Some people had made comments on how odd it was that Geese lived where he worked – in the tower. But they never thought to understand that it was on separate floors or that he liked it that way. It was the separation he needed. To have everything packed together with no boundaries was too much. And it was a preference he was acutely reminded of while he conducted himself in Canada.

Geese had been invited to a business associate's hunting lodge to discuss a collaboration. They made robotics and could use Geese's knowledge in the realm of protection agencies. Not a bad proposition and it would spread the Howard name to Canada as well.

All in all, Geese should enjoy himself while he was here, but he found himself worrying whenever he was alone. The issue with the gangs lingered in the back of his mind and it frustrated him that progress was slow. But years of practice had taught him to be patient. During his absence, he had employed most of his underlings to investigate but little had come of it.

And now, when he sat here and stared into the blackness of the night, obscuring everything including the nearby lake, he awaited a phone call. His heart rushed a little when his phone finally chimed, and he answered after seeing the name flash across the screen.

"Billy, for the sake of this glass I'm holding, I hope you have good news," Geese reached over to grab the empty glass. He needed something to break in case he was getting another sleepless night.

"Don't break it with your hands, mate. Anyway, I think we got a breakthrough. Every gang, we took out, birthed another one and so far they haven't been talking until now."

Finally. Progress. Geese put the glass down with a pleased hum as Billy continued, "Because of that, no new gang has popped in to take the place of the fallen one. Their numbers are shrinking but on the other hand, they're getting their hands on some intense weapons. I suspect they're hooked with a skilled weapons dealer."

Certainly not Geese but then again, weapons dealing was a lucrative business that attracted many. Including… "Any information on whoever J is?"

Geese had a theory that this elusive J, assuming it wasn't a code for someone who supplied the gangs and crime families. If not outright controlling them.

"No, but we do know that this coalition is led by two heads and a possible third one, White."

Fucking great. Geese didn't consider White to be a considerable threat, but he was an annoying, creepy little piss stain who thought he was hot shit because he knew how to take advantage of weak people. His men had on occasion clashed with Geese's but nothing that was anything of note. It was not surprising to hear that he had banded together with the rest of the coalition. The kid had recourses and he could become a threat in the future.

"That said, he's mainly dormant. I bet he's waiting for the other two to crash and burn so he can avoid the storm afterward," Billy continued.

That wasn't so horrible. That meant focus could be put on the other two heads. An eye needed to be kept on White while they worked, however. Just in case.

"Anything else?" Geese asked, prepared to face the bad news if there was any.

"Rumors of the Neo Black Cats running in the coalition," Billy answered, sounding tired all of a sudden. The news did not surprise Geese, however. Jack Turner and his gang were typical bottom-feeders, willing to latch onto any easy scheme for a quick buck instead of taking the time and learning the skills to get ahead in life.

"Find someone to monitor them. We need concrete evidence of their involvement and where they are in the hierarchy before we rid ourselves of them. Otherwise, continue sniffing out information while you snap the necks of rats" Geese commanded, and the call ended.

For a moment, he considered sending Mai their way but the last thing she needed was to get caught up in more gang violence right now at least. However, if the efforts to gain her favor went according to plan, she'd eventually be fine with engaging in criminality and wouldn't mind getting her hands dirty. But when that day came, this collation would be long dead.

As the clock ticked away towards midnight, Geese stood up and headed for a massive globe that stood by a desk. Each room had been outfitted with its own minibar although he would reckon that some of the other executives at the lodge would benefit from its absence. As for himself, he poured some brandy into his glass and sat back down in his chair to stare at the darkness for a bit.

At midnight, it would be wise to go to bed but until then, he could only sit and stare at the nothingness while mulling over the information given to him.

And then an impulse struck him. He rarely followed them but the innocence of this particular one need beckoned him like a siren's call. Mai was probably fast asleep, so it was not very mindful of him to call her. She however had not called him for half the week he was gone, just quietly filling up the digital calendar. It was synched to Geese's phone, so he was always aware of the changes to his schedule. Still, he placed the call, sitting in quiet anticipation while the phone rang.

It was nearly odd how Geese, a grown man, sat here, almost anxious for a girl down south to pick up her phone. It was almost pathetic. He'd never live that down if Billy was here. Seconds passed as the phone continued to ring and Geese almost figured Mai indeed had gone to bed when a soft, silvery voice answered.

"Hello, who's this?"

"Good evening, Miss Mai. Did you not log my number before I left?" Geese felt his lips curl into a smile involuntarily as relief washed over him. She sounded tired but not on the edge of sleep. She hadn't been resting at this hour yet. Maybe she too preferred the midnight.

"Geese?" she called, a little more aware after a short moment of silence.

"Yes, Mai. It is I," he chuckled, swallowing at the musing hum in his ear. Maybe it was the brandy loosening him up a bit for he was beginning to miss her fluttering about.

"Oh, yes. I filled your calendar and tried to space things out a little, so you didn't get overbooked. Honestly, all those meetings sound like my custom-made hell," Mai groaned a little. Background noise distracted Geese from the call a little; the sound of a television playing some vapid late-night show.

"Oh? Don't say that or I might drag you to the next investor's meet," a devious smirk spread over Geese's face, only widening when a shocked gasp filled his ear. He could already imagine the look of horror on her face.

"You promised to be nice!" her voice livened up again and Geese took this little victory, drinking to it.

"I'm always nice, Miss Mai."

She groaned again on the other end and silence filled the air between them, yet she didn't hang up, just faintly breathing into the receiver. It took Geese to break the silence before it got too awkward.

"I'm just kidding. It was quite nice to hear from you."

"You say that as if we haven't seen each other for a month."

Oh. Geese hadn't even thought of how needy he sounded before now. Suppose he slipped a few faux pas when he was here alone with her, faintly touched by alcohol and moderately relaxed. He sank a bit in his chair, "You have no idea how slowly time passes out there. One day feels like a fortnight."

"Where are you and what are you doing up there anyway?"

"I'm at a hunting lodge for rich people. I spend the days talking about business strategies, establishing connections, and shooting random wildlife. And then everyone gets blasted at night," This business trip was beginning to feel more like a frat house party than anything professional.

"You too?" she asked after a long pause, and she wasn't entirely wrong though Geese was lucid enough to count the fingers on his hand.

"No, Mai. I'm completely sober."

A soft giggle came from her. The first time, Geese had ever heard such a sound come from her. A new impulse struck him again; the sudden need to hear more hearty sounds of hers. Progress, this was. Nothing else. This night was full of it.

"Yet you drunk dialed me. It's half an hour to midnight," Mai said with a faint vocal fry that made her sound tired, yet inviting and warm. It was probably the alcohol in Geese's blood loosening him up more than he was comfortable with that caused subtle heat to spread over his face and his body to react with everything Mai said.

"Yes? But we're both awake and I'm quite bored."

"So you came for me of all people?"

Geese flinched at the sudden question and felt a sudden sense of butterflies spawning in his stomach.

"Because it's you," he shrugged. He figured that he might as well could be honest with her, feeling a slight tug of appeasement when he heard her silently sigh into the receiver.

"Besides, you haven't informed me at all about what goes on."

"Because there's not much to report on. Some lady called Moira did tell me to inform you that she's serviced all your cars," Mai answered, with an audible smile.

Oh. Yes, Moira had mentioned that. She was the self-appointed mechanic of the tower, taking care of all the vehicles and people too whenever they returned from missions that left them injured. If Geese recalled correctly, she did inform him of her plans for the week. No doubt she had latched herself onto Mai now.

"If you ask nicely, Moira will bake you some nice biscuits for the long days in the office."

A strange sound came from her then; it sounded almost like she was getting enticed. As far as Geese knew, Mai was not someone with a sweet tooth although that might change if the days in the office became long enough. Hopefully, she'd get used to it by the time he got back. He finished his brandy and considered pouring himself another glass but refrained from it. It took quite a bit for him to get drunk after all, but he'd like not to get tipsy to the point of saying something ridiculous.

"They sure are long. How can you stand it?" Mai asked. The volume of the television was turned down somewhat and from the sounds of things, she was pacing about.

"Training, Miss Mai."

There was a brief pause before Mai said something that caused Geese's brow to pinch in quiet disagreement, "Am I supposed to call you Mr. Geese or something like that since you always call me Miss? Because if not, it's a bit weird to call me that. It makes me feel worth more than I actually am."

"I'd say you're worth far more than you think you are."

There was another pause that was followed by a deep sigh, "…Why does everyone keep telling that?"

"Because it's true, Miss Mai."

"Oh jeez…Geese," she bemoaned that statement, then giggled at her attempt at witty wordplay. She tended to do that with topics that made her uncomfortable. Geese had come to find it that she liked comments on her appearance – for she took moderate care of it.

Her soul however seemed easily flattered by kind words. One followed the other however and Geese would gladly shower her with the occasional compliment for it brought her closer to him. He could imagine the flush on her lovely face. Making her flustered proved a bit easy, thanks to training over the occasional dinner date. Which were, despite the name, not dates.

A tug of longing began making its way up Geese's stomach. Unfamiliar, alien, sudden. Almost enough to completely eradicate the feeling of alcohol coursing in his blood and the creeping exhaustion. He had not felt like that in years. He was grateful that they were speaking through the phone now. Otherwise, his discomfort would be painfully obvious.

He drew a deep breath and shifted the topic to something more professional. The clock ticked closer to midnight when the topic of the secretary role was broached. The ultimate conclusion was that Mai would remain there until Geese came back and perhaps a little longer. Just to sweeten the deal, he promised her that she could pick the dish when they'd dine together again. Instantly, she settled for okonomiyaki.

The topic of professionalism didn't last long as Mai immediately shared tales of her life in the days that passed. Geese had changed the chair out for the bed, then began pacing about. He had activated the phone's speakers while he prepared for bed, undressing, and brushing his teeth, listening to her talk frivolously about her life and thoughts. Curiously she seemed fascinated by the friendship blossoming between Billy and Joe.

Just to balance the scale a bit, Geese shared individual stories of his time at the lodge. So far, it had been quite the adventurous trip and he feared he needed another suitcase for deer meat and pheasant fillets.

"Is it a business trip or a house party? I'm kinda jealous," Mai asked with a tired laugh and a yawn.

"I guarantee you would not be saying that if you were here. You'd be the only woman for miles."

She hummed in musing thought, then yawned again, "Then I could charm them to give you more money."

Good lord. Sure, that could work but the price would be Mai becoming everyone's calendar girl for a week. She would not get a moment's peace if she set foot in the lodge. They may be businessmen, but a week of typically "manly" activities brought the teenage boys out of them. Geese wasn't immune to this as he began to feel that annoying tug of longing again.

"And earn fifteen marriage proposals. I'm not paying for a wedding, Mai," Geese pinched the bridge of his nose, finally on the bed and ready to call it a day. It was close to midnight, and he was beyond close to being very tired.

"Not even if you were getting married?"

"What, to you?"

The croak that came from Mai was smooth and visceral. Geese was only teasing her, but her reaction made him wonder if she had legit thought about it. If she had not only grown connected to the tower but to him as well. Ugh, he was thinking like a lovesick puppy.

"Mm, Joe did say that leaving South Town for a bit would make me feel better…" Mai was beginning to slur her words, yet she didn't sound like she was ready to end the call yet.

"Alright," Geese sighed, having to blink rapidly against the stinging of exhaustion in his eyes, "I'll remember to pack you in my suitcase when I have the next trip coming up."

"Yay…" she murmured, humming and yawning. Geese chuckled at that elated response. Deep breathing came from the other end, and he figured that she was basically entering sleep.

"Goodnight, Mai," he said, having to cover his face to conceal the graceless yawn that came sneaking up on him.

"Huh?" she groaned at the sound of her name calling back to her. She must have dozed off.

"We're both tired as shit and as much as I love talking to you, we got early rises tomorrow," he explained, his lips curling into a smile.

"You say that – while being the one who called me," she countered and she made a very good point.

"You can always hang up," he answered, and she scoffed.

"That would be rude. I'd rather just listen to you until I sleep. Makes things feel normal," Now that was just adorable.

At points of being so tired, the brain worked in mysterious, illogical ways. For Geese, it caused the longing in his gut to ripple through his entire body. Just for a moment, he wondered what would happen if he just dropped all of his plans for Mai and spontaneously asked her out for a regular date. No doubt, he'd get rejected.

She was doing well now but the topic of her woes was still raw. She was a wounded doe that could easily run off. And Geese had closed his heart to women for many years. Many, long, cold years. Normally he could distance himself from it all just fine but now, it was unusually hard to do so.

"I'll stay with you then," Geese assured her, his stomach jumping a bit. It was as if everything within him; all his emotional and mental guard blocks were beginning to form padlocks that required a special key. One that came in the shape of a ninja girl from Japan.

Then silence.

Musing, mulling silence as Geese sat and listened to Mai's breathing deepen.

"Are you sleeping yet, Mai?" He asked as he lay down. The phone took the unoccupied pillow next to his head.

"…Thank you…" Mai's voice was faint, silvery, and gentle, barely louder than a whisper. Never mind the fact that he just asked her a question and she flat-out ignored it. When he called her name again, there was no answer, only the distant white noise of the television.

Mission accomplished, it seemed. Geese sighed through his nose and hung up; his heart beat a little faster as he thought back to what had just transpired. Something had changed after this.

What was that quote about people being apart from one another?

Seconds later, when Geese had already fallen asleep, the screen of the phone glowed after receiving a text from Mai.

"Sweet dreams" it read.