Day 264 - Thursday, September 11th

[papalobo]

[Max sleeps; has as he'd thought, he achieves nothing, and he's not even a small-talk source of comfort or somebody to soothe Ash's nerves before his two AM meeting with yet another Chinese teenager. Something about Chinese teenagers seems to always spell trouble for Ash, and now he's in a mess involving no less than four of them.

But Max doesn't move. If Ash comes to see him, setting that pill counter and the note about the smoothie, he may notice he hasn't so much as shifted a finger. Ash has had to turn to painting, but there's no need to lock that room before, or even for a long while after. The only one in this house besides him is a breathing corpse.

But Shawn's ready and waiting for him at one, prepared to be decked out a wires that Ling's likely to hang him with if he finds out about them.]

Comments

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash is reasonable enough. He isn't going to stop them from working together to meet his demands. ]

Have you lost control of your own men? Talk to me in English.

[ Damn it, Ash hopes he's wrong. ]

[papalobo]

[The sirens are coming closer. Ling closes his eyes and tilts his head back, a grim smile in place.]

Shouldn't you worry about the police more, right now?

[jadedlynx]

You don't want me to worry about the police right now. If I have to leave here without Shawn and Wu, I'm leaving here with you, and I really don't want to leave here with you. That's why you have about 30 seconds to tell me what's going on before we're going on a trip.

[papalobo]

[His eyes open, watery and bloodshot, pained but still amused; does Ash think the answer he gives is going to change that he's now a hostage?]

Asking you not to kill him is probably too luxurious of me, isn't it? Even though you can't escape bringing us both along...

[jadedlynx]

If I wanted to kill him, he'd be dead. I have my own reasons for not shooting down every enemy I meet, and you mixed that up with being soft. Now, you see I can and will kill, and you're mixing it up again. He could be a witness against me, but I'll beat the case, and I'll make sure you pay for it.

Last chance. Once we're out of here, I'll have my knife instead of my gun, and it's going to be a lot more painful for you if I have a knife instead of a gun. Don't be stupid. I really don't want to take your ass hostage anymore than you want to be taken hostage.

[papalobo]

I don't imagine I can say much that... won't end with me as a hostage.

[He can't help but find the situation darkly amusing.]

[jadedlynx]

[ His gun goes to the man on the floor. ]

Give me your gun. I'll leave a number. I want Wu and Shawn. When you're ready for the trade, call me.

[papalobo]

[The sirens are in the neighborhood. The man hesitates, looking to Ling who only lets out another dry, pained laugh, as if to ask him why he's bothering to get his permission at all; what can he possibly do to him for disobedience worse than what Ash will?

The man reaches for his gun, slowly, seeming to be considering whether he might be able to get one off on Ash, another look at Ling, as if the two are trying to plan something wordlessly.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Another shot. This one lands so close to the man's groin that it might be possible to feel the heat. ]

You can't. Stop wasting my time. I can shoot through both of your hands and make sure you can't pull the trigger. Are you two looking to lose important bodily functions?

[papalobo]

[The larger man clicks his tongue.]

Yidan ni bei dai dao yige anquan de digang, ni jiu jiben chuyu shiqu dui jushi de zhangkong zhungtai...

[But his gun is placed on the ground and pushed towards Ash obligingly.]

That's right. Ni keneg zisha hui geng hao.

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash kicks the gun behind him. It's out of the guy's reach. For now, he backs up, not trusting there isn't a second gun. At the door, he kicks it even further away.

Finally, he calls off the number. ]

Don't mention me. You have 24 hours to make contact before I touch him. If the cops question me, he'll pay for it. If Shawn or Wu are harmed, he'll pay for it.

[ But with that, he turns to run downstairs. He has to get his car out of police sight. ]

If you yell even once, you'll spend the entire ride back with a gun in your mouth, and New York city has a lot of speed bumps.

[ He's a monster. ]

[papalobo]

You're a monster.

[It's said as if remarking on the weather, a natural fact, his blood dripping as he's pulled along.

The lights are flashing, the police already trying to triangulate from the calls in the neighborhood where the sound of gunfire may have come from.]

[jadedlynx]

That makes you the guy who pocked the monster.

[ His car is outside. The gun is a bit more hidden but still trained, he forces Ling into the passenger seat from the driver's side and slides in himself. The gun is out of sight now, pointed at his hostage, as he starts the drive without headlights in the opposite direction. His hoodie stays up; platinum hair can be a pain in the ass.]

[papalobo]

When humans see monsters fight, they can only hope they both perish.

[He obligingly waits until they're in the car to speak, though.]

[jadedlynx]

You took a guy that invited you into his house and then kidnapped a guy who agreed to meet with you for a discussion. Stop acting like you're a victim.

[papalobo]

Is that what this sounds like to you?

[jadedlynx]

A little. You want to tell me why you took Wu out of his own house?

[papalobo]

No. I have twenty four hours before you touch me.

[jadedlynx]

You want me to touch you? I don't need you to be a masochist on top of everything else.

[papalobo]

[He raises a brow at that.]

I mean: I'm safe and have no need to provide information to keep you off of me, until then.

Does your mind always go right to the perverse?

[jadedlynx]

It was sarcasm. Don't have that a lot in Chicago?

[papalobo]

I've yet to see.

[jadedlynx]

Today won't be the day you see, either.

[ He can turn on his lights as they get a bit further in town. As they stop at a red light, he risks sending a text to Yut Lung. ]

A meeting with Ling went south. He has Wu and Shawn. I have him. Cops were called to Wu's house.

[venemoussnake]

You can bring him here. You don't plan to hold him at your place, do you?

[Yut Lung is a night owl, it seems.]

[jadedlynx]

I do. I'm not stupid. The second I get there, control goes out of my hands. Do what you can about the cops. I'll dig through his phones to check for information on Sing.