NT Runner 7 - Yeong - Making a Killing (Patreon)

“God, what a monster...” Kai grumbled, shifting the giant vehicle into gear with a loud grinding noise. She managed to move it, but it was extremely sketchy to both Yeong and Janna. The girl seemed so small in the roomy front seat that it was ridiculous.

“Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?” Yeong questioned, gripping the large seat in front of him tightly. Janna chose the far more practical and safe solution of fastening her seat belt.

“Listen! I know a BIT. I didn't think this thing would be a manual SUV from ancient times. I also didn't realize neither of YOU knew how to drive.” She turned up her nose and stretched to press down on the pedals.
“So sue me...”  

“We didn't really use vehicles. Public transportation is big back home.” Yeong explained.

Janna scoffed. “Why would I drive when someone else is usually available to drive? Just order a FastVac cab or something.”

“Not really an option.” Kai uttered through gritted teeth. She pulled the vehicle out of the shot-up parking structure. A dingy hangout filled with tents and shipping containers that was the host of their quick fight. The black SUV had thankfully avoided taking any damage in the scuffle. Kai was exaggerating about the age of it, but she was not wrong about it being a monster. The interior felt like it was bigger than most Low-Rise apartments. The seats were fine tan leather and the paneling was a beautiful oak. A lot of it had been stained to hell by the gangers that stole it, naturally, but that was not their problem.

The gang they had fought was a very basic car-jacking crew but they were heavily armed. The combination of Yeong's martial prowess and Janna's magical ability outflanked their capabilities significantly while Kai's fast hacking on the go disabled a lot of their early warning measures and security. Yeong was able to go toe-to-toe with the gangers one Gnoll muscle while Janna offered support by telekinetic releasing the mags from all of their guns. It was a complete tactical victory.

The SUV climbed easily over the wreckage, as it was raised three feet off the ground and had huge tired with fancy silver rims.
“Don't scratch it.” Janna warned.

“Don't distract me, then!” Kai seethed.
“If you two weren't so gung-ho about killing all the people in the garage then maybe we'd be able to recruit one of them to drive us back.”

“That may have worked.” Yeong admitted.
“Bright side is, we've made quite a bit more per head this way.”

“Exactly! We're real jobbers this way.” She reached over to high five Yeong but he was not sure what she was doing and left her hanging. He was too busy holding on to Kai's seat as she rolled over bumps and nearly tilted the thing around bends.

“Careful!” Yeong shouted, anxiety building.

Kai ignored him. “Who still drives one of these bull-shit-mobiles other than mobsters and low-rise gangers? You wanna look fancy so you spend a ton of cash on a vehicle that can't fly and guzzles fuel faster than a private jet. It's ridiculous.” She periodically turned her head to glance back as she was talking, swerving to avoid objects in the road as she did. The roads in the low-rises were a stellar example of what flying vehicles could do to a city in terms of incentives. The roads were never cleared this far down because why would they be?

“Can you pay attention to the road?” Janna begged in an uncharacteristically apologetic tone.

“I am! I'm a multi-tasker. I can do two things at once.” Kai promised, glancing back to say that. As she did the vehicle drifted over a section of broken road that was upturned like a ramp. All present, including Yeong screamed as the SUV took flight. Each was surprised when the vehicle landed on it's tires, bounced a few times then skidded before continuing on as though nothing happened.

Kai panted, eyes wide. “Okay, I take it back. This thing is awesome!” her tail wagged behind her excitedly.
“Can we get one down the line? With a roll cage and a push bar?”

“What? Maybe? What do you want more, that or big fake breasts.” Yeong joked.

“Ooh. That's a tough one.” The Fox admitted.

* *

Kai safely guided the SUV up a steep driveway towards a manor-like building. Though on the ground-level, the neighborhood they entered was across the bridge and outside the city so there was no overhead cover, no terrible roads and no tall structures to pollute the landscape; just rolling hills and other similarly cute homes that provided a hamlet-like aesthetic. Kai gulped as she pulled in and ground the gears painfully once again to park behind another big vehicle.

“Remember what I said about only mobsters wanting to drive this thing?” Kai looked tense. She was staring straight ahead without moving as though she was trying to avoid startling an animal.

“Uh huh?” Janna leaned forward and squinted.
“Oh shit. Glad we didn't scratch it.”

“What is it?” Yeong stared through the windshield at a small figure standing up on the grass near the front entryway. The home was painted white with pillars holding up a balcony over the front door. The whole thing stood up on a hill with a winding driveway. The odd little fellow was vaguely androgynous but dressed down significantly in a way that made Yeong assume he must be male. He wore a simple bathrobe that was open at the front. Underneath he was not naked, which was what all of them first assumed as it fell open when he waved. He wore a white tank-top that fit loosely and boxer shorts. His feet looked very warm and comfortable in a pair of bland slippers. He held a rolled up newspaper under one arm.

“He's an Imp!” Kai exclaimed.
“He's probably a part of their thing.”

“Not just a member.” Janna corrected, looking closely.
“That's Tomas Sabrano.” Tomas looked like a small, middle-aged man. He had a dumpy little body and short hair that was balding on top and graying around the sides. Imps in general were basically tiny Ciar elves. The only thing that set them apart were their non-functional little bat wings and devils tails. Their skin-tones ranged from human-like to very bright in either blues or reds or purples. Tomas was more on the human side in his appearance.

The imp stepped closer and cupped a hand around his mouth to shout. “Thanks for warmin' up the seats but you should come out and let me get a look at ya! Come on.” He motioned for them to come out by beckoning them with his free hand. The three of them slid out of huge vehicle. Janna nervously confirmed that there were no scratches as Kai attempted to play it cool like she had not been taking the vehicle over 'jumps' and debris intentionally after the initial discovery that it could.
“Wow look at you! The three mustachios comin' over the hilltop. 'Cavalry's arrived, eh? I'm glad you brought her back in one piece. My wife'll trilled.”

“Oh, it's your wife's car?” Yeong asked.

“Yeah.” Tomas addressed Yeong and leaned forward.

“Birthday present. You know... Women. They want everything big.” He wagged his brow at the women suggestively before turning around to return to the home.
“Anyway, come in. I got your money and a bit extra. Just tell me how many heads you all popped.” He turned back and wagged his finger, a crooked smile curling up one side of his face.
“Don't you go exasperating or anything on me, alright?”

Janna whispered. “Ex... asperating?”

“Exaggerating?” Kai guessed in a similarly low tone.

“Yeah, no. We got the whole gang as far as we know. The ones that were there. It was five.”  Yeong offered truthfully.

“The whole-” The imp did an awkward, shuffling dance as he made his way towards the door.
“Gang! Wow! Woah! Regular Andy Chan over here.” He motioned with his thumb towards Yeong. The man spoke with his hands quite a lot. He recognized Andy Chan to be an east-coast figure who was popular in the fighting scene, and eventually movies.

“Most of what he does is special effects.” Yeong clarified.

The three entered the manor. Yeong first. He was less intimidated by just hearing the word mobster. He was able to place most of his attention on admiring the interior décor. It was like what rich people back home tried to replicate, which he understood to scream of a person that had come into wealth; they were doing their best to provide the image of fine culture without the essence of it. Tomas lead them into his kitchen. The fact that a grouping of modern appliances sat in the middle of a black-tile kitchen, clashing clashing against the entirety of the house showed just how much of a facade it all was. Someone wanted the home to look old and fancy but could not reach a compromise with someone else that wanted their kitchen to have everything.

“Caroline! Caroline your SUV is parked out front!” Tomas shouted up a spiral staircase.
“Hey!” He rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively after there was no answer.
“Eh, she doesn't give a shit. Probably plowing our poolboy.”

Janna and Kai looked at each other and laughed awkwardly. Yeong shrugged. “Is that okay for her to be doing that?” Janna punched his shoulder viciously, but Yeong was far too sturdy for it to have any effect. He looked at her.  
“What?” He shot her a confused look.

Tomas laughed. “Yeah! It's fine. Whadday mean? You saying my wife can't fuck whoever she wants? She's a princess. If she wants to fuck you she'll fuck you. Interested?” The imp leaned forward, wagging his brows suggestively.

Yeong blinked and paused before answering. He looked to the other two who both waved their hands for a definitive 'no.'
“No...” Yeong responded.

“Suit yourself. I got a daughter, too. Son. Whatever your flavor is, you know. We're very religious in this house. The old ways are important to us. We are a MORAL family.” Tomas stresses.

“Oh.” Yeong was not sure what to say. He felt like he had entered into a bizarre situation.

“Look at me, talkin' your ear off.” The kitchen counters were normal height for Yeong but quite tall for an imp. Instead of making them shorter, the designer made a unique choice of surrounding each high surface with a step up. Tomas ascended the step and reached into the fruit bowl for a wad of cash.
“You don't mind paper, do you?”

“It all works the same, right?” He asked Tomas, but then looked to Kai. She seemed hesitant but tilted her head back and forth as if to say that it should work. The girl did not want to cause trouble, mostly, despite how much of an actual hassle it could be.

“That's the spirit.” Tomas counted off several large bills, humming and bobbing his head as he counted. “Shit's expensive... Glad I only gotta deal with those rubes once. That's why you always pay per head.” Tomas dropped the cash into Yeong's hand and reached forward to pinch his cheeks.
“Don't spend it all in one place now! You a club guy?” The Imp asked, leaning back while opening his arms and tilting his head quizzically.
“I'm a club guy. We own a few clubs.” He added off-handedly. The man had a way of bragging effortlessly.

“I-”

“Yeah! Look at you! Love the fucking Aoli's or whatever the fuck you's all called.” He offered a few slow, fake punches in slow motion that Yeong leaned away from.
“Look at that body! You look like you could impregnate a racehorse.”

“Is that a compliment?” He was utterly confused. Yeong leaned over to Janna and whispered.
“What is this?”

“I don't know...” She responded.

“Of course it's a compliment! Alright, I can tell you kids wanna get goin'.” As he said that a red Imp woman in a cute little dress and heels hurried down the stairs as she adjusted her earrings. Her small black wings bounced and her thin tail swished back and forth.
“Oh well if it isn't the 'virgin' Madonna herself. In the flesh! You gonna say high to the group that rescued your baby?”

“I'm going out.” She said simply.
“Don't wait up.”

“Can you believe this girl?” Tomas asked, the door slamming to punctuate his question.

“Oh!” The intonation was a mix of realization and offense. He lifted a finger up, asking them to wait.
“You folks wanna make a bit of extra cash on the side? I got some work that the girls can handle and for you, stud... I'd pay you to tail my wife. Gotta make sure the guy she's fucking is good enough for her, you know?”

“I do not know, but I understand you want me to tail your wife. For them?”

“For them?” Tomas grinned.
“We could just hang out. They're your support crew, right? They'll keep me company while you're gone and we'll play Monopoly or something.”

Kai and Janna exchanged a look and shrugged at Yeong. “Money is money. If it's for playing a stupid kids game it's easy money. You've got the tough job.” Kai reasoned, as much as she did not like the idea of staying in the same place as the mobster.

“Don't exactly want to get on this guy's bad side.” Janna grumbled, crossing her arms under her chest uncomfortably.