12 Seleszeni 10.076 Z.C., Morning

Nadine sipped her coffee, tuning out Yarik as he explained his fourth new idea. Meanwhile, Rafiel took notes in a small leatherbound notebook. She waited until he finished before rendering judgment.

“That’s a dumb plan, Yarik,” she announced with prim enunciation, looking past the large man over the rim of her cup. “If Rigoleto is as clever as you say, he’s not going to stop and listen to a street hawker’s pitch, no matter how convincing Rafiel is.”

Yarik frowned, annoyed. Nadine couldn’t blame him, his ideas annoyed her too. So far none held water, and picking them apart started to feel like a game. She sighed, wishing they’d all decided on the details of the distraction plan as a group yesterday. Mav would know just what to do. Lilla might even have a couple good tips. Why did I have to get teamed up with this tool?

Across the table, Rafiel crossed out another set of notes, his face showing hints of frustration. And this guy, what’s his deal? As if he sensed her thoughts, the elf glanced up at her, the tip of a tentacle rubbing against a corner of his notepad with loving tenderness. Creeper.

She gazed through the scratched, warped glass windows of Yarik’s dive, watching the denizens of Precinct Six pass by. Yarik cleared his throat and faced her again, both men now staring at her. Ugh! I said ‘yes’ to this mission so I could hang out with Mav, not be ogled by two losers.

Raf clicked his lips. “We need a plan, and soon. The others are counting on us,” he reminded, glancing between Yarik and Nadine.

Nadine pursed her lips. He was right, of course, but unhelpful. She couldn’t expect either of these dweebs to come up with a good plan, so she’d have to.

“You said your ‘people’ are already set up to stage some unusual traffic on his normal route?” she asked, considering the problem. Yarik raised a brow and tensed in apparent irritation, expecting her to point out more flaws in his plans she guessed. Oh I’m sorry, is it my fault you haven’t thought this through?

He nodded, tight lipped.

She took another sip of her coffee, grimacing at the bitterness of the roast. Ew. If he wants people to come to his bar, he’ll need to stop burning the coffee.

“When he gets to his breakfast spot, I’ll go in and talk with him. Does he have a wife or girlfriend?” she asked, and Yarik leaned back in his chair, the big man considering her with a new gleam in his eye.

“No, he’s single,” he drawled. “Discrete with his personal life, seeks his company at an exclusive Rakdos nightclub. We’ve been trying to get an agent in there for months, unsuccessfully.” She guessed from his tone at least one agent died trying.

Nadine hummed acknowledgement, gazing out the window again. I thought I would be spending time with Mav right now, not … this. Still, if this works, I can tell Mav it was my idea when we all celebrate later. She imagined Lilla and Mav creeping into the ore cart together, snuggling up to stay hidden. Her nostrils flared in anger; she placed herself in the vision instead, rubbing her butt against Mav’s groin.

Lilla thinks she can have all the fun? Think again! Pushing her cup aside, unable to drink any more of the charred concoction, she stood up from the table.

“Tell me everything you know about him and this club on the way,” she demanded. A subtle smile crept across Yarik’s face.

“A’ight.”

Nerves fluttered in her throat as she reexamined the restaurant across the street from Stahl Donner Forge, and her plan. The flirting didn’t worry her - she knew how to make a clean break and get away relatively unmolested. But every Sixer worth their salt knew you didn’t tangle with forge bosses or their top men without expecting payback. Everyone knew most forges had close ties to the Rakdos, Krenko’s gang, or both, and had very few scruples. That set her father’s family smithy apart from the rest - the Stouthearts didn’t deal with criminals.

“He always sits at that open table, there on the patio,” Yarik murmured, pointing over her shoulder as he hovered behind her, his warm breath grazing her ear. A shiver ran down her spine as she spotted Rigoleto’s table. Of course she expected to deal with criminals as part of the Legion, but something about this felt different, foreboding.

“We’ll be close by if there’s trouble,” Yarik reassured, sensing her unease. “Get ready, he’ll be here soon.”

Nadine nodded, adjusting her posture and steeling her nerves.

“Speak of the devil, here he comes.”

She flapped her hand over her shoulder, wrinkling her lip. Yarik got the hint, stepping back to give her some space. Gauging the dark-robed vedalken, Nadine frowned. Too bad Lilla’s not here. She doesn’t know how good she’s got it with Ouain drooling at her feet. Then again, she couldn’t flirt her way into a debauchery club. I doubt she could pull this off.

On the patio, the waitress showed Rigoleto to his customary table. His frown sent the waitress scurrying back inside before he’d even taken a seat. Nadine smiled with a flirtatious giggle, testing the expression. She liked a challenge.

Yarik and Rafiel watched her, expecting her to start off any moment.

“Yarik, stay hidden, he knows your face. Rafiel, you come with me and stand across the street from the courtyard. If he looks at you, just wave, but make it as awkward as possible. Shouldn’t be hard for you.” She paused, smiling at her remark. “Stay here unless things get violent,” she ordered with emphasis. The men exchanged looks before nodding in silent accord.

Nadine pulled out her dazzler and set it to ‘night out,’ waving the magic rod over her face as it applied a thick layer of lip gloss, foundation, and eyeshadow. She adjusted her hair, considering the sampling of sultry styles she’d collected on her walls at home over the years, amused to find Rafiel averting his eyes as his pale cheeks flushed umber. Yarik kept eye contact with practiced steadiness even as she loosened her blouse, undoing another button and letting another hang half-open.

“How do I look?” she tested, pursing her lips and planting a hand on her hip, striking a pose.

“Suitably distracting,” Yarik entoned. Rafiel cleared his throat, still averting his gaze. Nerd.

She smiled and gave them a one-fingered salute as she sauntered out of the alleyway. Rafiel followed, staying where she’d instructed. Confidence filled her steps. What man can resist this? she mused, catching a glimpse of her reflection in a window. She felt powerful and sexy, like a Rakdos diva for whom countless fans would commit unspeakable atrocities.

She walked onto the patio, stepping over the small courtyard’s fence like she owned the place, gracing the host with a dismissive smile. Approaching Rigoleto’s table, she toned back the strut. Most vedalken preferred cool reserve to dramatic displays of emotion, unlike Lilla. Until she knew more about Rigoleto, she’d keep her cool.

Her heels clicked on the cobblestones, and her quarry glanced up at her approach. She offered a winsome smile and plopped down across from him just hard enough to produce a lasting jiggle. Obliging her performance, his eyes darted to her bosom for the briefest moment, disguising his ogling as a blink before meeting her eyes.

She took the opportunity to study him up close. His face squared into an impassive mask, dark eyes a little too cold. A shudder ran through her when she saw a void where people usually kept their soul.

“Oh, I’m so sorry sir!” the waitress exclaimed, choosing that moment to reappear with Rigoleto’s breakfast and a pot of tea, which she deposited on the table. “I didn’t know you had company this morning,” she clarified, facing Rigoleto but looking at Nadine with obvious panic.

“It’s alright,” Nadine reassured her. “I’ll have coffee, with cream and sugar.”

“Yes ma’am, right away,” the girl cooed with a small curtsey before hurrying away again.

Nadine raised an eyebrow at the waitress' harried disposition and took hold of the teapot, pouring Rigoleto’s tea with liquid grace. He appraised her in silence; she could feel his eyes caressing her curves. She fought the urge to shudder again, and instead embraced her feminine power and mystique. Given Mav’s ironclad will in resisting her charms, she worried she’d lost her sex appeal after joining the Legion. If the growing bulge in Rigoleto’s lap was any indication, she still had it.

The silence between them also grew. After she’d finished, Rigoleto picked up his teacup, taking a sip without breaking eye contact. She smiled, fluttering her lashes.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, his voice smooth despite a nasal quality.

“I’ve heard so much about you, I just had to meet you for myself,” Nadine purred, then bit her lower lip, twirling a curl around her finger and keeping her eyes on his. She registered a hint of surprise before he quashed the expression.

“Is that so. From whom?” he asked with a crisp finish.

“A mutual friend,” she misled with two bashful blinks. “They don’t know I’m here.”

He nodded, sipping his tea again in a futile attempt to disguise his interest.

They fell silent as the waitress arrived with Nadine’s coffee. This time, the woman lingered for a moment, studying Nadine with curiosity. A sharp glance from Rigoleto sent her running - Nadine tried not to think about what that said about him. Her dad could be really scary when he got mad, but none of the staff at their family’s regular haunts were afraid of him.

“What did you get?” she continued, looking at his untouched breakfast. He glanced at his plate, then back at her.

“I’m sorry, who did you say you were?” he asked, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

Nadine giggled, batting her lashes again. “If what I’ve heard is true, then you could call me a … secret admirer of your work. But I want to know if you’re the real deal before I tell you who I am,” she promised with a bold wink.

“Hm.” Rigoleto evaluated her figure with cold vedalken precision and made no secret of it this time, his eyes lingering on her low neckline and the curvature of her inner thighs. “I have no doubt I’ll learn your secrets,” he declared in a voice that chilled her, “but unless you tell me how you know of me, this conversation is over.” She refused to let her smile dim, and twisted another lock of hair instead to relieve the sudden rush of anxiety.

"My coworker at the club told me about you," Nadine admitted with a submissive and wistful sigh, lowering her eyes and biting her lip again. She glanced up at Rigoleto from under her lashes, leaning forward to 'inadvertently' display her cleavage.

"She said you're the best, like, the best. My boyfriend over there," she lied, gesturing to Rafiel across the street, hands shoved deep in his pockets with his head low. "He has money and security, but he could learn a thing or two about how to … treat a girl like me. I want him to watch, see how it's done."

Rigoleto raked her body with a lustful stare, smiling with smug satisfaction. Without a word, he raised his cup to Rafiel across the street. The hybrid saw the gesture and waved back, smiling with clear uncertainty.

“Wants to watch a real man at work, eh?” Rigoleto chuckled, his tone low and filled with malicious intent. Nadine felt her blood chill, an unpleasant mixture with the heat of their flirting. I can stall him here a bit longer, but I really should have thought of an exit strategy…

She tried to glance toward the alleyway beyond Rafiel without seeming suspicious, thinking of an escape plan. Maybe if she led him back into the alley, the three of them could jump him, convince him he had a good time and just forgot the details, then turn him loose a few hours later.

Nadine caressed her cup’s handle while she pondered the next move. When she turned back, she found the vedalken’s cold eyes carving her up with unsettling hunger. The hook is set, let’s reel him in.

“My boyfriend rented a room in a nice Orzhov hotel nearby, spared no expense. I’m sure you’ll find everything pleasing to you,” she promised.

Rigoleto’s thin upper lip curled and he took another sip of his tea. When he set it aside, she flashed him a coy smile.

“Shall we be off, then?” she presumed, and his expression sharpened.

“Not now. As tempting a morsel as you are, I have business to attend to. Give me the address and wait for me there. I expect you to be appropriately dressed.”

Appalled at his heavy-handed manner, Nadine struggled to think of a way around this turn. She jumped when the vedalken abruptly raised a hand, dabbing his lips with his napkin before producing a wand from his robes.

“I should have known,” he snarled, standing in one lithe motion, leveling the weapon over her shoulder, and firing a cyan beam from a sapphire on its tip. Nadine rolled backwards in her chair, using it as cover as she looked over to where he pointed the magic wand. Rafiel stood encased in ice at the edge of the patio, unmoving. Beyond him, Yarik ducked back around the corner.

Angels take you, Yarik! I told you-

The waitress screamed, drawing her attention back to the courtyard. Rigoleto waved the rod like a skilled conductor; one by one the waitress and other patrons who failed to flee in time were encased in ice. Nadine raised the chair, aiming to knock the wand out of his hand. When she moved, Rigoleto focused on her again.

“Pity,” he admitted, his voice flat, his eyes soulless and dismissive as he pointed the rod at her and fired.