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

[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.

[venemoussnake]

Control, but also blood. You're trying to go clean. How much do you want to dirty your hands in all of this while living with an innocent man trying to recover and make it as a journalist? He isn't Eiji, but he's hardly in a state to survive that lifestyle any better.

[jadedlynx]

Who knew you could be a comedian. If I turn him over to you, the same amount of blood is on my hands. You're not getting him.

[ Keeping the phone away from Ling's eyes, Ash checks for the update on Shawn's location using the bug.]

[venemoussnake]

[It's probably not a surprise that Shawn is moving through Chinatown.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Not at all.

Soon, they're out of Chinatown and into Ash's territory, but he doesn't head for the bar. Max isn't the only person with multiple hideouts.

It's silent. He urges Ling inside with the gun; it's set up for hostages even if Ash hasn't used it. He never wanted to use it. But, Ling is chained to a metal chair that's bolted to the floor. He has a little arm movement, but it's very little.

Still silent, he retrieves a first aid kit. If the guy hurts either of them, he isn't going to take pity but for now, the better he's treated, the more likely Shawn and Wu will be treated well. Still wordlessly, he presses a painkiller to Wu's lips. ]

[papalobo]

What?

[His lips move but his teeth stay together. He feels he has the right to ask what he's taking, even if Ash can simply shove it down his throat if he's of a mind to. And really, he likely has needles he could use, at his convenience.]

[jadedlynx]

Painkiller. I won't beg you to take it.

[papalobo]

[His mouth opens. He'll take it.

He's comfortable with silence. Eventually, Shawn's bug stops moving, at the center of a shopping arcade that one has to get to on foot for the inroads being too small for a car.]