Day 261 - Monday, September 8th

[papalobo]

[Max isn't awake early enough to be shocked by how early in the morning Ash can pull it together to text, nor is he shocked by waking up first and alone. Although that he's going to be in a good coma with the pill and his exhaustion probably isn't a great cause for concern for Ash in not getting a response. It's around 11:00 AM that Ash gets a thumbs up emoji as an answer.

In actuality, things are not thumbs up. Max wakes up alone, and his mind combines the dream with reality to quickly determine Ash has left him to finally take that flight to Japan; unaware he's awake, even while aware that's not very realistic, he lies there looking at the empty space not even occupied by cats, for several minutes, before the need to use the bathroom finally gets him moving enough to come back to reality just a little more, to process that all of it were dreams, that he has no right to get depressed, to blame Ash for any dreams. Nor for any realities. He told him to take on Blanca. He's urged him to take up Eiji when he's ready.

Ash had to go without breakfast today. Probably. He'll check the kitchen for signs of cooking before realizing the texts he read about Ash leaving last night weren't part of the dream, but were real; so he's living that double life, away from him now. Things are dangerous, and Max... sits at home and worries about food. Things are hazy. Maybe the good parts of yesterday were a dream too; at best, they were a delusion that really physically happened, he realizes.


He could call Alex and ask for a full update on the situation. He could probably ask Ash directly and get one.


Instead, he tends to his own work e-mails. He'll be on a few major shows soon, after all. Time to get his data together, time to follow up with some of those politicians, time to get with Charlie about how the lawsuits and investigations into The Unit are going.


Time to reach out to Shawn, since he does have his number. In confidence.

Misplaced confidence. At 12:30 Ash is texted by Shawn.]

Your old man's a drug addict~~

[Also today, the girl who is not presently covered in twigs but still looks as if she's been rolling around on carpet for static, frizzy hair and clothes meant for painting a house more than actually going out, glares at him bitterly through class, even during a test that should have her more distracted by it. But Ash is surely too busy to deal with that.

All the more when at 2:00, Wu is calling him. He's more of a caller than a texter.]

Comments

[jadedlynx]

[ There's a possibility that Yut Lung won't answer or can't answer. He didn't for Sing. Somehow, he doesn't think the men of Chinatown would let him walk up and knock on the door.

As he leaves, that's the kind of plan he's trying to formulate. ]

[papalobo]

[He's watched by the two guards again, who may or may not notice that Ash isn't as flippant and flirty on his way out as he was on the way in. They might also notice his phone beeping not long after he steps out of the front door.]


1-10?

[Ash will likely understand that question; on a scale of one to ten, how important is it that you have it? He'd really rather not break that professional bond of trust, but if Ash ranks it as an emergency, well, he is a bit smitten with him. And Blanca himself can do a bit of math; if he was able to contact Sing at all, Sing would handle any contact. Thus, this relates to Sing's safety, and the question becomes: how out of his control does Ash feel it is? Ash isn't in a habit of relying on him, but he will when someone else's safety beyond his own is involved.]

[jadedlynx]

[ He's in the car before replying. ]

8 and 5.

[ Sing is a real concern, and it's worrisome that he's no contact in this situation, but Ash does acknowledge Yut Lung himself might be in trouble. He trusts Blanca to know he means he needs it for two people. ]

[papalobo]

[He sends back a number.]

It's a number he gave me.

[Specifically. As in, likely one Yut Lung will answer, given a certain attachment he has for the man, but also a number that he might have exclusively for Blanca, meaning if Ash calls from it, his rankles about exactly whose side Blanca is on might become a danger in and of themselves.

And then another number comes through. Likely a more generic one that Blanca had either had in advance, or bothered to fish up for him and could do so by virtue of being Blanca, though not one he's as certain Yut Lung will answer in due time.

He'd have only gotten the later with a 5, but an 8 and a 5 are ultimately an 8. That's likely as high as Ash's panic will go short of having someone (anyone) as a live and known hostage with an active threat, in which case Blanca wonders if Ash would keep his wits about him enough to even try to use his resource rather than throw himself upon the mercy of his enemy.]

[jadedlynx]

Thanks.

[ Ash does know it's smarter to try the second number first and short of that number, the first. And so, he will, in that order, but not before he sends another message. ]

As long as he's a key to Sing's safety, it earns him a little protection.

[ 'I hate him, but I know you don't so I'll reassure you that if he's in trouble and that will hurt Sing, I'll work on his side'. ]

[venemoussnake]

He needs all he can get.



[The first number gets a fast enough answer. It might be hard to recognize his voice when it's stern rather than flippant and mocking or screeching.]

Wei nihao.

[jadedlynx]

[ It's was good that Ash went with that one first. ]

That's probably the politest you've been since you were pretending your last name was Dawson.

[venemoussnake]

Why are you calling through Sing's line?

[jadedlynx]

Because you don't have an Ash line.

Is your phone safe?

[venemoussnake]

Did you want to have a private party line for us to talk about hair and boys on?

[jadedlynx]

I want to know if he's safe.

[venemoussnake]

I want a damn lot more than that.

[jadedlynx]

That doesn't end my wishlist either, but it's the important one here. Have you talked to him?

[venemoussnake]

I answered this line from an unknown number, what does that tell you?

[jadedlynx]

[ He sighs. ]

When was the last time you had contact with him?

[venemoussnake]

It's been three days now. And you?

[It's problematic enough he won't dance around answers and play games over it, at least. If Sing has been in contact with Ash more recently than him, that's a problem for another day.]

[jadedlynx]

Closer to a week.

[ Much less recently. ]

Lao?

[ The guy hated Ash, but he was close to Sing. ]

[venemoussnake]

Still mostly invalid, but trying to feel out who's remained loyal in his absence.

[jadedlynx]

I met with Sheng.

[ He's still driving away from said meeting. ]

He was as useful as wet paper. What were Sing's last known plans?

[venemoussnake]

[Ash might be able to feel the tension in the few seconds of silence; how bad are things, to be working rather equally with Ash, to be unable to lord and dangle information over him? It isn't as if he can't rely on Ash to fish Sing out of whatever he's in without himself having to lift a damn finger, it shouldn't bother him in the slightest that Ash will be his little errand boy in what could otherwise become a bloody and messy internal affair.

And yet, Sing could end up a casualty. And that's truly not allowable.

How frustrating.

But he says it without the blame or taunting he wants to lace it with.]

Your territory. He met with the Chicago boy often. It seems like he found it therapeutic to spend time helping others in that housing unit of yours.

[jadedlynx]

[ Damn it. Under his nose? He went fishing in Chinatown, but how was he supposed to know Sing was spending time there? The last he'd heard Sing wanted to handle it here.

Yut Lung can't see the say his hands tighten on the wheel. He can probably hear the text going out to Alex. He'd interacted with them enough to start the search and ask around about Sing until Ash made it.

Shawn hadn't mentioned anything. But, victims as they were, some of the Unit kids were also dangerous. They also knew he'd sent Shawn to Nadia. ]

I'll take care of it. Call me if you hear from him.

[venemoussnake]

Since you have this number, you should tell me everything you find out, as well.

You'd said he was useless, but can you remember what Ling said?

[There might have been something said that Ash didn't have the context to make sense of. But he hardly wants to reach out to him directly at this stage, himself. Ash doing it for him is the most convenient, politically.]

[jadedlynx]

Shorter. That's a favorite topic every time I visit Chinatown.

[ Yut Lung knows the complication behind that one. ]

A lot of vague threats. The ways somebody can hide a body without anybody knowing. How he wouldn't tell me if Sing was dead. He offered to set up a meeting with you, but it doesn't sound like he's too chummy with you himself. Wu hosted.

[venemoussnake]

Wu is a neutral enough ground. Probably, all he knows about Shorter is that you killed him. Despite your pet rabbit and mine having the combined IQ of a rabbit's average litter size, it doesn't seem like the darker underpinnings of all of that have spread any further... But, that's a dangerous assumption to assume is still in our favor.

[jadedlynx]

None of them should know. Even the guys from the French legion who know are gone. It's an insult the Chinese like to throw around. It's not the first time I've heard it.

For now, I'm focused on finding Sing.