Wizard for Hire
Chapter Twenty-Two — Where We Find Out Who Kriston Really Was

Sharon stood up quickly, she knew that command and did not want to oppose it. So with a rather meek smile, she sidled slowly back to the table of gangsters. Rejoining them, the big brute sat close as the lights in room dipped as a comedian graced the stage.

Felix started tapping his leg again, out of impatient nervousness. I checked my watch, we had just under an hour to get the ring before the Magic Council would be putting out a warrant for Felix’s arrest.

He kept glancing back at Sharon, who sat rather squashed in between the thick set men.

“She knows,” said Felix picking his lip. “We need to find a way of getting her alone.”

“Don’t think those men like her spending much time at each table,” I said.

Felix grimaced. “They’ve got her on a tight leash, but she’s the one we’ll get the information out of, I can feel it.”

The comedian was causing raucous laughter to echo around the casino, I wasn’t listening. The whole situation had made me withdraw firmly into my shell. But I could feel something in the air. The same metallic smell I had experienced twice already was ever so faintly recognisable. I looked to the wizard, his eyes glazed over, deep in thought, then as was in his reckless nature, he acted. Smoothly withdrawing his wand from beneath his jacket pocket, he pointed ever to slyly at Sharon’s back. Whatever he did, it worked, for she turned around.

“Come back over,” Felix mouthed.

Sharon shook her head. “I can’t,” she mouthed before turning back.

“Okay,” said Felix with a look that I didn’t much like, for it meant foreboding trouble. “Time for plan B.”

“Plan B? There is a plan now? Well that’s good to know.”

“When the time is right, grab Sharon and take her to… that booth over there, in the corner,” Felix said.

Quick as a flash and without even a chance for me to ask why, he was up. Time was of the essence I suppose.

Rubbing his face hard like he was scrubbing it of dirt, he now had the face and hair of a balding middle aged man with a pot belly. Felix grabbed a drink, walked drunkly around the side of the gangster booth, before pretending to trip, chucking the red wine all over them!

My heart stopped. He was going to get his head smashed in! There was a growl, as three of the gagsters in their expensive suits surveyed the damage.

“Whoops a daisy! Sorry gents!” said Felix giggling.

It had the desired effect, the three wine soaked gagsters stood first. “What you playing at?” one of them cried.

Felix shrugged, nearby tables looking worried that this would end in violence. “So sorry,” said Felix. “Looks like I missed some of you…” he promptly grabbed another large glass of red wine from the nearest table and threw the lot over the remaining men!

The wizard was a absolute madman. Even the comedian had stopped speaking as he saw what was going down. But Felix had another problem, his face was flickering, obviously the pain was too great in holding up this image of a middle-aged man. But he got his desired effect, all twelve gagsters stood roaring like lions at this most brazen of attacks. Felix laughed in their face, then ran, to which they all gave chase. I didn’t see where he went, but didn’t have time to, as the crowd was distracted by this ridiculous display. I jumped across to Sharon, who was now alone.

“Come with me,” I said. It took a few moments of persuasion, before she relented and joined me in the private booth Felix had chosen in the corner of the room. It was private and well out the way of the main stage. The comedian had cautiously continued, and the crowd simmered. I kept an eye out for Felix, but couldn’t see or hear a thing.

“Nice one Norton,” said a voice right behind me giving me a fright! It was Felix, standing slightly out of breath, but now taking up a seat next to Sharon.

“Wait,” said Sharon. “Was that you who spilt the wine over Jonnie’s boys?”

Felix grinned. “Yes it was. But shhh, down to more pressing matters, we don’t have long.”

“Where did you lose them?” I said.

Felix sighed. “I made an apparition of myself and they’re chasing it round Leicester Square right now.”

Sharon was about to ask what an apparition was, but Felix had already stopped her, reaching up and pulling a small drape over the booth entrance. “Well this is seedy,” I said.

Sharon nodded. “It used to be strip club.”

“Clearly,” said Felix. “Norton, three drinks please, anything.”

I cleared my throat, a jolt of annoyance at being treated like a tea boy. But as this was a pressing matter, did as he asked, leaving the booth, finding a nearby waitress and, against my better judgement, grabbing three drinks off it.

My lack of thieving finesse compared to the wizard was clear, the waitress turned and glared at me. I stood awkwardly. “Sorry,” I said about to put them back. Before the wizard reached out and grabbed me by the trouser pockets and yanked. He was lucky they didn’t rip! I flew back to the table, he caught the drinks and placed them down. After a few minutes, I realised why he wanted them.

As we sat in relative privacy, he leaned in towards Sharon who held a steely glaze of a person not wanting to give anything away. He began to rub the top of his glass in a slow rhythmic fashion, if I had to hazard a guess I would say he was doing something hypnotic. For in the intervening moments of silence, Sharon’s tongue loosened.

“…we are at war,” she said finally, seemingly unable not to speak.

“Who with?” said Felix.

“The freak. The one like you.”

Felix rolled his eyes at this thin insult. I won’t downplay this, whatever Felix was doing it looked to be working, however Sharon’s right eye was twitching ever so slightly and she gave odd jerks of the head. But there was something else I noticed in her eyes, when she looked at Felix, it was as if she had found her saviour, her knight in shining armour. Perhaps that was also part of the spell Felix seemed to be weaving.

“Jonnie Reed my fiancee, is the leader of this criminal empire,” she said, words gushing out like water from a broken pipe. “He and this wierdo freak wizard are at war because…”

“Because?” said Felix.

“The freak he can do things, like magic. Real magic. He walked in here bold as brass one night, he was scary. I got this cold, bad, vibe from him. He had a meeting with Jonnie. He was so angry, you could feel his anger.”

“I know,” said Felix in a soothing motion, rubbing her shoulder. Tears had formed in her beautiful eyes and threatened to fall.

She continued in a shaky voice. “I told them not to rob Icarus Garden Bank! Honestly I did. But he was hell-bent on doing it. He wouldn’t take notice of me anyway, I am just his trophy wench. Amongst the cash and jewellery was a ring…”

Felix sighed. “And unbeknown to you, this freak broke in the very same night looking for that ring?”

“How do you know that?” She said, eyes swimming up to Felix.

“Kriston worked for you didn’t he?”

Sharon nodded. “Yeah he worked for us. Or so we thought. No one knew that he was actually an undercover cop, we only found that out when he was found murdered.”

“Was Kriston involved in the bank robbery?”

“No. He stayed in the office with the boss and me. When the guys brought the loot up to Jonnie’s office, I nearly feinted, I mean I had never see so much gold, so many diamonds.”

She pulled out a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. “Kriston was there to help catalogue the loot. He must have stolen the ring for himself. Which wasn’t like him, he was nice.”

“Rings like that one are rings of power,” said Felix. “They command to be held, he would have picked it up and felt an uncontrollable need to keep it for himself. It’s not his fault.”

Just at that moment we heard before we saw them, the gangsters were back. They looked annoyed, confused and out of breath. Taking to their original booth.

“We don’t have long,” I said.

Felix leaned closer still to Sharon. “What happened with this freak, he came here didn’t he?”

Sharon nodded. “The next day. The freak turned up, demanded a private meeting with Jonnie. How he knew it was him that organised the robbery I just don’t know. Jonnie’s so careful. If Giancarlo finds out that it leaked, Jonnie is a dead man.”

“Giancarlo?” said Felix.

“Giancarlo Vitalie, the owner of this casino, Jonnie’s boss. He’s Italian Mafia.” Felix puffed his cheeks out in surprise. “The bank job was already compromised, because they shot dead a security guard, and to think he promised me no violence!” she said sobbing into her tissue. “I didn’t want any of this.”

Felix rubbed the top of the glass again, with a cursory glance at the gagsters who were now peering about the Casino. “What happened in the meeting with the freak and Jonnie?”

“He said that he wanted the ring back and searched through the loot, but when he couldn’t find it he got angry, thought Jonnie was trying to dupe him. They put 2 and 2 together and realised that Kriston was the only one who hadn’t turned up. Things got messy, Jonnie was pissed that the freak was talking to him like he owned him, they thought he was just a nut, but the freak knew it was Jonnie that broke in, so they had to tread lightly, he could grass on them. One of the boys tried to shoot the freak and…”

“Go on…”

“He stopped it. With magic. The bullet went through the window. Then he killed three of Jonnie’s boys. Said it was a message, that he wanted the address of Kriston and that Jonnie must work to find the ring or we would all die. Jonnie was freaked-out, we all were, we had never seen real magic like that. I mean he made a ball of fire blow a hole right through Jonnie’s boys chests! And I can’t get that image out my head!” she sobbed.

“I know, I know,” said Felix comfortingly.

All of a sudden, I felt a large, strong pair of hands land on my shoulders. Twelve gangsters had descended upon us. I just had time to see their brutish faces as a fist the size of a dinner plate connected hard and fast with my nose.

Three more thuds and a ’argggh’ sound from Felix, told me he had received the same treatment. In one sharp movement we were both picked up, hoisted over a shoulder and carried away. I couldn’t see the reaction of the casino clientele for my face hurt so much my eyes wouldn’t open. All I could hear was scuffling, and Sharon apologising and she was dragged along behind us.

This was bad. Terribly, terribly bad.

23

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