Tequila

The Black Door was less skanky than Lois thought. The decor was what a 1980s punk would have done if they had a couple million in the banks. The bar was a slab of sidewalk, a good twelve feet long, complete with handprints, fossilized gum, spraypaint graffiti. Tables and chairs were industrial, expensive, 80s chic where budget is no object.

The crowd was a little different. Mix of big-money and no-money, shaven-haired dykes in rags and precious fembois dressed in designer rags. All of them had a certain energy though—Lois had seen the hungry looks in their eyes with junkies and old whores, the ones who needed something else more than money. Nor was that the scary thing...there were people that moved between them like sharks, one minute invisible, and then the next hyperreal. Lois tried not to stare at them, but she caught hints of horns...wings...hooves...talons...

Lois Lane couldn't remember when or where she'd heard that tequila helped get the taste of ass out of your mouth. The bartender, a somewhat older, overweight woman with tired eyes and enormous breasts, served the lime and salt on a little tray. Jacinda waved a matte-black credit card at her, and the woman left the bottle.

They licked the back of their hands. Dabbed on the salt. It burned on their tongue, but not as much as the tequila. Shot glasses slammed down in unison as they reached for the lime wedges.

There are perfect moments with tequila, when the ritual is done right. With bad tequila, the salt and lime can mask the worst of it. With good tequila—the lime explodes in your mouth, and seems to roil around. Like a sip of water after a blissfully spicy dish.

This was very good tequila. Jacinda set them up again.

"Minor demons, working the room. Not every deal is for the entire soul, not every soul is worth as much as others. We need to get access to Blaze—offer her something so sweet she cannot refuse."

"What's that?" Lois said as she set the empty glass down on the bar. Jacinda poured her a third shot, right up to the brim. The reporter blinked, already feeling the rush of the booze hit her system.

"Drink," she said. "And I'll tell you."