Previously on TLA;
Showing nascent signs of an unknown power, Phantom was forcibly escorted by Musume to learn control in an overnight training session deep within the an empty mountain pass.
Having taken in her old school friend fallen on hard times, Luna was disappointed to find Patty Ortiz having snuck out in the middle of the night. In a twist of fate, Patty would found herself surrounded by the same group who would later go onto abduct Blister against his will.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Yliaster's assassin has grown stone cold.
Regardless of how expensive and exclusive the penthouse was, the living area was a large space and heating it took a while. That, and the nightly inhabitants usually turned the heating off during the nocturnal hours. Luna wondered as she huddled around the warmth of her morning cup with a blanket draped over her shoulders, if it was the one item they managed to agree on.
Her reverie was broken as Jaden stumbled blearily down the stairs. "Morning." His chipper attitude shone through regardless of the early hour.
"Hnnn." Luna groaned as he helped himself to powder from a tin and water from the kettle.
Coffee in hand, Jaden joined her by the glass divide. "Is it normally this cold?" The seasons were slowly turning and a chill was starting to make itself present in the mornings as they did. Whilst insulating as they could be, the glass panels were unable to prevent all heat from leaving.
"Get in." Shuffling blearily to his side, Luna threw half her shawl around his shoulders and huddled close to keep the warmth from ebbing out. "Guatemalan?" She gestured to his mug.
"Coffee." He noticed the matching colour in her cup. "What's Guatemalan?" Jaden asked with a hint of worry.
Luna glanced in the reflection to the spectre slapping herself in the face. "Guatemala is a country in Central America - the ropey bit between the two big bits." Recognition struck with a gentle 'ah'. "A lot of nice coffee is produced there. We've got a few varieties around in case Jack stops by."
"Isn't he some Pro who travels, are you alright?" Luna had to pass her coffee over as she coughed hard enough to drop the shawl. Zen Jack was a powerful influence on Leo's idol but the tall blonde would be frothing at the mouth if he'd heard an actual King of Games (he was disputing Yusei's win until he had a chance to personally settle the score) refer to him as merely 'some Pro'.
"Yeah," She laughed so hard that tucking back in was nearly impossible. "Inside joke." Luna forced herself down to a quiet giggle. "Jack buys everyone coffee, I think he even gets paid in it sometimes. We've all got so much that he's guaranteed to have a stock whenever he drops by."
"Aaah, cleveerrr." Jaden sighed admiringly. "Do you think I could do the same with snacks?"
"No, he's genuinely asking." Yubel could sense the rolled eyes. "Keep an eye on the sofa, he always forgets that he's hidden bags of sweets behind the cushions."
"The cushions!" Jaden exclaimed happily. "I knew I put my bonbons somewhere!"
Their peaceful moment was ruined by the penthouse door slamming open. Most violent intruders would be in more danger from Yubel but the one storming through the doors had wings of her own and a scowl even deeper.
"Morning." Thunder rumbled in her growl and lightning flashed in her gaze.
"Morning!" Jaden waved cheerfully.
"Are… are you just getting in?" Luna was more alarmed that Musume appeared to be dragging a body in one hand. "Where have you been all night?"
"Can't we talk about it after I've had some sleep?" Every now and again, there were these glimpses of the real girl beneath the anger and the trauma and the mystical Marks. And this one showed a very tired and worn-out young woman trudging towards the stairs.
"And what were you doing all night?" Yubel stared down the limp figure banging up the staircase.
Making candles explode. She groaned wearily as her head thunked against another step.
All three watched patiently until the door clicked shut. "Did that count as a kidnapping?" Jaden was so confused by the dynamics that he wasn't sure.
"Noooo," Luna said carefully. "Can't be." Phantom wasn't stable enough to be held captive and Musume wasn't interested enough to bother.
"Okay." He responded cheerfully. If Luna said so, that was good enough for him. "Can I borrow you today? I've had an idea."
"Jaden, if I get dressed and you've hidden sweets inside all the cushions," She took a long, slow sip of her coffee. "Yubel and I are going to have words." If only because they both knew the suffering of having to listen to his half-baked (but well-intentioned) plans.
Jaden shuffled unconvincingly. "Nothing like that." Luna made a mental note to check the cushions for contraband at a later date. "Like, Yusei's got all Yugi's friends helping him, and Yugi has all mine helping him,"
"And you got all of us here to help you." Luna reminded him.
"Well, yeah," He shifted uneasily. "But Yugi and Yusei have to figure out who's trying to kill the King of Games. 'Cept Yus has that IRC thing meaning that anyone who would be coming for him would have to be real sneaky about getting to him."
"I don't see the problem." Luna looked back over the city as she tucked the knitted cover tighter around her shoulders. The ICC watching them for any criminal activity had the benefit of keeping an extra layer of protection around the group from nefarious forces.
"Luna," Jaden tried to be firm. "There's so little for me to do around here that planning for a movie night has been the most productive thing I've done since I got here."
"But you have to admit," She slyly glanced to one side. "It was also the most action you've seen since you got here."
"Don't remind me." His arm brushed against her as he checked the lumps on his ribs. Akiza had suspected at least one crack and acted accordingly.
"Okay then," She sighed. "What's your idea?"
"Can we go out first?" For a warrior seeking battle, he was noticeably nervous. "I'd rather not let the others get involved. Musume is… intense, and Phantom reminds me of Yubel when I was young."
"In what way?" Luna had been given a relatively sanitised version of his childhood and didn't see a problem.
"Yes, Jaden." Yubel, however, knew exactly what she had done and wasn't keen for another such presence in his life. "In what way?"
Half an hour of preparation (and an hour of grovelling) later, Jaden finally joined Luna down in the lobby. "Sorry that I took so long," He returned to grovelling. "I was," Yubel loomed tormentuously over him. "Getting ready?"
"Don't worry," Luna sent a knowing smile to his companion as she tucked her phone away. "So was I."
"Yeah," Jaden laughed in relief as he looked her over. Sensible cashmere jumper, comfortable shorts, and a casual cap to complete the ensemble. "You always dress so nice."
"Thank you." She tucked a strand of hair behind an ear. "And you always dress so," Luna looked over his outfit - same trousers, shoes, jacket, rotating array of identical shirts. "Efficiently."
"Life on the road." Jade smiled and fell into step as they proceeded down the street. "Got space in the sack for a few changes of clothes and a sleeping bag. Everything else has to get left behind or bought new."
"Sounds lonely." She said wistfully. Her version of travelling was very different from his. Misty had apartments in every major city on the planet and could rent rooms in any hotel with a snap of her manicured fingers. Maybe it lacked a certain stability but she was never wanting.
"It gets rough sometimes." He admitted. "But I've got Yubel, and Pharaoh with me. Meet a lot of interesting people as well. I think that not having a lot of stuff helps - I have to ask for help a lot more that way. One time," He broke into laughter. "One time, I was lost in Sweden and this German granny comes up to me to ask me something."
"I didn't know you spoke German." She smiled at the driver and swiped her card as they piled onto the bus.
"I don't." He admitted with a laugh as he leaned against a handrail. "So, this uncle comes up, speaking Finnish but I don't speak Finnish either and he pulls us into a tiny Norwegian butcher shop because the butcher can translate into French. I'm not great with French but I know enough to get by. There we all are, crowded into a tiny corner by the counter as granny talks in German, the uncle translates it into Finnish, the butcher translates it into French, and I'm standing there, listening to them all shouting at each other and trying to figure out what is going on."
"And?" Luna prompted. "What did she want?'
"To say I had a nice cat following me around and could she pet him."
There's usually at least one crazy person on the bus but rarely was it a pair of attractive young people wheezing with laughter.
"Okay then," Luna sighed. "We're probably safe enough here for your idea." Of the eavesdroppers back home, only one could possibly hear this far and Phantom still owed Jaden more than a simple apology.
"Right," They braced against each other as the bus took a corner. "Anyone wanting to get past your security and the ICC and the police would have to be pretty sneaky. They probably can't avoid all the cameras but maybe they can blend in or something. Like," He dredged deep into his knowledge of spy films. "Maybe they dress up as a delivery driver and shoot through the clipboard?"
"Of course." Luna said gravely.
Jaden chuckled, knowing it was a silly example. "We can't keep an eye out all of the time." He promised. "Even Phantom needs a dip in the pool at lunch and Musume wants to start living at Yusei's place half the time. I was thinking we could ask Duel Spirits to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. There's usually plenty around parks and stuff and larger areas mean it will be easier to spot anyone trying to get close." Luna stared at him silently. "What?"
"That's a brilliant idea." Her face screwed up slightly. "And you still managed to lose your bonbons in the couch?"
"I like to think that Jaden is adept at improvisation." Yubel ducked through the bus door as they disembarked. "It is his long-term planning that needs work."
"Hey, I can do planning!" Jaden swiped at the air before Luna hurriedly restrained his arms. "I've got a career path and everything!"
"And how's that working out for you?" Yubel taunted as they entered the park.
"Fine!" He snapped as Luna clutched his arm to keep from drawing attention. "I've done my bit hunting down the Rare Hunters and now I'm going to teach at Duel Academy!"
"And yet, here you are in the future making a bit of a scene!" Luna hissed.
"I…!" He began indignantly. "Am taking the scenic route?"
Luna rolled her eyes and dragged him deeper along the 'scenic route'. Much like Jaden had said, the park was broad enough that staying out of sight was impossible and there were plenty of Spirits idly floating here and there. As they approached a small pond, she was starting to admit that his habit of speaking to every Spirit that drifted near would be putting out a call far and wide to look in on the Signers (if only to see what the fuss was about).
"I'm telling her you said that." Yubel suddenly growled.
"What?" Luna mentally rewound and tried to figure out if she'd missed a conversation.
"Don't, please!" Jaden begged.
"Tell me what?" Luna stopped dead ahead of them and planted both hands on her hips.
Jaden sighed and tried not to notice the pleasure Yubel was feeling at feeling his discomfort. "I told Yubel you were doing the face everyone does when they realise I'm actually smart."
"Jaden," Luna automatically stepped forward and put a calming hand on his shoulder - too much time with Leo's erratic self-esteem had ingrained the habit into her. "We all know that you're smart. The problem is, that you struggle with focusing on the bigger picture without someone to keep you grounded. Your mind," Was clearly elsewhere as he stared over her shoulder. "Hey!" She shook his shoulder lightly.
"That kid over there's crying." He muttered, scanning the surrounding crowd.
"What?" Luna turned to see a sniffling boy shyly wandering along the path. Plenty of people were walking at a similar pace each way and all of them seemed to assume that the kid belonged to someone else. "We should," She turned to grasp an empty hand.
"Heya!" Jaden was cheerfully crouching down beside the kid before Luna had even turned back around. "You look lost - do you need someone to help you?"
The boy sniffled and toyed with the hem of his shirt as he nodded.
"This is my friend, Luna," Jaden waved her over and held her hand to show that she wasn't any stranger than he was. "Luna, this is my friend," He paused and leaned dramatically behind a palm. "Don't tell her that I've forgotten your name. Can you remind me?"
"S-Sota!" The kid wailed.
"Really?" Jaden burst into a wide grin. "I'm a Sota too! See?" He pulled out the fake ID Blister had made for him.
"Don't tell anybody," Luna stage-whispered. "But we had to write it down for him because he keeps forgetting."
"I do not!"
"Really?" She smiled conspiratorially at the calming child. "Can you tell me your last name?"
"Of course I can. It's…" He froze. "Oh, what's that, very interesting." He mumbled while pointing skyward to detract from the desperate check of his ID card. "Tanako."
"Tanaka." Luna wearily corrected as she rolled her eyes at the now giggling child. "See? You're already doing better than Big Sota."
"I'm still doing better!" Jaden protested. "Little Sota hasn't gotten his surname right yet."
"Hmmm." Luna mused. "But he only has to get it right the first time." She glanced hopefully at the much calmer child. "Can you tell us your surname?"
Sota's face screwed up in concentration. "Hishizu?"
"Ding-ding-ding!" Jaden did fingerguns. "We have a winner!"
"Yeah, but it's not you." Luna sighed. "Do you know what he had for breakfast the other day?" All children knew the look of a guilty party - it was usually their own. "Cake."
"You had cake for breakfast!" Awe spread across the tiny face.
"Two cakes." Jaden corrected proudly.
"Mmm. And what happened when my friend noticed you'd eaten her cakes for breakfast?"
"She made us go running." He caught the glare of justice and completed the story. "Chased us down the street until we fell over."
"Did you eat cake for breakfast as well?" Like all children, Sota had honed in on the small words that told the big story.
"No, but my brother did." Luna had conflicted emotions about the question: irritation that she looked so irresponsible enough to eat cake for breakfast or cool enough that Sota thought she could.
"Mommy never lets me have cake for breakfast." He pouted and scuffed the floor with his shoe. Luna took a look at the footwear and forced her tone to remain calm.
"Can you tell us your mommy's name?" Please let him have heard an adult say it.
"Emmnica?" Sota tried.
"Emica?" Jaden hazarded.
"Yah!" Sota gasped in amazement. "How did you guess? You're so cool!"
"Well," Jaden dramatically flicked his hair back. "I am a genius."
"Uh-huh?" Luna stretched upright. "I need to use my phone for a second. Sota, you're in charge of my Sota until I get back."
"Huh?" Jaden seemed genuinely confused. "Why is he in charge?"
"Because he got the names right." She smirked and stepped a few feet away. "Mina, hi!" Luna tried to keep in touch with all her friends but life had a way of getting in the way. "Can you do me a favour?"
Across the city, Mina glared at her handset. "You sound like Crow." Trudge glanced up from his Sisyphean mountain of paperwork. "Don't look hopeful," She snapped. "How many have you processed?"
"About two thousand." He admitted.
"Then only 'about' nine hundred and ninety-eight thousand to go." The Chief of Special Investigations glared the Vice-Chief into submission before turning back to her call. "How big a favour do you need? Nothing involving Yusei, right?"
"I'd never put you in that position." She said firmly. Not while they still had any other options left. "Got a lost kid here, name of Sota Hishizu, says his mother's name is Emica. Anything you can do?"
"Give me a sec," Settling the phone against her shoulder, she looked up the names. Technically, this was out of her department and shouldn't have happened without an official report but that would mean child services had to get involved and Mina knew how slow police bureaucracy could be - she only had to glance across the tiny office. "Got a couple of hundred hits. How old did you say the kid was?"
"Sota?" Luna knelt beside the enraptured child. Jaden was resolutely destroying his young protégé at ro-sham-bo. "Can you tell me how old you are?"
"This many!" He said proudly while holding out a full hand. "Wait," With a pudgy digit, he carefully counted his fingers. "This many!" An extra finger was stuck to the side of his hand.
"Nooo!" Jaden cried to the heavens. "The legendary Super Paper!"
"Six." Luna left a part of her sanity in the mess as she stepped away again.
"Okay, that narrows it down to twenty." Luna listened to the clack of keyboard keys and a shallow intake of breath. "Looks like we have a winner."
"Really?" She was surprised. "That was easy."
"Not as much as you'd think," Mina muttered darkly. "Is it okay if I patch her in?"
"Absolutely!" She wanted nothing more than to reassure Sora's mother.
There was an odd echo to the dial tone as Luna watched the pair aggressively flex muscles. "Hello?"
"Mrs Hishizu? This is Chief Simmington with the Special Investigations Department. You're speaking with me and a colleague. Are you in a safe location?"
"What is this about?" She sounded understandably nervous to hear from a police chief.
"Mrs Hishizu, your son Sota was found unattended in a park a little while ago. My colleague is with him now b"
"Sota!" Luna wrenched her phone away as the woman began screaming and blubbering in panic.
"I think I'd best put him on." She managed to hear Mina agree over the din and passed the handset over to Sota.
After everyone had managed to get past the worst of the tears (Jaden being an empathetic soul) Sota held out a significantly stickier handset. "Mummy wants to talk to you again."
Gingerly holding the phone nearish her ear, Luna promised it a thorough cleaning that evening. "Hello?"
"Chief Simmington has sent a car to pick me up." Emica sounded hoarse but disturbingly unsurprised by the panic. "I should be with you in the next half hour."
"That's good to hear." Luna was relieved. "Is there anything Sota's not allowed to eat? Any food or drink allergies?"
"Oh, please, you don't have to do that!" Emica sounded aghast at the suggestion.
"Trust me, it's no trouble." She watched the two new best friends pulling faces at each other. "Your Sota is about two minutes away from convincing mine to get their faces painted if I don't distract them with a snack."
The traumatised mother gave a shaky laugh down the phone. "How old is your boy?"
"Twenty-six," She watched him earnestly taking lessons in the proper heroic pose to strike with a stick. "Supposedly. Look, there's a small café I can see from here - how about I get him some juice and some fruit while we wait? No cake, I promise."
"Aw, man," Jaden wilted and his shadow did the same. "No cake?"
"That's what happens when you eat someone else's cake for breakfast!" She reminded him.
"Can I have some cake?" Sota whimpered.
Luna bit her lip to keep from answering. "Emica?" She twisted around. "Would it be okay if I bought him a small slice of cake? He's giving me a really convincing look."
"I know the one," She chuckled damply. "I'll pay you back when I get there."
"No, it's more likes this."
"Like this?"
"Likes this."
Luna looked back to see Jaden attempting to replicate Sota's puppy face. "Damn," She sighed.
"He's teaching your Sota the face?" Emica sniffed and wiped her nose.
"Yeah." Luna grimaced. "They're getting cake, aren't they?"
"It gets everyone the first time." Sota's mother admitted.
"Pleeaaase!" Sota and his protege begged.
"Use the sirens," Luna whispered desperately. "I don't know how long I can control them." It was a relief to hear a laugh before the call ended.
Being a fashion designer with a charity addiction was still a surprisingly well-paid career, provided it didn't involve Jaden and cake. Luna could feel her bank account trembling in fear as he stared down his nemesis over the growing platter of plates.
"Best of three." Sota glared.
"You're on." Jaden smirked. The King of Games faced all challengers with equal zeal. Luna might have objected the point to her family if she wanted to see Jack's head explode.
It would also have been interesting to hear his opinion on Jaden's approach to winning. Jack, despite his flaws, had a distinct soft spot for children. Much like Jaden, he would probably win the games but still fork over the cake. At least, most of the time. Luna sighed and buried her face as Jaden stuck his tongue out and dragged the last piece of cake to his side of the table.
"Sota!" Luna looked up to see a deranged face rampaging across the café more ferocity than a rabid elephant.
"Mommy!" The sticky child was swept from his chair as Emica broke out into fresh sobs.
"He's fine." Luna soothed the panicking mother. "Maybe a bit too much cake but fine otherwise." She let her frantically check Sota for any blemish he might have endured as Jaden sat and looked awkward. "Mrs Hishizu, can we talk for a moment?"
"Of course," Emica sighed over the top of Sota's head. "Sweetie, can you wait with Big Sota for a minute?"
"Okay." Grubby fingers reached for the remains of the pastries.
"Sweetie, Sota is in charge." Luna ruffled Jaden's hair as Sota took advantage of the distraction to grab the remaining cake in his grubby fists.
"I hope he's not been too much trouble," Emica wiped away a dribble of remaining tears. "I know how excited he gets around cake."
"He's been fine," Luna assured her. "As good as gold."
"I'm glad he found you," Emica gushed, looking fondly at the pair of boys pulling faces across the table. "I don't know what I would have done otherwise."
Luna took a deep breath. She hated the next part. "Mrs Hishizu, Sota said he was trying to get to the library," She gently probed. "It looks like he got on the wrong bus and got lost."
"Yes, well," She evaded. "He should have known better."
"Sota said that his father promised to take him but he couldn't wake him up this morning," Luna continued quietly. "And his feet hurt because his shoes were on the wrong foot." The first thing she'd done at the café was sort out his footwear as Jaden ordered enough cake to fill a bakery. "He said that your husband often sleeps in,"
"I'm sorry," Sota's mother cut across the interrogation. "We have to get going." Emica turned and the movement caused her sleeve to flutter up slightly.
Luna gasped as she tugged the cuff higher. "Are you okay?!"
"What do you think you're doing?!" She snapped, tearing her arm free.
"You need to tell someone," Luna warned. "He can't keep doing this to you."
"Thank you for taking care of my son." Emica gave a brittle smile out of forced politeness. "But we have to get back." She busied herself getting Sota ready.
"If you ever need help," Luna wrote a series of block digits on the side of the cardboard sleeve that had come with her coffee. "Call this number and say 'Regulus' at some point. Doesn't matter how loud or what context, my friends will come and get you."
"I think… I'll stay with my sister for a few days." Emica sounded like she was trying to convince herself as she took the card. "She likes to spoil Sota."
"You take care of your mum little dude," Jaden executed a complex high-five routine with his emotional equal. "Boosh!" Of course, it ended with an explosion.
"Mrs Hishizu?" A uniformed officer was still waiting outside the small café. "Chief Simmington said I can drop you off on the way back to my station unless you want other arrangements."
"I…" Her fist clenched around the phone number. "I need to pick up a bag from my apartment first."
"Of course," The officer responded smoothly. Mina had filled them in on the list of reports from the Hishizu residence - all domestic disturbance calls.
"Regulus?" Jaden prodded gently as the car pulled away.
"I needed a word nobody would use in normal conversation." She leaned tiredly against his side. "Misty set the program up, with help from some backers. Anyone who uses that number gets help within ten hours, two if they're in a city where she has an office."
"What made you think it wasn't her who could be the dangerous one?" Emica had seemed fine at first but Jaden had quickly gotten aggressive vibes as soon as Luna started prying.
"Her wrist." Luna carefully took hold of his. "If someone was trying to stop her hitting them, their hands would be like this." Her index finger and thumb were forming a tight circle around the base of his hand. "But the bruises on her hands were more like this." She begrudgingly rotated her fingers until her hand was gripping the outside of his forearm. "Tell me another reason she'd have bruises like that."
Looking down at the tiny grip, Jaden wanted to run after Emica and demand she come back to the penthouse with them. But that would make him no better than the last thug to put his hands on her.
A wandering glint of movement caught his eye. "Wait here a moment." Gently removing her hand, he ran into the café and spoke frantically to the old man behind the counter. One hurried transaction later, and he was sprinting in the direction of the departed car. Onlookers would claim that a bolt of lightning shit out of nowhere and killed the transport dead but that was crazy.
What they did manage to settle on was that a young man took advantage of the stall to knock on the doors until he was let in and handed a very excitable child several dozen booster packs in exchange for another dramatised high five.
Another zap of power (courtesy of the electric blue warrior hovering outside the boundaries of normal human sight) and the car was gently puttering off amidst shrieks of delight.
"Backup plan," Jaden explained breathlessly as he returned. "One of those cards has a Spirit attached. I asked it to keep an eye on Sota. It's not much, but maybe it'll be able to get help if he needs it."
"You know that's a long shot." Luna mumbled towards the departing vehicle.
"Well," Jaden scratched his hair ruefully. "Me being here is a long shot. Maybe it'll still keep going." He glanced down at the sound of falling drops. "Hey, Luna? Would it be okay if I gave you a hug?"
She nodded wordlessly, sniffing back the tears. Gently as he could, Jaden carefully pulled her against his chest and wrapped both arms protectively around her. "You stink." She mumbled.
"I had to run after a car!" With only minimal help from Elemental Hero Sparkman to stop it in time.
"Really, really bad." Luna committed to the bit as she scrunched handfuls of his shirt.
"He'll be okay." Jaden glared down the road. Even his glowing eyes could not pick out the vehicle anymore, only the robotic Spirit trailing it from above. "He'll be okay." The problem with being the good guys was, that no matter how much they wanted to, they couldn't force people to make the right choices. Even when they knew the results could haunt them for years to come.
"The thing about justice, Mr Hishizu." Icy cold eyes stared down at the broken figure of a man tied to a chair. "Is that it costs a lot of money." Mr Hishizu had made the mistake of throwing a punch at his guest when she first forced her way into the apartment. The next three intruders hadn't taken kindly to that. "Take yourself. Mediocre job, mediocre pay, expensive drinking habits. Now, justice would be you getting liver failure and dying in brutal agony while your wife collects a heavy life insurance policy. But this is where the saying 'time is money' comes into play and I speed events up." She dragged over a chair and seated herself, looking over his brutalised face like a butcher's lump of meat. "You have two paths open before you: in one, you commit to a rehabilitation programme, anonymously sponsored at a facility I own, until such a time that my team agrees you have made a full recovery. Of course, you will not see nor contact your wife or son and will sign all legal rights and control away for the duration of your stay. If you dislike these terms, we switch to the other path."
"The other path is a lot less expensive and a lot quicker." Behind her, a burly mountain pulled a vial of liquid from a pocket and prepped a syringe. "Like I said; liver failure, brutal agony, heavy life insurance."
"Oshin wn." He slurred past a broken jaw. "I chuse oshin wn!"
"When did I say that you got to choose?" She ignored the dramatic blubbering tears and turned to her newest hire.
"You weren't kidding." Dressed in a suit more expensive than all the money she had stolen in the past two years, Patty Ortiz had benefited dramatically from a professional haircut and steady diet. Her muscle mass was slowly creeping back and it no longer looked like a strong wind could blow her over.
"She's new." The businesswoman explained to their shared hostage. "Takes a while to get going."
Parry stopped mulling it over with a snap decision. "Sota ever fall down the stairs?"
"Once, ma'am." Rumbled the mountain with the syringe. "At school."
"Did he ever hurt the kid?" She glared waspishly. These guards were so used to icy straightforwardness that they probably would check if the Pope crapped in the woods.
"Not that we can tell." He growled, pushing the air out of the syringe in preparation.
"Nuh! Nebr!" Shrieked the terminal patient.
Patty had seen fear like that. When the cops came to the homeless camps and the bums knew they were looking for someone innocent to pin the blame on. "Take him." She nodded.
One plunge of the needle later and the man formerly known as Mr Hishizu was drooling gently in a wheelchair being pushed out of the apartment. "Good call." Glaring down through the window, a dispassionate gaze watched the man get loaded into a private ambulance and whisked away. "Come, they'll be getting back soon." A clink of glass drew her attention to the kitchen.
"What?" Patty said innocently as she loaded a shopping bag with booze. "He won't need it where he's going and I doubt the missus will want it around. Besides," She held up a bottle with a sinister grin. "You'll love what I can do with a good bottle of rosé."
How eerily convenient. Just like that review button down there.