Favourite Crime

Haoun

I was a well-known thief. I was the youngest to have his own gambling house. I was also feared among the people who had heard stories about me.

I hardly took notice anymore as people shuffled away to avoid being in my path. It was true that the fear had lessened within the past two years, but it was there.

I had to make the occasional trip around town to remind people that the streets they walk through every day are more unsafe than they remember, because Haoun Kierue still walked through them.

I was reminded of that again when I decided to drink in my own gambling house. I was using a cane to support myself. The loud bawdy noises of the tables around me continued as the drunks played their games and lost their losses.

I took a bottle out from behind the bar and uncorked it. My eyes shut, I drank from the bottle without stopping.

When I put it down, a fight had broken out on one of the tables. I watched the man who was used to winning every game lose his shit at his first loss.

He'd been here only two days and we had a policy of awarding newcomers with multiple wins so that they keep coming.

I came to the customer side of the bar and watched as they shouted and stood up, grabbing the card dealer by the collar and lifting him out of his chair. He threw the dealer on the ground and people grabbed him to stop him.

He shrugged them off and came to the bar, grumbling. He grabbed a glass snd yelled at the bartender to give him some beer.

He was already drunk and angry, so when he saw me staring ahead, he took his beer and tried to shove me away. "Get out of the way, bastard!"

I turned to look at him. He was a short but big man and his eyes rose to meet me.

Somehow he hadn't realised that it was me he was shoving.

He quietened. The whole place fell into silence.

I took my bottle and drank some more from it with everyone still staring. Then I smashed it against his head.

Events like these were useful to remind people to fear me.

I went behind the bar and pulled out another bottle. The man was still slumped on the ground and no one bothered to help him until I left to go back to my office.

I slumped in my office chair and I hadn't fallen asleep for five minutes when my door was kicked down.

I sat up straight as Imish marched into my room, pulling with her a man I recognised from her guards, though his nose was very much broken, his mouth covered with blood.

She threw him on a couch and looked at me. "This is what your little pet did."

I knew she was talking about Cada. She had a way of degrading people by taking away their identity, but I liked getting under people's skins so I could only pretend to be confused. "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about."

"Cada. They tried to sneak out and when my guard tried to stop them, this is what he got." She pointed at the guard that looked quite unnerved.

"Sounds like your guard needs more practice in dealing with people. Cada should be barely any competition for him."

"We were doing you a favour, Kierue." She said.

"And now you are acting like I was the one who told Cada to attack your guard."

"Where is Cada, anyway? Did they get caught?"

I sighed. Of course Cada didn't go back. "I don't know. They left about an hour ago."

"You lost them?" She narrowed her eyes, not quite believing me.

"I didn't bother keeping an eye on them. As you can see, they're quite capable of defending themself." I nodded towards the guard. "There was really no need to break my door, by the way. A simple knock would suffice."

She glared at me for a moment longer before turning away. "Come, Douj." She said to her guard who timidly got up and followed her out.

When I was sure she was gone, I called out. "You can come in, now. I know you're here."

Cada appeared in my doorway.