The sound of a baseball bat hitting a human body resounded throughout the space of the warehouse.

Caranthir slipped the last cigarette out of a pack and someone held a lighter for him. He tuned out the sounds of the beating and savored the first breath of smoke. When he was halfway through the cigarette, he held up a hand and the beating stopped. He stepped up to the man tied up in the chair and leaned forward to be at eye level.

"Well now, what have we learned today?" He asked.

The man wheezed, blood foaming at his mouth, "Do we really gotta do it like this?"

Caranthir took another drag.

The man scoffed, "Yeah, yeah, I'll make extra sure my guys stay out of your boss's territory when they're on delivery. How's that?"

Caranthir stood back up straight. "You're a fast learner." He jerked his head towards the back of the building, "Now get out of here."

His men untied him and after a few moments the man rose on shaky legs and limped out. The beating was a warning, Caranthir had let him in to see his workings as a subtler warning. He wouldn't be a problem again. If he was, well there was no room on the streets for thick skulls.

A young man appeared beside him holding a phone. "Excuse me sir, there's a man on the line, he says he's your brother."

Caranthir frowned. Brother? That didn't narrow it down much. He hoped it was Nelyo.

"Thank you, Toshio." He took the phone and walked outside before seeing who it was.

"Hello?"

"Moryo? Am I glad I got a hold of you, your underlings have quite the gauntlet set up for unknown callers." Káno's voice. Well, if you couldn't have Nelyo...

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, cigarette still smoldering between his fingers. "What's up?"

"Where are you right now?" His voice was crackly on the phone, but Caranthir could detect a strain of anxiety in his brother's usually suave voice.

"Outside a warehouse."

"No, where are you country-wise?"

"Japan," He answered after a moment.

"Ah, good, good."

When Maglor didn't say anything else for a while he was forced to ask, "Any particular reason you called?"

"Has anything... strange happened to you, around you?" His tone was hard to read, but Caranthir thought he detected an edge of fear.

He pursed his lips. "Exactly what kind of strange are you talking about?"

"It's just that I've been rather worried lately, have you heard anything from the twins? They talk to you, don't they?"

"I'll answer that question after you answer mine" He let the frustration he was feeling into his words.

The crackling noise of a deep breath over the phone. "I saw a dark Maia, it addressed me by name because it knew me, and I wanted to make sure you were safe." Káno wasn't yelling volume-wise, but the urgency in his voice had reached a peak.

Káno's words took a moment to process. A dark Maia? Not just some shadowy anomaly, it spoke and used names? Caranthir didn't like the way the hair on his neck stood up. "You'd better go to Tyelkormo for that."

"I've already spoken to him and he told me I was overreacting." Maglor explained.

Caranthir didn't like to agree with Tyelkormo but in this instance...

A crackle, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well has there been any odd happenings around you?"

Caranthir permitted himself a bit of a grin away from any eyes. In his line of work "odd" could happen at any time. But that's not what Káno was asking. "No, no dark spirits here."

"Ah, that's a relief." Káno said, and sounded like he meant it.

Caranthir had had a thought growing in his mind since he'd first heard Káno's voice and was getting dangerously close to sharing it. It slipped out. "You should talk to Nelyo about it."

Káno's voice went a touch stiffer. "I don't want to bother him."

"Oh please. Nelyo lives for us, he'd love to see you."

"That's as may be, but—"

In for a penny in for a pound. "And if you don't tell Nelyo about this, then I will."

"Moryo—"

Caranthir ignored the reprimand in his brother's voice. "Talk to him, Káno. He misses you. He told me he does. You used to be with him all the time, now it's like you're avoiding him." He took a gamble voicing that observation out loud. He'd noticed over the centuries that Maglor wasn't going to Nelyo with things like he used to, and that bothered him. If he could nudge Káno in that direction, he'd consider it a win. Nelyo had seen fit to confide in him about this, he'd do what he could about it.

There was something like defeat in Káno's voice as he assented. "Okay fine, if you say so. Now, have you heard anything from the twins?"

Ah right. He had his midnight appointment with Pityo to look forward to. Nothing worth hiding from Káno. "As a matter of fact Pityo materialized the other night."

"Just Pityo? Where's Telvo?"

"I'm sure I'll find out tonight."

Káno kept silent waiting for more that was not going to come. That was all Caranthir had.

"Well, tell him hi for me." Káno finally said.

Caranthir perceived the end of the conversation. "It was nice talking to you, Káno. Goodbye."

"Wait wait wait," Káno said in a rush as Caranthir removed the phone from his ear.

He took a deep breath as he put the phone back. "Yes?" Káno could ramble for literal hours if you gave him the time of day. Caranthir would have to make a clean break and soon.

"Will you promise to be careful?"

Caranthir let the question hang for a moment. "Nope." He said, then hung up.

He almost smiled as he pictured Káno's opened mouth shock and sputter.

A voice came from around the corner. "Hey, the car is here."

Carnistir dropped his cigarette and ground it out with his foot. He straightened his suit coat and looked around the alleyway, eyeing especially the dark corners around dumpsters, and the odd shadows cast by the jumble of buildings towering above. He shook himself. No, he would not let Káno's skittishness infect him. He was better than that. He especially couldn't afford to appear paranoid in front of the men. Most of his high status in this little organization was due to his unflappable character. He never flinched at anything. He liked the paperwork, but whenever the boss had some particularly grisly task, Caranthir was the one to call.

Perfectly schooled to neutrality he slipped in the car, ready for his next task.