Wolfe stomped back through the garden, paying two dollars to the gardener card up front for the third time. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he tried to sneak in without paying but didn’t want to test it when he was counting on stealth to help him gain kills. If he got even one card from this situation, after all, it would pay the little garden girl thousands of times over.

Wolfe had set two goals for himself—kill the damned Cobra deckbearer and get his cards first, and kill Billy to avenge Heinrick and carry out Big Man Grimm’s wishes second. Although his own irritation with the arrogant little prick made him want to end Billy more, even though it wasn’t the most important thing.

Wolfe swiped his cards and pulled his ‘soul hunter’ mantle. The red glow manifested and flew to cover Wolfe, giving him fake horns. He watched his stats—his current seven attack gained two attack and then gained another one from Wolfe’s ‘master mantle’ perk, which increased numerical gain from mantle’s by fifty percent. It gave him a ten, even with his penalties from being wounded.

If his enemies were Infernal, he would gain another nearly forty percent from the other boost the mantle provided. But even ten, against the usual five or six defense, would be pretty devastating.

As Wolfe walked through the garden, he couldn’t decide if he was being foolish, staying in this fight. He was down to fifteen health and had slight combat penalties listed on his status sheet—not that he needed the status sheet to tell him that his arm and legs all still hurt and were a touch stiff. But when pushed came to shove, especially when it was Wolfe feeling pushed or shoved, his instinct was to fight. He had been suppressing that for the family, but that was over now—and his instinct was to kill.

But everything had been frustrating him lately, and now that he knew the cobras were working for Damian, who had betrayed the family… he wanted to end them. Reduce his enemies.

And his mantle was quite powerful when combined with his perk.

As he pushed his way to the very last row of hedges, and gazed at his enemies, his final thought before combat was that he didn’t care, in this moment, if he was being foolish. He was going to end some of his enemies.

As the bear raged, Wolfe saw one of the cobra thugs click on empty and glance down at his gun. He turned, his eyes focusing on the hedge, and ran almost straight at Wolfe’s hiding place.

Wolfe moved slightly, careful not to rustle the hedge, as the Cobra thug approached. The thug dived into the bushes, coming face to face with Wolfe, who stood and kneed the offending Cobra in the face as hard as he could, backed by his mantle.

Wolfe hit so hard that teeth shattered, bone crunched, and blood exploded from the thug’s face. The thug’s neck slewed sideways so hard Wolfe heard grinding and snapping. His enemy dropped to the ground, unmoving.

Deckbearer Ethan Wolfe engages in combat with Cobra Thug. Ethan makes a surprise melee Physical Attack at 17 against Cobra Thug’s Physical Defense of 3. Damage dealt is 96. (17 * (17/3)). Damage exceeds Cobra Thug’s health. Damage is non-lethal. Non-lethal Damage exceeds four times Cobra’s health. Damage becomes Lethal. Cobra Deckbearer is slain before counter.

Cobra Thug is eliminated. Cobra Thug was a Level 1 human and Deckbearer Ethan Wolfe gains 12 experience.

Wolfe could feel the power the mantle granted, but he also knew the thug had gotten crazy unlucky, getting the worst possible defense modifier roll and Wolfe had gotten near the highest attack modifier roll.

Still, his power was insane when he was mantled. He knew he’d taken bullets without too much damage, but something about killing a man with a single blow really drove home how powerful the mantle was.

But this mook wasn’t his target. Or even important.

Wolfe took the thug’s gun and reloaded it. It wasn’t much different from his own, but just in case, he wanted the extra confusion.

“Stay back,” Wolfe said to Cereboo. “Just keep me alive if a monster comes for me, okay?”

Cereboo wolfed lightly and shuffled back half a pace, but his body was tensed and obviously ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

Wolfe glanced back through the hedges.

The fight was still going. At some point, somehow, the bear-tree had gotten ahold of the flying fire-lash demon, and was beating it to death on the ground. The deckbearer that has manifested it had retreated back into the mansion, however, with a trail of blood marking his escape.

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Wolfe hoped for his sake that the obstinate fucker had a healing card—it appeared to be a lot of blood. He was briefly tempted to try and loot the powerful bastard if he did die, but he suspected the guy would live, and everyone else would be gunning for him—Wolfe wouldn’t stay hidden.

On the other side, Wolfe counted five bodies. With the one he had jacked, he was pretty sure they had less than ten guys left, although most appeared totally healthy. Wolfe chuckled grimly to himself. He was pretty sure that if Bear-tree hit, you died—there wasn’t really a ‘wounded’ situation in this fight for the Cobras.

Can’t wait till I can command power like that.

Wolfe leveled the gun, waiting for a burst of gunfire from the Cobras. Then he carefully squeezed off shots at their rear-most men, each bullet carrying a faint red haze as it headed toward its target. He dismissed the rapid experience notifications as he dropped one Cobra after another, his mantle giving him the extra ‘oomph’ to make nearly each shot fatal. As he shot them, Wolfe whispered to himself. “Take that, fuckers. Bring that shit into my house, will you? Try and kill the big man’s son? This is what you get.”

Five of the Cobras—half their remaining people—died in a few seconds as Wolfe fired off his shots. Just as the Cobras started to realize what was happening, Wolfe caught sight of the Cobra Deckbearer, hiding in the bushes as well. The fiery demon died, and the deckbearer pulled an imp out—obviously a stopgap measure to keep the Bear-Tree from finishing him.

But, as always, Wolfe had a trump card for the situation. “I don’t have to fight your stupid little minion, fuckface,” Wolfe whispered to himself with glee, while drawing a bead on the deckbearer. He could see a red outline around his enemy as well—for most people, the mantle would have protected them. But whatever stats it gave the deckbearer, it also gave Wolfe nearly forty-percent additional kill power, since his target was Infernal typed now—meat for the ‘soul hunter’ mantle he wore.

Wolfe aimed through the foliage and pulled the trigger, feeling the moment perfectly.

His target’s head exploded, blowing away from the shot. Wolfe noted that his target had been Level Nine, which mildly shocked him. He thought he knew all the important people in the Cobras, but he had no idea who he had just shot to death—he didn’t know of any powerful deckbearers in the Cobras except Nico and Klaus.

Now to get the cards.

Even as Wolfe thought it, he heard sirens. Fuck. I guess I have to hunt Billy later.

Wolfe shot the Cobra that first tried to reach the cards that had appeared on the ground next to his target, and he rushed from his spot. He almost abandoned his rush as a Cobra shot at him and the Bear-Tree suddenly swerved and rushed him.

But Cereboo ran beside him and lunged at the giant foot, snapping and biting with all three heads. Wolfe returned the favor and shot at the man that had tried to hit him, but with both of them running he barely winged him. Wolfe grabbed at his deck and threw a ‘rescue pup’ down as the Bear-Tree stomped hard on Cereboo, who gave one cut off howl as his body pulped.

Two can play the expendable mook game, asshole, Wolfe thought, glancing back at the Mansion. He saw the wounded deckbearer now directing his bear-tree, and a terror bird, to chase Wolfe. What an asshole. Must want the cards to sell, as if the half mil to couple mil is that important to a guy with a giant mansion and his own private park.

Wolfe slid across the freshly cut grass and grabbed all the cards, incidentally dodging a couple bullets, and then rolled into the underbrush. Time to get the fuck out of dodge.

He kept rolling, switched his cards, and threw his ‘fireborn hellhound’ out as well. Against the bear-tree, he suspected it would die as fast as the ‘rescue pup,’ but he just needed a few seconds. Wolfe ran through the underbrush, dodging trees, and then headed out onto the street at a dead run. He saw the flashing of lights reflected in the windows of a mansion on a cross street. He ran as fast as he could across the street, onto some guys front yard and then across. He hit the back fence at a dead run and propelled himself over it with a one-handed leap.

He landed in a flower bed lay still, gun out for a moment. No threats.

He rolled sideways, against the fence he had just jumped, turned and peaked through the slats. Across the street the cop cars screeched haphazardly to a stop in front of the park and charged toward the mansion. Not a single one turned his way.

Perfect.

Wolfe was about to get up and head out when, at the far edge of the garden, he saw a man pop out and rush across the street like Wolfe had, only a few mansions down.

No way! Wolfe thought, his glee rising. Kinda sick looking, tattoo of a devil on his neck and the snake on his shoulder, bald… it’s fucking Billy!

Wolfe laughed to himself, giddy for some reason. He rushed across the back yard of the mansion, over not one but two ponds and past a pool, then leapt the fence. He kept it up through another yard with a fetish for statues and a third that Wolfe thought might have been aiming to have an entire colony of hummingbirds there were so many feeders.

He jumped to check each time, and when he reached the fourth house, he saw Billy cut across the street and jump a fence, just like Wolfe had. One house down.

Wolfe went over the fence into the fifth yard, which had an honest to god hedge maze in it for some inane reason. Billy isn’t going to stay in the hedge maze, he’s gonna try and go through the back fence to get away.

Wolfe rushed along his fence till it hit the connecting fence, then looked sideways. He saw Billy approaching the back fence, just as he’d figured. He rushed, as quietly as he could, and just as Billy jumped up and started to pull himself over the back fence Wolfe hit him hard. Billy let out a squawk as he was flung back to the ground, letting outa further grunt of agony as his arm snapped.

Wolfe landed on him, hands hitting his mouth before his weight fell on Billy. He felt Billy trying to scream through his hand as he crushed his recently wounded arm, but Wolfe didn’t care. This guy was a rapist, a murderer of innocents, and a murderer of Wolfe’s people. His life was forfeit.

Wolfe grabbed his gun, managing to keep one hand over Billy’s mouth. He couldn’t risk a gunshot… he reversed it, butt first, and raised it above his head.

Billy’s eyes went wide as Wolfe brought the gun butt down hard.

***

Twenty minutes later, hiding in the bushes outside an entirely different mansion four blocks over, splattered with blood, Wolfe flipped his phone up. He texted Shel.

It’s over, I won. Once Junior is safe come get me. Then he hit the location button.