A Better Offer

Alistair Svelic sat in the back of a dreary, two-bit strip club, taking long drawls on his cigar as he idly watched the patrons go about their business; some drinking, some watching the dancers, some conversing with one another. All together a dull evening, but he had little else to do while he waited for Charon to get better. The gang leader had reportedly becoming bedridden after the incident in the fight club with Correy, in an undisclosed location, even to someone of Alistair's "inquisitive" nature. No one knew where he was being kept except those that were watching over him. Bastards.
Until news of this changed, Alistair wouldn't be able to fulfill his job to Simon, so Svelic would entertain himself by invading the minds of drunken or horny gangers in backwater shacks like this one. He was currently very much enjoying perusing the memories of a member of Oz when a powerful scent of cologne sat down in the booth with him. Svelic turned and saw a well shaven man with a scarred face and golden eye was across from him.
"Ah, Mister Tang, pleasure to see you again." He said cheerily, flashing his movie-star smile at the stern-looking Chinese man. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You and I both know that questions are pointless with you, parasite." Shoushan spat, his lip curling in a sneer; he hated Alistair, and made no attempt to hide it. It would be futile against a mind-reader like him anyways.
Alistair smirked, happy to have the express invitation. He plied his trade on Shoushan's mind, a most interesting one, and found Shoushan was here to strike a deal. "You want me off of Simon's payroll and on yours?" He asked, only slightly surprised. "What for?"
"This war between Mammon and Typhon is coming to a point." Shoushan explained. "And contrary to what most people think, I believe it could go either way. And I want to stack the deck in my favor."
"And what investment do you have in little ol' Charon, eh?" Svelic leaned on the table, smirking and exhaling a large cloud of smoke into Shoushan's face. The mob boss reacted with little more than a glare.
"He is dangerously close to my little brother. By removing you from the board, then it earns the Boatman's favor with me. Keeps him away from the rat."
"Do you really believe that for a second?" Alistair asked incredulously with his cocky half-smile; he didn't need Shoushan to answer; he saw the answer plain as day.
"Of course not. But this way if Charon goes back on his word, he will not be able to say I did not give him the benefit of the doubt."
Alistair laughed. "Yeah, sure, that honor code of yours. Then why not go for Hissori, or Correy, or any of the other big guys on Simon's payroll? Why go for lil ol' me?"
"The Boatman wants revenge on Hissori. Removing him from play would be a disservice to a man who could be a good supplier of merchandise. And besides; I have use for you. Buying your service aids a man I want placated, as well as myself."
Svelic smirked and took a long drawl from his cigar. "More help with your sibling rivalry, no doubt?"
Shoushan narrowed his eyes; even without Svelic reading his mind, Shoushan didn't have to answer that.
"Well, it's going to be a significant amount of money to convince me to walk out on an existing client..." Alistair started. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by the sound of something hitting the table. He glanced at it and saw a large, black briefcase. He'd done enough business with Shoushan to know what was inside.
"A down payment." Shoushan said matter-of-factly. "Double what Simon is offering you for your little milkrun against a ghost. More will be coming as you complete further jobs for me."
Alistair raised an eyebrow, impressed. "You really mean it when you say 'money is no object', don't you?"
"I don't believe I said that." Shoushan sneered.
"No, but you thought it, which is close enough for me." Svelic muttered as he reached for the case. Shoushan quickly dragged it back.
"I take it we have a deal then?" Shoushan asked tentatively; he knew they did. For as much of a cunning bastard as Svelic was, he was comedicly simple to manipulate.
"Of course we do, Master Shoushan." Alistair said with a smirk, coaxing the briefcase from Shoushan's hand and typing in the combination he had liberated from his new employer's mind.
Shoushan smirked; he was glad Alistair still remembered to call him by that title when under his employ. So loyal, so quick. Follow the money. "I will send you information on your first mark shortly. Until then, steer clear of the Boatman and the Dead Man. Wouldn't want you getting caught in the crossfire."