Day 265 - Friday, September 12th

[papalobo]

[A Chinese man who is definitely a mature adult and not a teenager checks in to the Hyatt, one of their more exclusive rooms, along with his half-white half brother who is also certainly not a teenager and most definitely not the notorious gang leader wanted on suspicion of a September 11th New York City bombing in retaliation for an angry rogue sect of anti-American zealots.

The entire suite floor has been rented out, and it requires a special key card in the elevator and on the stairs to enter that floor. But they can rent one of the still very luxe rooms directly beneath.

A familiar white limo is in the car garage, though the opportunity to gawk or investigate is slim, between the security cameras and live guards.

There's still no contact from Max, but the Department of Homeland Security has become involved, and has begun to enter Ash's territory with intent to arrest any known figures within his gang to bring in for questioning.]

Day 284, Wednesday, Oct 1st

Comments

[papalobo]

I got caught on the run...

[jadedlynx]

I'd have been pretty pissed if you'd decided you were tired and gave up.

[ He leans against the bars. Ash supposes it's the best time to be honest with Max; what's he going to do, squeeze through and smack him on the head? ]

It would have taken me too long to get into the room where they were holding Mr. Wu.

[ Mr. Ash isn't sure they aren't listening. ]

Giving them the address wasn't enough, I had to make them willing to look. It was a trade.

[papalobo]

Guess it's what you had to do to save him. You really can't let anyone go.

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash blinks. No lecture about not sacrificing himself? No comment calling him an idiot for thinking too lowly of himself? For a moment, he can't even joke. ]

Huh... Yeah... He was with dangerous people.

[papalobo]

[None of the above. Leaning against the bars, fatigue showing a little more now that his brain is registering that Ash is here, Ash is fine, he continues to stare at him. He'd missed him. He'd worried about him. The fact that he can make Ash take a compliment on being a good person is just icing on the cake.]

Hmm...

[jadedlynx]

You're really okay?

[papalobo]

'Course I am. Prison's not a daily fight for my asshole like it is for you.

[jadedlynx]

You were kept with other people?

[ As assumes Max was as 'isolated' as he'd been. ]

[papalobo]

No. Mostly solitary, besides some questioning. Guess it's the same for you, huh?

[jadedlynx]

[ Besides some 'questioning', yeah.

He nods. ]

I guess that's the special treatment from homeland security.

[papalobo]

Guessing you didn't see it like a nice vacation or nothing, though.

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash hopes Max doesn't remember that question later. He can't know why it's ridiculous, but he isn't always logical. ]

A small room with nothing to do and bad food? Not really, no.

[papalobo]

No class. No calls. No business. No me and my shit. Honestly, a part of me thought when I got taken in, bein' out of your way for a while'd be a relief on some level...

[jadedlynx]

A part of you's pretty brain-dead right now.

[ It's a stupid assumption. ]

[papalobo]

What good's my brain being alive done for me the last week? Of course it'll die.

[jadedlynx]

It was already being pretty stupid even before you got put back in here. There's no way it'd have thought that kind of dumb thing before.

[papalobo]

Guess this'll be a semester down the tubes for you in school, too.

[jadedlynx]

Maybe. It depends on how understanding the teachers are. I don't know the policy when a student is suspect of domestic terrorism, but I can do the homework.

[papalobo]

Whole point was the social thing.

[jadedlynx]

For you.

[ Ash had other reasons. ]

But that's something to talk about at home.

[papalobo]

What was it about to you?

[jadedlynx]

Private.

[ Like he said, it's a conversation to have at home. Strangers don't need to know his personal feelings. ]

[papalobo]

[He falls silent with another sigh. He can see Ash. Ash is fine.

He shouldn't feel so on edge and impatient, then. Just a few more hours.]

[jadedlynx]

Everybody made it out alive. All of us

[ Sing was found, too. ]

It went better than I thought it would.

[papalobo]

Is it over?