I'Mostri book one: The lost

Beeswax as usual

The harsh winter wind blew through the waking streets of Chicago. Stefano stood silently, waiting in line for the checkpoint. He pulled his coat close to his face, blocking out the frigid wind. The sun hadn't yet crested the domes high walls, rendering the dome cold and unwelcoming as usual. Stefano casually looked around at the familiar surroundings; as a debt collector for I'mostri, a big time Mafia in the city. It was his job to collect payments and punish those who were late; whether they were monsters, or humans. This time he was to be in human territory. This meant leaving the dome. The dome covered a large area near the centre of the city, serving as a coup for his kind. Stefano detested humans, like most monsters. But he would rarely ever act on his hatred. As one step out of line, would be detrimental to his freedom as a monster. Here, like everywhere on this damn planet the humans ruled the roost, treating the monsters no better than animals or slaves. Stefano was one of the rare few who had ever put a human in their place. But that was under exceptional circumstances.
Today he had made sure to get to the check point early. As he knew that soon, very soon, this place would be flooded with monsters heading out into the city. This would make everyone notoriously late. As there were too few officers manning the checkpoint. Another reason why monsters found it hard to get work outside the dome was the checkpoint times. They were unreliable at best. And despite these well-known conditions, most monsters would get their pay deducted for being late. But Stefano didn't have to worry about that. He just didn't have the patience to wait that long in line. That and Giovanni preferred to job done quickly. This time his target was a man by the name of Cecil Kirk. Who had borrowed money to smuggle in his wife from Mexico. As Stefano recalled, she was a beautiful dark eyed dark haired jane; leaving little to be desired. But despite her good looks, Stefano had no interest in her. The interspecies thing was all rather taboo in his own opinion; and it was outlawed throughout most of the country. Giovanni had ordered a hit on both Mr Kirk and his wife, because he had been suspected of blabbing to the police. As well as being very behind on his payments.
Stefano's thoughts were interrupted by a loud cough. He snapped out of his daze, realising that he was next in line. He fumbled in his jacket pockets, pulling out his papers; as he hobbled up to the booth. This was where his show began...
"Travel papers" the human ordered, in a gruff voice. Stefano looked up at him, studying him for a moment. The officer was well guarded inside that little metal box of his. It was funny, as much as the humans loved to be top dog. They were in truth, terrified of the monsters, and all their abilities. Stefano smirked to himself, begrudgingly handing over his papers. The officer scoured through them slowly. Looking for a single mistake, anything. Stefano knew this fellas type all too well. They seemed to make it their life's work, to make a monsters unbearable. "So your name is Stefano?" The human questioned. Stefano nodded, "that'd be me" he replied, putting on a fake smile. The officer huffed as he looked back at the papers, "surname?" Stefano looked up at him as if to say 'seriously', and the officer shot a look back. He gave a sigh, shaking his head a little. "Scheletro, Stefano Scheletro." He replied rolling his eyes. Normally he was quite a patient monster, but he had no time for humans, "Any items to declare?" The officer asked handing Stefano back is papers.
Stefano shook his head, "only my walking cane" he replied, gesturing to it.
"Over there for inspection" the officer ordered, gesturing to another human, aside the booth. Stefano tipped his hat politely, taking back his papers, before hobbling over to the inspector, who was a tall muscular man. Stefano guessed that he was once part of the army, judging by the man's looks. The inspector stood there taking a sip of coffee, waiting for the next monster to come through. He soon caught sight of Stefano, heading towards him.
The inspector gave him a nasty look, "Stand over there monster" he ordered sharply. Stefano bit back a reply, and did as instructed. The inspector put down his coffee, and made his way over to Stefano studying him. Stefano kept his untrusting gaze on the human, waiting for him to begin the search. The inspector asked Stefano to remove any items from his pockets, before patting him down. Stefano did as he was told, but kept his weight on the cane during the pat down, the inspector than looked at his personal effects one by one, before returning them to Stefano. "Well, is that everything officer?" Stefano asked him, acting as if he was in a hurry. The inspector shot another glare, "give me the cane" he ordered, going to take it from Stefano. Who refused to let him even touch it, "I need this to stand pal" Stefano pointed out. The inspector rolled his eyes, clearly agitated by the monster. "You can lean on the wall, monster" he replied, with hostility and agitation in his voice. Stefano gave an agitated sigh, hobbling over to the wall; leaning on it. The inspector then quickly snatched the cane from underneath Stefano, who then instantly fell to the ground; moaning in pain. Some gasps rose from the slowly growing crowd behind them. Stefano struggled in a desperate attempt to stand; but failing miserably. The inspector looked up at the crowd of monsters. He bit back something before throwing the cane next to Stefano. "Just get your sorry ass outta here, before I arrest you." He growled, angered by Stefano.
Stefano with the help of a young female monster got to his feet. He thanked her for her kindness, before shooting a glare at the inspector. Stefano then hobbled off, heading into the city. Once far enough away, he started walking normally again, chuckling to himself. "Humans" he muttered, going on is merry way.
Once deeper into the city Stefano tried his best to fit in with his surroundings. As a monster it was difficult to move around the Chicago, without being noticed. Luckily for him, he looked very much like a human with some obvious differences. He just had to keep every inch of himself covered, as to not arouse suspicion.  After a short while he reached the home of Mr Kirk. Stefano looked up at the building. It was a small terrace house, on the corner, of a lonely backstreet. From the outside it looked well kept, with small window baskets full of brightly coloured flowers. It was quite the juxtaposition compared with the rest of the houses. Stefano knew he couldn't enter the house the normal way, as it would bring too much attention. He looked around, making sure no one was watching. Stefano waited for his chance, then, when all was quiet, he concealed himself in the shadows, and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a small ice blue flash.
Stefano reappeared inside the house. By the looks of it, he was in their bathroom. It was damp and dark, all seemed quiet and still. Except for a leaking faucet, in the bath; echoing against the cold tile. Stefano slowly popped his head through the door, looking around the hall way. Like the bathroom it was dark, and there were no signs of life. He then cautiously stepped out into the hallway, heading for the staircase. The first stair creaked as he placed his foot on it. Stefano quickly stepped back, taking out the concealed gun from his cane. He had to be careful, for all he knew there where hordes of bulls downstairs just waiting for his arrival. Stefano kept a listening ear out for any sound. But all he could hear was the muffled clattering of dishes, and the quiet dripping from the bathroom. It sounded to him, like someone was in the kitchen. So Stefano started to make his way cautiously down the stairs, as lightly as possible. Each step creaked underfoot, but he carried on, finally reaching the bottom. Surprisingly there was no one in the hallway or the living room. Stefano had guessed that perhaps Mr Kirk's wife was preparing him breakfast. It could be entirely possible, that he wasn't even awake yet; it was early after all. At this point, Stefano wished he had x-ray vision, so he could tell what exactly he was walking into. He paused, hearing a male voice, muffled by the kitchen door. Stefano strained to hear it, but it still sounded like gibberish. A female voice then replied, followed by another clattering of dishes. Stefano cocked his gun, readying himself to enter. No matter how many times he had done this, it never got any easier.
Stefano took in a deep breath, before coming through the door. He instantly spotted Cecil's wife, aiming his gun up at her. In shock she dropped the newly cleaned plates; they shattered on impact, spreading across the floor like cascading water. Stefano smiled over at Mr Kirk, "nice to see you again pal" he greeted casually as if talking to an old friend. Cecil went to take out his own gun. But before he could do so, Stefano fired a warning shot, which barely missed Mrs Kirk. 5 shots left, he noted; the first shot was fired, he would have to act quickly. She let out a scream, shaking in fear. "I wouldn't do 'dat, if I were you" Stefano warned him, cocking his gun. "I might not miss next time" he added with a smile. "Now where's the money Mr Kirk?" Stefano demanded. "It's been twelve months, and we still haven't received your next payment" he explained. Cecil glanced at his wife, who was looking confused and scared. She had no idea about the debt he had built up to bring her to America.
Cecil slowly rose from his seat, holding his hands up in the air. "I don't have the money, you have to believe me" he begged. Stefano scoffed, "oh yeah? What about that investment you made recently eh?" Stefano was no fool, he did his research. Practically every time he came to collect, the person would plead poverty. It was an old act, which would only hold off the inevitable.
"I'm not explaining myself to a monster" Cecil scoffed, acting all high and mighty. The guy had guts, that was for sure. But guts alone got you nowhere in the city. Stefano gave a small smile, "maybe you just need a little incentive" he admitted, he teleported next to Mrs Kirk, restraining her, and holding his gun to her head. This was a lot easier said than done, as Stefano wasn't the tallest person in the world. Standing at a measly 5ft, made his job a lot harder. But he had gotten used to it now. "Give me the money now!" Stefano demanded. Cecil moved a little closer to Stefano, who pushed the gun closer to the woman's head. "Uh, uh, uh. Not a step closer" Stefano warned, he could feel Mrs Kirk struggling. She was mumbling something over and over again, in what he could guess was Spanish. Cecil backed up a little, falling to his knees; he looked close to tears. "I can get you the money. Just please, please don't hurt my wife." He begged. "It's not her fault she did nothing wrong" Cecil continued.
Stefano's eyes glowed a faint blue, as he stared the man down. "How long?" he asked, referring to the money. Stefano had his orders, but it couldn't hurt to get the money too. Cecil didn't look him in the eyes out of fear, "two weeks" Cecil told him, his voice shaky as his eyes darted from his wife to their visitor.
Stefano shook his head slowly, "That's too long". He replied, "I need the money now, Mr Kirk. After all I wouldn't want to hurt this dessert flower 'o' yours" Stefano chuckled, getting ready to squeeze the trigger.
"NO! Please don't take my wife away from our daughter" Cecil blurted out. The man suddenly became very silent, realising what he had said. Stefano's smile fell a little, they had a kid?! This hadn't come up in his research. Stefano quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind focused on the task at hand. He had a job to do, and he was going to finish it. No surprise kid would get in the way of that. "So you got a kid huh?" Stefano asked. Cecil looked up at him, and nodded slowly. His expression showed one of fear and dread. "You care for her?" Stefano asked.
Cecil nodded, "Yes we love her very much. She needs us" he replied.
"Well then..." Stefano sighed, letting go of Mrs Kirk, who ran straight to her husband's side. The embraced one another tightly, with relieved expressions. "Thank you so much" Cecil smiled up at Stefano, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "You'll get the money in two weeks I promise" he added, joyfully.
Stefano stayed silent, taking a step forward. "One thing you gotta learn pal." He began, taking another step. A small smile crept onto Stefano's face, his eyes shadowed by his worn black fedora. An Icy blue glow flashed across them.
BANG!
Stefano shot Cecil's wife point blank in the head. 4 shots left. "No!" Cecil cried, cradling his now dead wife in his arms. "Katia, Katia" he called to her, with no response. Cecil held her close to his face, the tears now rolling down his cheeks. He then turned to Stefano pulling out his gun, "You bastard" Cecil cried in anger and heart break. But before he could do anything more, Stefano shot him. 3 shots left. The man's body fell to the ground with a thud. Husband and wife now lied together, on the kitchen floor; in a pool of their own blood. "Appearances can be deceiving" Stefano finished. He quickly put away his gun, bending down to them. He eyed the particularly expensive looking watch around Cecil's wrist. Stefano knew it would fetch a good price on the black market. He swiftly removed it, checking it for any engravings or marks; luckily it was clean. Stefano then carefully searched the house for any more expensive, easy to miss trinkets. He collected a few before hearing the distant sound of sirens; that was his que to leave. Without hesitation Stefano snapped his fingers, appearing in an alley not too far from the dome entrance. He quickly checked himself for blood splatter, and hid his gun back inside his cane. Stefano put on the watch, before stepping out onto the streets, making his way back to the dome. While on his way there, Cecil's words played in the back of his mind. 'Our daughter...'
Stefano thought back to his research, not once did it mention the two had a child; and then where was it? To his knowledge, Katia Kirk had only been in the country for six years. Surely a child that age would still be under the watchful eye of their parents; unless the kid was older than that.
Cecil could've knocked up the dame while in Mexico on vacation. Then felt obliged to bring the woman back to his country, and marry her. It made sense to Stefano; it would also explain the amount borrowed. But of course this was his theory; not the actual truth. But as interesting as it was to speculate, it wasn't his business to know, or care. Though Stefano couldn't help but be curious.