“You sure?”

“Yes! This is perfect. It just needs to be fixed up a bit and maybe we can bring in some lights.”

Shaggy sighed while he and Levy waited for a terminal to appear somewhere in the enormous cavern. Levy was insisting on making this location another base. But Shaggy was a little concerned they were getting spread thin. They hadn’t even heard from the Vlad and the others. Even when he logged out. He was expecting a private message or something.

After the fight, he and Levy had logged out and told his pack to inform their people at the apartment about the enormous cavern. Shaggy spent the entirety of his workday thinking about what to do with the space. But he really hadn’t thought about keeping it. He thought it would be more useful as a fallback spot if they ever pissed off the cops too much. Levy had gotten home slightly after him. So when she logged in and found him in the cavern, brooding, they fell into a discussion about what to do with the place.

Levy spun in place, looking all around. “But where is everyone? It’s been a day in-game? Right?”

“Yes, dear. If I have the math right.”

“Well then, our people should be here and they should be getting things ready.”

Shaggy shook his head at his wife. “Get what ready and with what? We need materials even if we use the generic terminal-bought furniture. Also, NPCs can’t make the terminal appear without, at least, a few players.”

“Then they could’ve waited.”

“For a whole day? In the dark? What’s going on with you?”

Levy raised a hand to her forehead and sighed loudly. “You’re right. It was just a long day at work and I had so many plans for this place.”

“Plans are fine. But we have other things to get to. The old man’s quest and we need to see if we are still on the outs with the local police force.”

“Oooo.” Levy cooed excitedly as she gripped Shaggy’s arm. “Do you think they’ll attack us? I would love to go toe-to-toe with a few police wizards. They have some good gear, apparently.”

Shaggy shrugged, and Levy grinned as they walked toward the tunnel leading out of the cave. They still hadn’t mapped the place fully, but that could wait. Shaggy wanted to head topside. Seeing in black and white all the time was giving him a headache. Levy suddenly slapped his shoulder, hard.

“Hey! You distracted me! I still want to make this place a lair. Somewhere where I can practice my magic and you and your pups can run around.” Levy danced her fingers through the air as she spoke happily.

“They’re a pack Levy. Also, I have a place, remember?”

“Please. That man cave? It might be good for you and your friends as a Guild Hall or Lair. But this will be a place for US. Somewhere the two of us can grow and plan our evil machinations.”

“That is tempting. But I’ve put so many credits into the Viper’s den.”

Levy nodded agreeably. “And It’s a wonderful spot. But it is way too crowded and in the most obviously criminal location in the city. This is nice and quiet and out of the way.”

“We are still going to need to bring some people down here to help build.”

“NPCs.” Levy waved the thought away. “But for players? It can be just our spot.”

Shaggy glanced around as they finally left the cavern and ventured into the tunnel, back to the surface.

“What would we do with so much space?”

“I’m so glad you asked. I figured I can gather some magic users and you can grow your pack a little more. We can have a spot for us and separate spots for each of our NPC friends.”

Levy stuck a finger out and pouted as she suddenly asked. “You don’t look excited. Why aren’t you excited?”

Shaggy chuckled. “I am. It’s just a lot of work and another avenue sucking up credits. Most of mine are in The Den. Hell, even the rewards from quests for the old man are being filtered back to the bar.”

Levy nodded. “Okay, so fund the public Lair and I’ll get the credits for our little love nest.”

“Argh! I don’t know about that. I don’t like you using all of your money on something for us. If it’s for us, we should both put some money in.”

Levy pinched his cheek and giggled happily. “I don’t, for a second, believe you won’t pitch in here and there. But we’re criminals in a superhero game. We can make money. But you’re right. We need to focus on the problem in front of us. But I will build that cavern into our in-game home.”

“I know you will love.” Shaggy smiled up at his wife and gave her cheek a firm kiss. “Now! On to the next item on the agenda…”

“Oh, he has an agenda,” Levy muttered.

“Yes, I do. Now shut up. We need to get a team together for some B&E and maybe get some of the pack down here to clear out the tunnels.”

“The kobolds are gone. They all disappeared when the summoner died.”

Shaggy nodded agreeably. “I know. But better safe than sorry. Next, we need to see what the gang situation is topside. We hit the Wild Bunch and even money says they are going to be out for blood. So we need to scout that out. Finally, the cops.”

Levy grinned as they continued walking and talking. “The cops? Your oh-so-good idea to get in good with them that went belly up on the first excursion for them?”

Shaggy sighed. “I know. But I really felt like we could milk that relationship for something. However, I think all I really did was put us on the local PD’s radar.”

“It was a wonderful effort on a so-so idea.”

“Thanks, T,”

“It’s Levy in-game, sweetheart. But what should we do about the police?”

“Well, the building is hidden right now, right?”

“Until the police find some probable cause and can issue a magical desist order. Then we have to remove the illusion or face jail time.” Levy said the last two words in a spooky voice and waggled her fingers at Shaggy.

“Hey, don’t joke. The slammer is a hard place, y’know?”

“Well experienced, are you?”

Shaggy shrugged and changed the subject. “So we are on a timer. We need to decide what to do with the cops and if it comes to it, we’ll have to abandon the apartment complex.”

“What about the kids?”

Shaggy shook his head. “You want to take in a bunch of strays? What would all their parents say? Shit, we’ll probably get charged with kidnapping if we take them all into the tunnels.”

“Luis and Mari are orphans. They are squatting in the apartment building. Corrupting all the other teens.”

Shaggy was about to ask how she knew that when a sudden voice ahead called out.

“Uhhh, are those the bosses down there?”

Shaggy looked around and saw they were back at the kobold tunnels' junction with the city's maintenance hallways. Standing by the tunnel entrance was a skinny teen, looking around worriedly. He had a flashlight in his hand that was pointed unhelpfully at the floor.

“Yeah. Who are you?” Shaggy growled. Levy slapped his shoulder reproachfully.

“Um, I’m Trevor, sir. I work for Luis?”

Shaggy blinked as he left the kobold tunnel and stepped into the light filled man-made hallway. Trevor was still wringing his hands and looking worried.

“Is that a question?”

Trevor looked confused for a bit before he caught on and twisted his hands together harder. The metal flashlight practically groaned in the boy’s grip.

“Uh haha… no sir. I work for Luis. It’s just been a bit of a day.” Trevor said.

“What do you mean?” Levy asked.

“Well, the apartment’s had several goons sniffing around from that Crazy Bunch gang and the cops are still demanding you all drop the illusion thingy. Also, that big demon looking guy was here most of the day yesterday asking about you.”

Trevor pointed at Shaggy and then rapidly put the finger down. He forced a smile at Shaggy before he spun on his heel and continued.

“It was my turn to come down here and wait for you. So I’m at least happy I don’t have to be down here anymore. This place gives me the creeps, and there’s blood all over this section of the tunnel.”

Trevor was hurriedly walking back toward the apartment building and talking over his shoulder. Levy and Shaggy shared a bemused look before they followed. The young teen kept up a constant stream of blather as they walked. Filling them in on as much as he knew, which wasn’t much, really. Once he had exhausted any useful information, Trevor took to overly explaining relationships of Luis’ gang members. Shaggy tuned him out and thought about the more important aspects of what the kid had said.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Cekrass was better and he and the magic users and other pack members were running defense for the apartment. Meanwhile, the kids had spent time down in the tunnels trying to map out where everything went. But each door from the maintenance hallway had more wards placed on them. Gina and Cirillia had come down and placed eroded charms on them, but neither was as powerful as Levy’s. But from what the kids knew of the neighborhood, most of the tunnels exited in other apartment buildings a few blocks around their own. Although Mari thought one let out into an abandon deli.

“The deli should be our priority.” Levy said, just as Shaggy was thinking about it.

Shaggy nodded in agreement as Trevor spoke up.

“That was the other witch’s idea, too. Something about there being fewer people around. Which I guess makes sense. So hey, are you guys gonna, like, take us in?”

Shaggy started for a second as Levy snorted. Trevor was now walking backwards, looking hopeful. Shaggy groaned and wiped a hand down his face. The kids were good scouts and a few more bodies in a fight were never a bad thing. He was rubbing his chin, trying to decide how to answer, when Levy said.

“Yep. That’s the plan. But for now, just keep doing what you’re doing. Okay?”

Trevor nodded excitedly. “Sure thing, Boss-lady.”

Shaggy glanced up at his wife, but she merely smiled. Sighing, Shaggy followed Trevor back into the apartment and up the stairs to the small foyer of the apartment. Where, surprisingly, Cekrass and Vick were standing near the front door looking out.

“But we should say something,” Cekrass said.

Vick shook his head. “And let them know the boss ain’t here right now? No way. We remain silent and wait for him to go away. He did yesterday.”

“That damn bullhorn is going to annoy enough residence in the apartment that they’ll ask us to take down the spell.”

“Naw. You saw their faces when we told them about the Wild Bunch. They are more afraid of being beaten than some cop with a megaphone.”

Shaggy quirked an eyebrow. “Who’s being beaten?”

Vick and Cekrass turned sharply. Once they saw it was Shaggy, they both grinned. With Cekrass, it was more genuine. But for Vick, it was the smile of someone happy to pass on a problem. The mustachioed human waved a hand out the door and moved to the stairs going up.

“You got bigger things going on, boss.”

Shaggy grumbled, but moved to the front doors of the apartment and peered out. A large red demon was standing in front of the apartment with a megaphone. Shaggy couldn’t tell, but it looked like Xelthub’s already red face was even redder. Cekrass patted Shaggy shoulder amicably before he left the front door as well. Sighing, Shaggy turned to his wife and cocked his head.

“I better go deal with this.”

“You want backup?”

“Naw, go handle the crew. I dug the cop hole. I’ll see if I can dig my way out.”

Levy shrugged, then leaned down and kissed him. “Don’t be late for dinner.”

“Yes, dear.” Shaggy grinned and walked out the door.

A shiver went down his spine as he passed through the invisibility spell surrounding the apartment complex. Xelthub was raising the megaphone to his lips when he spotted Shaggy and angrily marched forward. Shaggy spotted little plumes of fire shooting from the demon cops nostrils. Once Xelthub was in front of Shaggy, the demon just stared down at the shorter man. Shaggy merely grinned and waited. Soon enough, Xelthub snorted again before moving off to the side.

Shaggy got his first glimpse of the street and was surprised to find it somewhat barren. The civilian cop cars and plain-clothes police that had filled it a few days prior were gone. Xelthub was out here alone. Shaggy raised an eyebrow and followed Xelthub. Once they were around the side of the apartment, Xelthub spun and slammed a fist into Shaggy’s stomach. Not expecting it, Shaggy felt his bottom ribs break as all the air rushed out of his lungs.

Somehow, he kept his feet and jumped back, coughing. His hands shifted, and he raised them up, ready to defend himself. But Xelthub didn’t move after the first hit. Shaggy grunted as his bones slowly healed and he tried to suck in more air as he glared at the demon cop. Xelthub glared back.

“You’re a real tough pain in my ass, you know that?”

“Cough… I aim to please.” Shaggy choked.

Xelthub cracked his large red knuckles and grunted. “Okay, smart guy, here’s how this shit’s going to work. You and yours are going to submit to constant surveillance, you are going to allow a police liaison inside the building, you will cease any and all operations that include the DAMN CHILDREN IN THE BUILDING, and finally, you all are going to adhere to police procedures from now on.”

Shaggy sucked in a breath. His healing was done, but he still wanted to appear winded. “Well, I am going to have to say: No, no, maybe, and fuck no.”

“Why do you think this is a negotiation?”

“Because if it wasn’t, you would’ve brought more guys.”

Xelthub breathed out another plume of smoke before he snarled. “I don’t need them to take your ass down.”

Xelthub charged with both hands out, looking to grab Shaggy. Shaggy dropped and sprung forward, raking his claws through the large demon’s thigh. But Xelthub didn’t slow down. He pivoted and made another grab as Shaggy came up with his claws. A large red hand slammed into Shaggy’s shoulder as he sliced upward with his claws. Xelthub jerked backwards to avoid getting hit in the face as Shaggy staggered from the force of Xelthub’s punch.

Shaggy quickly assessed the damage he had done. Xelthub was bleeding from his left thigh, and Shaggy’s claws had sliced a small gouge in the demon’s belly. But Xelthub seemed unbothered as he ripped his tattered shirt off. Shaggy gulped at the mass of muscles that was the demon before he had to dodge again. Xelthub kicked out expertly, but Shaggy ducked to the side and tried for another running swipe. But the demon was expecting it. His large arm lashed out across Shaggy’s chest and gripped the opposite shoulder. Shaggy felt himself get jerked backwards as he was bent over and across the demon’s knee. He slammed into the ground with Xelthub’s knee on his chest. The cop was trying to get Shaggy to roll over on to his stomach and Shaggy was sure he heard the clink of metal. Thinking quickly, Shaggy tried for a half shift.

His arms slimmed down and his hand elongated with sharp black claws. The transformation was enough for Shaggy to slip his arms free and stand. Once he was on his feet, he switched the partial transformation to his legs and did a dropkick into the stunned Xelthub’s chest. He felt his clawed feet rip into the demon’s bare chest and he quickly gripped with his toes and kicked off. Xelthub went flying, slamming into the brick apartment building and leaving a dent in the brickwork.

Shaggy exhaled and shifted his legs back. Xelthub was pulling himself from the brickwork. But Shaggy didn’t want to attack and fuck up the foundation of the building anymore. Also, he wasn’t entirely sure that Xelthub was alone. For all he knew, there was a sniper somewhere waiting for him to get into position. That thought made Shaggy glance around real quick. But other than the parking garage behind him, there weren’t many places a shooter could hide.

Once Xelthub was out of the wall, the cop checked the structural integrity of it. Once he was done, he turned back to Shaggy and exhaled. More flames jetted out from his nostrils, and Shaggy was sure the cop was going to charge again. But instead, the demon sat in the alleyway, back to the apartment building. Shaggy stayed poised, ready for any trick. But Xelthub just sighed and stared up into the afternoon sun.

“You fucked me, you know that, right?” Xelthub said.

Shaggy said nothing, he just waited.

“You were going to be my ticket to another precinct. Once we had the Glow situation under control, I could put in for a transfer. I could go anywhere if I took care of the Glow problem. But now, I’m being investigated for helping a criminal. Not only that, but I even gave you police equipment. Which looks even worse.”

Shaggy grunted as he relaxed a little. “Sounds like you're fucked.”

Xelthub laughed dryly before he continued. “What do you think is going to happen to you once they are done with me? The precinct may not have a lot, but they’ll come at you with everything they have.”

“Pfft. With the Glow situation and the Wild Bunch probably everywhere right now? They are really going to worry about little ole me?”

Xelthub raised an eyebrow at Shaggy, but eventually, the demon shook his head and stood. “Sure, it might take them a while. But once they get to you, you’ll wish they hadn’t.”

Shaggy waved a hand. “Bah! That’s my constant state recently. I got you, the Bunch, and a few other assholes all gunning for me. But as you’ve seen, I can take a hit.”

Xelthub glared at Shaggy and walked off. Shaggy tried to decide if he should let the demon cop just walk away. Xelthub was in a low place right now. There would be no better time to rope the cop over a little more. But for all Shaggy knew, this was all a ploy to get Xelthub closer to Shaggy’s people and operation. Grimacing for a few seconds, Shaggy decided and called out.

“Hey! I can still take those dealers for you.”

Xelthub kept walking and Shaggy waited for his words to register. But the demon never even glanced back. The cop was well and truly beaten. He also apparently wanted nothing more to do with Shaggy. Once he had turned the corner around the parking garage, Shaggy sighed and let the matter drop. He really wanted an inside man with the cops, but it seemed he lacked the finesse to cultivate such a relationship.

But for now, it looked like the cops were going to be shifting focus to them. He was trying to think of a way to explain it to his pack and Levy when his wife’s voice filled the air.

“So… is it time for Plan B?”

Shaggy glanced around, trying to find the voice. Eventually, his eyes climbed the apartment building to the fourth floor. The windows facing the alley were open and his wife and crew were staring down at him expectantly. Shaggy gave an awkward wave before he nodded.

“Yeah, you all should know what to do. Get to work.”

His pack quickly ducked their heads back into the building as his wife smiled happily. She would get her underground love nest. They would need to ward up the basement door and probably look into making traps. As Shaggy walked back around the building toward the apartment entrance, he wondered if they could connect the kobold cave with Under-Town. It would probably take some digging, or maybe they could create a magical portal between the two. His mind swirled with thoughts as he walked into the apartment complex.

Shaggy sighed and climbed the stairs up toward the fourth floor. Some of his pans weren’t working. But that was the fun in any game, when you failed. But truly, he had lost little. Just a possibility. He would try to get someone else on the police force later. But for now, he had his own criminal empire to stake out and a Super villain to kill. All with his pack and wife by his side.