I pushed through the batwing doors of the saloon. It had been a while, I was beginning to think I wouldn’t ever see it again. It was different now, more lively. A guitar was now accompanying the tinkling piano, which now had a live player. There was a table set up in the corner where five men glowered at each other over a weathered set of playing cards. A pretty blonde woman in a white off-the-shoulder blouse and voluminous black skirt smiled up at me from wiping down a table.

I smiled back and tipped my hat, which I realized that I was wearing. My father was still in his seat at the bar, but now he was joined by several others. I sat on my usual stool, and the bartender slapped down a glass. I noticed there were now two barmen working the stick. They both wore a slightly upgraded uniform and my man poured from a bottle with an actual label. The liquor wasn’t nearly as cloudy as before and drinking it down didn’t make me want to pull my own tongue out.

My father turned to me with a huge smile. “You did it son. I was worried for you, but you pulled through. Nice hat, by the way.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks dad. I am glad that I could make things square for you and ma.” I had never called her ‘ma’ in my life, but it seemed appropriate.

He looked at the ceiling and listened to what only he could hear, frowning slightly. “Don’t judge me too harsh. It’s a difficult business. I imagine you’ll face monsters of your own before too long.”

“Like Nietzsche said,” I mumbled to myself.

The barman refilled our glasses. My father took a sip and whistled. “Boy, this is an improvement. Can hardly taste the tobacco.” He smiled at me grimly. “Maybe you’ll find a better way. I hope that you do. But whatever path you take, I want you to know that I am proud of you.”

I sipped my own rotgut. He was right, it was a damn sight better. What he said disquieted me. I didn’t have any dark memories of my father, but the road to hell was paved with good intentions. What had this line of work done to him? What would it do to me? I remembered the ease with which the Dagger had slid into Adler’s chest. I might have gunned down thirty “men” that day. Was I already a monster?

“I’ll do my best,” was all I could offer.

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My old man looked me directly in the eye for the first time since I started dreaming of him. “I know you will, son. I know you will.” He was talking to me, rather than at me. It was a subtle difference, but there it was. He finished his drink and began to fade from sight, a vanishing apparition. “Come by and visit, when you can.” He smiled his warm, fatherly smile. The one that I remembered from my childhood. And then he was gone. I was alone at the bar. Well, not quite alone. The bartender was there, and he didn’t look amused.

“You gonna settle his tab, or are we going to have a problem?” He asked brusquely.

I awoke with a start, reaching for a wallet that wasn’t there. One week of leave had turned into two. I returned to work with plenty of smiles and pats on the back. Teddy was there, smiling his shit-eating grin. The whole thing was just another day at the salt mine, as far as he was concerned. Nothing to bother about, as if nearly being split into was a minor inconvenience at best.

Tina was poked and prodded for a few days before she was finally declared a fire mage. From what I could gather, no one exactly understood what had happened to her. Adler’s work was legitimately groundbreaking. She had been given a crash course on magic by the Agency’s finest mages and she had shown tremendous aptitude. The way Teddy explained it to me, Tina’s connection through the veil was narrow, so she was not able to draw upon large amounts of power at once. But her control over the power that she could draw through was extraordinary. She would be a subject of study for the foreseeable future, but the Agency figured the best way to deal with her new powers was a promotion. She was now Special Agent Goodwin. It was nice to have a partner to study the policy and procedure with and we both passed all the testing with flying colors.

Director Barnum promoted Agent Lucas Faulkner to Chief of Investigative services, replacing Northcutt. The rumor was that they had to beg the doppelganger to take the position, but an undisclosed agreement convinced him. Teddy joked that they probably gave him an unlimited line of credit at Neiman Marcus, but Lucas wasn’t talking.

That left Alicia without a partner. To everyone’s surprise, she immediately agreed to take Tina on. I think this shocked Tina most of all, and I hope it made some inroads into her prejudice. They both seemed pleased as punch over the arrangement, and I had to admit, they made a badass pair.

It was during an afternoon during my second week back that Agent Ruthersford and now Chief Faulkner swung by my desk. Teddy carried a leather duffle and a mischievous grin. I had finally just put a bow on all the paperwork from what we were calling the “Adler Incident”.

Faulkner started. “I hope you enjoyed your vacation Renshaw, cause it’s over. We aren’t paying you to sit around this office and pound on that keyboard.” He winked at me. His eyes were both green today.

“Yes, sir, Chief. I’m eager to get back out there. Do we have a new case?”

“We do,” Teddy confirmed. “Bank robbers.”

I eyed the pair questioningly. “Bank robbers?” I asked.

Faulkner couldn’t wait to deliver the punchline “Vampire bank robbers.”

Teddy opened the duffle and pulled out my pistol rigs. Each holster now held a brand new Ruger New Vaquero pistol. He slapped down several boxes of special .357 rounds with wooden projectiles. Magnum stakes, we called them.

I looked up at both of the men with a steely look in my eye as a grin crept across my face.

“Let’s. Fucking. Go.”