It was quick work to wake up Tom and go around informing people of their plans. A few other thugs had wanted to join in, but some sharp looks from Rita and the others and those Lackeys were sent packing. The long part was waiting for Vick and Sybil. Apparently, Roald’s shop was a pretty good way to the southwest. So while they waited, Levy and Shaggy helped Slink.

The boy was still monitoring and assigning task from the War Room console. It was a pretty simple set-up, but finding the right Lackey for the task was… annoying. It was like handing out chores to children. They all wanted the exciting jobs. The patrol jobs or something that’d have them running around and fighting. Telling a bunch of leather-clad, mohawk-having thugs to guard a storefront for eight hours a day was a pain.

But the work needed to be done and their territory needed to be protected. Levy was a little nicer about it. She had a way of convincing people that what was required wasn’t always fun. Shaggy had just taking to threatening a few of them. Sure, it lowered their loyalty a bit, but the Fear Bonus made up for it. Slink, meanwhile, was gathering all their intel reports and throwing the relevant ones into the War Table.

“This thing is so cool,” Levy said as she watched the holo-display update as Slink input the reports.

“It would be even cooler if we had better scouts.” Slink grumbled.

Shaggy finished growling orders at the newest Lackey and turned to Slink. “What about Ephemara’s people? She was working on getting some scouts together, right?”

Slink nodded. “Sure, but she was also running things. So, y’know, time constraints. But now that we’re back, we can knuckle down and get our Lackey’s into shape. I just wish Dave was here. He was in charge of training and our people need to run off some energy.”

“Send them at the Quinica.”

“Can’t do that. That’ll start a war we aren’t ready for. For now, the space-vamps are sticking to their side of the street. So we’ll stick to ours and train up.”

“What about an exercise room?” Levy asked as she spun the display around.

Slink gave a start as the idea hit him. “Oh shit! That’s a great idea.”

The kid dug through his menus, looking for something. Eventually, he found it as he shouted.

“Matthews! Lawrence! Twil’narak!”

Three men pushed their way out of the mass of Lackeys that were using the basement lair as a hangout spot. Two human men flanked an insecticide alien that chittered at Slink. The boy took it all in stride as he generated a mission from the war table and passed it over to the three Lackey’s.

One clicked his tongue angrily. “Go get exercise equipment? Boss, the good stuff is all topside!”

“Then fucking go topside and get it,” Shaggy ordered.

The brown-haired human that had spoken sneered and looked ready to test Shaggy’s patience. But Levy’s soft voice spoke from behind Shaggy.

“We all need this. Our men need a place to relax and get a workout in. Why don’t you pick up a few more amenities while you are up there?”

“We don’t have the cash for that.” The second human said.

“BHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Shaggy burst out laughing as he moved forward and placed a hand on the blond man’s shoulder.

“You’re criminals! What you can’t buy, you steal. But my wife is right. Your job is to go topside and find us some entertainment for the Lair. Be discreet and don’t fucking get caught, but get what we need, got it?”

All three Lackey’s look at each other before grinning madly and rushing off toward the stairs. Shaggy sighed as he watched them go. Slink was already back to going through reports and looking over their data. Levy rubbed Shaggy’s shoulders and sighed.

“They are so cute at that age.” She said, waving a hand idly at the door to the stairs.

“Bunch of whiners.” Shaggy grumbled.

“Oh, leave them alone. You can’t blame a bunch of thugs for wanting some action.”

Shaggy thought about arguing, but he knew she was right. Hell, he was about to run off on his own adventure. But the damn NPCs were a little too lifelike. They had a decent bit of agency, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it. It made them fun to interact with, but who could say if they would stay loyal given how capricious they were.

He went back to generating missions with the War Table when a door nearby opened. The basement had been expanded past the War Rom, Common Room, and a few bedrooms. Now it had a decently sized dormitory for the Lackey’s and a few rooms for the higher ups. Shaggy’s pack had snagged two of the personal rooms and swapped out based on their own criteria. Ephemara and Petra, however, had grabbed the two rooms right by the War Table and the stairs to the bar.

Ephemara stretched, yawned, and scratched her stomach. The black shirt she wore rose a bit, revealing her pale skin. Shaggy could smell the hormones in the room as several men stared. But the strongest mix was coming from Slink. Shaggy grinned at his wife and shook his head as a sleepy Ephemara glared around for a few seconds.

“What the fuck are y’all staring at?! Shouldn’t you be working?! We got the third floor renovations to complete. Also, where the hell is Demitry with the damn pool table?!”

“Uh... we... I… It’s here. They moved it to the third floor and I’ve handed out the renovation jobs.” Slink stuttered.

Shaggy saw his wife hide a grin of her own as Ephemara finally registered their presence. She rushed over and squeezed the kid into a hug and Shaggy felt the energy in the room shift dramatically. Several men had the sharp smell of anger and he glared a few down until Ephe finally released the young man.

“Thanks, kid. It’s great that all of you are back. Another day of this shit and I’d started killing people.”

Slink chuckled nervously as the red coloring on his face slowly went away. Shaggy grunted loudly to get Ephemara’s attention. When he had it, he waved a hand at the table.

“Why didn’t you find some people to help?”

Ephemara turned an eye to the surrounding Lackey’s and said. “Because I don’t trust them enough, boss. Some of these fellas showed up after you lot went on your little vacation. I don’t want our enemies to get their eyes on our information.”

Shaggy spun and looked at the large open room the War Table was housed in. After finishing his spin, he locked eyes with his Number One Henchman and raised an eyebrow. The pale woman grinned manically before shrugging her shoulders.

“Ahem...it was easier to hand out missions if the table was more centrally located. But the… uh… thought of espionage is something to consider.” Slink mumbled.

“See! Snake-boy agrees with me! We need to get this entire operation into its own room and maybe then we can think about staffing it.”

Shaggy sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Something for the list. But for now, do you wanna join me, the pack and my wife in running around topside?”

Ephemara looked excited, but Slink cut in again. “Uhhh… sorry, but I have to log soon. So Ephe will have to take over until I get back.”

“Awwwwwww.” Ephemara whined as a small cheer rose from a few of the assembled Lackeys.

Levy chuckled as Slink looked apologetic. Shaggy shrugged and gave his Number One a pitying look. The pale woman waved him away.

“I’ll get the boys on renovating down here so we can get this damn table squared away. Maybe I’ll meet up with you later.”

Shaggy shook his head a little. “I don’t see how. We’ve got a couple of jobs topside. So we will move around a lot.”

Levy gave a dramatic sigh. “I’ve got it.”

She waved her hands in a complicated gesture again and a symbol formed on her own and Ephemara’s skin.

“There. We are now temporarily linked. You’ll be able to find me when we are topside and I won’t be far from my temperamental husband.”

Ephemara finally gave Levy a once over and smiled happily as she took in the drow woman. Turning to Shaggy, she asked. “So this is your old lady, boss?”

Levy snorted as she answered before Shaggy could get a word out. “Please. He’s my old man. But, Shags, who is this?”

Shaggy sighed dramatically. “Levy, this is my Number One Henchman and de facto second-in-command, Ephemara. Ephemara, this is my wife and de facto headache inducer.”

“Oh, you love me.” Levy stated as she threw an arm over his shoulders and gave his cheek a kiss. “But your second in command looks capable. Imma steal her.”

Ephemara grinned. “Sorry, boss-lady. I serve the boss, but I’ll do my best to find you a second.”

Levy chuckled. “Hehehe. I’m kidding, Ephe. I have a few people coming here to join up with my husband’s crew. So I’ll find a second out of that lot.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Turning to Shaggy, she added. “In fact, all the players in your group should get their loyalties up enough with a Lackey to have a second. It’ll improve morale and make it easier to delegate.”

“I know, love. We’ll get to it. But if you’ve forgotten, two of our number got ganked.”

Levy waved a hand. “Later, later. I know. I’m just planning.”

Rubbing his hands together, Shaggy exhaled. “Well, now that Ephe is tagged, all we have to do is wait for Vick and Sybil to arrive and we can start.”

Almost on cue, the man and woman burst through the door leading to the outside stairs. Both looked excited and were glancing around the room like excited puppies. When they spotted Shaggy, they both ran over and immediately started thanking him.

“Damn it, boss, fucking thanking you so much.”

“Yeah, that detail was shit. Staying on a damn roof or in a room all day watching some snot-nosed asshole’s shop.”

“Nothing but space-vamps crawling all around day-in and day-out. It was fucking annoying.”

“Yeah.”

Ephemara threw up her hands in annoyance. “I gave y’all a cushy ass job watching some brat and you act like it was the worst thing ever! See if I help you again!”

Vick and Sybil glared at Ephemara but said nothing. Shaggy gave a mental call to Rita, Cekrass, and Tom. As he did, he tapped Vick’s new black hat and asked.

“What in the hell is up with the new hat, Tex?”

Sybil snorted as Vick straightened his new addition and smiled. “It’s cool, right? I figure if I’m going to be the team’s sharp-shooter, I need a hat.”

“And like we told you,” Rita’s voice called from the far side of the room. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Vick turned, annoyed. “It keeps the sun out of my eyes when I aiming at some vamp that wants to gut your old ass.”

“There’s no sun down here!” Sybil cackled.

Shaggy could tell this was a conversation that had happened before. So he turned to Ephemara and Slink and waved a hand.

“We’re out of here. Slink, you know where we’ll be for the foreseeable future. But first I need to stop by the Brute Clan’s mansion and meet Obadiah.”

“What for?” Slink and Ephemara asked.

“For side missions.” Shaggy grinned as he took his wife’s hand and led his pack out of the bar’s basement.

As they traveled, Shaggy filled in his pack on what happened topside as best he could. Levy also introduced herself to the members she hadn’t met yet. Tom, in particular, seemed annoyed at Levy, for some reason. When Shaggy pressed him on the feeling, the slight man groaned.

“Because, boss, why do you get to hang with all the fine women? I’m a damn werewolf, right? I should be swimming in honeys.”

Rita snorted. “Pfft. You ever think it’s because you say things like ‘swimming in honeys’ that might have something to do with your relationship status?”

“No. Why?”

Shaggy covered a laugh and added. “Also, you’re not a werewolf. I’m just sharing a bit of my power with you right now. Once I learn how to create Werewolves, it will make the turning easier. Or at least it should.”

“You don’t know?” Levy asked.

Shaggy shrugged. “My werewolf Sensei is currently off doing lord knows what.”

They were currently jogging through the crowded streets of Under-Town. Although with a party their size and as heavily armed as they were, few people got in their way. Shaggy had initially been concerned that Levy wouldn’t be able to keep up. But the tall drow woman said a few magic words and was suddenly running alongside them like it was nothing.

Shaggy worried about how long she could keep up with that spell. But he also realized that his wife was doing it as a sort of power-play with his pack. They didn’t know her, and she wanted to show that she could keep up with the rest of them. Shaggy didn’t think it was necessary, but he also didn’t want to say anything in the group. So instead he matched pace with her and angled their little jogging party toward the Brute’s mansion.

He felt contentment coming from his pack and he tried to decipher the feeling. A few of them were elated to be running as a whole again, while others were more excited to bash skulls. Of course, there was Tom’s minor annoyance at not being a werewolf, but those feelings were dwarfed by his excitement as well. Now that they were moving in a pack, Shaggy could feel them more clearly, and it was a little overpowering. It made him want to rush ahead at full speed, but he curtailed the feeling as they crossed into the Brute Clan’s turf.

The only sign Shaggy had that they had crossed the invisible line was that the various Lackeys and thugs on street corners disappeared. They were replaced by a feeling of constantly being watched. A feeling that would’ve normally put Shaggy on edge, but with his pack and his wife with him, it was little more than a minor annoyance. It was when they were almost to the mansion when they met the first Brute Clan patrol. Shaggy raised a hand in greeting.

“Hail! We are friends of the Brute Clan.”

“Hail?” Levy snorted.

“That’s not the phrase, boss.” Rita whispered.

“Huh?” Shaggy asked as he saw a few of the big lizard people ready their spears to attack.

“The phrase you are supposed to say when you meet a Brute Clan patrol.”

“Uhhhhhh….” Shaggy trailed off as he tried to remember, but nothing came to him.

Rita sighed and pushed forward. “We give respect to the honored elders of the Brute Clan.”

The approaching patrol slowed as Shaggy rubbed his temples and remembered the conversation he had with Vlad. Gor’kinak, one elder, had insisted on such a code-phrase. Probably to mess with Shaggy, or maybe to instill at least a false sense of obedience from what some elders considered no more than a street gang. He doubted it worked.

“State your business!” One lizard ordered.

Shaggy growled, but tried to keep things civil. He could feel his pack tense up at his mood and he didn’t want to start an incident.

“We are looking for a man named Obadiah. It was our understanding he was here.”

The lead brute clan lizard grunted. “Ah, the old man. Yes, he has taken residence near here.”

“Near? It was my understanding that he was at the mansion.”

The lizard-man grimaced. “He was, but some elders felt it… wasn’t right for a human to live among us, so they asked him to move outside the grounds. He is still a friend to us, but…”

Shaggy nodded as the lizard trailed off. He got it. The Brute Clan had taken to segregation and social hierarchy like a duck to water. They were practically programmed that way. Everything foreign or new was tossed aside, even if it could help them. They were growing, but slowly.

“If you could point us in his direction, we would be grateful.”

After getting the directions, Shaggy and his pack rushed off again. Obadiah had moved to a nearby shack just up the dirt road from the Brute Clan’s mansion. Apparently the old man had even taken to stopping a few Phreak patrols that got too close. Shaggy was wondering how the elderly man had accomplished that when he noticed Levy flag in her running. Slowing to a stop, he smiled at her.

“Need a lift?”

“What…. like a... piggy-back? Dear, not... in front of…. the pack.” Levy panted.

Rita and the others chuckled as Shaggy shook his head and focused his mind again. He felt his body twist and bend and with a small thud; he was suddenly on all fours, shaking his massive wolf's head. Levy and the others all backed up, surprised. He could feel shock from his pack, which confused him until he remembered he was a Demon Wolf now.

“Ho~ly shit, boss. What the hell happened to you?”

“Aw come on! That’s not fair!” Tom shouted. “Now he’s a cool-ass horned wolf thing?! What the fuck?!”

Levy moved a hand toward Shaggy’s head and he leaned into it. He felt her running her fingers through his hair and he chuffed happily. He heard his wife giggle as she kept up the scratches until finally he laid down and turned his head to look at his back. Levy laughed happily as his intention became clear.

“Fuck yeah! I get to ride a giant demon wolf. Man, we should get a streaming drone and post pictures to the forums or something. Sexy drow lady atop her massive wolf? The community will eat it up.”

Shaggy groaned and shook his head as Levy jumped onto his back. He saw Tom moving to as well, but he stood up and yipped at his pack.

“Aw… come on.”

“Just fucking run, lazy-ass.”

Tom grumbled, but said nothing else. Shaggy was ready to run again through the alleyways of Under-Town when a large blue blast hit the dirt in front of him. He froze and started looked as his pack surrounded him defensively. A light-white shimmer appeared around his head and he thought he heard Levy chanting something. But a voice cut through the air.

“I don’t know what y’all want. But I reckon you’re gonna want to turn around and head back home.”

Shaggy sniffed the air as he gave a mental tug at Rita. He tried to send her orders to stall. She must have gotten it, as she immediately started stating their objectives. The scent trail in the air was an odd mix of blue and green and Shaggy briefly wondered what the hell the new color meant. But the smell that came with the colors made him smile. He focused again and immediately shifted. He vaguely heard a thump behind him as he returned to his human form shirtless. But thankfully, his pants and shoes had shifted with him.

“Ass.” Levy muttered behind him.

“Sorry, love.” Shaggy said before shouting. “Obadiah, could you please not kill my pack when we’re looking for you?”

There was a long pause before the old man’s voice broke the silence. “Well, shit.”

Movement above them brought everyone’s eyes up. Sybil and Vick trained their weapons upward as Cekrass moved to cover Shaggy and Levy and Rita edged closer to the building. Tom actually hid BEHIND Shaggy and Levy. Shaggy sent the bastard a few choice emotions down the pack link, but kept his eyes on the older man standing on a nearby roof.

He was dressed in camo pants and a plain beige shirt. There was no sign of the weapon he had used to blast a hole in the street. But Shaggy smelled some kind of burning liquid coming from Obadiah. The old man still smelled of metal, plastic, and oil. The odd mix stung Shaggy’s nose, but he did his best to ignore it. Obadiah put a foot on the edge of the building and glanced down at them.

“You finally ready to do some work for me?”

“Depends how much you pay,” Shaggy grinned. “But we are heading topside, anyway. So I figured we could see what you needed to get done.”

Obadiah gave them all a once over before he stepped off the roof. Shaggy winced as the old man slammed into the ground. It was only a fifteen-foot drop, but that could still mess with your ankles, even if you weren’t an old man. But a large clank brought Shaggy’s gaze back up to where Obadiah slammed into the dirt. The old man was unscathed, but there was a small crater around his feet. Shaggy raised an eyebrow and glanced back at his wife. She gave him an incredulous, but excited, look.

“Well, the pays good. But if you get caught, I won’t be coming for ya.”

Shaggy shrugged, but Levy asked. “What will we be doing?”

Obadiah glanced up and down the road before he waved a hand toward a nearby metal shack. Shaggy and the others piled in except for Cekrass, who stood guard near the door. Shaggy tried to get the big lizard man to come in, but his largest pack member just shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter if I hear it, boss. You lead, I follow. Besides plannings not my strong suit.”

Shaggy shrugged and let the big lizard do what he wanted. Inside the small house, Obadiah lit a nearby candle and sighed. The house was empty save for a few broken bits of furniture and the table Obadiah set the candle on. When he was done, he leaned against the sheet metal wall and looked them over again. Levy huffed, annoyed.

“Well…? Out with it.”

Obadiah smiled at her before he rubbed his hands together. As he did, Shaggy noticed the plastic smell got stronger. He brushed the scent off his nose as Obadiah sighed.

“So, I’ve been working with some of your people for the past few days. Good workers, but they were doing the grunt work. Now that it looks like I have a solid team here, I can fill you in.”

Shaggy nodded and the others all waited with bated breath for the old man to continue. When he did, it almost sounded like Obadiah was apologetic about what he was going to ask them to do.

“I work for a certain clandestine agency. Which I will not name. But suffice it to say, they have some concerns about the Austin area. What I need is a team to go around and collect information and grab a few people. It will all be off the books and highly illegal. But the pay will be lucrative.”

“And the loot?” Levy asked.

Shaggy gave his wife a look. NPCs wouldn’t recognize the term, but she smiled at him and gave a little shake of her head. Obadiah smiled at Levy and answered.

“Whatever you find is yours to keep. But the missions come first.”

“What are these missions? Are we going to have to come back up here to get them one by one?” Shaggy asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Nope. I have a few lists of what my people want done. Once you are done with a list, destroy it to the best of your ability and then move on to the next one. Each list has a reward attached. Once I get confirmation that the list is done, my people will authorize payment.”

“How we gonna get paid if we are all topside?” Tom asked.

Shaggy waved the angry man off. “Send the payments to the Viper’s Den. Tell them to split it normally between the seven of us.”

Obadiah nodded. “I can do that. So you want the jobs?”

Shaggy grinned as he turned to his wife. “Fuck yeah. I always wanted to be a spy.”