Willa makes Rodeo laugh with her summation of his accomplishments, and he takes out the pack of Lucky Strikes from his pocket. He shrugs as he lights one, drawing on the cigarette and giving his response on an exhale of smoke. "Wasn't really a college degree," he admits. "Just two-year technical in auto mechanics. Got me a job when I got out, kept me on the straight 'n narrow for a while but turned out I wasn't much for the daily grind." It hadn't taken long for the job to stifle and frustrate him. He didn't answer well to having superiors and his restlessly ambitious mind grew bored with endless cranking and tinkering. He was a good mechanic, but he was a better outlaw. It wasn't enough to be good at something, wasn't enough to take home an honest paycheck after a safe and routine day. He craved a life on the edge, craved bigger risks and higher rewards. When it comes to this life of violence and avarice, he ain't just good. He's the best.
Willa asks how he met him, and he knows she's talking about Bishop. He finds it interesting that she doesn't specify, though. Makes him wonder how often the Chaplain is on her mind, if she don't even feel the need to identify who she's talking about. Rodeo shrugs a shoulder, bringing his cigarette up for another pull. "It was after everything," he tells her. "I mean, after the geeks and the gas 'n all. Me and my brother, we tried gettin' into the hospital shelter, but they was askin' for IDs and I... Well, I never been a man with the kinda name that don't come up on a list when it gets run, y'know what I mean? Besides, I didn't even have any kinda ID to give 'em, to tell the truth. So we were stuck tryin' to make it out in the city, and we wound up runnin' into some folks that weren't much for bein' trapped in cages neither. Whether 'cause they was wanted, or just didn't have trust for the system, didn't like the idea of bein' locked in with thousands of strangers... So we startin' doin' it our own way. Bishop, he came around early. Sarge and I ran into him, guess you could say we took a shine to him real quick. I'm a great judge o' character, I'm tellin' ya that. I make real good friends for myself. Sooner or later, we had a whole crew o' friends to ride with." Rodeo shrugs, holding out the pack of cigarettes to Willa as he realizes she might want a smoke herself. "You know, wasn't ever me that started callin' myself king in the first place. I guess I was in charge, but I always been kinda bossy. It was the APD, figured me the leader and started callin' me the Dog King. We caught wind of it and it had us laughin' for days, so we kept it goin'. Was really just a joke, you know?"