Worth It {Ash x Eiji}

His Mansion

{ Ouchie. Angst warning!

This slow burn is killing me.}

They were back in LA in the middle of the night, with Ash having taken control of the wheel when Max hadn't been speeding the way he wanted him to. He nearly plowed over the front of the house as he pulled up, finding Skip inside and prying at the office door. It had been eating at him ever since Yut-Lung had blown off his question about it and he knew something more sinister had to be lurking in there.

" Skip!" Ash exclaimed, bursting in with his gun drawn. He wasn't sure if there would've been a trap waiting for him there, but thankfully there wasn't. Max rushed in and panted, not being used to that level of high intensity exercise.

" Ash! I'm trying to get in here!" Skip announced.

Ash began to put his gun away until he thought back to the quick tour of the house. Yeah... something was definitely off about that room.

" Stand back." He told him, aiming his gun for the lock. He shot at the doorknob and twisted, ripping the handle clean off and dropping it to the floor. He went inside, seeing a computer, plants, bookshelves, and most notably, a man gagged on the floor and squirming around. He had glasses and had longer hair, even if he was balding on the top, and he was a little chubby.

They stood there with wide eyes and Ash pointed his gun at the guy, telling Max and Skip to untie him.

" Please don't shoot!" He pleaded.

" Who are you?!" Ash exclaimed.

" Alex! Alex Dawson! I own this house-"

Ash finally got the hint in that moment that Yut-Lung was not the adoptive son of him. Things were ripe with Chinese interference.

" You..." Ash growled. " You... why are you here? Why would he tell me to come here... what do you know?!" He was getting closer to him with the gun and using it as an intimidation technique, hoping it would make him snap. He didn't look like he was very strong so it didn't matter.

Skip backed up and glared at the guy because Ash was doing it as well. He didn't want to trust him or be nice if Ash distrusted him.

" Yeah. What's your business here?" Max asked him, and he was definitely not playing games as his tone deepened.

" Who sent you?" Alex asked, standing and wobbling on his feet.

" Banana fish!" Ash yelled.

" What?!"

" You heard me!" Ash cocked his gun. 

" Okay, okay! My brother... my brother and I created it by accident..."

" Created it?" Max asked. " What all do you know?"

" It's a drug!"

Ash felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he got closer, and after he'd made Dawson spill his guts about how the terrible creation had come to light, there were so many questions to be answered.

In the room, there was a computer which held all of the data they'd found on it.

" They tied me up in here and left me because I threatened to go to the media... Abraham, my brother, took what he knew to all of the wrong places..."

Max kept Dawson at bay while Ash went through all of the data. It made perfect sense... how it was made and the effects it had. But still... how could they share the information and not destroy it?!