Hades took in the younger man’s mix of nerves and defeat with a sort of near-giddy amusement. “Young man,” he responded, raising the back of his hand to his mouth to disguise a deep chuckle in the clearing of his throat, “I do believe that’s the first intelligent thing you’ve said this afternoon.”
Every soul he worked with back at the office had stayed employed because they ain’t made themselves trouble ; every client he maintained with a careful distance and courtesy. Rare was the opportunity Hades had to go toe-to-toe, get the thrill from stretching out the presence he’d dutifully cultivated over the years. If ya got more than straw between your ears, ain’t hard at all to manage the darker underbelly of the world and come out with blood singing and inspiration turnin’ the mind. Not that Ernest Denouement was much to manage ; Hades had worked land deals in the private rooms of his hotel for years, and it’d be kind to say the young man had a hay stack in his head. But at least, usually, he had a talent for bein’ discrete.
Though a run-of-the-mill land inspection hardly required it. He quirked his eyebrow the longer the younger man pontificated and, not gathering, glanced behind him for the crushed pile of greenery he’d been so eager to disguise. Hades sniffed again and, this time, frowned. Second time around the scent was unfortunately familiar ; he’d found the same sickly sweet, heady odor clingin’ to his wife’s laundry more times than he liked to think about. He looked back to Ernest with a furrowed brow, gesturing vaguely to the pile. “It ain’t mine,” he rumbled, considering it again with a deeper frown. Wouldn’t look good if some dumb kid came stompin’ through here once he’d gotten this place sold and found a patch of the stuff.
Mulling his jaw and still considering the pile, he pointed again with his hat out to the man. “I tell you what, Mr. Denouement,” he offered, slow to drawl while his mind turned. A sniffer weasel for certain, but a discrete one, and clever enough to avoid any toothy jaws ‘til now. “You forget the IOU and you make it a 'quick favor,’ I won’t call any other hands into this. Do some diggin’ for me, find out how this wound up here in the first place - you’ll excuse the turn of expression, but it does look like ya’ve got a talent for it. You dig fast enough and I’ll ensure some nice compensation as well.”
Ernest looked a little surprised at that, but then his look of shock turned into more of a feral grin. This would be dealt with much, much easier than he thought it would be. He twisted his hands together anxiously, pressing his pointer fingers together and using them to gesture as he spoke.
“You’ve found the perfect man for the job, Hades - uh. Mr. Hades. I’ll get rid of the beasts as quick as I can, just like I intended to do in the first place. It won’t do to have weeds in the garden, I’m sure.” He paused for a moment at his own joke. He was obviously making an effort to stand still, and thus his mouth was off like a light. He was still very much the middle child with undiagnosed ADHD at heart - no matter how old or estranged from his family he got.
“I’m assuming you want to actually know about who’s doing this, then. Or do you just want me to pass it, uh. Up the ladder?” He asked, pursing his lips a little bit as he awaited an answer, rocking up onto his toes for a moment.
