SIX| VINYLS, AND JASMINE, AND WHITE TIGERS, OH MY!

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"HI, WE'RE HERE TO SEE Marcus Mooney." Zed told the lady at the front desk of the hospital. After talking to Bernie, the only thing they were able to get out of him was something about Moonrise, which Zed was able to track back to an old record company in Chicago called Moonrise Records. Marcus Mooney used to own the company.

"Visiting hours are over." She told them monotoned. She held a bored expression as she stared at them lazily.

John stepped in front of Zed holding out a card for the woman to see. "Health and Human Services." John lied in country accent to the woman, who based off her name tag is named Tammy. "Now, I am sure, Tammy, that you can make an exception now."

Tammy pursed lips before checking the charts in front of her. "Room 2022."

"Thanks." Olivia told her with a grin before following after John and Zed.

"That was a neat trick." Zed complimented while she pointed at the card in John's hand. Olivia noticed how it went from a fake Human and Health Service I.D. to a plain card you'd find in a deck of cards. She assumed it was an illusion of sorts.

John glanced at it briefly before putting it inside the inside pocket of his trench coat. "It's not a trick. Magic. And not the Copperfield kind. The card's charmed. It's got a bloody backstory, but the gist of it is it takes on the appearance of whatever it's holder requires."

John and Zed entered room 2022 without another thought whereas Olivia was a bit hesitant. This man was now very old. He was paler than normal and needed help breathing through a machine. She was worried if they questioned him that it might set him off. She didn't want to be responsible for accidentally killing an old man. But she forced herself to go inside and just think positive.

"Who are you?" Marcus Mooney asked the trio as he pointed a shaky finger in their direction. His voice was hoarse as Olivia had expected given his current state.

Zed reached the side of his hospital bed. "Friends, if you'll have us." She answered him softly.

"You two seem like a friend." He told her and Olivia, and they smiled brightly. He then looked to John. "This one's got a shadow dogging his soul."

John smirked faintly. "More than one, Marcus. I'm John Constantine. I need some help. I'm here to ask about the acetate."

The man's eyes had become saucers. "Lord, don't tell me you played it."

"No." John assured him. "But a friend of mine, he might have. And now he's dead. You care to shed some light on the matter?"

The man nodded slowly, forcefully, almost as if it took everything in him just to move his head. "You ever heard of Willie Cole?"

John nodded whereas Olivia shook her head. Her sight drifted from Marcus to John. "No. Who is he?"

"A Memphis bluesman. Burned bright in the 30's, and then just upped and vanished." John explained, which helped her get a better understanding of the situation to a degree. She was still curious about what happened to him. She wondered where he had vanished too and why. But she's sure Marcus is gonna give her those answers.

"That's weird." She muttered.

"I used to produce him." Marcus had begun his story of his involvement with acetate. "I had an old recording studio. Willie's legend was that he sold his soul. Never put much stock in that. Turns out, the acetate he was working on recorded something when he died. The voice of the deceiver."

John hummed. "That's an urban legend, mate."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Said Olivia earning their attention. "I mean we've seen stranger things."

"This is real. I saw it with my own eyes." Marcus then said. His voice laced with fear. His lips quivered slightly at the memory they forced him to relive. Olivia reached forward and held his hand comfortingly helping him continue. "Wasn't nothing left except blood. When I picked up the acetate, I heard whispers. I-in my head. Voices telling me to do horrible things. And-and it was cold to the touch. It was so cold."

"Why didn't you destroy it?" Asked Zed.

"Well, don't you think I tried? Nothing worked. So I buried it, I hid it, I sealed it up inside a wall. And I prayed." Marcus answered.

"Any idea how Bernie came across it?" John asked him. His hands stuffed in his pants pockets per the usual.

"Private investigator." He replied right away. "Came to see me just last week. Knew about the legend. Wanted to buy the acetate."

"Did you sell it to them?" Olivia asked him gently. The man didn't answer her question. He looked away shamefully. He didn't do it for the money. They promised they needed it for another purpose. He thought maybe they knew how to destroy it.

John nodded slowly. He took Marcus's silence to Olivia's question as his answer. He didn't need to say he sold it. His eyes spoke for him. "The private investigator, he didn't happen to mention who he worked for, did he?"

"Oh, no. But I saw a name on the check. Fell." Olivia didn't miss how John's eyes lit up in realization. She was about to ask him if he knew anybody by the name of Fell when she felt something was off with Marcus. He felt weaker. Colder. She couldn't describe what she felt as she held his hand. All she can say was she felt as if he had grew tired.

"You did very good, Marcus." Zed told him with a warm smile.

"I think it's time for me to go to my reward." He said peacefully. He was in a state of tranquility for the first time since they've arrived. He didn't look as if he was in pain or fighting to breathe.

Zed tilted her head in curiosity. "Why do you say that?" She asked him curiously.

Marcus raised a shaky hand. He pointed to the space beside John with his free hand. "I see an angel standing there."

"What?" Olivia asked him softly. She peered up at her father who held an expression of melancholy. It was clear to the blonde that he already knew what was to come. It was then that Marcus gasped loudly. His life alert machine begun to beep wildly. The last thing Olivia remembered was Zed bolting out the room for help. A second later, her hand felt lighter. Marcus's heartbeat went from beating erratically to flatlining. It happened so fast that she couldn't comprehend what had happened.

"Liv." She heard John call her softly. She peered down at the man's limp hand still in hers. She let go of his hand carefully as if he was asleep and she was afraid to wake him. John placed a hand on her shoulder. "We gotta go."

"You recognized that name Marcus mentioned, didn't you? Fell." Zed broke the silence. They had been driving aimlessly in her truck for a bit. None of them had said a word since they left the hospital. Olivia's sight jumped back and forth between Zed and John from her place in between them.

John turned his head from the side to the windshield. "You remember when I said that Bernie found some real stars?"

"Yeah." Olivia and Zed said simultaneously.

"Well, the brightest was a metalhead named Ian Fell. Sold his soul." His words brought chills down Olivia's spine. She never really saw the point in selling your soul for fame and fortune. It didn't seem worth it. Why would anyone feel compelled to give up their soul for an eternity of suffering and torturing in exchange for a small window of fame and money. At the end of the day, we all die, which makes all the riches in the world suddenly seem insignificant.

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"What are you doing?" Zed hissed as John climbed the tall gate that surrounded Ian Fell's gigantic and luxurious mansion.

"I'm breaking into the mansion." John answered casually like he wasn't committing a crime.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Almost everything I do is, luv." John paused at the top of the gate. Had each leg dangling over each side of the fence. He extended a hand out for them to take. "Come on." Zed and Olivia snuck a glance at one another before climbing over the gate on their own. John rolled his eyes as the two ladies landed on the ground swiftly.

"What now?" Olivia asked John as he brushed off his pants with his hands.

John surveyed their surroundings. He picked the lock of the back door pushing it open gently to avoid making too much noise. His sight then landed on Ian Fell (who was occupied with his guitar) through his big, clear glass wall. Ian was blasting music so loudly that it could be heard from where they were standing. John's eyes hardened.

"There he is, that smug tosser." John mumbled under his breath. "Bloody amateur!" Constantine suddenly shouted loudly that it scared Olivia a bit. But what threw the blonde was that he had charged straight for Ian, running right through the glass wall.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ian panicked. He dropped his guitar that was thankfully still attached to him by the strap. He raised his hands in surrender.

Olivia ran after John with Zed following suit. She huffed at the scene. John had Ian pressed against the wall by the collar of his shirt. "Way to be subtle. You know, not to bring up what Zed had said early, but I think it's illegal to break into someone's home and practically assault them. And I don't think the cops will care if we tell them we did it for a demonic vinyl."

Olivia paused. "Actually, no, tell them that. At least then we could plead insanity, and we'd be sent to a mental facility instead of prison."

John ignored Olivia's snarky remark. He shoved Ian back into the wall when he moved an inch. "Don't shout! And don't squirm. How did Bernie get the acetate?"

"Acetat-?"

"Bernie was a friend, Ian. He was a friend. And if he died as a result of a deal that you made, there's gonna be retribution." John told him venomously.

"I don't think he knows anything." Olivia told John. She studied Ian's reaction to all of this and he seemed lost. He looked like he knew way less about the acetate than they did.

Ian looked from the blonde girl to Constantine. "Look, man, she's right! I don't anything about any deal!" He pleaded hoping that John would see he was being sincere and leave him be.

John couldn't get himself to believe him. Maybe it was because he was grieving Bernie and he wanted someone to blame already? Or maybe it was because all the information they have gathered had lead them to Ian, and he didn't know who else it could be when all the signs pointed to him. "A no-talent hack turns overnight sensation, and you're telling me that you didn't take a shortcut."

Zed looked nauseated. She brought her hand up to her mouth. "Hey, John, something's going on. I keep smelling jasmine."

Olivia placed a gentle hand on Zed's shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?" Zed gave her a nod.

"Now, this guy is backing out of a deal, and people are dying, and you need to own up to it." John carried on with his interrogation.

Olivia heard a gun click from behind them. She spun around and was greeted by a blonde woman. Her hair stopped a little before her shoulders. She had a gun aimed directly at them. "He can't. He didn't make the deal. I did."

John rolled his eyes lazily as he let go of Ian. He turned to face the blonde woman. "Jasmine Fell. Off-key backup singer and loyal spouse. Ain't love grand?"

Ian looked to Jasmine with utter confusion. He crossed the open space to reach her side. "Jasmine, do we know these people?"

Zed raised a hand slowly and cautiously. "We're not here to hurt you." She told Jasmine softly.

John shrugged. "Don't be so sure. The night's still young, and Bernie's still dead."

Jasmine ran her free hand through her golden locks. "This is a nightmare."

"Just tell me what's going on, please." Ian begged her.

"Yeah, tell him." John said coldly. "Tell him how you entered into a contract you're now trying to break at the cost of other people's lives, just so you could climb the charts."

"That's not it." She gaped. She appeared appalled that he would assume that was her reasoning for her involvement in all of this.

"No, of course, because the money really hurt your lifestyle, didn't it?" John said dripping in sarcasm. He took slow steps towards her causing her to back up with every step. "The mega mansion, the shiny clothes. Did you even bother to check the price tag of those shoes?"

"Ian was dying. He had cancer." She cut him off, and Olivia frowned. She suddenly felt guilty.

John turned his head towards Zed and Olivia. "I didn't see that one coming." He sounded so apathetic. Olivia didn't know if it was because he still didn't buy it, or he was putting on his too cool attitude during inappropriate situations again. He sat down on the nearest couch.

"You sacrificed your soul for his life." Zed said sadly. Jasmine nodded solemnly.

"Why don't you show him the contract, luv?" John suggested softly. He was finally showing a bit of sympathy.

Jasmine walked over to a dresser and pulled open a drawer digging within it momentarily. She came back over to Ian and handed him a parchment. He took it with delicate fingers. "Do you remember your first day in the hospital? They said you had a month, maybe two. This man came to me in the waiting room that night. He told me his name was Anton."

"Sounds like a soul broker." John had spoke up. He leaned forward in his seat. His hands folded together. "They troll hospitals for the dying."

"I didn't even think it was real." Jasmine admitted to them. Her voice broke slightly. "But I signed it. Then you went into total remission."

John stood to his feet. He extended his hand out. "May I?" Jasmine handed him the contract. He then studied it briefly. "Etruscan rune. This Anton he may have been a skeevy bloke, but he had a toe in the nether realm, all right. Take a look." He showed them the contract again, and Olivia saw how every little writing, every detail on the parchment slowly disappeared.

Jasmine appeared scared. "Anton said when the last words faded, the First of the Fallen would return to claim his prize."

Olivia shook her head. "I don't understand." She begun as she took a seat on the couch. "If you signed that contract to save Ian's life, then why are you now trying to break the deal?"

"It wasn't my idea." She informed them. "Anton got back in touch. He told me he could trade my soul back for the acetate."

"Soul brokers never break a deal. They lose their right of parley with the underworld." John sat down beside Olivia. "Something here doesn't add up."

"So what did this, uh, Anton want you to do?" Ian asked his wife quizzically.

"He wanted me to hunt down the acetate. He knew you were a rockstar with money and endless resources." She explained to him.

"And motivation." John chimed in as he rose to his feet. He strolled over to Jasmine. "This, uh, Anton when did he expect to lay his hands on the acetate?"

"I'm supposed to take it to him tonight." She replied. She dug into her pants pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "He texted me an address."

Jasmine pulled up the message but before she could show him, John took the phone out of her grasp. "Let me take care of that for you. I'm your best shot at ending this nightmare." He slipped her phone into his pocket.

John extended his arms out wide. "Give us a hug, then." He told her with a faint smug smile. Jasmine was hesitant at first but soon gave in. This was so odd to watch for Olivia. It felt so out of place. Her father didn't pass off as the hugging type. But it all made sense to both her and Zed when they saw him slip one of the nails of St. Padua into her jacket pocket.

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Shortly after John had left, these two men had broken into the Fell's mansion and took the acetate. They claimed to work for a man named Papa Midnite. Not long after, Zed took the nail out from Jasmine's jacket and told Olivia they had to go after John. Which now lead them to an abandoned construction sight of sorts. They spotted John tied to a metal surface covered with holes.

"No, no, no, you don't want to-come on!" John shouted at a homeless man. Olivia saw the man raise a knife in the air ready to stab John.

"Hey! She screamed running towards them.

"Get the hell out of here!" Zed reached them first. She beat the man with a metal pole until he took off. She tossed the pole aside with a huff. The psychic turned to John with a look of annoyance. "A hug? Really? Yeah, we both knew that was out of character for you."

Zed begun to yank at his restraints. "You could have just told us you planted the St. Padua nail on Jasmine." She told him through her struggles. After a few seconds, she was able unfasten him from the rack.

Olivia was at his side instantly. "Are you okay?" She asked him meekly.

John rolled his head over to her direction. His face was pale but burned red around his eyes. "Yeah." He assured. He moved into a sitting position, although he struggled with it at first. "Just give me those pills over there, will you?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Here."

John took the bottle with shaky hands. He downed at least three pills. "I knew you'd follow me into the lion's den. I just needed you to stay with Jasmine."

Zed scoffed internally. "For all the good that did." She said bitterly.

"Midnite's men?" He questioned them.

Zed and Olivia both nodded. "Bloody hell." John sighed.

"That recording its got a demonic energy. It wants to be played. Once it gets in their heads, they won't be able to resist." John informed them of what he learned in their absence. His voice was raspy from the blood loss. "You bring my bag?"

"Yup." Olivia replied. "Zed put it in the back of the truck."

"Let's go."

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"Bastards." John hissed as they got of the truck. "They took it to a club, gave it a spin. They just couldn't resist seeing what playing the acetate would do." The area was littered with cops. They kept bringing bodies after bodies out of the club. It made Olivia's stomach turn. She felt Zed squeeze her shoulder as she passed her. She wanted to get a closer look at the poor souls.

Olivia sat herself down on the hood of Zed's truck. She heard John's feet shuffle beside her. He leaned against the truck adjacent to her. He peered up at her frowning face. "You alright?" He asked her.

She glanced at him. He was looking at her with deep concern. She still wasn't used to receiving affection from him yet, but she hopes to get familiar with it soon. "Yeah, I'm kinda already used to death." She told him. She couldn't fight the empty chuckle that escaped her. It was true. She had seen more dead bodies in the past few days than she had her whole life.

"Liv, look-" he had begun when a car pulled up beside them. They both turned to find Chas getting out of the car. Olivia remembered Zed calling him yesterday. She asked him to head this way when John had been gone for far too long than they expected.

"Thanks for joining us." He told him. "You bring what I asked for?"

Chas nodded. He pulled out a black backpack and gave it to John. "Headphones, MP3 Player, clean shirt-" he raised a bottle of orange juice, "Orange juice."

John gave him a baffled expression. "Really?"

"Got to get your blood sugar back up." He replied nonchalantly making Olivia snort.

John rolled his eyes but took the bottle of orange juice nonetheless. "All right, daddy."

"I did what you asked I called in a few favors." Chas told John in a hush whisper. Olivia was staring straight ahead. Her legs were swinging back and forth, because she often couldn't sit still. "A P.I. friend of mine ran Zed's prints. Whoever she is, she's not in any Law Enforcement database."

Olivia snapped her head in their direction when she heard what they said about Zed. A scowl on her face. "I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad one." answered Constantine.

"You're looking into Zed?" She hissed at John. "Why?"

John sighed. He knew she wouldn't take it well. For reasons he didn't quite understand, she and Zed had already seemed to form a bond. A bond he wasn't really okay with if he was being honest. In case things were to take a turn, and she'd turn out to be a foe instead of a friend, he didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Because she's carrying a boatload of secrets." He replied nonchalantly. "And I don't trust anyone who has secrets."

The blonde smirked. "Everyone has secrets. And need I remind you that she saved your life twice." John's lips parted ready to protest when he was cut off by Zed whistling to get their attention. She beckoned them over with a wave of her hand.

"Well, at least she's making herself useful." Chas said trying to see the bright side of their psychic situation.

John looked at him with pursed lips. "For now."

Olivia jumped onto the pavement. "Again, she saved your life more than once." She reminded him yet again as they followed Zed to the back of an ambulance.

"Well, this is Freddy." The Latina introduced them to the man sitting on the edge of the ambulance. He wore an all white button up with all white dress pants. He had light brown eyes to match his hair and porcelain skin. "He works as a busboy. He said he saw the whole thing."

"I don't need his bloody resume, luv." John told her. It was clear that he was jealous again that she was already way better at getting information than him. He turned to Freddy. "Listen. How did you walk away from this?"

Freddy glanced at John with furrowed brows. He slowly turned to Zed for help. "Oh, I'm sorry, mate. Is it the, uh, is it the accent?"

"No." Zed replied harshly shooting him a look. "It's your arrogance. He's deaf." Olivia snorted at Zed's comment as she contained her laughter to the best of her abilities. John, naturally, glared at her.

The psychic turned to Freddy with tenderhearted features. "What happened." She signed. "Says two guys went into the club, into the Dj booth. Everybody went crazy."

Chas leaned over towards John. "Like I said useful." He whispered smugly.

"The acetate has its own hypnotic power." John explained ignoring Chas's remark completely. "Those guys, they're gonna want to play that record to as big as audience as they can find. This isn't Midnite's doing. His boys have gone off book."

"What's wrong, Zed?" Olivia asked her softly when she had begun to tap her on her arm repeatedly.

"Don't you see it?" Zed asked them as she peered into the back of the ambulance.

John looked back and forth between Zed and the empty space. "See what, luv?"

"There's a tiger." She said in slight confusion. "A white tiger."

"I don't see anything." Olivia told her honestly. "I'm pretty sure you're just picking up on something."

Chas did a once over of the area before he became fixated on something in the distance. "You see a tiger. I see one, too."

"Where?" John questioned. Chas brushed him off as he walked off. "Where?"

Chas then pulled a yellow flyer off a pole and gave it to John. "Scott University Tiger Radio." He read aloud.

Zed took the flyer from him. Connecting the contents of the flyer with her vision she said, "that's where they're going to broadcast the acetate." She walked off abruptly signaling for them to follow with her hand. "Follow me."

Chas, John, and Olivia lingered behind momentarily. "I think we should do what she says." Said Chas to John.

"I second that." Olivia added with crossed arms.

"All right, but we don't have to just jump when she says it." John replied sourly. They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. Chas and Olivia would eye each other occasionally before glancing back at John.

"Okay, that's long enough. Let's go."

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"We only got one set of headphones." John told them as he grabbed the pair out of his bag. "You three stay here. Find a way to get this station off the grid."

John placed the earbuds in his ears. He exhaled a deep breath. "Give me some juice, Johnny." He then bolted into the school.

"Okay, what now?" She asked them.

"There." Chas announced pointing to a shack in the short distance. "That's where the broadcast is connected to."

They tried to kick the door in for a while but it was to no avail. "Screw this." Chas muttered. "Stand back. Stand back!" Olivia and Zed ran off to the side when Chas got into his car. With a deep breath, Chas stepped on the gas and ran straight into the shack cutting off the broadcast.

Olivia whistled. She was impressed with the lengths he'd go. "I gotta admit. That was badass."

A/N

I'm trash

Sorry this was long af

And terrible