Danny watched as a blond man walked out of the... maintenance closet? At least that’s what the plaque on the door said.
He didn’t recognize him. That’s not that unusual, he can’t be expected to remember every single person, but Danny is certain that he has never seen him before. The man looked around for a second, seeming almost confused before shrugging and walking up to the counter and ordering Nasty Deluxe combo. The accent sounded British, and Danny was sure he had never met this man before.
So why was he giving Danny a weird feeling?
It was something dark, oppressive, and almost oily. It lingered after the man got to close. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t a ghost, but Danny wasn’t sure if he was entirely human.
Then the Brit looked right at Danny. The man grabbed his tray and strolled over to Danny’s table and stood there for a moment.
“Mind if I sit here?”
“I’m actually waiting on some friends.” Danny lied.
“Then let me keep you company until they get here.” The man grinned as he sat down.
“I’m sorry, have we met before?”
“I don’t believe so spooks. I think I would have remembered a fellow like you. Here, my card.” The man pulled a business card out from his rumpled trench coat and slid it across the table. Danny cautiously took it.
“John Constantine, Occult detective, master of the dark arts, and... petty dabbler?”
“That’s me, but you can call me John, mister?”
“Danny, just Danny.”
“Well Mr. Just-Danny. Mind telling me why you were staring me down?”
“I was-”
“Don’t lie now, you’re not good at it, and you weren’t exactly subtle mate. So take it from the top.”
“I really wasn’t!”
“Let me give you some advice. Never play poker, you don’t have a knack for bluffing.”
“Okay, fine. I was looking at you, so what?”
“I want to know why.”
“You came out of a maintenance closet.”
“Ah, fair enough.” The man sat in silence for a minute before taking a bite of his burger. “Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.” he mused.
“Why would it be bad?”
“Danny, the place is called Nasty burger, that doesn’t exactly instill confidence,”
“Yet you still ordered.”
“That I did.” The silence stretched on for a moment as the two sat there, munching their burgers and staring at each other. Danny knew the other man still wanted something from him. There was a look in his eyes, like a man concentrating on a jigsaw puzzle. Danny didn’t like the way he could tell when he managed to make a couple pieces fit.
“Why do you feel like that?” Danny asked, surprising himself.
“Like what?”
“Weird.” John cocked his eyebrow. “Like a dark cloud. Something that clings to you and sets my teeth on edge.”
“Hmmm, well, that could be a couple of things. Maybe it’s the demon blood in my veins.”
“You’re part demon?”
“No.”
“But you said-”
“More like a transfusion. Just something that keeps my healthy in my old age. So yes, it could be that, or, more likely it has to do with all the charms and wards on me and the fact you’re dead.”
“I’m not--”
“Can it. We’ve already been through all this, you’re a shite liar.”
“... how did you know?”
“You’re not the first ghost I’ve met, maybe the first one that’s still walking around living, but not my first ghost.”
“Why are you here?”
“Took a wrong turn and ended up here.”
“Yeah right.”
“Believe what you like, but you mind telling me what’s going on around here? This whole place feels like playing with a Ouija board in a cemetery, and that probably means it’s about to be my problem.”
“Why would that be your problem?”
“You read the card.”
“Because you’re an occult detective?”
“Because I’m a petty dabbler, with a habit of walking right in the middle of huge messes in need of a bit of cleaning.”
“You think you can fix things?”
“Depends on what needs fixed.” John looked up and cursed. ‘Can we talk about this elsewhere? My ex just walked in.” Danny looked around confused. The only new person in the store was...
“Johnny! Is that you? I haven’t seen you since college! When we went ghost hunting with Vladdie in that haunted house?” Danny stared on in horror as the man if front of him slumped forward and sighed,
“Hi Jacky. It’s been a while.”