Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch4

Sunrise on Saturday brought welcome news.

First, Vince was freed from his luxury prison sentence in Lionetti Tower. Pola and Lucia refused to let him wander about without an escort or telling them where he planned to go. They also preferred for him to remain close to the tower, at least for the first day, and avoid his apartment.

Second, the police officially announced an operation against the Yakuza in the south of the city. Not that they stated they were acting against the Yakuza. Openly stating they were taking the offensive against an arm of the Japanese government—even if it was an unofficial one—would be too problematic. But a large-scale REAT operation in the Yakuza’s territory with the intention of removing a dangerous organization undermining public confidence and stability was just a fancy way to say the truth.

Unfortunately, while the police made the city safer for Vince, they also put a damper on his plans.

Now that both Houou and the cops wanted to crush Mei and the Yakuza, could he actually take her out first? He’d talked a good game to Alessia, Trippych, and June the night of the heist. Putting his words into action was another matter.

“It is unlikely the situation will come to a swift conclusion,” Kiyoko told him.

She sat on a stool next to the bar at the café opposite Lionetti Tower. She’d shed her typical dark suit for a cute, ruffled outfit with too many layers for Nina to even think of wearing. He counted no less than four layers. A loose red cardigan, dark vest, white lace shirt, and even a black undershirt. A two-tone pleated skirt, black stockings, and ribbons made up the bottom half.

On top of all of that, Kiyoko still had her black wings, plus a pair of earbuds with a translation spell. Vince truly wondered if she had once been a model before being possessed by a tengu given her beauty and the ease with which she wore such a complicated outfit.

Several Lionetti enforcers stood outside the café. When Vince organized to meet Kiyoko here, they’d checked the café and its staff thoroughly. The Inaba twins had once infiltrated the business, and nobody wanted a repeat.

“I heard the cops are assigning two elementals to the operation,” Vince said in response to Kiyoko. “And Houou are throwing way too much at it.”

“Even so, they’re not making direct moves against Mei. This is a siege.” Kiyoko sipped her coffee and stared at him expressionlessly. “Whether she has realized the soul egg is fake or not, her ninth tail has begun to stabilize. In the eyes of most, a direct confrontation would level an entire district of Aulfair, not to mention take the lives of powerful enforcers.”

“This is the balance of power stuff, isn’t it?” he asked.

She inclined her head. “While I am new here, it is a concept I am deeply familiar with. The conglomerates respect the police, but ultimately obey their rules out of fear of retribution. If multiple elementals are slain, the Aulfair Police Department may lack the capacity to truly threaten a conglomerate.”

“And if Houou loses a clan guardian or three, they might lose half their territory. Or worse. What they did to the Lionettis would be fresh in their minds.”

A whisper of a smile flitted across Kiyoko’s face. “Karma may not exist, but I fundamentally believe that, in the fullness of time, one reaps what they sow. The foxes of Houou gained their power by breaking fundamental rules of Aulfair, and in doing so opened themselves up to the possibility of being destroyed the same way should they misstep.”

“I take it you’re not keen to ally with them,” Vince said drily.

Kiyoko’s wings fluttered and she stared out the windows and up at the sky. Her face didn’t shift, but he saw a subtle hardening in her eyes.

“Even if I take Mei’s story as truth, it changes less than you think,” Kiyoko said. “Furi was right… My apologies. Zaira was right to say that Knightsgate and Japan was corrupted, but the rot set in long ago. The foxes of Houou helped create it. Perhaps a different path—a better path—could have been created had things been set right when the collapse of the Masquerade led to such… grand ambitions, but it was not so.” She shrugged helplessly.

“I can see why Mei thought you might join her,” Vince said, a touch hesitantly.

Kiyoko sighed and hid her expression with her coffee cup. Yet he saw the tiredness in her eyes.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No, you are right. I’ve always held the idea that I could enact change from within, and no doubt those with ill intentions saw through my loyalty and instead saw someone with convictions that didn’t match their own. Knightsgate is an inherently political organization, and counter-espionage especially so. I… do not know where I sit within it anymore.”

“Will you go back?”

She didn’t answer nor respond in any way.

A minute passed in silence. The sole barista in the café had retreated into the staff room behind the counter, leaving them alone. Vince sipped his own coffee.

“You plan to act against Mei, do you not?” Kiyoko asked.

“If I can come up with a way to take her out without getting everyone killed.” He scowled and messed up his own hair. “I’ve been avoiding thinking about it too much. My best idea was to get others to help us, but how do I convince others to take on a mad eight-tail fox? Especially one that looks like she has nine tails. Nina, myself, and a team of Lionetti enforcers nearly died to a strong six-tail.”

“Numbers matter greatly in battle,” the tengu advised. “Almost every kyuubi was sealed without an eight-tail fox being present, for instance. The spirit in your possession can doubtlessly inform you of how she has been defeated by individuals far weaker than herself.”

“If I cared to,” Daji said, a touch acidly. “But the pawn is right. At a certain point, raw power can’t overwhelm sheer numbers. Even the gods have been felled by those far beneath them. Your idea to gather aid is the right one. A team of powerful warriors who can distract Mei and create an opening for you to exploit will win out. Just think of how you weakened her by yourself, then add others to the mix.”

Vince did the thinking.

It didn’t end well. He imagined Mei hurling around foxfire to incinerate the area while her strange paper talisman summons smashed apart front line fighters. All while powerful telekinetic barriers made her impervious to harm. If he thought even harder, Kigenai swept through the arena with a blade forged of godlike lightning and took more lives.

“You’re worrying,” Kiyoko said, reading his expression.

“Mei’s strong. I only realized afterward how lucky I was to survive,” he admitted. “If she hadn’t been obsessed with recruiting me, I’d have died, even with Daji’s help.”

Kiyoko nodded. “You would have. But preparations can be made to battle her. Knightsgate does not approve of what she is doing, even if they won’t publicly renounce her or act against her.”

“You’ve spoken with them?”

“Behind-the-scenes, I have been tasked with purging the local Yakuza branch. Knightsgate personnel will assist me, and I am allowed to forge temporary alliances that would otherwise be considered politically unwise.”

Vince didn’t know enough to guess what counted as politically unwise. But he could guess that the assistance took the form of creating tools and other magical assistance.

“In that case, I’ll see who and what I can round up outside the Lionettis,” he said. “Our best enforcers are me, Nina, and Pola. Fia potentially, but I’m doubtful Alessia will risk even one of her top officers. Even getting Pola’s help may be too much.”

“Knightsgate almost never sent along the heads of clans or important families to subdue kyuubi, due to high likelihood of failure,” Kiyoko said.

“There aren’t many independent enforcers we could hire,” he added. “Those I can think of…”

Well, they’d tried to kill him. Maybe Nina had some ideas.

The Inaba twins were out, as Vince was explicitly trying to take out Mei before Houou succeeded. Perhaps he could grab Ashley out from under Quintus’s watchful eye, but his last attempt to try as much had ended up with Immanuel watching him like a hawk.

“I’m meeting my best chance tomorrow,” he said. “The cartel.”

“Gabriela Vargas is a powerful enforcer. Her connections may provide some assistance, although I would not rely on them unless there is no other option. It is never wise to owe a foreign government anything.” Kiyoko’s expression remained unchanged, despite a note of warning entering her voice.

“Foreign government?” he asked, confused.

“I recommend speaking with Miss Vargas yourself. But almost every unicorn maintains this connection, even should they wish to remove it.”

Vince narrowed his eyes.

Gabriela and a foreign government… He had to admit he was stumped. The only two governments he might associate her with were almost stereotypical: Mexico and the British Empire. Almost all unicorns lived in Britain and they possessed a specialized unit of unicorn knights in service to the king, but how could that extend to Aulfair?

He would get his answer the very next day, naturally. He followed up his meeting with Kiyoko by heading downtown to restock. With the rest of Saturday available to him and his freedom returned, why waste it by lounging around?

Sure, the Lionettis or Nina could have purchased everything for him, but Vince wanted to stretch his legs. Especially as the lioness and Nicki were busy packing up important things in the apartment to take back to Lionetti Tower. Who knew how long it would be before they moved permanently, but none of them felt safe moving back in with tensions so high with the Yakuza and Houou.

Cops with visible foci and heavy armor patrolled the streets in pairs, while REAT vans parked in high traffic areas. With the operation down south, he doubted whole REAT teams were inside the vans, but being so visible made everyone feel safe.

Scaffolding covered sizeable sections of shopfronts. Political messaging from Mayor Kochhar stated that the city was covering all rebuilding costs, regardless of insurance outcomes. No doubt the sleazy mayor knew he was on the nose with most of the populace. Vince didn’t know when Kocchar was up for re-election, but he’d be fighting to remain in office at this rate.

A couple of times, Vince noticed thugs following him or questionable gazes. Sure, he’d been on TV lately, but nobody stared at him like this even after the attempted assassination by the Yakuza foxes.

A few cops intercepted the thugs once and chased them off. The other times his followers merely faded away or he moved on. Nobody made a move. The Lionetti enforcers tailing him remained noticeably on edge.

Maybe coming here had been a mistake.

“Bang,” a female voice with a noticeable southern accent drawled.

A dark-skinned finger pressed against his cheek. He looked over to see Livia standing beside him, hand outstretched in a finger-gun and a grin stretched across her face.

The serval catgirl was out of uniform, and a short one-piece dress barely came to mid-thigh. Fluffy white leggings and gloves kept her warm in the cold winter weather. Her blonde hair swayed in the wind sweeping off the harbor, while her satellite dish-like ears twitched in every direction.

“Livia. Didn’t expect to meet you here,” he said.

“And I expected you to remain holed up for a few more days. We’re still rooting out Yakuza agents, and who knows how many conglomerates want you dead now,” she said.

She walked past him and toward the edge of the plaza they stood on. A fountain sprayed water in the air on a level below them, while the harbor could be glimpsed through a gap between the towering skyscrapers that made up downtown. Livia leaned against the railing above the fountain. Her spotted tail flicked back and forth behind her, poking out through a hole in the back of her dress.

Vince leaned against the railing beside her. “I take it you want something?” he asked.

“Checking up on you, mostly,” she said. “This isn’t happenstance. I heard you were wandering around and wanted to see that you were fine. Ronin’s freaked out.”

“I know. We’ve been in touch,” he said. “If he wasn’t pulling double-duty, I’d call him in to Lionetti Tower for drinks.”

“He’d probably refuse.” Livia’s voice was dry as a bone.

“Why are you out of uniform?”

“Because it draws less attention.” She hiked up the side of her dress to reveal a small black object strapped to some nylon underwear. It looked like a collapsible baton. “I’m on-duty, Vince. The cartel attack shook folks up. You wouldn’t know anything about that?”

Well, shit.

“I’ve seen the news,” he said.

“Uh huh.”

He sighed. He had no clue what Livia knew, but given she had spies in the cartel, lying wouldn’t help him. “All I’ll say is that I asked Gabriela to stay out of downtown, given I knew the Yakuza were actively manipulating the cartel.”

“Fair.” Livia bent over so her head was parallel to her body, causing her ass to stick out. “The big cartel meeting that night wasn’t a big secret, so I knew Gaby tried to call the attack off. Her behavior’s changed a lot lately. She’s always been a handful, and she shot up in status thanks to your help.”

“I take it you’re unhappy?”

“Not really. I assumed the big job you were working on was some catalyst for a gang war. The Lionettis, cartel, and Yakuza all working together to take out Houou, even if not everyone knew they were working together. I was half right. The Yakuza were using everyone, but their goal was way bigger. We got played by Houou and took days to refocus.”

He remained silent. Given everyone got played by the foxes on both sides, judging anyone would be incredibly hypocritical.

“Well, at least you’re not giving me shit. I’ve gotten a lot of that lately.” Livia smiled mirthlessly. “My promotion is a ways off. Still, I’ll ask one thing in exchange for my… help.”

“You mean leaking stuff that ended up being used against you?” he asked.

She shrugged with a lopsided smile. “Basically.” Livia turned to face him and met his gaze. “You have pull with the Lionetti sisters. The old mafia is howling again, and there’s a good chance the elementals set up a unit to contain their expansion. Maybe I’ll join it, as I suspect I’ll get bumped off command of the cartel unit.”

He winced. “And what did you want?”

“Don’t ally with the cartel. There are… vested interests in the police that dislike the mafia. It’s why Houou’s corruption in Albion got overlooked for so long. My take is that the elementals believe that the end justifies the means, and if you give them an excuse, they’ll treat the Lionettis the same as the cartel. But you’re not set up to survive that sort of attack. The cartel is a hydra that operates through a million small players and abuses laws that protect the conglomerates and enforcers. The Lionetti Family isn’t.”

“Understood. What about Gabriela?”

Livia snorted and looked away. “Fuck her, I guess? She’s a unicorn and independent as hell. Anyway, I’d prefer to work with you and the Lionettis than move from this war on the Yakuza to a war on the mafia. Life is hard enough without this sort of shit.”

That he could agree with.

But as she walked away, he called her back with a whistle. Her ears shot up and she bounced back. He tried to ignore the way her breasts shot up and down like balloons inside her dress.

“That’s a lot more of a favor than I expected,” he said. “So I might ask for one of my own later. To do with the Yakuza.”

Her eyes narrowed, and a sly smile crossed her face. “Oh? I won’t ask, because I’d rather not tell anyone. But you’re popular lately among the beat cops, and everyone fucking hates the foxes. Stories have gotten around about you burning down acres of national forest south of Mount Olympus. Time it right, and maybe I can fulfil your favor.”

Livia finally bounced away and he let her.

This surely counted as police corruption, and Vince was damn glad Ronin wasn’t here to see it. On the other hand, he didn’t know if Fia had been right or wrong in her initial assumption.

Livia appeared to be complicated, but if she was trying to get close to him to destroy the Lionettis, she was playing the long game. And she hadn’t put much effort into trying to get him to fuck her. Yet, anyway.

Sunday rolled around. He’d organized to meet with Gabriela just after 10AM at the café she’d sent him. Getting there would take time, and he still needed an escort.

In the end, Nicki flew him there while his Lionetti bodyguards accompanied him with their own fliers. Thanks to her new talon covers, both he and Nicki could use barriers while flying. So Nicki used her barrier ring while he cast his own barrier. Just in case anyone took a potshot at them.

All went well. They coasted through the sky toward the west of Lionetti Tower. Much of northern Albion was old and weathered, making it easy targets for gentrification. As they went further west, and left Albion, they ended up in parts of the city that had gentrified long ago.

Unlike the highly Americanized suburban sprawl to the south and east, and the urban terror of the north of Aulfair where the elves dominated, Aulfair’s north-west retained the European aspect. Much like Albion, but less dated. Suburbs of housing sprawl stretched around small shopping districts and fancy apartment complexes, allowing someone to live and shop within a bubble.

If someone lived here and worked from home, they might rarely leave a mile-wide radius of their house. A truly unique experience. The architecture was entirely different as well, and the housing blocks far smaller, and almost always two stories with small yards.

Vince suspected the prices weren’t smaller, though. If anything, he’d bet buying a place here would cost more than the bland suburbia that Salome lived in. This area screamed “nouveau riche.”

The café that Gabriela had sent him lay within one of the shopping districts, and Nicki landed on the sidewalk almost awkwardly. As Vince would expect from this sort of place, the sidewalk wasn’t concrete but pavers of alternating colors. Fancy.

Several passersby shot them looks, and Nicki folded her wings tightly around herself. Vince gave her an odd look, before realizing that she was the one attracting attention. Wings fliers were commonplace, but he didn’t see any here. Nicki’s loud, colorful clothing stood out, whereas Vince favored minimalism. The extra clothing the Lionettis had given him was also high enough quality to match that of the locals.

Damn bourgeoisie.

“I suspect this will take a while,” Vince told Nicki. “You might want to distract yourself. You can stay here or find somewhere more interesting.”

“Somewhere I can hide without being stared at like a zoo animal, you mean,” the harpy said while glowering at the back of a couple that looked like they stepped out of a photoshoot. “I’ll find somewhere to hide. Buzz me when you’re done.”

She fluttered off without another word. Behind him, the Lionettis stood out by virtue of looking overdressed, but clearly didn’t give a damn. If anything, they wanted people to spot them and steer clear.

After double-checking the message Gabriela had sent him, Vince rounded the corner and found the café. Chairs and tables stretched across the pavers with heating columns between them, although they weren’t active at the moment. A few people sat outside with coffee.

One of those people bore the unmistakable figure of Gabriela. White hair with spiky bangs, an iridescent spiral horn, tall and lithe figure, horse ears, and a fine, white tail of horsehair swaying behind her chair.

But he almost didn’t recognize her thanks to her clothing. Her typical torn pants and fur-lined jacket were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a cute white puffer jacket and skintight black pants that hugged her curves. Gabriela still wore her abundance of jewelry, including her diamond choker, but she’d added an oversized aqua ribbon to her hair.

Gabriela was, for lack of a better word, adorable. Tall, but cute.

If only her golden eyes weren’t rock hard and hiding barely concealed rage directed at the woman sitting opposite her.

Another unicorn sat at the same table, her back to Vince. She wore an expensive navy suit, but light rippled across its threads. A magically enchanted suit. Her horn shined bright white, almost like ivory, and a sword hung at her waist in a golden scabbard. Celtics runes glittered in greens and blues along the scabbard.

Every sense of Vince’s warned him to steer clear of this other unicorn. She emanated magic, and it wasn’t just her equipment. He pinned her as a seven-tail equivalent. Someone capable of tangoing with a clan guardian at minimum.

For all he knew, she might be stronger. But just the fact she casually exuded so much raw power screamed danger.

Gabriela spotted him, and her golden eyes met his. She grimaced but waved him over.

Uncertain that was a good decision, but unwilling to refuse her after coming all this way, Vince approached. The other unicorn turned in her seat.

A small red and gold badge glittered on her suit’s lapel, depicting a sword hilt pointing downward with a unicorn’s horn replacing the blade. Scales, like those Vince saw on TV in courthouses, stretched behind the horn and appeared to be balanced on the sword’s hilt. He’d seen this emblem before, but couldn’t recall where.

The woman’s purple eyes judged him with a cold, assessing gaze. She looked over every part of his body, lingering on his chest, face, and crotch for longer than comfortable.

“So this is your muse, is it?” the other unicorn said in an unmistakably English accent. “You chose as well as I would expect of a unicorn of your capabilities, Gabriela. Even if I hadn’t seen him on news broadcasts, there’s a subtle feel to his magic that I haven’t often felt.”

“Does everyone know more about my magic than me?” Vince asked, annoyed.

The unicorn smiled, but it was entirely bereft of friendliness. “I’m afraid I am no expert on what ails you, Mister Keys. But I know that you possess power that isn’t wholly your own, but you’re making it your own. That makes you precious. More so than a mere vessel. I’ve met men and women overflowing with magic gifted to them by dragons and spirits, yet their fragility was obvious.”

“I’m glad you don’t think he’s fragile,” Gabriela said flatly. “Makes me feel so much better.”

“For when you throw away your vow of chastity and give yourself to him for the rest of your life?” The other unicorn scoffed. “As impressive as he is, you’ve been offered better. That’s why I’m here.”

“And I’m saying no once again, Norah. I left the academy years ago and I’ve never looked back. No matter how you approach me, I won’t return.”

Norah looked away from Vince and focused her attention on Gabriela. She lifted her cup of milk tea—at least, Vince guessed it was tea, given there was a tea pot on the table.

“The academy isn’t something you can merely leave, Gabriela,” Norah said. “You made an agreement when you joined it, and until you complete your learning and service, there are debts that must be repaid.”

“Debts that I am already repaying. With money.” The American unicorn leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She smiled thinly at Vince. “Sorry to interrupt our catch-up like this. Bitch doesn’t understand the word ‘no.’”

Norah didn’t even react to being called a bitch. “What the Empire offered you can’t be repaid with mere currency—”

“But it can be, and I’m doing exactly that,” Gabriela interrupted. “No matter how you threaten me, I’m making the repayments. I’m not coming back. Nothing you can offer will make me come back. I’m not interested in the academy or serving the amazing British Empire. Fuck off, Norah.”

“I will not. A unicorn of your potential comes along so rarely that to leave you to throw yourself on some random enforcer, no matter how impressive he may be, is to waste everything our race is.” Norah sighed and stood. She lifted her teacup and saucer, before delicately draining her cup and lowering both to the table. “I understand your frustrations with the academy, Gabriela. That was years ago. If you return, it would be under a streamlined program. Think of your future and how amazing you could be.”

“Uh huh. You’ve told me that before, and I know you’ve told other unicorns who leave the same thing.”

“Then you know that I’ve given up on others, too.” Norah glared at Gabriela. “You have so much potential, girl. To be as strong as me, or even stronger. Just…”

A soft whinny escaped Norah as she ran a hand through her long black hair. She schooled her expression before focusing on Vince.

He’d only half-followed the conversation. Mostly, he felt as if he’d intruded on something deeply personal and wished he’d shown up five minutes later. Sometimes arriving on time backfired.

“Leave him alone,” Gabriela said, hands on the table as if prepared to launch herself toward Norah.

“I won’t touch him.” The Brit rolled her eyes. “Both the US and Aulfair governments allow my presence under strict conditions, and assaulting a US citizen, let alone one protected by multiple corporations, would cause a diplomatic incident. However…”

“Looking for a loophole?” Vince asked.

He lacked the confidence he expressed in his voice. The last thing he needed was more enemies. Could he go a week without adding new super-powered magical threats?

Norah smiled at him. “I have a feeling I know why you’re here, given the current situation afflicting the city and your employer. So I’ll be forthright. Perhaps Gabriela can assist you, but perhaps she cannot. But know that I stand here, as one of His Majesty’s Unicorn Knights, and of the second ring at that. My diplomatic restrictions bind me in some ways, but a Japanese criminal would be overlooked. All you need to do is convince Gabriela to return to the academy, and you will have my sword.”

- - - - -

Commentary: It's time for deep unicorn shit. I hope nobody saw Norah and thought "Wow, I want her in the harem."

Anyway, both Kiyoko and Livia make their returns, with intrigue and some cuteness. Kiyoko's opening is a bit of a bandaid on some Ch1-3 issues that I'll smooth over in the book release (namely that Mei got ignored in the opening chapters compared to Vince's personal issues). I'll have a better idea then which one to make a bigger deal for book-readers, but that's a long way off.