papalobo | Day 263 - Wednesday, September 10th

[By morning, Max's texts are mostly jibberish but the article he delivers to Peter at 3:30 AM is well polished, especially given in the e-mail and subject body the entire line was off by one or more--- 'yjr stiv;r er ys;lrff snnpiy' for 'The article we talked about' and the body was similarly incoherent.

Everything hurts. He knows Ash would tell him to take a damn sleeping pill already. He knows a lot of things. He knows Ash is tired of his pity party. He knows even if Ash were to tell him something comforting, he wouldn't believe it. But being in this brain-rotted state of sleepless delirium is actually further from consciousness. In sleep, he dreams, and there he is. Right now, there's a state as far from himself, as if his self has decayed, like inebriation, and that's nice enough he decides it calls for some actual inebriation. They've got hard liquor and his publication calls for some, so he's going to toast to himself at sunrise, and let the cats hear him tell them in loud, slurring detail about the time Eiji saved Ash in the sewers, that their Ash is all sewer stinky now again, and that Ash won't come home because he's fantasizing about better times with a better useless sidekick, and also he's probably blowing Blanca to get magical answers, or maybe just because he likes men who can react. At any rate, they should come outside with him he decides, and he will also pour alcohol into shot glasses that he'll set on the ground level for them.

By 8:00, he's Shawn's problem. His texting skills have deteriorated enough to switch to voice.

Shawn puts up with it for about fifteen minutes, but he's got things to do, like wait in the bar for Ash to wake up and see how things have been going.

He is then Jenkins's and Charlie's and even Kent's problem. All of them are surely grateful to Ash for having encouraged him to build and reach out to a friend group a little more.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You do seem to like the company of idiots. Me, the old guy,
don't much like the child prodigy princess....

[ Child prodigy his ass. He wasn't even uniquely evil. If he'd been born without the connection or money, maybe he'd have done well enough, but not on a prodigy level.

He also hurt Shorter and Eiji so Ash isn't generous with his opinions even if they're his real assessments. He's also just not prone to correcting misconceptions if they're not important.

Conversation is easy between them as they're both prone to banter and sarcasm. After lunch, they can play dart or pool as Ash waits for a reply from Wu or contact from Ling. ]

[It's several hours before Wu texts with an address and no context, assuming Ash will know what it means.

But despite trying to be cool and coy, it's just his own home address.]

I'm glad you know how to text, but remember the part where I said it shouldn't be your house?

[So, he'll call.]

[ Stopping their game, Ash sighs. ]

Don't just call after I congratulated you on being able to text.

He said he wouldn't agree to anywhere less neutral than my place. He's also willing to meet with you tomorrow at what is considered his territory, but that's... not very safe, really.

Oh, are you worried he doesn't like me? How painful.

He doesn't believe in phone calls?

I like them.

I'm bringing the guy he wants to meet. He'll want to do it in private, away from me. Have your own security.

I can tell him if you'll agree to meet him in his territory, but...

Yeah, I could just shoot myself in the head for him too, if he wants.

I'll agree to your place with everything I just said in mind.

Where do I get my own security?

You don't have any security? How are you bad at being rich?

I've stayed out of the criminal element because I am very bad at it.

Security isn't just for criminals.

[ But Ling would protest any new faces. Ash doesn't like this at all. ]

Then I'll be the detail. You stick with me. If anything goes down, you down what I say. You don't ask questions, you don't play the hero.

Do I seem like the heroic type?

You seem the kind of guy who'd buy he can be.

What time?

Two in the morning.

We'll be there.

[ Like that, Ash ends the call. They still had just under 12 hours. ]

We're meeting him at 2 tomorrow morning. I'll work on your phone and the bug and then head home for a little bit.

[ But Max will still be in bed. ]

He's a night owl, huh? Prime time for fishy stuffs.

Easier to move bodies at night, dead or alive.

[ He holds out his phone. ]

Try to sleep before then. It's better if you're not too tired.

Everyone! Ash is trying to get me in bed!

[Shawn announces loudly, though when taking the piss out of Ash in his own territory, he makes a show of stepping away and slightly wincing as if expecting violence, showing proper deference when making a public jest. He does know Ash has a reputation. Nobody actually believes he's actually scared, but it is important he shows he knows he's the real butt of his joke rather than The Boss.

This is the same boy who's iron pride wouldn't let him bend even just a little to get out of the corner.]

[ He makes a show of looking pointedly unimpressed before getting to work. He needs to plant the bug on Shawn's phone so that he can track it and head what's happening inside. It was something he'd wanted to do in the beginning, but he also didn't want to ask him to go against the guys he has loyalty to. It was a good way to lose trust.

He could take his nap next to Max. He was least argumentative when sleeping. ]

[He was least anything when sleeping; drugged out, he's motionless enough Ash might be tempted to check his breathing if he does go home to see him. Asher has settled on his chest, unaware of any wound he may be treading on (or not, it's Asher), and Max hasn't stirred for it.]

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jadedlynx - 2023-04-01 23:30 (UTC) - Expand