“Finally…” Dawn stretched and groaned. They arrived at last.
Although there were many changes in this city, this one district remained almost unchanged since the last time he was here.Aqua was finally awake, and she looked better than she did in the morning. Dawn did not know how the mermaid recovered so quickly, but nothing was surprising anymore. It must be mermaid magic.“Let’s stop to get some dinner first,” he told her. “You can eat in the car while I visit an old friend. It shouldn’t take long. What do you want to eat?”Without hesitation, Aqua reminded Dawn about her hot sauce taco request.Blinking uncomfortably, the mafia boss rejected her demands. He also rejected her request for more sweets and sandwiches. Confused, the mermaid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, thumping her tail impatiently with a pout.“Why are you asking me if you’re just going to say no? I’m notAfter sniffing at the box of sushi, Aqua hesitantly picked one up and placed it in her mouth. Instantly, she decided that even the shittiest of food from the ocean would miraculously turn delicious if humans made them. Once she started, it was difficult to stop.The vigorous appetite told Dawn that Aqua must have fully recovered. Sushi was best with soy sauce, and the mafia boss drove leisurely while helping Aqua to open her sauce sachet at traffic lights.“The wasabi is spicy,” he warned. “You might want to put a bit or taste it first. Alternatively, you can choose to dip it in soy sauce only.”Finding it a hassle, Aqua ignored the wasabi. Rice, fish and soy sauce were even better than the sandwich! No wonder Dawn insisted on fish. Who knew that this combination of food existed? It even had seaweed cut into cute belts wrapping around the rice and fish to keep them in place. What a creative way to prepare food!With gusto, Aqua finished he
The night was young, and Jericho Jadwin was bored. None of his regular customers was causing problems, there was nobody to blackmail, and Dawn did not contact him apart from that one message from a few days ago using some random person’s phone. He did some digging and learned how Ricardo finally pulled off the coup d'etat. Some said that Dawn died, but no bodies matched his best friend’s description for obvious reasons.Drumming his fingers on the bar counter with acrylic nails clacking rhythmically, the gay man sighed. He polished all the glass that needed polishing, and there weren’t many customers that needed serving. None of these new faces was his type either, and the bar mama felt restless. Why hasn’t Dawn contacted him yet? Was he still in danger?Ever since they were young, Jericho had always been the more cautious of the two. They grew up together but lived apart when Dawn was determined to take over his family business. The stupid mafia bo
Cringing at the nickname, Dawn almost spat out the drink in his hand. He didn’t hate Jack Daniels, but the joke was getting old.“Aren’t you getting tired of it?” he asked. “That horse is dead.”The horse might be dead for many years, but it wouldn’t amuse Jericho any less. Dawn might have learned how to relax his dress code, but his personality was still as stiff as ever.“The horse might be, but not the man. You were supposed to be dead.”Closing the door, Jericho let his mischievous side fall. There was still a small twinkle in his eye, wanting more details about Dawn’s supposed death. Judging from that reaction, the gay man had already caught wind of Ricardo’s betrayal. Dawn put the whisky glass down with a sigh. Jericho wouldn’t let him go without getting all the information he wanted.“How much do you know already?” the mafia boss asked.Not in a hurry, the bar own
With new keys and access cards, Dawn returned to his car. The bouncers only nodded at him, but the mafia boss refused to acknowledge their presence. The first thing he would do after getting to his hideout was to take a long shower. He had to get rid of his best friend’s perfume immediately.“You’re back!” Aqua greeted brightly, curled up on the passenger seat while listening to the radio at full volume.Dawn climbed in and nodded. The keys and cards were in the hoodie of his pocket, where the pistol was too. He started the engine and reduced the music volume before realising he had forgotten to tell Jericho about the sushi he got from Ishi-san.“Whatever. He can figure it out himself,” Dawn reasoned and strapped up.Aqua quickly followed Dawn’s example and replaced her seat belt, not wanting to become fish paste on the windshield as the car started to move.After driving out of the nightclub district, Dawn zoomed pa
The penthouse interior was designed similarly to a minimalist state-of-the-art mansion. Dawn did not have a lot of input on the design. He only wanted a space to live in safety and work from. Almost everything else was decided by Jericho. Luckily for him, the gay bar owner had very refined lifestyle choices.Aqua was instantly enamoured by the spacious interior and sparkly chandelier when they stepped into the penthouse. Dawn decided to place her on the large custom-made sofa and searched for the remotes for his new home.While Dawn figured out how everything worked in his smart home, Aqua bounced on the sofa. It was bigger, softer and bouncier than the seat in the car! Aqua did not know what everything was, but she could recognise some things. Everything was smooth and shiny in Dawn’s home with interesting colours. She wondered if it would be alright to touch them.“Found it,” the mafia boss sighed at last. “Here.”Holding out two r
It was a house tour for both Dawn and Aqua. The mafia boss did not know where many things were in this penthouse, even though Jericho helped him make it comfortable. The penthouse was considered small compared to his family’s house on private land. However, it was comfortable and had everything he could possibly need in a city.Aqua was amazed. She knew that the things humans created were very interesting. Once, her mother showed her a human ship that had sunk to the bottom of the ocean as it was broken. It was home to crabs and fishes that loved to hide inside the enormous structure as it was full of algae. However, Aqua loved exploring the ship because there would always be something in there to learn about. Her mother had little idea what most of the trinkets she found on those shipwrecks were. However, it was still fun to think about how humans would use them.Aqua knew for a fact how humans had to wear clothes because they did not have scales to cover their skin
Despite the rosy adventures in the last few days, Dawn hadn’t forgotten about his responsibilities. He was still a mafia boss, and Ricardo was still out there somewhere. He couldn’t possibly let that traitor go scot-free. More importantly, he wanted to find out more about what happened to the remaining members of his family and the allies. Jericho was working on finding information as he spoke, but the bar owner would take some time to get everything for him. Not to mention, Dawn owed his friend some payment. He had to make some money now that he was technically a bum. How humiliating.The phone and laptop in the safe needed charging before Dawn could use them. They were an older model but good enough to make money with. Jericho was the only contact on this untraceable phone, and Dawn’s laptop had been installed with VPN. The bar owner was an expert in these things, so the mafia boss let his friend have his way with them. He only needed his phone for calls and
While Dawn worked through the night, Aqua found herself drifting off in the jacuzzi. She had no idea when her nights became days, but it wasn’t terrible. Sleeping with a tail and waking up with legs became her new norm. Now that she wasn’t in the ocean and at risk of getting eaten when she transformed into a human, Aqua rested better. If anything, she preferred being awake when she had legs because there were more things she could do with her legs than with a tail.Dawn did not know when the sun rose. He worked through the night, and the dark circles beneath his eyes were evidence of his effort. He kept it up for a few more hours to ensure his locked-in trades were moving in the right direction. Thankfully, most of his trades closed on a positive note, raking in big money to remove him from the ‘peasant’ equation. The trades that did not move favourably, Dawn closed them as quickly as possible to minimise the losses he made. On the whole, he was five mil