by Mitch Goth
Vin sat silently in his office, swirling the whiskey in his glass. It was the only thing he could do to occasionally distract himself and drown out the bickering of Joe and Dando. The two of them argued from the other side of the desk. He didn't pay mind to their words, although he figured he ought to listen. It was probably just the same garbage they were recycling from earlier, but at this point he couldn't take the risk of not paying attention.
"I'm tellin' ya, this girl is bad news," Joe insisted at Dando.
"You don't know that, you ain't ever gonna know that either," Dando retorted. "She ain't hurtin' nothin'."
"Not yet, but she's gonna. You can put money on that," Joe sneered.
"Gentlemen," Vin's voice needed to boom to stifle their argument. "Can we address with level-heads?"
"Look, Vin, the girl is no good 'round here," Joe began his explanation. "She's dangerous."
"How do you figure?" Vin wondered.
"She's a runaway, that's how I figure," Joe answered.
"That don't matter," Dando interjected.
"Fuck it don't," Joe growled.
"Continue!" Vin's overpowering volume stopped them once more. "Joe, please continue, if you will."
"Where there's a runaway, there's gonna be people lookin' for 'em," Joe did as he was instructed. "If someone sees Rain with us, or even 'round us, that's it. We could get found out if someone comes lookin' 'round here for her. We can't let her go neither, she knows too much. She'll spill in a second if the cops ask her a damn thing 'bout where she's been. She's gonna get found, its only a matter of time. When she does, we're done."
"Okay," Vin nodded before turning to Dando. "And what's your side?"
"She ain't hurtin' nothin'," Dando spoke his opinion. "She's just a kid, kids can lie. If she gets caught, she's gonna lie if we tell her to. Joe says we gotta kill her, and I ain't for that, fuck no. This is just a kid we're talkin' 'bout. I ain't never killed anyone who don't deserve it, and you know that. You know I can't stand 'round and let it happen neither," he reached around his neck and pulled a small cross necklace out. "The good lord ain't gonna stand for me doin' nothin' to stop this. So I ain't gonna do nothin', I can't let this happen, Vin."
"The good lord," Joe snickered. "You kill people and deal drugs for a living, Dando, the good lord ain't gonna give a shit 'bout what you do."
"God gives a shit 'bout everyone, he gives a shit about every hair on everyone's head," Dando hissed. "And he knows I do what I do 'cause I gotta. And nobody's gotta do this. Rain ain't no danger to us. Even talkin' through this is the worst thing I've done. This ain't no debate, it ain't happenin'!"
"Well, this was interesting," Vin groaned. "As always, it was a pleasure to moderate this debate, gentlemen."
"So, what's your thought?" Joe asked.
"We're not killing Rain," Vin immediately shot down the idea.
"Goddamn right!" Dando celebrated.
"She'll can all of us, Vin," Joe objected.
"You have so little faith in other people, Joe," Vin stopped him. "She's gonna be beneficial to us real soon. As soon as we put her out there selling the first round of Delicate Rain, she'll show how much she's worth around here."
"That ain't gonna stop her from spillin' when she gets caught and sent home," Joe pointed out.
"She can be bought," Dando assured. "Everyone can be bought. She'll lie, trust me, she will."
"We'll figure that out if it comes," Vin said. "With as far as we could take her, she could never want to leave. And if she does, we could send her far away, too far to be found."
"What if she wants to go home eventually? You know how those damn teen girls are," Joe said.
"If she wants to go home, then that's a different story," Vin agreed. "But still, she'll only get misdemeanor charges for being a runaway. There won't be any cameras pointed her way or cops interrogating her. All she needs is a simple lie to suffice. Either outcome, there's no reason for Rain to die."
"What if all that changes?" Joe inquired, fishing through the worst case scenarios in his mind.
"How do you mean?"
"What if the media takes this story far and away?"
"Then we buy her out," Dando suggested once more.
"That ain't gonna work," Joe insisted.
"She killed to save you, don't you think she'll lie to cover up what happened?" Vin wondered.
"Only for so long," Joe spoke worriedly. "One slip up, they'll catch it. That's all it'll take and she'll tell 'em everything eventually. It'll be a disaster, and I'm talkin' like Hurricane Katrina level here."
"Don't be the devil's advocate, Joe, it'll all be alright," Vin assured. "Have some faith in Rain."
In a huff, Joe stormed out of the room. Dando and Vin watched him go, they both wore a similar look of nervous concern.
"What you think about him?" Dando inquired, turning back to Vin, the concerned look falling away to reveal one of intense worry.
"He's just having a bit of a fit," Vin shrugged. "He pretends to be some rabid dog, but he's just a puppy. Completely harmless."
"I don't know about that, Vin," Dando looked back to the door Joe departed through. "We should watch him close."
"He's harmless, Dando. He knows if he hurts Rain right now, we'll hurt him a lot worse. Just go out, do your job, and leave the worrying to me."
"Whatever you say, man," Dando sighed, wandering out of Vin's office. "Whatever you say."
Alone again, Vin looked back down at his untouched whiskey. The argument was a lot of recycled nonsense, but he was glad he listened. Things were heating up now, and something needed to be remedied. With a snarl, Vin shot his drink back. His gang was a powder keg now, and something needed to be done.
15