Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch3

“I feel like going corporate should be harder,” Vince said. “If you can just blow shit up really well and get a great offer, why didn’t you go corporate? Why are seemingly immortal hitmen like Hamelin and Juliet independent?”

Nina took a sip from her coffee cup, only to realize it was empty. She looked over at the bar, caught Liz’s eye and raised it. When the wolfgirl nodded back, Nina returned her attention to Vince.

“I never went corporate because I didn’t plan to remain an enforcer,” she said, eyes hard. “If you want to go corporate, it’s a long-term thing. Sure, anyone can take a job for some punk company and call themselves a corporate enforcer, but Kaziern were throwing their entire private army at you. Not exactly the vaunted corporate enforcers that the conglomerates keep in their pocket out of fear of police retribution, huh?”

He nodded. “You’re talking about the real deal. It comes with golden handcuffs?”

“Yeah. Every deal I got offered was five to ten years, with a bunch of penalties and sweeteners if I backed out early.” She leaned back and sneered, one arm stretched over the back of the booth. “Pay off my college debt, but if I quit early, they’d remit it to me pro-rata, plus interest. They’d put me up in a fancy apartment, rent-free, but I’d have to move out the second I quit. Shit like that.”

“That… sounds like a more complicated version of what Alessia might offer,” Vince admitted.

“I mean, they also pay well.” Nina leaned forward and tussled his hair with one hand.

He batted her away. “If you don’t mind me asking…?”

“I never worked a job that paid me nearly half a mil, even if this was a solid month or two’s work,” she said, voice gruff. “Fia’s told you, right? Being corporate means you get a steady paycheck, plus bonuses. The capos almost certainly earn six-figures, but that might include job completion payments. Do you know if Fia is getting the hundred grand Mei promised, but from Alessia?”

He shook his head. “But I imagine Alessia wouldn’t pay us and not Fia. That would be horrific for morale.”

“Based on what I’ve heard from friends, morale is a low priority for corporate. But I doubt Alessia would penny pinch when she’s flying high. After all, her change in attitude is exactly why we’re talking, isn’t it?”

Nina’s words struck deep, and Vince shifted uncomfortably. He was saved from answering by the arrival of Liz with a large carafe of coffee. His visit to the fancy café with Ally and Kiho allowed him to recognize it as a pour over. The tea-like consistency was hard to mistake for anything else.

The lioness eyed the glass vessel suspiciously, but Liz merely smiled.

“Given there are two of you here, I figured a large volume of coffee would be better,” Liz said. “It’s a lot easier to make a big pour over than espresso, although I’m not that great at it.”

“How strong is this?” Vince asked. “It doesn’t look it, but I know better than to assume.”

“It’s still coffee.”

Maybe he’d drink a little.

Once they were topped up and the carafe sitting on the table, Nina decided she’d spent long enough sitting opposite him. She bounced onto the sofa beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“So, are you going to ask around?” Nina asked. She pressed her face into his hair, and he ignored the feeling of her snuffling around.

“I’m not sure where to start,” he said.

“The unicorn that wants to ruin her future and turn you into her one and only,” she said, voice rumbling against his skull. “Quintus is the obvious next step. I’d keep the Inaba twins at a distance for a bit, as they’ll catch wind of what you’re doing and edging them will make them more likely to make a better offer. Especially as it sounds like they’re into you.”

“One is. Anzu wants me to meet with her in her penthouse. Momo was included in the invitation, but I’m pretty sure she’d blow my head off and take the egg if given the choice.” Or have never involved him at all, really.

“Then play hard to get. Start with the cartel.”

“Didn’t you leave the cartel because they couldn’t pay enough?” he asked.

“Sure, but they learned. Their big daddy grifter dragon can splash cash when he wants, and maybe he’ll be convinced to splash it on you. You’ve met Wagner in person, and everyone knows Therox has a huge inferiority complex about him.” Nina chuckled, and the feeling sent a shiver down Vince’s spine. “Also, don’t be surprised if you get headhunted. If somebody wants to kill you for a job, that means others want to hire you. If Quintus knows you were involved with the heist, the other conglomerates do as well.”

“I’ve never gotten an offer before—” he tried to say.

“Bullshit. Mei threw money at you when you first met, even if she was a snake. Quintus was trying to hire you at the same time.” Nina bent down and looked into his eyes. She looked silly, thanks to her head being sideways. “You also need to be aware some of these offers might be big enough to scare you. And entice you.”

He pushed her face up and turned to look at her. “Maybe.” He shrugged at her look. “I wouldn’t mind receiving some updated offers, given my last benchmark was what Quintus paid me. But Alessia is offering a house.”

“A large apartment or townhouse,” the lioness said drily. “What happens when Quintus or the twins slap down the keys to a small mansion in Albion, on the condition that you sign your life away to them for ten to twenty years? Plus a couple hundred grand a year.”

Not a word escaped Vince. The idea of receiving so much ran through his head several times before he began to process it.

Grimacing, he picked up his coffee cup and leaned back. It was a little weaker than he preferred. Not exactly his style.

“Well?” Nina pressed.

“Is that what they offered you to go corporate?” he asked.

She threw her head back and laughed. While sound definitely didn’t penetrate the anti-eavesdropping ward, they could see Nina’s reaction and Ally and Nicki looked over in confusion. He saw the fox press her fingers together, as if nervously trying to see when she could join them. Fia pulled Ally’s attention back to the bar.

“Fuck no,” Nina said, grinning from ear to ear. She ruffled his hair, pressing her hand into his head and nearly pushing his face into the coffee cup. “Fuck, Vince. Quintus really whipped you, huh? I was good. Good enough to get offers to take me off the street, or at least to get me away from Houou and the Golden Path. But I never beat Juliet, turned around the fortunes of a failing mafia, or went toe-to-toe with an eight-tail fox.”

Rising, she slugged back her coffee and swung an arm out. The anti-eavesdropping ward shattered with a surge of amber light.

Ally’s ears and tails shot up and she spun on her stool. Fia raised an eyebrow, only for Nina to nod at her.

“Enough chatter about this. It’s about time we welcomed this cute little fox to the pride,” Nina said. “Maybe you should pester Alessia about a four-bedroom house. This is a package deal, right?”

He frowned. “Like you said, I think she wants to make the offer to me alone, but I don’t exactly plan to go it alone.”

His girlfriend bent over and pressed her lips against his cheek. She lingered by his ear. “Just remember, I’m here for you. I doubt it will matter, as I know you’re here for more than hard cash, but just in case…” Nina turned his head to face her directly, and she stared into his eyes from an inch away. “Whatever happens, I’m with you.”

“I know. Love you,” he said, before stealing a kiss.

Nina spluttered and backed away. She scowled at him. “Not in front of the mobsters.”

The wolfgirls at the tables snickered at them, and one let out a wolf whistle. “Go on, put on a show! We’ve seen how big he is.”

Vince ran a hand down his face. Had the picture Pola taken of her riding him gotten around to the entire mafia by now? He bet Lucia was behind that.

Then again, Pola did like to preen over him. She could have been taunted into sharing the pic during the boozy Christmas parties the Lionettis held.

“Steady, girls,” Fia said.

Ally’s whole body had turned as red as her tails and hair. She held a mug of green tea between her hands, cupped as if it were her heart. A grinning harpy leaned over and whispered something in her ears that nearly caused her to drop her mug.

“I think we should rescue Ally from bad influences,” Vince said.

“Agreed.” Nina glared at Nicki, before raising her voice. “If you corrupt her, Nicki, I’ll feed you your own eggs.”

Nicki’s wings fluttered as she danced away from Ally, her talons clacking on the floor. “Hey! Also, I’m not laying any eggs.”

“That can be arranged.”

Redness ballooned on the harpy’s face before she spun and hid at the bar. Both sets of black wings attempted to shroud her figure.

Ally looked between Nina and Nicki in confusion, but Fia gently nudged her toward the booth. The duo joined them. An unspoken battle broke out between the women after Vince sat down, as the three women stared at each other and jostled for places beside Vince. Neither Fia nor Ally appeared willing to take Nina’s seat, while the lioness stepped back for once.

Eventually, Nina rolled her eyes, let out a huff, and plopped down opposite Vince. Ally demurely sat beside him, and Fia took the other side. Their tails rubbed against his side. Nina grinned at him.

“Foursome!” one of the wolfgirls yelled out from the tables.

“You’ll spend a week dreaming about foursomes in a hospital bed if you don’t can it,” Fia snapped back.

Chastised, the enforcer hunched her shoulders. A nearby capo rose and whacked her over the back of the head.

“Sorry about that,” Fia said to Ally. “We get rowdy in here at times, but the capos usually know when to shut up. We’re letting enforcers in here because of the exceptional circumstances.”

“It’s fine.” Ally shook her head with a small smile. “Some of otou-san’s friends act the same when they think I’m not in earshot or asleep. He puts on his scary face when they talk like that around me.”

“Scary face?” Fia asked.

“It’s, um, hard to explain.” The fox tapped her lip. “His eyes go wide, he tilts his head, cracks his knuckles, shows off his tattoos. He did it in public once when a police officer was harassing us and Mama chastised him.”

“I doubt the cop appreciated it,” Vince said.

“We got a phone call from the police chief that afternoon apologizing for the officer’s behavior.”

Nina and Fia went very still, before slowly pivoting their heads to stare at Vince. He did his best not to gulp.

Every time he thought he knew how terrifying Ally’s father could be, she somehow added some tidbit to make him more absurd. The man could publicly intimidate the NYPD and get an apology?

“Kiho did say he was a former kumicho,” Vince admitted. “I hate to ask, but do either of you know of the Golden Hurricane? I never looked up the name.”

Nina’s face went pale. “You’re kidding, right? You’re that Masuda?”

Ally flushed. “I didn’t think otou-san was that important. You’re not supposed to be able to leave the Yakuza.”

“Which is why it’s a big deal that your old man did.” Fia let out a hollow laugh. “I’ve heard his nickname before, because it comes up whenever you research the US Yakuza. He’s practically a myth, though. Retired over a decade before I was even born. We didn’t all carry around phones and cameras, so his magic is based on hearsay.”

“He knows virtuoso spells,” Nina said. “Everything other than that is rumor. He ever tell you much, Ally?”

“Only that he thought a formal magic education would be a waste of time,” Ally said. “He went to a sorcerer’s college in Japan at some point and said it was less useful than what he learned in the Yakuza.”

Both Nina and Fia pointedly stared at Vince, who glowered at them.

“I know what you’re thinking. Kiho already made the comparison,” he said. “Anyway, the idea is to make Ally feel welcome. Have you had a chance to speak with Alessia?”

Ally ran her fingers along the back of his hand but shook her head. “Lucia was busy and the bodyguards outside her office said to come back later. That’s why Pola stayed upstairs. She wanted to speak with her sister to help me.”

“Damn, she’s being a real sottocapo,” Fia said. “Alessia will have an existential crisis at this rate. She’s so used to taking everything on herself that the idea of having others help her or chastise her will cause her to fall to pieces.”

Nina smirked, while Ally appeared worried. Vince ran a hand through her hair and rubbed behind one of her fluffy fox ears, causing her to gasp.

“Don’t worry about Alessia,” he told her. “She’s a big rich wolfgirl. She can sort out her problems.”

While Ally giggled, Fia shot him a look of mild annoyance. Not necessarily the best joke given Alessia’s tantrum and his own troubles, but he stood by it.

No way in hell would he let everyone pin this on him. Lots of people had shitty stories to tell. He’d forged his own way in this shitty city. The choices he’d made that took him down more difficult paths were no different to Alessia’s decisions to make her own life harder.

In a way, they were similar. Both of them tended to stick to their guns instead of choosing the cushy path that would have solved their personal problems.

Fuck. No wonder Alessia had hired him after he mouthed off during their first lunch. She’d actively chosen to lead the mafia, despite possessing countless opportunities to walk away and live in some remote resort without a care. He’d told her that he chose more difficult enforcer work because he wanted to better himself and become something more than he was.

Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present.

“Um, I did want to ask about tonight,” Ally asked, hugging her mug close to her small chest again. Her tails attempted to shroud her body and tickled Vince’s face in the process. “I know security is tight, but last night was our first and… Um… I just…”

“Want to ride Vince’s dragon while the feelings are still fresh?” Nina offered.

Ally’s tails covered her face and a low whine escaped her.

“Don’t be mean,” Fia said. “I bet she wants to lay back and have everything taken care of for her.”

Steam practically rose from Ally’s head and she attempted to respond, but only a strangled squeal escaped.

“Wow.” Nina stared at Ally, and Fia joined her. “You really are innocent.”

“—not,” Ally mumbled.

Nina raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not. I just…” Ally peeled her tails away from her cherry-red face. “I’m not used to anything dirty.”

Vince saw Nina’s face light up, and knew she was about to point out that was the definition of “innocent.” He glared at her and mimed splashing his coffee on her. Raising her hands in surrender, the lioness leaned back with a grin.

“You’re worse than Alessia,” Fia noted. “You should work on the dirty talk at least a little. But on topic, I think you might need to fight for tonight.”

The wolfgirl looked at Nina, who grimaced and looked at Vince.

He sighed and patted Ally on the head. “I had wanted to spend the night with Nina. We’re holed up here thanks to the security concerns. Last night was a huge risk, and I only did it because Nina was still in hospital. Given her injury.”

Ally squeaked. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to get between you. I know that—”

Nina leaned over and pressed a hand against the fox’s face. Noises continued to escape Ally for several more seconds before she stopped.

“You’re new to this, and it’s nice to have someone who is at least a little shy about trying to steal Vince away.” Nina glared upward, as if trying to guess where Alessia’s office was—and Pola’s current location. “But the point of this being a pride is that we share Vince. We never established any rules or anything, but with four of us…”

“Uh, do I get a say in this?” Vince asked, half expecting all three of them to turn to him and say “no” like in some romantic comedy.

Fia rolled her eyes and tweaked his ear. “Yes, obviously. You’re the one we’re all dating, V. And I wouldn’t be dating you if you were the type of guy to meekly sit back and let us dominate you.” He swore he heard her mutter. “Mostly the opposite, given what Alessia needs.”

He pretended he hadn’t heard that, especially as Nina grinned from ear-to-ear and Ally’s eyes nearly burst from shock.

“With a fifth girl on the horizon, plus the unicorn trying to get in the bag, ground rules would be good,” Nina said. “Simple ones. Like Vince gets to choose.”

“I like simple.” Vince nodded. “Can I make a request?”

They all looked at him.

“No schedule,” he said. “I’ve seen and read stuff with them. I think I’d go crazy if we’re literally scheduling the times I spend with you.”

“Yeah, let’s not do that,” Fia drawled, to rapid agreement from the other girls. “The big one for me is that I’d like some solution to the ‘home’ issue.”

He stared at her, uncomprehending.

“Whenever you’re busy, you default to going home. But we don’t all live with you, and I doubt that’ll change anytime soon,” Fia said. She raised her hands. “I love you and all that, but I appreciate some alone time and my own place. Moving in together when we’ve been dating for a month is rushing things.”

“Definitely,” he said.

“That means Nina gets you most of the time, unless we bother you. When you’re really busy, we don’t want to drag you out of your routine. The security issue is temporary, but we need to set something up so either you get used to coming to us regularly, or we go to you more often without interrupting everyone’s favorite cuddlebug.”

“Oi,” Nina muttered.

Ally bit her lip. “Um, I know I’m new…”

“This is all new. Say what you want,” Fia said.

The fox nodded. “I wanted to arrange dates with Vince after the heist. Get to know him better outside the store. Wouldn’t that be the best way to break things up? We arrange consistent date days or nights, then, um, get him to ourselves.”

“Huh. Simple enough.” Fia scratched the side of her head. “I’m not a big date girl, so didn’t think that way.”

“A date can just be hanging out,” Nina said. “Honestly, that might be the best date sometimes. Laze around, drape yourself over Vince, make him pamper you. That sort of thing. He’s good at pampering.”

“Thanks,” he said, aware he was being talked about in the third-person by his girlfriends despite being in the middle of them.

Not that he was going to complain. While he joked about wanting a say, his inaction had caused this problem. The fact Fia and Pola hadn’t gotten upset with how much more attention he paid to Nina was a blessing. Admittedly, it was a blessing that came from working together with them. He saw them regularly, and they’d known how important his training had been.

That thought sobered him.

Sure, he was going around to chat with the conglomerates to get a measure of his worth, but Nina had flat out told him he might get an offer too good to pass up. How the hell could he work for a rival while dating Pola and Fia? Or with Ally now allying with the Lionettis?

Duilio’s words rang out in his mind. The old mafioso had called him family.

For all of Vince’s personal issues and tension with Alessia, he wouldn’t contest that comment. Walking away from the Lionettis felt like a bridge too far.

At the same time, he needed to affirm his place on the totem pole, instead of relying on Alessia’s doting. And the only way to do that was to follow Nina’s advice.

The meeting of Vince’s pride ended earlier than he expected. Then again, it was still morning. The interior lightning of the capo bar prevented him from understanding the exact time, so he almost thought it was night, but an entire day of work and meaningful progress awaited everyone.

Everyone bar him, that is.

“You heard Alessia earlier,” Fia said as the party broke up. “At least wait another day or two before trying to venture outside. It’s too early to say for sure how safe things are. We haven’t heard back from Kiyoko about the state of the Yakuza and rumors are still flying about what went down. If somebody takes a swing at you, the police will be too busy to help.”

“I get it, I get it,” Vince said.

Nina was under similar restrictions, but with her arm mostly healed she barged her way into one of the training rooms inside the tower. Vince knew little about them, except that they weren’t at the level of modern ateliers like the one they’d rented out in advance of the heist.

Lionetti Tower was old, and it hadn’t been intended to be a one-stop shop for literally everything the mafia needed. The ateliers and training rooms had been constructed to supplement for intensive facilities elsewhere in the city. Upgrading them would require extensive alterations to the tower, including its wards and structure.

So Vince held off. Plus, he’d had his fill of endless days of training. A week or two off from endlessly casting spells would be good for him.

All work and no play made Vince a dull boy.

“You certainly squeezed in plenty of play,” Daji teased. “I couldn’t say much back then, but I certainly observed you enjoying your women quite often. It’ll be even more fun to watch in person.”

He groaned and pressed his head against the wall outside Alessia’s office. Fia and the others had vanished, leaving him alone up here. Not that he planned on talking with Alessia, but he lacked anything to do or somewhere else to go. Except back to his room. Ally hummed around the corner in the conference room and one of the bodyguards raised an eyebrow at him.

You don’t plan on interrupting me, do you? he asked in his thoughts.

“I could try giving you some advice. Sit on the head of the bed and point out when you’re going too fast or too slow,” Daji said. “Although I’d probably get it wrong. I receive rather than give. Maybe if I could give advice to your pets about how to give a better blowjob…?”

Vince didn’t dignify that with an answer. She laughed at him anyway.

The door to Alessia’s office opened and Lucia and Pola trooped outside. Frustration marred the silver-haired heiress’s face, but she quickly brightened upon seeing him.

“Oh, are we spending the day together?” she asked him, wrapping herself around his arm.

“You don’t have any work?” he asked.

“She does,” Lucia said, one hand on her hips. “Stabilizing our territory is the highest priority and she’s taken plenty of time off for you as it is. We can’t afford—”

“—to look weak, I get it.” Pola sighed. “Don’t lecture me about the obvious, Lucia. I’m getting the old fogeys to help us out, particularly as we reckon the other gangs will get more annoying now the south has settled down. The blackshirts are so focused on the south, especially after the cartel bloodied their nose, that they aren’t sweating the small stuff. And Houou’s too busy to protect their vassals. It’s a good time to claim back more of our turf in Albion.”

Pola clenched a fist and grinned toothily. Determination glittered in her green eyes and her ear twitched.

Part of Vince wanted to ask who this woman was and where the petty, selfish, short-sighted woman he’d first dated had gone. But he knew better. Pola had grown up a lot, fast.

What was the saying? Adversity brings out the best and the worst in people? Pola had definitely shown her best lately, despite how hard things had been.

Lucia smiled at Pola and gave her a soft jab in the arm. “You’re doing great, sottocapo. Feel free to drag Vince upstairs for a quickie so long as you remember to do your job.”

That earned the bodyguard a glare, even as Pola tightened her grip on Vince.

He coughed to distract them. “Uh, am I still staying in your condo?”

“You… don’t want to?” Pola’s ear fell and she looked at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t think that’s what he was saying,” Lucia said drily. “We cleaned up the other condo a bit. It’s still a mess, but at least one of the rooms is usable. Given your… tension with the boss, it’s your call if you use it. On the other hand, things might be simpler if you force her to listen to you fuck the shit out of Nina tonight.”

Pola smirked. “Oh. That. Sis can keep masturbating as far as I care.”

“Blunt,” Vince said flatly.

“You’re mine.” She pouted. “I already have to share you with the new girl, Ally. She’s cute, but Sis can wait a few months. Or years.”

Yeah, Pola and Alessia had argued over him in that room. He rubbed the back of his neck.

Lucia grinned at him. “I’d make a suggestion, but I’m guessing you already talked about this downstairs.”

“In detail.” He shook his head. “My real worry is cramming everyone in. It’s probably for the best if we spread out across both condos. Especially as it seems like I won’t be returning to my apartment for a bit.”

“You can start staying at the penthouse from tomorrow night if nothing goes wrong,” Lucia said. “Assume you’ll be out and about tomorrow, but under lock and key at night.”

“Good. I want to catch up with people and start planning for our hit on Mei,” he said, mostly telling the truth.

He could kill two birds with one stone. Ask about corporate offers and gather allies for the attack on Mei. They needed more than just the Lionettis to take out the crazed eight-tail fox after all.

Pola followed Lucia’s advice and dragged him upstairs to the condo. The “quickie” ended up being a solid hour of sweaty sex that was only interrupted by Fia practically kicking the door down. An important meeting was about to happen, and Pola needed to clean up for it.

As much as his billionaire girlfriend had improved in some ways, she’d remained the same in others. He listened to her squawk and protest as Fia pushed her into the bathroom.

Ally came by for lunch, and he ordered some food from the hotel by texting Lucia. There was probably a more direct method, but it wasn’t like the condo had a tablet loaded with an app or anything. And he didn’t want to deal with any strange questions if he tried using the phone.

For the first time in a while, he went for something simple but great. He’d asked for a rare steak and got a big tender ribeye with perfect grill marks, a quenelle of garlic and herb butter atop it, and sides of the creamiest mash he’d eaten and grilled asparagus. The quality of the meat and perfect sear suggested he’d pay far too much for this in a restaurant.

Ally stuck with a crab roll. Always a good choice, Vince had to admit. Even if the sake wasn’t typical.

“You prefer seafood, don’t you?” he asked her after they finished.

She smiled and lowered her tails. “I ate it almost every day when I grew up. At least one meal a day would involve seafood. My parents went beyond Japanese food, but preferred seafood dishes in general. Or maybe otou-san preferred it.” She shrugged. “Mama did grow up in a part of Japan famous for its fishing, though.”

Vince recalled Kiho mentioning her last stand had been at Hakodate, which he recalled seeing mentioned in a documentary about Japanese fishing and fish markets. Not that he was knowledgeable enough to place it on a map.

“North-eastern Japan, right?” he asked.

“Yes. I believe Mama grew up along the coast between Sendai and the northern reaches of Honshu, Japan’s main island. Supposedly, most of the foxes who became clanless and fled here came from that area due to how the Boshin War played out.” Ally shrugged. “Mei tried educating me a little about my history, mentioning that she could have secured me a shrine near Sendai if I returned to Japan. I… wonder how much she said was true.”

“Hard to say.” Vince leaned over and wrapped an arm around the fox’s shoulder, causing her to let out an “eep” and wave her tails around. “I feel Mei had plans within plans, and backup plans for those. If everyone knew she was behind the old emperor’s death and did nothing, she probably could have walked away from her plans at any time.”

Rules, laws, conventions—all the things that were intended to stop people like Mei from doing what they did only worked if they were actually used. Once those with the power to stop madness like hers failed to do anything, she became effectively immune to consequences.

No wonder she’d felt free to take such insane risks. At no point did she ever suffer in the past, even when caught. If anything, she had been encouraged.

Vince vaguely wondered what Quintus would say about Mei if the ancient demon spoke honestly on the matter.

“You don’t need to worry about Mei anymore,” he said. “You have us.”

Ally smiled. “I know. I spoke with Alessia. The contractual details will need to be ironed out with lawyers, and I’ll ask Mama for help finding one. Alessia made it clear that while she could provide me with a lawyer, it would be foolish to accept, given any lawyer would have a conflict of interests.”

“That sounds like Alessia. Any conglomerate would have just given you a lawyer or a bunch of business cards without the warning, but she gives advice that hurts herself.”

“It makes her trustworthy, though. Otou-san would like her. He, um, once told me about this sort of business approach. Modern businesses treat their best allies and customers like dirt, taking them for granted, and instead expend resources attracting everyone else. But he believes that you treat those close to you perfectly, with the understanding that if they turn on you, there’ll be no mercy. All business is personal, according to him.”

“That’s a very unique way to view things,” Vince mused.

Was that the criminal blood shared between the Yakuza and mafia? Or simply an old-school way of thinking?

But, yes, all business being personal certainly fit Alessia’s ethos. A fact that was causing Vince no end of consternation.

He whiled away the afternoon on reading. He picked up a textbook on magical wards, with a particular focus on advanced home defense. It had a prepper feel, as if the author expected magical government agents to bust into his magical drug lab. Maybe it was all the wards about trying to hide huge heat and magical signatures, or the advice about building and warding large underground structures.

Daji provided commentary at times, mostly to point out inefficiencies or wards that flat out wouldn’t work.

But as the warm glow of sunset washed through the windows of the condo, Vince realized he’d accomplished little today. When his phone buzzed, he received the push he needed to finally act.

A message from Gabriela had arrived. Figure you’re laying low. Appreciate the warning the other night. Was hell getting reason into the peanut-sized brains of the other captains, but those who rode out at least believed me when I said they were riding into a trap. Keen for a drink with the girls to thank you?

No doubt the unicorn beastkin wanted to use the drinks as a chance to get closer to him, and maybe offer him a job. She led one of the Mane Eleven, which were the biggest gangs of the beastkin cartel.

Unfortunately, while he wanted a job offer, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask would be smart around her entire gang.

I do want to catch up, but I think it might be best if it’s one-on-one, he replied. I might be safe to move around the city tomorrow, but Sunday is best. I have something big to ask.

Gabriela didn’t reply for nearly an hour, despite his fast response. Vince moved on. For all he knew, she was out with her girls. Unlike him, she led an entire gang. She was doubtlessly as busy as Pola.

Nina trooped in for dinner, alongside Fia. While they argued over what to eat, as both wanted to have something to share but couldn’t agree on the cuisine, Gabriela’s reply finally came through.

You’re acting suspicious. Gabriela added an animated emoji of a catgirl holding up a magnifying glass, only for the catgirl to have her head blown off, along with the magnifying glass. I’ve learned not to shove my horn down rabbit holes. I can do one-on-one, and can keep it private. Come out to this café and let’s talk business. Or whatever you’re up to.

She attached the details of a café in the north-west of Aulfair, beyond Albion and well into the older parts of the city. Not exactly the sort of place he’d expect to meet with a cartel captain, but that was probably the point.

See you then. And I’ll see if I can give you something worth sticking your horn into, he said.

Then he read back the message and quickly added. I didn’t mean me, by the way.

Don’t worry. I’m all about riding horns. Gabriela added a winking emoji.

Nina raised an eyebrow at the messages, and he slid his phone into his pocket. She knew what it was really about, at least.

Vince had organized his first discussion about his future, as well as to potentially gain allies to battle Mei. He’d find out what Gabriela might have to say or offer if he wanted to go corporate, or as close as it got in the cartel. As a cartel captain keen to claim him as her mate, she’d almost certainly have something interesting to say.

- - - - -

Commentary: Forgot to schedule this, but I was also on the fence about making changes to it. It's staying as it is for now. Chapters should hopefully speed up from now on.

We're moving into the meat of this mini-arc, where Vince goes to gather allies and talk about how much he should make. I'll make sure some action happens during it.