The Meeting

[Kat]

Rex settled himself into a booth at his favourite coffee shop, an espresso sitting in front of him. He hoped the caffeine would calm his nerves a little. The previous night had been hell and he'd barely slept. He'd ended up cancelling his date with Sunny, who thankfully hadn't been too curious, probably because she had a biology project to work on for Monday.

He had lain awake for hours, debating what to do. At one point he had picked up the phone and called his eldest sister, Baci, the only other one who had been allowed to leave the family. She hadn't answered, and when the machine came on he was glad she hadn't been there. He didn't really want to tell her about this anyway, he just didn't want to keep it to himself.

Now he was sitting in a booth, a cool gun pressing against his back. He hated it. Nearly as much as he hated waiting around. He looked back over at the doors, wondering when Dan would show up. He had parked the car they were going to use just down the street. It was a factory model Honda Civic. Not old and beaten up enough to look suspicious, yet not eye-catching enough to draw attention. It was a normal car you'd see anywhere in the city.

[Cres]

Chip and Dan walked through the door of the coffee shop, Dan leading the way. That was unusual in itself, but it would have been clear to anyone who knew Chip well enough that nothing was usual with the mohawked redhead that day. His eyes had the look of sleeplessness and there were small signs all over his attire which gave away that he hadn't been as careful in preparing for the day that morning as he usually was. Dan, for his part, looked perhaps slightly tense, but otherwise he looked quite normal. He smiled when he spotted Rex and raised his hand a little - keeping up appearances was important at the moment. Chip's smile was too brief to be convincing, and he followed Dan almost sheepishly when the two made their way to the table Rex was sitting at.

"Rex," Dan greeted his friend - whom he hoped he could continue to count among his friends even after all this. He wouldn't have blamed Rex though. Chip said nothing as he and Dan sat down, glancing up at Rex briefly before turning his eyes down on the table surface as he sat down.

Chip wasn't sure how he felt about being in Rex's company at the moment. He'd guessed that Rex hated him at that moment - he didn't blame the other man, as he blamed himself probably at least as much. He hadn't slept a wink last night, and suspected he'd never sleep again. Well, he was sure he wouldn't, if anything happened to Ace. He could only imagine what had happened to the boy already.

[Kat]

Rex watched them walk in, his eyes a little harder than usual. He took a sip of his drink as the pair reached his table and sat down. "Dan, Chip. Nice to see you." He set the cup back on the table, feeling just a little tense. Was he really going to get involved in this? Of course he cared about Ace, and if anything happened to him and Sunny found out that he'd known about it, that would be the end of things for them. So he didn't really have a choice.

[Cres]

Chip avoided Rex's eyes and said nothing. This, too, of course was weird behaviour for him, since usually he was the one who made all the talking between Dan and him. Dan poked him to the side with his elbow to remind him that he was being too obvious before taking a comfortable position - or as comfortable as you could, with a gun tucked to your belt.

"Yeah. Listen, I'm gonna bring some extra back-up," he said. He was a little worried that Rex would back down on him. He didn't think about Sunny; there was no reason, in his mind, why Sunny would ever find out about any of this. Perhaps that was the reason he had insisted on calling Vinnie as well. They needed some back-up. Dan wasn't about to take on the Romanos alone.

Of course, it had meant telling Vinnie what was going on. Dan had had to use all his authority as the future Don to get the idea of telling Mario out of the boy's head. He had had to remind Vinnie of a few past favours as well as the fact that he could get him into serious trouble by bringing up the fact that he had attacked his cousin on the boat not too long ago. Tin never trusts a man who turns on his family, he had reminded Vinnie, and the boy had yielded. Vinnie needed the Rosacci connection. The status quo might not have been the dream situation for the "Winner" but it was much more profitable than a few other options.

The only problem was that Vinnie had been supposed to help the Family with the drug deal at the docks and he wasn't too pleased to leave the gig, but Dan had taken care of all that. He'd told his dad there was something he needed Vinnie for, and it was vital. Tin thought Dan was finally beginning to take up after his old man and been only too pleased to "lend off" Vinnie for the purpose. No questions asked, as usual.

Sometimes it paid off to work for the mob. Sometimes it didn't.

"Vinnie's gonna join us a little later," Dan explained. "You know, Chip's cousin. I think you might've met once, real brief. He's the leather combo with an attitude, if you remember."

Chip tried a smile, but it turned into a grimace.

[Kat]

Rex frowned when Dan mentioned Vinnie. He didn't like Vinnie. While he had only met him once, all you needed was one first impression to make up your mind. "Vinnie? Oh, that's great. I really look forward to bringing him along." He didn't bother to keep the sarcasm from his voice. He wasn't in a good mood and frankly he didn't care if Dan and Chip knew that. He was still angry about the fact that Chip had gotten Ace involved in all of this without telling him anything. And now with the addition of Vinnie, he was even more annoyed with the whole situation. "Just make sure that guy keeps a cool head. We don't need anyone potentially screwing this up."

[Cres]

Dan smiled faintly. He agreed wholeheartedly with Rex.

"Don't worry, I've got his leash tightly in my hand. He knows where the bread comes from, if you know what I mean."

Chip still said nothing. He still thought this was all a very bad idea. He had told so to Dan a hundred times, but Dan wouldn't listen. Of course he was touched that his friend would risk so much over him, but he still didn't like it.

He looked at Rex now. He felt bad for dragging the other man into this.

"Look, Rex, you don't have to come along," he said. "Me and Dan can fix this."

[Kat]

Rex smiled just a little at Dan's comment. Even though he hated the business and everything involved with it, he had to appreciate the strictness of it all. Even without being involved directly in things anymore, with his family status he knew he still ranked more importantly than Vinnie, something which would at least amuse him a little. Dan knew how to handle people in the business so Rex had confidence now that Dan would be able to handle Vinnie. Dan didn't say things unless he meant them, Rex knew, so he trusted him about Vinnie.

When he heard Chip's comment, though, it irked him. He looked at Chip, not bothering to hide the look of annoyance from his face. "Right, you'll have to excuse me if I think that's a load of crap. I have no problem seeing Dan handle all of this, but you're not exactly coming across with that air of confidence that this type of situation requires. If anything you seem more of a liability. Not to mention that Ace is very important to me, Chip. I've known him a lot longer than you have, he's very important to a lot of people in my life. So forgive me if I feel the need to go along and help fix your mistake." He knew he was being a little more harsh than Chip deserved. But Rex didn't really care too much about that right now.

[Cres]

Dan didn't open his mouth to defend his friend though he half wanted to. There was a certain gentlemen's agreement between him and Chip about that, and then he didn't want to cross Rex too badly. He felt he needed Rex for this. For leverage, but also for his friendship. They needed cool heads, and Chip's, at that moment, was not at all cool.

Chip was mortified by Rex's words. He couldn't face the other man for longer than a few moments before turning his eyes away. He had to admit he was far more unravelled by this whole thing than he should have been. Both because of what was required of him and because of how important it was. Still, he couldn't leave this without explanation, without some kind of defence.

"Maybe I haven't known him for a long time, Rex," he said quietly, not raising his eyes from the table surface, "but time doesn't measure the depth of feelings." He looked up at Rex, a harsher expression in his eyes this time. "But you're right one thing, Rex. This is my fault. I know that. And you know what - I'm prepared to pay for it. I love Ace, and if it comes to that... I will die for him tonight. And there is no conviction, no confidence stronger than that."

Dan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He couldn't even bear to think of that option.

[Kat]

Rex shook his head at Chip's words, not liking them one bit. It wasn't the devotion about them that bugged him. It was specifically the line about dying for someone that bugged him. He never believed that. Maybe because he would never die for another person. He always believed there would be another way out of things, another way to fight and figure things out. "Shut up, Chip. No one is dying tonight, least of all you. Do you think he'd appreciate that bit of nobility bullshit? I can tell you right now, he wouldn't. He'd be a fucking wreck and if you think for a damn second that I'm going to entertain some bullshit notion of you doing that to him, then you're fucked. No one is getting hurt tonight, not on our side at least. Well, at least not physically. Emotionally speaking, knowing Ace, he's probably already doing pretty poorly." That was precisely one of the things that was bugging him the most about this. Provided they managed to get out of this unscathed, how the hell would it affect Ace? He had his whole damn future ahead of him and the thought that this incident might affect him badly enough to change things for him did not sit well with Rex.

[Cres]

Now Chip was getting irritated. He should have admitted that there was a point to what Rex was saying, but he was too convinced of the idea that the least he could do was to die for Ace if it came to that. It might have been partially because he wasn't sure if he wanted to face the world after all this was over, whether or not they managed to rescue Ace. He wasn't sure if he could handle the inevitable break-up he saw coming. He wasn't sure if he could live without Ace, and he was sure he would lose the boy, no matter what. Either he would leave him, or he would die. The best thing he could hope for was a heroic death at this stage. On a clear moment he would have realised how ridiculous it all was and how right Rex was, but this was not a clear moment.

"You know what, Rex? If the only thing you're here to do is try and make me feel worse about all this, maybe I don't want you with me at all!"

"Chip..." Dan broke in at that point, seeing that the situation was quickly reeling out of control, but Chip turned on him, his eyes flashing with anger.

"You can go home too, Dan! I told you I'd handle this alone! It's me they want, and you coming blasting in with your guns is only going to get everyone into more danger. What if they fucking shoot him before you get your aim straight? You know they don't care one shit about him, he's expendable once they've got me."

Dan was getting a little angry as well now. How could such a brilliant person be so stupid?

"And how is it any better if you go alone? How do you know they won't just blow his brains off the moment they've got you, huh?"

"Because, like Rex here mentioned, he's too fucking important to too many people who would put up a fuss if he turned up dead somewhere. You think they don't know Rex is dating Sunny? You think they don't know all the connections? Fuck, Dan, you and me been doing this shit for them, you know as well as they do they dig up everything from their mark first." He shook his head. "No, they won't kill him unless they have to. And if I give them what they want, they won't have to. They'll let him go."

Dan was itching to punch Chip right in the face at that moment, but he was trying to keep a calm head, knowing an all-out fight would have drawn too much attention. Already now he had to glance around to make sure they hadn't attracted too much curious looks.

"He's still an outsider, Chip. They know the Giovannis won't do anything just because Rex's girlfriend's cousin was shot, or whatever. Get back to your senses, bro. You'd be taking a bigger risk. You don't know what they're really going to do to him if they get their way."

Chip looked away. It was hard for him to admit that Dan was right. On one hand, he really didn't want to put any more lives at risk. And on another, he was truly afraid of what might happen if something went wrong.

[Kat]

Seeing that common sense wasn't working with Chip at the moment, Rex shook his head. "Chip, if you give them what they want, they will shoot Ace, just to a prove a fucking point. The point being that they can. Fuck they'll probably shoot you too, it's not like your family is super high on the scale like Dan or I. That's not meant as an insult or a cheap shot either. You can't do this by yourself because you're not important enough to them. You need Dan and I there as insurance. They won't touch us, they're not that stupid. And as long we're there, they won't touch you either and I swear to fuck we will get Ace out of there. And then you'll have all the time in the world to explain everything to him."

[Cres]

Chip wiped his mouth with his other hand.

"I'm just afraid what'll happen if something goes wrong, that's all," he said with a sigh. "They told me not to tell anyone. If they even as much as figure out I've told you guys, let alone realise you're coming in to help... they're gonna kill him."

"Nothing will go wrong," Dan said stiffly. "I'm in charge, remember?"

Chip only half smiled to that. Then his mind was processing through what Rex had said about explaining everything to Ace. He looked at the other man, a sudden hope flickering inside him.

"You... you think he'd actually listen to me after all this?" he asked, not able to believe it true. Any reasonable person would have hated him forever and never wanted to see him again.

[Kat]

Rex looked at Chip, one eyebrow raised. "You obviously can't know Ace very well if you even have to ask that question, Chip. When he loves someone, he doesn't let them go. Granted he might push a lot when it comes to the people he cares about, but he'd never be the one to let go first. Probably the after effect of his father leaving him, he's determined to cling to everyone who means something to him. So if you want to patch things up after this, you really won't have a hard time. In fact you'll probably have entirely too easy of a time." Rex paused, staring at Chip. "Judt don't ever lie to him again, Chip, and don't ever let something like this happen to him again. You know what he wants for his future, so don't you dare get in the way of it." Rex couldn't help but feel like smiling just a little. He was sounding awfully parental now, like a father giving his child's first boyfriend the third degree.

[Cres]

Of course, it all made very much sense, based on everything he knew about Ace. But Chip had never read Ace's "don't let me push you away" as "don't let me make you leave" rather than "don't let me leave". He was rather awestruck at the sudden realisation that Rex was probably right.

At first he started to smile. But when Rex finished his speech, his smile dropped away from his lips.

He knew what Ace wanted. At least, mostly. There were a couple of details they had never really discussed in depth, though he was pretty sure he guessed what he wanted on that front as well - marriage and children. It was very obvious from Ace that he wanted a family - needed a family.

And that was what stopped Chip. Could he give Ace everything he wanted? He had refused to think about the future too much until now, but now that this happened... he couldn't refuse it any further. It was likely Chip could never just leave the mafia. And as long as he was part of the mafia he could never have his own life, not fully. And as long as he could not have his own life... could he give Ace the kind of family he deserved? It would not have been a problem had Ace been a girl, of course. He would have just brought her home and showed her off and everyone would have been happy. But how could he ever tell publically just exactly what their relationship was? How could they ever have a home together?

He still remembered the first thing Dan had said when they had seriously talked about what it meant that Chip was gay. He had told him he can never have a family. It wasn't even an option, to tell about it to their families, in Dan's mind.

Nor was it an option in Chip's.

He couldn't say anything. All he could do was to stare at Rex in total silence.

[Kat]

Rex wasn't sure what Chip's silence meant. What was he thinking? Having doubts about his future? Rex himself wasn't entirely sure anything could ever work between the two. Unless a person got lucky the way he did and was allowed to leave (even then he knew his father would always try to keep an eye on him wherever he went) the business would never let you go. Rex had no doubt Ace would make it professionally in his chosen sport, but it wouldn't be easy for him to live a life with Chip, even if he wasn't involved in the Mafia. It was a harsh reality for both of them.