Building a Criminal Empire

by Logan Jacobs

  “Some girl fucking your brotha or somethin’?” Olly snickered.

  “It’s nothing like that,” I began. “This person is someone who thinks they can fuck me over.”

  “Who?” Olly stuffed his hands in his pockets and then moved next to Wilimar.

  “He’s a dwarf,” I said as I arched an eyebrow. “Is that gonna be a problem?”

  “Why would it be?” Wilimar shook his head. “I know my way around the Dwarf District just like I do here, and dwarfs don’t scare me.”

  “I sure hope so,” I said. “Now, this dwarf is a slippery one, but all I’ll need is to know where he is at all times, okay?”

  “So,” Olly sniffed and then spat next to his boot, “we’ll be like an extra pair of eyes for ya?”

  “Well uh,” Selius stuttered from behind me.

  “What is it, kid?” I glanced behind my shoulder.

  “Olly only got one eye, so he’d be an extra eye for us.” Selius smirked.

  “You some kind of jokester now?” Olly took a hard step toward Selius.

  “You touch him, and I’ll take your other eye,” I gripped onto Olly’s arm. “Plus, Selius is right, you got one fucking eye.”

  “So what?” Olly protested.

  “So, I like that, yeah.” I nodded. “You’d be my extra eye throughout the realm.”

  “Whatever,” Olly huffed.

  “Since when does a thief need any extra eyes?” Wilimar questioned.

  “I’m not paying you copper to ask me what I’m doing all day, am I? Pay attention.”

  “Fair enough.” Wilimar shrugged. “What’s this dwarf’s name?”

  “His name is Hebal.” I clenched my jaw at just saying his name aloud. “I’m afraid I don’t know his family name.”

  “I’ve heard of him,” Olly said. “He’s linked with the dwarven mob, right?”

  “He is the dwarven mob,” I corrected as I stood up straight.

  “My cousin just did a gig at the shipyard for him the other night,” Olly chuckled. “Small world, eh?”

  “Wait, did your cousin say what the gig at the shipyard was?” I asked as I felt my heart quicken. “And you’re sure it was Hebal?”

  “Yeah, I don’t forget names.” Olly scratched at his head. “I think they were just unloading a bunch of grain for him.”

  “Grain?” I felt my eyes burn with rage.

  “Aye,” Olly said as he gestured to his left as if the docks were right next to us. “My cousin said it was a fuck-ton of grain.”

  “Did he drop it off somewhere for the dwarf?” I hoped.

  “He didn’t say.” Olly punched Wilimar in the shoulder. “That might be a good place to look, eh?”

  “I’d say so,” I said as I clenched my fists at my side.

  Fucking grain?

  That motherfucker.

  Hebal was stocking up on grain to start distilling his own whiskey.

  “You need us to get started right away?” Wilimar’s question interrupted my growing rage.

  “Of course,” I replied. “Gather a few of your crew and run the search however you see fit.”

  “How often do you want an update?” Wilimar asked.

  “If you find him, you tell me immediately,” I demanded. “Then after that, every other day I want to know what he’s up to.”

  “Okay,” Wilimar looked around as if someone was watching, “I’ll take our first week’s payment now.”

  “Sure you will,” I scoffed. “Fuckin’ kid.”

  “We won’t let you down,” Olly said as he watched me dig in my coin pouch.

  “I’ll give you five copper to start,” I said and dropped five coins into Wilimar’s small hand, “and I’ll give you the other five at the end of the week or if you find the dwarf before that. I need eyes on him at all times.”

  “Deal,” Wilimar said again. “We’ll get right on it.”

  “Good,” I replied and then reached for the kid’s shoulder. “You get anything to eat from Eloy?”

  “Naw.” Wilimar’s shoulders dropped. “He caught us before we could grab any bread.”

  “You hungry?” I asked as I glanced back toward Eloy’s.

  “Yeah, but he ain’t gonna let us back in there,” Wilimar chuckled as he ran a hand through his coarse hair. “We robbed that dumb old asshole every night.”

  “Shut it,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll get you guys some bread before you go, okay?”

  “Why are you being so nice?” Wilimar smirked up at me. “What’s in it for you to go back in there?”

  He knew me too well.

  As soon as I saw the “closing soon” sign, I was hoping to chat with the owner about it. I knew Eloy was too pissed to talk after we stumbled upon Wilimar and his friend, but I needed to try. His shop was in a great location, with a ton of space inside the kitchen, and a bakery would be the perfect excuse to order a shit-ton of grain and not look fishy.

  Plus, I wanted to see how much he’d be willing to sell it for or how long it would take for him to vacate if he was renting the place.

  “I can’t let you work for me on an empty stomach,” I said as I winked at the kid. “C’mon, Selius, let’s get some grub for these two.”

  “What’re we doin’?” Selius muttered as he followed me.

  “More business,” I replied. “Plus, you said you were hungry, right?”

  “Yeah, but--” Selius began but was cut off by Wilimar, the loudmouth.

  “Hurry it up!” the halfling shouted. “I’m actually ravenous.”

  “Don’t push me, kid.” I waved as I opened the door to the bakery, and the smell of bread kissed my nose once again.

  “What in the fuck are you doing back in here?” Eloy demanded as he narrowed his eyes and placed a piece of cloth up to his bleeding nostril.

  “I still want to buy some bread.” I smiled and shrugged at the same time.

  “Really?” The old leathery halfling tilted his head.

  “I swear on my mother’s grave,” I began. “That’s why we came in here the first time, then we heard the trays crash and probably got too involved after that.”

  “You think?” Eloy scoffed.

  “Plus,” I gestured toward the sign in the window, “looks like you need the business, anyway.”

  “Fine,” the old halfling sighed. “What do you want, human?”

  “Gimme four of your cheese bagels,” I said as I pointed with my thumb toward Selius. “He says you have the best in the realm.”

  “He isn’t lying,” Eloy muttered as he turned around and then rummaged through a basket of bagels near the kitchen door. “How many?”

  “Four,” I said again, and then I decided to subtly get down to business. “It’s a shame you’re going out of business.”

  “Huh?” Eloy stopped his search in the breadbasket and glanced back to me.

  “If your bagels are so good, it’s a shame you’re going out of business,” I repeated and cleared my throat. “How come you have to close?”

  “Well,” Eloy wheezed as he stood up and placed the four bagels on the counter in front of us, “those thieving kids were hitting me hard the past month.”

  “That can’t be the only reason,” I prodded for more.

  “No.” Eloy narrowed his eyes at me again. “You want spread on these?”

  “We don’t need any of that,” I said. “Do you own this building?”

  “Ehhh,” Eloy grunted before he glanced to Selius as if he wanted him to talk instead of me.

  “That isn’t an answer,” I pushed.

  “Why’re you asking me these questions?” Eloy whipped out a paper sack and began to put the bagels inside of it. “Why does it matter to you? Only a few minutes ago, we were all in the backroom there, and you wanted to save the thieving assholes ruining my business. I don’t need to answer any of your questions, human.”

  “You’re right,” I began, “but am I not allowed to ask? I am a paying customer.”

  “Sort of.” E
loy smirked. “What is it you’re after then? It’s not every day a human pulls out five silver like they’re cheap candies.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to answer my questions?” I countered.

  “What do you do for a living?” the old halfling chef asked and looked at me as if a giant wart was in the middle of my head.

  “I provide a great service that everyone needs,” I said with a shrug.

  “You some kind of man-whore or something?” Eloy chuckled and then pointed to Selius. “Or some kind of pimp?”

  “Far from it,” I replied. “You own this building, don’t you?”

  “So what if I do?” Eloy dropped his eyes to the paper sack in front of him and then placed another bagel inside of it.

  “Is business really that bad?” I questioned. “I mean, you stay open late, Selius swears by your food, and you’ve got expensive equipment in the back. I’m just not buying that business is bad.”

  “You’re not a normal human, are ya?” Eloy asked as he dropped the last bagel in the bag.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

  “Every other human I’ve met has just put their head down, went about their business, and doesn’t bother anyone.” Eloy pointed a crooked finger at me. “You are the exact opposite.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” I questioned.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Eloy said as he patted the bloody tissue against his nose, “but you’re right, business isn’t that bad.”

  “Then why are you selling?” I asked again.

  “It’s a complicated situation,” Eloy sighed. “This place has been in my family for over a hundred years.”

  “I was so surprised to see you were closing for that reason alone,” Selius chimed in from behind me.

  “How complicated?” I asked.

  “Huh?” Eloy furrowed his brow.

  “You said it’s a complicated situation, so just how complicated is it?” I asked again.

  “It’s the elven kind of complicated,” Eloy grumbled as he pursed his lips. “By the way, I wasn’t gonna turn in those kids. I was just so angry.”

  “Well, then can I have my five silver back?” I smiled.

  “No, but you can pay me five more copper for these bagels,” Eloy countered and pushed the sack closer to me.

  “Are the elves forcing you out?” I asked as I pulled out five copper and placed them on the counter.

  “In a way, yes.” Eloy nodded. “My boy has caught some trouble with them and is being held in a labor camp.”

  “Shit,” Selius breathed.

  “I plan to sell everything I own and offer it to the commander to make a deal for my boy’s life,” Eloy continued and dropped his eyes.

  Fuck.

  “I hate to say it, but that would be useless,” I sighed. “The commander is not interested in making deals with anyone.”

  “That may be the case,” Eloy’s lips trembled, “but I have to try something. I can’t just sit here and pretend he’ll be okay, you know?”

  “Do you even know where he’s at?” Selius asked.

  “The last I heard they had him logging deep in the Falrion Forest somewhere.” Eloy sniffed as a tear dripped down his bloodied nose. “I have to try.”

  “As any father should,” I said with a solemn nod, “but, if you needed to sell this place, why did you put a ‘going out of business’ sign up instead of a ‘for sale’ sign?”

  “I was hoping, maybe someone like yourself, would come in and ask if the entire building was for sale since I wanted to hold all the leverage in negotiations,” Eloy chuckled. “Looks like I just lost that with you, though, if you are interested.”

  “I am interested,” I agreed. “What’s on the second story?”

  “I thought so.” Eloy grinned as he leaned over the counter and took the few coppers. “There’s a spacious apartment up top. If you want, I can show you around.”

  “Do you live there now?” I asked.

  “No,” Eloy dropped his eyes again, “my son did.”

  “Well, I don’t think we have time to see it tonight,” I said as I glanced behind my shoulder toward the glass window. “But can I come back soon?”

  “Absolutely.” Eloy nodded. “You’re the only person in the realm who knows the true situation.”

  “I appreciate you sharing that with us,” I replied. “Again, I’m sorry for everything with the two idiots stealing from you and everything else with your son. I hope we might come to an agreement about your building, but it has to wait for now.”

  “I understand, human, er eh…” Eloy closed his eyes in thought. “Wade, right?”

  “That’s right.” I smiled. “Thank you for the bagels, too.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Eloy!” Selius echoed as I handed him the paper bag.

  “I’m here anytime, so just drop in.” Eloy waved as we both exited the bakery.

  “We will.” I waved back and shut the door behind me.

  “Wow, ya really smoothed that ove--” Selius started but was cut off.

  “What were you both doin’ in there for so long?” Wilimar held his arms out as if he were about to catch a ball.

  “Shut up,” I said as I nodded toward Selius. “Give them their bagels so they can get the fuck outta here.”

  “Got it, boss.” Selius reached inside the bag and then tossed two cheesy bagels toward Wilimar.

  “What the fuck are these?” Olly snagged a bagel from his friend.

  “Your dinner,” I said. “You’re welcome.”

  “Always wanting a ‘thank you’ eh?” Olly scoffed as he took a bite of the bagel.

  “We’ll be in touch?” I asked as I cocked an eyebrow at the two halflings.

  “We’ll find that dwarf fella for you soon, Wade,” Wilimar mumbled and chomped on his bagel. “And we’ll keep ya updated every step of the way.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Meet me here at the end of the week to give me an update or find Selius at the Thief’s Guild if something happens before then, got it?”

  “Got it.” Wilimar saluted me, and then he and his friend walked away down the dark street to search for my annoying dwarf partner.

  “That went better than expected,” I sighed.

  “It did?” Selius questioned as he dug into the paper bag, pulled out another bagel, and handed it to me.

  “We’ve got our eyes looking for Hebal and a potential new spot to distill with Eloy’s,” I said as I took my first bite of food in a few days, and my stomach leaped for joy inside of my body. The bagel was soft, and the baked-in cheese was the perfect flavor combination. I felt a surge of energy course throughout my entire body. I needed to make time to eat from now on. “Fuck, these are good.”

  “Aren’t they?” Selius grinned with a mouthful of bagel. “But I was wonderin’ why you’d even want to buy Eloy’s? At first, I thought about what we were talking about earlier with Rindell, but a bakery wouldn’t make for a good hall.”

  “Yeah,” I said as I inhaled another bite of bagel. “Rindell is gonna have to be patient with us, but I’ve learned whenever a beneficial opportunity presents itself, you gotta take it because it’ll vanish just as quick as it appeared if you don’t.”

  “Got it.” Selius nodded.

  “I’m in no rush, but it’s good to know this place exists, and it’s for sale,” I said as I finished the bagel with one more bite. “A place like that would help us expand deeper into the Halfling District.”

  “Makes sense, Wade,” Selius began. “Should I just stay in the Thief’s Guild tonight, just in case Wilimar and Olly find something soon?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I think that’s for the best until they find him.”

  “Got it,” Selius said, and then gestured to his left. “Then, I have to go this way.”

  “Okay, kid,” I replied. “You good on your own?”

  “Never better.” Selius nodded.

  “I’ll talk to you soon,” I said, “and if you hear anything from Wilima
r, you find me as soon as possible, okay?”

  “I will, and I won’t let you down,” Selius promised.

  “I know you won’t.” I waved and then continued down the road we came from.

  Now, it was time to focus on the re-launch of the theatre.

  Chapter 5

  As I made my way back to the stables, I took the long route and climbed onto a few roofs to avoid any detection from the elven towers. I was sure there wasn’t any curfew or holiday, so I was allowed to be walking the streets, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

  With the theatre set to re-launch in a few days, there was already a lot that we needed to do, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Hebal. My head raced with images of smashing his fat ugly fucking face in with a hammer. He’d tried to fuck me over any chance that he could, and it finally looked like he decided to do it, now.

  I took deep breaths as I walked to try to stay focused on one task at hand. As I turned down the theatre’s street, I noticed it was eerily quiet, and that wasn’t too out of the ordinary whenever the elves did some kind of bullshit, but still, it made me uncomfortable.

  So, I ducked down the alley next to the theatre and then walked toward the stables in the hopes that all we had to do was finish up on some maintenance. The closer I got I saw the lantern’s glow underneath the door and knew the team was probably inside.

  I opened the door and saw Penny, Cimarra, Dar, and Skam staring back at me. Before I could even greet them, Penny spoke first.

  “We’ve got a small problem,” the pixie stepped forward from the table that everyone was gathered around.

  “Hello to you too,” I smirked as I shut the door behind me. “Is there such a thing as a ‘small’ problem?”

  “Fine,” Penny huffed. “We have a problem.”

  “First,” I said as I turned toward Skam and Dar. “You guys up to speed on everything?”

  “Aye, we are,” Skam answered as he stroked his beard. “Looks like we’ll have an interesting night ahead of us, though.”

  “Every night is interesting these days,” I replied with a smirk and gestured toward my halfling friend. “Everything go smooth at the miner’s event?”

  “Easy peasy,” Dar chuckled and then lifted a small pouch of coins for me to see. “Where should I put our payment from the miners?”