubs recently? Has there been any issues with her and other staff or customers? Is she working tonight?"

Monica looked taken aback by the barrage of questions. "Um, I don't know. I don't really get time to chat with the girls a great deal. Other staff? No, she's pretty quiet and keeps to herself. Customers love her, as far as I know; she's popular for lap dances," Monica said. She nodded. "Yeah, she was on the main stage not long ago. You just missed her; she's giving a lap dance to a customer," she explained, gesturing to the VIP area that was separated from the main part of the club.

Wednesday gave a curt nod.

"Would you like me to tell her you're here?" Monica asked.

"No, we're fine, thanks. We will wait until she's finished and surprise her. I think we'll stay a while and soak up the atmosphere," Wednesday said.

Monica bid them farewell and left as Wednesday turned to Enid. "Our succubi is here and unaware of our presence, which gives us a distinct advantage. Get us some drinks to maintain appearances while I do some reconnaissance work and you question the other dancers. We need to discover what night club she intends to use as her rendezvous point with her next target."

"Right! On it!" Enid beamed, flashing a thumbs up as Wednesday turned and floated into the audience, vanishing among the crowd as Enid made her way to the bar. While she waited at the bar, Enid engaged in small talk with one of the dancers who stood by the bar waiting for something, then bought their drinks and looked around for where to go next, trying to find an empty table that would be easy for Wednesday to spot, but to no avail. The best she could do was share a table with a couple of stock brokers that was obscured by the stage and another larger table with a big crowd huddled around it. She sat their drinks down and began sipping at her bright pink cocktail as she pondered her next move. She asked the brokers about hot nightclubs in the area. When a passing dancer stopped to chat the guys up for a lap dance, she asked her what clubs the dancers went to. The dancer told her Atlantis was the hip new place in town that a few of them had been to and to check it out. Enid thanked her and looked around as Wednesday suddenly appeared beside her. "Enid!" She cried over the loud music.

Enid flinched. "Wednesday!"

Wednesday looked at the milky white cocktail and picked it up, shooting Enid a disapproving look as she carefully avoided touching the large, yellow chunk of mango garnish, but said nothing.

"How's our dancing succubus?" Enid asked.

Wednesday took a drink before she replied. "Occupied. We will continue to do surveillance of the club and keep an eye on her. When she finishes her shift and leaves or goes to meet with her next victim, we will follow. We cannot get involved in a battle here. There's too many witnesses and potential for collateral damage and casualties. What did you learn?"

"Not a lot," Enid admitted. "There's a new club in town that's apparently really cool and popular with the dancers called Atlantis. It sounds like a good potential meeting point."

Wednesday nodded. "We need to maintain a more prudent position of surveillance. Come," she said, picking up her drink and moving off as Enid did the same and followed.

Enid and Wednesday sat drinking their cocktails as they conducted their surveillance, the club pulsing with heavy bass-driven music and neon light around them. Wednesday finished her cocktail and asked a waitress to bring her a pitcher of iced water. The woman obliged and returned, asking if she could get them anything else. "Another cocktail!" Enid practically screamed at her as Wednesday said flatly. "No, thank you," and began taking notes in her notebook.

The waitress returned shortly with Enid's cocktail, her baffled expression going unnoticed as Wednesday chugged down the free tap water and took notes, her pen moving in a blur of motion.

Enid was rambling about something or other and flew her arms wide to emphasise a point, smacking a bald guy nearby in the back of the head as he protested, "Hey!"

"Oops, sorry!" Enid apologised, then turned back to Wednesday and continued without missing a beat.

The monster wearing Giselle's face returned and took to the stage once more as she danced, gathered bills, and lured man after man away for a lap dance.

Wednesday and Enid conversed as they kept an eye on the succubus, ignoring the dancers around them, intently focused on their mission and their own conversation. Wednesday sat as stiff as a board, her expression its typical impassive mask of indifference, clad in black, while Enid was a whirlwind of restless energy, talking non-stop and gesturing wildly in a blur of colour.

Several hours passed before "Giselle" suddenly looked over at them, making direct eye contact with Enid.

Enid froze as she met her gaze, then quickly looked away. She immediately cursed herself. "No! Stupid! Don't look away like that! Damn it, Enid!" she thought to herself. "That doesn't look suspicious at all!"

She quickly looked back, but she was already gone, leading her customer into the VIP area where the private dance booths sat.

Enid glanced at Wednesday and cringed internally as Wednesday stared at her. She flashed Wednesday a big grin, which was betrayed by her instinctive and simultaneous look of "yikes!"

"Poor form," Wednesday said. "Now we must do damage control to avoid suspicion. She got up from the table and followed Giselle into the VIP section as Enid followed her in turn. "I'm sorry, Wednesday! She took me by surprise and looked right at me!" Enid explained.

"Then you do what a normal person who's not stalking someone does, you maintain eye contact and smile," Wednesday said, not breaking her stride.

"Where are we going?" Enid asked as they entered the VIP area. Wednesday moved towards the two rows of half a dozen dance booths that sat to one side away from the seating booths with their smaller crowds of customers, dancers, and scantly clad wait staff. Wednesday didn't reply as she looked around, and a voice off to the side suddenly said, "Excuse me? Can I help you?"

They turned to see Giselle studying them with her arms across below her breasts, an eyebrow raised.

"My friend would like to get a lap dance from you," Wednesday said without missing a beat. "She recently discovered she likes girls, you see," she added.

Enid glanced at Wednesday in surprise, then flicked her gaze to Giselle and smiled awkwardly. "It's true," she said, biting a nail in a show of nervousness as she looked down, talking into her chest as her shoulders and posture slumped in a show of submissive shyness. She glanced back up at Giselle. "You're absolutely beautiful," she gushed.

Giselle studied them in silence for a moment, her big, brown eyes assessing them before she smiled and nodded. "I'm about to give one to another customer. Go wait back at your table, and when I'm done I'll come get you."

Without another word she turned, and disappeared inside one of the booths.

The two girls did as instructed.

"Try to be more inconspicuous in future," Wednesday said as they sat down.

"Sorry! I wasn't expecting her to look right at me; I panicked. Then when you said that, I was surprised," Enid said.

"Let's hope she puts it down to nerves and doesn't suspect anything," Wednesday replied.

They sat at the table for another fifteen minutes….then twenty. "Something's wrong. She is yet to emerge," Wednesday said.

Enid shrugged. "Maybe the guy got a longer dance?"

"No," Wednesday insisted as she stood. "The pause when we spoke to her, she suspected something. The target has been spooked and has likely fled. We must catch up with her before she escapes," Wednesday said as she led the way into the VIP. Wednesday's eyes scanned the VIP as a man stepped out of the dance booth looking extremely annoyed. "So, can I get this lap dance any time soon?" he snapped.

Wednesday stormed up to a waitress. "Did you see where Giselle went?"

The waitress looked at her with an infuriating expression of confusion.

Wednesday gave a concise description.

"Oh, her! Er, she left about fifteen minutes ago."

Wednesday's eyes flashed with irritation. "Of course she did."

"The succubus managed to escape undetected, hence we were unable to track it to its nest. However, the surveillance operation wasn't a complete failure; we confirmed where it is working from and learned some potentially valuable intelligence about popular, local nightclubs that are potential meeting points for it, and its next target," Wednesday said into the phone.

Gallows laughed in response. "The mental image of you and Enid in a strip club is almost too much. You must've stuck out like a sore thumb," he chuckled.

Wednesday's eyes narrowed. "Yes, quite," she said tersely. "But I'm sure you didn't call to badger me about my surveillance activities," she said, changing the topic.

"No, I didn't. I was calling to let you know we got the credit card records back from the bank of victim number four. On the night he was taken by the succubus, he purchased several drinks at a night club called Atlantis," he said.

"Interesting, that's the same club Enid gathered intelligence about from the dancers; it's apparently a new and very popular venue," Wednesday said.

"You said we found where it's working from. You mean, was, right? It's not going to go back there now it's been spotted."

"That remains to be seen. The succubus doesn't know why we were interested in it. It probably suspects we know its true nature and temporarily retreated, but they're powerful and very territorial creatures, not easily frightened," Wednesday explained.

"Ah."

"We have two avenues of investigation to exploit, and the succubus is likely getting hungry again. Tonight you will go undercover to the club and track her movements. I will take Enid and Agnes to Atlantis to be ready to trail or intercept her there once she meets with her intended victim," Wednesday said.

"You think she'll return to that place? Why? The other three victims were all at different night clubs," he pointed out.

"True, but as I said, territorial. The succubus likely explored several different environments, in this case night clubs, to meet with her future victims before finding one that they find more appropriate and appealing. It's not guaranteed she will be there, but there's a seventy percent chance she will return, and it's the best lead we have," Wednesday explained. "So are we in agreement or not?" she asked, her jaw tightening.

"Okay, sounds good to me! You're the monster expert," he replied.

Wednesday ended the call and got up from her desk as she walked downstairs. She approached Enid and Agnes, her demeanour slightly more severe than usual as they turned to her.

"What's wrong, Wednesday?" Enid asked.

Wednesday inhaled and stiffened. "We are going into the belly of the beast. There we will face unimaginable horrors too terrible to contemplate and come face to face with our darkest fears and most horrific nightmares. Prepare yourselves, this will be the ultimate test of your, our mettle," she declared. "We are going clubbing."

Wednesday led the way into the club as Agnes and Enid flanked her on either side. She looked around, her intense dark gaze taking in their surroundings.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Enid gushed. "Look at the ceiling, the water effect, the fish and sea life moving around, it looks like we're really under the ocean!" she cried as sea life moved about on the flatscreen that covered the ceiling, blue, white and green lights adding to the underwater effect as the decor of the venue resembled some sort of ancient temple.

Wednesday gave a curt nod. "Yes, it's nauseatingly dramatic and excessive. I guess that is appropriate for a club called Atlantis," she replied.

Agnes was silent as she looked around at their surroundings with a wide eyed expression of awe.

The Savage song, Swing began playing as Enid squealed with delight. "Oh my god! I love this song!"

Wednesday grunted in distaste. "Ugh! ….Time to get to work. I will conduct surveillance from the bar while the two of you…." She said, almost having to shout to be heard over the ridiculously loud music. She trailed off as she looked to Enid beside her and Enid was frantically dancing and then started twerking right at Wednesday, shaking her rear as she bobbed about to the music.

"Hhhmm...looks like someone's ready to party," Agnes observed.

"Enid? ….Enid!" Wednesday shouted, her eyes blazing with annoyance. "I insist you desist immediately!" she barked as the floor vibrated with the powerful bass and she silently cursed the volume.

When Enid either ignored or didn't hear her she blinked several times. "Enid! ….you're making a fool of yourself!"

"Woooooo!" Enid replied while she danced around.

"I order you to stop….now!" Wednesday snapped, but it didn't work.

With a snarl Wednesday turner to Agnes and grabbed her by the arm. "Remember why we're here," she hissed.

Agnes gave a nervous nod, wide eyed as Wednesday realised how tightly she held her arm and let go.

Agnes smiled and threw her a two fingered salute. "You can count on me boss!"

Wednesday shot a final icy glare at Enid before she turned in a huff and strode off to the bar.

"Come on beautiful! How about a dance?" The guy insisted. "Never know where the night might take us!" He said to Wednesday with a stupid, toothy grin. "Maybe a kiss, maybe more!"

Wednesday's expression remained impassive as shs grabbed the beer bottle on the bar by the neck, flipped it up into the air and caught it upside down, holding it by the neck like a handle, as with one swift motion she smashed it over the corner of the bar and thrust the jagged glass towards his face. "Let me make myself abundantly clear. Continue to pester me and the only thing you'll be kissing tonight is this," she warned, thrusting the broken bottle just a bit closer to his mouth.

All the colour drained from the guy's face as he nodded and took several terrified steps back. "S..s…sorry," he sputtered.

Wednesday's phone vibrated in her pocket and she fished it out and looked at the screen. She hated using fancy, modern technology, but her work as a PI made it necessary to utilise things such as smart phones. Still she used it as little as she could. It was a message for Gallows informing her that he was in the strip club and had made visual contact with the succubus. "Acknowledged," she sent back. "We are in position and integrating ourselves with the environment."

He replied with. "Try to blend in a bit more this time, ha ha ha!"

She frowned at the message, but didn't take the bait as she pocketed her phone once more. She swept her gaze across the bar, keeping an eye out for anyone of interest. Which in this case meant men who were alone and radiated anxious excitement.

"Agnes, what do you see?" she asked over their commline, the hidden communications equipment they had deployed enabling them to talk while conducting surveillance.

"Not a lot. The tables are mostly groups of friends and a few couples," Agnes reported.

"Hello? Is this thing working? Hello? Enid reporting in!" Enid's voice cut through the line, the sounds of physical exertion clearly audible as Wednesday scanned the crowd and spotted her on the dance floor.

"So nice of you to join us," Wednesday hissed.

"Ah ha ha!" Enid laughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that. My wolf brain saw a party and just took over."

"I'm sure," Wednesday said icily. "Do you spot any potential suspects from your vantage point?"

"Not really. Not unless dancing badly makes someone a suspect," Enid replied.

"Perhaps if I changed locations I would have better luck?" Agnes asked, her voice hopeful.

Wednesday rolled her eyes. "Fine!"

Agnes cheered and made a beeline for the dance floor where she joined Enid and the two of them began dancing frantically together.

A couple of hours passed before her phone buzzed again. "Target is leaving the club. I am beginning tailing them," Gallows' message read.

"Keep me updated on her movements," Wednesday replied. "We have to be ready to move in the event we've got the wrong nightclub."

"Copy that."

Less than a minute later Wednesday spotted a man down towards the far end of the bar who was looking around as if searching for someone. What set him apart was the vibe of the exact sort of nervous excited energy she was looking for. He had the look and demeanour of a man who knew he was going to get very lucky; and along with the smile on his face he shuffled his feet and tapped the bar while he fidgeted incessantly and stumbled over ordering his drink. He knew it was him just by the way he was dressed, however. Decent looking guy in his mid 30s, well presented in smart casual attire. His outfit was considered cool and trendy; about a decade ago. When he was of an age that one would have been considered cool and trendy. Now here at the hottest new nightclub in town he looked like he didn't belong.

Wednesday continued her surveillance of the suspected victim, not bothering to alert the girls of his presence. She resolved to let them have their fun while it lasted. She watched as he ordered a drink, already coming to the conclusion, well before he, that he wouldn't leave the bar. He got his drink and turned around, looking around the club as he tried to decide where to go and what to do with himself. Before, with a subtle slump of his shoulders he turned back around and sat at the bar. A sense of satisfaction ran through her as he did as predicted; no matter how many times it happened, she never got tired of being right and the sense of satisfaction that came with it.

Her phone buzzed. "Target is inbound. ETA at the club, thirty minutes," Gallows messaged her.

"Acknowledged," was her response before she turned her attention to the seascape projected on the club's ceiling, pretending to be entranced by it as she watched the guy at the bar.

After about twenty minutes she addressed the girls. "Suspected victim is at the bar. Our target is inbound and set to arrive in ten minutes. Continue….whatever it is you're doing. Be prepared for further instructions," Wednesday said over the comm.

"Roger, Roger!" Agnes said, breathing heavily.

"Okie dookie!" Enid replied.

Shortly after her phone dinged again. "Suspect has arrived at the club and is in line to gain admittance," came Gallows' message.

He watched from across the street as the creature wearing the visage of Giselle stood in line at the club's entrance, busying himself with browsing a newsstand and buying a couple of lottery tickets to keep the owner happy. When he saw her enter the club, he took his time crossing the street and headed right for the door, flashing his badge at security. "NYPD, just doing a random sweep," he said as casually as he could.

The bouncer looked him up and down with curiosity. "A bit obvious for an undercover cop, aren't we?"

Gallows frowned and looked down at himself; the frown deepened as he released he was right. He looked like he had stepped out of a prime-time cop show. The fact he wasn't wearing a tie didn't hide the fact he was dressed in a formal business suit complete with fancy polished shoes and his ironed shirt neatly tucked in. The effort to look more causal without the tie was transparent and obvious to everyone but him, apparently. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not trying to appear undercover," Gallows replied.

The doorman smirked. "It is," and waved him through.

He decided to avoid following the succubus and instead keep watch on the entrance. When she left with her target, they would come back this way, and he could tail them. With Wednesday down the far end of the club watching the intended victim, he saw no reason to crowd the succubus, lest it become aware of them.

Wednesday watched as the succubus disguised as the beautiful blonde model honed in on her target and greeted him with an affectionate hug before they began talking and he bought her a drink. They shared a couple of drinks together before they vanished into the crowd on the dance floor, where Enid and Agnes took over surveillance.

Half an hour later, Enid announced, "They're leaving!"

Wednesday couldn't see them among the crowd, but she quietly made her way towards the entrance. "I'll intercept and trail them as they leave. The two of you remain behind and then follow at a distance. We don't need more than one person trailing them. Meet Gallows outside the club and follow well behind me. I'll keep you updated."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for Agnes to do it?" Enid protested.

Wednesday's tone betrayed the slightest hint of annoyance. "Being able to literally turn invisible or blend into the darkness itself. The end result is the same, although I would prefer to do it personally," she said, her tone ice.

"Giselle" and Tom left the club and made their way on foot down the street.

A predator, a born hunter, was stalking the streets of New York City, seeking its prey among the concrete jungle of the metropolis, its senses alert and eagerly anticipating the hunt where it would unleash itself upon its unsuspecting prey. The predator shadowed them as they sauntered arm in arm down the street as it, Wednesday Addams, followed them. The darkness and the shadows themselves seemed to stretch, bend, and twist at her will as she remained forever in the shadows as she followed them. Wednesday went largely unnoticed by everyone she passed, with a seemingly supernatural command of the night that would seem strange to anyone without the surname Addams as she stalked through the night in complete silence, seeming to float through the air as if she were a ghost.

Giselle suddenly looked back over her shoulder, making direct eye contact with Wednesday, who didn't so much as blink, hesitate, or break her stride. A nervous tail would've hesitated, flinched, kicked something, scraped a shoe on the footpath, or drew a sudden intake of breath. The slight noise giving them away immediately, but Wednesday continued in silence, meeting her gaze from the shadows with a confidence only she could possess.

Tom said something. Gisele turned back to him and laughed. Had she made a noise? Could her footsteps be heard after all? Maybe, but one thing she knew was if there was a sudden change in a constant soft noise, such as a tail realising they had been heard or potentially noticed, changing the rhythm as soon as the target turned to investigate was as good as screaming "here I am!" The target had turned to look because they suspected they were being followed. Confirming their suspicions was foolish. They were more likely to dismiss a constant soft noise behind them as vermin or something inconsequential if it continued unabated. She continued following them, informing the others of their trajectory by messaging Gallows short and concise updates, not once breaking her stride or letting the target out of her sight.

She followed them up the street and around a corner and up another street before they turned once more and made their way towards an old, rundown motel. They crossed the street as they made a beeline for it, while Wednesday continued on her way, getting towards the end of the block before she stopped and doubled back around. The motel was a four-storey building across the street from an expansive park, sandwiched between a towering office building and a block of apartments with a large Italian restaurant on its ground floor. "They have entered a motel called Shady Green," Wednesday said.

"Oh no!" Enid cried.

"What? What's wrong?" Wednesday asked, concerned.

"That name is terrible," Enid replied.

Wednesday frowned. "Irrelevant. Hurry and rendezvous with me outside the motel. In ten minutes we will follow and intercept the succubus."

"We're on our way!" Agnes said.

"Ten minutes? That's a long time. Are you sure we should wait?" Enid asked. "We're only a few minutes behind you."

"We have to give them time to reach the motel room and get comfortable. Our intervention will come as more of a shock and grant us additional precious seconds before the succubus can react," Wednesday explained. "A creature caught in the act of coitus is one that's going to be taken by surprise."

"Ah," Enid said, saying nothing more until they rounded the corner and approached the motel.

"Where's Wednesday?" Gallows asked.

"Right here," she replied stepping out of the shadows as the three of them spun around to face her. "Let's get going," she said with her typical nonchalance, then walked up the steps and into the hotel; the other three hurrying along behind her.

Wednesday wasted no time in securing the room number, threatening the desk clerk into handing over the spare keys before she marched up the stairs to the third story, the rest of the group following in her wake. She identified room 14 and pointed at the door. "There," she said as Gallows nodded, withdrew his sidearm, and put two perfectly placed shots into the lock before he stepped forward and kicked the door open. It burst open with a crack of splintering wood as Wednesday strode into the room, purposeful.

The succubus who was straddling Tom's waist as he lay tied to the bed looked up, her head whipping around in surprise at the sudden and violent intrusion.

"Housekeeping," Wednesday said flatly. "This is very unhygienic."

Giselle's eyes shone red as she let out an ear piercing shriek and leapt from the bed, turning to face her ambushers as her form suddenly began to change. It only took a few seconds, but it seemed to happen in slow motion as, within a few heartbeats, the woman was gone, and in its place stood the dark purple-skinned, hulking mass of the winged succubus.

It gave a snarl as Wednesday lunged at it, batting her kick aside as she spun on her heel and came at it again, kicking it in the chest.

The succubus snarled in rage and jabbed a clawed hand at Wednesday, who gracefully sidestepped, then ducked under another swipe at her face as she brought up the tranq gun she held in her right hand.

One of the creature's wings lashed out and smacked her in the shoulder, making Wednesday stumble and drop the gun.

Gallows who had been struggling to get a clear shot in the confines of the hotel room, fired twice as the beast turned and dived through the window, shattering it and the timber frame as she glided onto the street below and fled.

"Don't let it escape!" Wednesday snarled as she regained her composure and rushed to the window, leaping through the shattered remains in pursuit of the succubus. Wednesday rolled as she hit the ground below, gritting her teeth against the painful bone-jarring impact as she gingerly climbed to her feet and gave chase.

Agnes stepped away from Enid as the werewolf gave a low growl in her throat, having changed into her wolf form while all the action was happening. The werewolf ran for the window and leapt through it as she followed Wednesday, her enormous bulk taking out the entire window frame and half the wall around it.

Agnes stood studying the gaping hole in the wall. "Man, the hotel guy's gonna be pissed," she said wide-eyed.

Gallows snorted in amusement. "Come on!" Then the two of them turned and hurried as fast as they could, down the stairs and out of the hotel, leaving Tom behind them still tied to the bed and uttering muffled screams of protest.

Wednesday ran as fast as she could after the fleeing succubus, but try as she might, the distance between the two of them began to widen. Physically fit as she was and capable of running long distances, Wednesday Addams' short stature wasn't built for running. She continued her pursuit of the creature regardless, before an approaching thud of heavy rapid steps increased in volume behind her and the werewolf passed her by, gaining on the succubus as it entered a park.

As Enid closed the distance between them, the succubus stopped and whirled on her pursuers, as, with a roar, Enid leapt at it and crashed tackled the beast, the two of them hitting the ground hard as they began wrestling. Claws, teeth, talons, and paws swiped, stabbed, and clawed at each other as they rolled around on the grass.

Breathing heavily, Wednesday skidded to a stop and brought up the tranquilliser gun, trying to take aim and get a clear shot at the succubus, but every time she got one, it was quickly lost as the brawling mass of supernaturally-powered creatures rolled this way and that.

Hissing with frustration, Wednesday narrowed her eyes. "Enid!" she cried as the werewolf suddenly leapt back away from her foe, giving her the shot she needed as Wednesday pulled the trigger and the dart rocketed from the gun and imbedded itself in the Succubus' breast. Snarling with fury, the beast slapped the dart away and charged at Wednesday with a growl.

Wednesday dropped the gun and rushed forwards to meet her attacker, as the two of them exchanged flurries of blows. Wednesday kicked, punched, jabbed and swung at the succubus, a few of her blows landing but proving insufficient against the creature's tough hide. Meanwhile, she moved like a flashing shadow, never staying still, always moving, striking, dodging, weaving, ducking and leaping out of range or avoiding clumsy attacks.

The succubus snarled with rage as she engaged in a standoff with Wednesday, as Wednesday withdrew a long blade from her boot. It charged at her and swiped a clawed hand at her face as Wednesday ducked under it and jabbed the blade at its stomach.

The succubus batted the blade aside with its other hand and kicked out at her as Wednesday weaved aside, and its hoofed foot narrowly avoided shattering her ribs.

The blade whipped back around and slashed at its face as the succubus staggered backwards, away from the cold steel as Wednesday pressed her attack, jabbing, slashing, stabbing, hacking, as she targeted, its chest, ribs, stomach, forearms and thighs, scoring a deep gash along one leg as the creature roared in pain and fury.

Wednesday went for a gut punch, then switched it up with a fly kick, before stabbing the knife's deadly point at its stomach, only to have the succubus bat her hand aside with one hand as its forearm came up with an elbow strike that smacked Wednesday in the face, her nose breaking with a flash of blinding pain and an audible crack.

Wednesday staggered back, falling onto the grass as the succubus attacked, grabbing her by her top and pulling her up as it snarled at her with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth.

Blood gushed from Wednesday's broken nose as her lips split into a smirk of victory.

The succubus paused momentarily, confused. Then it realised, Enid, the werewolf. She had been so focused on the fight with Wednesday she had forgotten all about the wolf until now...too late.

With a roar, Enid's jaws clamped down around the succubus' head from behind, biting down with enough force to crush a car, as with a crunch and a shake, Enid crushed its head between her massive jaws like a pumpkin caught in a vice. Enid growled as the lifeless corpse of the succubus went limp in her grip, and she released it as it fell to the grass in a lifeless lump. The werewolf sputtered, hacked and spat at the foul taste of the creature's blood, then studied Wednesday with its huge puppy dog eyes.

Wednesday glanced down the length of her broken and bloody nose in annoyance, wiggling it back and forth between two fingers as the lower half moved unnaturally from side to side. "There's another trip to the warlock," Wednesday commented. "Great, with all this repeat business I should be getting a regular discount by now," she said, climbing to her feet. "My nose is too cute to be left with signs of a breakage."

Gallows and Agnes came trotting over to them as they jogged across the park. Agnes stopped and knelt over, placing her hands on her knees as she sucked in mouthfuls of air. "Running….isn't my…..forte," she wheezed.

Wednesday shot her a look of displeasure before she switched her attention to the detective. "Took you long enough," she said, her tone flat.

Gallows puffed and shrugged. "We were only a couple of minutes behind you," he protested. Looking at the bloodied corpse of the succubus with its crushed head, he added. "It looks like you didn't need much help."

Wednesday removed a black handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood from her face before folding it up and holding it over her nose.

"Are you alright?" Gallows asked.

Wednesday shot him a look of irritation. "I'm fine," she replied, her tone betraying none of her annoyance. "An inconvenience."

Enid dusted off her hands as she came walking over. "Wow! That was so intense!" she cried with excitement. "Wrestling with a succubus! I crash tackled it like BOOM!" Enid said as she began relating the details of their fight as she frantically gestured to emphasise the story.

Wednesday rolled her eyes at her and turned to Gallows as they began discussing the fallout of the mission.

"Then Wednesday pulled out a huge knife, and they began to duel like ah ha! and raarr!" Enid declared, Agnes listening in wide-eyed fascination with a large grin, completely entranced by Enid's energetic retelling of the battle. "And then when Wednesday had her distracted, I came up from behind her and CHOMP!" Enid cried, clapping her hands together with a loud smack. "It was all over!"

"Yes, well, thank you for that spirited rendition of the fight, Enid," Wednesday said. "But now we have the matter of the succubus' corpse to deal with," she said, tentatively removing the handkerchief from her nose and studying it to note that her nose had stopped bleeding.

Gallows smirked. "Already handled. I've got a containment team on the way to deal with it."

Wednesday nodded in finality.

"Hooray! So now we can go celebrate our victory!" Enid cried, thrusting her arms into the air. "Back to Atlantis!"

Agnes cheered in agreement as Wednesday raised an eyebrow. "I think I've had enough of clubs this week to last me a lifetime. But by all means, return to the club... and it's relentless onslaught of strobe lighting and loud, horrible music," she said with a curt nod.

Enid and Agnes bid them farewell and gallivanted off down the street in the direction of the nightclub.

"Are you sure you don't want to join them?" Gallows asked.

"Enid knows nightclubs aren't my idea of fun," Wednesday replied. "I'm going to pay a warlock I know a late-night visit and get my nose tended to, then return home for bed."

He nodded. "The first sounds like a good idea. Are warlocks covered by insurance?"

"I don't have health insurance."

"You don't? With your line of work, it's probably a worthwhile investment."

"I think I would have some difficulty explaining things like breaking my nose during a fight with a succubus, or being clawed while fighting ghouls," she said without humour.

"Ah, yeah. Point taken," he conceded. "Wanna to get some food first? All this excitement has made me hungry. There's a sports bar near here that does foot-long hotdogs with the lot for $10!"

Wednesday looked at him with a blank, intense gaze. "While the idea of being surrounded by dozens of hooting and hollering sports fans while choking down mass amounts of processed meat not fit for human consumption sounds appealing, as a form of self-punishment, I must decline."

He smirked and shrugged. "Suit yourself." He extended a hand. "Good working with you once more, Miss Addams," he said with a fake, jovial formality.

She stared at the offered hand, then looked up at him, and without a word, turned and left, blending in with the shadows of the park as she vanished into the darkness.