Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-26130256-20150806184438/@comment-26130256-20150910150332

Azulius stared in shock. It was him. That same phantom that had attacked him and Shani back when they first met. He was back to gunning for them. But why now? He looked around for more clues, and found one. Near the entrance, one of the men reading the newspaper had gotten up to leave, but not before turning to face Azzie and give him a mimed tip of the hat. By the time the magician realized who it was, the crowd had thickened and he was gone.

Uriel Espinas, Azulius said to himself, along with a lengthy list of curses. ''The Blackbriar's former head of security at the casino. Is this what's going on? Did the gang find out I was part of the Harlequins? Or is he just here for revenge? And why is he working with Jack-o-Lantern?''

Azzie checked his work before leaving. Miraculously, Shani had been standing in one of the few blind spots in the entire buildning when she got napped, so no camera evidence. The blood was real and fresh, so they weren't faking him out with that. And this was without a doubt Shani's camera.

He clenched his fists, feeling a well of anger rising up that he thought he had buried. Even though he no longer officially worked for the crime family, he was still a Cardamom. If they had attacked him, it would be one thing, but these fools had went and gone after his people, his teammate, his friend. "Mess with one, mess with all" was the family motto, and Azulius Cardamom was going to ensure they both learned the true meaning of that phrase.

Fortunately, walking outside, he noticed a very familiar pattern of six black bricks in the corner of a nearby convenience store. The De La Croix family kept one of their black market outposts there, and they would be pleasantly surprised to see someone from the family at this time of day. When the store had cleared out a little, he entered.

"Afternoon, welcome to 8-13.  What can I get you?" the cheery cashier asked.

"I wish to see your reserve stock," the mobster finished the code phrase.

"Of course.  And who do you represent?" she asked, curious. Azulius responded by pulling out his family medallion, the cardamom seed shining in the fluorescent lighting.

"No one of consequence.  Here's what I need," he continued, sliding a piece of paper towards her. Her eyes widened and her tail began to wag as she read.

"Planning some sort of party?  This is quite a list."

"Let's just say I'm meeting some old friends," Azulius grinned devilishly. "And I want to greet them with the proper formalities."

=
Uriel jogged to the nearest alleyway from the museum to ensure that Cardamom didn't see where he went. Once he was in the clear, he grabbed his scroll and called the phantom.

"The bait worked, and we hooked the fish," he informed with a smile. "Shall we sit tight until midnight, or do you wanna have a talk with our new friend?"