doublesmall | [INBOX] fractura.

Hmm...

[ No reason to kill Kangai is probably it; he's as inoffensive as they come, and wouldn't give into Kano's goading either. ]

Two of the three men who were killed worked at the coffee shop, and they hated Xie Lian's guts. Hated the fact that he hired on Kangai- they refused to work shifts with him, even. Something was goin' on in that shop, and Xie Lian knew it, but I dunno any of what that's all about, and Kangai wouldn't spill either. Dunno what that "something" is, but I'll try and dig around a little.

[ Somehow, with the leads having died with the two coffee shop workers. Kano's banned from the shop and the owner won't talk to him, so his best bet would be to saunter right up to Xie Lian and go "Hey! :D" maybe ]

...see if you can. Just don't go too far with it, all right-- if the last talk I had with Jiang Cheng is any indication, poking your nose too deep in Xian Le territory might not end well.

['Talk' is an understatement, that was definitely an argument... either way, he doesn't think someone from their side snooping too blatantly would be safe.]

If it turns out their side's sorting their shit out internally, I'm not going to complain too much... but if it came from our end, I'm going to want to know why they didn't mention it to me.

What's goin' on with Jiang Cheng...?

[ Kano's been sort of... heckling him from the side, the usual business, but maybe he should stop in light of all the body parts cropping up around town. But it does look like there's more problems going on in Xian Le than he thought, something that runs deeper than Xie Lian not living up to his position. ]

You know how people think of this sorta thing, boss. There's kidnapping and murder and going to the boss about it might as well be declaring war! [ As opposed to keeping it between the little people, making it ...still a sort of war, but unofficial. ]

Especially accusing you of this sorta stuff. Cutting off the guys' tongues, leaving them there for display, and then that note— something like, "This is what blood money buys." You know anything about Xian Le's blood money, boss?

He was eager to pin all the recent problems on us instead of admitting their side did anything at all, that's what.

[Ugh, he hated that conversation, he came THIS close to punching a high-ranking Xian Le. This is why Lan Wangji is so necessary.

He huffs out an exasperated breath, though, brushing his bangs from his face.]

That's exactly why I need to know what my people are up to-- I can't take measures to protect anyone if they're running off doing shit behind my back, yeah? I need to adapt our policies, take countermeasures if I have to... it's better if they admit to it. We wouldn't have had as much trouble if those idiots with the gun had said something...

[Chuuya's so fuckin tired.]

...but no, I don't know anything about their money save for the fact they're not in the same financial situation they used to be. That's for the best for us, though.

[ He should have punched Jiang Cheng; Kano would have been rooting for him from behind the scenes.

But things like policies and countermeasures sound good on paper, but Kano knows that's not going to fly- Chuuya should know too. The reason why everybody's taking all these drastic measures in the first place is because they're feeling cornered with no other option. ]

...you're forced to play it safe 'cause you're the head, and you gotta look out for everybody in the family, but it's different for the people below you. For them- us- it's like we can do the dirty work so you don't have to, an' you can never know, because if we're caught, it's just on us and no reflection on you.

[ That's how it felt with the cars and the gattling guns that other time, with a bunch of goons on both sides of the family acting independently. It's must easier to forgive the heads for their ignorance than it is for purposely ordering the slaughter of innocents. ]

I bet it's the same on the other side too. Info's not tricklin' up, because people are scared, and someone's taking advantage of that and pitting the two families against each other. The two guys who died got their tongues cut off, same as one of the kids who escaped being kidnapped, so it's gotta be someone from outside.

[ Who has beef with Xian Le's blood money, who's preying on Mori's women and children. ]

It was a hell of a lot easier to just do the dirty work... ugh. It'll reflect on me either way, you know-- if I don't know what my men are up to, then it's 'can't you keep them in line at a time like this?'

[It's all his responsibility, and the more he has to work with, the better; much as he gets it (and knows Kano isn't exactly wrong), Chuuya still dislikes not feeling like he has all the information. He won't be so eager to forgive Xie Lian for not keeping his men in line if the kidnappings are their fault, after all.]

...Nines said the same thing, but I'm still not about to write it off as outside influence without more proof. That could just as easily have been revenge, if whoever did it assumed they were part of the kidnappings-- I'd probably have done the same thing. Give 'em a taste of their own medicine before they go out.

[ He's heard that line of thought too, that the whole tongue thing was to incite suffering and as payback, even though it's gross and unnecessarily extra and Kano doesn't think they have the death completely examined, whether because there's information people are withholding, or because it's max three questions per investigation. Either way!! Chuuya's not the only one feeling like he's constantly left in the dark, because that's Kano too. ]

You're gonna have to ask someone with west side ties for further leads, looks like. Someone chummy with the higher-ups.

[ Which won't be Kano, because even if he gets along with most on a social basis, any sensitive information won't be shared with him, especially something like finances and human trafficking. ]

You hear anything new I should be aware of? Talk to any of the bosses outside town? If you got any friends outside, I'm wondering if you can set it up so one of 'em is a potential buyer, see if you can bait the perps.

[INBOX] fractura.

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