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

[banananpc]

I'm sure he's making things about him right now. How are you doing?

[jadedlynx]

[ He had, but. ]

I heard you were on the story.

[ So, there isn't much to hide. ]

How far did the drag Michael into it?

[banananpc]

[Her hand slams on a table.]

Can you believe they almost arrested me for doing my job as a journalist and investigating this stuff?! Poor Michael was scared half to death! And you know I'm not as wreckless as Max--when he gets arrested, he really is asking for it!

[jadedlynx]

[ Jessica has a temper, but she's right in that it's well-controlled. She's only as angry as she allows. ]

Yeah? They seemed so polite.

[ He can buy it. ]

How is he holding up now?

[banananpc]

[He can hear a slow, thoughtful exhale through her nose. Ultimately, she decides to be honest with him. He doesn't need to be toyed with right now, even if a lie might be easier for both of them.]

He's... shaken. By what he can understand about what happened to you.

[jadedlynx]

[ Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Michael is losing his childhood over this. He'll trust cops less over this. ]

Does he know it was sexual?

[banananpc]

He did ask that.

[Because of what happened to Ash when he was taken hostage. And she may have tried to dodge, but she knew it best not to outright lie.]

[jadedlynx]

He's a smart kid. He'd have figured it out when the news reported the story.

Think it would help if i talked to him?

[ Ultimately, Jessica does know Michael best. ]

[banananpc]

I'm not sure if it would help him, but he probably would like it... Are you really ready to be talking to somebody else about it and comforting them about it, though?

[jadedlynx]

Yeah, it'll be fine. I like talking to him, too.

[banananpc]

Ash...

[But she relents. Within a few minutes is another voice.]

Ash! You're okay? You can talk now?

[jadedlynx]

[ He uses that time to finish loading the dishwasher. Now, once the call ends, nothing stands between him and the testimony. ]

Hey.

[ Sorry. ]

I can talk. We're both home now. How are you?

[banananpc]

I'm okay... Momma almost got arrested. She was mad and yelling a lot, so... I heard what happened to you.

[jadedlynx]

Some things are worth getting mad over.

[ He isn't going to say the same things to Michael as he would Max or Jessica. The way the world works, and the innocence Michael should have sometimes conflict. Ash'll make the call base on the situation on which one is more important. ]

I had a run-in with some pretty bad people, but I'm away from them now.

[banananpc]

They're people who are supposed to get rid of bad people. Dad's supposed to keep you safe from bad people... Mom was mad you were still with bad people when it started...

[jadedlynx]

Your dad goes through a lot to keep me away from bad people. When they first grabbed him, he managed to get away even though he was still healing. I thought it was impossible so I was sure something bad happened. He's done a lot of things he'll never brag about because he always regrets he couldn't do more.

I went to better people after they realized what was going on. They're going to be punished. When a story this big comes out, it lets guys like them know they're not invincible.

[banananpc]

But it still happens. Even to strong people like you, with strong people like Mom and Dad on your side.

[jadedlynx]

Yeah, sometimes. A lot less than it would if we didn't have strong people.

Are you home right now?

[banananpc]

Uh huh. We're home. Mom says I can study at home until I think I can school... I can't tell anyone else about this. But now I think about teachers and think teachers can do this. The police at the doors who are s'posed to protect us can do this. If something bad happens at school, there's no one who's safe until I get back to Mom.. But I know people can hurt Mom too. And Dad. And even you...

[jadedlynx]

[ Teachers can do it. Michael is right. Some of Ash's tutors were actual teachers and even those who didn't assault him knew they were teaching the victim of a pedophile. ]

It's good that you're taking time away until you're feel better.

[ Ash is glad Michael given that time. ]

And I'm going to sound like those guys who came to your class and talked about stranger danger, but everything I'm saying is based on science and facts, okay?

The people who've hurt me, they're because I didn't have somebody like your mom and dad in my past. My own mom took off, and my old man didn't want to be a dad at all so after my brother passed, I didn't have anybody. These people, they're cowards. They don't want to get in trouble. So, they pick people who they think nobody will care about. They don't pick the kid who has a mother with a shotgun or the dad who'll tear down the school with his hands. They pick the boy or girl who's sitting alone and has to walk home and school or never has anybody show up for a conference.

The people who hurt your mom, the guys who grabbed us, they're tied to that kind of past. The men who did this saw that past and thought they'd be able to do the same thing. They thought nobody would fight for me. That's why what your mom and dad are doing now is important. They're catching the bad guys, but it's more personal. They're telling the world that it's not true anymore. They're watching and if somebody is dumb enough to do this, they're going to make them pay too.

[banananpc]

It sounds like those kinda people are just everywhere. They're where easy targets are, and then they're there to get caught a lot even when there's someone to catch them...

I didn't know that happened to you a lot as a kid... And it just never stopped...

[jadedlynx]

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying even though it's bad enough that even one can make you question everybody, it's not everywhere. It's why when something like this happens, it makes the news. It's a big deal.

I wouldn't tell you a lie to put you in danger just to make you feel better. You're probably one of the safest kids at that school. You stay that way by talking to the people you trust and making sure they stay visible, and I'm pretty sure you couldn't shake your mom off even if you had secret service training.

Until you feel okay again, how about I help with your homework? Your dad kept fighting to get out to get to me so he's under house arrest, but he's still trying to work so it'll give me something to do when he's writing.

[banananpc]

Mm... But, nobody helped you like you're helping me, and nothing happened to me. I wanna help you and Dad and Mom who wanna help you. But I'm just a kid...

[jadedlynx]

I'm getting help. Max spent the first few hours out of jail helping me before working on gathering information. Your mom is helping me a lot. Now, I'm asking you to help me, too. The best thing after being with bad people is being with good people. It might sound like I'm asking to do this to help you, but I'm being a little selfish, too.

[banananpc]

Mm. I know. I like being around you after Mom and Dad fight... So, I wanna help you, too. [He tries to hide his sniffling sound.]