“Goodness!” Larimoto growled, forcing the younger man’s head into a pillow as he gave it to him from behind.

  Raven had never imagined he’d find himself appearing before such a scene in the middle of a job.

  Larimoto had positioned himself leaning over the bed as he did it with the boy from Mage’s Paradise, his feet well within Raven's grasp.

  Raven thought, laughing to himself.

  He yanked Larimoto under and was gone across the city in seconds, moving through the shadows at immense speed.

  They came around to the abandoned rail depot, or the ‘snuff yard’, as White loved to call it.

  They emerged under the rusted canopy that looked ready to fall and smite them for their crimes at any second.

  “Here he is,” Raven said, dropping the gasping naked queer on the grown-over tracks before pricking him to prevent retaliation.

  White emerged, leaping out from the end of a dilapidated rail carriage.

  “You locked all the doors, right?” White asked.

  Raven nodded. “Here this, I caught him bumming the boy.”

  “Not something I need to know,” White said, screwfacing.

  Drimeio leapt from the carriage aswell, landing with a much heavier thud.

  “Keep an eye on him, mate, we'll be back in a second,” White ordered.

  Raven pulled White under and brought him back to the house.

  The boy was now simply sitting on the bed, naked and confused.

  He jolted and immediately began to snap his fingers at the sight of Raven and White. Before the boy could do anything stupid, Raven aimed a pistol at him. “We’ve got your boyfriend or whatever that man is to you as a hostage. If you don't want the bloke dead, here’s what you'll do for us.”

  “What?” The boy gasped, hurriedly covering himself with a bedsheet.

  “You're a bloody slow one, aren't you?” Raven chuckled. “We need you to do something for us in exchange for getting your hubby back.”

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  The plan they had concocted was straightforward; all they had to do was kill Okimoto D. Cheffei in a way that couldn't be traced to the Orions. The original orders were for them to wait for Okimoto to seek out scum mage work and kill him through covert sabotage, but White supposed a more active approach would be better (they couldn't wait forever to be paid, after all).

  Raven had returned to the East Toaddor burough intermittently for the past five days, but saw no sign of Okimoto, guessing that he had not left The East Toaddor Home for Magically Gifted Youth ever since the scuffle at Mage’s Paradise. The woman who ran the place had been out and about quite frequently, however, often visiting the Mage’s Paradise for supplies and having long conversations with the boy at the counter, who, upon Raven’s inspection, turned out to be a frequentor of Larimoto G. Bensisilly’s residence. Today, they were to exploit these connections to create a lure for Okimoto. This boy was certain to be someone the woman in charge of the foster home trusted. Once he sought out her help, informing her of the white-haired man who was holding his partner hostage, Okimoto would surely come alongside her, seeking to repay White for humiliating him in the alley and secure the safety of the memory investigator assigned to him. They’d be lured right into the rail depot, where they'd kill Okimoto and the woman, as well as the memory investigator. In one go, they'd eliminate all of Oddon’s problems. With such efficiency, Raven fancied they could demand double the payment.

  “You can't be serious.” The boy said. “Is this some sort of joke? Larimoto! Come out now, I don't find this funny!”

  White charged at the boy, pinning him up against the wall with a thud that shook the dresser, causing a mirror to fall and shatter on the floor.

  “Listen here, you fucking twat.” White hissed. “This isn't a joke, mate. We don't joke about things of this nature in these parts.”

  He let the boy go and watched him slide down along the wall until he sat gasping.

  Looking like a tall, silver-haired ghost in the shadowed room, White turned to address Raven. “Restrain the boy, and take him to the Snuff yard, then take me there after you've brought him. Let's give him a paper angel to clear his doubts about our authenticity.”

  Raven moved to hover over the boy before pulling his head down by the hair and pricking his nape. After that, he did as White instructed.

  “Look at this,” White said, squatting over the naked boy who now lay on his back across the grown-over tracks. In his hand was a piece of paper cut in the shape of a person. In his other hand, he held his knife.

  Once the boy’s eyes were locked with his, he stood and moved over to Larimoto, who was still where Raven had left him.

  Raven watched as White amputated one of Larimoto’s fingers with a swift motion.

  He stepped back over, showing the boy the paper man, which now had a finger missing. “Just so you know that we mean what we say, keep this with you, as it will show you your lover’s status. Tomorrow at the twelfth hour, you will seek out help from Okimoto and the woman who runs the foster home. You will tell them that a white-haired man has kidnapped Larimoto G. Bensisili and that they are to come here with you. I'll write down the address of this place for you in a second.”

  Tears began to well in the upfacing eyes of the lad.

  Watching from the carriage, Dremeio laughed out loud.

  Continuing, White said, “Do not run to the police, or try to come with anyone we deem a threat besides Okimoto and the woman. If we sense anything out of the ordinary once you return tomorrow, the man you love will die.”