Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch13

The flashing lights of a dozen police vehicles surrounded the exterior of the skyscraper Alessia and Pola lived in. Lionetti enforcers in sharp clothing milled about the front alongside suited security guards. While the police kept their distance, Vince didn’t see any signs of conflict between the two groups.

Their convoy slid past the police barricade and came to a stop in front of the tower. A single REAT van sat in the corner. Its officers appeared at ease, chatting while leaning against the van. A couple smoked or used vape pens. The remaining cops were all the regular police enforcers, although quite a few had donned department-issue enchanted body armor.

“How come I never see you or Ronin wearing the vests?” Vince asked Blake as they rolled to a slow stop.

“Because they’re a paperweight against any enforcer strong enough to even think about tangoing with us,” Blake said, driving one-handed. “It’s mass-produced slop. Those shitty barrier rings our grifter draconic overlord churns out can at least stop a basic spell, but against any cartel enforcer…”

He made a cutting gesture against his neck.

“I guess they’re the ones who tend to fight back,” Vince said.

“The rest of you don’t have much to fear, but getting arrested as a cartel enforcer can mean time in the pen.” The cop jutted out his jaw. “It’s why I don’t like what nearly went down. If every enforcer we go after thinks they might go to jail anyway, they’ll resist arrest. And as we all saw a few months back, some of you are way beyond my pay grade. Probably even REAT’s.”

“I doubt the conglomerates would let it get to that.”

“First time in my life I’ve ever hoped they’d break the law.”

Blake snorted when Harry sighed.

“We’re here,” Harry said. “Dunno what Corporal Kilpatrick has planned—”

“Just call him Ronin. You’ve started drinking with us. Hell, you’ll bump into this pair soon enough.” Blake winked at Vince and Nina. “Sorry. He’s still learning that policing here isn’t really an ‘us vs them’ thing.”

“Depends on who the us and them is,” Nina said.

Outside, Ronin and several other police enforcers gathered. Vince assumed that meant it was time to get out.

“Thanks for the lift,” he told Harry and Blake.

Once they let him out of the cruiser, Vince wandered over to Ronin. The Lionetti wolfgirls spotted him and a pair of capos strolled toward them.

“You’re not going to get fired for this, are you?” Vince asked Ronin.

His friend waved off the other cops, who gave Vince and Nina nods and at least one fistbump.

“I’ll take that as a ‘thanks,’” Ronin drawled.

“Thanks,” Vince said. “I mean it. But I’m worried that you didn’t just stick your neck out for me, but shoved it in a guillotine. There were a lot of vested interests that would—”

Ronin’s expression darkened. “That’s exactly why I stepped in, even if I’m basically praying that Commander Frost has enough sway to protect us. Recently, all I hear is shit about how we don’t do anything. Just dress up and distract everyone while the conglomerates loot and pillage. Imagine if the first meaningful thing that happens is the governor or mayor intervening, with the backing of almost every conglomerate.”

“Almost?” Nina asked.

The capos reached them by now, and stood awkwardly behind Ronin. He acknowledged them with a glance.

“I’d come up and talk further, but I worry how it will look,” he said.

“There’s a damn good chance people will connect the dots anyway, big guy,” a capo said. “You and V are old pals. This hits social media and other enforcers will spill. You probably should have worn a mask or helmet like the other blackshirts do.”

Even if Vince hadn’t been looking directly at Ronin, he knew his friend was scowling. “I’m proud of what I’m doing. It’s the right thing. Part of being a police officer is being publicly recognizable. I’m not wearing a mask to cover my face like a damn terrorist or criminal. Even REAT have badge numbers.”

“Then we need to make sure this doesn’t look like corruption or favoritism, but the police doing the right thing.” Vince frowned as he saw Nicki and the police bird flutter down. “I guarantee Trippych is already all over this.”

“I, uh, got him involved.” Ronin smiled shakily. “Or tried to. I got wind of Kreesa’s shit almost immediately, when…” He paused.

“Don’t give away anyone you shouldn’t,” Vince said.

“Yeah. I’ve been learning that from my REAT training. I figured it would just be about kicking ass better, but there’s opsec training too.” His friend coughed. “Anyway, it was about mitigation. Get the press involved to slow her down, provide a distraction, call in support, and make sure Frost had my back.”

“And you’re only a corporal?” Nina asked.

“Would make a good capo…” The capo who said this frowned. “Although I don’t think we can hire you.”

“I’m good,” Ronin said drily. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the contacts I gathered through you were the only reason I pulled this off. I’m just a random cop. I can’t call up media mogul Garn Trippych or convince a cartel captain to launch a lightning raid.”

“Should you say that?” Nina asked.

“No, but I imagine it’ll get buried anyway. The cartel is volcanic politically.”

Vince held his fist out, and Ronin bumped his against it with a grin.

“I have a lot to chat with you about,” Vince said. “But thanks again for today. I know it means a lot for you to risk so much.”

“I’m doing what I think is right. Following orders blindly doesn’t seem very American to me.”

Nina slapped Ronin on the back. The officers from earlier approached again, and Ronin waved Vince away.

Waving to his friend and the other cops one last time, Vince joined the Lionettis. The capos escorted him, Nina, and Nicki into the atrium. A few newsbirds had followed the convoy and hovered in the sky, following their every move. Getting inside got them out of sight.

“How was the flight?” Nina asked Nicki.

“Pretty good. I needed to stretch my wings after all that fish.” The harpy patted her belly. “Great way to calm down, too.”

“Sorry about this mess—” Vince began to say to her.

Nicki punched him in the shoulder and scowled at him. “Oi. Don’t say that. It was fucking terrifying, sure, but I’m your flier. Who else is going to get you around Aulfair?”

“Thanks.”

She nodded appreciatively.

Many of the Lionetti enforcers followed them inside. They stayed back while Vince and the others approached the penthouse elevator.

“Fia and Pola are coming here,” one capo said. “We gathered on short notice, but I bet they were busy.”

“It’s been like…” Vince pulled out his phone to check the time. “Ninety minutes since Goro picked a fight with me. It’s amazing everyone was able to move like this.”

“You don’t last long in the underworld if you can’t haul ass.” The capo winked at him, but her attempt to slap Vince’s butt was stopped by Nina.

The wolfgirls pouted at the lioness but gave in.

Only one capo rode with them up to the penthouse. Vince doubted they were normally allowed up here, given they waited for him to use his fob and access code to activate the elevator.

One of Alessia’s bodyguards met them in the penthouse lobby, outside the external security door of the apartment itself.

“I’ll need to do a sweep as you go in,” the bodyguard mentioned. “I doubt anyone broke in after the sottocapo left this morning, but protocol is protocol.”

Vince unlocked the door, and the bodyguard swept into the penthouse first. The capo waited behind while the rest of them piled in. Nicki hunkered behind him, as if wary of a trap.

“She’s scanning the place to be extra sure. There’s nobody here,” Nina assured Nicki.

While he half-expected Nina’s words to jinx them, the bodyguard’s sweep turned up nothing. Given even Anzu had acknowledged the strength of the penthouse’s wards and defenses, he should have expected as much.

“I’ll be outside if you need anything. Don’t order lunch by yourselves.” The bodyguard paused and scratched her cheek. “Not right now, anyway.”

“I just had a corrupt police elemental nearly blow up decades of rules and collaboration—all to get at me,” Vince said. “I understand that security is tight.”

“Thanks.” The bodyguard slipped outside.

The penthouse looked the same as always. An absurdly large combined dining and living space overlooked multi-story windows that stared out over the harbor. The kitchen sat adjacent, with a long counter and breakfast bar connecting it to the main living space.

Vince strode in, past the kitchen and down the steps to the twenty-foot-long couch that curled along a recess in the living room. He flopped down on it. His eyes stared aimlessly at the ceiling, unfocusing within seconds.

“You look tired.” Nina leaned over the back of the couch.

Her tits hovered tantalizingly within reach, and Vince reached up and grabbed them. She giggled.

“Not too tired, apparently.”

She batted his hands away before joining him on the couch. The moment she sat down, he curled up against her. After a few seconds of shuffling, they settled in. He rested against her belly while she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Okay, maybe tired enough,” Nina said, pursing her lips as he continued to lay on the couch.

The coffee machine rumbled from the kitchen.

“Can you blame him?” Nicki asked, clearly brewing herself some caffeine. “Today has been non-stop. The Egyptian chick, the Roman demon who acts like he owns the world—”

“Bastet and Quintus,” Vince said. “Did you forget their names?”

“I’m not the best with them.” He couldn’t see her, but would bet the coffee she might be making him that she shrugged. “Then after that, we got the crown prince of the foxes, his samurai lord of a father, and then the corrupt police commander.”

“And we haven’t even dealt with Mei yet,” Nina murmured.

She stared out the windows even as she played with Vince’s hair. Her tail tickled his legs as it shifted, and he resisted the urge to grab it.

Nina didn’t like it when he grabbed her tail. Even when he combed out her mane-like hair, he took it easy on her tail.

“I wouldn’t mind vegging out for the afternoon,” Vince said. Then he sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be allowed to.”

“Tell Alessia you’ll work if she lets you use her lap as a pillow while you debrief her.” Nina smirked.

“I’m not sure I want to find out where that might go right now.”

“Huh. So you’re not denying it now.” She poked his cheek. “Gotten over your sudden bout of self-doubt?”

“A little. There’s a lot to process from today, but…” He placed his hands against Nina’s cheeks and she raised an eyebrow at him. “I think things are good as is. Maybe we can’t avoid Houou’s civil war, but I don’t think I should jump ship.”

“But…”

“But I need to talk to Alessia first. Clear the air, then see what comes next.”

“Sex, probably,” Nicki said. “She’s so pent-up. I’m absolutely certain I heard her masturbating one night in the condo. At least she’s wise enough not to hide outside your bedroom.”

“You’d be the expert on that,” Nina teased.

Nicki squawked, and something clattered in the kitchen. Swearing followed. The running of the sink suggested she’d spilled her coffee, or maybe the milk.

“I’d ask for a coffee, but I worry you’ll throw it in Nina’s face now,” Vince said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you one. The megatitty bitch can get her own.” The harpy hissed, and no doubt was baring her teeth at Nina.

“Girl, your tits are huge, too. I saw the jackets you were trying on.” Nina paused, and her eyes widened. “Fuck! Our shopping. Vince, what happened to the bags?”

He stared up at her.

The bags?

Oh, right. He’d been watching the bags outside the store when Goro showed up.

“No clue,” he said. “Maybe our Lionetti handlers found them?”

Nina nearly shoved him off the couch as she ripped her phone out and began tapping away. Vince fell back into a dreamlike state of not paying attention to anything for a few minutes.

Only when Nicki’s face appeared in his vision did he return to reality.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.” Her face vanished and the bottom of a coffee cup appeared. “You might want to sit up so you don’t spill hot coffee all over yourself. I’m not a fast food place, so I don’t think you can sue me for damages.”

“I don’t burn easily.” Despite his words, Vince sat up and accepted the coffee.

“Really? Even from liquids?” Nicki asked. “How the hell does that work?”

The harpy sat next to him, practically shoulder-to-shoulder, with Nina on his opposite side. When the lioness realized Nicki had been serious about not making her coffee, she rose with a grumble and began making her own. Nicki watched her leave before leaning against Vince’s shoulder.

“Magic,” he said.

Nicki glared at him. She was cute up close like this.

“I can manipulate heat at a fundamental level,” he elaborated. “It’s a basic skill of fire magic, and a good way to practice for barriers and pumping large volumes of magic through your body is to control your own body temperature. Then the things touching it. So if I spill something on myself, I can use magic to make it not burn or freeze me. Same trick as when I walk around in the cold without bundling up.”

“Damn. And the most use I used to get out of my telekinesis was reaching stuff above my head,” Nicki said. “I feel there’s a disparity here. Why’s my school of magic considered so advanced and hardcore if you can control the temperature?”

“Because I can’t rip someone’s internal organs out of their body without touching them,” he said.

“That’s basically impossible, by the way,” Nina chirped. “Maybe against non-magical civilians, but the basic resistance against magic makes it really hard to manipulate stuff more complicated than an arm.”

“So…?” Nicki tilted her head.

“It’s because telekinesis involves manipulating a fundamental physical force,” Nina explained. “The primary elements have some tangential uses, like manipulating temperature or creating wine, but they’re restrictive. Vince’s fire cage is complex shit for fire magic, but I can conjure up an earth magic equivalent with initiate-tier magic. With telekinesis, you can restrain people, fling rocks, make yourself faster, teleport—the whole shebang. It’s just fucking hard.”

“Great. So I’m full of unrealized potential and need to train hard to unlock it.” Nicki flicked one of her purple-highlighted bangs. “Given the two of you spent a whole damn month training almost full-time, and those foxes probably get up at the crack of dawn to practice every day, how many years will it take me?”

“One longer every year you waste,” Vince said.

The harpy froze, then let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. You’re right.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “Figured I was done with that crap when I left school. Then again, I wasn’t sure I’d amount to anything.”

Nina appeared behind Nicki, causing the birdgirl to freeze. A coffee cup descended onto Nicki’s head.

After a second, Nicki swore and shot up. Nina swept her coffee away before it got spilled, quick as lightning.

“Fuck you,” Nicki spat, rubbing her scalp. “That was hot.”

“If you learned some basic telekinesis, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak up on you,” Nina said. “You have tons of time to spend on yourself now, Nicki. You worked to stay busy while we trained, but nothing stopped you from training yourself. The foxes probably can’t help you, but I know some telekinetics. I bet one or two of the Lionetti fliers might know a thing or two as well.”

Nicki bit her lip. She rubbed her arm and looked away, both pairs of black wings shrouding her body.

A gentle chime interrupted the moment, rapidly growing in volume.

“Fia or Pola are here,” Vince said.

Nina shot him a look as she walked up to Nicki. He got the message.

Leaving the two girls to their chat, he checked the panel in the entrance hall. Then he blinked.

Had he forgotten to check his phone?

The door camera feed showed Ally standing outside the door. She carried one of those thermal shopping bags in front of her, while her four red tails shifted behind her back uneasily.

Even though the bodyguard stood near her, Vince grew wary. He checked his phone. No messages.

He rung Ally. The figure on the screen jumped, then scrambled for a phone in her skirt pocket.

“Um… Vince, are you not in the penthouse?” Ally asked, eyes wide.

The bodyguard slapped a palm against her face.

“I am. I’ll let you in,” he said.

Ally blinked in confusion, but he left the camera feed behind.

By the time he opened the front door, she appeared to understand what had happened. She hunched her shoulders.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, looking down with her tails nearly flat to the tiled floor. “I saw the news and was so worried. I rushed over, but didn’t think of the security issues. Mama would be so upset.”

“She’d understand.” Vince stepped forward and rubbed Ally’s shoulders. “Has she gone home already?”

Ally shook her head and brushed a hand against her eyes before smiling at him. “She’s flying home on Friday to spend the weekend with otou-san, but says she’ll be back. She acts so calm, but I know she’s worried. When she saw the videos of you fighting that fox downtown she nearly froze.”

Huh. Based on the names brought up, Vince wondered if Kiho knew Goro personally. With five tails, Goro would likely have been alive when she fled Japan.

“Let’s go inside,” Vince said.

He looked askance at the bodyguard, but she waved him inside.

“No word on Fia or the sottocapo,” the bodyguard said. “I bet they’re taking care of business before heading here.”

A small part of Vince grew annoyed at the idea they didn’t rush to his side, but he quashed it. Fia, Alessia, and Pola ran the Lionetti Family and doubtlessly had a lot on their plates. He knew they’d have been ready to move to save him if Ronin hadn’t intervened.

Inside the penthouse, Nicki and Nina sat on one side of the couch. They smiled at Ally when they saw her and greeted her.

“Woah, you brought food,” Nicki said, staring at the bag. Then she paused. “Wait, this fast?”

Ally’s face reddened. “Um, only enough for two people. I grabbed the leftovers me and Mama planned to eat tonight.”

“I owe Kiho a meal then,” Vince said.

“She said that as well.” The fox giggled, her tails brushing against his back. “Um, I’ll need to reheat them…”

She tottered into the kitchen and pulled several glass containers from her bag. Vince guessed them to be the fancy ones that could handle both freezers and microwaves, unlike the cheap shit he’d once had explode years ago.

Nina gave him one hell of a lecture on how important the capital letters in a certain brand were. No capitals meant cheap junk, all capitals meant the good shit that wouldn’t ruin leftovers and require way too much cleanup.

“Um, are you still in trouble with the police?” Ally asked. “It was really hard to tell from the media coverage. I was checking the news all the way over on the subway, but neither the police nor the mayor had anything to say.”

Probably because they were trying to work out what the hell was going on themselves. Kreesa had been in charge, but given a bunch of orders that broke departmental policy, causing what was effectively a mutiny within the police force.

Then something Ally said reached his brain. “You took the subway? With everything going on?”

Ally hunched her shoulders once again, but continued playing with both the microwave and oven. Apparently she needed both. Also, how did she understand them without any instructions? Pola didn’t know how to use the oven in her own home, thanks to all the weird buttons it required.

“The capos said the same thing when I arrived,” Ally murmured. “But the subway is so fast and I would have felt bad asking for a lift just to come see you.”

“Alessia is rich. She can afford to cover security,” Vince said.

He partly regretted those words, given what he’d been up to lately. How much had Alessia been spending on protecting him lately?

For that matter, how much did she know of what he was up to? The Lionettis tailed him everywhere. He basically had full-time bodyguards.

“I still don’t like it.” Ally stood after placing most of her food in either the oven or microwave. “Um, it’ll be about twenty minutes. The unagi and eggplant reheat best in the oven, but without a rice cooker I prefer the microwave for the rice.”

Experience with sushi allowed Vince to recognize the Japanese term for eel. Ally had brought over something quite nice. The glares from Nicki and Nina made it clear they’d overheard.

Vince leaned against the kitchen counter, placing his back to the other girls. He sipped his coffee. Ally’s eyes flicked to it and he shifted toward the coffee machine.

“No, no, I’ll do it,” she said, waving her arms at him.

The fox practically shoved him into the corner of the kitchen, her tails waving around her while worry shined in her eyes. She smiled shakily at him before using the coffee machine with far too much familiarity.

He let her pamper him and remained slouched against the counter. “How do you know how to use all of this so easily?”

“I’ve gotten used to navigating appliances,” she said. “Otou-san’s friends all have their own, I bought different ones, if I stay in a hotel they’re different again.” She shrugged. “It’s the power of a future housewife.”

Her face nearly exploded after saying those words and she turned away, hiding her expression with her tails. Vince assumed she was turning the same color as her hair.

“I’d say you’re already a housewife, but I’m not sure I should,” Vince said. “You run your own shop, are supplying the Lionettis, are a capable enchanter…”

Ally snuck a confused look at him, her face as red as he expected. “I can still be a housewife and do all those things. I don’t want to retire like Mama and find a bunch of hobbies to fill my time. Running an Etsy store seems worse than what I already do, and she’s always intruding.”

Etsy store? Vince realized that Kiho had a lot of spare time as the wife to a retired Yakuza head. Had Ally’s store been partly run by her mother back in New York because Kiho was bored out of her skull?

For that matter, was Kiho hanging around for so long just to alleviate her boredom?

“Um, so what did happen with the police?” Ally asked.

“Oh, that.” He frowned. “The corrupt elemental that backed Houou in Albion tried to arrest me under false charges. I’m certain she wanted to shut me out of…” He paused. “Don’t tell Kiho this.”

“She might already know,” Ally said. “The reason I could sneak off on my own is that Mama rushed off. I think she recognized the person you fought, or maybe the Miura twins.”

“Everyone recognizes the Miura twins,” Nina said from the living room.

“Not the way Mama did.”

“Goro—the fox who dueled me—knew Teru, one of Kiho’s old friends,” Vince said. “And both the Miura twins and their clan head mentioned Kiho by name.”

“Clan head?” Ally’s eyes widened. “Is that who the old fox was? Why was someone so old and important there?”

“He wanted to hire me for the coming civil war gripping Houou.”

Ally’s hands balled into fists. Her tails closed around her, standing upright. “So they won’t leave you alone, even after everything. I guess Mei wasn’t lying about that.”

“Ally…” he began to say.

She shook her head. “It’s fine. Just… If Houou are causing you trouble, I want to help you. Like you helped me. It’s only right, especially now that we’re lovers.” Her tails rustled behind her.

“Thank you.”

Once she had her coffee and the food reheated, they moved to the dining table on the far side of the living room. They never used this. Alessia and Pola always ate on the couches or at the breakfast bar, yet the eight-seater mahogany table was spotless.

Ally separated out the various dishes. A small plate contained cold appetizers, while the main dish was a rice bowl topped with a thin brown sauce, marinated eel, and big chunks of cucumber.

“I found some chopsticks in the drawers, but you can use a fork if you prefer,” she said as they sat next to each other, their backs to the others.

Her tails rubbed against his back and she shot him nervous glances.

“I can use chopsticks well enough,” he said. “I know there’s a Japanese saying for this…”

Ally stared at him, then broke out in a fit of giggles. “I don’t think I’ve said itadakimasu for years.”

Vince barely followed what she said. “Um, thanks for the food?”

“That’s fine.” She giggled again, poking him in the side. “You can be overly sincere about the strangest things, Vince.”

They slowly dug into the food. Even as leftovers, it blew away the junk he often ordered. Sure, the restaurant food at the condo was great, but the handmade feel and love Ally poured into her food crushed the chefs effortlessly.

Or maybe he was biased.

His chewing slowed as he recalled the past week. Today had been exhausting, but the week certainly hadn’t helped.

“Vince?” Ally asked softly. Her green eyes swam with concern.

“I’m fine.” He shrugged off her look. “It’s just been a very long week. Crazy to think the heist was exactly a week ago. Everything’s been on fire since. Mei’s still at large in the south, the cops are a mess, Houou is falling apart…”

Vince placed his chopsticks against his bowl before rubbing his hands against his face. Ally’s tails practically cocooned his back—or tried, given she only had four.

“We’re all here for you.” Ally glanced back, presumably to look at Nicki and Nina. “You can rest for today now.”

He nodded and picked up the chopsticks, then took another bite. Despite his attempt, his mood didn’t change.

Frustrated, he leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling again. He’d done that a lot since arriving here.

Ally remained silent this time, but she rubbed his shoulder with her hands and the warmth of her tails continued to bleed into his back.

“Rest, huh,” he said. “That saying ‘you never know what you have until it’s gone’ is truer than I thought. I never thought I’d miss that shitty apartment. But I’ve spent a week without a home, even if the penthouse and the condo are nice. I miss my bed, my place, being able to putter about when I need to think or destress…”

He laughed breathlessly and closed his eyes.

“I get it,” Nicki said. “I miss it, too. It was my first real place that felt like mine.”

Nina didn’t speak, but he knew she was nodding.

“It’s stupid when I think about it,” Vince said. “I can handle assassins, crazed eight-tail megalomaniacal foxes, fighting entire companies… But I feel more at sea than ever without a proper home, you know?”

No matter what job he did or what happened, he’d always been able to go back to the apartment. It was his fortress.

He’d lost it and now found himself holed up in the fortresses of others. Namely Alessia.

Finalizing the deal with her couldn’t happen soon enough.

“I’d say home is where the heart is, but I think you want something permanent,” Fia said.

Vince snapped upright, startling Ally.

Fia and Pola stood in the entrance to the living room together. Fia wore a tired smile, while Pola appeared more uncertain, torn between a shaky grin and deep concern as she stared at Vince.

“Permanent would be good,” Vince said.

“Then I think you might not be able to rest today,” Fia said. “You can argue with the boss later, but I think there’s a lot of shit to discuss.” She paused before walking over and ruffling his hair. “Nice to see you in one piece, though.”

- - - - -

Commentary: We're approaching the halfway point of the book (especially by wordcount). I've given in to the fact this will be a book about taking care of Mei, with the setup of the Houou civil war happening during it. The next three chapters should take us to about 80k words. There are still a couple of big action scenes planned, but it's difficult to appreciate how long this will truly be (probably somewhere between Mob 3 and 4).

This chapter was intended as a sort of winddown chapter after so many complicated or tension-building ones. Hence the focus on Nina, Ally, and Nicki being cute.