Attacking Shadow (Kitsune and Degu)

[Aka Kitsune]

The sounds of revving engines and smell of burned rubber filled the thick air that seemed to be lifting from the black, steaming asphalt. The constant drizzle that had fallen that day, filled the imperfections, causing the jagged holes to fill with the putrid water that had mixed with polluted clouds that hung close to Earth.
There was a particular alleyway, one that was veiled, purposely hidden from the outside. It could easily be mistaken for a larger than normal crevice between shabby buildings that were squeezed together. While the entrance appeared impassable, the innards revealed a space that opened into a long, street width passage. This passage created an area that worked in the favor of a certain organization. This organization happened to be a group of not so human men and women considered to be a myth; though, there was a world where this not so human group did exist, and it existed within a world that rivaled many other not so human organizations just like it.

He was this organization's trump card. He was what someone on the outside looking in would consider a man who could run the underground if he wanted to. Even in Lucian's short years (compared to some colleagues) he became an executive early on. As a young member of the Shadow Alley ‘Organization’, he was already relatively well known; however, Lucian's prestige went far beyond even some of the mafia bosses—which miffed members of opposing factions to the highest degree.
As a result of Lucian's popularity, he often found himself with a huge target on his back, as well as unwanted attention from other mafias that sought to recruit him. Regardless of what stance he held on either side, the misfortune of Lucian's enemies was that they had Lucian as their enemy.

A group of The SAO(shadow alley organization), as they were often referred as, stood quietly at the skinny mouth of the alleyway. They'd only just entered, though not by themselves; of course, they came baring "gifts". This was, however, nothing new, nor was it too exciting.
With this fact in mind, instead of SAO's head arriving to meet the three members, it was Lucian who strode toward the men.
Lucian was unconventional in that he rarely wore the proper attire; instead, the executive wore his usual tight, black jeans. The knees appeared somewhat worn, however the chain that stretched from his front pocket to the back, adorned the jeans with an expensive, grunge type appearance.
Accompanying the jeans, a fitted, half buttoned, white collared shirt (which was forced upon him) was worn, as well as a long, black trench coat that landed just at his booted ankles. While his fashion would turn heads among the suits (as the three-piece suit gentlemen were referred to), it was his eyes that caught the most attention. They were sharp and his lashes appeared long and dark. The irises that peeked out from under the thick lashes looked as if they were burning. The yellowish-orange and red hue almost glowed in the darkness—they were absolutely unforgettable.
Aside from his bright eyes, his other features were nothing to be forgotten. Lucian's hair was raven black and settled at the center of his back, and his jaw was sharp but his features were soft and even somewhat kind. Not only was his features fair (in a manly kind of way), but his body was chiseled, lean, and tattooed—needless to say, he was one to be coveted.

"Sir!" The three men, dressed in suits with neatly combs hair, stood at with perfect posture with their hands at their sides. "It's…it's nice to see you today…" one man, called Bek, spoke up, sounding overly nervous.
"You guys really need to lighten up," Lucian commented and began to chuckle under his breath. "It's not like Boss is standing in front of you…I'm a lot cooler and not as scary, right," he asked with a somewhat sly smile. "Right," he asked again once he heard the silence.
"Uhh! Yes! Yes, sir. Not scary at all," the second man, Kona, replied with a quick nod.
"Well, I appreciate your unprompted compliments, boys," Lucian said, still amused. "That aside, Boss tells me you have a fantastically amazing package for him," the executive mentioned, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Oh! …the package, Sir…”
"It's Lucian."
"Eh?"
"Lucian. My name is Lucian, not Sir," he reminded them.
"Yes…sir," Bek squeaked
Lucian couldn't help but guffaw. "Yeah, yeah. The package, please," he asked and held one hand out.
With Lucian's action, Bek shifted uncomfortably.
“About the package…. " Bek started and placed the cylinder box on the black asphalt in front of his own form.
“Hmm? Yeah, that one there,” Lucian said, lifting a dark brow.
“No…sir…that’s not quite what boss was looking for,” the man said and moved his eyes down to stare at his nervous, twirling fingers.
“Ooookay…so, what would that be,” Lucian asked and moved his amber eyes toward the ‘package’.
“That would be…the uhh…the package deliverer,” Kona finally spoke up in Bek’s stead.
“Oh…” Lucian said, blinking a few times. “That’s sort of cool. Explain.”
“We went to the drop zone…We were right around the corner,” the third man, Sano, started. “Then we heard raised voices…then squelches…then a thump,” he said, glancing toward Kona.
“I managed to glance around the corner…couldn’t tell much about the bigger guy that was alive…except then uhh…well, he was wearing a pin.”
“Pin,” Lucian asked and finally leaned down to pick up the package. “Continue,” the executive said just before pulling the deliverer’s head out.
Kona paused before speak, obviously distracted at the severed head being held up. “I said continue,” Lucian spoke again and placed the head back into the box.
“Oh…the pin…the pin was this country’s flag. The streetlight hit the thing and I saw it without a doubt,” Kona said quickly.
Lucian sniffed and tilted his head at that explanation. “How fun…and the package?”
“The man took it…but, Sir…” Kona started. “There’s been talk,” the man added.
“Mm. I’ve heard the talk,” Lucian cut in. “A rumor and a severed head…not a good mix when word of government assassins taking out our kind are going around.”
“No, sir…not good at all,” Bek chimed in.
“Well…guess that’s all then,” Lucian said and started to walk back toward the direction he came from. “Oh, did you see anyone else around,” the executive asked, stopping to look over his shoulder.
“O-oh…SHE was there…” Bek answered in a coy manner. “She sends her regards to you, Sir,” Bek told Lucian. The executive immediately turned back toward the three men.
"SHHHHHHE. So elusive, that woman. I wonder if I'll ever meet the sweet…sweet lady," Lucian said, wrinkling his nose. "Maybe one day I'll be as elusive and infamous…" Lucian paused after the three gave a visibly confused expression—only because Lucian was already elusive and infamous—
There was a silence as the four looked between one another, however once Kona uncomfortably cleared his throat, Lucian scratched the back of his head. "Well…I'll let Boss know. Thanks a ton," he finished and let out a disappointed sigh, still brooding over 'not being elusive and infamous' enough.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Well, that's not something you see every day." Annaliese stared at the decapitated body with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. The sight of another non human dead wasn't something that surprised or horrified her, but they didn't usually show up without a head like this. Throat torn out? Cliche. Stabbed through the heart? She'd seen it a million times before, but beheading was a less common occurrence. She hadn't expected her afternoon nap to be woken by a phone call about the body, or to be dragging herself out of the house at sundown to come face to face with one of the other gangs.

The Lucky Nines and the SAO weren't on the worst of terms, but she found no joy in interacting with them even when it was necessary. The fact that one of their kind had been found dead on neutral ground had made her presence necessary, even though she was internally complaining about it all while keeping a calm composure as she arrived. At least she wasn't being forced to interact with any of the higher ups in their organization, although she did make the effort to send her regards to Lucian, one of their more well known men. A hybrid, if she remembered correctly, an interesting combination to boot.

The look on their faces when she sent her regards to Lucian and vacated the scene had been more than worth it, and Annaliese found herself chuckling even as she got back in her vehicle and left. There was much work to be done if any of the rumors were correct, but first she had to report back to her boss with the information and see what he wanted to do.

"Really, you're busy having a romp with your wife while I'm out taking care of the dirty work?" She'd barged straight into his home upon entering, ignoring the doorman as he protested and tried to halt her in the front room. Her boss had only just left his room, tying the front of his robe closed as he slunk out of his bedroom with a satisfied expression.

"This is what I get for working under a bunch of cats."

"Need I remind you that you're also a cat?"

"I don't act like I'm in heat all the time, boss."

"You know, you're the only one who can get away with saying stuff like that."

"Yeah, I know. That aside, we have an issue. I just met up with some of the SAO and they took one of their own back.. Or his head, at least." The other shifter's expression changed abruptly before he rubbed at his face, motioning for her to follow him into the front room where his doorman was already moving in with a tray containing a bottle and two glasses.

"Any idea who did it? None of ours would go rogue like that out of nowhere." The drinks were poured, one glass handed to her before the man disappeared and left her seated alone with her boss.

"There are rumors of another group trying to move in and take over the neutral territory, push their way in and ignore any of our rules." The man cursed and downed his glass, while she sipped at hers slowly and leaned back in the chair. By the time she went to speak again his wife had come out of their bedroom, dressed in her own robe as she took a seat on her husband's lap and looked at Annaliese inquisitively.

"If you're here without a call first this can't be good."

"SAO had a member beheaded, all signs point to a rogue group trying to move in and conquer neutral territory. No idea why, anyone local would know better." She echoed the curse of her husband and reached for the bottle of liquor, refilling his glass before she took a sip of it.

"And SAO doesn't have any ideas, either?"

"Not as of right now. I sent my regards to their man Lucian," Her lips curved into a smile before she laughed, "But I've made no effort to reach out and speak to him or any of the others, yet. I'm sure they're over there panicking, but my concern is making sure none of our people end up in the crossfire of whatever this sudden invasion is, if that's the truth of the matter."

"We'll need to speak to them if there's any truth to the rumors. We'll send Davin out to scout the area and see what information he can get, in the meantime, consider that we'll need to set up a meeting. I don't believe you and Lucian have even met yet, have you?" She shook her head in response.

"Well, it might be about time.. We've held onto peace between our people for this long, kept our holds over the territories, we cannot afford to have a rogue group thinking they can challenge us or establish dominance over us."

Well, fuck. The last thing she wanted to do was meet up with the SAO in an official meeting.

 

[Aka Kitsune]

"Lucian. Boss'll see ya," a man called Merik spoke with fair, lifted brows. Merik’s appearance seemed only a few years older than Lucian. The man's hair was light brown in color, shaggy, but well kept. A hazy blue hue gazed from his large, round eyes, and his skin almost matched the color of a sandy beach. Merik’s dress was similar to Lucian's, however it was quite a bit looser. The man's build was on the smaller side, he was skinny, but his body held lean muscle that made him strong.
Hollen, too, worked closely with the Boss, so he and Lucian spoke more casually with one another as opposed to other members of the SAO. The two even considered themselves friends—about as well as friends could be in the mafia; regardless, Lucian and Merik were called in for the most dangerous and complicated assignments. They were partners and they worked almost too well with one another. It would be unfortunate for the one who had to deal with the two executives.

"Hopefully you didn't put him in a bad mood for me, Merry," Lucian said, teasing his friend.
"You know I always do, Luci," Merik bantered back.
"You're my least favorite person on the planet, you know that, right," Lucian said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder as he began to pass Merik.
"Likewise," Hollen snorted but cut his eyes toward Lucian once his friend paused.
"This package is going to cause trouble, Merik. A lot of trouble," Lucian mentioned then patted Merik’s shoulder. "Should be fun. Prepaaaare fooor a blood baaath~" Lucian said in a sing-song manner, chuckling while finally entering the Boss' office.
"God, he's and idiot…" Merik mumbled, finally stepping away.

"You're late, Lucian. Why're you always late, boy," the Boss complained from behind his desk. His chair was still turned toward the large, pristine window that was displayed adjacent to the entrance. It overlooked their shoddy city, so the view was unfortunately anything but pleasant.
"Ah…yeah," Lucian scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle. "About that. See, I had to make a quick stop…I didn't think it wou—" Lucian's voice was cut off by a loud crash. The source: Boss' hands slamming down on the large, wooden desk that he'd turned to face now. "I know exactly where you were, you little shit," the Boss yelled, frustrated.
The Boss' thin skin stretched from its original wrinkled appearance and his deep brown eyes bulged. The top of his bald head became florid and his yellowing teeth shown within his wavy, brown beard. This expression was not a pleasant sight, especially for whoever was seeing it.
"I think…" Lucian started, "the best course of action, Boss, is to calm down," Lucian finally said.
"Calm down?! Calm down?? Do you think I should be calm when YOU, my top executive, was in a fucking ice cream shop when you should have been here, bringing me that goddamn package that's in your hand?!"
Lucian cleared his throat and pursed his lips for a moment.
"I can't here you, boy! Nothing else to say? Surely you have a smart, little comment to make," the boss continued.
"Shit…what did Hollen say to make him this pissed…" Lucian mumbled under his breath, quietly enough that only he could hear the exact comment.

Bring it to me," the boss finally said, holding his wrinkled hand out toward Lucian.
"Right…you will nooot the pleased, Bosss," Lucian said innocently and stepped forward to place the box into the boss' hand. "OH! Here," Lucian added and place a small, 'Dilly's Ice Cream Shop' points card on top. "You can get a free waffle cone."
The boss glared at Lucian for a moment, furrowing his bushy brows before taking the points card off of the top of the box, immediately balling the paper up with one hand and throwing it at Lucian, hitting the other on the forehead; of course, Lucian immediately rubbed his forehead and pouted his full lips.

The box was quickly opened, however once it was opened, the boss glanced up to Lucian and took a long breath. "Call Hollen, we are going to visit The Lucky Nines tonight," the man said and gnashed his teeth together under his lips. "Oh, and Lucian," the boss added.
"Sir," Lucian asked just before turning to leave.
"If you're late again, I will hang you by your cock and let your colleagues throw darts at you. Do you understand me," the man stated.
"Yes, Boss," Lucian said and swallowed, quickly leaving afterwards.

Once Lucian exited with a pause to pick up the wadded up ‘Dilly’s Ice Cream Shop’ point card, the boss sighed loudly and slammed the lid back onto the box.
The man promptly pulled the large, black office phone from its mount, and punched in the numbers that he rarely dialed—The Lucky Nines head. “Hopefully this shit bag will answer,” the boss grumbled to himself as the first ring was heard from the receiver.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Speak of the devil.."

"What is it, babe?"

"Jesus, you two are like high schoolers with the pet names. Disgusting." Annaliese made a mock gagging noise as she watched her boss take the phone handed to him by his doorman.

"That obnoxious bastard is calling right now." He sighed and shifted his wife on his lap before answering the call. "Cole here. What can I do for you?" He made a face immediately after answering, holding the phone a few inches away from his ear as the voice on the end ranted on. Annaliese could hear half of the conversation from where she sat, swishing around her drink before finishing it off and setting it back on the tray. She was so thankful for not having to personally deal with the leader of the SAO as she watched Cole's expression change drastically throughout the conversation.

"They're coming over tonight." Annaliese's expression barely changed despite the annoyance and horror she felt inside. She had to deal with them tonight, after listening to the conversation that had made her want to beat her head against a wall?

"Guess you'd better get dressed, boss, better hope whoever shows up doesn't have a good nose, because this place reeks of sex." His wife gave her a slightly stunned look before she began to laugh, prompting the dark-haired woman to snort and shake her head. "Yeah, I guess I'll prepare to talk to whichever asshole shows up, let's just get this over with and make sure all of our people are on high alert. I don't want any of our guys ending up without a head."

 

[Aka Kitsune]

“Ya know…he’d hate you less if you’d just stop fucking around,” Merik pointed out and shook his head as he watched Lucian, who was leaning back in his seat. “Betcha don’t care either way, do you,” he asked.
“Nope. Not in the least,” Lucian answered simply while staring up at the popcorn ceiling. “Suppose I’ll let him knock me around a bit, huh? Make him feel better about himse—“
“Let who,” the Boss asked, having heard the ending statement of Lucian and Merik’s conversation.

Lucian kept his chair leaned back but peeled his amber eyes off the ceiling to stare directly at the other. “I was talking about Bek, of course. Who else,” the executive returned in a nonchalant manner.
“Uhuh. That’s what I thought,” the man said as he straightened his tie and strode toward the two. “We are going to see the Lucky Nines,” he said and stopped just before reaching the table where Merik and Lucian sat. It was their usual spot: back right corner, facing the window and entrance.

“We have to go,” Lucian asked, though it sounded more like a complaint.
“It isn’t a request. Both of you are,” the older man spoke just before kicking the leg of Lucian’s chair; this, in turn, caused the chair to wobble and tilt, losing its balance and eventually falling backward with Lucian to accompany it.
There was a loud thump and a groan to follow; of course, Lucian cried out in melodramatic fashion, which, was typical.

Merik immediately rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. “You do this to yourself,” Merik mentioned, looking down at Lucian with only his eyes.

“Both of you shut your mouths. I’m sick of your antics. This isn’t a fucking circus,” the boss finally yelled and nudged Lucian with his foot until the executive moved off of his butt. “Now, both of you listen and listen well. We will be meeting with the Lucky Nine’s head and probably a few others. Your job is to be quiet. Be quiet and watch.”
“What’re we watching,” Merik asked.
“Probably to make sure no one tries to slit his throat from behind,” Lucian supposed as he made it back to his feet.
“Precisely. Better your throats than mine,” the boss confirmed with an amused nod.

“We are leaving now. Get your things,” the boss spoke once more. “And, Lucian, I will only tell you once. BEHAVE,” the man added with sharp brows and a stern stare. “Got it?”
Lucian wrinkled his nose and moved his fiery eyes toward Merik, who gave him an urgent expression—a push to conform.
“Yes, sir…” Lucian finally answered begrudgingly.
“Good. Let’s go and get this over with, shall we…”

At the boss’ request, Lucian and Merik, both, straightened their posture and began moving toward the door. Their meeting was set, and they would be venturing into a territory that was not their own—many, many things could go wrong; however, as an order directly from the Boss, there was little room for discussion…at least not without getting knocked out of your chair.

Surely the Lucky Nines wouldn’t be stupid enough to stage a setup.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Good thing I always come prepared with weapons." Annaliese patted at her jean clad thighs and the knife strapped there, knowing full well she had plenty of other weapons on her person. There was another knife on her opposite ankle, a gun on her hip, even her hair ornaments had been weaponized but looked like nothing more than jewels tucked into her long black braid.

"You don't think they'd be stupid enough to attack us on our territory, do you? Why are you even having them come here?" Cole gave her a slightly irritated look.

"They're the ones who called us, and they're going to be interrupting my dinner as it is, so they can come here, we'll set up the conference room and I can eat while we deal with their bullshit." That was her boss all right, more worried about the fact that he was going to have his after-sex meal interrupted than having a rival gang inside his home. It was a wonder the man had survived as long as he had, although his wife and Annaliese had played a large part in that.

"I'm hanging up my jacket, then." Vacating the chair and going to hang her jacket by the front door, despite the protests of the man there who wanted to take it and properly put it into a closet, she sauntered back over to grab her now empty glass and stared into it morosely.

"You know, one of the only perks about coming over here is the good booze." She raised the glass in a mock toast before helping herself to more by filling it partway. Cole really was right; she was one of the only people in their organization that dared to act as she did. With all the work she was constantly doing for him, playing mediator and passing along messages, cleaning up messes and dealing with the filth, she deserved it.

"Norman, go and make sure the conference room is properly set up for a meeting, will you?" Cole shifted his wife from his lap and stood with a grunt, instructing the flustered man at the door who immediately left the room and set to his task. That left Annaliese to stand there with her drink as the couple disappeared to go and get dressed, still eyeballing each other as if they were ready to jump right back into bed.

Couples.

She shook her head and wandered off after Norman, finding him wiping down the large table and making sure the chairs were all set perfectly in place before he disappeared to check on his master's meal. Honestly, Cole and his many servants, for lack of a better term, were enough to make Annaliese cringe. How someone could be so reliant on others was beyond her, she was more than content in her own home by herself, taking care of everything by herself.

"Is there a bug on the wall or something?" She must have been staring at it for longer than she realized when Cole stepped up beside her buttoning the sleeve of his shirt. "They're on their way, so they should be here in the next while. Might as well get comfortable." Annaliese grunted in response and swung around the table, pulling out a chair and settling herself in it with the drink in one hand, and her chin in the other.

"I hate getting pulled away from my naps, this had better be worth it."

 

[Aka Kitsune]

Black, lavish, and made only for the most prestigious, the SUV limousine stopped just before the entrance of their intended destination. Of course, Lucky Nine’s head would be ridiculously guarded—front, back, both side entrances, roof, windows.
“overkill much…” Lucian commented quietly, nudging Merik, who sat next to him.
Unlike The Lucky Nines, SAO’s head had Lucian and Merik as his guards, so there was never any need for added security.

“Boss, they will shoot us on sight,” Lucian said and began to chuckle. “Maybe I should throw you over my shoulder and swoop in,” he added.
“You’re not swooping anywhere with me, you absolute waste of space.”
“Would only be for your protection, of course,” he mentioned with a grin and tucked a piece of his long, raven black hair behind his heavily pierced and pointed ear.
“You’d drop ‘em on purpose,” Merik commented.
“Both of you shut your mouths,” the boss groaned and pinched the bridge of his wrinkled nose.

After silence filled the vehicle—aside from Lucian’s attempt to stifle a giggle—the door of the limo swung open. Their driver, Cass, waited to the side, holding his hand out, offering assistance to the boss. “Sir,” Cass spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. He was well over ten years older than the boss, however there was obvious status discrepancy.
“We’ve arrived. Would you like me to carry brief and box,” the man asked with bushy, lifted brows.
“Don’t worry about it, Cass. I got it,” Lucian assured their chauffeur.
Cass simply nodded with an unsure expression and gave the group a respectful bow. “As you wish.”

Of course, the group of men unloaded from the vehicle and slowly made their way to the revolving doors—Lucian first, Boss in the middle, then Merik at the rear. There were four guardsmen, two on each side of the door; the two who stood closest to the door stepped in front, causing the group to pause.
“Gotta date with your boss, mind moving,” Lucian asked with a lifted, dark brow and glowing, amber eyes.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I wouldn't call it a date, exactly." Annaliese had been unable to keep still just sitting in the conference room, and when she'd heard the car coming up the long drive she'd instantly moved to her feet and started to the door. Why did she need to deal with the boring meetings like this? "You can let them in, Cole's expecting them." She was surprised to see that there were only three of them, though, her eyes sweeping over them briefly before she turned on her heel and entered the house with a swish of her glittering braid.

She didn't sense any ill intent from them, and she had enough weapons on her person without needing to shift and let them know exactly what she was. Very few of any other gangs knew her true nature, even the lower ranks in the Lucky Nines didn't know exactly what she was, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Cole, they're here!" She glanced over her shoulder only long enough to check that they were following, green eyes focusing a bit longer on the man in front before she continued through the house and into the room that Norman had set up. Cole was already partway through his meal with his wife at his side, and Annaliese made her way to a nearby seat to casually place herself in it. Despite her casual posture, however, she was ready to move at a moment's notice, her attention focused on the men filtering into the room for their meeting.

"Gentlemen," Cole had the decency to stop eating long enough to address them, knife poised over his steak as he smiled pleasantly. "How can I help you?"

 

[Aka Kitsune]

A maid wouldn’t be speaking to the guards in such a manner, nor guests—His wife? …no. Daughter?…if so, I should move my eyes from her chest.
Surely, this woman wasn’t a member of The Lucky Nines. Surely.

Lucian kept a steady gaze on this woman, not deviating his bright eyes for even a moment.
“Mm. Try telling Boss that. He was going on and on about—.” Lucian’s sentence was cut off abruptly by his boss’ heavy hand to the back of his head. Lucian’s shoulders lifted and he moved his palm to rub the area of impact. “Ow…” Lucian squeaked with a somewhat concealed pout.
“Walk,” the boss said and shoved Lucian forward to quicken his pace behind this woman.

“This is nice…” Merik breathed as the group moved further into the house. It was ornate, well-decorated, and relatively cozy despite how bougie it was; however, this was only a small fraction of the square footage that rested on this foundation—who knew what the rest of the place was like.
The group would see very little of the home, for they had already arrived to their destination.

A conference room?

Lucian was the first to enter the conference room; however he stopped just before the boss could enter. His eyes bounced from the left side of the room, to the center, then to the right. He was obviously studying the area closely for any sort of set up or simple assassination attempt. It would be nipped in the bud quickly if that were the case.

Once Lucian’s assessment of the room ended, the tall man finally stepped to the side, allowing his boss and Merik, who had hung back to make sure they weren’t to be flanked from the back, to enter.

Filing in, Lucian took a step back and to his boss’ right side—Merik took the left. This gave the SAO’s head a full and clear view of the rival mafia boss. “I thank you for having us, Cole” SAO’s head said and stared directly at the other with lifted brows.
Hearing his boss refer to the other man by his actual name, Lucian glanced toward Merik and wrinkled his nose. No one in the SAO was ever allowed to speak freely or casually with the boss. Part of his status and, frankly, his unfriendly disposition, Lucian supposed.

Lucian pulled a face and looked away at Boss’ fake courtesy. He turned his head toward the wall closest to him and the lovely lady that had escorted them. She was so…laid back. He’d have been slapped off the chair by now—Lucian smirked to himself at the thought.

"Seems some of my guys found this," the boss paused to place the open box on the table. There was an obvious severed head inside.
The boss paused for a moment then looked toward Lucian, who was obviously staring off in a daze.

Who is she? What’s her name? Where’s she from? Why haven’t I seen her bef—

“Lucian, you had more information,” the boss prompted and jabbed a sharp elbow into his side to break his daydream.
The executive, startled at having been awoken from his daze, stuttered for a moment.
“What was the question…” he asked as one of his hands when to his ribs.
“Information! Information,” the boss repeated.
“Oh…there was a pin,” Lucian began in his deep, yet smooth voice. “Possibly governmental. Got some guys snooping as we speak,” he continued before moving his fiery eyes to stare directly at Cole. “Regards were sent to me from one of yours.

“A little odd that they were in the same area as one of our decapitated men, hmm,” the boss mentioned, obviously unamused. “Were your men involved in this, Cole? If not, what does the little rat that was there know?”

“Rat” was a terrible word to describe HER. A “Cat”, maybe. Allusive and MUCH more attractive than a rat.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Rat? She'd been called plenty of names before, but rat wasn't one people dared to call her often, and Cole's amused expression was directed his way as he waited to see what she would do. Annaliese managed to keep her composure rather than to laugh, the only sign of her amusement the way her mouth twitched at the corner.

"If it was the work of one of ours," She made no move to straighten out from her relaxed lean back in the chair, "you'd already be dead where you're at." Her tone didn't insinuate that she was bragging or threatening, merely stating a fact as she eyed the boss with an almost predatory look. He really was a cocky little thing, wasn't he? No wonder Cole disliked him so much, she didn't hold any fondness for him either, or pity for his fallen man. They weren't her men, why did she care? What she did care about was the fact that some outsider may be trying to move in and disrupt the flow of things.

"Word on the street is that there are some outsiders trying to move in on neutral territory to claim as their own. This could be a scare tactic to sound out the area, see how we would react. You should have made sure your man was better suited to defending himself during a delivery." She barely glanced at the head, she knew what it was.

"Even a rat knows how to elude an enemy."

 

[Aka Kitsune]

The boss’ eyes cut toward the woman on his right, clenching his teeth as he did so. He wasn’t used to being spoken to in this manner, so he moved his eyes back forward and leaned his head back. The man’s mouth was moving, mumbling back to Lucian.
Lucian’s expression showcased just how ridiculous the boss’ request was. He didn’t want to be that guy—the seemingly harmless grunt that followed every order. A pawn.

Shut the bitch up

Once the boss faced Cole again, Lucian stepped forward, grumbling under his breath.
“Unfortunately for you, Miss, you would be among the dead. I rarely get to break people in half, so could be fun. Please. You and your men try. We welcome it,” he said, though his statement was monotoned from boredom and disinterest.

“Now that that has been settled, let’s speak more about these ‘outsiders’. Do you have more to go on than just words,” the boss said and tilted his head, waiting for Cole to speak.
This meeting seemed to be quite tense, so the head felt it best to get the information and leave. “Do you believe that this could be a governmental group oooor possibly a rival gang? Small fries?”

Who says “small fries” anymore…

Lucian glanced toward Merik and the two, both, were stifling laughter. Their boss should never be allowed to speak in these sorts of meetings. How embarrassing.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"It's rude to threaten someone in their own territory, you know. You're not being a very polite guest." She didn't look rattled in the least, if anything she looked a bit more openly amused at his threat. "I'm perfectly comfortable in my seat, thank you." Cole seemed like he was beginning to lose interest in the meeting already, having gone back to eating as he thought.

"Are you saying fries because I'm eating?" He quirked a light brow and glanced at Annaliese who only shrugged. She had most of her attention on the man who had issued her a challenge, more or less, trying to determine why he'd caught her interest. Ah, yes, Lucian. That was the man she tended to give her regards to, despite the fact that they'd never met before. A hybrid named Lucian who didn't seem to care much for his boss' way of speech. How interesting.

"It would be all too easy for another gang to kill a government agent and steal his pin to try and blame it on them. A normal human killing one of your own? That would be very embarrassing for you." Cole abandoned his meal and wrinkled his nose, pushing it to the side before he leaned forward and propped his chin in one hand.

"And if you threaten her again, I won't take kindly to it. You called me, you came here into my home, you don't threaten my people. In fact," He paused and looked to Annaliese before giving a toothy smile. "Annaliese." She glanced his way with a bored look and lifted a brow. "If he threatens you again, feel free to react accordingly."

 

[Aka Kitsune]

Lucian’s brows lifted almost immediately at the woman’s name.

Annaliese…HER

“I am made to be a very, very rude man,” he told the woman first, then moved his fiery eyes toward Cole. The man was directing his grievances toward Lucian—how absolutely ridiculous.

“Lucian! I, in NO, asked you to threaten this woman,” the boss turned to yell at the executive and pointed toward the door. “Get out.”
Merik’s brows lifted and it looked between his boss and Lucian. What in the hell is going on…?

“Yes, Boss,” Lucian said then wrinkled his nose. “I’ll excuse myself,” he added, balling his fist and clicking his tongue in an annoyed manner.
Lucian began to turn, but allowed his amber eyes to linger on Annaliese for a moment more before stepping away from the group.

Merik glanced over his shoulder, watching his friend leave. To think, boss would send Lucian away…when he was the stronger of the two.

After Lucian left the room, the boss took a long breath and straightened his tie. “I asked the boy to behave before coming here. Seems he’s a difficult one to control,” the man said and lifted his brows. “I apologize for the pause. “As far as a human killing one of our men, I would say that it’s highly possible. There are special weapons that have been developed over the years, and simple delivery boys aren’t trained as intense as other.” The boss thought for a moment and sniffed. “I would propose that we investigate. Your best and our best. Otherwise, I’m certain we will be finding more bodies.”

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Annaliese looked at Cole in disbelief, was the man really so stupid as to lie in front of both of them? She watched Lucian leave the room per his boss' instructions, and that same man lie to Cole's face yet again.

"My best would be the one you just threatened," Cole's chest rumbled with a hint of a growl, but Annaliese only stared at the rival boss with a bored expression. "And you just sent yours out of the room after lying to my face. Have you forgotten how good shifter hearing is? Even I could hear loud and clear when you told your man to "shut the bitch up." Honestly, you have the balls of someone far bigger than yourself. As much as I would love to never see your people again, I do agree we need to investigate. Annaliese," She sighed in a bit of annoyance now, already standing from her seat and nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, go talk to the poor exiled man outside and investigate. Got it." She barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes as she went to leave the room, halting beside the boss and smiling pleasantly. "Oh, and I'm not a werewolf, so bitch isn't the proper term. Learn your stuff." Cole groaned from the table and muttered under his breath as she left the room, finding the other man outside and giving him a slightly exasperated expression.

"We are to investigate, apparently. Where do you propose we start?"

 

[Aka Kitsune]

The head of the SAO smirked at the room’s reaction. “I’m aware of shifter hearing. “Shutting you up doesn’t mean threatening,” the man pointed out with a snort.
“Believe me, I prefer to never see you, as well; however, this is the hand we’ve been given. Make the most of this alliance…for a time.”

I want to leave…I want to leave…I want to leave. Lucian, help me.
Merik pouted his lips and looked around the room, helpless and uncomfortable.

Lucian was leaned against the wall just outside of the conference room. His arms were over his chest, his head was leaned back against the wall, and his eyes were closed, possibly sleeping from boredom.

It was when Annaliese stepped out and spoke that Lucian peeked one eye opened to stare at her. “Suppose we start where the guy was murdered,” the man answered simply. “By the way, I would never challenge someone like you,” he finally mentioned and lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head with his index finger. “Shall we go then,” he finally asked, kicking off the wall and yawning loudly with his arms over his head.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I suppose so," She didn't particularly feel like returning to the scene of the crime, especially in the chill October had brought, but he was right. "Someone like me?" She raised an eyebrow inquisitively. He seemed far too relaxed for the situation at hand, considering one of his own had been beheaded, but perhaps he'd never been close to the man? For all she knew, the SAO found all of their men disposable, considering how his boss had just treated him.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" She started down the hall toward the front door with him in tow, retrieving her jacket from its hanging position and slipping it on. "Is this your way of trying to butter me up?"

 

[Aka Kitsune]

“Buttering you up? What for,” he asked with a snorted as they walked with one another. “Only thing I butter is bread,” he said, beginning to chuckle, shaking his head. “What I meant,” Lucian started again, though he was making an assumption. “I don’t like fighting with felines,” he said, sniffing and wrinkling his nose.

Of course, Lucian’s action wasn’t to indicate that she smelled, it was simply bad timing that most men wouldn’t notice.

“And…i know what you’re thinking…I did know him,” Lucian mentioned. Being a demon and fea came with perks. He couldn’t completely hear other’s thoughts, but there bits that he could pick up. This particular assumption bothered him, so he felt the need to address it. “His name was Kaz. He was 25 and had just dipped his toes into mafia life. He was homeless, and I recruited him,” Lucian said simply. “Not all of us are like that man.”

The two had finally reached the front entrance and Lucian paused to let out a long breath. “How pissed do you think we can make my boss by taking the car,” he asked, glancing toward Annaliese with a smirk.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I'm impressed you noticed." She did see the way he wrinkled his nose, but she never asked or cared why that particular comment made him do so. "I don't make a habit of fighting with demons, so we're even." She shrugged and kept walking, pausing only briefly when he went on to speak again.

"I didn't say anything." Well, that answered what the other half of him was. Demon and fae. What a very interesting combination. "No, I don't get the feeling you would instruct someone to hurt a woman and then lie about it. You'd at least have the balls to own up to it." Probably. They reached the front and he seemed to pause, prompting her to halt there for a moment as Norman opened the doors for them.

"I'd love to find out. Shall we?"

 

[Aka Kitsune]

“As long as you know I’m not a complete shit bag,” Lucian said then chuckled at the woman’s response. “I think I already like you,” he commented and finally started out of the house and toward the large SUV at the end of the drive way.
The walk was comfortable—at least in Lucian’s mind. He didn’t feel awkward, nor did he get the feeling she completely wanted to rip his throat out, so that was a start.

Upon arriving to the SUV, Lucian opened the door for Annaliese then held his hand out to help the small woman into the vehicle. “M’lady,” he said with a toothy smirk. This was probably not a pet name that she had ever been called, nor would have liked to be called. Even still, to tease was Lucian’s nature and that’s the way he would stay. “pussies first,” the executive said under his breath, amused.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I don't know you at all, I just know you're not like your boss. Past that remains to be seen." She glanced at the SUV they were going to be taking, patting at her braid subtly to ensure the handful of pins were still in place as they approached the vehicle. When he held the door open for her she paused, giving him a strange look and staring at the hand he extended to her.

"Mutter that under your breath again and see if you don't end up with one yourself." She smiled sweetly at him but ignored the hand he held out for her, ducking around it and getting into the seat before making certain she closed the door herself, rather than allow him to continue with the mock gentleman act. Just because she had to spend time with him didn't mean she wanted to, and she intended to make that perfectly clear. If that meant someone had to bleed a little bit to prove that point.. Well, a little blood never hurt anyone.

 

[Aka Kitsune]

Lucian retracted his hand and shook his head, laughing at himself and the situation. This was be an interesting investigation, one that he may not make it through—alive and/or butchered.

Fucking felines

Once Annaliese was settled into her seat with the door closed,” Lucian swung around the SUV, popping his head into the driver’s side window. “The 6th street alley. Close to Dilly’s.”
“Boss will murder me if I take you to Dilly’s again.”
“We aren’t going TO Dilly’s, we are going NEAR Dilly’s. We have a business there, so I don’t let anyone cut you up. Promise,” Lucian assured their driver.
The man’s wrinkled skin only wrinkled more as he agreed.

With their destination being discussed, Lucian quickly flung the door open, scooting inside immediately after.
The automatic door closed and that was cue to speed out of the property—which they did.
The executive let out a long sigh and leaned his head back. “I need a drink after that bullshit. Care for something,” he asked and moved only his eyes toward her.

How is anyone this beautiful…even after threatening to castrate me…she’s still beautiful…and she’s a feline. That could be a dealbreaker actually.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Dilly's? Wasn't that an ice cream shop? Was the hybrid an ice cream junkie or something? She said nothing as he joined her in the car and interacted with the driver, looking around the vehicle for any possible threats as they started off. The SAO's best man was an ice cream junkie, that was not at all what she had expected, but she also hadn't expected him to outright make flirtatious comments to her either. The man was bold, she would give him that, but that was all she would give him other than thinly veiled threats.

"A drink? If he was my boss, I think I would need more than a single drink to deal with him. I wouldn't let anyone talk to me like that, not even Cole." She and Cole had come to a mutual understanding early on in their friendship that she put up with very little bullshit, and even if she acknowledged him as her superior, she wasn't going to roll over and expose her belly, for lack of better term, to him under any circumstances. His understanding of that had been almost immediate, and they'd managed to stay rather friendly since then, even to the point that his territorial wife trusted her enough to be alone with him when discussing business matters.

"I'm surprised to see anyone with demon blood bowing down to another. Your kind is known for their tempers, after all." Yet he seemed almost unnaturally calm and carefree about everything.

 

[Aka Kitsune]

Lucian sniffed and finally straightened his posture, wanting to distract himself. Why did this woman have to be HER. He cursed the universe inwardly. Moreover, Annaliese was all that she was made out to be: calm, collected, and cutthroat. She was the sort of woman built for mafia life.

Annaliese’s voice was what caused Lucian to glance back toward the woman. She was right, one drink never did it. The executive guffawed and gave a nod. “We are heavy drinkers,” Lucian told her with lifted brows; of course, he wasn’t THAT heavy of a drinker, unless milkshakes were included. “You don’t seem like the type to let anyone say a damn thing,” he returned before leaning forward to grab a scotch glass.

—I'm surprised to see anyone with demon blood bowing down to another. Your kind is known for their tempers, after all—

Ah, that was the million dollar statement that anyone would mention. What everyone was saying was true, however…not many would understand the reasoning. Sure, Lucian had plenty of demon blood, as well as a raging temper that he often had to keep in check, but the fae in him, it caused him to be less high strung and violent—which he didn’t mind.

“It’s because I don’t want to be SAO’s head,” Lucian said simply. “The old man knows his days are numbered, but it won’t be me that does the dirty work,” he told her and chuckled. “I’m not the one he should be petrified of…then again, would be fun to throw darts at his face just for funsies.”

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Oh, you're not doing the dirty work now, chasing leads to avenge a headless man?" She chuckled and relaxed in the seat, crossing one leg over the other and glancing at Lucian. "I wouldn't want to be the head of the Lucky Nine's either, honestly. Cole and his wife can have that title, I'd much rather sit in the back and watch everything burn until I'm forced to tame the flames." With how things were going lately, it was seeming like she was going to need a damn fire extinguisher to keep it in check.

"What's your bet on it all? Government agent or someone posing as one to throw us off their trail? The thought of a human managing to behead a supernatural.. Well," She cringed and shook her head, "that wouldn't give you guys a good image. Not that I particularly care about how you guys look to the others, but I imagine you do."

 

[Aka Kitsune]

“Nah, I don’t mind these types of things. This is the fun work to me,” Lucian said and took his index finger to his temple, tapping it gently. “Much more fun to deduce, solve, and fuck someone up than sit at a desk all day, becoming cold and tyrannical. Don’t you think,” he asked just before taking a sip of the drink he’d just poured and leaning back in his seat. “Mm. And I wouldn’t be sitting in the car, drinking if I were the boss. I’d be in that stuffy conference room—poor Merik,” Lucian mused and began to laugh to himself.

Lucian supposed that Annaliese could be the cold, calculating type, but from the short time they’d spoke, he had a feeling that there was more. Maybe? She wasn’t like his boss, so there had to be something.

“Your boss seems…tolerable at least. I don’t think anyone has spoken to the miserable man EVER. Well, maybe it was directed more toward me, which it would be normal if that’s the truth,” he said and chuckled.