The Greedy, The Sexy, The just plain bad ass

By: Eagle Alchemist

Chapter 1

Street lights flickered off, with the first light of dawn. The warm oranges and yellows, spilled down the buildings and flooded the asphalt, side walks and parks. It was the start of yet another gorgeous day, in Zusyrion City. As Many of it's residents, were getting ready to face the day and whatever tasks it held for them, one resident was preparing to rest after a long and frugal evening. He was a tall man, six foot two at least, with jet black spikey hair and deep amethyst eyes. He wore pinstripe dark charcoal pants with his hands dug into the pockets, the matching jacket was draped on the back of his leather desk chair, the top four buttons of his crisp light blue shirt were undone and his favourite black/white Fedora sat upon the desk. He wore dark sunglasses, two tone leather shoes that matched his hat and he was stood at the large semi-circular window, watching as the last of the revellers and patrons, left his highly profitable club.

Though, no matter how much the club raked in, Greed was still...not happy.

Greed was an entrepreneur, a womaniser, a conman to name but a few of his skills. But he was best known, for being the head of the notorious H gang. He had gathered together, over the years, a rag tag group of misfits and trouble makers. Those who were lost or out of place and he had effectively, given them a place to call home. Even, a family. Of course they all knew what Greed was like and that he considered all of them, his possessions. Something like that, didn't bother them enough to want to leave the gang. Sure, it meant they were expendable. Naturally, they were just his pawns, his lackeys, the grunts. But one thing was certain, he had saved them from a life much worse, than that of being one of Greed's 'Possessions'. After all, being owned or at least thought of that way, was more preferable than being hungry or homeless or worse...dead.

Greed's empire consisted of several lucrative business's. There were the import/export franchises, if you could dream it, Greed could find it or sell it all over the world. Then there were his casino's and more 'underground' betting syndicates. Oh you had the regular stuff from Craps to Roulette, then you had the stuff you needed an invite for, like Cock and Dog fighting. Naturally a guy like him would have a few strip joints and brothels too, on account of his love for the ladies. They were spread out in the red light district of the city and known for being the best too. Greed had taste and personally picked every girl that worked for him. His night clubs were a great hit also, raking it in every night of the week. He had just ventured into the food industry as well, having opened up a couple of eateries in the affluent part of the city. All in all, Greed was doing very well for himself.

But, he thought as he stood watching out the window, amethyst eyes searching the street below...

...something, was missing in his life. But what?

"Boss, clubs cleaned out now. Front doors are locked up, register has been emptied and the cash put in the safe. Bido and his crew are cleaning up now, with Martel supervising. Dorchet is bringing your car around." A rather large man said. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest, with white hair in a low ponytail. He looked like he was a force to be reckoned with.

"Good work Loa. Martel can handle Bido just fine on her own." Greed replied, turning to reach for his jacket. Slipping into it, he grabbed his hat and settled it upon his head, with a slight tilt to the left "Guess it's time to go check on the other money makers, eh Loa?" he said, grinning as he left his office.

"Right boss." Loa said, following Greed down the stairs and passing the cleaners being watched over by a young woman with short blonde hair and a snake tattoo along her right side, that reached all the way up her neck. She nodded to Loa and Greed as they passed.

"Keep a close eye on those guys Martel, I'm counting on you." Greed said, winking at her and sparing Bido and his crew a glance "I want this place spotless, understand?"

"You have nothing to worry about Greed, I can handle them." Martel replied, with a nod, her stern look spoke volumes of what she would do if they chose to mess her around.

"Y-yes sir, Mr Greed, sir." Bido, a small man with beady eyes, said nervously and bowed his head a bit. He knew his place and wasn't about to invoke Greed's wrath on him, for a poorly done job.

"Let's go Loa, we have other stops, before I head home." Greed said, making his way out the back, towards the rear door that opened out on to the alleyway.

"Right behind you boss." He replied, picking up his coat on the way passed the bar, a long suede brown coat with large lapels on it. He slipped it on, as he and Greed exited into the alleyway.

Mere feet from the steps that led down from the back door, sat a long and wide black car, the back of which had big fins that the tail lights sat on. Wherever you could put chrome, it had been placed. The wheel rims, the bumpers, the door handles, the edging around the black tinted windows, even the hood ornament of the serpent devouring it's own tail-Greed's own trademark-was chrome. Each side panel, had a sweeping design that ran along it, in the the same color as Greed's own eyes. Beneath the car, were neon lights in a brighter amethyst color, making the ground under the car glow eerily. This, was Greed's trade mark car. Everyone in the city knew it. The black and amethyst behemoth, covered in chrome and lighting up the asphalt with it's neons, with the Ouroboros hood ornament...this rare Crown Imperial Limousine...Belonged to the head of the H gang. Belonged, to Greed.

Loa got ahead of Greed and opened the back right side door for him. Greed slipped in and the door was shut after him. Loa then got in the front passenger seat. The driver was Dorchet, a younger man with dark brown spikey hair, matching chocolate eyes and the physique of a martial artist. He knew how to fight, that was for sure, but he also had street smarts too. Something, that made him very useful to Greed. The engine was already running and as Greed settled himself in the back, he gave Dorchet a nod. It was time to get going. The car pulled slowly down the alleyway, till it reached the end and turned gently to the left. The streets were beginning to fill up with cars and people, all heading to work. Dorchet drove towards the red light district, Greed's first stop would be to his brothels. He owned a few, but they were all under the thumb of one madam and she answered, directly to Greed.

It took around an hour, to drive through the streets during the morning rush hour. Dorchet pulled the car up in front of a tall building, that looked like it was some high society multi story mansion. Well, it had been that, once. Now it was the top ranking brothel, in the entire red light district. Loa got out and opened the back door for Greed again, who slipped out into the sunlight. Greed gave Loa a hand gesture, that signalled he was to wait by the car. A nod from Loa and Greed was on his way up the front steps. He pushed open the double doors and flooded the entrance hall with warm sunshine. Several woman all stopped and sounded surprised, till they saw whom had entered their work place. Many of them came to greet him, fawning all over him like love sick teenagers. Greed just grinned, loving the attention. These ladies, were also his possessions and he enjoyed them pawing at him. It gave his ego a real boost.

Of course there was one woman, who knew him a bit too well, to be throwing herself at him. The madam who ran this and all the other smaller brothels that Greed owned in this area. She came out of her office, that sat at the end of the long hall lined with rooms. Tall, slender and sleek, with pale unblemished skin and slightly lighter amethyst eyes then Greed's own. Her waist length, wavy black hair fell gently around her shoulders, that were exposed due to the off the shoulder dress she wore. She always looked sexy. Always made sure she dressed to impress and seduce. That was her skill and her job. One of the reasons Greed had chosen her to run this aspect of his empire. His sister, Lust. She was not some shy, weeping willow however...mess with her and she'd cut you down without a second thought. She was as tough, if not more sinister, than Greed himself was. One word from Lust and the girls vanished back into the rooms to clean up, after a busy night of 'entertaining'.

"Aw, now why did ya have to go and spoil my fun? Eh, Lusty?" Greed pouted, almost like a little kid who had his toy taken away, as he walked down the hall towards where she stood.

"It's not as though your ego needs anymore inflating, Greed." Lust retorted, with a small wicked smile "It's plenty big already...and those girls have worked all night long, they need their rest." she added, turning to head into her office.

"You make it sound like having a big ego is a bad thing sis." Greed laughed, following her inside and shutting the door "And they looked ready to please to me, hehehe."

"Yes I'd say having an ego the size of yours, is a very bad thing...it's got you into too much trouble brother dear." Lust said, hopping up to sit on the edge of her desk and crossing her left leg over her right "Enough talk of what you can't have. I take it you want the takings for last night?"

"Ouch, that hurt sis..." Greed placed a hand on his chest and played like she had stabbed him in the heart, then he laughed "Yeah, I'm here to collect. I'm doing the rounds today, before heading home." he settled on one of the plush chairs in front of her desk and propped his feet up on it.

"I see, so you'll be seeing everyone else today then. Try not to fight with Envy when you see him..." Lust said, getting up and heading round the back of her desk "...you two always make digs at each other when your in the same room." she then swatted at his feet "And get your damned feet off my desk! It's not a foot stool!" she snapped.

Greed just laughed at Lust's outburst over a piece of wood. Then he frowned at her comment about him and their bother Envy, always getting under each others skin. It was true they did, but did she have to go and say so?

"It's not my fault that Envy has such a huge chip on his shoulder." Greed shrugged "Not like I ever go there intending to argue with him...he just rubs me up the wrong way and things seem to escalate from there." he said, almost as if he had no control over it "Yeah I will be seeing them all. Making the rounds can be so tiring though."

"Oh stop complaining, you love to collect your profits, admit it." Lust looked up at him slyly "And yes you can help it with Envy, stop encouraging his temper. You always start it somehow." she moved back around the desk with a manilla envelope in her hand and passed it to Greed "We did pretty good last night, some bachelor and his fraternity boys came by looking for a fun time, they stayed half the night and spent well too." she informed him with a smile.

"Oh really? Well sounds like it was action all stations then hahaha, well as long as they spent well and had a good enough time to tell their friends, then it's all good." Greed replied, opening the envelope to take a peek at the earnings, giving off a small whistle at the wad of cash inside it "Damn, they did spend well."

"Indeed they did. Now, shouldn't you be heading off to visit the others?" Lust said, putting a hand on his shoulder "Not that I an trying to be rid of you, but I have preparations to make for tonight, and the girls need their rest too."

"Hahahaha, yeah yeah, I get it. You want me out of your hair." Greed laughed and got to his feet, making for the door, though he turned back as he was leaving "But just remember, sister dear, I own this place. It is mine and always will be." he told her, before closing the door after him.

Greed made his way along the hall, passing swooning girls as he did, giving them a grin that made them almost faint. He left the brothel, Loa opening the car door for him and he got in, Dorchet driving off towards the affluent part of the city, to visit Greed's restaurants. Lust had come out of her office, and watched her brother leaving. She narrowed her eyes and said softly to herself...

"It may be yours now, brother dear, but..." That wicked smile returned "...it won't stay that way forever."

000

The more, upmarket, one of Greed's eateries was the large Avarice. Aptly named for the man who owned it and for the chef running it. Another of Greed's brothers, Gluttony. A fat, bald man with an appetite to rival anyone in the world. Though due to his appetite, he had an excellent pallet. Making his cooking, top notch. Greed chose not to stay long here. If he didn't act like he was in a hurry, which he was, then Gluttony would have talked his ear off and tried to shove all manner of foods down his throat. Greed was not in the mood to deal with that. Of course it didn't stop him from flirting, with the waitresses who were still milling around at the end of the night. Some of the girls, didn't go home, staying on to clean up. That meant extra income for them, and as long as they worked for it, Greed was happy to pay them. Of course, it helped they were drop dead gorgeous too. He could never say no to a beautiful woman.

His next stop was the docks. Pride, the eldest of his brothers, running things here. Due to a birth defect, Pride would always be trapped in the body of a child, though his mind would grow normally. He was a shrewd operator. For someone who had to overcome being mistaken for a kid, he did really well and garnered respect from those working under his watchful eye. As usual, Pride made plenty of snide comments to Greed. Idly Greed wondered if coming here before seeing Envy, was a good idea. He was always on edge by the time he got to Envy's place. Maybe, it was Pride's snide comments that set him off. The import/export business was doing exceedingly well. Though, whatever Greed chose to get into, he always seemed to do well at it. Currently, Pride was in charge of running at least a dozen warehouses here at the docks. Everything from perishables to rare pottery to exotic animals and more, were shipped in and out of the city, by H Enterprises.

Greed wasn't best pleased when he visited Wrath, at the main casino. If being spoken down to by Pride wasn't bad enough, he got the self same treatment from Wrath. Even though Greed was older, though he didn't really age like normal so he looked younger, Wrath always came down on him, referring to him being a spoilt brat. He hated that about Wrath. The man gave off the air of a mob boss, with his clean shaven jaw, moustache and slicked back black hair, with his eye patch adding the hint of mystery too. Though the casino was doing incredibly well. Even so early in the morning, it was still packed to the rafters with addicted people trying to beat the house. Watching them from his office, suspended above the main floor, Wrath could see all that went on and with his sharp eyes, he was able to spot cheats and direct security to apprehend them. He ran it, like a military operation.

By the time Greed left there, he was now in possession of several thousands in cold hard cash, hidden in the inner pocket of his jacket. He slid into the back seat of his car and grinned, like the cat that had gotten the cream. He was a very, very wealthy man. But now, he had one last stop to make and he wasn't looking forward to it.

000

As Dorchet pulled the car up outside of a dank looking warehouse on the outskirts of the city, Greed's good mood faded. Now, he had to visit Envy. That never went well. Loa, got out and did as he had been doing all morning, opened the door for Greed and then waited by the car. Making his way inside, Greed could hear the shouts and cheering of men, lots of them. Mixed into the human voices, were the sounds of animals, vicious ones at that. Greed made his way along the dark hallway, to a door at the far end on the left. Opening it, he walked right into a dingy office, that had mesh where there should have been a window, overlooking the main room. There were at least three different enclosures. Low to the ground and circular, with at least a couple dozen men around each. In each enclosure there was a pair of Pit Bull dogs, fighting and biting each other, spraying blood around...to the cheers of the men. It was a horrible thing to see, but, it was something that made Greed a lot of money. And there were many, who enjoyed this kind of 'Entertainment'.

It wasn't to Greed's taste, however.

Standing in one of the corners, was a seriously large man. Built like a Sherman tank and having that intimidating air about him, stood Sloth. Another brother to Greed. He was big, he was strong, but, Sloth was slower intellectually then his other siblings. However that meant he was perfect, for being security in such a venue as this. Opposite the mesh was a desk, raised up on a block, to make it easier to watch over the fights. Sat behind it, with feet upon the desk and a positively maniacal grin plastered on his face, sat Envy. Greed wondered, just how in the heck he had wound up with so many brothers and yet only one sister. Envy broke into his thoughts with a cackle, as one of the fights came to a bloody end.

"So Greed, you like what I done with the place?" Envy suddenly said, grabbing a pork rib off his plate and biting into it "I added a couple more rings, to boost attendance and up the takings. Impressed?" he added, around a mouthful of meat.

"Well, I don't dislike the fact it rakes in more cash." Greed replied in a dull tone "But you know, this isn't really to my taste, Envy." he shot his brother a distasteful glance.

"Ooooh, that's right I forgot..." Envy threw the bone to his dogs, who were chained to the wall nearby, they ravaged it "...little old Greedy boy hates the dog fighting...why bother having it if it's not your bag? Makes no sense to me...though I'm not complaining, I love my job." he laughed, evilly.

"Shut up Envy." Greed bit back "You know I want it all, the money, the women, the sex, the power..." Greed started to spout his rhetoric at Envy, like it was his mantra or something "...you should know that better than anyone, being as we are related. Now, do you have the takings for last night?"

"Oh, cutting to the chase huh?" Envy jumped up from his seat and leaned over the desk a bit "I might have them, but you haven't asked me nicely... little brother." his tone was oozing hatred, his dark amethyst eyes full of contempt.

"I don't have to ask you anything nicely, you old bastard...just get me my money and I'll be out of here." Greed shot back, trying not to get drawn into another fight with his older brother. Greed loathed being younger than almost all his siblings.

"Hahahahaha! You'd like to think you don't have to, but trust me, if you don't..." Envy leaned further over and his tone turned menacing "..you won't get a thing from me. Got it, kid?"

"You just love to hold it over me...that your older. Don't you, Envy." Greed sneered at him, then a grin claimed his lips "What's the matter? Jealous that I'm so young and handsome, while your just old and ugly? Hahaha."

That was it. The straw that broke the camels back. Now, Envy was pissed. He launched himself over the desk at Greed and went for his throat. Greed knew it was coming. He had his hands up and Envy's wrists in his palms, before Envy was even over the desk. They tumbled to the floor and rolled about, as they struggled to gain the upper hand on each other. Greed was finally pinned to the ground, Envy having just a bit more strength than himself. Of course that only meant Envy would never let him hear the end of it.

"Now who's in charge, eh little brother? Hahaha, I do love it when we have our get togethers." Envy's grin was cruel "I always win..hahaha.." he said, getting up.

"Yeah, well that's only on account of you cheating, like always." Greed retorted, getting to his feet and brushing himself off "I hate that this place is such a mess, this suit was expensive ya know." he complained.

"Oh stop whining, it's only a bit of cloth." Envy shot back over his shoulder, then opened a drawer on his desk, pulled out an envelope and tossed it at Greed "There, take your money and get the hell out, I got work to do."

"Ah!" Greed caught the package just before it smacked him in the face "Yeah, yeah...you work? That's a laugh hahaha, only thing you do, is sit there gorging yourself and getting older by the day hahaha.." he said, laughing as he walked out the office.

"Why you! GRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" Was all he heard of Envy, along with the sound of the plate of ribs hitting the door, as Greed walked out chuckling to himself.

Though he usually got into a fight with Envy, he always got the last word in.

Once Greed got in the car and Loa was in the front, Dorchet drove toward Greed's home. Slowing to allow the gates to open up, Dorchet got the sense they were being watched, Loa felt it too and they exchanged a look. Greed was very aware of being watched. He knew he had been under surveillance for a while now. But they would never be able to pin a thing on him. Greed was too careful for that. The car pulled slowly up the drive, as the gates closed behind them, coming to a gentle stop under the front Portico, that was made up of eight tall stone pillars and a heavy concrete roof sat atop them. This was a design feature Greed had insisted on, since it made the house, look more like a mansion. As Greed walked up the stoop and into the house, he spared a glance back over his shoulder, towards the front gate that secured his property.

There, just off to one side of the wall and shrubbery, a wisp of smoke floated passed the gate. His amethyst eyes narrowed. There was only one person he knew, that would be spying on him and who smoked. That guy, was going to wind up in a body bag one day, if he continued to stick his nose in, where it wasn't welcomed. Though Greed had to admit, it was fun to have someone to toy with. He carried on into the house, the doors closing behind him. Dorchet moved the car to the garage, that held more than a few toys, parking it and closing up the garage for the day. It was time to sleep, as he made his way up the steps to the quarters that he and Loa shared above the garage. They both flaked out, almost as soon as they entered their rooms. Greed meantime, was already in bed and sleeping like a baby.

He had his money, he had his house, he had his luxurious lifestyle...but...did he truly have enough to make him happy?