Stepping off the curb, Niall looked both ways before crossing the road. He didn’t even look back at Sain as he walked off. He was angry and didn’t want to look at his little brother in case he got the urge to slap the little idiot.

Crossing the street, Niall made a beeline for an alley way, knowing full well where he was headed. A particular club that housed a very unsatisfactory sort of clientele.

Niall set a brisk pace through the jumble of side streets and alleys that made up the connection between the industrial and commercial districts. Or as the commercial district was really known, the red-light district.

Before long, he stepped out of an alley onto a main road and looked around him. The red-light district was still lively, considering it was the middle of the afternoon. And a weekday. But when large swathes of the city were ruled by gangs, it was to be expected.

Taking a left, he meandered along the road, taking care not to look other people in the eyes. That was simply asking for trouble. Occasionally he saw a woman in an alleyway, slouching against the wall or leaning against some other structure. And sometimes they were not alone. He scowled heavily. At one time the police would have stamped out this unregulated prostitution industry, but these days, the Rindai police were number one customers.

Niall shook his head and came to a halt outside his destination. He turned to the entrance, slightly slouched, hands in pockets with thumbs sticking out, acting as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He smirked a little as he looked over the entrance, his eyes catching on the establishment’s business sign. The place was called ‘The Rickety Bitch’ and was a well-known gambling den.

Stepping forward Niall made for the entrance only to be stopped by a hand being held out in front of him. Niall looked towards its owner, an islander and a big brown bastard at that. The fella had forearms as big as Niall’s thigh and was covered head to toe in the traditional tattoos favored by the man’s people.

“What’s your business here mate? We got a private thing on today” the islander asked, his voice thick and gravelly as he looked Niall up and down, not a hint of his thoughts betrayed by his expression.

Niall looked him up and down once more and felt a shiver of apprehension. The guy was massive.

“Is Vlad Kirtsch in?” Niall asked, straight to the point, trying to keep his voice firm, and any emotion out of it. He reckoned the guy would pick up on it. So, he just pulled up his façade of confidence and smirked at the guy.

"Depends on who's asking. Who’re you?” the islander grunted, his big meaty arms coming to cross over his barrel of a chest, and eyes narrowing as he stared at Niall.

“Niall Belford. Used to be one of Vlad’s boys” Niall answered and stood up straight, back arching, a hard look coming to blanket his features as he tried to feign that confidence even more, despite the fact he did not really feel it at all.

"That so. Well, wait here. I’ll see if he is free” the islander stated before beckoning someone behind him. His eyes never left Niall though, locked on him like a snake ready to strike. Another islander stepped forward and Niall swore the two could have been twins, they looked so similar.

“Go check if VK is free. Tell him we got a Niall Belford out front. Wants to see him?” the big guy spoke to the other islander, who promptly turned and headed into the building. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the islander reappeared before thumbing over his shoulder.

“In you go mate. Don’t go looking at anything that isn’t yours though. You might regret it if you do” the big man stated. The other islander laughed and moved aside slightly, allowing Niall to pass.

Niall just ignored him, and with a slight exhale of relief, stepped between the men, and into the building’s doorway. Stepping into the hall, Niall was instantly hit with the smell of perfume. A lot of it. He grimaced as he walked further in, the thrum of music and radio chatter reaching him, and a second later the sound of raucous laughter mixed with vehement cursing. Coming to the end of the hallway, he stood outside a thick purple curtain, and shoving it aside he stepped into the den proper, instantly being blasted by the smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke and stale sweat on top of the already pungent smell of perfume.

Standing still, Niall cast his gaze around, drifting over the myriad gaming tables. Ranging from tables of poker and blackjack to roulette and baccarat. And on almost every wall was a radio blaring commentary of some sort of race being held around the country. Trots, horses or dogs.

Niall didn’t pay any attention to that, and instead looked beyond the tables, over the heads of those invited to this private event. Some sort of party. The room was occupied by somewhere between fifty to one hundred people, but Niall had eyes for only one.

He spotted the man he sought at the far end of the den, on a raised platform, sitting on a couch, with a woman in each arm. And the guy was looking straight at Niall.

Niall felt a shiver run down his spine and it took a great amount of willpower for him to lift a foot and start to walk further into the place. With his jaw clenched tight, Niall slipped his way through the tables and groups of standing guests, his gaze occasionally flicking over the figure of a female guest, or a member of staff, who all seemed to be wearing tightly fitted clothes and dresses, displaying all their curves.

Niall gulped, trying not to give into his youthful urges. Steeling his mind, he looked up as he walked, and before long he reached the bottom of the raised platform, a small set of steps located at its base.

Niall looked either side of him, eyeing off a pair of bodyguards who stood silently at the edge of the platform, their hands clasped before them. Both were big bastards and could have been mistaken as statues due to their complete lack of movement. As they didn’t seem to be concerned with Niall, the youth ignored them, and instead made his way up the steps to the platform.

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Coming to a halt at the top, Niall settled his gaze on the man before him, trying not to get distracted by the man’s hands being full of bare breast. He was kneading a breast on each of these ladies like it was the most natural thing to do.

As Niall opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by Vlad interrupting him.

“Long time no see Niall. What’s it been? Six months? Eight? Dunno. Don’t count. Don’t care. What brings you to my castle?” the man asked, his voice loud, over the music.

Niall scowled. This man was every bit the gangster and he sat there in a white suit, a simple white shirt under his jacket, whilst around his neck and wrists were items of jewelry. All made of gold.

“I want to ask you something about the Blue fang and Jalel. He has been trying to control my brother, as he is a licensed caster with an employer. What do you know about that?” Niall asked outright, his voice hard. He knew with this guy that he had to come in hitting, and risk being knocked out in return. Vlad just stared at him, those hands still kneading the women’s tits. After a short time, Vlad replied, his eyes narrowed.

“You come to my castle and demand answers from me. You don’t know how this works you little cunt” Vlad practically hissed before he stood up, pushing the women away who quickly covered themselves and sunk into the couch, looking timid and afraid. Niall ignored them as best he could. He wasn’t here to be a hero.

As Vlad approached Niall, he tensed, but said nothing. The gangster lifted both hands and placed them on Niall’s shoulders, gripping them. From the close proximity of the man, and the poor light, Niall finally saw the tattoo that wrapped its way up the man’s chest and neck. That of a red Cobra. Flicking his eyes up to stare straight into Vlad’s eyes, Niall scowled.

“Hey. I know the deal. I told you what I wanted. Now you ask me what you want for it” Niall snapped irritably. Vlad grinned, displaying three gold teeth and released Niall, taking a step back from Niall, his hands going up to pat at his slicked back white blond hair.

“Last time you came to me, you begged me not to break your father’s legs over gambling debts. It wasn’t my fault he was loose with his money. Now you come saying my people want to control your brother. Last time I told you to hook me up with that nice Candonese skank you are always stuffing. Turned out she was a starfish mate. A dud. A shitty deal. I still busted a nut though” Vlad growled, his last few words causing him to grab the air and mime thrusting his hips lewdly while making noises for effect.

Niall just stood there, a sour look on his face, beginning to think it was a mistake in coming here. The guy was a real asshole. How had he forgotten that?

“Vlad. You going to help me out here or not?” Niall asked, starting to lose patience. Vlad stopped his movements and stepped close; his face right next to Niall’s so that he could speak straight into his ear.

“Listen you little cunt. Six months ago, I was a Captain, now I am the second of the Red Cobra. So, show me some fucking respect” he growled and then shoved Niall away from him, causing Niall to stagger and nearly fall down the steps. He recovered his footing, coming to a halt two steps down, as the two bodyguards instantly turned their attention on Niall, their threat implied. Niall stayed where he was and just simmered. He stood there quietly, glowering at Vlad who did a little walk in a circle.

Feeling eyes on him, Niall looked around quickly and noticed all eyes were on him now. Many of the attendees at this party were watching the spectacle with bated breath. This was not a situation Niall wanted to be in and he wholly regretted the decision to come here now.

Vlad stopped pacing then and instead stepped towards Niall, leaning over Niall as the young man balanced on the edge of the highest step, causing him to arch his back a little.

"Tell you what Niall. I’ll ask around. See what folks know. I’ll get back to you. And then you’ll owe me a favor. A freebie. How’s that sound? We go way back, and we both know employed casters bring attention we don't want” Vlad said rather softly. Niall didn’t have to look around to know the looks of the spectators. He could practically feel their smirks. Their condescending gazes. Fuck these guys.

“Yeah, sounds good VK. I can live with that” Niall stated, just wanting this to be over. It was taking all his willpower simply to not show how nervous and fearful he was. Sometimes he felt like his faked confidence would crack under the barest bit of scrutiny.

“Good. We have a deal. Now get the fuck out” Vlad stated and motioned with a hand at one of his bodyguards.

The guy approached Niall and grabbed the young man by the shoulder and wasted no time in guiding Niall out. The crowd of people simply parted, little snickers coming from several well-dressed ladies. Smirks painted on the faces of the other gangbangers, dressed in a wide variety of suits.

They all disappeared though as Niall was shoved into the hallway and the guard left him, leaving Niall to walk out of the building himself. He did as much, and when he stepped over that threshold, he had to lift a hand to shield his eyes from the suddenly too bright afternoon sun.

He let out a relieved sigh and left the place behind, having no interest in staying in this seedy part of town now that his business was done. He knew that despite all the bluster, threats and indecent acts, Vlad would carry through with his promise. Or at least he hoped so. Niall was simply worried about the price the gangster would demand. Niall only had so many hot friends in this city. And few of them were willing to help Niall out these days. And if Vlad was the second in command of the Red Cobra now, then the price would be way steeper than when he was a captain. Niall shivered at the thought and just kept walking, wanting the place behind him sooner rather than later.

Leaving the Red-Light District behind, Niall instead made his way down towards the bay, where he knew of a small bar run by some of the nicer mobsters in town. The sort that ran trade out of the port. It took him a while to get there, a little under an hour on foot, but he didn’t mind. He only had time to kill for now. As he turned a corner, he caught the full view of the bay, the street running sharply downhill. He could see it in the distance, perhaps three kilometers to the wharves and warehouses. Doing a quick turn, he meandered down a small side street and came to a flight of stairs that ran down under a large building. A sort of makeshift office block.

Going down, he pushed open the small wooden door and walked into a tiny bar that must have been at best ten meters long and half as much wide, with only a few tables spread around its tight confines. Most of the stools were pushed up against the bar and three were already occupied by those he guessed to be regulars.

“Welcome to Ashley’s House of Ale” he heard a sweet voice pipe up and Niall turned to look at the one speaking, a small grin on his face, being matched by the bartender. She was probably in her mid-twenties, sporting a long brown ponytail over one shoulder and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Ah Emily. Fancy seeing you here” Niall stated as he approached the bar and took a seat at one of the few stools and placed his bag of bread on the counter. He looked her up and down and grinned.

“Looking pretty professional there Em" Niall stated, looking at her white buttoned up shirt, and the waistcoat she wore over it.

“Only the best at Ashley’s right Nail’s” Em stated, a sly look on her face as she used his old nickname. Never could shake that one off.

“How long you in town?” she asked of him as she leant over the counter, staring hard into his eyes. Niall smirked and leaned in close to meet her, their noses nearly touching.

“I’d say long enough. Enough time for a bit of fun” Niall answered, his façade of confidence falling away to be replaced by true self-assurance and confidence, and in very large amounts.