Seeing Red

So I was woken up early this morning by Elise, who said Mistress actually had a job for me. Since I didn't go to Musikfest on Friday, this kind of bothered me, but I got up and dressed anyways, cause I know Mistress doesn't like being kept waiting.
When I got to Mistress's room, she was laying across her chair, as she often does, and it made me wonder if she ever actually lied down on the bed in the corner. Considering all the dust and how well-kept it always looks, I doubt it, but whatever. "So, we have a problem. One of our own has killed herself." She said, standing up.
"Was it Cat? I know she had been having trouble with the Grotesque." I asked, stunned and startled by this sudden and devastating news. If Cat really had killed herself, then it would've been my fault because I didn't say anything.
"No, it was Blondie." Mistress sighed, tossing Elise a box. "Daniel, open it." She ordered. I opened it, and there was her decapitated head, right there in the box, looking strangely peaceful. "It was sent by timberwolf. However, we did shoot the messenger. Which brings me to my job for you." She explained.
"You want me to get revenge on the timberwolves?" I asked her.
"No, no. Do you know who Jack Of All is?" She asked me.
"Yes...I know quite well who he is. Why?" I asked her, feeling myself tense up.
"Who is he?" Elise asked me.
"Jack Of All is a being who works with or against the Fears. He does deals, but the only ones who only truly benefit from Jack's dealings is Jack." I replied.
"Yes, and I've set up a meeting with you and him. He could help us be rid of our little problem with The Grotesque." Mistress said. "I have something you could use to barter with him." She smiled, handing me a briefcase. "If you'd open it." She smiled wider, and I complied. It was full of 100 dollar bills.
"These are just bills." I replied, looking at her quizzically.
"Not quite." Mistress said, picking up a bill and handing it to Elise. "Here you go. Put it in your pocket." She told her.
"Thanks, Miss Maple!" Elise's eyes lit up, and she put it in her pocket.
"I want that bill back." Mistress said, and before Elise could even reach into her pocket, the bill materialized in Mistress's hand, now strangely gone from Elise's pocket.
"Where did you get that?" I asked her, stunned.
"The building with The Quiet." Mistress replied, putting the bill in her pocket. "Give those to Jack, he should be able to take care of anything we need." She told me, and I closed the briefcase.
"Where am I meeting him?" I asked her.
"Remember the Fraidy-cats bar in Vegas?" She asked me.
"Yes." I sighed, not having fond memories of the place.
"It's there. During Proxy Hour." She said.
"Yes, Mistress." I sighed, and bade her good-bye, leaving with Elise. "I'm not happy about going back." I told her out in the parking lot.
"It isn't all bad. The timberwolves that weren't blown up by Sylvia's missiles shouldn't give you any trouble." Elise replied, as we got in her car.
Long story short, we went to Vegas, got into the casinos with Fake IDs and blew off a few hundred dollars that I had lying around, being careful not to use any of Jack's money, because this deal was important.
Come Proxy Hour, we were there at 10:10 or so, and the bouncer didn't even ask who we were before letting us in. He just knew, and we walked in easily. Once inside, we saw quite a few familiar faces. The Camper section about the same, while the Slenderproxy group had diminished, though the Maenad population had increased. The three timberwolves still alive took a quick glance at me and decided they didn't want to fuck with me this time. Looking over at the Doll section, it looked desolate and lonely with no one there.
Fortunately, I was going to sit at the bar. Elise decided to wait in the care. Leaving me, the briefcase, and the man with the gloved right hand with the flask at the bar alone.
"Jack?" I asked, walking over to him.
"Thompson." He replied. "I've been waiting for you. Please, sit. Drink is on me." Jack smiled, beckoning for me to sit on the stool next to him. I ordered a Root Beer from the bar and sat down. "So, why did your most lovely Mistress call me here to talk with you?"
"We're having a bit of a....problem with dreams." I replied, enjoying being coy with things just as much as he did. "We think you can help."
"Ah. Them. Yes, they've been giving plenty of people trouble recently. I have my suspicions they may have joined up with The Eye. The two of them have been affecting many people recently." Jack replied. "But now you want me to essentially rid them from the Screaming Tower?"
"Correct." I replied.
"And I assume the lovely cash sum in the metal suitcase is my reward? You can keep it, I don't need any more money. There's no way I'm working for mere money." Jack sighed.
"Ah, but this is special money." I responded. "Would you like a demonstration?" I asked him, taking a hundred dollar bill out of the suitcase and handing it to him. "Just give it to someone." I told him.
Jack looked at me quizzically, and then had an idea. "Let's go elsewhere. I know someone we can give it to." He gave the bartender a 50 and left. He really didn't need any more money. I followed him down the street a ways, before he stopped. "Someone's following us."
"My ride." I said, pointing back to Elise, who was following us a few blocks back. Since this part of Vegas really didn't get that much traffic this time of night, it wasn't a problem.
"Ah." Jack responded, turning and continuing. Eventually, he found a homeless man sitting on the side of the road. He gave the man the 100, and continued walking.
"May the lord bless you, sir!" The homeless man called to him as he walked away, me right by Jack's side. Then we stopped at the corner.
"I assume this is where the special part comes in?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Just say that you want it back." I told him. He spoke, and the bill appeared in his hand, leaving the homeless man frantically searching the area around him for the 100 dollar bill he just had in his hand.
Jack walked a few blocks further, his face knotted in a strange frown, holding a finger up to my mouth every time I began speaking to shut me up.
Once a we were a few blocks from the homeless man, Jack let out a loud, hearty laugh, his expression softening. "Sir, you have yourself a deal!" He grinned. "Just for the havoc I could cause with this!" He took off his glove, revealing his crimson right hand.
"And the Grotesque?" I asked him.
"Good as gone." He replied, and I finally shook his hand. When I did, there was an inhuman quality about him that I didn't trust....but I liked him. I handed him the briefcase with my other hand, and once we were done shaking, he gave me a small card. "My business card." He smiled. "You want to make any more deals, you just give old Jack a ring." He smiled, then without another word, turned and walked away. I turned around to see Elise pull up beside me. Then, when I turned back, Jack Of All was gone. I put the business card in my pocket, wondering just what deep shit Mistress had gotten us in this time.
That was my day, essentially. Tomorrow I should be going to Musikfest. If anything of interest happens, I'll let you know.
~Thompson out.