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]

And you're not being tortured by their them.

[ It's a big win. ]

I'll send you the address after we hang up.

[ He can't say too much more with Shawn right there. ]

[papalobo]

Guess I'll hang up, then.

[jadedlynx]

Yeah. Talk to you soon.

[ The call ends. Max was told to expect a text message. He probably doesn't expect two. The second is directions to the safe house. The first are three words that could have been easily said on the phone, but maybe Max gets that they're too real for him to say easily in front of Shawn.

I missed you. ]

They don't have Max after all. The guy can't make it upstairs, but he really did escape police custody. For now, let's find a cheap motel out here and rest up. We'll move in when you're in better condition. My face stands out too much so I'll need you to do most of the prep.

[papalobo]

The lack of rush. It's 'cause he's okay, huh?

[Shawn grins knowingly, watching him text as if he could read it from the passenger's seat.]

You liiiiike me.

[jadedlynx]

Wu and Sing are still missing, but they don't have Sing. Wu is in a fancy hotel so I have to be smarter about getting inside.

[ As if he's going to be sappy. That, combined with Max's text, has him all but huff when he looks back out the window. ]

[papalobo]

Anyone they don't know in your gang? Could send 'em in as a hotel worker looking person, try to get info from the staff, from the ledger, from snooping around. If they don't try to confront anyone directly, should be safe enough.

[jadedlynx]

That depends on what we see in the hotel, but most workers are probably Chinese. One of my guys will stand out too much.

[papalobo]

You do got one of the rare interracial gangs out here, but I bet they know all your Asians...

[jadedlynx]

The number isn't zero, but I don't have so many Chinese guys that they'd be hard to spot. I'm good enough with makeup to change their appearance a little, but we might not need them.

[papalobo]

[Chin in hand, Shawn stares. Evenly.

This Ash guy. Even Shawn can tell he's a little shaken. And he hasn't known him that long.

He's not someone who should be any good at this life. He's got a natural softness. Like Sing.

But it's been beaten out of him, hasn't it? And instead of breaking, he became impossibly good at it. Against his will.

Good enough now to avoid the things he should be good at to thrive, things like hurting others, things like sacrificing others. Instead, he becomes so good at taking on pain himself, he can usually avoid it.]

Let's get you a snack and a nap.

[He doesn't know who Shorter Wong is. But somehow, being liked to him to hurt this guy pisses him off. As if this guy who can't risk his own pawns would kill someone easily. He'll go through this much over Shawn, who isn't Shorter. Probably, Shorter was used to try to break him, too.]

[jadedlynx]

[ It sounds so out of place against their plans of subterfuge and assault that Ash laughs. Maybe he's also just that relieved that Max is okay, too. ]

Sure thing, Mom.

[ Then, more seriously: ]

The cheap hotel will allow us to get a couple of hours of sleep at least.

[papalobo]

I'm sure I still got some drugs in me to sweat and sleep and shit out. There a reason we're hoteling instead of your base, though?

[jadedlynx]

The cops are looking for me. They're blaming me for Wu's disappearance, and now Yut Lung's place got bombed. Apparently, I did that too.

[papalobo]

You've been busy. No wonder you wanna rest.

[jadedlynx]

Max doesn't want to get another dealer so I have to be rested enough to cover your ass, too.

[papalobo]

Well, yeah, imagine havin' to ask multiple people for boner pills.

[jadedlynx]

I'll leave that image to you.

[ Ash lays his head back, eyes closed, but he's not sleeping. It's just been a while since he has. ]

[papalobo]

[Shawn snorts but falls quiet, letting Ash have that rest.]

[jadedlynx]

[ A cheap motel. He can trust Shawn to find one and beyond the two words, he doesn't have a preference. He just needs sleep. Ash keeps his eyes closed. ]

[papalobo]

[He finds one, keeping it relatively in-town, though the traffic is heavy, and there are swarms of police. It's probably good Ash isn't in the driver's seat.

He'll get a single bed room when they pull up, rather than risk anyone thinking about who his second is.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash waits until he's back before following behind, hood up. Sometimes, being this blond is a pain. He'll have to get a wig if he doesn't want to stand out like a sore thumb.

Inside, he all but falls into the bed. The singles are Queens, usually, so it doesn't matter if they have to share. He's taking a nap. He does remember to set his alarm for a couple of hours. ]

[papalobo]

[Shawn ends up snoring an hour in. When he awakens to check his phone, many roadways have been closed; the city is largely on lockdown after the terrorist attack. No news on Yut Lung's status is yet available.]

[jadedlynx]

[ He frowns at his phone. But, admittedly, he didn't know where Max was hiding, and he possibly had a difficult time moving around town.

Allowing Shawn to sleep, Ash does some online shopping before waking him to do the pick up. ]

[papalobo]

[Shawn wakes up and is obliging enough to do any shopping runs he's sent on. He's not enough of a known figure to the police to be in much danger.


The news is 24/7 coverage wondering about the international implications of the bombing. Politicians are already discussing war, seeing it as retaliation on the Chinese-American congolomerate for their allying with the US to find those responsible for the earlier attempts. Others are calling for gun control. Others still are calling attention to how foreign agents are pouring in and taking advantage of disenfranchised youth, referring to the Lynx gang's presumed involvement, ties to local small time gang territory disputes.]

[jadedlynx]

[ And still no Max.

Shawn's also supposed to bring back food. Ash does need to eat. He's smart enough to ask for soup to make it easier.

He'll follow the news as he waits for Shawn's return. ]