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 knows why this guy isn't the brains of the operation. There are no backrooms without fronts. ]

It happened before 2 this morning.

[papalobo]

Then you should find him fast. You know the 24-hour rule and all.

[jadedlynx]

[ He slides the hood back over his head as he moves by the guy. ]

That's the plan.

[papalobo]

If anything bad happens, I'm telling everyone you were here.

[jadedlynx]

If anything bad happens, keep looking for Wu. They'll try to pin it on me. They'll use my reputation. It'll work for a lot of people, but it'll be a decoy. Look at the same people pointing the finger. If getting him back is more important than hating me, don't accept their explanation.

[papalobo]

Sounds like bullshit, but you're not here with an army right now, I guess.

[jadedlynx]

I'm not asking you to do anything for me. Just keep looking for Wu.

[papalobo]

Don't pull anything fishy out here. I dunno who I'd report you to anymore, but.

[jadedlynx]

[ He became a monster, and he's still losing. At least being a monster had always been a means to an end, but what happens when it's not enough?

He's gotten weak. He should have traded Ling.

Instead, he's heading toward the shopping center itself. ]

[papalobo]

[ He earns quite a few stares, skeptical old women preparing for the day hesitating to step out when he walks through.

He is a monster, after all.

Although, with his hood up, it's only the particularly perceptive ones, those who notice someone trying to be inconspicuous. Others still go about beginning their day.]

[jadedlynx]

[ It's akin to suicide, he knows. It'll make them move the men, he knows. The smartest move would be the long con. The smartest move would be trading Ling to Yut Lung. He'd over-gambled Ling's worth to them. So, who did they actually work for?

The shopping center has to eventually come into sight. ]

[papalobo]

[The shopping center is a tight set of pathways more like alleyways with colorful shopfronts with little to no English, and the open sounds of people moving in their houses that double as their stores, with thin walls and doors, multi-generational families crushed in close quarters together.]

[jadedlynx]

[ They stopped in one place for a long time. Ash tries to overly the map with the shops he sees around him.

They'll probably be looking for him. ]

[papalobo]

[The fact that he has a destination helps him blend in, as if he knows where he's going; he can find the building, which looks to be a three story building, with either a front entrance which requires going through the front entrance--it appears to be a home where an elderly woman in the same clothing as the one who had dropped off the phone is rolling out egg roll wrappers--or slip through a tight squeeze between that building and the neighboring one to see if there's a fire escape or other entrance.]

[jadedlynx]

[ As if he needs to add 'beating up an old woman' to his list of sins today. Ash is going to hope for a back entrance.

And Max says there's no reason to stay so skinny. He can fit through tight spots. ]

[papalobo]

[In back, there'a winding set of fireescapes clearly not up to code, which is made of one rickety interconnected set between all of the buildings there. That includes up to every floor above ground level, though.]

[jadedlynx]

[ If he dies by out of date fire escapes...

But Shawn should be here. It's going to be slow. Maybe he'll luck out and Shawn will be sitting all tied up in front of the window.

Time to get started. Instead of looking into the window, he'll use his phone to take a photo of what's inside if a window shouldn't have curtains. He'll have to make use of the rooms that do and come back. ]

[papalobo]

[Not only are most windows not curtained, most are even open; it's summer, and many can't afford AC, so whatever breeze they can get is welcomed. For that reason, relegating the fire escape room instead to a kitchen or laundry room rather than a bedroom is popular.]

[jadedlynx]

[ And he's on a fire escape that threatens to yell out if he moves too quickly.

With open windows, he can listen before risking the photo. At the very least, he did hear the men talking. ]

[papalobo]

[The lynx must move with grace; the rusted, rickety structure threatens to yell at a soft breeze. It's noisy by the windows, with Chinese chatter of women and children, TVs, radios. But as he gets closer to where the bug had lingered before, there are adult male voices. That's not necessarily unique, but they are what he's looking for.

The window is open by what looks like a washroom. There's no formal bathtub there, just a large tin washbasin, which has brownish water and bloodstains on it. There's a rusted sink and a toilet without a seat, and quite a lot of packaged trash, from pill bottles to plastic containers to needle caps and probably needles.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Found you, assholes.

They've been up all night. They'll need to sleep soon. It's still darkish so Ash does have some cover.

Sitting on his hunches, he starts his translator app. It won't be perfect for the distance, but maybe he'll get some idea of what's being said. He'll also try to discern how many men are inside. ]

[papalobo]

[At first, for a stretch of three minutes, it sounds like one. He's likely on the phone. The translator app can't pick up much of it; it spits out guesses, but none are very reliable, aside from mentioning cats, dragons, and dogs without much context it can pick out. It suggests talk of morning and disasters. But the man doesn't sound angry or panicked.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Three minutes isn't enough to make a decision. He'll wait 15 to make the call. ]

[papalobo]

[The translator can pick up something: "He lied about not speaking Chinese."

For the first ten or so it sounds entirely like only one person is there. Then eventually, there's another: familiar, slurred, as if drunk, but still saucy.]

I'm gonna brag at home I'm worth more than a Ling. Which would mean something if anyone knew what a Ling was.

[jadedlynx]

[ Shawn.

One person down.

Ash is still silent as he comes into the window. He needs to figure out where the man is in in the apartment. ]