Mob Sorcery 2 - Ch2

Chapter 2

They hopped in her car and Fia began the slow ride into the city.

But not toward Albion. Instead, she took them into the city center, where traffic drastically worsened. Skyscrapers loomed over them as she drove into the central business district, which was somewhere Vince stayed well clear of usually.

As they stopped dead in the veritable parking lot of Aulfair’s CBD, Fia lit up a cigarette.

“You know, most drivers find this sort of traffic annoying as hell,” Vince suggested. “Taking an hour to move a city block or two.”

“It doesn’t take an hour. I can tell you don’t drive much. For a guy with money problems, you spend a lot of cash getting flown around by pretty birdgirls,” she replied.

He winced. That comment hit him right where it hurt.

“Hit too close to home? Nicki’s a nice girl, but she picked you out as a sucker from the word go.” Fia grinned. “There are cheaper ways to get around.”

“Like public transport.”

“La Lupa, no.” Her eyes opened and she stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “The subway works, but they barely maintain the damn thing, and the buses are so old I’m surprised some dragon hasn’t claimed them as antiques for their hoard.”

“I think they need to have some value to be antiques. The buses are just barely functioning rustbuckets.” He raised an eyebrow. “La Lupa?”

“You’ve never heard the expression? It’s pretty common among wolffolk. Some say the English version, She-wolf.”

“No. First time you’ve used it around me. Pretty sure most demihumans still say ‘God’ or ‘Jesus.’”

“Well, yeah. They might have actually existed.” Fia’s eyes locked onto the road as they shifted a little forward in the line but failed to get through the traffic light.

But her body tensed a little, as if anticipating a fight or argument.

Given the words that leaped to the forefront of Vince’s mind, he had a hunch he’d been about to start the very argument she anticipated.

“I didn’t take you for the religious sort. It’s a contentious topic, what with all the demons but the notable lack of angels or other divine beings,” he said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.

“I was raised Catholic,” Fia said guardedly. “Most wolves of Italian descent are the same. It started in Rome, alongside the old wolffolk kingdoms, so why would we be different to humans?”

“Because you have magic?”

She clicked her tongue. “There’s evidence for all manner of myth being real. Dracula was the real Vlad Tepes. King Arthur was an ancient warrior-king who defended Britain alongside a cabal of dragons and sorcerers. Who knows how much of Greek and Norse myth is real. If that’s true, what about everything else?”

“Maybe.”

They drove in silence as they finally cleared the worst of the traffic and entered an underground parking garage in the CBD. Countless vehicles filled the upper levels, so they trundled further down.

“I guess it’s a little odd to be able to summon a literal dragon of fire or turn on the news and see a conference full of folks descended from Merlin or literal biblical demons, and then ask ‘where are the angels?,’” Vince said. “Quintus said there’s a greater world beneath the surface, but why did it stay hidden when all the dragons, vampires, and demons showed themselves?”

“Maybe they don’t think humanity has anything to offer them,” Fia said. “Us demihumans? We’ve been working with humans all along. The Great War shattered the Masquerade because there was no other choice. When human empires went to war at scale, so did their magical backers. But what about those who didn’t care?”

“I’m not sure I want to meet the monsters who don’t care about the largest war in history. There are cities in Europe with monuments to the magical obliteration they faced.”

“Those monsters might still exist, whether you like it or not.”

He scowled. “I get it.” This argument felt like it was going nowhere, so he changed the topic. “You mentioned Dracula earlier, so I’ll ask how you feel about Juliet? I need to expand on my own magic after that fight, but you said you feel the same?”

Fia bit her lip as they pulled into a parking spot.

Without answering, she crushed her cigarette in an ashtray in the car, then got out. He joined her while she paid for parking on an app. Then they made their way to the elevator up.

“I don’t like how useless I felt against her,” Fia said. “She completely ignored me until she needed to threaten me to get at you at the end. That… Fuck, it riles me up even remembering.”

“Did you ask around about how to fight her?” Vince asked.

They entered the elevator and Fia hit the first floor. Soft music played.

“Yeah, but nobody has any expertise with vampires. Pola suggested fucking garlic and holy water, and the entire problem only stressed Alessia out.” She pulled a pack of cigarettes out, but tapped her fingers against it instead of lighting up. “The internet didn’t help. Everyone contradicts each other.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” he said. “Googling vampires gets so much nonsense it feels almost like intentional disinfo. One thread I read was about whether American vampires would be immobilized if you tore up a copy of the Constitution in front of them. I genuinely wondered what the fuck I was reading.”

Fia barked with laughter as the doors opened, shocking a pair of sorcerers in fancy suits complete with tailcoats. At least, Vince guessed they were sorcerers. Nobody else wore tailcoats in this day and age, right?

The pair of slim wands strapped to their hips likely proved his hunch correct.

They stepped out into the atrium, then immediately exited the office building the carpark was beneath.

“So, I get that part,” Fia said as they emerged into the midday sun. She shielded her eyes and looked around. “I’ve heard from experienced enforcers that vampires differ based on where they’re from. Hence why myths are different for vampires in each country. Like the Chinese hopping vampires. I guess some people think there might be American vampires?”

“With American weaknesses, instead of being weak to holy water and garlic?” Vince drawled. “That tells me that I need to research Juliet’s background, at least.”

“Good luck. How many languages did she swear in?”

Too many, he recalled.

Having decided where they were going, Fia used a pedestrian bridge over a nearby road. Far too many uniformed police enforcers patrolled here alongside the overdressed sorcerers and businesspeople. A birdfolk appeared to be following Vince a good hundred feet above him. The NASTA conference couldn’t be more than a few blocks away, he guessed. Roadblocks likely contributed to the road traffic.

So he stuck close to Fia. No way the cops would hassle him if he was moving around for business reasons. Hopefully.

“You might want to hit up your lion fuckbuddy,” Fia said, winking at him as they crossed the bridge. “I understand she once had a run-in with Juliet.”

“Really?” Vince found that difficult to believe.

Because he assumed one or the other would die in such an encounter.

Abruptly, the reason Alessia feared he’d abandon the contract struck him. If even Nina couldn’t slay Juliet, had she walked away from a contract due to the vampire’s presence?

“Uh, you said Juliet was pricey. How pricey?” he asked.

“I’m not sure I should say.”

“That tells me she’s getting paid more than me.”

Fia snorted. “No fucking shit. She brought in four other enforcers to take you out. A vampire assassin with a record like hers can basically ask for anything she wants and get it, because if her client wants something enough, they’ll pay.”

“Then why pay her to kill me, and not Alessia?”

“And that, Vince, is exactly the reason we’re worried.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

Which hurt a little. He winced despite himself and she hissed.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, pulling away and looking at him with wide eyes. “I forgot you’re not as sturdy as the other capos. I… Fuck, I have an infusion and—”

“It’s fine,” he grunted, rolling his shoulder. “I doubt it’ll even bruise. I just didn’t expect you to try to massage my bones like that.”

“Funny.” Despite her dark look, her voice lacked any heat. One hand remained inside her coat, as if waiting for him to just ask for that infusion.

He just kept walking, before pausing.

“So, where are we going?” he asked. “I’d love to walk away dramatically and let you catch up like in a movie, but I have no idea where to go.”

A breathless laugh escaped Fia. She tentatively gripped his shoulders and turned him to face the largest buildings in the CBD.

“We’re heading to the Tri Sommet,” she said.

A trio of twisted spires soared into the sky in front of them, glittering with a mixture of advertisements and magical constructions that extended from them. Individually, each tower looked like a horn that slowly curled inward over a black and white marble plaza. Together, the three formed a three-pointed horned crown formed from steel and glass that soared a good 103 stories into the sky.

Glowing skybridges formed from magically reinforced cables and with enchanted walls connected each tower. Occasionally, the tips of the Tri Sommet projected some sort of magical lightshow.

“They’re not going to check my net worth and parentage when I try to enter are they?” Vince asked as they ascended the marble steps that led up to one of the towers.

“It’s been a long time since the Sommet was used as a headquarters for the sorcerers’ guild,” Fia said.

He looked around. The space surrounding the towers comprised a gargantuan open space formed from marble. Fancy silver statues glittered in the light, plus one small one with some sort of iridescent plating. Even the plants looked unnatural, as they were likely magical in nature.

While Vince wouldn’t describe the area as packed, far too many people in suits occupied it for his liking. Plenty of sorcerers, but at least half of them had to be regular businesspeople. Contracted security patrolled in dark suits with emblems that made their job clear.

He stood out in his casual clothes. Nobody seemed to pay attention to him or Fia, but he wanted to be anywhere other than here.

“The Sommet is full of offices of high-flying businesses and international companies. Massive accounting firms, international sorcerer associations, law firms, and even some of the mage colleges” Vince said, hunching his shoulders despite himself.

“Good news. We don’t care about those. We’re heading up to one of the catered conference halls.” She began walking toward an entrance.

Realizing he had a choice to either follow or stand here looking like an idiot, he followed.

They wandered past the massive security desk in the atrium without any trouble. Security gates barred entrance to an extensive set of elevators, but another set remained available for public access. These allowed access to very few floors.

A young birdfolk couple joined them in the elevator once it arrived, but were heading to an earlier floor. The woman of the couple looked at Vince and Fia with wide eyes and giggled.

Vince failed to make out what the couple whispered about once they left, but Fia growled once the doors closed.

“Fucking artificial birdgirl shit,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

“Ah, so they’re humans?”

“The girl was. You can’t tell?”

“Nope. Do they smell different?”

“Very, even to my fucked up nose. I feel like I can see the difference too, but maybe it’s just in my head after I smell it.” She shrugged. “Let’s just say they had some ideas about what we were up to.”

“Maybe they’ll be right one day.”

Fia’s eyes lidded. “Maybe. You should probably tone down the flirting around Alessia. Or before your new girlfriend gets upset.”

“Why Alessia?”

“Because she loves the illusion that you’ll marry Pola.”

Vince almost wanted to see how Alessia might react to his flirting now, but figured that might be a mistake.

The elevator deposited them on a floor that looked identical to the one the couple had departed on. Given how old the tower was, the interior matched the power and wealth it exuded. Black marble tiling turned the floor into a void, whereas elegant patterned silver, gold, and iridescent wall panels shimmered above them. The ceiling had to be at least fifteen feet high and crystalline lights dangled down. A mysterious pattern was engraved along the entire ceiling and appeared to continue past the elevator lobby.

“I feel like this lobby cost more than my entire apartment complex,” Vince said as they stepped out of the elevator.

“It’s the fucking Sommet. What do you expect?” Fia asked.

“I dunno. I’ve never been in here.”

“Really? Never? No school field trip here to learn about our history? How the founding dragons lent their power to the sorcerers’ guild to build a monument to magic and win over the American public?” A smile dangled on Fia’s lips and he knew she was mocking him.

“No, actually.”

She blinked. “Seriously? I’m pretty sure they let schools come here for free as a way to indoctrinate kids into becoming mages. Never know when some random kid might turn out to be the next Merlin or Solomon.”

Fia’s pointed look at him suggested she thought a horrible mistake had been made. Vince suspected the sorcerers knew what they were doing by excluding him from their fancy ass mage colleges.

“If the mages wanted random kids to join up, they’d care less about grades and more about their magical talent,” he said drily. “Anyway, there probably was a trip at some point. I never went on any school trips because I couldn’t get the permission slip signed.”

“Ah.” Fia grimaced and her ears flattened. Her tail swished low against the ground as she searched for the words to recover the conversation. “Well, uh, this place is old.”

“I know.”

“They built it right after the Empire State Building, to show that magic was the future. That’s why it’s one story taller, and even taller despite being on a lean. I think the lean was intended to show how magic could allow structures that would otherwise topple.”

Vince’s lips quirked at Fia’s attempt to cheer him up. Sure, he’d heard all this before over the years. The Tri Sommet had a ridiculous amount of documentaries made about it, and featured in all sorts of TV and movies. The fact it had been created as part of the pissing match between Aulfair and the US government, back when the USA detested magic outright, was a popular topic in movies.

Especially these days, with tensions between the rest of the US and Aulfair rising once more.

“Why don’t we find Alessia?” he suggested. “And thanks.”

A smile flashed across Fia’s face and her tail slapped against his legs. She led him out of the lobby. Silver wall plates directed them to various conference rooms with fancy French and German names, but Fia seemed to know where they were going.

“So what sort of conference is Alessia attending here?” Vince asked.

“She’s not. Just because this is a conference floor doesn’t mean it only holds conferences. It just has big rooms and halls, plus catering facilities and kitchens,” Fia explained. “The Lionetti Family holds a monthly gathering with the branch families here. This is the one for November, although they often combine December’s with our Christmas festivities.”

She suddenly froze and a shock shot through her body. Her tail shot bolt upright, as did her ears.

“Shit, we haven’t mentioned that to you, have we?” she muttered and ran a hand through her hair.

“We’re over a month away from December, Fia. Plus I need to finish this job,” Vince said.

“Yeah, but Christmas is important. Most people make plans for it.” Her tail began wagging wildly as she became worked up over this. “Honestly, I don’t think any of us expected the job to go so smoothly, but… Fuck.”

“Fia?”

“I’m guessing you already have something planned, given this is pretty late notice and—”

“No,” he said flatly. “My idea of a good Christmas has been to catch up with Ronin for a quick drink on Christmas Eve. Sometimes his folks invite me over, although it can be really awkward when you’re the only person not from the family and his sister makes jokes about Ronin and me being a couple.”

“You’re not, right?” Fia narrowed her eyes.

“What do you think?”

“Well—”

He pushed her and she broke out in giggles, tail flying all over the place.

“What about Nina?” Fia asked.

“She spends her time with her family. Only time of the year I get rid of her.”

“Huh.” Fia nodded a few times. “Well, in that case, you’ll have tons of time to celebrate with us. Although we start a few days before Christmas. It’s roughly a week of drinking, eating, and…” Her face flared red. “Um, other things.”

“Sex?”

“Well, yes. Not all of us join in, but we have a reputation for a reason.” She curled her hair with one finger and looked away. “I think we gathered it because a lot of enforcers go out and grab guys around Christmas as part of the fun. A week of sex must sound like a good idea at the time.”

“I imagine so, yes.” Vince kept his face devoid of all expression. “I’ll see if I can make it.”

“Hey! I didn’t say you had to join in with the sex part. It’s just a lot of fun. You can ignore all the horny wolfgirls everywhere else.”

“And Pola?”

By then, he sincerely hoped to have done something about her behavior toward him. But the thought of spending a week drinking and eating around her in such a charged atmosphere might end in the expected way.

“Maybe start improving your endurance?” Fia suggested. “You have a girlfriend now. See if you can last a week with her.”

Vince shot her an odd look.

“What?” she asked.

“Nina suggested the same thing. Are the two of you messaging each other?”

“Yes, but not about that sort of stuff. We can talk about things that aren’t you.” A pause. “So?”

“I’d break if I tried to keep up with Nina for a week. She always wants me to take the lead.” He ran a hand through his hair and pretended to have a thousand yard stare. “You don’t know what she’s like in bed.”

“Uh huh.” Fia pushed him forward. “Anyway, we should find the conference room. They should be finishing lunch around now. Alessia can make some time while the rest of the family members are stuffing their faces.”

She led him along a couple of corridors until they reached a set of closed doors guarded by wolfgirls. Both women wore dark suits, and their tails appeared to be tied behind their backs.

“Fia,” one said when they approached. “I take it the boss wants to talk?” Her eyes ran over Vince.

“Yeah. I’ll let Alessia know we’re here.” Fia flicked out her phone and tapped away.

Neither of the wolfgirl guards paid much attention to Vince, which was the complete opposite of their usual behavior as enforcers. He even recognized one of them. She was the one who had hit on him when he’d first visited Alessia’s office.

Before he said anything, the double doors behind the guards opened and Alessia slipped out. A glance through the gap in the doors revealed a large room with multiple round tables laid out and a lot of wolffolk sitting around with bottles of wine.

Then the doors closed and he focused on Alessia. She wore a simple if elegant indigo dress with an elaborate silver necklace that jangled whenever she moved. Unlike usual, the wand she used as her magical focus was nowhere to be seen. Possibly she had it hidden somewhere difficult to reach.

“Vince, thank you for coming at short notice,” Alessia said, smiling brightly when she stepped outside. Her tail wagged as she looked at Vince. “Why don’t we step into a neighboring room before—”

The doors opened again and a male voice escaped them, “Alessia, are you out here? You should—”

A young man, barely old enough to drink, stepped out into the corridor and clammed up. He wore a tailored dark suit that was probably designer and worth more than Vince was being paid for this job. Even held back by the suit, or perhaps aided by it, the young wolf exuded a grace and striking appearance that fashion magazines would kill for.

Which is why it was a surprise when his silver wolf ears shot upright upon seeing Vince and his tail lashed the ground.

Vince would never describe himself as someone with much social intelligence, but he recognized a man arcing up at the sight of a romantic rival when he saw it.

Fia and the other two enforcers allowed grimaces to flicker across their faces, before their expressions turned to stone.

“Stefano, do you require me for something vital?” Alessia asked, voice lower pitched than usual. Her tail remained dead still. “I am conducting ‘family’ business.” The stress she placed on the word family suggested that Stefano had little to do with the less savory side of the Lionettis.

As if chastised by Alessia, Stefano looked down. His fists balled. “I… My apologies, dear capofamiligia, I—”

“You don’t need to call me that,” Alessia said softly and she allowed the tension in her body to reduce. “Not yet. I’ll be fifteen minutes or so. We can talk once I return.”

“I—”

The doors opened once again, and Vince wondered if he’d somehow been dragged into some sort of mafia sitcom.

This time, two people stepped outside. One was a man old enough to be Vince’s father. His silver ears, tail, and hair matched Stefano’s, but he had begun to gain a substantial amount of paunch in his gut and much of his silver hair looked gray instead. The similarities made it clear he was Stefano’s father, though.

The other person was Vanna, wearing a black cocktail dress and what looked like an entire family’s worth of jewelry. She licked her lips upon seeing Vince.

“Arnulfo, may I help you?” Alessia asked, her body tensing and voice lowering. Her tone sounded almost exasperated, however.

Arnulfo ignored Alessia and instead looked Vince up and down.

“Arnulfo,” Alessia said, a note of warning entering her voice.

“Something wrong?” Vince asked, annoyed by the way the old man sized him up and ignored Alessia.

Which earned him sharp looks from every enforcer present, including Fia. He winced internally, as he’d committed some faux paus. Alessia didn’t react, and seemed to pretend he hadn’t said a word.

“Arnulfo, if you do not have anything to—”

“This is the enforcer we’re entrusting so much to?” Arnulfo asked. “The one who nearly triggered the mayor to retaliate against us directly?”

“What? Is that true?” Stefano blurted out. “We nearly got attacked by the city directly because of some measly human? We should—”

“Enough!” Alessia snapped, eyes flashing. “Do not spread unsubstantiated rumors. The enforcer business is mine alone to manage as the head of the family. If you have problems with me, then you can raise them when I return and lunch has finished. But you disrespect the entire family by raising them publicly.”

“Alessia, we shouldn’t be working with some thug from outside the family,” Stefano said, taking a step toward Vince. “If we’re the Lionettis, we should have the power to—”

“Did you not hear a word I just said?” Alessia’s eyes glowed bright blue.

Stefano froze. After a moment, Alessia’s eyes regained their usual ice-blue color, albeit with a piercing quality to them.

“My apologies, dear capofamiligia,” Arnulfo said, bowing his head and forcing Stefano’s down with one hand. “I intended no disrespect. Please forgive my son for his lack of discipline. By the time he is ready to take over my branch of the family, it will not happen.”

“See that it doesn’t,” Alessia said coldly. “As Lionettis, we need to remind Aulfair of who and what we are. Rebuilding requires us to be more than we currently are.”

Arnulfo didn’t even pretend to acknowledge her statement. He simply raised his head and dragged Stefano back inside. Vanna blew Vince a kiss before following them.

Well, that had certainly been a whirlwind introduction to the broader Lionetti family. Vince certainly felt welcome.

- - - - -

Commentary: I'll be honest, there were many jokes about potential weaknesses for American vampires that I chose not to include. Partly because guns aren't as big a thing in the setting, so I couldn't make one about them being a vampire's mortal weakness.

There's a whole lot of alternate history stuff stuffed into this chapter. The La Lupa/Catholic stuff actually has some importance beyond just worldbuilding, as it ties into the core identity of the mafia wolves (the American Mafia have always been depicted as strongly catholic, after all). Similarly, the French influence from the mages (because they're European mages fleeing here) and their little pissing match with the US is a nice tidbit.

I mentioned in the commentary post to Messengers that I really should name the random enforcer who shows up a few times.

Otherwise, a brief introduction to some branch family members and their politics.