JIN: Did you tell her? What did she sayyy??? FUCK I miss her so much! 😭

ASH: I didn’t stick around to find out, but she looked happier than she has in a while.

ASH: Why don’t you just tell her yourself? You have her number, mofo, USE IT!

JIN: Bro, you know what a chickenshit I am when it comes to Lise. And it isn’t like I haven’t tried. 

ASH: Uh huh 🙄

JIN: fuck you, asshole

JIN: I’m gonna bring back something for her…I made it…I hope she likes it…

ASH: You’re finally gonna nut up and ask her out!?

JIN: You know that’s not how we do things. 

…

ASH: You need to tell her the truth, Jin. And I don’t just mean how you feel.

…

JIN: I will….

JIN: Eventually.

Ash groaned, his irritation over his best friend’s cowardice over confessing to Alise growing by the second. For months he’d been trying to get Jin to make his claim before Alise found some random guy to hook up with, only to make herself feel even shittier than before. The merman had sworn he would, that he was just waiting for the right time. Alise may be doing better following Colin’s betrayal thanks to Jin, but if he didn’t make his move soon, he might lose her.

No he won’t, don’t be like that, Coby sighed, giving him a mental flick in the head.

Ash grinned as he turned down the street leading to the guildhouse. You were supposed to be in a meeting with your officers, sweet peach.

It just ended. Seriously, stop giving your brother such a hard time. He has enough on his plate.

Ash couldn’t argue that point. Between gathering intel, “questioning” prisoners, and shadowing suspected heads of the Fishermen, not to mention taking captive merfolk back to their homes or helping to relocate them if those former homes had been destroyed, Jin had about as much going on as Ash did. Wrecking his nerves over the girl he liked was a way for him to forget it all for a while.

I could say the same thing about Co-Hanyana.

Coby was quiet for a minute, his waves telling Ash more than he words would. Ash chuckled, wrapping his husband in a hug he wished could be physical. 

If you give your father a break, I’ll ease up on Jin. Deal?

Coby muttered something about Co-Hanyana not being his real father, but still agreed. Hemi and Gema say hello, by the way.

Hello. Ash pulled the door open, walking into a large, dimly lit room, the signs and other decor still up on the walls from when it was still Rhett’s Bar and Grill. He released an inward sigh of relief that most of his people were still out. He wasn’t sure how many of them he could deal with today.

While he was simultaneously keeping tabs on Coby’s activities, putting in his two cents, or bringing Coby back down from an oncoming temper, he interacted casually with those who greeted him, making his way to the bar.

He leaned against it, the bartender and manager of the establishment, an anishif named Hajoon, turned from where he was restocking the liquor wall. The demon grinned at him, his fangs catching the light, his marks making him look far more fearsome than he really was.

At least, when he wasn’t on a job.

“Hey, Master Ash, long time no see!” the panther demon said, his Korean accent noticeably lighter. A stark contrast to Osa and Coby’s, whose own accent had become thicker. He didn’t speak English outside of their link or in the pocket anymore.

“Hey, Hajoon,” Ash said, taking a seat. Hajoon grabbed a shot glass while and poured him one of whiskey, grabbing a bottle of beer from the mini fridge under the bar as Ash downed it gratefully.

He’d begun to shake.

The whiskey fixed that. 

It also made Coby retreat from him slightly.

He flinched inwardly, reaching out and touching Coby’s core, promising he wouldn’t go too far. Accepting his sincerity, Coby opened himself back up, relaxing Ash’s nerves and allowing his energy to flow easier.

“How’d the job go?” Hajoon asked, setting the bottle down on a coaster in front of his boss. He didn’t bother pouring it in a glass; Ash would have downed that, too.

Ash shrugged. “Better than expected, I guess.”

“For how long it took, that surprises me.”

“No kidding,” Ash muttered, taking a long sip of his beer. “Any messages for me?”

“Plenty.” Hajoon moved to register and opened it, lifting the cash tray up to pull out a tablet meant for this purpose alone. He set it on the bar, tapping the screen several times before spinning it around and pushing it closer to Ash. “Three ships were spotted near the northern seas three days ago. I sent Max and the sea demon after them.”

“Why only the two?”

Hajoon’s eyebrow arched. “Really?” he said, wondering why Ash would question such a thing. The sea demon, Logah, was from that area, had plenty of contacts, and was as brutal and deadly as they came.

“Fair point,” Ash said, flicking through the messages. Most of them were the standard requests for spy work, assassins, recovering kidnap victims, etc. Some were reports on other trafficking and gang related activity going on in their part of the state; information he immediately sent to Abel. Other reports he emailed to himself to review later.

When he was done, he stretched and handed the tablet back. “Awesome,” he exhaled, taking another swig. He pulled his cigarettes out and lit one up, once again not heeding the city ordinances of “no smoking” in a public place. Technically, the guildhall was a privately owned establishment. Besides, the cops knew to stay away from Rhett’s. They protected it and the guild members, but they never stepped foot anywhere near the hall, and generally kept off the block as much as possible.

Hajoon grinned and, before he could pour Ash another shot, the demihuman shook his head. “I’m under surveillance,” he said with a grin, tapping at his core. The anishif chuckled, understanding immediately. He placed the whiskey bottle back on the shelf and replaced it with an ashtray. 

“Don’t ash on my bar,” he said before walking away to help another member. No one other than guild members could drink here. They could come in and talk to Ash and make requests, and, if the situation called for it, they were provided food. Otherwise, “If you don’t have a pass, you don’t get a glass.” 

A former member of the guild had made that sign and Hajoon displayed it proudly behind the bar for all to see.

Ash pulled out his phone and flicked through his messages, noticing a few more from Jin, plus a missed call. No voicemail, so it wasn’t urgent. Jin was probably bored after another interrogation and wanted to chat. He’d give the details regarding said interrogation when he returned home the next day.

Ash was tapping out a reply when a voice on his left drew his attention.

“M-Master Ash?” the small voice said, nervous as ever.

Ash glanced down at the fawn, his hands fidgeting in front of him. He smiled at him, doing his best to put the mythic at ease. Ash’s reputation preceded him, and even long-standing members of the guild were still apprehensive to approach him. 

“Hey, Trip,” he said kindly. “What’s up?”

“I um…I wanted to g-give you my r-report, sir. If you have the time.” The fawn’s small, high pitched voice only added to the nervous demeanor Ash was used to dealing with by now. It used to irritate the living shit out of him, especially in the beginning when his contact with Coby was so sporadic and he hadn’t been able to talk to him for days or weeks at a time.

“Yeah, I got time,” Ash turned on the stool, indicating the one next to it. Trip eagerly hopped up and Ash was careful not to blow smoke in his face. “What do you have for me?”

“Well, as you know, sir,” the fawn said, relaxing slightly. “I was sent on the request of a local business owner to look into rumors of theft and money laundering.”

Ash nodded. “Yeah, I remember. That job came in a few weeks ago, before I left.”

“Yes, sir,” Trip said with a nod. “There were a lot of leads to look into and people to question, but what I learned was pretty invaluable. Not only to the business owner was beyond grateful.” His brown eyes sparkled. Apparently he was paid more than was originally promised. “But to you and Lord Co-Bieasah as well.”

Come again? Why should I care about—

Hush. “What did you find out?”

“Originally, the owner suspected one of his upper staff was involved in the theft, channeling the money through a few other banks and family accounts in order to not look sketchy.”

“Typical laundering technique.”

“The one he suspected turned out to be one of five people on his staff, ranging from management to associates. What they were doing was taking money from the business accounts and dispersing it amongst themselves, as well as sending a fraction of it to three different companies.”

Ash furrowed his brow. “Odd, but not unusual.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Trip agreed, leaning his elbow on the bar. “What was odd was the amount and dates of the transfers, and the path they took.”

“Same amount on the same day every time?”

“Yes, sir. But not divided between the companies. It was sent to one company at a time.”

“Because that’s not traceable at all.”

Trip giggled softly. “On the surface it looks like a pretty rookie move. One huge chunk of money going to a different company every two weeks is going to be noticed, it doesn’t matter what route they take to get it there. Of course, we discovered the scheme, the employees were fired, and the case was closed.”

Ash stared at him unblinking, the smoke of his cigarette curling up to the ceiling in graceful streams. “And…that’s the invaluable information you have for us?”

Those are minutes I’ll never get back, thanks, Ashley.

The fawn’s doe-like ears twitched, a smile gracing his bearded face. “No, sir,” he said. “The invaluable information is who owns those companies and what they do.”

Ash finally blinked.

“The companies are fakes, just names on a piece of paper, all of which are as transparent as film. You may have even heard of them yourselves.” Ash knew he was saying this to both Turners. 

“Okay?”

“Pretty Dove, Inc.”

Ash froze, the ash from his cigarette landing on the bar.

“Birds of Paradise Fashion, and From Sea to Table Exotic Seafood Distribution.”

“That motherfucker,” Ash said under his breath.

“We looked into exactly what these ‘companies’ do, and they’re as bad as you think they are, Master.” His eyes grew dark. “The accounts are handled by Waylon Yates and Scott James Tulle, specializing in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of the drug, scale, and—”

“Divine and mythic body parts,” Ash and Coby said at the same time. He wasn’t sure if Coby’s voice echoed his, but the startled expression and sudden silence of several of the members who were milling nearby told him it probably did.

“That’s what the last two accounts are for,” Trip said. He gritted his teeth, fighting back the innate rage that affected every last member of Ash’s team. “Pretty Dove, Inc. is responsible for the trafficking and sale of people.”

Absolute silence descended on the hall.

“Those accounts receive money from dozens, if not hundreds or more businesses and organizations Realmwide.”

“I’m sorry,” Ash said, his voice falling and rising on each word. “Did you just say ‘REALMWIDE?’”

Trip paused, his expression as neutral as he could make it. “Yes.”

“You mean to tell me that fucking cunt is selling people in the High Divine’s territory?!”

“Specifically, the Veil.”

Ash’s jaw dropped. 

“That’s not all, Master Ash,” Trip said, taking a deep breath. “There’s a group there that receives the…product…” he choked on the last word, “and distributes them out even further into the Nine Realms.”

“That can’t possibly be true!”

“I’m afraid it is.”

“The High Divine wouldn’t allow that sort of shit in the First Realm, and the High Devil King—”

“They are unaware this is going on, Master,” Trip said softly. “If they are, I’m sure they’re doing their part to put a stop to it.”

“I can guarantee they are,” a demon leaning against the back wall said. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, his bright amber eyes on Ash. “The Kanaki’s put out a hit on these fuckers themselves.”

“How do you know that?” Ash asked.

Gray grinned, his fang bared. “Did you forget who I used to work for, boss?” he asked.

Ash did not forget. Grayson Graystone used to be an assassin with the Kanaki Reapers. He himself wasn’t a Reaper, they were all women, but he had been one of six that worked closely with them. 

“Toji isn’t going to let something like this slide in his Domain, forget what Big Daddy Divine might think,” the demon added. “He’ll take care of it up there while we keep chasing the little pigeon shit down here.” He nodded to Trip. “At the very least, he and Avril can find a way to slow the cash flow from that side.”

“We can freeze them outright,” the angel in question said, tipping back her rum and coke. “Won’t be easy, but it can be done.” She shot Ash a sly grin. “We can even funnel it into our own accounts if you want, Master Ash.”

“I won’t say no to an easy cash flow,” Ash said, draining his bottle and lighting a new cigarette. “Plus, driving Tulle crazy is my lullaby. Go wild, kids.”

Avril and Trip grinned, the fawn leaping off the stool to join his friend.

“Hey, Trip,” Ash called after him. The fawn turned. “Pick up your bonus before you leave for the night.”

Trip’s big brown eyes somehow got even bigger. “Thank you, Master Ash!” he exclaimed happily, and nearly skipped as he and Avril left the old bar.

Hajoon sighed heavily, his eye roll just as loud. “I was hoping to use that extra cash to get the floors redone.”

“They’re fine,” Ash said, grabbing another bottle of beer with his energy and turning toward the stairs that led up to his apartment. “Gray, call up some old contacts and see what you guys can do about stopping the transfers at the doors.”

“Got it, boss,” the demon said, flicking two fingers off his forehead as Ash disappeared around the corner. He grinned devilishly once Ash disappeared and the door closed loudly behind him. He pulled out his phone and brought up his contacts, finding the one he needed. He chuckled darkly and called.

“Gray?” the feminine voice on the other end answered quickly.

“Hey, Lina,” he said around his cigarette. “Think Natsu can spare you for a bit?”

“Maybe,” the Reaper said doubtfully. “Why?”

“Got a job,” her former demon partner said. “One Toji might actually thank me for.”

There was a long pause before Lina said, “He still hates you.”

Gray smiled. “That’s fine, I hate the little shit, too. So? What do you say?”

She sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Great.” He told her where to meet him and when, and hung up the phone, tucking it into his back pocket as he walked up to the bar to get another drink.

Hajoon glanced at him while pouring the demon a whiskey on the rocks. “How has he not killed you yet?” he asked.

Gray grinned, one amber eye gleaming. “Because I’m useful.”

**