Max left early the next day to meet with a representative of the pack that had requested his services. And get paid. He accepted money up front. It was more for security purposes than anything else. If he didn't take it up front they could refuse to pay him at all. They had all the power. Who was he supposed to go to, to get his money? The police? Another Jackal? Another pack? Yeah, right.

He walked a few blocks, then boarded a bus. He didn't like accepting clients anywhere near his home. He would take this bus, then another, then one more, before reaching his destination. He didn't like the idea that someone could follow him home. Jackals that worked for packs; they didn't tend to go through life without making a few enemies.

He continued to ride his second and third bus, the second actually brought him out of the way of his destination and the third brought him relatively back on track. He still had to walk a few blocks, but it wasn't too far.

He finally reached the restaurant that he met most of his clients in. He liked meeting them there because they had some tall booths that were basically like small rooms. You'd have to be trying to be heard, while the people next to you were desperately trying to listen for someone to hear your conversation. The food was pretty bad, if he was honest. Which was even better, it meant his clients wouldn't want to stay longer than they had to.

Max walked in and asked for a booth and said he would be dining with company. There weren't many people coming to eat during the day, most didn't come until after five, when the bar opened up.

They took his name and lead him to his booth. He ordered water and told them to hold off on taking his food order until after his guests arrived.

Max sat back and waited.

He looked around at the now familiar restaurant. It was a western style restaurant; at least, that's what he assumed they were going for. It was mostly a mismatch of a bunch of different styles. It looked like it had once been an Italian restaurant; there were grapes and Italian words still painted on the walls. The booths themselves looked like they belonged in an Italian restaurant. The tables were wooden and small, like you might see in an old western and the bar was an old wood one that had chips and dings in it. The color scheme was red with different wood tones. The decorations looked like farming equipment and there was a saddle that sat on the far wall. The menus were huge and contained American style foods that were extensively greasy.

Max looked up just as a waitress lead two men toward his booth. One was balding and short, he wore a pair of slacks and dress shirt. The other was tall and muscular; he was dressed more casually in a shirt and jeans, though his shirt was tucked into the waist of his pants.

Max knew that the taller one was most definitely a wolf. But, the smaller one was a human. He figured the smaller one was one of their book keepers, or an accountant of some sort. Looked like things weren't going to go too smoothly. Max had only had two other incidences where a pack had sent an accountant with their rep to meet him. One, they tried to haggle the price after already agreeing on it, and the other they had argued to pay after the job was done. Max didn't end up taking either of the jobs.

Max sighed, but kept his expression neutral as they approached. The woman brought them to Max's booth, then took their drink orders and walked away.

As the smaller man looked like he wanted to speak, Max shot him a look and held up his finger, signaling him to wait. The woman returned with their drinks shortly after and asked if they were ready to order. Max spouted off the first thing that came to mind, the same thing he always ordered. A burger, deconstructed and no sides. The two men with him ordered the same.

Good, it seemed that they didn't care to stay to eat. The waitress walked away after noting down their order.

Finally, Max turned to look at the two men opposite him. He raised an eye brow inquisitively. The smaller man looked to the larger one, then smiled. His thin lips stretched out to almost disappear. His teeth were yellow. Not surprising, he smelled heavily of tobacco.

"Yes, my name is Jared, this is Colin." He gestured to the man at his side. "We're in need of your…services."

Max stared at the man talking, Jared, like he was an idiot. Jared acted like they were trying to take out a hit on someone. Max turned to Colin.

"Money?"

Colin cast a sideways glance at Jared. Jared sputtered, trying to get things on track.

"Uh, actually, we understand that you usually take cash upfront-" Max scoffed and leaned back against the booth.

He tapped his finger on the table between them, staring down at it as he did.

"I take it upfront always, no exceptions, no payments. That means: no paying after it's done, no paying half now and the rest later, no negotiating after a price has already been agreed on." He looked back up, his gaze darting between the two men. "If you can't accept that, then I'll leave. You can enjoy your meal, pay your bill, then head home and find someone else."

Jared looked to Colin, unsure about how to proceed. Finally, he looked away and flashed another smile.

"Max." He seemed to be trying to act friendlier toward him. "What we are proposing is that we pay your fee, but in another way. Perhaps, we pay half now, we owe a favor, maybe someday you end up in some trouble that you need help out of?"

Max watched Jared as he made his new proposal. He narrowed his eyes. He knew that the Alpha that they worked for wasn't one that was usually strapped for cash. He probably didn't want to take too big of an amount out, and end up having someone ask questions. Who would be able to tell if he took a few grand out of his accounts?

Max thought about it and decided to try to press their buttons a bit. "I didn't know that Mathew was in such dire straits financially to actually be worried about three grand." He shrugged. "If my fee is an issue, then I suggest finding someone else?"

Colin's back straightened at the insult to his Alpha and pack. Jared dabbed his forehead with a napkin. "No, it isn't that Mr. Mathew is unable to pay…it is just that his cash is tied up at the moment and it could take a while for him to…liquidate his funds."

Max nodded as if he understood. "Yeah, I know how that goes." He pursed his lips in mock understanding. Finally, he leaned forward. "Here's the thing. I need cash…and you can't give me cash…" Max held his hands up as if weighing his options. "I just don't understand why I would take a hypothetical favor from you instead of just walking away and focusing instead on one of my other clients who can pay me."

Colin leaned forward. "Why don't you watch your fucking mouth?"

Max turned his attention to Colin and grinned. His eyes held the larger man's without backing down. He felt excitement build in him at the possibility of a fight. Jared once again tried to mediate between the two men.

"Fellas. Let's…Let's not be too aggressive." He turned as the waitress from before walked over with their food order. She stared at Max and Colin who were obviously currently at odds. Jared gave her a nervous smile and motioned for her to set their food on the table. Max and Colin gave her no mind, still staring each other down. Colin's fists were clenched on top of the table and he looked as if it was taking everything he had not to reach across the table and punch Max. Max could smell the sweat coming off of Jared, could smell the anger radiating off Colin. Could almost taste it. He loved it.

Finally, Colin sat back as Jared coaxed him. Max's smile grew. He knew that Colin knew that Max was stronger than him. Colin probably felt relief at Jared's intervention. Because there, mingling with Colin's anger was just the tiniest scent…of sweat. Max's own strength was the one thing he had the utmost confidence in.

Jared spoke up. "Mr....Max, is there anything at all that can convince you? You must have an idea in mind of what to use the money for….?"

Max glanced back to Jared, then leaned back in his seat. He scoffed. "Yeah. Rent."

Jared smiled nervously. Max knew he wouldn't offer to pay his rent, that would involve knowing where he lived and Max knew the man wasn't stupid enough to think that Max would actually tell them where he lived.

"Is there any-anything else?" Jared's nerves seemed to be getting worse as their conversation progressed. He dabbed as his over-sized forehead with his napkin again. Max fell silent. He needed a car, but he doubted they'd be able to help him with that….He decided to try his luck.

"Alright. I need a car." Jared nodded. "We can help with that-"

"I'm not finished." Max interrupted. "I need a car. An older model, nineties would be good, without GPS. It needs to run good. No issues with the motor. Then, I want safe passage outside of the full moon in your territory for the next couple years. That means I don't want any hassle from your lower ranked guys if I decide to have lunch at a restaurant in your territory one day."

Jared looked to Colin for the okay. Colin mulled it over for a while, then slowly nodded. "That…can be arranged. I'll make a call and check with Mathew…"

Max waited, then raised his brows at Colin. Colin clenched his teeth and looked to Jared. Jared seemed to nearly jump out of his skin before hurriedly sliding out of the booth. Colin slid out and walked off, taking his phone out of his pocket as he did. Jared sat back down. He gave Max another nervous smile. "I'm glad we were able to come to an agreement."

Max stared at Jared without any emotion showing. He shook his head. "We're not done yet." Jared froze. His mind spiraled into disarray as he fretted over what else Max could ask for. Max grinned to himself. It was pretty obvious that they needed his services. Bad. Max wasn't sure what the guy that ran away had done, but he was pretty sure he probably knew some sensitive information that they didn't want others knowing. That's the only reason they would be so…cooperative. His curiosity wasn't so great that he'd ask what it was that they didn't want getting out, but he knew he needed to play this right. If he brought the guy back breathing and coherent, they might suspect that Max found out what they didn't want known. He should probably kill the guy and just bring back something to identify him by. That would probably be the safest route for him if he took the job. Plus, transporting a hand or a head was easier than an entire person.

Colin returned after a little over ten minutes. He motioned for Jared to move over and sat across from Max. Max waited for the confirmation. "Mathew said that he can allow eighteen months of safe passage."

Max nodded. It was about what he expected to hear. He didn't think his initial wish of a few years would ever be agreed to, but eighteen months wasn't bad. It allowed him to find safety in Mathew's territory if he ever ended up in a bind. It opened up his options if he ever needed to find a safe haven. Usually, he could pass through Mathew's territory fairly uneventfully, though if he were caught by his boys, he'd be detained and in for a bit of pain. Even death if he pissed them off enough. Now, he could pass through, stop a while, throw a party, do whatever he wanted. As long as he didn't do anything too outrageous, they'd leave him be. He was pretty well satisfied.

He turned to Jared. "Alright, now the cash."

Colin and Jared both stared at Max, wide eyed. One had anger boiling beneath his surface; the other had a new wave of sweat and fear burst forth.

Max shook his head. "I'm sure you brought at least a grand with you, right?" Jared opened his mouth and shut it multiple times. He looked to Colin. Colin's fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. He snapped his head toward Jared.

"Pay him." He hissed.

Jared's hand shook as he took out an envelope. He passed it to Max, who snatched it out of his hand and immediately began counting the contents. Nine hundred. Max smiled. He stood up and shoved the envelope into his back pocket before continuing

"Alright, now, I need his name, and a photo. Also, any other details you think might be of help."