Page 23 of Whiskers on Kittens

“Well planned, Belial.” I freed my arm, rubbed my hands together, and went to discover what sort of intel he’d brought for me. “Should we start negotiating now?”

“Not this time. Lucifer is aware of what He wishes to accomplish and ordered me to assist you. There are rules we must abide by, which is why we aren’t just doing the work ourselves. We are leveling the playing field.” Belial joined me at the group of tables, and he patted a rather tall stack of documentation. “These are the pertinent records of the trafficking ring your contact photographed. You will find interesting bits of information in here, including home addresses, for those individuals. Wear gloves, contain your hair, and make your hits masked. You won’t be hiding your gender, not with your breasts as lovely as they are, but those precautions will prevent the mobsters in question from figuring out you are the one robbing them blind.”

I loved when devils talked dirty to me. “What am I robbing them of?”

“Cash, untracked gemstones, and information. The cash has been laundered, so you can do with it as you please. I will be providing a vehicle for you to use for your robberies, which will be escorted directly to some layer of hell, never to be seen again. The license plate on the vehicle will belong to one of the female mobsters, one who has done enough evil that being framed will only put an end to the many more tragedies she otherwise would commit.”

I drew a cross over my heart and rather insincerely stated, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”

Belial chuckled at my irreverence. “You haven’t sinned quite yet, but you will.”

“I mean, I sinned the instant I agreed with the idea of driving off in a getaway vehicle with some bitch’s plates specifically to frame her. If you say she’s evil enough to deserve a quick trip to hell, just hand me the keys.”

“Your act of evil will bring many acts of good—and your intentions do matter. But only a little.”

I smiled. “Can you get me some dirt on this woman? To be properly motivated for framing her, of course.”

“She is an old practitioner who masterminded their child trafficking ring, and their first victim was her youngest daughter, who insisted on rebelling against the family trade.”

I clenched my teeth, and it took me a few minutes to relax enough I could ask, “And the daughter?”

“She will be rescued as a result of your acts of evil. I will take care of tipping off the police after you have made off with your newfound wealth, the copies of the information you need, and other things of important value.”

“I’m not sure that just putting on the plates is going to be good enough to make sure she’s dealt with. Is there a reason I can’t handle her myself?”

“Yes. She will fall. If the mobsters do not take the bait, Lucifer has other plans—but he thinks the loss of the money and the woman’s natural greed will be sufficient to bring about her end.” Belial’s smile chilled me. “It is a great deal of money, and Lucifer has provided a method for you to gather it all.” Reaching into his inner suit pocket, he pulled out a slender black bag. “Anything you put inside will go into a special room in Lucifer’s home, sufficiently sized for your new acquisitions. Fragile things will land safely, and a demon or devil will move it until you are done with your heist. You may even put living things within the bag, and they will be cared for appropriately.”

I stiffened. “Living things?”

“Yes. Lucifer will have his gentlest succubi and incubi on hand to handle your rescues. They will not be your kittens, but they will be saved from more damage than they have already faced. Some will be animals. Some will not be animals.”

I curled my fingers into claws and hissed, fighting the urge to take a swipe at the papers on the table. “Will my cop be coming along for the ride?”

“Yes. He will be uncomfortable until he realizes there are victims you plan to rescue. Once he sees the first victim, you will have the partner you truly need. Until then, he will disapprove rather severely, although he will cooperate. Your reminder you do it for the kittens will get him through that.”

The waiter picked that moment to come in, and between the tiny horns peeking out of his dark hair and the hints of flame flicking off his suit, Lucifer had come to pay a visit while pretending to be a member of the wait staff. “I need something strong, Lucifer. Why are you playing at being a waiter?”

Thanks to my dirty work with corporations, I’d run into him a time or two before. Every time, he’d always shown me some form of affection, which my virus appreciated while unnerving any witnesses.

“Because I can.” The Devil came over, kissed my cheek, and gave Belial a hearty pat on his shoulder. “Good work. It took you less than five minutes to rile her nicely.”

“I merely told her about the young things she would be stuffing into a bag.”

“I’ll be giving you the equivalent of an ether-soaked rag for the work,” the Devil announced. “I took the liberty of ordering your dinner, as I know what you like and you aren’t in the mood for any nonsense. I’ll bring you something strong to drink to take the edge off but do try to nurse it. Having a headache tomorrow would not help your cause. You’ll shock your cop nicely with your general ruthlessness as it is.”

“He seems to be taking everything in stride,” I admitted. “I’m not sure how challenged he’s really going to be over it.”

“He’s good at hiding it, and he’s trying his best to give you the benefit of the doubt, as his virus is invested—and his virus had lost hope of finding a suitable woman. He shies away from infecting someone because he’s worked hard to keep his badge. That reaction is not going to ease. His vigilance is good but perhaps a little too good.” Lucifer eyed the table, and he pointed at one of the smaller stacks. “Those are the victims who have been forced to work within the ring. You’ll want to memorize these individuals, make good use of the magical rag I will be giving you, and give them a ride to my home through the bag. You can just set it on the floor and shove them in, too—and if you need a quick escape, you can do that, grab the corner, and drag the bag in with you. You and the bag will end up in my many hells for a visit, but you will be safe. A precaution, just in case.”

I accepted the bag from Belial, discovering it to be made of thin, black silk. It had a draw string, but I discovered when I loosened it, it became the equivalent of a circular rug, easily large enough to shove a person into. “I should owe you something for this, Lucifer.”

“You are putting your energy and soul into this. Now that you know, you will not change your course, not until you see those kittens home—and yes, to rescue all you can on the way. You’ll have quite the kidnapping count once you’re finished, but you won’t face any charges, not when your victims realize they have been set free. I will handle that. It is important to remember that your life is a prayer, and my father has heard the prayer of your heart—and knows how much damage it would do to your soul to walk away from those in need. And so He has found a way for you to satisfy your soul’s need while still rescuing the kittens. Some things you will need to do on your own, such as stalk the homes of those you wish to rob, wait for them to leave, and bust into their properties. I recommend that you enter through their windows. They do not have alarm systems, and most of their neighbors are part of their outfit and will not be home, for they will all be busy sinning elsewhere.” Lucifer grinned at me. “You can even set up cute little traps to inconvenience them, like stoppering their sinks and turning on the water.”

“I think I’ll skip the acts of vandalism and settle with premeditated murder and kidnapping.”

“That’s a girl. Belial, walk her through everything, and do teach her the finer points of running an investigation so she can drop hints to her wolf. Once he understands what their quarry does, he will wish to hunt, but he lacks the knowledge. Before now, he had the will drained from him. The will part will resolve itself soon enough. Do make sure you eat enough, Kelsie. I know your little kitty wants to make sure your big, bad wolf is healthy, but you will be shifting a lot in the upcoming days, so eat like you mean it.”

I saluted him, turned my attention to the documents, stuffed my new bag into my pocket, and said, “Let’s get this show on the road, Belial.”