As expected, lunch with Dominic was pleasant. He had a seemingly inexhaustible font of anecdotes and crazy stories, to the point that Shou would have accused him of making some up if she hadn't grown up with him. After Khaesho's stiff, anxious demeanor, it was nice to relax with someone who wasn't constantly checking the exits. At least, it was until he blindsided her.

“I'm sorry Dom, what?"

He had his trademark, easy smile in place, but Shou could see a faint tension running right beneath his eyes. More than see it, she could almost feel it. She was getting better with her newfound extrasensory, she was sure of it.

“Let me take you on a date, a real one. We can pack a lunch and you can show me your favorite hiking trail, or I could take you to that old arcade on 5^th ave and see if anyone broke our high scores since we were kids."

She ran a hand through her hair, glancing to the side. “Dominic, that's sweet… but honestly I've always thought of you as a brother. We grew up together, or close enough to it, it would probably be awkward…"

“But you won't know if you don't let me try.  Come on, what's the harm in one date?" She noticed him check the exits. That wasn't a recent habit, and she likely wouldn't have noticed it at all if Khaesho hadn't been doing it incessantly all the previous day.

“Dom, I'm sorry, but I-" she had almost started talking about Khaesho, about how she didn't want to agree to anything until she and he got… whatever they were worked out, but Dom was the curious type, and he would ask questions. Questions she couldn't answer. “I'm sorry but I'm just not looking for romance right now. I'm not going to say no forever, but I do have to say no today."

Desperation looked quite poor on Dom's face. It wasn't an emotion she'd seen on him… ever. He looked afraid. For her sake? Or for his… she could almost taste the anxiety rolling off him now, and he swallowed nervously before he spoke. “Shou I didn't want to play this card, but… I've made some people pretty angry. The kind of people you don't want to mess with. I've been secretive, but… well, if they find out we're friends, they might come after you. If we're more than friends though, I can protect you."

Pieces fell into place one at a time, and Shou managed to master her anger by the time he finished speaking. “You never stopped, did you? You said you moved back out here to get away from your 'family business'" she spat the words with particularly caustic vitriol, “but you never got clean."

He threw his hands in the air, similarly angry now. “Oh get off your high horse, Shou! Yes, my hands are a little dirty, they've always been, what did you expect? You know my family. And before you condescend about going straight and getting a clean job my influence is what got you that first lead role."

Everything she'd been about to say shattered. “You… what?" She didn't want to believe it, but it answered so many questions. She'd never been the political jockey, so Dom had done the jockeying for her.

He looked to the side, upset but not ashamed. No, he wasn't capable of shame. “I've always been a patron of the arts. So, I made a bit of a donation, with the stipulation that you get a lead role. When the director hesitated, I scooped some dirt on him, found out something he didn't want people to know about. Between the bribes and the blackmail, he agreed that you got one chance to rock the stage, and damn but did you kill it that night."

She remembered. Her first big part, Dance of the Firebird. Far from the grandest production they'd put on, but the first one where she and she alone held the spotlight. Her first shot at stardom and her first standing ovation. “Did I earn anything? Has my entire career been you coddling me from behind the curtain?"

“No." She wanted to believe him, but she wasn't feeling charitable. “I swear to you. You impressed the right people, and the only contribution I've made since then is purchasing the box seat for myself and maybe a few seats for friends, when they're in town."

“Good. That'll make it much more satisfying when I quit." She'd been looking for a reason to quit, and this was it. She had enough money, and she didn't think she could set foot on stage knowing she'd only gotten there through a gangster's influence.

“Shou!" He was genuinely upset, she could see that much. She didn't care. She collected her things, fuming, embarrassed, eager to get home. “Shou, wait! I'm not asking you to rejoin the family, I'm just asking you for a date so I can justify giving you some… protection." Some thugs to watch her back. She wouldn't need them if not for him though.

She stood up and stormed towards the door, ignoring him as he chased her to the entrance. “Shou. Shou… SHOU!" That last shout was different, alarmed. She turned to look back at exactly the wrong time; she remembered seeing him dashing after her as hands closed in on her, yanking her backwards into a van. A sack was yanked over her head as tires burned and an engine roared; she tried to fight back, flailing blindly, but too many hands had her. Something about the bag smelled wrong, too, and it wasn't until she started fading to sleep that she realized it was drugged. Her last thought on the way down was that she hoped Khaesho wasn't waiting for her.