Outside the Mirage

#5: A Night at Robbie's

"A group of Cultists were spotted meeting at a bar downtown," Platt shouted into Vanessa's office. She nodded, immediately jumping to her feet before knocking twice on Merlyn's door. Grabbing her bow and her glasses, she walked out to the elevator, Merlyn coming out of her office door shortly afterwards, planting his hat on his head and straightening his jacket.

Outside, the both quickly entered Merlyn's car before speeding across the Loveland Street Bridge. "What bar are we going to?" Merlyn asked as he drove.

"Turn right at this light," Vanessa said, looking at her phone to see the directions Platt had texted her. "It's called Robbie's, right across the street from the Hugo Hotel."

"Well, I do know where that is," Merlyn chuckled. "A group of Cultists in a bar? They're usually sneakier than that."

"Maybe they're feeling lazy," Vanessa mentioned. "We did just celebrate New Year's. Give 'em a break."

Merlyn laughed a little bit before looking around the streets. They were on Carson Street, with the giant Hugo Hotel on one side of the road and the red brick Robbie's on the other. Unfortunately, there was no parking on either side of the road either.

"Where can we park?"

"Don't you have like, sirens or something?" Vanessa asked.

"I do," Merlyn admitted, "but I don't want to alert the Cultists. Let's just do this. Get out."

They both jumped out of the car, and Merlyn pressed a button on his keys. The car shrunk in a small puff of black smoke, now the size of a Hot Wheels car. Merlyn grabbed it off the ground and put it in his pocket. "Come on," he said, rushing over to Robbie's.

The two walked into the bar, where they saw a number of people, crowding around the bar and flooding the booths. "Put your glasses on," Merlyn said. "See if you can spot any auras."

Doing as she was told, Vanessa looked around the room. "I'm only seeing your aura. Wait, no. Upstairs. There's a big blob of red, looks like maybe four or five?"

Merlyn nodded. "How do we get upstairs?"

Vanessa grabbed Merlyn's hand and led him through the crowd of people, bumping into a few people waiting for the bathroom on the way. Finally, Vanessa got them to the very back of the room, where two large men stood guarding a glass door.

"$10," one of the men said.

Merlyn pulled out a twenty and held it out for the men. They shook their head. "Girls don't pay." Rolling his eyes, Merlyn gave the twenty to him anyway.

"Keep it for a tip," he shouted over the noise of the bar. The bouncers moved out of the way to let the two in. Vanessa led Merlyn down a narrow brick hallway before they went up a flight of stairs. Finally, they crossed a narrow metal bridge that led out over the bar, and walked to a small wooden door with a strange symbol painted on it.

"This might get messy," Merlyn muttered. "Can I see your phone?"

"Sure," Vanessa said, handing her phone to him.

Merlyn grabbed it and sent a quick text. "Alright, Platt's sending a team to contain the area in case things go badly. Are you ready?" Vanessa took a deep breath and nodded. "Point them out to me?" She nodded again.

They walked in, immediately struck by the loud music and massive number of dancing young people. A small bar in the corner of the room had a horde of people clamoring for drinks, while an empty V.I.P. section sat in the opposite corner of the room. There was a D.J. playing some E.D.M., and everyone seemed to be dancing along to the music.