Old Ghost (Kenji)

[Zuka]

September 4th

Zuka tapped her fingernail against her desk in annoyance as the man in front of her talked to her like he was talking one of his athletes; with a misplaced sense of authority and condescending and it was quickly starting to piss Zuka off. She had called the man here to discuss one of his probenders, Chen was the manager of the Hogmonkeys, a up and coming probending group that had quickly started moving up the ranks and they were in line for the semi finals. That was, until their star player - Hu started using Black Fin ( one of her many informants inside the probending arena had so graciously told her) At first, it had been manageable and hadn’t affected the benders ability to win matches but now it was getting out of hand. Hu had started using before matches and he was so high during the games that he couldn’t even stand on his own two feet, let alone score some points.

It was losing Zuka money and she was not going to have that, it was bad business.

So, she had sent a message to Chen, letting him know that she wanted a word. Her demands were simple, Chen would replace Hu. Simple, easy to follow but Chen, still hadn’t quite grasped the idea of who was in charge here. He talked to her like she was a secretary, like the real ‘boss’ (which in his eyes meant a man in charge) was going to come in any minute. Zuka entertained him for a time because the more he talked the deeper of a hole he dug but now she had had enough.

’Listen, sweetheart Hu is fine, its just a little slip up. I’m sure your boss will understand.’

Zuka watched him with deadly eyes while her face kept a polite calm about it as her finger stopped tapping on the desk and instead went to a small golden button built into the hard surface. Pressing down the button allowed one of her enforcers know that it was time to enter, a small light blinking in the other room and in a matter of seconds a adjoining door to her office opened and a large woman ducked through the frame.

Mei looked less like a woman and more like a rock. She was taller than most men, larger than most men, in fact the only men Zuka had ever seen that came close were the underground fighters where Zuka had first seen the woman fight and her arm alone was nearly double that of Zuka’s waist. Mei had only one eye thanks to a cheap shot taken in the ring and now wore a patch over her left eye. The man that had blinded her? Well, Mei had plucked out his in revenge with her own fingers. The woman was a beast and it was rather humerous at how the woman could have such a feminine name. When Zuka first saw Mei she knew she had to have her on her team and after a night of drinking that led to some bar fights Mei had decided she liked the idea of hurting people for money and had gladly signed on as one of the dolls enforcers. Mei was also the one Zuka usually sent when she needed to get a point across, which was why she was here today.

Mei walked up behind Chen’s chair and stood there for a moment, letting her intimidating air soak over him. It was like having a wild animal stand behind you and all you could do was sit still and hope it didn’t attack.

Mei, Zuka said casually while pointing to Chen Chen here seems to think I am not someone to take seriously. He thinks that me calling him here was a joke.

Mei let out a low, drawn out grunt and brought her large hands up and firmly grabbed Chens shoulders, trapping him in the chair he was sitting in and squeezing. Zuka had seen Mei snap a mans leg like it was a toothpick so she knew that even a little bit of pressure would start to hurt but she wanted a little more than that. He had disrespected her and he needed to know never to do it again.

He thinks that he can tell me what he is and isn’t going to do. Mei’s hands began squeezing harder and Zuka could hear the wooden chair start to creek as Chens face started to show panic and signs of pain. Why don’t we show him what happens to those that disrespect me, hmm?

Having her boss give her a order Mei took her hands off of Chen’s shoulders and swiftly moved them to his right arm, her large hands closing around his arm..one on the upper back part and one on the lower front. She waited a moment to let the fear sink into Chen when he figured out what was coming to him and Zuka gave a slight nod.

Snap

It sounded like a treebrach had fallen as Mei has snapped the bone in two. Chen cried out in pain and Mei stepped over to grab his left arm. When he had figured out what was about to happen Chen started pleading with her to stop and he turned his attention to Zuka and was begging.

Satisfied with his reaction Zuka held up her hand to let Mei know to stop and the burly woman stepped back but not out of sight.

Now, Zuka began to speak. Her words were precise and to the point I am going to give you one last chance. Hu is off the team by tomorrow, get rid of him . She kept eye contact with Chen If you don’t, I will…and then I will get rid of you. You have until 5 tomorrow night, Do you understand? She held his gaze and he nodded pitifully.

Good, now get out of here. As soon as he had his exit Chen was out of the chair, cradling his broken arm and whimpering as he left the office and ran down the stairs to the main floor and out the door. When he was gone Zuka looked to Mei make sure he follows through, persuade him again if you have to. The woman gave a sinister smirk and disappeared back through the door she had come from. Well, now that was finished there were other things to take care of.

Glancing at the clock Zuka checked the time. She was supposed to meet with some of her girls at five and it was only 3, so there was a bit of time to kill. She hadn’t eaten yet so maybe she should get that out of the way. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Some food and a drink or two in the club before then, check up on things there.

Having her mind made up Zuka pushed the chair back from her desk and walked to the mirror to check herself, fixing her jacket and hair. Appearances to keep you know. As soon as she was certain everything was in its place Zuka exited her office and walked to the main floor of the Blue Dragon.

While the Dragon was best known as a night club it was open during the day hours, serving lunch and drinks to those that liked a more laid back atmosphere compared to the loud and lively life at night and this was the time when the police, detectives, officials and the other people that were in her pocket and on her payroll liked to drop by. Letting themselves been seen let the Dolls know that they were still in the game and hadn’t decided to turn and snitch.

As she stepped to the main floor Zuka made her way toward the bar to let the bartender know that she would have her usual. Reaching the bartop Zuka leaned forward a little to get the bartenders attention and as she did she happened to glance to the side, almost doing a double take. There, a few stools down was someone she thought she would never see again.

Well, I’ll be damned. She spoke loud enough for him to hear her, while turning and resting her side against the bar Look at what the cat dragged in. He looked a little different since the last time she had seen him but, then again…so did she.

[Kenji]

Another day, another yuan as they say

This partiuclar day had been long and the end was still not in sight, as Kenji's soles hit the plush carpeting of the Blue Dragon as he handed his fedora to the check girl and straightened his suit as he made his way to the bar. He signaled the bartender as he took a seat and ran his hand through his hair.

"What'll it be?"

"Ice Water," Kenji said using the  common slang term for a clear colored Water Tribe liqour that was kept in a coldbox "Iciest you got."

The bartender nodded and slid Kenji a rocks glass filled with the liqour as Kenji took a swig as he felt someone sit down next to him. Kenji looked at the older mustachioed gentlemen as he gave a simple nod

"Mr Kumori." the man said

"Lieutenant." Kenji said addressing the man by his proper title. After all he was  addressing Lieutenant  Zeng of the Republic Police force.

The man grimaced a little but managed to save face as he said " I trust you have my package?"

Kenji pulled an envelope from his inside jacket pocket and slid to the man as he said " I do."

The man looked at the envelope " Hmm it's unopened."

"I don't make a habit of going through clients personal effects. Though may I say you sure know how to pick 'em. The Agni Kais did not make it easy retrieving this little package of yours," he said with a wave of his hand " But i won't bore you with the details. Do you have my compensation?"

The sour faced lieutenant took out a envelope of his own and slid it to Kenji  " A little walking around money Mr Kumori."

Kenji picked up the envelope and rifled througgh as he looked up, his eyes narrowing " Apparently I'm not walking as far as I thought, the deal was for 10 thousand yuan, this is five."

The writing was on the wall before the lieutenant spoke, but Kenji let it play out as the shit-eating grim spread on the mans face " Yes, about that Mr Kumori, while you retrieved that package I checked up on you. Turns out you are wanted in questioning fro several unsolved burglaries, and I'm guessing that you used less than legal means to retrieve this for me, so I think you will take the five and just be grateful to be breathing free air."

Kenji sighed....so it was going to be like this. He took another heavy swig of his drink as he said " Do you know the Jade Blossom has rooms without windows? They don't have views that's true, but they also prevent people from taking your picture when your in the midst of your evening, my advice to you..." Kenji then flicked his hand and as if by magic a photograph of the lieutenant in a very compromising position with one of the Jade girls materialized in his hand " next time don't cheap and get one of those rooms, especially if you don't want some enterprising gangsters to stick a camera in the window."

The man looked shocked as he then glanced at the envelope " But you said you didn't..."

"I lied, imagine that." Kenji said cutting him off "Now a picture like this place din the right peoples hands could ruin a normal cops career, but I hear you'vve got juicee so you may survive, but your time as as lieutenant..that would be over. I'm thinking beat cop....or better yet how's directing traffic these days?"

"Listen...."

"No, you listen." Kenji said his voice lowering to harsh whisper " I did a job and I expect to be paid as agreed, but you decided to welch on our agreement, that was strike one, then you threatened me, and that was strike two. But fine you want to negotiate, let's negotiate. Now I assume you came here to gamble a bit after our meeting yes?"

"I don't know what your talking..."

"Let's save the indignation for someone who cares." Kenji said " Show me the bankroll."

The man grumbled but slapped a stack of cash on the bar and Kenji quickly slid it into the envelope.

"There was 10 thousand yuans in there!" the man protested

"Yeah I know , life just isn't fair." Kenji said as he tucked the envelope into his jacket pocket.

"Can I at least have the photograph now?" the man grumbled

"No"

"What do you mean no?"

" As I said before you've got juice inside the police department, and I may need that at some point. So i'm keeping it for now, but one day I'll call upon you for a favor, you'll do it and then you'll get the last photograph. Those are my terms, non negotiable."

"Your no better than those Agni Kai scum." the lieutenant hissed

"You know you'd almsot have a point there except for twwo things. First, the Agni Kai's would have squezed you dry, I just have on favor. The second is that if you paid me what we had agreed, i would have burned the photo and you would have been free and clear to gamble the night way. But you decided to play games and you lost, so here we are."

Kenji downed the last of his drink as he breezed past the mans stares as he said simply " Leave."

After it was all said done, Kenji exhaled. he liked his job better on days where the clients just paid what he was owed and he didn't have to try and to be one step ahead of the double cross. After the next one may not be as obvious as the lieutenant...there was just no trust any more. He signaled the bartender for the same again as he tucked the photo away, it was then that he heard someone by him say,

Well, I’ll be damned, look at what the cat dragged in.

He turned towards the voice and as he saw who spoke, a brief flood of memories came running back through his head (not all of them good ) as he saw Zuka there by the bar. However the unsual sight aside, he was back on is a game in a minute and a small smirk tugged on his lips as he said " I assure you, she didn't drag me in here willingly, but that's the way the coin flips sometimes."  As the bartender refilled his drink he decided to bait her a little bit as he  feigned ignorance and said " So what out of all the bars, in all the kingdoms, in all the world you walk into this one? Can't  say I buy the coincidence."

[Zuka]

" So what out of all the bars, in all the kingdoms, in all the world you walk into this one? Can't say I buy the coincidence."

Zuka put on her own smirk as her nails tapped against the bar top once or twice, she knew a trap when she saw one. He had been very good at his job back then, he had to be even better at it now and his charm might work on others but she had spent more than her fair share of time with him during that year and Zuka was a quick study so she knew better. ”Sometimes it’s funny like that” He might not know about her new livelihood these days and she wanted to keep it that way, at least until she found out what he was doing here.

The bartender, having just now noticed her quickly jumped at the sight of his boss, rushing over to her after refilling Kenji’s drink ”What can I get for you Ms. Ou-Young?” He asked, nearly tripping over himself at the mistake he had thought he made at leaving her waiting.

Well, she supposed things couldn’t always go as planned and she gave a small sigh. That didn’t mean anything however and she could easily play dumb if she wanted "a glass of Torch, neat." Torch was a strong, sweet liquor from back home; made from lychee and aged in barrels placed in volcanic ash. It left a burning aftertaste and it was one of Zuka’s favorite drinks. The bartender quickly went to work on getting her drink and he filled a rocks glass to the desired pour and set the drink in front of the woman. "Thank you, Jei." She nodded at him to let him know that he wouldn’t be needed anymore at the moment and the man scurried to the other end of the bar.

Picking up her glass Zuka swirled the amber liquid around before taking a small sip and decided that sitting would be more comfortable. She sat herself in a stool close to Kenji, leaving one empty between them and sitting herself the same way she had been standing, with her side leaning against the bar and her left elbow/forearm against the top so she could face him while they chatted. "Last thing I heard about you, you were in prison." Word got around fast in places like this. Criminals and other like minded people were some of the best gossipers, everyone wanting tabs on everybody and it didn’t take long for word to reach her that he had been locked up. Where, or for what she had no idea..not really anyway, everyone had a different story to tell but that didn’t really make a difference, locked away was locked away regardless of what you did.

[Kenji]

Luckily Kenji had the self control to keep a straight face and keep up the ignorance as the bartender approached Zuka with far too much deference to be concealed. However she tried to play it off, and in that moment the game was decided. See if he could get her to show her hand before it was revealed that he very well knew why she was here. He took another slow sip of his drink as she asked.

"Last thing I heard about you, you were in prison."

Kenji gave a small chuckle. Ah yes, of course, that was always the first thing out of anyone mouth when he crossed paths with some of his criminal contacts from back in the day. Of course he had been up to a lot more since then, however he had paid a tidy sum for a "clean" civilian identity, so  he would be disappointed if they had heard about him after he had been locked up.

Still...it did get old as his response was practically leaping off his tongue before his lips formed the words he had said it often enough.

" I was for a time...it was an experience. Not one I'm keen to repeat though. However I assure rumors of my incarceration have been greatly exaggerated. You know how that old black market grape vine goes, you get what you pay for...and you frequently over pay."

He smirked and took another casual sip of his drink to let that sink in as he then decided to lance out at her ego a little bit as he turned back to her and keeping his casual tone he said " I must confess though I haven't heard much about you though, you must be keeping a very low profile these days, what have you been up to?"

[Zuka]

It was nice to see that the..four or so years since they had last seen each other hadn't changed anything. Everything had always been a competition or a game and he was still just as cocky and smug as ever and still liked to push her buttons to see how quick she would fold but, unfortunately for him she was a little bit better at keeping her cool these days. "Oh, I've been keeping busy." Zuka answered truthfully with a polite smile. 'Plenty of things to do in this city and easier to do those things, when you maintain a low profile."

There, that was a pretty acceptable answer she thought and she took a drink from her liquor to give herself a little pat on the back for that. "But, what about you? What has the great Kenji been up to these days?" She was genuinely interested in knowing, was he still thieving, was that why he was here? Scoping out a new place to hit or...was it just dumb luck that he managed to stroll into her club. Somehow Zuka doubted that but sometimes the universe liked to throw curve balls as her, keep her on her toes.

[Kenji]

She kept her cool, he would give her that. Perhaps  he was little disappointed she wasn't as easily needled as she used to be. However  it made his day a little bit more interesting so he couldn't really fault it. As she asked about him, he gave a small chuckle as he said  " Oh you haven't heard?  I do some freelance investigative work, some missing stuff found, some people followed, I pick up where the law leaves off so to speak, but I'm a law abiding citizen again."

As it came out of his mouth it sounded so good he almost believed it. However in reality he was no more law abiding then he had been a year and a half ago. However he had already pulled the wool over the police once, which was once more than most criminals in this city. They had given a pass once all that Equalist nonsense cooled down, but ever since then Kenji could practically feel the eyes of the law on him. They knew that they couldn't pin his old crimes on him, however that didn't mean they didn't want to get him for new ones. He had managed to keep them at bay though for the past few months and his diligence had paid off as they finally relaxed on him and he was no longer an active investigation so now  most  officers that he ran into let him operate as long as he stayed on the good (read: deniable) side of the law.

Which meant that when he did do the less than legal things that were a necessary, frequent, and unspoken part of his job, that meant he had to do it u der the radar and without anyone getting wise. He was clever enough to pull it off, but that came with disadvantageous too. It meant that he couldn't brag about jobs he had pulled, and any crimes he committed weren't attributed to him because he couldn't afford to have them come back at him. To those in the underworld that didn't look that hard, it seemed as if he had gone straight....and that could make enemies too.

Yeah it was just a party a minute out here in the world of grey he operated in.

"I'm afraid to say, my life's been a bit more boring than it used be." he said finishing  his drink and signalling the barkeep for another  " Sorry to disappoint."  He then turned back to Zuka "How about you ? Any interesting tales to tell? After all you must be keeping busy somehow." he said bringing the topic away from him and back onto her. In a different life, he may have had a future in politics.

[Zuka]

"Oh you haven't heard?

Well that certainly caught her attention because when people start with something like that it is usually something good. She listened as he explained what his new life was and despite her hardest efforts not to, Zuka burst out into laughter and she took a drink from her glass to help reel it back in. You've gone straight?" she said just to make sure he had heard him right, it still seeming like a ridiculous notion to her but she supposed prison changed people in one of two ways.

Well, good for you She held her glass up at him in a small "cheers" type fashion and took another drink. When he motioned to Jei for another drink Zuka motioned to him as well when he came over to refill his glass two shots of whatever our best liquor is.

Jei nodded and refilled Kenji on the ice water and set two shot glasses on the bar top before disappearing to a room behind the bar to retrieve what he was told. Now that Kenji had turned the conversation back on her she supposed she owed him a answer since she didn't really want to keep this going in circles Im a business woman now. Zuka held out her hands lazily to motion to the club around her running a respectable, successful club is hard work, keeps me busy never mind her side activities, he didn't need to know about those. The bartender returned shortly after with the bottle of expensive liquor and poured two shots, Zuka telling him to leave the bottle and dismissing him after.

Picking up the shot Zuka held it up at Kenji in a toast Heres to...new beginnings or something like that.

[Kenji]

As a rule Kenji hated ignorance, it was not bliss either on someone else or in himself. As Zuka motioned her hands and claimed to be respectable business owner, he forced himself to hold his tongue. Despite the comebacks and questions that burst on his tongue like fireworks he knew better. He knew that if he tipped his hand and revealed that he knew exactly what she did for a living that meant she would in turn start digging in on him.
While Zuka was many things,she was definitely not subtle when it came to rooting around with questions, and her rooting could uncover certain thing he definitely didn't want her to know as well as tip off some of his far more patient enemies. Too many risks at the end of the day.
So he affixed a smile to his lips and raised the shot glass and said " New beginnings."  as he briefly tapped the glass and then downed the shot as he then settled within himself and prepared for something he hadn't been in some time. Ignorant.
" So your the one who owns this club,always wondered about that, never would have guessed." he said keeping the casual tone

[Zuka]

Zuka clinked her glass with his, brought it down to the bar top first after the toast was made and then threw her head back and downed to smooth liquor. Once it was gone she set the empty shot glass away from her and looked at the man sitting next to her. If this was anyone else she would buy the "just happened to stroll in" story but this was Kenji here and if there was one thing she learned from him those years ago was that he never did anything without a plan.

For all she knew it very well could be dumb luck on why he was here but that didn't mean she was just going to take him on his word. Walking the straight and narrow path now or not; once a criminal always a criminal, things like that just don't go away. Four years is a long time she motioned at him A lot can change, obviously.

It was a shame that she couldn't trust him because she would love to sit and swap stories about what they have been up too, try to one up each other like old times but until she knew what he was doing now compared to what he said he was doing, the circles he ran in and the company he kept she was going to keep her tales to herself... So, how long have you been in the city? She wanted more information about him and while she knew that it was going to take her own poking around to find out the answers to her questions she would give him the chance to talk first.

[Kenji]

Ah, he should have known better. Despite whatever frustration she might have expressed at his games, he knew that she enjoyed them almost as much as he did. Unfortunately that even if he let the game go, there she was to pick it back up. Alright fine if she was going to play the he could give as he got, however he hoped she was prepared. He put the shot glass on the flat of his palm as he smiled and said " To be honest never left."

In a quick movement he then sent his palm up as the shot glaas was tossed up in the air and he caught it with his other hand as he continued " Once the Equalists gained control of the prisons, I decided that my debt to the city had been paid and so I excused myself from their bender roundup." He  then casually placed the shot glass on the rim of Zuka's regular glass, as it balanced precariously on the edge.

 He then took the bottle of the side and casually uncapped it as he said " After that I laid low for a while until it all blew over. Simple enough" he then tilted the bottle and filled the shot glass right to the edge as it still wobbled but kept on the rim, though all it would take would be a light breeze and it would topple in. He finished his tale and it was for the most part true, enough that if she dug around it would confirm his story, however it was his turn now. As he then smirked and looked up at her her glass and the shot still standing their like a challenge as he calmly asked " How about you, what did you do during this Equalist madness?"

[Zuka]

She couldn't help but think that all this showboating was to distract her from what he really had planed, like what magicians did when they wanted you to look somewhere while their assistant set up the trick. Only thing was, she had no idea what he was up to and it bothered her. It was always a tricky thing when someone from your past showed up again and while Kenji didn't know who she really was or where she was from (at least she thought) that didn't mean he didn't know enough to have something to use against her.

So while he went about his tricks Zuka was trying to recall what she knew about him...and sadly she couldn't recall anything useful. She was at the disadvantage here, funny how that always seemed to happen whenever he was around.

When he asked what she had done during the rise and fall of the Equalist Zuka shrugged a little. I was here. Had to maintain by business you know. Took in a few probending matches. Donated to the arenas restoration after all was said and done. Nothing as exciting as a prison break I'm afraid The ruin of the arena as well as the untimely and unfortunate "retirement" of one of her best money making teams had been a financial nightmare. The loss of the arena and the Wolfbats had set her back a great deal.

Sure, the Wolfbats had won the championship (she had paid that ref a great deal of money to make sure that happened) but with the attacks people were coming demanding their winnings saying that the win was null since they had no bending. Between that and no arena The Dolls had to rely heavily on the casino and it was hard to attract high rollers when there was a war going on. But, they had managed and had bounced back and with the arena restored it could only go up from there.

Zuka looked at her glass and the carefully balanced shot he had poured and rose a brow. It was far too early for such a potent liquor and he was not someone she wanted to drink freely around in case of some slip up. Not to mention there was still work to be done. Only one? she asked while carefully pointing to the shot, afraid too much movement and it would topple over. Dont tell me you've lost your taste for liquor as well. While she did not want more Zuka had ever been one to turn down drinks, especially when it was as expensive as what she had provided. Moderation would just have to be key.

[Kenji]

Dont tell me you've lost your taste for liquor as well.

"Not at all." Kenji said as he produced from hiss other hand the other shot glass, which at some point he had palmed from her side of the taable when she was not looking " However I did have to get the other glass, and besides, you know the old saying." he said pausing as he once again poured the shot " Never turn down a free drink, as long as you see it poured." He then perched the drink over his glass as he looked up at ther and smirked and said " No offfense, I didn't mean to imply that there was anything shady going on a your club, after all I've heard nothing but good things but, old habits die hard."

It didn't take long for the other shot glass to be balanced on the rim of the glass just as precariously  as the other as Kenji smiled apologetically as he said " Though this drink will have to be my last, after all some of us do have to work for a living." However despite what he just said he made no move to tip his drink over he just let it sit there perched.

Thus the game had been set. Neither liquor they had in front of them mixed wel with the shot in front of them. So whoever bowed out first all they had to do was tip the shot and excuse themselves, granted not before tasting a rather unpleasant flavor of defeat, so to speak.

So kenji just settled on a neutral smile for now and waited.

[Zuka]

Zuka didn't understand what he was trying to prove here with the drinks but what else should she have expected? He had been the same back then and she had always feed into it, wanting to prove her worth and how tough she was. Looking back it was foolish of her and she knew that now but still, it was hard not to fall back into that with him around. Zuka didn't know what it was but she always felt like she had to show Kenji just how good she was and it wasn't like that with anyone else. Not with the other Triads, not with her people, not with anyone else but him and Zuka hated it. What was it about him that brought that out of her?

She laughed in her head when he said that he had meant no offense about her club but she didn't say anything. In truth, there were worse things that the Dragon could deal in besides gambling but it still stood to reason that it was just as "shady" as anything else the others did. No offense taken.

Now that he had his own shot poured and perched atop his own glass Zuka looked at him and rose a brow. Well this was going to be unpleasant and she knew that she couldn't drink that, she had already had one on too of her torch and she still had Doll business to take care of within the hour and she did not need to be inebriated for that so, if this was how it was going to be then she supposed she would have to get him to his first. Im sure you must be busy. So, what's it like playing for the other side now? Can't be nearly as fun as what you used to do id imangine.

[Kenji]

Kenji chuckled softly  as his fingers moved close to the glass but never enough to send it teetering and toppling over the edge> He gave  a shrug of his shoulders as he said " Eh it has it's moments, though it's definitely a...slower process than I'm used to I give you that, but at the end of the day it's nothing that someone with a little know how and streets smarts couldn't figure out how to do."

"It's no nightclub Ill give you that," he said gesturing around " This impressive really," he said pausing before rounding to the punchline " especially because last I heard this was Triad territory, not a lot of independent places tend to be left standing when it comes to those groups." he said letting the implied question sink in.

(bah short post.)

[Zuka]

And there it was.

It was only a matter of time before he came out with it and honestly she was surprised it had taken him this long. Most people knew what she did or at least had their suspicions but Zuka didn't broadcast it. There wasn't a need to, if something came up that needed her attention in that way she dealt with it and did not make it a large thing like some of the others did. Doing things that way might hurt her in little ways but in the long run it was what kept her out of prison and that was fine with her. This also meant that when she was challenged she and her girls had to go harder with brute force and that was never a problem.

Zuka gave him a rehearsed, pleasant smile. She had had this conversation before with more than one person but only he would understand the meaning behind it given their past. I learned a thing or two back in the day. It helps when you know how to deal with them. It was true, the things she learned had helped her get to where she was now. She would give him a chance to keep poking around with questions a bit more before she asked her own again, didn't want to seem like she was too eager to turn the spotlight away from her again.