Not too far from the Sleeping Houndoom, there was a café known as Audino’s Grace. It was located right near a popular casino, owned by Rudolf Dawson, so it was needless to say the place was definitely a hotspot. Audino’s Grace was even considered one of the best cafés in all of Black City. Those who claimed this were not saying so simply to stroke the owner’s ego; it was the Arceus-honest truth. It had a lot of high ratings and was recommended by just about every citizen in the city whenever questioned by tourists. Others might disagree and say that the coffee there tastes like something a Muk spit up, or that the food was Trubbish, or that the name was not suitable at all. That was fine. For every person who disliked the place, there was still plenty of business there to keep it afloat. That was all that mattered.<br/><br/>Considering who owns the place many of the people who decided to be negative ended up sleeping at the bottom of Black Lake where Remoraid fed on their corpses.<br/><br/>The night was quiet. Compared to what was going on at the Sleeping Houndoom, where excitement was almost always to be found, Audino’s Grace was always a quiet place. The customers never seemed to mind it. Perhaps some were too afraid to make any noise here, fearing what might happen to them if they said the wrong things. After all, the café’s name was no joke; Audino was the hearing Pokémon and the people working here were considered the eyes and ears of the Dawson family. Customers were paid a fair amount of money, and given ‘protection’, a contract or an eye for an eye so to speak, to keep their mouths shut.<br/><br/>“Everett!” A short man with a beard that didn’t quite match came barging into the place. “Everett! Hey, get out here, father wants to talk to us!”<br/><br/>“Christ, Jack, could you be any more fucking demanding?” Everett Dawson snarled as he approached his younger brother. “I’ve got customers here and I don’t want anyone, not even a brother of mine, coming in here and disturbing the peace.”<br/><br/>“Well fuck your peace. I think speaking with father is more important.”<br/><br/>“You can tell our dear old dad to hold his Ponytas. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”<br/><br/>Jack took his leave, and Everett decided to close the place a little early today.<br/><br/>Everett was someone who did as he pleased. When he was not working jobs for his father, he was manning this business. He had a few employees, who all worked for his father as well, who were all every hard-working people. After all, only those willing to be hard-working people were able to work for the Dawsons whether it was doing grunt work or getting someone whacked. Which, of course, also could be considered grunt work; Rudolf hardly got hands dirty. He had left most of his bloodlust behind when the war ended, choosing only to dirty his hands if motivated by personal revenge, and when George had received an injury that retired him from the ring. To this day, Everett would never forget that day for as long as he lived. The image of the Pokémon who had done the injury, a Tyranitar, and its owner both finding their final resting place at the bottom of the lake.<br/><br/>Fights are risky, but that asshole had cheated. Just like Jessica likes to cheat. Oh he knew all about her plans. He was the one who told their father. Whatever Rudolf wanted to speak with him and jack about, it was probably about their dear sister, Jessica.<br/><br/>When he got to Rudolf’s residence, he was greeted by Booker, his Typhlosion, and George the Salamance. Perched above was Blaine the Staraptor. A handy little fellow, he was, loved by the whole family and loyal pet to Rudolf. Rudolf had a lot of pets, but Blaine was probably the pet he loved the most. The Staraptor gazed at Everett sternly, following him every step of the way to Rudolf’s office.<br/><br/>“About time.” The older man said. He was already standing in the center of the room, in front of his desk, like he always did during these meetings.<br/><br/>Jack was standing with a smug look, leaned against a bookshelf. “Yeah, what took you so long?”<br/><br/>“Jack, I am the one speaking. Keep your mouth shut or you’ll be in the same position as your sister.”<br/><br/>Everett shifted a little. These little meetings always made him feel a little uneasy. Rudolf seemed to be livid tonight, making matters even worse. As tough as he was, his father’s anger was something he would always fear, some things just caused him to be submissive or fearful.<br/><br/>“Now.” Said Rudolf, “As we all know, Jessica has never been very good at following orders. She likes to take things into her own hands, and has a lot of people supporting her decisions.” There was a pause. He stared hard at his sons, letting out a heavy breath. “From what I’ve heard, you two lend your support more often than not.”<br/><br/>Jack and Everett were completely silent. It was true, they did support her, but that didn’t mean that they always agreed with her. She was often wayward, a little wild. It was known that, whenever she held fights, it was not always for the benefit of the family, but he own selfish desires. She wanted to create her own underground empire and it caused a slight crack in the foundations of this family. If not treated, things would eventually schism and that was something everyone wanted to avoid at all costs.<br/><br/>Jack has never been the brains of the family. He never liked to speak up or be put on the spot. Most of the time, Rudolf thought him unreliable, spineless, a waste of space, but there were times that he did manage to pull something noteworthy out of his ass. But it looks like he was leaving everything up to his brother. That was always left up to Everett, so Rudolf was not surprised to hear him speak up first. “I only know what I’ve already told you, about the fights. She said she had something big planned. I don’t know what that is…”<br/><br/>“Why didn’t you go find out?” Rudolf inquired.<br/><br/>“Well…”<br/><br/>“Shut it. I don’t want to hear any excuses tonight.”<br/><br/>Jack shifted a little, “Father, what should we do?”<br/><br/>“Nothing right now.” Rudolf smiled deviously. He moved over to the window, looking out to the city with his arms folded over his chest. “Let the night run its course, Jessica will be dealt with when the time is right. I need some time to think.”<br/><br/>------------------------------<br/><br/>The Sleeping Houndoom. If there was anywhere to find that workaholic, it would be here. This place was frequented by many. It had a nice atmosphere, despite the fact it was owned by a Dawson, and the drinks were some of the best you could get in this dump.<br/><br/>Charles Grantley was known all around Black City as the big shot who managed to dig out some of the weeds that had sprouted up from wherever the hell. He was determined to put an end to the empire of crime Black City has come to be over the years, though not alone. One of the guys he was working with happened to have the same desire. He also happened to be someone who frequented the Sleeping Houndoom on a daily basis. Whenever he needed to track ol’ Tommy down he always knew where to find him. The guy was so predictable, he could have sworn he’d guess what color his underwear was and be correct every single time. Not to give the wrong impression and imply that he actually did such a thing, of course.<br/><br/>Not too many people seemed to be hanging out here tonight. Oblivious to the excitement downstairs, he made his way over to the nearly empty bar and ordered a drink. It was there he found ol’ Tommy (Now, Tommy wasn’t old, in fact Charles was older by a few years, he just liked to mess with him) sitting and having himself a few drinks as well. As he expected, the man seemed to have papers in front of him.<br/><br/>“Hey, Tommy!” He called out as soon as he spotted who he was looking for. Seeing his coworker speaking to a woman was not surprising; the asshole could not keep it in his pants. Normally he would bust his chops, but tonight he was more interested in getting down to business as quickly as possible. “Stop flirting, we have work to do. And put those papers away! If this gets into the wrong hands it would be a disaster.” He leaned in a little closer, grabbing him by the arm. “The Chief wants to have a word us.”