Chapter 3: Long Island Iced Tea
Before Dantalion could get his IDs he decided that he needed to procure some normal human clothes so that he could blend in with the other humans in the city. The only problem was that he had no idea what was considered ‘normal’ for a man in this era to wear.
Dantalion decided to find out by people watching in the park. The demon took a seat on a park bench in Central Park and began to watch humans meandering by. There were early morning joggers, and cyclists, who were wearing sporty clothes like sweatpants and t-shirts. Dantalion spotted men and woman dressed in suits with briefcases in their hands next.
Fred casually took a seat next to Dantalion on the bench and watched the rising orange sun for several minutes without speaking. “Fred, which of these people are considered to be of upper class human society?”
Fred’s brow furrowed at the question and he looked thoughtful. “Well, those businessmen, I think. They obviously work on Wall Street.” Fred pointed out the men dressed in slick, designer suits with expensive-looking leather briefcases in their hands and highly-polished leather shoes.
Dantalion observed them for a while with a tilt of his head and decided he liked the look of a suit. It wasn’t that much different from the types of clothes that he usually wore beneath his armor. “Understood. I will go and procure suitable attire. After that I will…go about my business.” Aka getting his IDs. “If I need your help I will return.”
That comment caused Fred to smile and a twinkle came to his gray-blue eyes. It had been a long time since he’d been useful to anyone. He nodded amiably. “Sure thing, kid.”
Dantalion stood up and walked off, following the businessmen down the street. As he walked down 5th Avenue he caught sight of several human shops. One of them appeared to be a clothing store since Dantalion could see clothes displayed in the front window. The six-story building was modern and impressive - all gleaming glass and steel. The store’s name was ‘Armani 5th Avenue’. Other clothing stores that Dantalion had spotted along the way were: Gucci and Prada. The demon didn’t know it at the time but he had expensive taste.
Dantalion found that he was impressed by the regalness of the building and its gold accents. It looked tasteful. He went inside. The store clerks turned to regard Dantalion as he entered and took in his weird outfit. Even though his outfit was strange Dantalion was still an extremely good-looking man so it was not unusual for him to be turning a few female heads. He was tall, well muscled, with chin-length, silky, black hair, sharp, golden eyes with long lashes, a blade of a nose, kissable lips and skin that shone like white marble.
The female store clerks immediately flocked over to help Dantalion out with whatever he required. A few of the young ladies elbowed each other as they tried to be the first one to reach the demon. Dantalion smirked. He was used to individuals treating him this way. He was a Great Duke of Hell after all. He had servants and butlers back at his castle in Hell, all ready to serve him to the utmost of their abilities.
The store clerks were all beautiful human females who were wearing white, button-down shirts, long, black pants or knee-length skirts, and jackets. The male store attendants were wearing full suits and ties in a variety of colors and patterns. He had definitely come to the right place.
“I’m looking for a suit.” Dantalion said simply.
The salesclerks sprang into action and began bringing Dantalion possible suits for him to try on. Dantalion waved his hand at a few he thought could be possible options before having the women follow him to the dressing rooms. Dantalion took the suits from them before stepping inside of the dressing room. He began to try on the suits. It didn’t take him long to make his decision. He decided upon three suits and chose to wear one of them right then and there.
Dantalion opened the door of the dressing room and stepped out. All eyes were immediately upon Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome. The suit Dantalion had chosen consisted of a white, button-down shirt, a black and gold tie with a geometric pattern on it, a black jacket, and a pair of black pants. He kept his boots on. Boots were more practical for combat than the fancy dress shoes he’d seen the other businessmen wearing and he didn’t want to lower his guard amongst the humans.
The females ogled him, let out wistful sighs of longing, some were drooling, and one even fainted. Dantalion shook his head at them, slightly amused. “Silly females.” He went to the checkout counter, met the girl’s eyes, and used his hypnosis on her. “You want to give these clothes to me for free because it will be good promotion for your store.”
“I think we should just go ahead and give you these clothes for free.” The salesclerk batted her eyelashes at Dantalion flirtatiously. “It will be good promotion for our store.” She quickly bagged Dantalion’s ‘purchases’ and handed him the shopping bag.
“Thank you.” A wicked smile curled Dantalion’s lips as he took the bag from her. “That’s very generous of you.”
Dantalion left the Armani store in high spirits. He looked like a normal human man now. Or at least he thought he did. He returned forthwith to the park, dropped his clothes off with Fred, and then went to get his IDs.
***
Dantalion visited the DMV and used his hypnosis to get a driver’s license. He decided upon the name: Dante Cromwell. This would be his new human identity. He then went to the US Embassy and used his hypnosis to get himself a passport with the name ‘Dante Cromwell’ as well. Lastly, he got himself a social security number.
After that, Dante went to 1646, First Avenue, Number One, Ridgewood Savings Bank and opened himself an account there. He was just about to use his hypnosis to force the clerk to transfer a million dollars into his account when he sensed that his demonic power had been exhausted already. Blazes! He swore in his mind.
He had been so close. Dante smiled thinly at the bank clerk, thanked her for setting up his new account, and left the bank. He’d just have to earn money the hard way and get a job. He already had an interest in being a bartender, so he figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. But first he needed a place to stay. He couldn’t continue to live at the park like a homeless person after all. He was a Great Duke of Hell. He needed a place more worthy of his presence. A nice, quiet place that humans would probably call my ‘evil lair’.
On that note, Dante sensed something. A powerful aura of malevolent energy. Curious, Dante stalked off in the direction that the energy was coming from. He walked several blocks until he began to enter South Bronx. The area was obviously a bad part of town. The buildings were rundown, had broken windows, and were slightly dilapidated. The demon could also sense multiple pairs of eyes watching him as he passed but none of the humans showed themselves.
Dantalion spotted the building that he’d sensed the negative energy coming from. It was an old, seven-story apartment building. It was in good shape for the area considering it had no broken windows, and no peeling paint, however…
It was surrounded by a thick, black cloud of negative energy. The place was crawling with ghosts and evil spirits. It was haunted. Dantalion could see the evil spirits flying in and out of the windows clearly though he knew that humans would not be able to see this.
A smile spread across Dante’s face. The place was perfect. Dante eyed the ‘For Sale’ sign and memorized the telephone number that had been written on it. Dante whipped out his smart phone (Yes, the demon now had a smart phone and he’d had Fred show him how to use it) and scheduled an appointment to see the place with a real estate agent.
A few hours later, the real estate agent arrived. He was a nondescript man with mousy, thinning, brown hair, thick, square-rimmed glasses, and a slightly rumbled suit that he’d purchased at the Men’s Warehouse. The agent warily approached the building and nervously checked his watch.
“Mr. Milton, I presume?” Dante rumbled from right next to the real estate agent.
The agent spun to face Dante with wide eyes. “Ah, you must be Mr. Cromwell?” The agent’s heart was th
udding loudly inside of his chest.
Dante nodded and tilted his head to the side, noticing the man’s obvious fear. But that fear was obviously not of him but of the apartment building just behind him. “Indeed.” He could feel the waves of fear flowing off this pathetic human. Ah, how delicious. He could feel his powers slowly returning to him, but he knew that he couldn’t let himself gain too much power back or horns would end up sprouting right out of his head. “I’m looking forward to seeing the property, Mr. Milton.”
Mr. Milton wiped some sweat from his brow with a pale blue handkerchief. “You want to go inside?” The agent choked out.
“Indeed I do.” Dante agreed playfully.
“R-Right…of course.” Mr. Milton agreed and fumbled to take out the keys from his pants pocket with trembling fingers.
“You told me the price of the entire building over the phone. Why is this place so cheap?” A sly smile curled Dante’s lips. He already knew why the place was so cheap of course, but was curious as to what reason the human would give.
Mr. Milton looked up at the building and shivered. “I really shouldn’t be telling you this but…you look like a nice young man.”
Guy’s a terrible judge of character. Dante shook his head at the man.
“People say…this place is haunted. So are you sure you still want to go inside?” Mr. Milton gave Dante a hopeful look.
“Now I’m even more intrigued by this unusual place, Mr. Milton. You may proceed.” Dante waved his hand imperiously at Mr. Milton to open the front door.
Mr. Milton gulped, approached the front door, and with a shaking hand he struggled to put the key into the lock and turn it. He somehow managed to open the door, and they both made their way into the building. Eerily, the door closed behind them with a slam of its own accord. Mr. Milton jumped in response. Dante chuckled. Even more power was flowing into the demon. At this rate it wouldn’t be too hard to get this place for free. Dante’s grin widened.
The demon Duke looked around the foyer, and spotted an empty front reception desk. “I approve. Get the owner of the building on the phone. Tell him I wish to make an offer.”
Mr. Milton’s eyes widened in surprise. “R-Really? A-Alright.” The agent fumbled to get out his cell phone and called up the owner. As the phone began to ring he asked Dante his offer. “What’s your offer, Mr. Cromwell?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.” Dantalion drawled.
Mr. Milton’s eyes widened. “Twenty thousand? The list price is fifty thousand. He’ll never accept it.”
Dante narrowed his eyes at the real estate agent. “Just do it.”
“O-Okay.” Mr. Milton reluctantly agreed.
The owner of the building came on the phone. “Hello?”
“Ah, Mr. Sunny Blueskies? This is agent Milton. I have a potential buyer here for your apartment building…the one in South Bronx. He wants to offer you twenty thousand for it.”
“Twenty thousand? No way…I won’t make a cent.” Mr. Blueskies complained angrily.
Mr. Milton gave Dante an apologetic look and shook his head despairingly. “Your offer is too low.”
Dante held out his hand expectantly. “Give me the phone Mr. Milton. I want to talk to him.”
“But-” Mr. Milton began to object but as soon as he looked into Dante’s glowing, golden eyes he was hypnotized. “A-Alright.” He handed Dante the cell phone in a daze.
Dante smirked as he put the phone up to his ear. “Hello Mr. Blueskies. I’d like to make you another offer.”
“Go right ahead.”
“I’ll take the property off your hands for…free. Transfer the deed over to me. My name is Dante Cromwell. I’ll be doing you a favor, really, Mr. Blueskies.” Dante assured, weaving this hypnotic suggestion into his voice.
“Wait…what? You want the building for nothing? What the hell are you playing at? Just who are you? If you think you’re doing me a favor-” But then suddenly Mr. Blueskies paused. “Perhaps, you’re right. It is a lot of trouble to pay taxes on. It’s a real money pit. And no one wants to buy it because they think it’s haunted or some such nonsense. I’ll tell Mr. Milton to transfer the deed over to you immediately. Thank you, Mr. Cromwell.”
“No, no, thank you. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Have a nice day.” The demon smiled slyly as he handed the phone over to Mr. Milton.
Mr. Milton put the phone to his ear while giving Dante a befuddled look. The conversation he’d overhead made absolutely no sense. “Ah, Mr. Blueskies?”
“I want to transfer the deed to Mr. Dante Cromwell immediately.”
“What? Why? I don’t understand?” Mr. Milton clutched the phone so hard his knuckles turned white.
“He’s doing me a favor by getting that cursed property off my hands. It’s a liability and I don’t want to deal with it anymore. This will give me some real peace of mind.”
“U-Understood Mr. Blueskies.” Mr. Milton’s voice was breathless and as he ended the call he turned to give Dante a confused look. “Mr. Blueskies wants to transfer the deed to you…free of charge.”
“Of course he does.” Dante patted Mr. Milton on the shoulder. “I’m doing him a favor. You’re helping him too.” The demon insisted as he met Mr. Milton’s eyes and allowed another hypnotic suggestion to pass to the male in front of him.
Mr. Milton’s eyes glazed over as he stared into those molten orbs. “Ah, you’re doing him a favor. I see. And I’m being helpful too. That’s great.” A goofy smile formed on the nerdy man’s face.
“I believe we have an accord.” Dante nodded. After that Mr. Milton took Dante back to his real estate office and transferred the deed of the apartment building to Dante.
“Well, that’s everything. The building is now yours, Mr. Cromwell. What do you plan to do with it?” Mr. Milton asked curiously.
“Oh, I’ll rent it out to people…in need.” Dante said vaguely with a wave of his hand through the air. “For dirt cheap.”
Mr. Milton frowned and worry shone in his brown eyes. “But the hauntings…a lot of tenants left because certain accidents befell them. People got hurt.” The agent shuddered.
“You need not concern yourself with that. I will take care of everything.” Dante insisted in a tone that brooked no argument.
Mr. Milton still looked perplexed by everything that had happened but then shrugged. The haunted apartment was no longer his problem and that was a relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Very well. Good luck, Mr. Cromwell.” You’re going to need it.
Wicked Bartender PG-13 Version Page 4
