Late Nights at Cafe Escape

Part 7

Alex couldn't stop biting her nails like a beaver. She was stressed and scared.

"Will you stop that?" Nikka said, pulling Alex's fingers away from her face. "We just nicked one of the Leletubbies' bottles of wine, and you'd rather chew at your half-painted nails."

"I'm screwed, Nikka!" Alex said, exasperated. They were both back downstairs sitting at the bar. "How am I supposed to do anything for Ramu? I barely know anything about the Leletubbies! Why are they even called the Leletubbies in the first fucking place?"

Nikka chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Kody may have ran off on you but I'm here to help. I have been managing the finances of the Doctor Mafia for a very long time, and a pretty good chunk of that time also involves the rise of Leletubbies. I'll tell you whatever you need to know.

"Not very long ago, the Doctor Mafia had a monopoly over the city's organ trade. Debu and Ramu were basically unbeatable based on how much meat they were moving. Combine that with the contributions of Yuno and Ash, and people could only dream of being as successful as them.

"But, Icarus flew too high. They took their hospital contracts lightly, and started butchering trade deals instead of patients. The organ trade started fumbling.

"That's when Noelle came into the picture."

Nikka took a brief pause and chugged her glass of wine, and then poured herself another before continuing.

"She was a scaredy little thing when she first walked into the doors of the cafe. She had just finished medical school, and had tried her hardest to be an 'honest doctor' for a whole year, before she realised they don't exist. The Doctor Mafia took her in, raised her as one of their own, and quickly she was bringing in deals like no other. It didn't hurt that her Chinese links also helped them expand into previously uncharted territories.

"Not to mention that a couple days after she joined, she also brought along Belle. Another powerhouse, just waiting for the right guidance. Belle had another trick up her sleeve. She had spent a lot of time working as a doctor in schools and children's hospitals. She unlocked an entirely new demographic for the organ trade that never been set foot upon before.

"Noelle and Belle were unstoppable. They had the drive, they had the resources. And they also had the keen observation to notice that the Doctor Mafia was actually an extremely fragile organisation. Ramu and Ash were gambling addicts. Yuno's contracts were highly stressful. Deb left the Mafia for a brief hiatus, and Tria's condition was getting worse. Tria could no longer remember small and trivial stuff. She would taste a drink again and again, always forgetting that she disliked it. And she would dislike absolutely delicious drinks like matcha tea, which is basically like nectar."

Nikka paused again and chugged her glass.

Alex was confused. "Wait, so Noelle and Belle destroyed the Doctor Mafia?" she asked Nikka.

Nikka laughed. "The best part of the story is yet to come, little one."

Nikka pushed aside her wine glass, and began chugging straight from the bottle instead. After a few large gulps, she continued the story.

"Noelle and Belle recognised the cracks in the Mafia's foundation, and exploited them to their furthest extents. They had definitely surpassed Ramu and Yuno by a mile, but it still wasn't enough to completely destroy them.

"Then, Noelle called in Milk.

"Milk was all about business from the moment she stepped into the cafe. Noelle had already taught her all the tricks of the trade. Milk's superpower was that she was charming enough to win the connections of every single person who came into the cafe. You know how influential some people are. Heck, you're doing all this because you know just exactly how influential - and dangerous - some people are! In a matter of minutes, Milk could convince a person to call up every politician, every hospital trustee, every organ bank that they were connected to, and give the trade into Milk's hand. She would work endlessly, and immediately rose up the ranks.

"Milk was the nail in the coffin. When the Leletubbies - called so because their absolutely nefarious scheming behind cutesy appearances, in addition to there being an 'el' in each of their names-"

"Hold on," Alex interrupted. "Where's the 'el' in Milk's name?"

"Don't ask me such offensive questions," Nikka said. "As I was saying, when the Leletubbies realised that they had completely left the Doctor Mafia in the dust, they dissociated themselves completely and began their own racket."

"Okay," Alex sighed. "So from what I gather, the Leletubbies are extremely driven, well-connected, and can absolutely sell my kidney without me ever realising."

"Correct."

"How the fuck am I supposed to fix things between the two gangs? I'm so screwed."

"I'm not gonna lie," Nikka admitted. "You're definitely screwed."

Alex laid her head on the counter defeatedly as a voice rang from the furthest end of the bar counter.

"Have you heard the story about two cats fighting for the piece of bread, and a monkey steps in and steals it from them both?" The woman asked before she stepped off her barstool and walked over to Alex.

"Sometimes," the woman continued. "When two human doctors fight off a slice of organ trade market, a vet can step in and save the day."

Alex was too stunned to reply.

"Hi, I'm Clare."

-x-