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The anticipation was almost worse than the assumed outcome. The moment the boss spoke again, rather than letting his eyes continue to do all the threatening, Victor was sure that he’d failed to convince him his worth.
All these years of giving up his life just to be taken out the very day he was getting closer to having his life back. It would be a cruel fate for Vincent to lose his mother and his son to the mafia groups he fought so hard against; though Victor wasn't sure if they'd ever find his body if the boss decided to kill him.
But against all odds, the boss decided to ‘humor’ him. Victor tried to hide his relief but he’s sure it is palpable when the boss decides to hold off his murder. His men did not seem to approve of the boss’ decision, but he frankly didn’t care what his men thought as long as the boss wanted him alive. They were clearly tired of his existence already, especially with the boss approving it for at least the next twenty four hours, which gave him enough time to gather the protection from their pistols. Though what exactly that entailed had not yet been identified, and that was the part that didn’t make the panic go away. Victor wasn’t sure how to feel at this point: this was so much different than the scenarios he prepared for and it was dizzying not to know when his next breath would be his last. He'd be thankful when they finally untie him and he can get a proper breath, then he could plan.
Victor had barely heard the boss’ proposition as he stared at the tattoo on the boss’ collarbone, probably for too long as everyone was expecting an answer. He tried to memorize the numerals for further research as he also had to think of what he could get in 24 hours. But he mustered the rest of his confidence and nodded. ”I’ll have your information tomorrow,” Victor answers smoothly. He didn't want to promise too much or he'd end up in the same situation now, scrambling for anything to keep him alive. He just had to pray that his partner had good intel on the Dynasty - and that he was willing to share.
Once the men with the boss had untied him, he grabbed the few items he had on him and made his exit. The glare he got when his hand went for the drugs made him leave it, which would surely get him scolded by Fieldings; thankfully he had a trump card of not dying on his first meeting with the Dynasty. Victor forced himself not to run back to his apartment, though he would really appreciate at least a door between himself and the mafia.
Victor went to his room and shuffled through the boxes he'd yet to unpack and searched frantically for the extra burner phone he'd bought just for this situation. He was sure that those men had bugged his phone while he was unconscious, and needed a new phone to call Fieldings.
"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck- Jesus Fieldings, do you not know how to answer your phone?" Victor snapped as soon as Fieldings came on the line, sounding too nonchalant for Victor's liking. He moved to his window, checking out the blinds to see if any of the men had followed him home. They did have his address from the fake ID, but if there were any men out there, they were hidden from Victor's view. "Calm down, Russo. What happened?" Fieldings' voice calmed him more than he thought it would, it reminded him that he had made it out and now he had to make sure that he continued to make it out of these meetings with the Dynasty. "I have twenty four hours to bring the Dynasty something useful - whatever the hell that means. They're ready to take me out now so I need something good. Whatever intel you have on the Dynasty." Victor explained his situation, feeling the panic rise in his throat. Fieldings sighed, and Victor could hear him shuffling through paperwork; he must have been prepared for Victor to ask him for this.
"I have something I've been working on against the Moons. But, if I give this to you, you better take those bastards down. I've lost a few good men to get anything on the Moons and I don't want it to go to waste," Fieldings was deathly serious, which meant it was exactly what Victor was looking for.
They met at dawn, and it was the first time Victor had seen the sunrise in a long time. Fieldings handed him the files he had on the Moons. ”These are all the locations that the Moons use for meetings that the police are aware of. That should be enough to keep you out of the morgue the meantime." Fieldings ran his hand through his hair, looking over at Victor. Victor saw Fieldings as an older brother, and it was clear when his 'brother' was worried about him. "I'm fine, Hector. The kid just caught me off guard, that's all." It was more than the boss catching him off guard, but he didn't need to worry Hector more than he already was. The other detective raised his eyebrows as Victor mentioned the young boss, but didn't feel the need to comment.
"Just keep yourself alive, Vic. I'm not losing another partner to the fuckin' mob," Fieldings ended their little rendezvous, and Vic took his extra time before going to the restaurant to look over the files. He didn't want to look like some idiot handing over intel he had no idea about. But there was not enough intel in the entire department that could delay his meeting with the boss. He sat in the same booth that the boss' men found him in yesterday, and waited to see if he would get more than twenty four hours with the Moon Dynasty.
All these years of giving up his life just to be taken out the very day he was getting closer to having his life back. It would be a cruel fate for Vincent to lose his mother and his son to the mafia groups he fought so hard against; though Victor wasn't sure if they'd ever find his body if the boss decided to kill him.
But against all odds, the boss decided to ‘humor’ him. Victor tried to hide his relief but he’s sure it is palpable when the boss decides to hold off his murder. His men did not seem to approve of the boss’ decision, but he frankly didn’t care what his men thought as long as the boss wanted him alive. They were clearly tired of his existence already, especially with the boss approving it for at least the next twenty four hours, which gave him enough time to gather the protection from their pistols. Though what exactly that entailed had not yet been identified, and that was the part that didn’t make the panic go away. Victor wasn’t sure how to feel at this point: this was so much different than the scenarios he prepared for and it was dizzying not to know when his next breath would be his last. He'd be thankful when they finally untie him and he can get a proper breath, then he could plan.
Victor had barely heard the boss’ proposition as he stared at the tattoo on the boss’ collarbone, probably for too long as everyone was expecting an answer. He tried to memorize the numerals for further research as he also had to think of what he could get in 24 hours. But he mustered the rest of his confidence and nodded. ”I’ll have your information tomorrow,” Victor answers smoothly. He didn't want to promise too much or he'd end up in the same situation now, scrambling for anything to keep him alive. He just had to pray that his partner had good intel on the Dynasty - and that he was willing to share.
Once the men with the boss had untied him, he grabbed the few items he had on him and made his exit. The glare he got when his hand went for the drugs made him leave it, which would surely get him scolded by Fieldings; thankfully he had a trump card of not dying on his first meeting with the Dynasty. Victor forced himself not to run back to his apartment, though he would really appreciate at least a door between himself and the mafia.
Victor went to his room and shuffled through the boxes he'd yet to unpack and searched frantically for the extra burner phone he'd bought just for this situation. He was sure that those men had bugged his phone while he was unconscious, and needed a new phone to call Fieldings.
"Fuck, fuck fuck fuck- Jesus Fieldings, do you not know how to answer your phone?" Victor snapped as soon as Fieldings came on the line, sounding too nonchalant for Victor's liking. He moved to his window, checking out the blinds to see if any of the men had followed him home. They did have his address from the fake ID, but if there were any men out there, they were hidden from Victor's view. "Calm down, Russo. What happened?" Fieldings' voice calmed him more than he thought it would, it reminded him that he had made it out and now he had to make sure that he continued to make it out of these meetings with the Dynasty. "I have twenty four hours to bring the Dynasty something useful - whatever the hell that means. They're ready to take me out now so I need something good. Whatever intel you have on the Dynasty." Victor explained his situation, feeling the panic rise in his throat. Fieldings sighed, and Victor could hear him shuffling through paperwork; he must have been prepared for Victor to ask him for this.
"I have something I've been working on against the Moons. But, if I give this to you, you better take those bastards down. I've lost a few good men to get anything on the Moons and I don't want it to go to waste," Fieldings was deathly serious, which meant it was exactly what Victor was looking for.
They met at dawn, and it was the first time Victor had seen the sunrise in a long time. Fieldings handed him the files he had on the Moons. ”These are all the locations that the Moons use for meetings that the police are aware of. That should be enough to keep you out of the morgue the meantime." Fieldings ran his hand through his hair, looking over at Victor. Victor saw Fieldings as an older brother, and it was clear when his 'brother' was worried about him. "I'm fine, Hector. The kid just caught me off guard, that's all." It was more than the boss catching him off guard, but he didn't need to worry Hector more than he already was. The other detective raised his eyebrows as Victor mentioned the young boss, but didn't feel the need to comment.
"Just keep yourself alive, Vic. I'm not losing another partner to the fuckin' mob," Fieldings ended their little rendezvous, and Vic took his extra time before going to the restaurant to look over the files. He didn't want to look like some idiot handing over intel he had no idea about. But there was not enough intel in the entire department that could delay his meeting with the boss. He sat in the same booth that the boss' men found him in yesterday, and waited to see if he would get more than twenty four hours with the Moon Dynasty.