Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch29

At a glance, he would assume their roles had been switched. Anzu wore a gorgeous dress suitable for a public event. By contrast, Momo looked like she’d come from a photoshoot.

The two women were twins, but looked so different Vince struggled to see them as sisters unless he looked at their faces. Momo’s short blonde hair contrasted against Anzu’s long, free-flowing locks. Both possessed seven golden tails, amber eyes, and impressive busts.

Momo wore an outfit that looked vaguely Arabic. Or perhaps it was an ancient dancer outfit. An ivory corset top covered her breasts but left her belly bare. Transparent chiffon fabric was wrapped around her upper arms, and she wore a dress over her bottom half that fell to mid-calf.

Elvish runes fluttered across the dress, and Vince suspected an enchantment prevented him from fully seeing through the fabric. He caught glimpses of her flesh beneath the dress, but never a clear look. If she wore underwear, it was well hidden. A massive golden necklace bearing rubies the size of a quarter glittered around her neck, and she’d strapped white flowers to one shoulder.

“Last I checked, evening usually means the sun has set,” Momo said. She sniffed the air. “You haven’t fucked him, at least.”

“Please,” Anzu said, as if she hadn’t flirted with Vince for the past thirty minutes. “You’re home early.”

“I received an alert that you’d returned home and guessed you were up to something.” Momo peeled off the flowers and tossed them into the messy corner of the room. “You haven’t jumped into the meat of the discussion, have you?”

“We’ve been making small talk. Trying to establish a rapport for a long-term relationship.” Anzu glared at her sister. “If you’re too annoying, maybe I can establish that by tying you up and offering you as a sex toy for his gratification.”

Momo rolled her eyes and flicked her hair, revealing a single gloved hand. “Maybe try using yourself first.”

The moody sister opened a hidden cabinet inside a nearby wall, revealing a wine fridge. She produced a bottle of champagne and popped it without so much as a word, causing Nicki to nearly hit the deck.

“Fucking shit,” Nicki swore. “Aren’t your ears more sensitive than mine?”

Anzu rubbed her temples, her golden ears flat against her skull. “Yes. My beloved sister noticed I wasn’t wearing my sound-modulating earbuds.”

“No, I just wanted to have some more champagne.” Momo’s tails flicked and three champagne flutes flew out of another hidden cabinet above the wine fridge. “You interrupted my event. Interested?” Two of the glasses inclined themselves toward Nicki and Vince while she filled another.

“Sure. Maybe some alcohol will make the afternoon go smoother,” he said.

“Wow. She got on your nerves already. Maybe you really aren’t so bad.” Momo flicked him the first champagne flute, which bubbled away. “Don’t worry too much about appreciating all the fine flavors. It’s only Bollinger.”

Nicki stared at the fox and took her glass numbly when it was her turn. “Do you save the Dom Perignon for special occasions?”

“No. I don’t drink it.” Momo practically downed her entire flute before refilling it and placing the bottle atop a nearby metal stand. Ice covered it, presumably thanks to a spell she cast. “No point in spending more than necessary.”

“Momo, our jobs are to look flashy and excessive. That means we always spend more than necessary. Hence why you needed an expensive and ridiculous outfit for today’s event,” Anzu said.

“And I’ll give it to another spy in Inaba so it gets used, like the rest of the extravagant outfits I wear to fit in with the who’s who of Aulfair.”

Momo sipped her champagne and summoned a tall stool from somewhere. Perhaps a pocket dimension. She hopped on top of it and leaned forward, staring at Vince.

“You still don’t look possessed,” she murmured, golden eyes glowing. “I don’t get it.”

Daji slipped behind Momo and ran her hands over her fox ears. “One sister will melt the moment you fuck her, and the other will pout and fight, but then give in after ecstasy hits her. They’d make great prizes, master. Try to keep them satisfied.”

“You’re talking to her again,” Anzu said, narrowing her eyes.

“He’s what?” Momo straightened.

“Forget it.” Anzu waved her sister off. “If you’re here, we can settle in and talk business. Unless you have anything to raise, Vince?”

“You called me here early,” he said. “I assume that means things have gone wrong. Maybe it’s the impending civil war within Houou, or you can’t take care of Mei. Or both. But don’t bullshit me about them.”

Momo smirked. “What makes you think we need your help with either?”

“The fact I’m here at all.” Vince mimicked what he’d seen Alessia and Quintus do in the past and swirled his champagne. It did feel great to do that between sentences while others hung on your words. “Mei’s hunkered down, but there’s been no serious attempt to take her out. And everyone is salivating over Houou, including the other clans. Somebody took a swing at me on Tuesday. You seem to know everything, so I assume you know what I know.”

“Of course,” Momo said.

Anzu shook her head. “I won’t pretend we’re on top of literally everything. We knew Juliet and Hamelin took a contract for your life that involved Commander Kreesa. That they’d attack you while you met Kiho Masuda—”

“Wait, Kreesa?” Vince interrupted. “Hamelin said the police were involved, but an elemental hiring enforcers? That’s insane.”

“Not especially for the wind bitch.” Momo leaned her face on one palm. “She’s worked for Houou for nearly thirty years. Several of the elementals dislike the larger crime syndicates, like Immanuel and the Lionetti mafia, and happily helped us take them on.”

“Her recent actions are erratic, however,” Anzu said. “There’s zero chance any clan asked her to arrest you. Whether the governor intervened and triggered a constitutional crisis, or a conglomerate assaulted the convoy, the Special Corporations Act would have ended in spirit. Who knows what contingencies would have been enacted, but it would have been a disaster.”

“Then who…” Vince rubbed his head. “I assumed she was trying to permanently sideline me from the civil war. Perhaps make similar threats to anyone else getting in the way of her backers.”

“If so, then whoever gave her the order is dumber than Masaki Hatoyama.” Anzu shook her head. “We can’t make sense of it, and we’re suspicious of the entire police chain of command right now. On the surface, Houou’s allies are in positions of power and troublesome elementals like Frost are busy down south. In practice, Kreesa has turned out to be a loose cannon and has already picked a side in the civil war. Kochhar has gone AWOL, other than making angry noises when asked in public.”

“Best case, we’re dealing with an idiot,” Momo said. “Idiots are frustrating but can be dealt with. Worst case, someone is actively sowing chaos, much like Mei. Except we’re not entirely sure who.”

“The actual worst case is that this is a multi-actor situation,” Anzu added with a sharp look at her sister. “Historically, things go awry when everyone has their own agenda and those collide.”

Vince processed what he’d heard. He also tried to work out what agendas and players might be in the mix.

“Immanuel wants stability,” he said slowly. “The Lionettis are trying to regain their status, which means they’re only partially supportive of stability. Houou’s factions are fighting over who takes control of it. Mei wants to undermine Houou and take control of it. Kreesa… might be supporting a fox faction, or might be an agent of chaos.”

Who did that leave?

“What about Knightsgate?” Nicki asked. “Aren’t they helping us with Mei?”

“I wouldn’t put much stock in their help,” Momo said. “They ignored Mei’s behavior until now, and she’s been quiet enough they can ignore her. Maybe they want Kiyoko to deal with her while it won’t make the news.”

“That leaves Therox and the vampires as major players,” Vince said. “Plus whatever Knightsgate is truly up to.”

He hadn’t considered the possibility Knightsgate might be up to something. Was it possible the foxes Kiyoko learned about weren’t Mei’s allies?

“Wagner, too, but his actions are rarely subtle,” Anzu said. “The vampires and sorcerers are watching. Quintus is in contact with them, and I imagine they won’t act until he does. The old demon has only activated his powers over Immanuel’s fiefs once, right after we took downtown, and that was to stop all-out war.”

“He’s trusted,” Momo said. “As spies, we’re used to our bosses being idiots. You give warnings years or decades in advance, get fobbed off, and then get screamed at about why you didn’t tell them after it happens. Quintus is an ancient schemer with true power, and a restraint that’s let him live despite being relatively weak.”

“Weak?” Vince couldn’t help but look affronted at the idea on Quintus’s behalf. “You’re calling Quintus Hierum weak?”

For some reason, both foxes smiled. Nicki, too.

“Curious reaction,” Momo said.

“Any clan guardian could kill him in a straight fight,” Anzu said. “He rarely shows his strength, and he fights more like a classical sorcerer than a true enforcer. But someone took him seriously enough to hit him with a curse powerful enough to cripple a kyuubi, which makes us wonder if he’s a shadow of his true self.”

The runes on Quintus’s leg… “Do you know what that curse does?” he asked.

“They’re Nordic runes. Given Quintus’s age, they could have been cast by a Norse god. His whereabouts are unknown after Charlemagne conquered Italy in the late eighth century, and before he appeared in Jerusalem during the First Crusade. This is also the same period over which the Norse gods vanished, thanks to the Christianization of Scandinavia.”

“Vanished?” Vince stared at her. “They’re gods. What do you mean they vanished?”

“Exactly that.” Anzu shifted uncomfortably. “I wish we understood what happens to deities to cause them to vanish. It might explain why Amaterasu left us, and Inari’s solitude.”

Daji smirked, and Vince wondered if she knew.

“Daji and Mei didn’t have much kind to say about Inari,” he said slowly.

A thunderous expression overtook Anzu, before something struck her in the back of the head. She doubled over with a hiss while Momo sighed.

“Inari is a nine-tailed mystic fox who isn’t truly a mystic fox,” Momo explained. “We look a lot like her actually.”

She pointed at a framed painting hanging in the corner, which Vince had overlooked. It contained a haughty looking woman who might be Anzu’s mother, dressed in an archaic Japanese outfit and adorned in countless jewels.

“I’ve never understood why the priests claim Inari created us, or depict her as a man,” she continued. “Especially as she’s given birth to multiple foxes. Every fox with purification magic traces their blood back to her, although the thinness means the magic skips generations at times.”

As if to demonstrate, Momo conjured up a small ball of foxfire. Anzu did as well.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your grandmother… great-grandmother?” He frowned.

Momo snorted, while Anzu looked away, frustrated.

“We don’t share the same view of Inari,” Momo said. “Inari is no La Lupa, and whatever mysteries she holds of our kind, she’ll take to her eventual grave.”

“Don’t speak like that about her,” Anzu muttered.

“On deities, they either vanished or were destroyed,” Momo said. “Although they’re best considered demigods, if you consider being a god a form of omnipotence. Wagner is effectively a modern deity, especially with the US’s worship of capitalism and money.”

Anzu coughed and her tails resumed their hypnotic swaying. She sashayed over to Vince, much to her sister’s annoyance. “To resume the more relevant topic, we brought you here because you can use our help, and we can use yours. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Sipping his champagne gave Vince the seconds he needed to change gears and file away what he’d learned about demigods, Inari, and Quintus. “And because your plans are on fire. You wanted to kill Mei and recover the fake soul egg before anyone noticed. But nobody cares about her because, as you said, they think she’s a hick and not a problem.”

Anzu’s tail froze against his back, and Momo chuckled while refilling her glass again.

“You were the one who tried to be honest,” Momo said when Anzu glared at her. “The fake soul egg isn’t a problem. We just want Mei dead so she can’t come back with a new scheme. What did I just say about spies working for bosses who ignore problems until too late?”

He nodded. “I thought you had control of the enforcers? What happened?”

“The Miyoshi clan used their control of the Golden Path to destroy Houou’s military capability,” Anzu said acidly. “Between the hit on you and shifting a large number of young foxes into the Golden Path, Tsurime placed Houou’s entire enforcer system at risk.”

“I… don’t follow,” he said.

Nicki shrugged as well. “Don’t look at me.”

“Didn’t you want lots of enforcers down south? You have that,” Vince said.

“We wanted Houou’s corporate enforcers, drawn from the best of the clans,” Momo said. “The Golden Path is for disputes with other conglomerates and we wanted to send a message that we could openly destroy the Yakuza without political consequence. Using the Golden Path looks more like a gang war or assassination.”

“Like what you did to the Lionettis after the police stopped you.”

“Exactly. Hatoyama got approval to use corporate enforcers for the initial hit, then we shifted to the Golden Path to limit our liability. The problem is that any fox in the Golden Path can be attacked by other conglomerates, as Quintus reminded everyone this week.”

So, the demon had lived up to his words. Vince had heard nothing and assumed Quintus had been all talk.

“How bad was it?” he asked.

Momo smirked. “Quintus showed a surprisingly deep understanding of internal clan politics by only killing foxes from clans allied with Miyoshi. But it didn’t matter.”

“Old Man Miura blew up at Tsurime the moment she abused her power,” Anzu said. “A lot of our enforcers come from his clan, given it absorbed a lot of younger foxes from Kantou and Tohoku whose clan leadership was wiped out by Knightsgate. Tsurime’s actions politicized the Golden Path, as she acted on behalf of her clan leadership instead of Houou. Saito should have stripped her of her position on the spot, but doing so would have triggered the civil war immediately.”

Vince cottoned on. “Instead, the other clans withdrew their enforcers from Houou. Right?”

“Basically. There are enough left to defend our holdings, and as clan guardians we remain in place,” Momo said. “But the clans are shifting their enforcer registrations to private security companies. It’s a legal mess, and the civil war will be expensive. We’ve already received informal warnings from insurers and the city they expect to recoup every cent of repairs.”

Suddenly, the Yakuza disguises during the hit made a lot of sense. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“You’re going to have enforcers pretending to be from other clans. Some might even damage property or cause trouble on purpose,” he said.

“Probably. The police can see through simple illusions, however, and they have a database with every single fox in Houou. It’s why Mei used unknown foxes in her attack,” Momo said.

“Okay. So you don’t have any enforcers to help you,” he said. “How can you help me?”

The twins looked at each other, and their seven tails danced behind them as if trying to draw his attention.

“I don’t expect you to fight in person,” he added.

“It’s obvious you’re going after Mei,” Momo said. “We’ll give you the intel, make an opening in Houou’s lines, and even keep the police off your back. The one thing we can’t do is fight her with you.”

“Why not?”

“We’re under orders not to.” Anzu scowled as her tails drooped. “The Inaba clan won’t allow us to risk our lives if the other clans won’t commit to slaying her. And asking permission to help you is a terrible idea. They’re largely overlooking you as a competent sorcerer the Lionettis stumbled on, especially as we’re monitoring you. If we support you, someone else will pay attention.”

Momo made a slicing motion over her neck. Vince nodded.

Yeah, he wanted help, but not if it meant getting killed by one of Inaba’s other assassins.

“In exchange—” Anzu began to say.

“No, this is hardly a fair deal,” he interrupted.

Momo sneered. “We’ll give you the head of an eight-tail fox, let the Lionettis take the glory, and you think it’s a bad deal? You don’t even know what we’ll ask for.”

“It won’t be that one-sided,” Anzu assured him. She rubbed his shoulders and her face appeared next to his from behind. “I did promise a partnership, didn’t I? We want you to help all of us, and then we’ll—”

“Keep this to a working relationship, especially as you’re involved with the Lionetti sisters,” Momo said.

Anzu glared at her sister. Momo glared back.

“We talked about this,” Anzu growled.

“I remember what we agreed to, and it doesn’t mean a threesome where you offer him—”

Something gripped Momo’s ear and dragged her off her stool. The fox hissed before her tails batted away the invisible hand.

“Please excuse us,” Anzu said with her saccharine voice.

She dragged her sister out of the room without another word.

Vince and Nicki stood alone in the living room of the penthouse. The harpy refilled her glass, then circled the room.

“Do you get sick of every woman trying to jump on your cock?” Nicki asked.

“I am a guy,” he joked, but sobered up at her expression. “I’m not sure Anzu’s sincere. All the warnings I receive not to trust Daji apply to her as well.”

“I guess…” The harpy leaned down, as if trying to see beneath the recliners. “Are you going to say no? This sounds insanely complicated. The Miura offer was simple. Fight for them and take money. The demon—”

Vince hurriedly waved a hand over his neck, and Nicki stopped herself.

“Oh, right.” She hunched her shoulders. “You think they’re eavesdropping?”

“The entire place is rigged with cameras and listening devices. I bet they’ll go over what we discussed later.” He paused, then pointed at the nearest camera. “Daji still wants you to choke on my cock.”

Nicki stared at him, then broke out in giggles. “Momo will get so mad if she hears that.”

“Kinda the point.”

After a few minutes, the sisters returned. Momo appeared triumphant, while Anzu sulked behind her.

“To make everything crystal clear, we want you to help us during the civil war,” Momo said. “Houou needs rejuvenation, and it needs a stable leader who will stop playing chicken with the rest of the conglomerates. Anything else and we’ll be finding a new city to live in.”

Anzu remained silent, but nodded.

“Is that stable leader one of you?” Vince asked. “Or the Inaba clan head?”

“Hardly.” Momo smiled. “During the Sengoku Era and shortly afterward, Japan’s Shogun and Emperor were figureheads. We’ll appoint a younger fox from a mid-sized clan for unity, until there’s someone capable of matching Saito to take his place.”

“The original idea had been to use Old Man Miura, but he refuses to take the position,” Anzu said. “And any clan guardian will have too much blood on their hands after the fighting to unite us. Long-term…” She trailed off with an odd look at Momo.

Her sister either ignored her or didn’t notice.

“So what do I get out of this?” he asked.

“Money. Connections. Allies in high places,” Momo said.

Anzu pouted, but said nothing. Expecting something, Momo stared at her sister for several long seconds before nodding.

“With Alessia’s backing, I doubt you really care about the money,” Momo continued. “We can reinforce your new home with additional wards. Provide connections within Aulfair and beyond to help your training and equipment acquisition. And as you rise in power, having us to support you from the shadows matters a lot more than a few dollars. Especially once everyone knows you have Daji’s soul egg.”

Vince grimaced. He’d been ignoring that problem.

“Can I get that in writing?” he asked. “If I work with you, you’ll stop Houou from trying to kill me to take the egg back.”

“There’ll be too many caveats to make that useful.”

Anzu clicked her tongue. “I’ll give it. So long as you aren’t possessed and show no signs of going mad with power, we’ll protect you. Between us, the Miuras, and whatever the Golden Hurricane can offer, Houou should remain at bay. The same goes for Knightsgate, once they learn the same thing. But you’ll need to negotiate the problem with everyone. Sorcerers and even the US government want that egg. A long-term partnership is exactly what you need.”

“I hate that I’m agreeing with her, but she’s right,” Daji said. “They’ll be vital allies. The Lionettis lack the power or sway to protect you, master. Accept their offer, claim them, and you’ll be well placed to withstand the fury of the world once they learn of me.”

Suddenly, holding onto Daji’s egg felt like a much more dangerous idea than it had at the time. How long could he keep it a secret?

“Only as long as you want me to be stuck in your head,” Daji teased, her nine fox tails winding around him as she appeared beside him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “But long-term… Well, let’s just say my ‘horniness’ is because it is frustrating watching you rail so many other women while I can’t even masturbate physically.”

A small part of him said to ditch the egg. Surely, that was the hidden message in Anzu’s and Momo’s offer. Give them the egg and he wouldn’t have to worry.

The fact he had to get involved in Houou’s civil war almost seemed like too high a price to pay.

Except he remembered that he’d only survived Mei’s attack thanks to Daji. And Kigenai’s assault. Hell, even if Kiho had been fine, Daji had helped protect her. Vince planned to get involved in the civil war anyway.

“Fine,” he told the fox sisters. “But I’ll add an extra requirement of mine.”

They both raised an eyebrow.

“Help me kill Masaki Hatoyama.”

Momo snorted while Anzu smiled.

“That works for all of us,” Anzu said while holding her fingers to her lips. “It probably helps if I give you the lay of the land. I’ll keep it simple so you don’t get confused.”

Her tails flickered and a series of glowing blocks appeared in mid-air. Each had a Japanese symbol written on the back.

“You understand the external situation well enough,” Anzu said. “Internally, Houou is currently split into three factions.”

“Three?” he asked.

She nodded. “It will likely reduce to two once the war starts. The Fujiwara clan wants to replace Saito with one of their own foxes, as they have a young seven-tail who isn’t a clan guardian. A rarity, to be honest. We’re sorely lacking for seven-tail foxes.”

“If nobody supports the Fujiwaras, why does it matter?”

“They’re currently in charge of Houou, so get first shot at leadership. A vote will be called and the clans choose the next leader. If nobody gets a two-thirds majority, there are contingencies, but that will be the trigger for the actual civil war. The Fujiwaras will fail, then the Miyoshi will also fail. We haven’t decided whether to play our hand openly yet, as naming a candidate means they’ll be under constant assault.”

“I didn’t think the Miuras actually supported you,” he said, recalling Toya’s words.

“They don’t, but Toya hates the direction Houou has gone in, and the Miyoshi faction is responsible for it,” Momo said. “A lot will change once we start fighting. Plans never survive contact with reality, and clans will switch sides. At some point, one side will force the other to recognize their candidate and get the necessary votes, ending hostilities. Or some clans will be wiped out and there’ll be a redistribution. Likely both.”

“Some of the older foxes think this may take decades.” Anzu laughed. “I don’t think they understand the swift brutality of modern conflict, especially with magic being used openly. We reshaped Asia within years. Our little civil war will be over by Christmas. Replacing the dead will take much, much longer.”

“It’s necessary.”

Momo’s and Anzu’s eyes turned steely as they nodded at each other.

Vince looked at the glowing pieces again. They were split roughly in two groups, with a large piece off to the side. Presumably the larger pieces represented the major clans.

“Where does Hatoyama fit into this?” he asked.

“The Miyoshis are gaining support from many smaller clans by offering sweeping changes,” Momo said. “Including six-tail clan guardians. They want to heavily militarize Houou, and giving upstart clans like Hatoyama more say gets them support. It also convinces young foxes to throw their lives away. If they survive, they’ll drown in wealth and magical artifacts. By contrast, the bigger clans are less unified, with the best fighters still haunted by leaving Japan and only willing to fight out of duty.”

Vince thought of the expressions the Miura twins and Toya showed. That matched their attitudes exactly.

By contrast, Goro acted rashly. He talked of glory. How many other foxes who had fled Japan now wanted to seize the power they’d been denied when Knightsgate drove them out? No wonder Hyuga wanted Goro to gain experience from fighting.

Not that Vince could say the older foxes were all experienced. Houou had made their bed by constantly attacking other conglomerates, and this civil war represented the arrogance the foxes were known for.

“So that’s a yes to helping me take out Hatoyama?” he asked.

“So long as you don’t want to destroy the clan,” Anzu clarified. “We can use them. Masaki is an idiot and removing him, plus his closest aides, is a good idea. If Alessia Lionetti wants to avenge her father, I’ll happily help her.”

Revenge, huh. At some point, Vince might learn which clan guardian killed Alessia’s father.

He hoped they weren’t on the Inaba twins’ side.

They discussed a number of other matters, including the intricacies of various clans. Vince learned more names than he could possibly remember. Half of them escaped his head by the time Anzu led him outside.

Looking out the windows by her Aston Martin, he saw the red rays of sunset. Anzu’s tails rubbed against him.

“Words are cheap, so I’ll remind you that we intend to back them up with actions,” Anzu told him. “Perhaps as the civil war goes on, there’ll be a different role for you to fulfil.”

She slipped away from him while ignoring his confused expression. Even after Anzu teleported him and Nicki into a small street in Albion, he struggled to understand what she meant.

Even Daji could do little more than speculate. “I assume she wanted to offer you more than her sister. How curious. The grumpy sister has decided you’re useful, but clearly sees you as little more than a useful pawn. This one might not be as empty-headed as I thought.”

Apparently, Daji’s evaluation of women came down to how they assessed him.

“I saw your potential from the moment I touched your mind. I am more than qualified to judge others for their inability to see your greatness.” Daji huffed at him.

After Nicki flew him back to Lionetti Tower, he found Nina, Kiyoko, and Alessia already waiting for him in the mafia don’s oversized office.

Vince explained what he could. Little needed to be left out, although he ignored Alessia’s annoyed look that he hadn’t told her about the meeting in advance.

“I didn’t want to risk you getting involved,” he said. “It sounded risky if anyone learned who I was meeting.”

“I can be subtle, Vince.” Alessia poked him in the shoulder. “If it had been a trap, our ability to help would have been extremely limited.”

Honestly, if it had been a trap, he questioned who or what could get him out of that fortress of a penthouse.

“The Inaba twins assistance allows us to leap over the final stumbling blocks in our plan,” Kiyoko said. “As much as I detest working with them, they can lure out Kigenai. We should begin finalizing our plans.”

“Which means we need a real attack plan,” Vince said. “Once we take out Kigenai, Mei will be forced to move. We won’t have much time.”

After weeks of gathering allies and dealing with Houou’s politics, his goal finally felt close. Taking out Mei had to wait, but the first step sat in front of him, just waiting for him to take it.

“Call everyone together,” he said. “We’ll make our plans for Kigenai and Mei. Then, once they’re ready, we’ll take them both out, one after the other.”

- - - - -

Commentary: Lots of fox politics, and hot twin action (well, kinda). This book has gotten very long, and it doesn't help that it has two big action sequences at the end that I want to make good, which can be time-consuming to write.