The sun was setting when two black carriages, one Infront of the other, pulled around a slate rock driveway. When the carriages stopped, a man wearing white gloves opened the door of the first carriage. Benj stepped out, turned, and held his hand to help Lucia out as well. She slapped his hand out of the way and got out by herself. Pots and Jafa climbed out after her before the man with white gloves shut the door and walked to the carriage behind them. He opened the door, and Reese climbed out and offered him several coins.

Reese wore blue trousers and a loose white tunic. His tunic was open at the chest, revealing three differently shaped medallions hanging from two precious metal chains and one black cord. His sword swayed from left to right as he walked towards the others.

"Is everyone ready?" Reese asked, assessing each of them in turn.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be. My heart is racing right now," Jafa said as he grabbed Pots' hand and brought it to his chest. Just feel it."

Pots held his hand there a moment and then retracted it. "It's fast."

"I couldn't be more at ease," Lucia said, regarding just about anybody but Benj. "It's a beautiful evening, and I get to spend it with three of my favorite people."

Benj didn't need to count the people standing around to know that he was excluded from that comment. Lucia was mad at him, and there wasn't much he could do about it. "Shall we head up before anyone decides to say any more hurtful things?"

Reese gave Benj a reassuring pat on the back, and they all made their way up the stairs to the front door of the large estate. Before he could knock, the large doors swung inward, revealing two large brutes with grim-looking features. A man wearing a white silk robe with a fur-lined hood walked around the corner to greet them.

"Gentlemen," The man in silk robes smiled, showing more gold teeth than not. He went by the name Axe and nothing else. "Welcome to my home. Come inside." He waved them in, showering them with glittering light from each ring on each finger.

He led the five Crownsmiths past gaudy decorations, an indoor fountain, and sculptures of women in varied states of undress. Pots and Jafa made brief pauses to appreciate the sculptures.

Axe brought them to a lantern-lit room that held a long table. "Please, have a seat." He turned to the same man who opened their carriage doors and instructed him to bring drinks. "I feel like we all started off on the wrong foot. I know we exchanged some letters, but it's hard to read the tone of friendliness in mere words. Tell me what I can do for you this evening to bridge that gap."

Reese relaxed in his chair and looked around. "This is a beautiful place you have here. I can tell you worked hard to get where you are."

"Thank you, and yes." Axe folded his ringed fingers together on the table. "Can you believe that ten years ago, I was nobody? I shoveled stables for spare marks. I lived in a room less the size of this table. But look at me now," he raised his arms around. "I can't even piss without getting my money wet."

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"I think it's incredible that you can make all this money and still pay your people a fair wage." Reese leveled his eyes at Axe.

"Of course!" Axe bellowed. "A lot of people don't do this, but I pay my girls more than they deserve. They're happy. That's how I get them to stay. They can leave whenever they want."

Reese grunted and closed his eyes. He knew when Axe was lying because he could see the lies like he could see sunlight through a dusty window. The ability came from one of the three runes around his neck. The other two made him stronger and gave him incredibly tough skin.

A man in gloves came with a tray of jeweled goblets. He offered them to Axe before making his way around the table, offering drinks to everyone else.

Reese set his drink in front of him. It was a deep red and smelled bitter. "Are these drinks safe?"

"Yes, of course, they're safe," Axe demonstrated by taking a sip of his own. "What do you think? I put poison?"

Reese slid his drink away ever so slightly and tapped on the table several times. "Of course not. So, let's level with eachother. You've ignored my letters to clean up your business on Canal Street. You are beating your girls, hiring street thugs to settle your debts, and there seems to be an awful lot of murders that happen in and around your location. I've heard other rumors but won't waste anyone's time with them."

Pots started raising the drink to his mouth when Jafa put his hand on it and lowered it back to the table.

Axe looked nervously at everyone's untouched drinks. "I can't say anything about the murders. What people do, they do. I might hire someone here or there to encourage people to pay a debt or two, but what harm is it? And the women, you know women."

"No, I don't know women," Lucia leaned slightly forward. "Why don't you tell me about them."

Axe looked at Lucia incredulously. "You allow your women to speak out of turn like this?"

The room grew silent.

"Wait a minute. Don't I recognize you from somewhere?" Axe leaned forward in his chair towards Lucia. "You're the one that kicked one of my best-paying clients in the balls! You cost me a lot of money."

"Oh, did I?" Lucia feigned concern. "I am so sorry about that. Maybe you can show me how to act when someone tries to take you against your will."

"Insolent woman," Axe stood from his chair and started moving towards her. "I will teach you some respect."

"Sit down, Axe, have a drink." Reese smiled insincerely. "I can't promise I can protect you from her if you go this route."

"No woman has power over me," Axe said, clapping his hands twice.

Nothing happened.

Reese stood up and started walking around the table.

Axe clapped his hands again and then called for his thugs. When no one came, he pulled a knife from inside his robe.

As Reese walked up to him, Axe stabbed at his stomach. The knife made a dull clang and clattered out of his hand. Reese reached back and punched him in the face, knocking the man into a pile of silk robes.

"Sorry, Bash, I was going to let you punch him first, but my hands acted by themselves," Reese gently shook Axe's head. "When he wakes up, you can punch him again if you like?"

Lucia shrugged. "It's alright. I have a better idea anyway. Let's get to work."

The door opened, and three casually dressed men walked inside: two of the Crownsmith assassins and their leader.

"How did it go, Ren?" Reese asked, feeling the fur on Axe's robe.

"We only had to kill one of them; the rest followed instructions well enough," Ren said, looking around and pointing at Axe's left hand. "Can I have one?"

Reese lifted Axe's limp hand. "Take any one you want."

Ren plucked the ring off the man's smallest finger.

"Don't be selfish; take some for your friends, too," Reese said, raising the limp hand.

After weighing his options, Ren removed two more rings and handed them to Poler and Easel.

"Ren, will you please see if Axe has any extra horses or carriages outside?" Reese set the hand down. "I want some of those statues, but we don't have room for them."

"I want some statues too, and so does Pots," Jafa said tying the unconscious man to the chair.

Ren put his hand to his mouth and whistled. "Let's go find transport."

The three assassins left. The other thieves left, too, leaving Reese alone with Axe.