The tall canine flipped up the collar of his heavy winter coat and leaned against the side of the police station. He removed a cigarette from behind his left ear and rolled it between his index finger and thumb. He brought it up to his nose to take a whiff of the nicotine. He had been trying to quit for the past couple of weeks but still longed after the taste of nicotine on his tongue. He was just about to cave and light it up when the door to the station burst open and an unusually large jaguar came bustling out.
“Ay, Randy!”
The off duty officer turned to see who had called out for him, when he spotted the shivering wolf he waved off the other two cops that had followed out after him. Randy looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him as he went to greet the unwelcomed visitor.
“Whatdya want, Shark? I told you not to come to the station anymore.” Randy crossed his arms and waited for Shark’s response.
“Look man, I just came here to make sure we are on the same page. I heard through the grapevine that your boys’re pressing in on our waterways. The harbor is a major shipping lane for the business.” Shark had placed the unlit cigarette between his lips, his fingers twitching in irritation.
“Don’t come to me with this shit. I may look the other way on occasion but you guys are pulling in a large quantity of liquor. It’s no surprise that the captain caught wind of it. I told you to be discreet, you’ve dug your grave.” Randy shrugged his shoulders, already tired of this conversation.
“Come on, Randy! We had a fuckin’ deal!” Shark’s eyes flashed at the inclination that Randy wouldn’t offer any help in this situation.
“Yeah, we did. And you broke it. Do you know how much heat I got from the boss when they found out that this was happening on my patrol grid?” The jaguar took a step forward, sticking his muzzle in Shark’s face. The wolf took no time in whipping out his butterfly knife, he held it up to the off-duty officer who took a few steps back.
“Randy, buddy. I really like ya, of all the bull’s I’ve worked over you’re by far my favorite. Up until now you’ve had the pleasure of avoiding any interactions with the big guys. And I can assure you that you don’t want to deal with the muscle.” Shark was waving the knife back and forth, enjoying the way that Randy’s eyes followed it meticulously.
“A-alright, just tell me what you want. I really don’t want any trouble.”
“See, I knew you were smart,” Shark put his knife back in his coat pocket, “We’ve got a big shipment coming in on Tuesday and I don’t want a single bull within fifty feet of the drop off point. Got it?”
Randy nodded dumbly and the slightly jumpy wolf waved him off. Shark watched the jaguar cross the street before taking off in the direction of his next meeting point. As he turned the corner he wished for the upteenth time that he had his usual back up with him for this next encounter. But Ike was running errands so Dee was covering for him at the club, Levi had offered to step in but Shark had declined. The canine hybrid was smaller than he was and would pose little to no threat to Shark’s ‘clients’. Though the closer to the meeting point Shark got the more he wished he had another person with him. He stopped by a general store to use their phone, it rang twice before someone picked up.
“The Tat Cat, this is Rameka.” Shark’s eyebrows shot up at the sound of the lioness’ velvety voice.
“Jeez, Rameka anyone ever tell you you’ve got the voice of an angel?” The tattoo artist clicked her tongue at the antics of the negotiator.
“Shark? What the hell do you want?”
“No really, doll. How come you never talk to me in that voice?” Shark laughed as he heard the angry sigh from the other end of the line.
“You’re disgusting. I’m hanging up now.”
“No, no wait!” Shark remembered exactly why he had called and put all joking aside, “Is Levi there?”
“Yeah, why?” Rameka’s voice had a suspicious edge in it.
“Don’t worry about it, sugar. Can you just put him on the line?” There was a slight pause as the phone was handed off to the requested party.
“Shark?”
“Levi! You busy?”
“Not particularly.” Levi chose his words carefully, he wasn’t that acquainted with the wolf but he knew enough to know that he was trouble.
“Good! I’d like to take you up on your offer.” There was a slight pause as the tattoo artist contemplated his response.
“Alright, where should I meet you?” As soon as the words were out Levi wanted to retract his acceptance. Shark told him the meeting spot and suggested he didn’t show up unarmed. After he hung up the dated phone Shark stepped back out into the chilly winter air. He half jogged to the rendezvous spot that the other party had agreed on, slipping into the dimly alleyway to wait for everyone else to arrive. Ten minutes later a shivering Levi ducked into the alley, the cigarette that was dangling from his lips had Shark’s eyes narrowing with envy.
“You bring heat?” Shark asked. Levi nodded and pulled back his coat showing the pair of revolvers that were tucked into his waistline.
“I call ‘em Tremble and Tremor.” Levi lovingly patted the guns and Shark had a feeling the antlered canine wasn’t as vanilla as Shark thought.
“Right, well we just might need ‘em. Kamran’ll be here soon.” Shark said the name with venom in his voice and Levi wondered who this ‘Kamran’ was. He soon got his answer as a hulking figure stepped into the alleyway.
“Evening boys.” The deep, rumbling voice held an air of danger and Levi found himself feeling very uneasy.
“Kamran, right on time as usual.” Shark sneered.
“I’m a professional. Punctuality is a necessity.” Kamran looked down at the pair of canines through his rimless glasses. The elephant was dressed to the nines in a crisp deep maroon suit and a peach tie. He had a large, expensive looking watch on his wrist and a couple of gold bands at the end of his trunk. His posh British accent hinted at good breeding, Levi was a bit confused as to what kind of business the pachyderm was in.
“Well, I know how ‘valuable’ your time is, so let’s skip the pleasantries.”
“I may find you repulsive Shark but I do appreciate your consideration.” Kamran put his hands in his pockets, signaling that he was waiting for Shark to get started.
“Last week your boss snitched, it cost us a week’s worth of business. We want retribution.” Shark tone held a sense of finality.
“You Americans and your demands,” Kamran gave them a sly smile. “You know just as well as I do that Santiago will do nothing of the sort. Yury should be glad that all he did was tip off the police.”
“Well, you can’t say I didn’t ask.” Shark shrugged.
“Fair is fair.” Kamran nodded. Levi noticed the elephant reaching for something in his pocket and mirrored his moves, his left hand hovering above one of his revolvers. His fingers twitched, ready to whip out the deadly weapon at the first sign of aggression from Kamran.
“Looks like we’ve got a good ‘ol fashioned turf war on our hands.” Shark flipped up the collar of his coat, smirking.
“Seems to be the case, I’ll have a chat with Santiago and we’ll see where to go from here. I suspect he’ll want a rumble for the sake of nostalgia.” With that last sentiment Kamran gave them a small wave and exited the alleyway.
“What in the hell is that?” Levi turned to look at Shark and his uneasiness grew as he spied the devious grin that was on his face.
“A rumble kid, a rumble. You know a scrap in the street. A good ‘ol round of fistycuffs.” Shark had taken out his trusty butterfly knife and was twirling it around in his hand.
“Do you think Yury’ll go for it?” Levi muttered as he followed Shark back out into the sidewalk.
“Of course he will! You think the old cat’ll pass up an opportunity to win Sappo’s shipping grounds? Do you know how much hooch goes through that port every day? We’ll be up to our fuckin’ eyeballs in booze.” Shark clapped Levi on the back.
“Yeah, but with all that alcohol comes a ton of risk.” Levi chewed his bottom lip, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get too deep into the hooch trade.
“Risk? Kiddo, you’ve got a lot to learn,” Shark let out a short laugh, “Don’t you know Yury’s got friends in high places?”
“High places? How high?” Levi’s eyes grew wide. Shark’s only reply was a low whistle that sounded a lot like the beginning of the national anthem. Levi guffawed, surely Yury didn’t have those kinds of connections.
“Let’s just say that if Yury got caught there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be gettin’ a presidential pardon.” Shark unwrapped a piece of gum and popped it into his mouth.
“Son of a gun.” Levi could only mumble as he tried to imagine President Karl Koolidge shaking hands with the stoic club owner.
The pair walked in silence the rest of the way to the club. As Shark busted through the entrance, almost smacking an irritated looking Dee in the face with the door, Levi once again took in the awe inspiring scene that was the Spiked Tiger. He glanced on stage and saw that Jezebel was doing her routine, she was dressed up as Cupid and was waving a pair of bright red feather fans around. He chuckled at the hoops and hollers she was generating from the crowd of admirers gathered around the stage. He spied Evelyn weaving through tipsy patons, wagging a finger at one of the more handsy ones. And Tanya was sitting on the counter of the bar chatting up one of the regulars, a coy smile on her lips. Levi was surprised to see Ike back behind the bar and ambled over to greet his cousin and let him know what he missed.
“Ikki!” Levi took great joy in seeing the elk flinch at the sound of his childhood nickname.
“Levi, you sonofabitch, what’re you doin’ here?” Ike reached across the bar to give Levi a one armed hug.
“Since you’re slackin’ I joined Shark on a shake up.” Levi took a seat on one of the bright gold bar stools.
“No shit?” Ike let out a hearty laugh.
“Yeah! This massive elephant, Kamran, came and was super posh but deadly ya know?” Levi was rambling but he couldn’t help himself. He’d always been on the outskirts of the gangster world, observing but never really getting into the middle of it. But now he felt like one of the guys, and it was giving him a rush.
“Ya, I know the guy. Well what’d he say?” Ike set down the glass he’d been cleaning and leaned in, curiosity alight in his eyes.
“Well Shark was all ‘Sappo better pay up for snitchin’’, and Kamran was like ‘No way, mate’. Then Shark just shrugged and said ‘Then I guess we got a rumble on our hands’.” Levi knew he was butchering the accents but he knew Ike would get the gist.
“Jesus, your mom would have my head if she found out you were running errands for Yury.” Ike slapped a hand across his forehead.
“Ah, I’m a grown man. I make my own decisions now.” Levi puffed his chest out.
“Shut the fuck up, Christano Leviticus Martinelli.” Ike put emphasis on Levi’s real first name and the canine hybrid winced. He despised the use of his full name and Ike knew it would grate on his nerves.
“Fanculo, you and Soren used to parade me around the neighborhood chanting my full name in front of the other kids. What a pair of assholes.” Levi’s words held no malice as he thought back to Ike and his older brother Soren poking fun at the fact that Levi’s mother had given him such a religious name. They would follow him around, singing hymns and bowing down to him. When he first started at school Ike had even started a rumor that he was the world’s youngest archbishop. Ike busted out laughing at the thought and with a smile Levi realized he hadn’t heard his cousin laugh like that in a while.
“What’s got you in such a mood?” Jezebel hopped up on the bar stool next to Levi and shot Ike a confused look.
“Nothin’, you gals are so damn nosey.” Ike rolled his eyes and Jez stuck her tongue out at the bartender.
“Don’t be such a flat tire, Ike.” Jez turned her attention to Levi, “What brings you ‘round here kiddo?” Jez gave Levi a kiss on the cheek in greeting.
“Just helpin’ Shark out with some errands.” Levi shrugged and noticed the way Jezebel’s lips tugged down in a frown.
“Hm, I don’t know how I feel about a sweet kid like you hanging around that hound.” Jezebel’s lips formed a small pout and Levi swallowed thickly. Everytime he saw the lithe feline he was enchanted.
“Ah, Bev. Stop fussin’ over him.” Ike poured them both a shot of whiskey. Jez pushed hers over to Levi who downed them.
“Well I just came over to tell you that Yury’s looking for you, Ike.”
“What now?” Isaac muttered angrily and lifted up the bar flap stepping from behind the bar and making his way to the stairs that lead to Yury’s office. As Jezebel turned to continue chatting with Levi the antlered canine wondered just how deep he wanted to delve into the seedy underworld that his cousin navigated. He knew he was at a pretty important crossroad in his life and once he started down the chosen path there was no turning back.
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I just had to write a bit about my bby Levi. He's the baby of the Martinelli clan and is Isaac's little cousin (they are practically brothers). He is Enzo's (Ike's father) nephew so he is kind of the edge of the mafia family but he's about to dabble into the dark world of the mob.
So obviously shit's about to go down with Sappo and Yury, and it won't be pretty.
Also did anyone get the Karl Koolidge parallel?? Calvin Coolidge, the president during Prohibition....anyone?? anyone?? Well he opposed Prohibition (sort of) so I don't think it's that far a stretch that he'd be lenient towards hooch dealers.