"A kid, you say? Maybe I oughtta pay them a visit." The larger man mused, tone easing a bit in tension as he leaned back in his chair. The legs bent at the movement, seeming far too close to snapping with the guy's weight.
A small smile graced the eerie man's face, flashing like the light from a camera, and disappearing as if it never existed.
Luan already knew he'd have to investigate this guy after this. If he ever got his body back to its regular shape, that is.
This spot was seriously cramped. He was so close to admitting defeat and labeling the experience as uncomfortable.
"Where is that Rat, anyways?" the boss man questioned, looking around the room like he might spring from one of the potted plants at the mention of his whereabouts.
Most of the men followed his gaze, ever eager to please, even at the cost of their image.
Luan found the interactions between this group to be rather amusing to watch, even if they were no good scum.
It was like a gaggle of ducks, mimicking the actions of the mother hen and following like mindless fools. Did that make sense? Maybe the mother isn't called a hen. Luan didn't know what else it would be, though.
The longer they waited for the alluded Rat, the more the hen mother seemed to lose his already lacking patience. He was shifting around in his chair, the large stature of his body not seeming to help in the slightest. Grunts and growls of annoyance were a common sound as he did, the men shifting around him as they tried to not gather too much attention from the incensed man.
It did take awhile for Rat to show, and Luan wasn't any happier than the rest of them with having to wait even longer. His spot was much less comfortable than their fancy chairs, too.
Though it wasn't uncomfortable, because that would mean he had lost.
Luan was determined to keep his mindset the same as he had set it to be at the beginning.
A loud bang announced the eventual arrival of the man, door clicking against the wall as he ran inside. He was sweating, huffing pants of air steaming from his mouth as he ran to the leader.
"Boss, I-" He heaved, trying to catch his elusive breath as he panted.
"I tried to stop him!" He clutched his knees, gasping all the while.
"I swear!" Rat huffed at the end, looking scared at what reaction his jumbled speech might garner.
"Tried to stop who, Rat?" The boss asked, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together as he glared at the man. Luan got the sense he already knew who Rat was talking about, and he wasn't sure how much of Rat's body was going to pay for failing to stop whoever it was.
"Dante Jin! He took the entire shipment!" Rat shrieked, eyes wide and feral as he stuttered through the relaying of the message.
"What!?" The boss roared, coming to his feet as he clenched his hands into fists at his side. He stomped closer to Rat, looking down at him like Dante's actions were all his fault.
"I sw-swear b-boss." Rat trembled, stammering out words as he backed away.
"I tried to stop him. He didn't even look at me, he just had his men seize the supplies and left. I barely got away before he started taking care of the witnesses." Rat stumbled against the wall as he pleaded for the boss to understand, but Luan could see the thread of sanity snapping with each word.
The boss snarled as his clenched fist made contact with Rat's sweaty face. The man fell back against the wall, shielding his entire head as the blows started raining down. The man almost seemed ready to kill, and if the other men hadn't eventually gotten him off the enfeebled man, Rat probably would have met his maker today.
Luan watched the entire ordeal from his cramped hiding spot, muscles aching from having hidden for so long, and mind a bit angry at the fact it was all for nothing. Sure, he didn't want these guys to be pumping more illegal drugs onto the streets, but Dante had seriously bad timing. He was always getting in his way.
Luckily, the men left relatively quickly after that, no doubt to assess the damage of their empire after Dante got his hands involved.
Luan exited his hiding spot with a long groan, flopping onto the floor as his limbs tingled, trying to get feeling to come back to the ends of his extremities.
His whole body stung as he crawled his way through the room, nabbing the hidden surveillance he'd set up and stumbling back the way he had come. He might as well take a look at the other doors on his way out, seeing as they were still complete mysteries to him. Maybe he'd find something useful, since the meeting was a complete bust.
After much rifling, hurried and rushed in his movements, Luan did manage to find a couple documents that stated some of their drop sights. It was much better than nothing, and though he didn't get the deal on tape, he had gotten some conversation that proved Dante was meddling in their operations, so Luan was sure he could find some use for that.
What he really needed to do, though, was set up more surveillance around this group. He could probably find out a lot, considering their loose lips when they thought no one was listening.
He took what he could, and scurried back out the way he had come, managing to stay completely off their radar as he did so.
And not once did he let himself think about Dante Jin, or what he could possibly be doing with all those drugs meant to induce and worsen people's heats and ruts. Maybe they also had regular drugs meant to inhibit proper brain function, and Dante just wanted those ones. Who knows. Luan certainly didn't, and he never would because he refused to think about that vexing man.
It was only after he'd gotten back to his apartment, organizing through the meager information he'd gathered, when Luan realized he hadn't seen where the creepy guy had gone. He was there when they were waiting for Rat, but now that Luan thinks about it, he was sure he'd seen the guy sneak out in the chaos. Like he had accomplished whatever purpose he'd come with and was no longer needed there. It made something dark curl in the pit of his stomach, recalling once again the way he had nudged the boss towards the fact Luan has a kid. Mira.
And Luan just watched the man lose his mind at the fact Dante had stolen his entire shipment.