Mob Sorcery 2 - Ch6

Chapter 6

The last time Vince visited Lionetti Tower during the day, he’d sat inside Fia’s car while she went inside. He’d only seen it from the street.

Even so, he’d known it would appear both more and less imposing than in the night.

In the dark, the true form of Aulfair’s great skyscrapers transformed into looming towers of light, lit by various LED advertisements along their towering bulks or the handful of floors still illuminated for workers burning the midnight oil. The shadows of birdfolk flitted past them, but for the most part, the city bathed in an almost overwhelming glow. Sometimes a magical glow, in certain parts of the city.

But in the stark indifference of daylight, every monolithic tower of Aulfair needed to stand on its own merits. The city center became a monolith of a different kind. One where architectural standards and building costs had resulted in a mass of eerily similar skyscrapers, save for cultural landmarks like the Tri Sommet. One could walk a half-dozen blocks and question if they’d moved at all.

Standing beneath Lionetti Tower, Vince knew he wouldn’t feel that way.

When he had first arrived here, he’d called it dated. The building was more stone than glass, with edges and columns jutting out to provide support. Much of it appeared to be aesthetic. Given the Sommet had been built in the 1930s, he guessed this tower might date back to the founding of Aulfair, even.

That dated facade gave the tower a truly imposing appearance. It loomed over Albion. Businessfolk trooped by, often under the watchful eye of security personnel and a handful of wandering Lionetti enforcers, who were out in the open given the current ruckus.

The lights of the illegal casino at the top of the tower remained lit, though. Presumably, the high rollers up there never stopped blowing cash. Vince vaguely wondered if there was some sort of swanky hotel supporting them and how many enforcers were dedicated to making it run efficiently.

Or, given what Alessia had described, which branch family got to run it. Perhaps her family owned and ran it directly.

“Done admiring the architecture?” Fia asked him as she wandered up with a couple of coffees.

She’d grabbed them from some local café, naturally. Fia struck Vince as the sort of girl to avoid big brand coffee places at all costs. He wondered if her tail stood on end if she entered a chain store.

“We’re not enjoying some fancy coffee from Alessia’s machine?” he asked her, taking the coffee.

“No. We’ll be on the level, but in one of the conference rooms. I don’t want to bother her or anyone else for stuff,” she said. “Plus, her machine is terrible.”

“It’s a magical espresso machine that probably cost as much as your car. The literal magic kind.”

“Yeah, and it still sucks. Maybe the sorcerers who made it should have learned how to make coffee before they worked on the spells for creating coffee.” Fia stuck her tongue out at him. “When my cheap and cheerful moka pot can outdo Alessia’s Mercedes espresso machine, you know that magic has gone too far.”

“No, I don’t think it has. It tasted a lot better than the shitty drip machine in my place.”

Fia stared at him in horror. Actual horror, rather than mock horror.

Evidently terrible drip coffee did not pass for real coffee in her mind.

“No wonder you live on energy drinks,” she said.

“Oh, fuck off.” He walked past her and toward the entrance to the tower.

A half-dozen suited security thugs patrolled the atrium. They froze up as Fia walked past and she waved for them to return to work. If any enforcers were nearby, they likely holed up in the hidden security room.

“You have a stove-top, right?” she asked him as they entered the elevator.

“No, I cook my food on top of a clothes iron.”

Fia’s eyes widened and her ears and tail shot up. Before she could say or offer anything too foolish, Vince placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in.

“That was a joke,” he said.

Her ears drooped. “Oh. I knew that.”

“Uh huh.”

“Totally weren’t thinking you lived in some condemned building or something.”

“I live with Nina, you know. Do you think she would put up with something like that?”

“Dunno. Maybe she retired because the police bankrupted her. Wouldn’t be the first enforcer who got hit with a multi-million dollar fine.”

Vince stared at the door for several long seconds. The elevator hummed around them, working its way toward the upper floors, where Alessia’s office resided.

“You hadn’t heard about that?” Fia asked, surprised.

“I knew the fines got bad, but not that bad,” he mumbled.

“Yeah. The city can get real pissy. There’s some sort of oversight committee once a fine hits six-figures to limit abuse. That’s usually how corporate enforcers get off, as the conglomerates lean on the committee members. Most enforcers only get one get-out-of-jail free card, though. It also doesn’t apply for really serious stuff.”

“I’m pretty sure we can still go to jail for serious stuff,” Vince said.

“Not that type of serious.  I’m talking like major property damage, inflicting economic peril on Aulfair, or anything that attracts federal attention.” Fia frowned. “There’s a specific list of stuff I was taught, because even as a Lionetti enforcer, committing it means I’m pretty screwed. Burn down an office building in the city center and you’re probably ruined.”

“Federal attention?”

“You know, making the national news as a violent enforcer during a conference that’s about convincing the federal government to loosen its restrictions on the catalyst trade. I don’t think it’s literally written that way, but it’s the same effect.”

Vince stared at Fia, and she smirked at him.

The doors opened.

“Hey, what are you two doing looking at each other like that?” Pola asked.

She stood only a few feet outside the elevator, leaning toward them with her tail lashing the ground. Her nose twitched as her eyes latched onto Vince.

“I was suggesting that Vince buy a moka pot,” Fia said.

“You were?” he asked.

“Good coffee is important.”

“He doesn’t have an espresso machine?” Pola asked, the confusion in her voice surprisingly genuine.

Fia and Vince looked at the Lionetti princess, who simply blinked back at them.

“No, Pola, he doesn’t. I don’t.” Fia rolled her eyes as she left the elevator, pushing Pola aside.

“You can definitely afford one,” Vince said.

“Maybe, but I have other things to spend my money on. Like booze, cigarettes, gas, steak, booze, gambling, drugs—”

Pola’s eyes turned into slits. “You said you quit.”

Fia froze. “That was a joke, Pola.”

Pola winced and rubbed the back of her neck. Both wolves gave Vince sidelong glances, but refused to look at him.

Huh. Seemed Fia’s involvement with drugs might be a sore point. Vince had figured she used at least a little, given her background.

This response suggested something worse might have happened. Not that he had any business getting involved in Fia’s past or private life. She seemed like the sort of girl who could take care of herself.

Vince stepped out of the elevator and came close enough to Pola to make himself nervous. Her nose twitched again.

Any second now, she’d tear him a new one over Nina. Just as Alessia had, once given the opening.

“Alessia’s in the war room,” Pola said.

“We have a war room?” Fia asked.

“It’s the old office that Papa used to use for family matters,” Pola said, tone softening. “We haven’t used it since…”

Fia bit her lip. “I didn’t think anyone went in there.”

“I think Alessia still keeps Papa’s old study the same. The maintenance spells keep everything pristine.”

“Wait, there’s another office bigger than Alessia’s?” Vince blurted out. “You’re telling me that the castle-like one she’s using isn’t even the one for the head of the family?”

Both women looked at him with amusement.

“No, hers is far bigger,” Pola said, lips quirking upward. “This floor used to be dedicated to managing the Lionetti family. The boss, underboss, and advisor worked here with a team of staff. Capos came up here for planning and meetings pretty often. Alessia and I were learning as well.” Her eyes clouded over.

“These days, it’s far quieter,” Fia said quickly. “Alessia works out of her father’s old office, but he also had a private study for less public affairs.”

Vince suspected the use of “affair” might have been at least partly intentional. But whatever intimate activities the former Lionetti patriarch got up to, Pola’s expression and the care Alessia took for the old room suggested it played an important role in their lives.

“We should meet with Alessia,” Pola said. “I don’t like leaving her alone up here, knowing she’s wandering around more of the floor.”

They set off further into the building. A small team of enforcers guarded the exit from the lobby that the elevator opened into. They’d studiously ignored the group until now, instead playing cards the entire time. Pola nodded at them, and they nodded back. One shot finger guns at Vince and grinned at him.

He recognized her, like quite a few enforcers, from the night at the arcade.

“Isn’t she often up here alone?” Vince said once they exited the lobby.

Pola winced. “I mean, yeah. But not ‘alone alone.’ She sticks to her office and maybe the big conference room that we meet in with the capos once a week.”

“Sometimes,” Fia corrected. “Every so often, Pola’s gotten half of them plastered and they’re no good for the meeting. So I have a drink with Alessia in her office and we go over the plans, which I pass onto Pola in the bar. Or with the other capos in a half-dozen other places across our turf.”

That felt as disorganized as it got. No wonder the Lionettis struggled to regain territory.

Vince wondered why Fia hadn’t gotten some sort of promotion. Then again, there didn’t appear to be an official role above capo. Alessia was the boss and Pola ran the capos. Every other capo was supposedly equal in rank.

Beyond the lobby lay a corridor full of closed doors with silver labels. Alessia’s office door remained open, but nobody was inside. The corridors emitted no noise save for their footsteps as they wandered through them. No cleaning staff or enforcers lingered.

Pola led them past Alessia’s office and through the corridors. Every door remained closed. The labels varied from elaborate names for meeting and conference rooms, to toilets, kitchenettes, and office rooms. Vince wondered how large the staff that had worked for the old family patriarch had been.

Eventually, he saw another open door. A pair of familiar enforcers stood outside it. Not in suits today, but they were the same wolfgirls from lunch yesterday. Their phones dangled from their hands as they stared down the corridor. They appeared to be expecting Vince and the others.

He finally realized that of the trio, only he made any noise as he walked. Fia raised an eyebrow when he looked at her.

“Feeling a little lead-footed?” she asked.

“I’m surprised you don’t have those fancy floors that creak no matter how quietly you walk on them,” he said.

Pola snorted. “You think we can’t walk silently on a nightingale floor? We’re wolffolk. No pathetic human trick would work on us like that.”

“Also, if we really need to detect people, the entire building is rigged with sensory magic,” Fia said. “Not to mention all the other wards and defensive measures we have. More than a few rivals have taken swings at Lionetti Tower in the past. There’s a reason Houou waited until…” she trailed off with a pained expression and looked away.

Pola’s own expression had darkened, but it returned to normal. She clicked her tongue. “It’s fine, Fia. Let’s go.”

The sottocapo strode past the enforcers and into the room beyond. Fia grabbed Vince’s arm before he followed her.

“Um, sorry,” she said.

“For?” he asked.

“I’m close to Pola. It’s easy for me to bring this stuff up, but I forget that she doesn’t like to talk about it around others, even if I feel comfortable talking about it around you.” Fia sighed. “Anyway, there’s some good news. Her nose might be as busted as mine.”

“Talking about all that fun our boy is clearly having?” one of the enforcers said, grinning.

Fia glared at her, and the enforcer only grinned wider.

“Yeah, that,” Vince said drily. “I expected Pola to tear me a new one. Or do something.”

“I expected the meeting to be put on hold for a few hours,” Fia said.

Vince opened his mouth to reply, but she dragged him into the room.

He stopped dead the moment he crossed its boundary, and Fia’s hand slipped from his jacket. His eyes soaked in the “war room,” as Pola had described it.

Old maps hung from the walls next to magical amulets and tools. Those maps depicted Aulfair’s boundaries in varying states and ages, often with water sources that had long since been redirected or built over. The shaded territory on it waxed and waned, but covered vast swathes of the city.

A far cry from the Lionetti family of today.

An old computer sat in the corner, hooked up to what appeared to be a ceiling-mounted projector system. One wall remained clear of cruft, presumably for that projector. But, curiously, so did the center of the room, which also contained a raised platform roughly three feet in diameter.

He noted that the doorway seemed oddly thick. The door itself looked identical to every other one he’d seen, though. An old, thick wooden log with both a regular doorknob and a separate deadlock. No deadbolts, though. As much as the Lionettis cared about security, they didn’t care for being locked out of their own property.

“Curious about our security?” Alessia asked.

She stood by a bookcase in the corner. Rather than books, it contained reams of leather ring binders, each in a separate case. One lay open in her hands as she flicked through the pages inside it. Her clothes today turned out to be a simple white and black skirt and top combo, with minimal frills or accents save for the lacy edges of her white stockings.

“The Lionettis use ring binders?” he asked, ignoring her question in favor of getting to the bottom of his own bemusement.

“We used to. While we’ve purged many of the family’s records to avoid any contradictions between reality and recollection”—Alessia smirked at her comment—“much of my predecessors’ activities have been studiously recorded on paper. High-level financial records, branch family movements, family trees, political ructions—the works. Anything that wasn’t so sensitive it couldn’t be written down or that didn’t need to be destroyed to avoid legal issues.”

“Like lying about one thing but having written records saying another,” Vince said.

“Yes, exactly.” Alessia closed her binder delicately and replaced it on the bookcase. “There’s not too much here of value. Much of it was digitized by my father, and he moved away from written records himself more than twenty years ago.”

Vince’s eyes locked onto the computer in the corner.

“Not on that computer,” she said drily.

“I was going to ask if he had a time machine.”

“If he did…” Alessia bit her lip and her tail stiffened.

An awkward silence descended.

Well, shit. Vince should have thought before running his mouth. Fia poked him in the back with one finger, which didn’t go unnoticed by Pola.

“Uh, sorry,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine. The mood is a touch dour in here, I’ll admit.” Alessia strode over to the computer and began clicking away at it. “But this room is better equipped for this sort of planning. Both in terms of security precautions but also presentation. Detailed maps of the city are stored here. Although they’re no match for up-to-date scouting of any location we need to hit.”

Pola looked away as Alessia gave her a pointed stare.

“I take it there’s a story behind that,” Vince said, glad for the change of topic.

“Pola once organized a getaway for a raid that went through an alleyway,” Fia drawled. “Only that alley turned out to be a solid building.”

“How was I to know they’d rebuilt the hotel and claimed the entire alley?” Pola whined.

“Maybe by looking at it? Or checking the address on the news?” Fia shook her head. “We Googled the place and the first hit was a news story about how the hotel had driven out commercial neighbors by blocking off the alley and their rear loading bay.”

Pola bared her teeth, ready to go to war over an old story, while Fia rolled her shoulders and grinned.

“So we’re not going to rely entirely on outdated maps,” Alessia interrupted, glaring at both women. “Although I do recall that this situation started because you fought Kaziern while scouting, Vince. Did you take any photos?”

“A couple. Not sure if they’ll be any good. I usually rely on memory.”

Despite that, he pulled out his phone. Pola and Fia appeared next to him, their heads hovering just below his and their tails thumping against the back of his legs.

“Oh, those are some pretty good photos of the depot,” Fia said. “I only gave the place a brief look a few weeks ago, when we first started talking about this operation, but they’ve got a pretty sweet setup there.”

“You haven’t been more recently?” he asked, surprised.

“I ordered everyone to steer clear of major Kaziern sites unless it was part of their usual travel or duties,” Alessia said. “If we started poking around, they’d know we were planning something.”

He nodded.

Weeks, huh. No wonder Alessia had an offer for him so quickly. Who else had she planned to hire for the job, he wondered.

“With the depot like this, they can’t protect the yard and the main building.” Pola poked his phone and accidentally swiped to the next picture. She then swiped back. “We can—”

“Do nothing,” Alessia growled. “You’re not part of the assault force, Pola. And I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Vince, send me the photos so I can put them on the projector. Then we’ll start this strategy meeting. I had an agenda but…” She looked at her sister, who continued to swipe through the photos on his phone. “Well, I’ll make do.”

“As always,” Fia drawled.

Pola blinked and looked up. “Hmm?”

“Who do I send these to?” Vince asked.

Fia shrugged and looked at Alessia. Pola remained oblivious.

Now it was Alessia’s turn to teleport to his side. “May I?” she asked, holding her hand out for his phone.

He wasn’t one to hand over his phone to anyone. Only Nina, usually.

Even so, Alessia held the purse strings. Refusing this request couldn’t hurt.

He handed his phone over and her fingers deftly tapped away for half a minute. Then she handed it back before returning to the computer. There, she tapped away.

After another minute, the projector above them clicked on and whirred to life. Lights shined down on the raised platform and the blank wall. Then the one on the platform turned off.

The photo of the transport depot appeared on the wall.

“Let’s go through these,” Alessia said, holding up a small remote that presumably controlled the projector. “Then we’ll talk about other matters.”

“There are other matters?” Pola asked.

“Yes. Like defense.” Alessia shot her sister a look.

“Oh. I thought I already had that handled?”

“You do, but…” Alessia sighed. “Look, we’re briefing Vince, right? Do you remember talking to Vince about this stuff?”

“No. But…” Pola’s mouth made an “O” shape, and her face reddened. “I get it.”

“Good. Now, let’s talk business.”

Business turned out to be recapping much of what Nina had already told him about both sites, but refreshing his memory proved useful. Fia eyed him curiously throughout the “briefing.”

The two locations were simple: a transport depot moving Kaziern’s illegal supplements out of Aulfair, and an old factory-turned-office that was being used to cut those supplements with magical catalysts. Presumably, Houou supplied the catalysts in the industrial quantities that Kaziern needed, but the lions had the customer book.

Vince cared little about the business side of things, but he at least understood the basics. Kaziern were both a middleman and retailer for Houou’s illegal catalyst import business. Aulfair supplied the USA with almost all the magical catalysts it needed, but with the recent federal restrictions on catalysts, it became safer to manufacture using the catalysts inside Aulfair as well.

Kaziern weren’t drug smugglers. They were an agribusiness company, with the customer books to match and they usually specialized in importing expensive farm equipment and huge quantities of restricted goods such as fertilizers. Houou needed their knowledge of both agriculture to target the right goods and their customer book.

Which left Vince with one question he didn’t ask: what did the Lionettis plan to do once they defeated Kaziern and took their business from them?

In the past, he got the impression that Kaziern had been subordinate to the Lionettis. Did that mean the Lionettis had used Kaziern for the same trade? Would Alessia just take over the illegal crop supplement business in the same way that conglomerates often start supplying the many middleman drug dealers in their turf?

If so, Vince knew he’d be in for plenty of work even after the Golden Path had been pushed out. The Lionettis weren’t merely taking back turf. They were taking business, and with it, profits.

And with Pola less than reliable as the chief enforcer, he’d have challenging and well-paying work.

“You don’t seem to be paying much attention,” Fia said, interrupting his thoughts.

He winced. “Uh, we’re going over a lot of what I already know. The depot will be heavily defended and warded, other than the yard. If they have any warning, they’ll lock the place down heavily enough that I’ll struggle to break in even with my dragon. But the office will be easy to break into, even if it might be a huge maze inside that might turn into a real brawl.”

“That’s a good summary,” Alessia admitted. “You’ve prepared for this.”

“I had some advice from a veteran.”

Her eyes narrowed, but a small smile rose to her lips. “I can guess who.”

“You can?” Pola asked quietly, her expression hardening. “Really?”

The other wolves looked at her, then Vince.

“I know some fairly talented enforcers. It’s important when you’re in the trade,” he said, only half-lying.

Well, he told himself that he was only half-lying.

Pola didn’t even nod. “Uh huh. If the depot is the most heavily defended, then you’ll hit the office first. That will create a distraction. Kaziern won’t know our real target. They’ll send everyone to retake it, just like they tried to take the shopping mall back. But we’ll be ready this time, and they can’t use the police to defend them inside a corporate building. While we fend them off, you go take the depot.”

Vince stared at her. That actually sounded like a real plan, and more or less what he’d first thought of before Nina told him not to go through with it.

“Taking both sites in one night is too ambitious,” Alessia warned. “The risk—”

“The risk is high no matter what,” Pola growled. “The police might lock down the entire area again for the lions. Maybe the Golden Path have an attack force already prepared. Or Kaziern drop Houou’s cash on some sorcerers to erect emergency wards around the depot.”

Fia and Vince nodded.

“It has to be done in one night,” he said. “Mostly because of the Golden Path. They’re already preparing to move.”

“You’re sure?” Alessia asked, eyes wide.

Pola glared at the wall, while Fia gave her a concerned look.

“A friend of a friend told me,” he said.

“So Pola’s plan—” Alessia began to say.

“Was my original plan,” he admitted.

The wolf in question looked at him, her ears and tail rising as her breath caught. Fia rubbed the back of her neck, likely guessing what came next.

“Original,” Pola said slowly. She seemed to deflate. Her tail fell first, followed by her ears flattening, and then her eyes closed. “Fuck. I thought I had this one. It’s obvious, right? If you hit the depot first, it’ll take longer and there’ll be an army at the office. Kaziern will also know this is a huge deal. They’ll scramble everything and call in every favor from Houou.”

“It’s risky, but so is hitting both sites in one night,” he said. “I’ll hit the depot first because I need to take it out before they can activate the defenses. Once they do, I can’t break into it without attracting police attention.”

“Of course.” Fia nodded. “I figured you might be able to crack those, but I guess your dragon doesn’t give you magical ward penetration spells, huh?”

“No. I wouldn’t be surprised if the depot had a meister-tier ward on it, but even wizard-tier ones powered by a generator would be difficult to penetrate. I’ve had to do it before. It’s like trying to break through a thousand barriers.”

Active wards and barriers acted like supercharged protection spells, but could use external power sources, unlike measly mortals like Vince. His barrier shattered once it got hit hard enough. A building’s barrier could absorb as much damage as either the output rating of the spell or generator, or until the power source ran dry.

Fortunately, there was no such thing as a centralized magical power grid. But building-level barriers could theoretically withstand nuclear weapons with enough magic backing them.

“How will you handle the enforcers who scramble to defend Kaziern’s turf?” Alessia asked.

“With my dragon. I beat them all last time. I’ll do it again,” he said.

“And at the depot as well?” She frowned. “I suppose you did take it with you when you fled the shopping mall, given the footage I saw of your escape.”

He shook his head. “Absolutely not. I can only maintain the dragon for so long before it starts tearing at me inside, even if I’m downing infusions. And good infusions cost me a ton. I’ll need the dragon ready for any Golden Path counterattack.”

“Smart. That brings us to the next topic.”

Alessia fiddled with the computer and the photos vanished from the wall.

In their place appeared one of a dozen multi-tailed mystic foxes lined up on a wooden floor, all of them kneeling in front of a huge stage full of strange metallic statues of foreign figures. At the same time, the raised platform in the center of the room lit up. A glowing image of Lionetti Tower appeared there.

“We’re currently preparing for some sort of direct attack against either myself or Pola,” Alessia said. “Houou is aware that we’re moving against them with force, and with more success than previously. They’re pumping funds into Kaziern, allowing Tobias Gawlik to throw almost anything at us.”

“Like a vampire,” Vince said.

“Yes. Like Juliet Forest. Her failure to deal with you is gratifying to my decision to hire you, but worrying nonetheless. It shows that Gawlik cares not for the expense of stopping us. Whatever debts he owes to Houou pale in comparison to whatever he feels he gains with victory. I suspect he will stop at nothing short of destroying us this time. Perhaps his masters have grown tired of him.”

“Wouldn’t the foxes get in shit if they publicly took over the area?” Fia asked. “I thought that’s why they always operated through Kaziern.”

“I’ve heard rumors that things are changing. There are massive funds flowing into Aulfair during the conference, and they’re not entirely related to the sorcerer association holding it.”

Vince narrowed his eyes. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the unknown foxes I saw at that fancy dinner event last night?”

“You were there?” Alessia sounded deeply confused.

“No. I saw everyone arriving on TV.”

“Oh.” Alessia shook her head, as if dispelling the thought that he’d somehow broken into the restaurant. “Yes, you’re correct. They appear to be representatives of a major Japanese trade association. At least on the surface. A lot of money is flowing into Aulfair through them, and I understand it’s difficult to track. Many sorcerers don’t want it to be tracked, either. If Japan is willing to buy their loyalty, they’ll happily go along with it, especially given how difficult relations between sorcerers and the current US government are.”

Vince felt his mind wandering. This sounded less like something that affected him directly and more like weird trade politics that shifted winds.

Sure, he’d feel it. But in the same way that a butterfly could flap its wings and apparently cause hurricanes.

“Do you think Houou will attack directly?” he asked.

“Never,” Alessia said flatly. “They always act through the Golden Path unless dealing with other conglomerates or with threats they truly want to quash. At worst, they’ll assign a fox or two to the Golden Path if they can’t find an enforcer talented enough. They won’t risk the public embarrassment of police arrests, given many of their enforcers have other roles in their clans. They’re very focused on face and their public image.”

“So that means Kaziern is the true threat.” Vince looked at the tower. “Are you locking down this tower?”

“Close enough. Pola and I will remain here for the next few nights, until you launch your attack—”

“I’ll attack tomorrow, if there’s no issue.”

Pola nodded happily. “Great.”

Her sister rolled her eyes. “Regardless, we’ll lock down the tower. That limits the ability of Kaziern to attack us directly. It also means we’ll deploy to assist you from here. When you seize the transport depot, Pola and her enforcers will use one of our teleport rooms to come to you. Fia will give you a beacon before you leave that will let them focus on you.”

A low whistle escaped Vince. Teleportation was usually the stuff of magic shows and fancy movies.

Sure, almost every magic school could technically do it. The hard part was doing it quickly, surviving in one piece, and getting to the right location.

Almost everywhere emitted some level of magical distortion that made focusing on it hard. The idea of hit squads teleporting in to whack somebody and teleporting out failed because of both spellcasting speed, but also because the natural distortion mages gave off ruined teleportation spells.

Most times, the teleporting mage wound up inside solid rock and ended up dead instead of his would-be victim.

“Wait, you’re supporting me?” he asked.

“We need to defend the territory after you capture it,” Fia drawled. “I’ll be remaining here to provide advice and support. If that earpiece of yours doesn’t do anything more than translate, I’ll give you one that can actually receive signals.”

“It does.”

“Then we’ll sort that out you before you leave today.”

Everything else turned out to be of little consequence. After Alessia went over everything for good measure, Vince sorted things out with Fia.

Then he left. Assuming Kaziern didn’t try anything, tomorrow would be the big day.

He’d take Kaziern’s facilities and all but finish this job. All that would remain would be surviving the Golden Path’s onslaught afterward.

- - - - -

Commentary: We're very close to a big action sequence. One that grew substantially compared to what I originally planned.

The opinions expressed about drip coffee here may not be shared by the Americans reading. In Neural Wraith, I was intentionally vague about what sort of coffee was ever being drunk, because "coffee" means a different thing to just about anyone, especially depending where you're from. I've decided to be a bit more focused here, especially as I can play around with some Italian coffee culture. Although that probably means I need to involve a pod machine somewhere, as those are very popular over there these days, I understand (typically Nespresso, as I only really hear about Keurigs from Americans).

Anyway, the Lionetti sisters, particularly Alessia, still very much live in the shadow of their forefathers. Or literal father.

Also, I really need to name that one enforcer guarding Alessia, as she shows up a lot. I expect I'll do it during final editing of Book 1 and let you know.