If it had been anyone else, Shay didn't think the story would have scared her quite as much. But Vito doing it.... Why did that bother her? It shouldn't have. She was being silly. This was just business. But there was always that nagging voice in Shay's head that whispered, it could always be you next. She didn't welcome it, but it never left.
Shay was all too happy to get to the tacticians room. She immediately went to the map, mentally filing away everything Vito told her. She followed the path of the threads, looking at the pictures and articles, memorizing where the tags were.
"So cool," she uttered under her breath. "Is Abia Defan as influential as the Rosales?" Shay wondered what parts of business Abia had involved herself in. She should look out for that name.
"Do you guys have anything to signify common police patrols?" The police had those, right? Shay was certain they must. They worked in pairs like that and scanned places of common criminal activity.
"How much do you bribe your dirty cops with? Also, how can you tell which cops will flip for you? What if they rat you out?" In spite of her passion, Shay was careful not to touch anything.
And suddenly, she was wondering about Vito. "Have you ever been arrested, Vito?" And then, Klaus, too. "Has Klaus ever yelled at anyone? Or is that only your job? Who plans most of this?" She motioned to the board. Whoever did it, she wanted to learn from them.
Vito watched her as she familiarized herself with the map with a fatherly pride glowing in his chest. He could remember when he himself was first in the Rosales gang. When his brothers wanted to jump straight to night clubs and drug dealing, Vito spent months learning about how the cogs of the system worked. It was a lot more unruly at the time, but Vito untangled the strings and dominated their enemies with sheer willpower.
Now, Shay, even young as she was, showed a similar curiosity. She had a sharp mind, like a knife. It could be useful if he could smooth out her aggression.
"Depends on what your definition of 'influential' is. Defan has us beat in the drug world, god help us, but we have more territories and connections." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't like how that woman operates. Be careful when you find her men. They're not as forgiving as the Rosales."
Vito showed her the little blue lines and tiny notes around them. They looked like times. "These aren't as detailed as I'd like them to be. Our respective districts keep a better track of them, considering it concerns them. The police mix up their schedules to surprise us at times. I won't always be around to round up our men, so as much as possible, I trust the competency of the people I put as my leaders." A thoughtful pause. "Of course, there are spies to make sure they don't pull anything funny. I don't want an incident like Salvacion all over again."
Vito cringed faintly at the question. What if they rat you out? That was one of his biggest concerns. Vito's had dealings with Vesper, but Verma was a whole different matter. He wouldn't trust that man as far as he could throw him. But he had a pretty face. That was all that mattered to Klaus, he supposed.
"There's... always risk on that front, but it's a necessary action in this sort of business. You also have to keep in mind that they would get in trouble for associating with us. If you can't trust them, trust in the fact that they want to save their asses." He crossed his arms, huffing. "Between you and me? I won't trust anything Verma says."
Vito shook his head at the next answer. "No. I've never been almost arrested either. I'm a lot more discrete than Klaus is. I look shady, but they can't prove a damn thing. If you're ever Underground, look out for when they talk about V or Oilslick. They're talking about me."
As for Klaus... "Klaus doesn't yell, at least not seriously. When he's pissed or warning, he's sharp and firm, not loud. But he loves the gang. They're all his friends. He'd never yell at them." Neglecting, of course, to mention that Klaus had the habit of burying people when they really pissed him off. Compared to that, Vito's anger was the lesser evil. But there was no need to tell Shay that, especially not after his little story. "So, you're right. That's my job. I'm prepared to be the big bad boss so he wouldn't have to. Our dynamic works. Klaus makes them want to stay, and I make sure they do their job right while they're staying."
Vito looked at the map with pride. "Who else do you think? I made this myself with Klaus and the district leaders' help. I track every movement of the gang, from the smallest change in sales to police warnings, and I plan around them and handle anything that might come up so we are always at our most efficient." He grinned. "Smart people rule the world."
Now, Shay, even young as she was, showed a similar curiosity. She had a sharp mind, like a knife. It could be useful if he could smooth out her aggression.
"Depends on what your definition of 'influential' is. Defan has us beat in the drug world, god help us, but we have more territories and connections." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't like how that woman operates. Be careful when you find her men. They're not as forgiving as the Rosales."
Vito showed her the little blue lines and tiny notes around them. They looked like times. "These aren't as detailed as I'd like them to be. Our respective districts keep a better track of them, considering it concerns them. The police mix up their schedules to surprise us at times. I won't always be around to round up our men, so as much as possible, I trust the competency of the people I put as my leaders." A thoughtful pause. "Of course, there are spies to make sure they don't pull anything funny. I don't want an incident like Salvacion all over again."
Vito cringed faintly at the question. What if they rat you out? That was one of his biggest concerns. Vito's had dealings with Vesper, but Verma was a whole different matter. He wouldn't trust that man as far as he could throw him. But he had a pretty face. That was all that mattered to Klaus, he supposed.
"There's... always risk on that front, but it's a necessary action in this sort of business. You also have to keep in mind that they would get in trouble for associating with us. If you can't trust them, trust in the fact that they want to save their asses." He crossed his arms, huffing. "Between you and me? I won't trust anything Verma says."
Vito shook his head at the next answer. "No. I've never been almost arrested either. I'm a lot more discrete than Klaus is. I look shady, but they can't prove a damn thing. If you're ever Underground, look out for when they talk about V or Oilslick. They're talking about me."
As for Klaus... "Klaus doesn't yell, at least not seriously. When he's pissed or warning, he's sharp and firm, not loud. But he loves the gang. They're all his friends. He'd never yell at them." Neglecting, of course, to mention that Klaus had the habit of burying people when they really pissed him off. Compared to that, Vito's anger was the lesser evil. But there was no need to tell Shay that, especially not after his little story. "So, you're right. That's my job. I'm prepared to be the big bad boss so he wouldn't have to. Our dynamic works. Klaus makes them want to stay, and I make sure they do their job right while they're staying."
Vito looked at the map with pride. "Who else do you think? I made this myself with Klaus and the district leaders' help. I track every movement of the gang, from the smallest change in sales to police warnings, and I plan around them and handle anything that might come up so we are always at our most efficient." He grinned. "Smart people rule the world."
It was astounding. The best most beautiful thing Shay had ever seen. It made her feel light and bigger than she ever imagined she could. Shay had always assumed the important people in the world were just powerful. They were the ones who could scare a whole room with one look. Hell, Vito could scare an entire room with one look, but that wasn't where his power stemmed from, was it? It was this; all of this planning and knowing and predicting.
Don't trust Verma. Shay internalized that comment and stored it away for when she inevitably met this dirty cop. Just between her and Vito; their own little secret. "How did you get the name Oilslick?" She asked, still eyeing over the chart. She wanted to memorize it, be able to recall all its little details at the drop of a hat. One day, was this what she would do? Would she be in the Rosales business? Or would she be something different? Something less or more or just somewhere in between?
Talking to Vito about all of this and being told thing (just between them!) made Shay feel like an adult. A true adult; one who could be trusted with the little, subtle secrets of the world. When she imagined Vito, Klaus, and the rest of the Rosales and the gang, when she took the time to recognize her relation to them, she realized how much larger everything was. Fighting for family, for your people, was easier than fighting for yourself.
This was all so much to take in. She couldn't look away, or think about anything else. The Rosales were family. Klaus would never yell at his family, but Vito had hurt one of them. Where was the line? Were you only hurt when you purposefully betrayed them? If you were a liability, wasn't that just as bad?
"Smart people rule the world," she repeated under her breath, small and awed. Shay was proud, too. She was proud that people like them had chosen someone like her. She was proud that she could stand here with Vito and look behind the scenes at everything him and Klaus had created. It was enough to have tears prickling the corners of her eyes.
Shay turned and drifted to Vito, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in the warmth of his lower chest. It shouldn't have, but his scent surrounded her, and it reminded Shay of safety and family. Two things that, as far as Shay had ever known, were fleeting. She was a child prone to mistakes and one that attracted danger like a moth to the flame. People like that didn't last long in gangs. People like that were killed by gangs.
"Vito," the words were stuck at the back of her throat. How could she ask? More so, did Shay expect a genuine answer? Trust was hard. "I'm sorry." Not for the fight, not exactly. She'd have probably done that over again. Shay was sorry because she'd have done it all over again. She'd have made the same, stupid mistakes that would get her sent away and in trouble. She was sorry because they were in totally separate worlds, and she was sure neither of them could ever cross over.
Things like these, involving her and them, they were doomed to failure. Beautiful, broken failures. But in the end, it wouldn't be Klaus and Vito hurt.