“You’re talkin’ that big talk, cuz,” I said, somewhat startled at how this conversation was goin’. “Is it the wine, or are you for real? You’re gonna make a move on this Pale Spider guy?”
“I’m spinnin’ the wheels with my cousin, that’s all,” Shal replied offhandedly, his eyes shifting away. “I know I can blow off a little steam with ya.”
“Alright.” I paused, then decided to switch it up a bit. “So, who’s runnin’ Kobold Town these days?”
“Nobody runs Kobold Town but the kobolds.” Shal batted the air with a red hand. “There ain’t much to see there anyways, and last I recall they had some kinda deal goin’ with the orc capo of the nearby area.”
“Who’s he?”
Shal spread his arms out, imitating an extremely fat person. “A big fat fuckin’ orc, aptly named Big Fat Ton,” he said in an oddly deep voice, which I took to be a poor impression of how this Big Fat Ton guy actually sounded.
“I see.” I was thoughtful for a moment, considering how I might go about presenting myself to this fat ass orc.
“Wait, what do you care about Kobold Town for?” Shal asked somewhat suspiciously. “What’s Kobold Town got to do with anything?”
“What can I say, I love that kobold sushi,” I answered quickly. Shal sucked his teeth in disgust, turning away for a moment.
“So that’s where you’re thinkin’ of settin’ up shop?” He turned back to me, an eyebrow raised.
I nodded. Shal was a lot of things. Stupid wasn't one of them. “For now.” It made me think of Alelicia’s non committal answers and I grinned briefly.
“I gotta say, I’m insulted that you’re wantin’ to go work for some orc slob over your own blood.”
I put a hand up. “You got it all wrong. I’m not goin’ to work for him, I wanna be respectful and let him know I’m there, startin’ my own thing. Like I said, I’m not tryin’ to step on anybody’s toes.” Last thing I want, really. The less noise I make out here the better. I have no fuckin’ clue if the Dragon has ears out here, I don’t think so, but you never really know. “You know where I can find this Big Fat Ton?”
“Of course I do.” Shal snorted. “You remember that big playground, down past Mayfair? He posts up there, the fuckin’ guy has a million kids so he takes ‘em all out to the playground and lets ‘em fuckin’ run the place.”
I rolled my eyes. “C’mon, are you fuckin’ with me? This fat orc and his kids shut down that big ass playground?”
“You’ll see for yourself.” He sipped on his wine a little slower now. I looked over at the old clock on the wall, saw it was nearly seven in the evening.
“I gotta get goin’.” I stood up, pushed my seat in under the table. Shal looked at me in shock.
“We’re about to do dinner, what are you talkin’ about?” He was still sittin’ there, lookin’ up at me. “My wife’s about to cook a fuckin’ feast for you. Are you nuts?”
“I’m gonna need a rain check, cuz, give her my apologies.” I started to walk into the other room. “I got that date tonight, remember?”
“Right. Shoulda known you’d put some cooz before your family.” He shook his head.
“Come on Shal, why you have to say all that? You know it’s not like—”
He put a hand up, interrupting me. “I don’t want to hear any more of it. Do what you have to do. Go ‘head, get outta here. Swing by tomorrow, If I'm not here I’ll be at the restaurant. We gotta talk some more.”
He took a big gulp of his wine, looked at me coldly just for a moment and rumbled, “just remember though, think carefully about the decision you make. My offer to join us might not be so generous next time.”
Chapter 11
I pulled up to the back of the kobold sushi joint, got out and ran up the shady flight of stairs leading up to the apartment. I was still tipsy from all that wine earlier with Shal and nearly tripped on my way up, almost fuckin’ face planted on the stairs. I jammed the key into the lock, twisted it, heard the faint click and I opened the door.
“Boss! Hey, boss! You’re back!” Skreech chirped joyfully, bouncing off of the futon. Skreech and Tyzee were on the futon as I had came in, their eyes turned to me as I walked through the doorway, but it was clear they had been watchin’ a movie and were eager to get back to it. Tyzee immediately jumped up and walked over to me, and I suddenly noticed she was no longer in that makeshift outfit top from the hotel but was wearin’ a beater too small for her and a pair of ladies underwear. The swell of her breasts against that tight white fabric was something else, seriously. I had the sneaking suspicion that Skreech had went out and spent the money on some new digs for the girls and for himself, since his hoodie was lookin’ a little too clean, and I could tell by the sheepish way the goblin was avoiding my eyes, he definitely didn’t have no change for me.
“Hey,” Tyzee began, a smile growin’ on her pretty face, sauntering over to me, her hair pulled up and back into some sort of crazy lookin’ ponytail/bun. The bathroom door popped open and Alelicia came out, also in a small beater, but because of her lighter curves, not obnoxiously small, like on Tyzee, and she was also wearin’ a pair of underwear. Her big, bright blue eyes became wide for a moment when she saw it was me that had come in, and she offered me a small smile before comin’ up to me a little slower, behind Tyzee.
“You’re back,” the elf girl stated.
“Don’t mind Captain Obvious over here.” Tyzee grinned, poked a thumb back towards Alelicia. “She kept askin’ when we thought you might be back.”
“Oh yea?” I shot over Tyzee’s shoulder to Alelicia, saw her look away with a slight pink blush starting to rise to her cheeks, then I turned back to Tyzee. “And what about you?”
“What about me, what?” The hybrid orc girl asked, lookin’ deep into my eyes.
“Were you thinkin’ about when I’d be back too?” I returned her gaze, I was feelin’ reckless from all the wine and the emotional roller coaster throughout the day.
“Well… You were gone awhile,” Tyzee replied. “Yea. I was wondering.”
My eyes dropped down to her heaving chest, her big round tits looking like they were going to bust from the beater at any moment. I peeped the dew that had formed on her skin since I had come in and I wanted to flirt with her, but the shirt she had on was so damn small!
“Did ya borrow one of Skreech’s beaters or what?”
“Excuse me?” Tyzee shot back, an eyebrow raised. I could tell Skreech was holdin’ in a laugh, his cheeks were turnin’ dark red and he was coverin’ his fuckin’ mouth with an ugly little green hand.
I turned to the goblin. “Skreech, get them beaters their own size tomorrow, alright?”
“Okay, boss.” He choked out, tryin’ not to burst. He must have thought himself real clever, gettin’ the girls beaters that were his own size, which was practically that of a human child.
“At least he went out and got us something to wear and to eat, which is more than can be said for someone else…” Tyzee spat, walking back to sit down on the futon.
“Hey, hold up!” I was a little embarrassed, and I wanted to explain to Tyzee I wasn’t blatantly starin’ at her tits, but that the size of the beater she was wearin’ was ‘causin’ her tits to stare at me.
“What is that smell?” Alelicia sniffed at the air. Her nose started to pull her closer to me and she was sniffin’ at me. “Ugh! What is that?!”
“What is what?” I asked, confused.
“It smells like raw alcohol coming through your skin!” She wrinkled up her cute little nose. “That’s really strong.”
“Sure is nice to be home...” I muttered, headin’ towards the bathroom, flinging the shower on and jumpin’ right in the water. I needed a few minutes without them staring at me so I could fuckin’ think anyway. I was fuckin’ tired and drunk, and the warm water runnin’ over me felt good, relaxing. I thought over the events of the day, goin’ over to the old family house on Baron’s Street, gettin’ denied entry and told m
y uncle was locked up, fuck off. Goin’ down to The Hob’s Delight, Shal breakin’ my balls hard, makin’ me nearly fuckin’ piss myself when his big red goon was about to throw me an even more savage beatin’, thinking I was lyin’ to ‘em, then nearly whacking me. Then Shal offerin’ me a spot on his crew… I closed my eyes, lettin’ the warm water beat down on me, my muscles, my face. I thought about the meeting I was gonna have, somewhat impromptu, with this Big Fat Ton orc fuck.
“Fuck me,” I muttered. “At least it’s a start, I guess, but what kind…?” I heard footsteps come into the bathroom, then the sound of a thick ass hittin’ the toilet seat, so I poked my head out. “Hey, what the hell?”
“What? Do you mind?” Tyzee looked up at me.
I caught a glimpse of her sideview, a swath of green flesh curving from her hip down her strong thighs, new ladies underwear around her ankles. My head came flying back in the shower before things got too crazy for me to control myself. “Look, I didn’t mean nothin’ by what I said.” I gripped the shower curtain, the water running down my face, making me blink. “I wasn’t commentin’ on you or your look.”
“I figured. It’s not like it’s the first time I caught a guy staring at my boobs anyway.”
“I wasn’t.”
Through the semi-translucent pink of the shower curtain, I saw her silhouette turn, could feel her smile at me. “Maybe I don’t mind you checking me out, okay? But I do mind rude comments.”
“Fair enough. And really, I apologize.”
“Apology accepted!” Pulling up her panties and standing up, her silhouette promptly flushed the toilet, causing the water in the shower to dramatically change temperature, makin’ me yelp.
“What the hell?!”
“We’re even now!” Tyzee called back over her shoulder, laughing and hurrying out of the bathroom. “Oh, and there’s a clean towel for you on the sink!”
After I got out and dried off, threw some fresh clothes on that Skreech must have grabbed for me, I went out the living room and sat in the chair by the futon for a few. Skreech and Tyzee were watchin’ the television again, but Alelicia was sittin’ over at the kitchen table, just starin’ down at her hands on it. These fuckin’ broads, it’s always somethin’. Well, what is it now?
“Hey, Alelicia,” I called over to her. “You okay?” I walked over and sat in the seat opposite of her.
Alelicia didn’t look up right away, but after a moment she did and met my eyes. She looked haunted, afraid. She nodded to me, then opened her mouth, closing it, opening it again, as if she was struggling to think of what to say.
“I was… I was worried about you today,” she finally managed to get out.
I nodded back to her in some surprise, not expecting her to have any concern at all for old Teek. “Come on now, that’s not how this works. I’m supposed to be the guy worrying about you, not the other way around. You going to soften my badass outlaw image, you know?”
Her thin white fingers came to her mouth as she chuckled silently. “I guess you’re right.”
Skreech and Tyzee both strode over, takin’ the other two seats at the little kitchen table.
“How’d it go, boss?” Skreech had a hint of worry in his voice, having noticed the tired, stressful look on my face.
“Where did you end up even going?” Tyzee added.
I decided I might as well be honest with them, at least mostly honest. “I went to my family home.” I sighed. “Where I discovered my uncle’s been locked up.”
Skreech let out a deep breath, shaking his head.
“What does that mean, ‘locked up’?” Alelicia asked.
“It means he was arrested, princess,” Tyzee mumbled, shooting an annoyed look at the hybrid elf girl.
“And my cousin has taken his place, as acting capo.” I glanced sideways at Alelicia for a moment. “And he wants me on his crew.” I snorted a derisive laugh.
“Whoa,” Skreech said in surprise, “that’s great news, right, boss?”
I shook my head. “Me and Shal always been close, thick as thieves, but things are different now.” I paused, remembering the way his crazed paranoia and his hobgoblin supremacy style shit had shown their ugly faces for a few moments. “He’s different, I’m different. I’ll keep his offer in the back pocket for now, but I’m not lookin’ to take orders from my cousin the way my old man took orders from Shal’s father.”
Skreech looked at me, surprised. He must have thought I’d go for it, he knew I always wanted it, to be part of a real crew, a hobgoblin crew, to be a made man.
“I’m not following,” Alelicia said, lookin’ from Skreech to me. “You told us earlier that you were here to… How’d you say it?... Oh, right, you said you were ‘gonna get this money,’ or something to that effect, but you turned down a job on your cousin’s… Crew? Construction crew?”
Tyzee was keepin’ her eyes on me.
I shook my head again. “I am gonna get this money, ain’t no fuckin’ doubt about that, but I didn’t come here, I didn’t bring you all here, just so I could be somebody’s fuckin’ errand boy, even if it is my own cousin.”
“If you don’t want to be part of your cousin’s crew,” Tyzee began, twirling a long strand of purple hair around her finger. “Then what are we going to do?”
“Take it easy, alright? I got somethin’ else lined up.” A hint of a grin hit my lips. “I gotta go talk to this guy, this fuckin’ orc, Big Fat somethin’, tomorrow, but then we’ll hit the ground runnin’.”
“So you’re gonna go work for this ‘fuckin’ orc’?” Tyzee shot at me, a little irate by how I was referring to orcs lately.
“No,” I said firmly, “what’s with the fuckin’ third degree? I need a fuckin’ joint.” I looked around, spotted the one I was gonna light up earlier before Shal stopped me, grabbed it, lit it up, walked over towards the door. “I ain’t workin’ for nobody but me, you understand me? I’m done takin’ orders from some asshole, for purposes that don’t got nothin’ to do with me.”
“Everyone takes orders from someone, Teek,” Alelicia uttered solemnly, causing me to stop for a moment. “It’s the way of the world.”
“What do you know about it? You don't even know your own name, not the whole of it.” I shook my head and walked out the door onto the walkway and smoked my joint, my thoughts disturbed by what the elf girl had said, and already feeling like an asshole for having snapped back at her.
“Can I hit some of that?” Tyzee came up behind me. I took a deep toke and passed the joint to her, watchin’ her long-fingered hands take it and bring it up to her rouge lips.
She hit the joint a couple times and passed it back. “She’s got a point, you know. Everyone’s got a job, has a boss they take orders from.”
I laughed mirthlessly. “You two are actin’ like I got no work ethic or somethin’. I ain’t some regular Joe on the street, you know what I’m sayin’? You think I ever had a straight job in my life? I make good money doin’ dirt, and I ain’t about to stop now.”
“What’s wrong with having a regular job?”
“It ain’t in the cards for me, alright? My old man did dirt, his old man did dirt, it’s in my blood.” I hit the joint. “And I sure ain’t tryin’ to find a new line of work. It's not something you can just leave, just walk away. Background checks, questions. People don't let you just waltz into a new life.”
“People don't let you, or you don't let yourself?”
I looked out at the night sky, saw the constellation that the human’s called Orion the Hunter shining brightly, but which the hobgoblin’s called Nomog the Young, after an old hobgoblin myth about the patron hobgoblin god, Nomog-Gaeya, who invented the bow and arrow and led the first Great Hunt.
Turning back to Tyzee, lookin’ in her eyes, I asked, “what’s up with you? I come in the door and you’re breakin’ balls already?”
“Well...” She looked at me somewhat shifty. “You were gone all day, what do you expect? Skreech is nice enough but he gets
carried away, you know?”
I nodded, crackin’ a grin, passin’ the joint back to her. “He’ll calm down, he ain’t used to bein’ in close quarters with pretty girls for such a long period of time.”
“Oh, really?” Tyzee giggled mischievously, hittin’ the joint real quick then passin’ it back to me. “You seem pretty calm, that mean you spend plenty of time around the ladies?” She had moved closer to me as she spoke, and I noticed that light dew on her skin again.
“Maybe,” I responded somewhat ambiguously, cockin’ an eyebrow at her. “That bother you?”
“Really?” She looked at me for a few moments, studying me, her expression like she had just heard an outlandish joke. Then her face got real curious. “Were you ever with an orc girl before?”
I was struggling to keep eye contact with her, I was drunk and a little high and she was lookin’ fuckin’ great in her little beater and pair of panties, her body was incredible, and the lower periphery of my eyes was threatening to betray me, was about to force me to look down.
“Yea,” I said, deciding I didn’t wanna start lyin’ to her, especially if it turned out she was married or somethin’, in which case it wouldn’t even matter anyway. “One or two.”
Her eyebrows shot up for just a second, so quick if I wasn’t lookin’ at her right then I probably wouldn’t have even seen it.
“One or two, huh? Someone once told me that however many girls a man tells you he’s been with, multiply it by three!” She laughed, then froze. Her pretty face contorted in confusion, and she looked around bewildered before turnin’ back to me. “Who told me that?”
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