Dungeons & Gangsters 2

by Marco Frazetta

  “I think I’ll take that joint now,” I whispered to myself. Out on the little walkway, I sparked up a joint. That shit was a fuckin’ nightmare, I thought, the tree calming my nerves some, the smoke hazing up past my eyes. Was it some sort of fucked up premonition, warnin’ me about what’s to come? I felt a hand lightly grip my arm and I jumped, spun around, arm raised like I was about to fight off some asshole thug, but then I saw long dark purple hair and pretty, soft green skin, scared eyes, and realized it was the hybrid orc girl, Tyzee. She quickly took her hand off of me and I put my balled fist down, mumbling.

  “Dammit you scared the shit outta me.”

  “Geeze, you’re tense.”

  I shook my head and hit the joint. “What are you doin’ out here? Can’t sleep in your nice bed?”

  “No… I don’t know.” She shook her head, shrugged her shoulders. Then she came and stood next to me, resting her elbows on the low brick wall that fenced off the stairwell and this little walkway. We were facing outwards to the Philly skyline. “I had strange dreams...”

  “Same,” I said, blowin’ a thick cloud of smoke out into the night air.

  “And then I thought I heard something.” She turned to face me. “So I cracked the bedroom door, looked out, and saw you stepping out through the front door, and I figured I’d join you for some fresh air.” She pushed some curly strands of her hair back behind a pointed green ear.

  “How’d you know that’s what I was comin’ out here for?” I asked curiously, turning to face her, quickly becoming taken in by just how gorgeous she was, how sexy, with that birthmark below her eye that I only really appreciated just now.

  “I didn’t,” she confessed, smiling. “But I hoped that’s what you were doing. I guess I should have assumed you were comin’ out for a smoke of that stuff.”

  I thought for a moment and hit the joint again. “Why’d you hope I was out here?” I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her, genuinely wondering at what she meant. Tyzee’s cheeks darkened some, and I was alarmed at first, but then it hit me after a moment that she was blushing.

  “I… I don’t know...” she stammered nervously, looking away from me for a moment, looking out at the empty street, where a car or a large truck drove by from time to time, then looking up at the sky, the moon, before turning back to face me. “Seems like we never get a moment to talk, just the two of us.”

  I turned my body towards her fully, exhaling thick cannabis smoke out of my nose. “Yea? What’d you wanna talk to me about?”

  Tyzee watched the smoke pour out of my nostrils and lazily drift off into the night. She looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “Can I try that?” She pointed at the joint in my hand.

  I raised my eyebrows, then held the joint out to her. “Sure.”

  She took it and hastily hit it, tryin’ to hold it in some like she saw me do, but she coughed suddenly, harshly. I watched her cough, saw the whites of her eyes turn pinkish and tears start to form, but then she straightened up and hit the joint again, holding the smoke in and breathing it out, coughing briefly, lightly, and passin’ the joint back to me.

  “Wow,” she said after a moment.

  “This what you came out here for? To talk about you tryin’ out some tree for the first time?”

  “No, of course not.” She shook her head, chuckled. “I think I’ve tried it before. I like it.”

  “Cool,” I mumbled, beginning to turn back to face the empty street and the night sky.

  “Wait, I’m sorry, that wasn’t it.”

  “Nothin’ for you to be sorry for.” I cut her off. “So, what did you actually want to talk to me about?” She didn’t answer me right away, but kept lookin’ at me and smiling. I noticed that dew had formed on her skin again. Suddenly, without warning, she launched herself at me. I managed a yelp, dropping the rest of the joint and feelin’ her wrap her arms around me tightly, but then I realized that she was hugging me. What the fuck?

  “Thank you, Teek, thank you,” she whispered in my ear, her light voice so close to my ear makin’ me feel soft and warm and strange inside. “I was laying there in the bed and… And I just don’t know where I’d be now without you… I was so scared before… I’m still scared… But I feel better with you.”

  I put my arms around her, holding her incredible body close to mine, feelin’ my dick starting to get hot, starting to stiffen. I patted her on the back then held her away from me some, not wanting to poke her with the old meat knife at an awkward moment.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” I croaked, struggling internally from how bad I wanted her there and then, wanted to be inside of her. Just staring at her long neck, wanting to bite right into it as I snatched her voluptuous hips in my claws and pumped like crazy. “You don’t gotta thank me. I know it’s hard right now, fuck.” I shrugged. “I couldn’t begin to imagine what you must be goin’ through, not remembering shit.”

  “Teek, what are we doing here?” She asked strangely, interrupting me.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean what are we doing here, in this city? What are we going to do?”

  I turned away from her for a moment. “That’s sort of a loaded question, no? I don’t have a firm answer just yet on that, but I’ll know the lay of the land better tomorrow. Well, later today. You’re not my prisoner here, you can do what you want. I gotta get this money, but if you decide to really stick around and stay with me, I’ll help you figure out where you’re from, help you get home, to your family… your husband.”

  “You really think a girl like me… has a husband?”

  I pulled at my ear, blinked as I gazed at her tall, statuesque form, her violet hair cascading to one side, sweeping on her lean shoulders. Then I met her eyes. “Yeah, who wouldn't want to marry you?”

  Her mouth parted as she stared at me, but no words came out. She simply nodded again, then turned to walk back into the apartment. Something in me made me reach for her hand, taking it in mine.. I pulled her to me, and she finished the motion by whipping around, clenched me in a bear hug, kissing me quickly on the cheek.

  “You make me feel… good, Teek.” She smiled, a tear running down her cheek. “I don’t know how I can repay you, but thanks for everything.”

  Breath left my lungs like a deflating balloon, I shook my head, smiling back at her. “No worries, okay? And we’ll get ya some new clothes tomorrow, you make a scarf look good, but probably too good for some creeps around here.”

  She burst out laughing, tears still runnin’ from her eyes but really laughing, and I laughed with her, following her back into the apartment, watching as her curves disappeared away from me into the darkness of the girls room.

  I woke up the next morning, groggy as shit. It took me a few minutes to fully peel my eyes open, but when I did I saw Skreech and the girls posted up on the futon, watchin’ some reruns of Wheel of Fortune.

  “Good morning, sleepy,” Tyzee said sweetly, having noticed me crack my eyes open.

  “Mornin’, boss.” Skreech nodded over at me, then turned back to the television.

  Alelicia looked over at me. “Hello.”

  I rolled my eyes and stretched, standing up and feelin’ a little sore.

  “I’m hungry,” Alelicia announced, lookin’ at me intently. The others turned to me and their eyes told me the same thing.

  I was feelin’ hungry myself so I told the three of ‘em to sit tight, I’d be right back. I’m gonna need a coffee, a hot breakfast, and a fat joint before I head over there, I thought, momentarily picturing in my mind turning on Baron’s Street, goin’ straight back to the cul-de-sac, pullin’ up and parking in front of my family’s home there. I walked out of the apartment, hopped in the car and drove a block or two down to the Dunkin’ Donuts. I pulled up to it, hopped out and grabbed some coffees and breakfast sandwiches, a couple boxes of donuts. I drove back to the apartment, walked in and put it all down on the table, Skreech helpin’ me after I walked through the door.

  �
�Oh! Nice, thank you,” Tyzee said, pulling her thick wavy hair back into a ponytail, before promptly diggin’ into the donuts.

  “Yea, thanks.” Alelicia nodded, meetin’ my eyes, giving me a small, brief smile, sipping her coffee. Skreech just nodded to me, half a bagel sandwich lodged in his mouth, rendering him incapable of coherent speech.

  I sipped my coffee. “I gotta get goin’.”

  “Where?” Skreech asked, eyes bulging and mouth stuffed.

  “Yea, where? Are we coming too?” Tyzee asked, drinking big gulps of the coffee, licking sugared glaze from a donut off of her thumb.

  “No.”

  “You’re going to leave us here?” Alelicia shot at me, no longer picking at the donut but still taking small sips of her coffee.

  “Relax. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, I gotta talk to some people.” I lit up an extra thick joint, walkin’ out the front door and onto the little walkway to have my smoke while watchin’ the late morning traffic of route 13, which ran in front of the kobold sushi joint, where the hobgoblin corner store used to be. Skreech hurriedly scarfed down as much food as he could get his little paws on then dicked it out the door, runnin’ into me, thinkin’ I was already down the stairs.

  “Hey, boss, wait up—uhhh!?” He shook his head in surprise, reboundin’ off me.

  “Watch where the fuck you’re goin’, Skreech, I got hot coffee in my hand!” I snarled at the goblin, then turned away to finish up the coffee I had been sippin’ on.

  “Sorry, boss, didn’t want to hold ya up!”

  “Hold me up for what? You ain’t comin’ with me.” I was lookin’ at the traffic, seein’ a bright red muscle car revving its engine at the stop light.

  “What?” Skreech looked up at me like a little kid not wantin’ to be left behind.

  “I gotta do this one on my own.” I turned to look down at him. When he started to open his mouth to protest, I shook my head and went on. “You stay here with the girls and keep an eye on ‘em for me, alright? Here.” I pulled my cash out, pulled off a couple hundred worth, put it in Skreech’s hand. “Get ‘em whatever they need, get yourself somethin’ too.” The little goblin greedily eyed the cash I had just put in his hand, nodding and chattering.

  “Oh I’m gonna do real good with the cash, boss! Heehee!”

  “Make sure I get back some change.” I handed him my empty coffee cup and the rest of the joint, walked down the stairs and over to the Mustang. I got in slowly, it was like everything I was doing, I was doing it slower, ‘cause honestly I was dreading going to see my family. This was one of those rare times where I wasn’t sure what kinda reception I would get, I mean the way I saw it, I could either be kissed or killed.

  Chapter 6

  I hit route 13, turned off Academy Road, went down a little ways and made a left on Baron’s Street. Turnin’ off on Baron’s Street was like turnin’ off into a hobgoblin’s alternate reality. There was hobgoblins and goblinoids everywhere you fuckin’ looked around here, playin’ in the streets, dickin’ around on the corners, hobgoblins cruisin’ around, some on business, some tryin’ to sweet talk a group of pretty hobgoblin girls walkin’ by. Rows upon rows of mostly well-kept lawns and red brick houses of varying size, growing larger and larger the closer they got to the cul-de-sac at the end. I looked around, not truly surprised that the old neighborhood had been mostly kept up, hobgoblins were big on maintenance, order. I drove passed the family home of a gaggle of incredibly beautiful hobgoblin sisters that, way back in the day, me and my cousin Shal hung out with.

  I saw some orcs around on the street which surprised me, they usually knew better than to go walkin’ around Baron’s Street, which most folk at least understood to be hobgoblin and goblinoid exclusive territory, but when I looked closer I saw they were wearin’ collars with a gold ‘S’ dangling from them, which surprised me even more. What’s that about? I wondered. I passed the family homes of old friends, extended relatives, in-laws, droppin’ my speed as I came closer to the cul-de-sac. I pulled in and there it was, my ancestral home. Practically a castle and a compound put together and built of red brick and engraved stone, my family’s house was an intimidating, daunting place to approach if you weren’t sure of how you might be welcomed. My uncle was a capo, an official captain in the criminal organization that, loosely and often at cross-purposes, ran the underworld of Philadelphia; but as such, my uncle had a certain amount of prestige and status, and his father, my grandfather, was capo before him. They kept the wealth they made from years and years of ill-gotten gains mostly within the family, passin’ it down from father to eldest son, along with the capo-regime title and the deed to the family home, for generations; it was the common practice of succession for those of rank that we brought over from the old world.

  My old man never made capo, he was the younger brother and was intensely loyal to his older brother; he had been made and that was kind of a big deal, but at the end of the day he was a glorified soldier.

  I could see a few hobgoblins in plain site, pacing to and fro around the parts of the property I could see from the street, and if they were on guard and I could see ‘em, that meant there was at least a few that I couldn’t see, more likely than not with hunting or sniper rifles at the ready, some of ‘em possibly aimin’ at my fuckin’ melon right this instant. I eased the car forward, and instead of goin’ right up into the driveway, which was closed off by a wrought iron gate, like I must have done a million times before, I parked against the curb, got out of my car and started walkin’ towards the gated driveway. I saw two of the hobgoblins up by the front doors jog down to the gate as I approached it.

  “Yea? What is it?” The hobgoblin on the left, with multiple gold chains around his neck and a gold watch too big for him, rudely called over to me. He had a brown face spotted with red dots along his brows, what we called a stain, when you were pissed. “Who are you and what do you want? This is private property.”

  “The curb ain’t private property.” I raised my chin a little—us hobs can’t stand a weakling, so you can’t grovel, grovel and you might as well bend over and open wide.

  “The fuck did you just say?” The hobgoblin on the right shot over to me, comin’ up closer to the gate. This type of hob we called a lurch, on account of he was one of the tall bastards, 6’10” he musta been. I grinned at this orange, gruff hobgoblin.

  “Look, my man, I know you’re just doin’ your job, but take it easy.”

  “You believe this fuckin’ guy?” The tall hobgoblin on the right angrily said to the other.

  “Yea, we’re just doin’ our fuckin’ jobs alright, we’re real nine-to-five types.” The brown hobgoblin jibed back. He had a ill-tailored suit on, while the tall one had a track suit—one of those assholes. “Real nine to five.” He parted his jacket open just enough that I could see a glint of his piece.

  The tall one snorted out a laugh, then turned back to me. “Well, what do ya want?”

  “This is my family’s home.” I jerked a thumb back at myself. “I’m Teek, and I’m here to talk to my uncle.”

  The two hobgoblins on the other side of the gates looked back at me, perplexed. I was a hobgoblin, sure, but I was related to the capo? And I just showed up all of the sudden, out of fuckin’ thin air? They didn’t look like they were buyin’ it.

  “I been workin’ for the capo as long as I can remember, and I never seen ya nor heard of ya, pal.” The shorter hobgoblin on the left spat at me, lifting his shades up in an attempt to get a better look at me. The other hobgoblin was fingering the assault rifle slung around his torso with a strap, lookin’ at me with irritation. The fuck is with all the heat? I wondered for a moment. They’re really on edge...That can’t be good. Something’s wrong.

  “Khakkoc is my uncle, older brother to my father, Rak,” I began, nervous and impatient that I had to even go over my own pedigree with these unknowns. Well, I guess I’m the unknown, now. “I been away for awhile but I’m back in Philly, and I want to talk to my uncle.” I
finished, as firmly and confidently as possible. The hobgoblins on the other side of the gates looked at each other in some surprise for a moment before turnin’ angry eyes back on me.

  “Look, asshole, I don’t know who the fuck you are, or who you think you are, but the capo ain’t here,” the tall hobgoblin said.

  “Where is he?” I was feelin’ like the world was collapsing in on me. He ain’t here?! I roared internally, no, no, I can’t have come all this fuckin’ way for nothing. I have to see him, I have to talk to him, I have to.

  The same hobgoblin’s voice grew cold. “Where is he? You say the capo is your uncle, and you don’t know where he is? He’s locked up, that’s where he is.”

  Chapter 7