Toon It Up: Call of the Mob (Preview)

Liliana Stewart leaned back, as far back as she could with her office chair. She slowly stretched her arms and let out a long, tired yawn, stretching as well for as long as she could. Almost… almost there…

“Have a good night, Ms. Stewart.” Liliana snapped back up straight in her chair, her head jerking about until it fell on the voice.

A bit of relief washed over her. It was just one of the scientists from the research department and not anyone “higher ranked”. “Y-yes!” The lady cleared her throat and politely waved good-bye to the man. “Have a good night.”

The man waved back and proceeded out the glass front doors. Once he was gone and no other footsteps could be heard, she slumped back again. Almost done.

Ms. Stewart was approaching yet another end-of-the-day at her job. She worked the front desk of a place called Happy Feeling Co., a company that made the strangest, wildest of products that were surprisingly popular. She spent most of the day greeting people as they came in, answering phone calls, directing people where to go, and dealing with… “oddballs”.

It was all the usual receptionist work one would expect. It was work that was incredibly tiring though after doing it day in and day out for years now.

Can't wait to be home. Liliana sighed, her mind wandering. Gonna cuddle up under the covers… after dinner. She frowned. …I don't want to cook though. Maybe I should order out? Chinese would be good. Maybe a burger?

Maybe pizza? Liliana's hand clenched the desk rather tightly, fidgeting and tapping the solid counter. Her heart started to speed up.

She took a deep breath and slowly released, her hand easing up and heart returning to its normal pace. No. Don't want that. Shouldn't have anything fattening…

The woman had been trying to avoid anything “fat” related for a while. She had done a good job so far, watching her weight and counting calories carefully. It had helped her avoid any “incidents”, as she would put it.

Maybe just something I could pop in the microwave, she thought, nodding softly, then rent a movie on Amazon and-

“Heeeeyyy, Liliana! Ready for the end?” Liliana sat back at attention but only for a split moment. She knew that voice anywhere, and it was welcoming.

It was Emiko Urasawa. She was a friend that worked in research and many “other” departments, as Emiko would put it. The glasses-wearing pal strolled up and leaned casually against the counter. It looked like she was done for the day.

Relaxing, Liliana spoke pleasantly, “Oh definitely. I'm tired.”

Emiko looked her over. “Just tired? Not very tired?”

“No,” Liliana chuckled, “I'm only very tired if I'm busy working on my other job.”

“Other job?” Her friend leaned in. “You never mentioned that before.”

Liliana hesitated, realizing she spoke without thinking. “Oh… it's nothing important and nothing that I had to deal with for a while.” She cleared her throat, awkwardly shifting the conversation away. “Soooo, how was work today?”

“Oh, lots of paperwork. Barely had time to start drafting the pitch for my next idea or get to the lab…” Emiko went about her day with casual indifference and apathy, clearly unsatisfied with how it went.

Liliana didn't really hear it though. Her mind was on that look Emiko had when she switched subjects. She clearly knew that Liliana dodged discussing her other job and looked suspicious. She thankfully didn't press her, but the receptionist knew she would probably have to discuss it at some point.

Hopefully, not anytime soon.

“So, I'm thinking of hitting that nice bar I've been telling you about after work,” Emiko said, moving on from her dreary day, “The one down Grand Street? Want to get a drink?”

Liliana thought about it. That “soon” might come then, and she was still tired, so heading out didn't seem so great.

But on the other hand, she rarely spent time with her friends as it was. “Well,” Liliana said slowly, “That might be-”

The phone suddenly rang, causing her to jolt. She looked at it, sighing. So much for hoping to not deal with any more calls today. She picked up the phone and put on her most cheery, professional voice. “Thank you for calling Happy Feeling Company. This is Lil-”

“BOSS! We's got a problem!”

Those gruff, deep words coming from a familiar, deep, equally gruff voice instantly shifted Liliana's mood. Oh no… now what? This is going to be stupid.

It was also going to be long and involving given past experiences. “Maybe another time, Em,” Liliana said, looking back at Emiko, “I'll talk with you later.”

“Oh sure, have a good night.” Emiko gave her a nod. She gave her a curious look, but said nothing else. She probably assumed Liliana just wanted to rest tonight.

However, that wasn't going to be the case. Once Emiko was clear and out of earshot, Liliana returned to the phone. “You're not supposed to call me at work,” she grumbled lowly, “What if someone overheard? Do you know how much trouble I would be in?”

“Sorries, boss, but we's-”

“Plus, I'm on a very long vacation here from all of that. Can't you just-”

“BOSS!” the voice shouted, the phone cartoonishly shaking in her grip, “Dere's a problem dat needs dealin’ with! We's needs yours big dummy brains!”

Liliana twitched, something deep from within growling, “Excuse me?”

“Errrrr, we's needs yours smarts, boss!” the voice quickly said, “Youse da smartest mook around, ya know dat boss!”

A weird bit of satisfaction and pride swelled up within her hearing that. She cleared her throat, stuffing it back down. No, not now! Not in the mood for you!

Liliana took a deep breath and released it, burying it deeper. “Look, you guys should be able to handle this just fine. You've been running the show without me for the past few weeks just fine, right? It's been a long day for me, and I just want to go home and relax.”

Her words went on deaf ears. “PLEEEEEEEEASE, boss man! Purdy pleeeease with extra grease ands cigars on top? Wes lost without youse!”

Liliana frowned, annoyance starting to hit. However, that inner urge came crawling back, scratching, itching at her and feeding on her annoyance. Something deep within wanted out. It needed to do some heavy lifting and be more in charge.

She twitched. All of the irritation and frustration from earlier in the day was still festering within her. All of those annoying phone calls, frustrating and rude visitors, unpleasant upper management types flirting or harassing her… it was so much! She just wanted to feel

Powerful. And the opportunity to do so just presented itself.

“Okay, fine!” Liliana groaned, her free arm twitchy as she spoke, “I'll come over and help you with this “problem” or whatever. I'll be there in-”

“No, boss!” the voice pleaded, “We'lls bring da limbo ovah ta get youse!”

“I can't leave my car here at work, ya know.”

“One of da boys wills drive it back fors ya!” She didn't feel good about that. She didn't really trust these guys to handle her used/still nice car.

However, she didn't see any other option in this scenario after agreeing to it. “Fine. That'll work.” She huffed. “But, if you guys are picking me up, you better park a few blocks away so no one can see me with you clowns.”

“Park in da usual spot? Youse gots it! We'lls be dere soon!” Liliana didn't wait for them to say goodbye. She just immediately hung up.

With that, she sunk into her chair, face in one of her hands. What was she going to deal with now? She had no idea, but she knew one thing for sure. “Fat” was back.