by Jack Porter
“The odds are usually in my favor,” I said with a smirk. “But were you going to go through with it?” I asked. “With this?” I nodded toward Ami.
Slowly, Julie nodded. “I still will, if you’ll let me,” she said. “I want this.”
“But this will be an increase in your illegal status. You realize that, right?”
Julie shrugged. “You’d be surprised how many cops and city officials have a high illegal status. They’re not much better than the politicians in El Diablo. Many of them are in deep with organized crime, too.”
The news kept getting better and better. I could use Julie, if she was telling the truth.
Taking a chance, I eased off on my hold on Julie’s body. She glanced up the hallway, which was still clear. Her chest was heaving, her clothes rumpled, but she looked determined.
“Well?” she asked defiantly.
I thought of all the benefits of having a cop on our side. Access to more inside, legal, information when and if we needed it. Someone who could actively thwart any investigations into me and my activities. Someone who might even know which cops were working with the Syndicate. And if Julie was willing to take the risks associated with that kind of intel, then I didn’t see a downside. Finally, I smiled and leaned back into her, this time tracing the area of her neck where my hands had been moments before. There were no marks. I hadn’t hurt her even though I’d wanted to at first. When I looked into her eyes, she didn’t look afraid anymore. In fact, she bit her lip and glanced down at my pants, where my dick was still on full display.
“You’re ready again,” she said, grinning. It wasn’t a question, only a statement of fact. Yes, life with a demon had many benefits, and this had become one of them.
I shook my head. I didn’t quite get this woman, but I didn’t have to. Not right now.
She wrapped her legs around me as I pressed her to the wall, this time in a much gentler manner. To say it was a quickie would have perhaps been understating. Maybe it was the adrenaline spike that we’d both experienced, or that Ami was watching intently, touching herself as she did so, her new wings fluttering out beside her. It was hot to see a newly formed succubus watch me turn another woman into a succubus.
In any case, Julie and I came quickly. She didn’t convulse as badly as Ami, and I simply held her against the wall, still inside her, keeping her head to my shoulder so she didn’t get hurt.
When Julie came to a few minutes later, she looked at Ami and grinned. Then her eyes roamed over me. “Wow,” she said softly. “I know Ami said it was true, but there’s nothing like seeing it for myself.”
I let her down. “Are you still willing to help me?”
Julie was still breathing hard, but she nodded. “Now more than ever. Anything you need.”
The girls got their panties out of my pockets, Julie found her badge, and I fixed my own clothes.
Ami strode over to me and gave me a kiss. “That goes for me, too, handsome. Anytime you want to play, let me know,” she said, her mouth quirking into another wicked smile. Then she stood on her toes and said into my ear. “I’d fuck you anytime, Simon, and I do mean anytime.”
I nodded and grinned. Julie grinned at me, too, and then the girls held hands and walked back into the club.
Thinking that Club Fever could have been a great place to pick up a few more women, I almost followed them back onto the dance floor. But my brush with the cops had been enough for one night, even if that cop had wanted to bang me. I’d have to be more careful. I should have been more careful. And although using Ascenders probably had fewer risks than non-Ascenders, maybe it was time to start thinking of a plan that involved fewer risks.
As I turned and headed out through the emergency exit and into the back alley, I laughed at myself. I liked taking risks. Liked the rush associated with them. Just like fucking two women in a club full of people, I liked the danger. So no, I’d never give up on risks completely.
At the same time, I couldn’t spend every night out on the town. If Megadeath’s home hadn’t been a secret, I could have more women come to me. But for the time being, that wasn’t an option.
And anyway, I’d just created two new succubi within the space of ten minutes. We’d gained two new followers, broken the record for points in one night, and made a connection to the El Diablo police department.
Life was good.
Chapter 42
By the end of the third week, I had slept with nineteen female Ascenders, awakening a succubus within each of them. I felt Azrael starting to flex his muscle, and knew he was leveling up, becoming more than he was at the start. At the same time, I was stockpiling points like never before, not only from my direct conquests, but from theirs as well.
I could have made myself indestructible. Given myself the strength of fifty men, or the healing factor of Wolverine. And, in truth, I dumped a fair few points into both reflexes and luck, and a few other attributes to boot. But I made sure to keep the bulk of my points free for other purposes.
Because it was more than just all about me. I was building an army, and I wanted my lieutenants to enjoy some of the benefits.
“Sandy,” I said after we’d made our plans for the evening. We’d been in Megadeath’s mansion for three weeks by then and had settled in nicely. Yet I sensed both Sandy and Rachel were starting to feel closed in. Neither of them went out any more than they had to, for fear of the contracts still hovering over their heads.
“Yes, boss?” she responded. At some point during the past couple of weeks, all three of my favorite women had taken to calling me that. I’m not going to lie. I liked it. Mostly because they had faith in me. But, of course, it didn’t hurt my ego, either.
“I think it’s time to start sharing out some of the points I’m collecting,” I said. “Could you make a list for me, of what everyone might want?”
“Sure,” Sandy said, looking surprised.
“We’ll do it methodically,” I said. “The three of you take precedence. Then the girls you’re helping me meet, and last of all those they are able to turn. Find out what everyone wants, and I’ll try to make it happen.”
Over the next few days, the requests began to come in. Rachel didn’t want much at all. Just to be physically stronger, and more resilient. It turned out she was more susceptible to colds and seasonal flu than she wanted to be, and was more than happy with a boost to her immune system.
Sandy wanted to be taller. A little more curvy as well. And she wanted to be able to face danger without falling to pieces.
Piper had the most intriguing request. She suffered from allergies during the spring, and wanted that taken care of. As an assassin, she was more than happy to accept any physical enhancements I could think of as well. But the surprising thing was that she’d wanted to be a singer in her youth, but her singing voice just wasn’t up to the job. She had a very narrow range and didn’t seem to be able to hold a note even within that.
It was her fondest desire for that to change, and in consultation with Azrael, I threw a bunch of points into it for her.
There weren’t many points left after all that, but there were just enough to grant a single wish for each of the women I’d turned. Most of them went for something physical. Sara asked me to fix her birthmark. Bridget wanted to be slimmer, as did several of the others. And then, just like that, I was done.
My points were all used up once again.
But I wasn’t overly concerned. Things were starting to happen. I was on a roll, and had effectively created the most awesome pyramid scheme in existence.
Sure, those on the very bottom would see little benefit, but there was always another layer to come.
That night, I went to bed with my three favorite women, feeling very pleased with myself, and I wasn’t the only one. I could sense Azrael’s satisfaction as clearly as I could my own.
When I’d first bonded with him, he had been scathing in his disappointment. I had been the worst vessel he could imagine. But now, it was diffe
rent.
Now I was the leader of many, and the possibilities were endless.
By the end of the fourth week, Rachel announced that we had usurped or disrupted more than seventy percent of Dario’s business.
Sandy added that he was beyond furious. The reports she had received told of a man who used to be so calm and calculating hurling furniture around his office and cursing at the inability of his men to halt what we were doing.
We had cut his income down to a trickle, and he was powerless to do anything about it.
“So, what is he going to do about it?” I asked.
“There’s not much he can do,” Sandy said. “He has a meeting with his boss. One of the Syndicate directors. Our guy who is closest to him says he is going to ask them for help.”
“Perfect,” I said. “It’s time. He’s at his most vulnerable. Tomorrow, I’ll give him a call and make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
Chapter 43
I would have preferred to meet with Dario in person. It would have been fun to test out how good his shield actually was, and if I happened to bring the whole building down in the process, well, that was something I would just have to live with.
But while Azrael’s enhancements had made me stronger, faster, and more resilient than I had any right to be, I didn’t have a divine amulet of my own. I couldn’t conjure a force field to match Dario’s. And the building was swarming with Dario’s men.
All it would take was one guy with a machine gun, and I would be toast.
Getting filled with bullet holes wasn’t on my list of plans for the immediate future, so instead of heading downtown and risking it all, I opted instead to just give him a call.
Even then, Dario Fucking Gambetti didn’t make it easy. Despite the Syndicate being surprisingly tech-savvy, he lived his own life as a throwback to a pre-technology era.
He carried no cell phone. He had no online profiles on any of the main platforms. I couldn’t use Skype to contact him, or Messenger, or anything else, because as far as that world was concerned Dario Gambetti didn’t exist.
My only option was the landline through which he conducted most of his business.
Fortunately, the number was printed in Fat Tony’s notebook, and the number had been confirmed by others as well.
I didn’t feel like having an audience for this particular call, so I took the phone down to Megadeath’s armory, just because I felt safe surrounded by all the weapons on the wall.
When last I’d met the man, it had been the catalyst for some interesting changes. My status was higher now than it had been when I’d met him, and higher than it probably would have been if I’d continued to work just as a hitman. I still didn’t know how the whole status ratings worked, but somehow the system must have understood what I’d been up to.
Rachel, Sandy, and Piper called me boss. With the aid of Sandy and Azrael, I had developed a network of informants who were loyal to me. And I had systematically taken apart as much of Dario’s business as I could.
More than that, I’d placed myself in the position of being able to resurrect that business any time I so chose. Which effectively made me in charge of it all.
Last time I checked the status lists, my legal status had stayed much the same. But I was no longer hovering around thirty in the illegal lists.
I don’t know when it happened, but sometime during the last week or so, I had broken into the forties.
And it wasn’t just me. Sandy, Rachel, and Piper’s illegal statuses were improving as well, and even the random guys Brigette, Sara, and the others had recruited had gained a point or two, courtesy of their new positions.
All going well, by the end of this phone call, all our statuses should level up once again.
In an ideal world, I would have stuck one of my knives into Dario Gambetti’s groin, and ripped it up through his guts, rib cage, and into his throat. Given that this wasn’t an ideal world, I would have to do with a phone call instead.
I was looking forward to it. Grinning like a teenage boy at his first strip show, I dialed Dario Gambetti’s number.
“Gambetti,” Dario Gambetti said.
I let the man’s greeting hang in the air for a couple of seconds as I choked back a snarl of incoherent anger. Just when I sensed he was about to speak again, I got in first. “Good morning, fuckstain,” I said.
Silence. Then, “It’s you,” he said.
“Who else would I be?”
“You little shit. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“Newsflash, asswipe. You tried that already. It didn’t take. In fact, you might want to do a count to see how badly it’s gone for you.”
More silence. Then, “You are responsible for all the shit that’s been happening,” he stated.
“Have you only just now figured it out?”
I could sense him drawing in a deep breath to calm himself.
“All right,” he said finally. “What do you want?”
At least he was efficient, I thought. I had to give him credit for that. He didn’t want to waste time fucking about.
“To start with, I want you to cancel the contract you have out on me and my friends.”
More silence. Then, “And why in all the world would I want to do that?
I have to admit, I was starting to wonder if I had given Dario Fucking Gambetti too much credit. It sounded as if he thought he was still in charge, as if he was still in his position of power. Whereas the truth was quite different.
“Because I told you to!” I said. “In case you hadn’t noticed, your entire business operation is compromised. Each day that goes by, more and more of your businesses become mine. You will either do as I say, or I will squeeze you even harder. Your revenue will dry up completely. Your men will be mine. How long do you think your bosses will keep you around if you have nothing to offer?”
More silence. Then, unbelievably, Dario Fucking Gambetti started to laugh.
He laughed like a madman on the other end of the line, and I didn’t know how to react.
I wanted to swear at him, to tell him to stop, but knew that he wouldn’t listen. In the end, I just waited, my blood pressure rising to a boiling point. When his laughter faded enough, I snarled at him.
“I don’t think you quite understand what I am going to do to you–” I began, but Dario Fucking Gambetti cut me off.
“You don’t get it, do you?” he began. “You think you have my balls in a vice. Well, I’ll tell you something, and this one’s for free. You are nothing! An insect to be crushed beneath the heel of my boot! I’ve been dealing with upstart little shits like you for most of my career. Sure, you’ve had your success, but that stops today. And no, you don’t even get a chance to apologize for your transgressions. I’m going to wipe you off the face of the earth, and when I am done, it will be as if you never existed. The damage you think you’ve done to my business? All you’ve done is point out some flaws in my security. Within the space of a fortnight, I’ll be back, stronger than ever!”
For the first time since the phone call began, I started to wonder if I’d maybe underestimated Dario Gambetti. Or could this fine speech be nothing more than a bluff?
“If you were able to stop me tearing your organization apart, you would have already done so,” I began.
“That’s where you’re wrong!”
It was the crime boss’s tone that got me. I recognized it. It wasn’t that of a desperate man trying hard to cling to his power. It was the same malicious glee I had felt when I killed my victims. The same glee I experienced when threatening Dario’s employees, when stealing his money, or tearing apart his business infrastructure.
And to make matters worse, it was honest.
Dario Fucking Gambetti wasn’t acting. He legitimately thought he had the upper hand. And I needed to know why.
Fortunately, he seemed to like the sound of his own voice, even though, to me, it sounded kind of grating.
“Let me tell you a story, Simon
Kingman,” he said, using my name for the first time. “It won’t do you any good, because I doubt that you will survive the day. But listen anyway. Because you might learn a thing or two.”
I considered hanging up, in part because the conversation wasn’t playing out as I’d planned, but in part just to piss the crime boss off. Instead, I went with a different option. “Why don’t you jam your story straight up your ass?”
He ignored me. “I was once a hungry young man much like yourself,” Dario Gambetti began. “Quick to see an opportunity, and willing to do whatever it took to realize it. It served me well, and led to my current position. But there’s a difference between me and you that you have failed to grasp.”
Despite myself, I had to ask. “What’s that? That you’re a loathsome piece of shit not long for this earth?”
“Come now, you can do better than that. I’m pretty sure were both fairly loathsome. And as for who is not so long for this earth, only time will tell. No, the difference is that my last name is Gambetti, and yours is not.”
He let his words hang in the air between us.
“So? What the fuck does that matter?”
“It changes everything. You see, it doesn’t matter how ruthless, how clever, how driven you are. Not in this world. It can only take you so far. You can’t control everything. If you attract the wrong sort of attention at the wrong time, that’s it. You’re over. Done. And men like us will always attract the wrong sort of attention.”
“You’re beginning to bore me. Either get to the point, or go off and shoot yourself a few times in the face and save me the bother.”
“You are a nasty little shit, aren’t you?” he responded. But it didn’t seem like he expected an answer. Instead, he carried on with the story. “It happened to me when I wasn’t much older than you are now. I was just starting to find my feet, growing my business in all sorts of directions. And without even knowing I did it, I stepped on the toes of a rival organization that was also trying to expand.” Dario Gambetti paused at this point, and I could almost hear him snarl at the memory. “They put a hit out on me, just as I put one out on you and your friends.”
