Tony was on edge.

When they first all sat down in the back of his limo, Jace, Gnarl, Tony, and his two security guards, he thought maybe Tony hated being sandwiched between his guards, or maybe he’d just sat down wrong. But, Jace couldn’t miss the odd glances he kept throwing at him and Gnarl, the apprehension in his stance. The ride was silent, with the only thing they heard being the hissing of the limo engine.

“You alright, Tony?”

“Huh? Yeah! Yeah, man, I’m fine. This suit’s just tight.”

From those first words, HJace could then read Tony’s nature, feeling the anxiety and doubt hidden underneath the cool personality. He was always like that; his Talent only confirmed what he already knew. But, the anxiety was worse. Was it bringing them to meet his father unannounced? Was it the suit?

Or was it the guilt of betrayal?

“[Speech 30] Remember the tree fort?”

Jace cleared his throat. “Been a while, but…you remember the tree fort we built in Max’s backyard?”

Max Sterling was the mastermind of the team, and at a mention of his name, Tony perked up. His apprehension quickly melted to a nostalgic smile. “You mean the one you almost busted your damn head open trying to race me to the top?”

Jace scoffed. “Race? That wasn’t a race; you couldn’t climb a tree if your life depended on it. That’s why I had to fall so I didn’t embarrass you!”

Tony raised his eyebrows, shaking his head. “Not what I remember, tough guy. You were all like ‘wah! My head!’ just cause of a damn rock!”

Even Gnarl chuckled at that one. “Is that true, Jace? My kind consider surviving a fall on a rock to be a child's test of strength.”

“Really?” Jace asked.

“No.”

Tony held his sides in laughter. “Even the orc’s cracking jokes on ya! You always made it easy on yourself, Jace. How’ve you been?”

He’s opened up, now. “Oh, good. Real comfortable these last few years,” Jace said. “They put me in a cell with nice furniture and everything.”

“Did they make you worse at lying, too? Come on, man. I know it hasn’t been easy.”

“‘Not easy’ describes it lightly. The things they put me through…what they fed me…what they didn’t…I’m glad it’s over.”

Jace slowed down the pace of his words, watching as Tony nervously shifted in his seat.

“Me too. A lot’s changed since you’ve been gone. I can’t believe the job went south that badly. I should’ve been there. I could’ve—”

Jace raised a hand. “It’s alright. The less said about that night, the better. He played on Tony’s emotions more, but deep down, the only reason he interrupted him was because his talent told him that was a lie.

Did he know the job would go south that badly?

“Have you heard from the others?” Jace asked.

Tony shook his head. “The team disbanded not long after that. I went back to focusing on the family, Aria went back north, Throk went on a holiday train that ended up getting robbed in the south. Max just disappeared — ain’t nobody heard from him at all.”

Jace set his jaw, feigning silent mourning. While Tony and his family funded their operations and sourced their equipment, Aria Nightshade was the Bound Mage of the group, their main source of knowledge for anything too advanced or magical. If she had returned to Mage Country after their last heist, that gave him a concrete trail to follow, more than Throk being lost in the south.

Both of those were better than knowing nothing, in Max’s case. If anyone orchestrated backstabbing him on the night of the heist, it would be their leader. He was the one Jace wanted to get his hands on more than anything, but him being gone was worrying.

Hopefully someone else didn’t get him first.

The limo slowed down, in front of an upscale cigar lounge. Tony perked up, raising his head. “We’re here. Chill here for a moment, Jace, Orc. I’ll send the fellas out once I let my Father know.”

A valet came to open the door, and Tony stepped out of the limo, taking his two guards with him. Once the door closed, Jace and Gnarl were alone.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“I don’t like this, Jace,” Gnarl said. “These men do not know the word of the Divine. Is it truly justified to seek their help?”

Jace didn’t even have to use a Speech check to lie on this one. “I don’t like working with the mafia either. And Tony, we may seem cool, but he was part of the reason I was on death row in the first place.”

“So why cooperate?”

“The cause is more important than my feelings. If anyone knows about all the Orcs that just escaped into the city, it’s Mr. Giovanni. A bunch of escaped, desperate prisoners is a bunch of new employee’s seeking safety and jobs, and he’s got his fingers in every pie.”

“This is to gather our army.”

Jace nodded. “And to get them somewhere safe.”

----------------------------------------

One of Tony’s men returned a few minutes later for Jace — alone.

Into the belly of the beast, I guess.

The cigar lounge was as nice on the inside was it was on the outside. As the jazz band sang over the haze of scorching cigarette scents in the air and the low light, everyone around him was wearing some type of fur or jewelry, all proudly displayed as they chattered quietly and sipped from wine glasses half as expensive as the potential reward of his last heist.

Tony’s men led him to the back corner, where Tony and Mr. Giovanni himself sat in the booth. Mr. Giovanni was bald, but so wide, you’d think he was the reason for the empire’s starvation, by eating the food himself.

He extended his arm sin a broad gesture. “Jace Elric! Why, I remember when yous was just this tall,” Mr. Tiovanni said, gesturing with his hand. “And now you're the man that defied death. You know, my son came in nervous when he was telling me you were in the car to speak with me, but I almost congratulated him! Saves me the trouble of tracking you down myself.”

Jace sat down. “You were gonna look for me, too?”

“Of course, my boy. After all, how else wouldn’t want the man claiming to know the secret to immortality? Eh?” He jabbed an elbow into Jace’s side humorously. “You’ve got ‘em all by the tusks with that tale, all those Orcs.”

“I wouldn’t call it a tale. That’s what I came to talk to you about, in fact.”

Mr. Giovanni raised his eyebrows. “Well! I’m all ears. Tony, leave us be. I’d like to hear your friend’s offer. Wait out in your limo — I’ll send him back when we’re done, capische?”

With a silent nod, Tony got up and left.

Jace took a deep breath, reaching out to read Mr. Giovanni’s Nature. Though he was a joyous man on the outside, business was all he cared about, and only if it involved him. He’d rather be at home anyway, wherever that was, compared to being in a place as smelly as this, trapped by the scent of other people’s cigars.

“I had a feeling you had contacts involved with all the orcs that escaped today,” Jace said.

“It would be a crime if I didn’t, my boy. Knowing is my job — acting on that knowledge, I leave to the muscle. Why?”

“[Speech 40/60] I need your help to get them to safety.”

“Well, Mr. Giovanni, my cause depends on those orcs. You’re the only man I know who could help me round them all up and get them all to safety under the Magistrate’s nose.”

Mr. Giovanni scoffed. “Of course, but you have to consider the scope of what you’re asking. Human or not, do you know what unites escaped convicts in times like these? Money. Work. Safety. I’m selling shovels in a gold rush, and you come to take my customers, expecting me to do it for free?”

Worth a shot.

As soon as he saw the odds, Jace wasn’t counting on that Speech check to actually work. “I never said for free. I knew you'd want something in return.”

“Now you’re speaking my language. Did you learn that locked up?”

“Rubbed off from your son,” Jace said.

“That’s my boy. Well, you’re right, and I have just the opportunity. I have a shipment of product that passes by train through the North, but the lines’ve been getting hit every time. You’re Bound, aren’t you? I can tell,” he pointed at the white line hovering on the inside of Jace’s wrist, floating over his clothing. “A Bound like you and the extra muscle of your Orc friend, I think that shipment should make it to its destination with no hassle. Understand?”

“You want us to protect it.”

“And then I’ll consider rounding up these escaped Orcs for you. Only a consideration though, Jace, because as I said — that’s a lot of customers you’re taking. It’s, what, at least a hundred of em? Two hundred?”

“[Speech 40/50] You can have them all in one place.”

It was a gamble, but Jace couldn’t back down on this. He chose his words carefully, making it sound less like a favor for him and more like an opportunity. “With respect, Mr. Giovanni, think about it like this. Once I protect that train for you, if you help me get those Orcs out of here, you’ll have them all in one place, led by a guy who’d be more than willing to, say…dispatch a squad out when you need someone extra-roughed up?”

Mr. Giovanni started off nodding slowly, but it became faster and faster as the idea set in his mind. “Well. I might have to take back saying I’d ‘consider’ it. I’ll give you and your friend a place to stay for the night, but if you two can keep that train safe tomorrow, we’ll have a deal.”

“Level up! Master Speech is now Level 41.”

“[Speech 40] Can you give us any extra help?”

“Is there anyone else there to defend that shipment? Any extra help you can send?”

“Well, if you’re asking, I can send a Gravitybinder with you, too! Him, right over there.”

Jace followed Mr. Giovnani’s point, but his heart filled with dread as he locked eyes with the man dressed in an all black cloak across the cigar lounge, white eyes gleaming in the darkness as he focused specifically on Jace.

He gulped. “What’s his name?”

“George. Tony’s gonna take you two to your temporary apartment for the night, and then he’ll come pick you up tomorrow with George, too. Don’t worry, he’s a sweetheart.”

“Level up! Master Speech is now Level 42.”