Chapter 11 #2
However, Chainz was nowhere to be seen. Vin’s eyes traveled back to the large door at the back of the bar. The massive, hulking Legion stood guard outside of it, which told Vin all he needed to know. Legion never went anywhere without his boss close by.
Chainz was behind that door, and Vin had no idea why the gang leader wasn’t out here to greet them yet.
He didn’t have long to wait, however. With a loud bang, the door nearly exploded open furiously. The contract killer known as Maverick and Chainz’s girlfriend, Jessie, stalked out, each of them glaring holes through him.
Chainz followed a second later, his bulk filling the doorway as he squeezed out into the main bar.
“Sean,” Chainz growled, his deep, commanding voice filling the entire space. “What the fuck are you trying to pull here?”
“Nothing,” Sean said, holding up his hands in a manner similar to Vin. “Nothing at all, Chainz. I’m here for the help you promised me. The deal we struck.”
Chainz pointed a thick finger at Vin. “He wasn’t part of the deal,” Chainz said.
“In fact, I specifically asked you about this mother fucker right here, and you told me that you had no contact with him. I respect liars when they work their shit out there in the world, Sean. But I kill liars who try to put one over on me.”
“Things changed,” Sean said. “The situation became a lot more complicated, and I needed his help.”
Chainz laughed. “You got the committed help of my entire organization here,” he said. “But you think you need this bounty hunting piece of shit also? Why?”
“He’s got a stake in this, too,” Sean replied. “The remnant took my wife and son.”
Chainz raised an eyebrow and pointed at Vin. “You mean his son, don’t you, Sean?” He gave a low chuckle as he pondered the family dynamic between these two men.
Vin could tell Chainz was trying to hurt Sean, and while Sean maintained a straight and stoic face, he knew the man well enough to know the comment was enough to do just that. Sean clenched his jaw and remained silent.
“Look,” Vin said, speaking up for the first time.
Instantly, Chainz’s gaze snapped to Vin, and the guns of every member of the gang raised threateningly at him.
“What’s going on personally here doesn’t matter. What matters is us all working together to put a stop to this.”
“Why do I care?” Chainz asked Vin, stepping up through the crowd of his loyal followers to stand directly in front of him.
Vin barely came up to Chainz’s chest and craned his neck to look up into the crime lord’s face. While he was intimidated by the massive being’s presence, he didn’t let that register on his face or back down in the slightest.
“I could give two shits if those soldiers gun your old lady and baby down. It ain’t my fight.”
“But the remnant is your enemy,” Vin said, gesturing toward the door with his face.
“I saw it out there. They’re coming for you.
And I know you well enough to know what it is you want here.
You want power over the powerless world.
You wanna take control of this city, and they’re standing in your way.
Deb and Jimmy are being held in a major encampment.
I’d say it’s probably the nerve center of the remnant operation here.
You help us, and you’re helping yourself. ”
“And you know me so well?” Chainz growled at him, opening and closing his fists as if imagining wrapping his meaty hands around Vin’s neck.
“I’m sure Deb and Jimmy aren’t the only ones being held there,” Vin answered back, not missing a beat.
“You wanna hold this city against the remnant? You’re gonna need a lot more than what you got.
You might be able to push them out, but what’re you gonna do when they send reinforcements to take the city back?
You need the people behind you, and that means you’ve gotta win their hearts and minds.
Fear motivates folks, sure. But loyalty and gratitude go a lot further with a lot less effort. ”
Chainz said nothing; he simply breathed deeply, in and out, over and over again, his nostrils flared and eyes narrowed.
“Right now, you’re Chainz the Terrible,” Vin said, trying to drive his point in further. “Think about how much more you can do when you’re Chainz the Liberator.”
Vin kept his eye contact with the big man. While he showed an outward facade of strength, he was feeling nervousness throughout his entire body. He had to put all of his focus into keeping his knees from clacking together.
Vin had faced death many times. Typically, these were in moments of the battle, where adrenaline was a key factor in his survival. It was kill or be killed situations that required a sharp focus and reliance on skill and experience to win.
This was different. This was a tense conversation that could turn bloody at a moment’s notice. And his continued existence relied not on his own skills or experience in the theater of war. It all banked on the restraint of a man famous for having a wild and uncontrollable temper.
But still, Vin hoped against hope that Chainz would look beyond the personal animosity he felt for him and think like a businessman. Vin was making several excellent points. It really was in the best interest of the Chain Gang to help them clear the remnant out of the city.
Vin wasn’t sure that a city under the rule of Chainz would be much better off than a city under the lash of martial law, but all he was truly concerned with was Deb and Jimmy and seeing them safely back to the ranch.
Chainz exhaled in a long gravelly growl that Vin could feel in the pit of his stomach. His fists closed once more and, this time, didn’t open back up again. The room was so silent that Vin could actually hear the sound of Chainz’s huge fingers pressing into his palms.
But Vin was also determined to show strength in the face of this man.
He looked back into his eyes with intensity and drive.
He was careful not to appear as though he were challenging Chainz or in some way defying his authority.
He had to ensure Chainz came out of this exchange with the respect of his gang intact.
Otherwise, he’d have both Vin and Sean killed on the spot.
It was Chainz who finally broke their long stare down. He slowly moved to the side, taking his gaze away from Vin and settling on Sean, who had remained silent throughout the course of this conversation.
“Sean,” Chainz said, drawing the word out slowly as though he were still coming to conclusions mentally. “My office. Now.”
Vin looked over at Sean and saw him nod in agreement, motioning for Chainz to lead on. The huge man returned his gaze to Vin.
“Don’t you try nothin’ funny,” he said, the threat evident in his voice. He looked out at his soldiers, meeting the eye of every person in the room. “Make sure he stays put,” Chainz said before turning and walking back into his office, Maverick and Jessie at his heels.
Sean went to follow, stopping to lock eyes with Vin before following Chainz through the doorway. His stare carried with it a plea for peace. Sean was silently begging him not to do anything out here that would get himself killed. Vin nodded to him, trying to give Sean the assurance that he needed.
Sean vanished into the back office as the door slammed shut with so much force that a few framed photos actually fell off the wall.
Legion took his place in front of the door and glowered menacingly at Vin. That same malice-filled stare was shared by the entire room. Vin turned to meet the eyes of each and every member of the Chain Gang, finding the same threat etched into all of their faces.
He wasn’t going to say anything, wasn’t going to engage with them. He didn’t want to risk triggering some kind of armed response. There was too much banking on this operation. Sean had been right; they needed skilled allies, and Chainz was the means to that end.
Vin hated himself for agreeing to this, but he saw no other option.
Thankfully, none of the Chain Gang members seemed willing to engage with Vin, either, so he didn’t have to navigate through any kind of forced conversation. They simply stood there, still as statues, watching every move he made.
It continued like that for nearly twenty minutes until finally, the door to the office opened back up. Sean walked out, followed by Maverick, Jessie, and Chainz. There was stillness in the air for a moment as every soul in the room waited with bated breath to hear Chainz’s decision.
The enormous crime lord simply stood there for a few minutes, his eyes trained on Vin with laser-like focus. Vin could feel waves of anger and animosity pouring off of Chainz, flowing through the room as if to drown him in a flood of hatred.
But Vin wasn’t going to drown so easily, and he returned the look with equal intensity.
It was likely less than a minute before Chainz spoke, but to Vin, it felt like a bottomless eternity, where hours folded in on themselves.
He was waiting to hear whether he was about to live or die, and he had no say in the matter.
Chainz crinkled his wide nose as if smelling something foul. While there were many foul smells wafting through the bar, Vin knew they had nothing to do with this reaction.
“You got your alliance, bounty hunter,” Chainz said, looking around at all of his men. No one spoke, but Vin could feel the unrest in the air. “Anyone got a problem with that?” he asked, daring someone, anyone, to challenge his authority on the matter.
Of course, no one spoke up. No one dared challenge the word of the most notorious crime boss in the Western United States. An unsteady agreement formed as, one by one, the members of the Chain Gang nodded and lowered their guns.
“All right,” Chainz said, his furious glare still locked onto Vin. “Let’s figure this shit out.”