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

[jadedlynx]

You can't know that's not true for the other guys.

[papalobo]

Maybe it is. But even if they're good guys with good reasons, I'll be a bad guy and do it just 'cause I'm mad. I ain't a saint like you.

[jadedlynx]

You have to get why it's so ridiculous to call me a saint when I'm telling you what I did.

[papalobo]

Tons of saints cut dicks, the whole circumcision thing kept going even after they stopped being Jews. ---Do Jews got saints? That's just the Catholics who got saints, right?

[jadedlynx]

I was torturing a guy, not trying to save his soul.

[papalobo]

You were going out your way not to kill him. If you got hurt again in all this, I'd storm your base, ask your boys where he was, and kill him myself.

[jadedlynx]

[ Max really would excuse everything he's done, wouldn't he?

He's not going to react well to the news. ]

[papalobo]

Listen. You feel bad about it. But you'd be a worse person if you were afraid to get your hands dirty to save someone, just 'cause you couldn't make those hard decisions.

[jadedlynx]

You can't really buy I'm a better person for being willing to torture somebody.

[papalobo]

Alternative is people die. Refusing to torture someone's just keeping your own hands clean so you can feel good about yourself.

You never feel good about yourself, so not a problem for you, small sacrifice, but.

[jadedlynx]

It's annoying that they took Wu.

[ Looking out the window, he leans further back into the seat. ]

They kept him alive because of how important he is to Chinatown, but taking him at all shows they planned to push their way through.

[ He wouldn't have had to torture if it'd just been Shawn. ]

[papalobo]

What'd be worse? Letting the old guy stay in their hands, or torturing a guy who was part of it? What's the best thing the best person could do in this situation, huh?

[jadedlynx]

What would you do?

[ Eiji probably could have connected and understood him enough to get the guy to talk without violence. ]

[papalobo]

Tried punching him in the face and breaking his toes 'n fingers.

[jadedlynx]

Somebody better with people would've had a chance to convince him to flip. His family was obviously using him. His guys left him, wouldn't even trade him for Shawn.

[papalobo]

[Somebody better. It's not hard to know who that is.

That somebody better is now somebody better than him, specifically, too.

Well, not that he has an argument to it.]

Guess you found that, too.

[jadedlynx]

Found what?

[papalobo]

[Then, no? His surprise fades back to annoyance.]

When'd he ever do that, talk anyone to your side? Actually give you a better answer, huh?

[jadedlynx]

I was thinking about somebody like Eiji. Blanca's the guy who taught me how to torture.

[ Ash isn't under any illusions regarding Blanca's morality. ]

[papalobo]

Eiji's who I'm talking about! Why the hell would I expect that guy to ever do a single fucking good thing for you outside a bedroom!

[jadedlynx]

[ Max thinks about him often enough... ]

You know what kind of help Eiji is.

[papalobo]

So stop talking like he'd do anything if he was here besides hug you! You'd still be the one who had to save everyone!

[jadedlynx]

Eiji did more than give out hugs!

[ Apparently, Max doesn't know. ]

[papalobo]

I know, I know! I know that! He's the one who saved you at Golzine's place that time! But that was with Sing and them! That was with guns! That was with violence and hurting people! With un-Eiji stuff!

[jadedlynx]

It was also with Dino! He was past being talked into anything!