My Bad Boy Werewolf Quadrillionaire Space Lord

Service and Servility

Luca took a moment to examine the envelope. It was fairly light, and had that nearly translucent tone of white that Japanese pop singers would try for with chemical whiteners. He grinned, remembering a rather enjoyable evening attempting to convince a couple of pop stars that a healthy tan was a beautiful thing.

Luca turned his attention back to the man who had handed the envelope to him. He was a lean, hard looking man, probably a former soldier or an outdoorsman. He had a jawline that politicians occasionally paid surgeons to imitate, his hands had thick callouses, and what might be the most impressive scar Luca had ever seen. It ran across his forehead, followed his nose, disfigured his lip slightly, and ended at his chin.

He also noticed that the man had already sized up not only himself, but Alcuard and Isabella.

"So, do you need me to sign for this?" Luca asked, and he waved the envelope between his fingers casually.

The man blinked in surprise and gave Luca another carefully thorough look. "No one's ever asked me that before."

"Process Server is a pretty thankless job," Luca reflected. "And you look like the guy who gets handed the worst assignments."

"What's a 'Process Server'?" Isabella asked.

Luca smirked. "Clearly you haven't been sued, or summoned to appear before a government body on official business. When the legal issue is serious, they hire people like this guy to make sure that the poor sap being sued or summoned, me in this case, actually receives the notice."

"I'm usually bearing the worst news in someone's life," the man said and he titled his fedora down a little so the shadows of his hat covered his eyes. "And Mister Cardego is right, I'm the guy they give the assignment to if they're worried the recipient is going to try to punch someone in the face, threaten them, or have mercenaries try to murder the courier in their home."

"Wait, people have tried to murder you just for doing your job?" Isabella asked the man wearing the hat.

"It's why I take the hard jobs," the courier replied with an idle shrug. "People have tried to kill me to make sure I can't testify that they received the summons to court. Which is why it's so impressive that someone actually offered to sign for it. You have a lot of character."

The man extended his hand to Luca. "And I am sorry, for what it's worth."

"It's not like you're suing me." Luca shook the man's hand. Somewhere in the back of his thoughts, the wolf awoke. It didn't try to surge out, didn't growl, but even it was wary of this man. Strangely, the man reminded Luca of his father. "Who are you?"

"Name's Lanval Adams," the man said, and with his other hand, he offered Luca his business card. "I own a small contracting company called 'Peace of Mind'."

"Contracting company?" Alcuard asked.

"Registered mercenary company, but we do any sort of work that requires peace of mind. We aren't cheap. But that's a good thing for the reasons people hire us," Lanval, and he tilted his hat. "I hope I'm the low point of your week, Mister Cardego."

Isabella whistled just after the man left. "Is it bad that I'm both frightened and a little turned on?"

Luca laughed. "It's how I usually feel around Viviana."

There was a polite cough. Luca turned around to see the young banker was still waiting, tablet in hand. "There are further arrangements to make, particularly concerning how you would like your investments conducted, and the preparation of at least some of your assets for spending."

Alcuard smiled. "Of course. We should schedule this soon, but there's no rush."

The woman took a short breath, and said, "There is also the legal matter of your current claim to ownership of at least a portion of Mars. We have already begun legal proceedings on your behalf."