Building a Criminal Empire

by Logan Jacobs

  “Here,” I said as I tossed the halfling the stable’s key.

  “No worries, though. It’s easy and fun to learn,” Dar said as he unlocked the stables and held the door open for us. “Especially when we have a few drinks in us.”

  “Perfect,” Penny chuckled as she walked in first and greeted an eager Azure.

  “Wade, grab the bottle, and I’ll get the game set up,” Dar ordered as I walked into the stables.

  “I’ll give us some light,” Cimarra said as she lit the two lanterns on the wall.

  “I can’t believe we are going to play a game,” Dar laughed like a little kid.

  “Sheesh,” Penny sighed. “Settle down over there.”

  “No, no.” Dar wagged his finger at the pixie. “You’re not going to ruin this for me.”

  “Ruin it?” Penny laughed, and this led into a few more sarcastic remarks between the both of them.

  Whenever they argued, it was really just them expressing how much they respected each other. So, I never really interjected unless they were truly upset.

  But that was rare.

  “We’ll probably kill the bottle,” I said as I walked over to the six barrels next to the elephant tubs, grabbed the sample bottle, and uncorked it. “Do we just want to pass it around? I don’t think we have any cups.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Dar said as he jogged over to the table. “I ain’t afraid of any cooties.”

  “I’m afraid of Wade’s,” Penny smirked.

  “That’s not what I saw by the riv--”

  “Alright,” I cut my friend off as I wandered over to the table and took a seat in between Cimarra and Penny. “Explain this damned game you won’t shut up about.”

  “Fine,” Dar said as he sat across from me, reached into his pockets, and a look of confusion washed over his face. “Where’re my cards?”

  “You keep cards in your pants?” Penny asked.

  “Who doesn’t?” Dar replied as he stood up and moved over to his bed. “Fuck.”

  “Drink?” I offered the bottle to Penny.

  “Please.” Penny took the bottle, brought it to her lips, and took a quick swig. “Yep, still burns like I remember it.”

  “Cim?” I slid the bottle to the dancer.

  “Of course.” Cimarra took a drink and grimaced when she swallowed. “Burns all the way down.”

  “That’s the best part,” I said with a grin and took another swig.

  “Found them!” Dar shouted from behind us and then jogged back to the table. “Okay, so this is how the game works, first you ne--”

  Suddenly, the stable door swung open and Penny, Dar, and I instantly had our blades in our hands.

  “It’s me,” Ava’s voice called out before she walked inside and then shut the door behind her.

  “Fuck,” Dar breathed as he placed the cards and his dagger down on the table.

  “That upset to see me?” Ava smirked as she lowered her hood.

  “I just have a feeling the news you bring will,” Dar sighed.

  Ava untied her black overcoat, slid it off her shoulders, folded it, and placed it near the door. Then she turned around to face us, and dark craters encircled her green eyes, her blonde hair was disheveled, but her face was as composed as ever.

  If she had bad news to share with us, she knew how to hide it well.

  “Want a drink?” Penny offered the assassin the bottle of whiskey. “Looks like you need one.”

  “No, thank you,” Ava said as she walked over to the table and leaned her hands on top of it. “I spoke with my guild leader again today.”

  “And?” I prodded.

  “He shut me out,” Ava hissed as she dropped her head.

  “What do you mean?” Penny asked as she took another swig of the whiskey.

  “He’s keeping information from me now,” Ava sneered. “I know him too well, and I’m starting to think he knows me just as well.”

  “Is it safe to assume that he will not be convinced of our innocence?” I questioned.

  “We have to start thinking that way, yes.” Ava lifted her head and looked at me. “I wish I could tell you what that means for you, but I simply do not know.”

  “What did he tell you to do after you left him?” Cimarra asked.

  “Nothing new,” Ava replied. “He just said for me to keep trailing you and to keep him updated as I find out more information.”

  “Well, that’s not so bad,” Dar said with a slight shrug. “That sounds like we still have time before he sends the guild after us or something.”

  “Like I told you before,” Ava glanced at Dar. “You don’t know Fallor like I do. You don’t have a lot of time. In fact, I’ve lost my sense for how much you truly have until he steps all the way in.”

  “If he hasn’t already,” I added.

  “Exactly.” Ava nodded. “I will try my best to continue to delay him as much as I can.”

  “What about you?” Dar questioned. “Won’t he kill you, too?”

  “I’m not sure,” Ava clicked her tongue.

  “He still trusts you, right?” I asked.

  “I’m his best assassin,” Ava replied. “And that’s the only reason he hasn’t pulled me from the assignment.”

  “But his trust is waning?” I prodded.

  “I’d say so,” Ava said with a solemn nod.

  “Then this is a perfect time,” I said as I unsheathed my knife and stuck it into the table right by Ava’s hand.

  “For what?” Ava didn’t budge.

  “Join our cause,” I said. “The guild has abandoned you, Ava.”

  “They haven’t--”

  “They have,” I cut her off. “I know you see this, but you’re not accepting it.”

  “Just because he doesn’t believe me, doesn’t mean--”

  “I know you feared this day because you know deep down that this Fallor will kill you as soon as he finds out the truth,” I breathed. “It’s time for you to officially choose.”

  “Wade …” Cimarra breathed.

  “I know he would be upset that I broke the code, but …” Ava’s forehead wrinkled as she thought. “But, I’m still his--”

  “Best assassin, right?” I finished her sentence. “Yet, he’s slowly pushing you away without even knowing all the details.”

  “I know,” Ava sighed.

  She was still holding onto hope that she could continue her life with the guild and help us at the same time.

  That was a fantasy that would never happen.

  “You said it yourself,” I said as I turned in my chair to face the conflicted assassin. “You’re not sure how much time we have. So, now, I have to decide.”

  “And what’s that?” Ava said as she lifted her hands off the table.

  “Do I continue to trust you?” I replied. “Because where this is heading, I need to know, especially the longer we wait for your leader to make a move.”

  “I thought I had proven myself to you already,” Ava sneered. “I’ve been running around the realm, finding a place to keep the nightshade seeds, and delaying the inevitable.”

  “Which is?” I asked.

  “Your deaths,” Ava answered.

  “See,” I said with a smirk. “That doesn’t sit right with me.”

  “There’s nothing I can do if Fallor unleashes the entire guild on you all.”

  “You haven’t accepted that you’re one of us,” I said with a smirk. “You still think he might spare you.”

  “I’m the best he has!” Ava slammed her fist into the table and caused the elven painting, the deck of cards, and the whiskey bottle to fall to the floor.

  “Shit.” Penny stood and began to twirl her dagger in her fingers.

  “Ava,” I breathed. “Let them go.”

  “They …” Ava narrowed her eyes.

  “I know you’ve been helping us, but you’ve never committed, so you have to understand why I’m wary, especially the longer this situation lingers with your guild,” I said and noticed Penny
nodding along with every word.

  I knew Ava was with us, but she just needed to know that for herself.

  “I understand,” Ava locked eyes with me and then dropped them onto my blade, still stuck in the table.

  “We take a blood oath here,” I said as I watched her eyes. “Once it’s taken, we never take it back, and that means we never abandon each other.”

  “We’re a family,” Dar added. “But most importantly, we’re not like the other guilds feeding the leader everything we earn, we earn for ourselves, and the group at the same time.”

  “Adrian,” Ava muttered under her breath and then looked up toward us with tears pooling in her eyes. “Being an assassin is all I know.”

  “And we’re not asking you to change,” I replied. “In fact, we need you as you are.”

  There was a few seconds of silence that filled the room.

  As hard as it was for Ava, it was beautiful to witness. Her guild had their tentacles so far inside of her, but now she was breaking free.

  “Alright,” Ava whispered as she wiped at her eyes. “You’re right, it’s time.”

  “You’re all in?” I asked.

  “I am.” Ava nodded. “What do I need to do?”

  Chapter 11 - Ava

  “Until death claims us,” I said as I sliced my palm with Wade’s knife. Maybe it was the adrenaline pulsing through my body, or my hand went numb, but I didn’t feel any pain. I only felt the warmth from my blood drip down my wrist.

  If only Adrian could see me now.

  His spirit was quiet these last few days, and part of me wondered if I never heard his voice at all.

  “Welcome to the whiskey family,” Dar celebrated with a clap. “And looks like you bleed red like the rest of us!”

  “Huh?” I cocked my eye at the halfling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “We all kind of thought you might be uh … a halfie,” Dar murmured as he averted his eyes from mine.

  “Really?” I chuckled as I wiped my blood off on my leg. “Do halfies even bleed blue?”

  “Oh, shit,” Dar said as he scratched at his neck, “I dunno.”

  “We’d still like you even if you were,” Wade added as he took my bloody hand and wrapped it in a rag he got near the elephant tubs. “This’ll sting a bit since some whiskey residue is on it, but that’ll only clean the wound.”

  “Well, then, the mystery lives on, eh?” I grimaced as I felt a slight sting race through my palm and up my arm.

  “Are you a halfie?” Dar asked bluntly.

  “I don’t tell anyone my secrets.” I pretended to zip my lips shut and toss away the key.

  I enjoyed teasing Dar.

  “I’m going to find out.” Dar grinned. “Either way, it’s not a bad thing, we have a halfie in the--”

  “Dar,” Wade dismissed his friend with his hand. “That doesn’t matter. We’re just glad to officially have you on board with us, Ava. We won’t let you down.”

  “I won’t let you down, either,” I said as I flexed my hand wrapped in the rag. “Even though you thought I had blue blood in my veins.”

  “My bad,” Dar said with a smirk.

  “You want a drink now?” Penny offered the bottle of whiskey to me again.

  “Never had it,” I answered as I glanced at the bottle of clear liquid.

  “I think this should be part of the initiation, too,” Cimarra nodded toward Wade. “What do you think?”

  “If she wants to try it, she can try it.” Wade shrugged.

  “Yeah, gimmie it,” I said as I reached my hand toward the bottle, raised it to my lips, and took a sip. First, my lips tingled, then my throat, and finally, my gut. “That’s … interesting.”

  “I love it!” Dar belly laughed as he slapped his knee. “Now, can we play some cards or what?”

  “Ava, have a seat with us,” Wade tugged free a small stool that Dar used to rest his foot.

  “I wasn’t using that, asshole,” Dar snickered. “C’mon, assassin, I’m sure you’ve heard of Halfling Four Card Draw?”

  “No,” I muttered as I took a seat on the stool and then looked at the four faces in front of me. My hands started to feel clammy, and my heart raced in my chest. “Just so you know, I can’t stay long.”

  This felt strange to me, to be welcomed. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself if I wasn’t on the road hunting some bastard down.

  I never played cards or even shared a meal with anyone at the Assassin’s Guild before, and here I was, one minute into being inducted into Wade’s crew already sharing a drink and playing a game.

  Why did I ever think the guild was my family?

  Only because of Adrian?

  I wished I could hear what he thought about all of this.

  “That’s fine.” Wade nudged me with his elbow. “I do have something that might interest you, though.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I widened my eyes toward Wade and felt a flock of butterflies appear in my gut. “What’s that?”

  “Your first mission as an ‘official’ member,” Wade said as he raised a single eyebrow.

  My heartbeat began to slow, and the tension in my hands loosened. I don’t know how, but I felt like Wade already knew me well.

  “Do I have to make a batch of whiskey or something?” I joked.

  “No, no,” Wade chuckled. “I will probably show you how to do that, though. It’s always good to know just in case everyone else is busy. But this is more up your alley.”

  “We’re about to talk business again, aren’t we?” Dar sighed as he organized the cards and stacked them on the table. Then he pulled out his pipe, lit it, and leaned back in his seat.

  “Pass out the cards,” Wade said as he pointed to the deck in front of the halfling. “We can talk as we play.”

  “But you don’t know how to play, so I’ll have to explain,” Dar retorted.

  “Pass out the cards first, pal,” Wade said as he rolled his eyes. “This won’t take long.”

  “Alright, alright,” Dar said as he puffed on his pipe, shuffled the deck of cards, and started to pass them out. “We each get four cards, but leave them face down for now.”

  “Perfect,” Cimarra said as she slid her four cards closer to herself.

  “Ava,” Wade cleared his throat and then turned toward me. “You said you found a place for the nightshade seeds and the flower?”

  “I did.” I nodded. “They are secure and safe.”

  “Good,” Wade said. “I don’t need the details. I trust you.”

  “Of course,” I replied. “I’ll keep you updated on what I discover.”

  “I know you will,” Wade remarked.

  “Explain the game, dummy!” Penny gestured toward Dar.

  “Okay, well, it’s like normal four-card draw, but with a halfling style twist at the end.” Dar bobbed his eyebrows up and down as he moved his pipe to the corner of his mouth. “If you have two cards of the same rank, for example, two ten’s, that’ll get you one point. If you have three cards of the same rank, that’ll get you two points, and four cards of the same rank equal three points. So far, so good?”

  “What about the same suit?” Penny chirped.

  “I’m getting to that,” Dar said as he took a long drag from his pipe and then continued to explain the game.

  “What else did you have for me?” I asked Wade as I stacked my four cards in front of me.

  “I need you to find someone for us,” Wade said as he collected his own cards. “You remember our dwarf distributor, Hebal?”

  “Sure.” I nodded. “That’s who you dropped the barrels off at the Miner’s Hall, right?”

  “Exactly …” Wade paused as Dar looked over to see if we were listening.

  “If you have four cards in the same suit, for example, four spades, that’ll give you another two points,” Dar said as he looked over the table. “And a sequence of four consecutive cards, for example, if you had an eight, nine, ten, and Jack, that’s two points.”

  “
That fucker is trying to cut us out,” Wade whispered as he leaned closer to me. “And we don’t know where he’s at, but that’s not who I want you to find.”

  “Okay?” I fiddled with a card in front of me. This already sounded like a fun challenge.

  The Assassin’s Guild would be a big enough challenge as it was, but finding this dwarf could give me a much-needed distraction from the guild breathing down my neck.

  “You two listening?” Dar eyed both Wade and me.

  “I’m just catching her up on everything that’s been going on over here,” Wade explained. “Maybe we should actually talk about this first?”

  “Fine,” Dar groaned. “I’ve waited long enough as it is.”

  “So, if I’m not finding him, then who do you need found?” I continued.

  “Penny and I broke into the dwarf’s store earlier and came across this,” Wade said as he placed a crinkled piece of paper in front of me.

  “A shopping list?” I questioned.

  “That’s not important, but that name next to the items is.” Wade slid his finger across the paper and stopped it at the top of the page.

  “Kazmus?” I guessed. “Do you know his family name?”

  “We don’t,” Wade replied. “As of now, that’s all we got.”

  “Who is he to us, then?” I questioned. “The more info I have, even if it seems like it wouldn’t help, can still aid my search.”

  “Well,” Wade leaned back in his chair and crossed his leg over the other. “We think he’s Hebal’s new distiller.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “And you found this in Hebal’s office?”

  “We did.” Wade pursed his lips. “We need to find and kill him, or else Hebal will run us out of town or worse. He has the numbers to do that, but we’re smarter than him, and I think we can disable his operation before he can even get started.”

  “Kazmus,” I muttered the dwarven name again. “Any other details?”

  “I wish we had more to give you.” Wade pursed his lips as he reached for the document. “I thought you’d be the best person for the job, though. We have a bunch of street kids searching the streets for Hebal as we speak.”

  “Street kids?” I smirked.

  “We use what we can,” Wade replied.