𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔤 (aylin) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-09-29 18:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, ganondorf, victor sullivan |
Who: Ganondorf, Victor Sullivan
What: Ganon picks up Victor from prison a year ago.
When: A year ago, so flashback law.
Where: PRISON. Then shitty diner.
Rating/Warnings: Talks of criminal intent/cursing.
Status: Complete!
Ten years. Sully’d been rotting in a jail cell for ten long years. It was a hard decision, turning himself in, but in the long run he’d felt it was the right one. But boy, ten years was a lot longer than it’d seemed. And he’d changed so much. He was older, greyer, a little softer around the middle than he had been before. He had tried to stay on top of things, but there was only so much you could do to fight the flow of time. He wasn’t as young as he used to be and sitting in prison had only made it worse.
That wasn’t to say that he couldn’t still run with the big dogs. He was just a little rusty, but given time, he’d be just as sharp as he used to be. Probably. Maybe only slightly duller. But still better than half the goddamn kids around here trying to make big names for themselves messing around with small-fry gangsters and thugs. Sully had been in the upper echelon of the criminal world, and they made sure you knew what the hell you were doing when you worked for them.
But of course, Sully didn’t work for them anymore. He had ten years to come to terms with that, and it was still easy to forget. He’d been doing it for so long that he had to remind himself that it was okay that he was rusty. He could ignore the small-fries because he was out of that world. He’d made a vow to go legit and he wasn’t about to break that the first day back in the real world.
He reminded himself of that as he went through the procedures to get out, collecting his personal belongings and finalizing paperwork. He reminded himself of that as he stepped out of the prison building into the hot sun. His brain was practically screaming it as he looked up and saw a familiar face standing outside waiting for him.
Victor had been one of those men Ganon couldn’t necessarily “just let go.” At some point everyone was replaceable and he could easily hire someone to fill their shoes - but he’d made the bizarre mistaking of treating Victor almost as an actual friend when everything had gone down all those years ago. There was too much wasted potential on someone who decided to finally have a conscience, and in the ten years he’d been simmering in his jail cell following state prison laws and regulations, Ganon had finally come up with the decision to pull some strings in the DA’s office and allow him a release earlier than previously sentenced.
Which is why Ganon was the one that stood there in a perfectly white suit, bright against his dark skin, leaning against an unnecessarily expensive rental. Recognizing him didn’t take much although he did have to tilt his sunglasses down to get a better view, but even with the toll the years passed had taken on him, he knew it was him.
“Long time no see.”
Sully’s body tensed momentarily. He should have relaxed, should have been more at ease, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood for games.
“I’m out of it all, Ganon,” he said, not even taking the time to play his little formality game. “I can’t give you whatever it is you want.”
“A thank you would at least suffice,” Ganon replied, a small smile crawling on his face. His eyebrow quirked, giving the man a quick look over before motioning over to the car. “I’ve managed to shorten your sentence and provided you a personal ride to wherever you please - how about we start with that? I’m sure it’s been quite some time since you’ve sat at a roadside diner and had their coffee.”
“I got out on good behavior,” Sully said, pointing a finger at Ganon. “Are you telling me that you’ve even got people inside the prison?”
But before he could work himself up into a proper outrage, it all deflated.
“You know what, I’m not surprised,” he said. “You always did have your fingers in all the pies, didn’t you?”
“Every flavor of them, yes.” That smile became a smirk and Ganon opened the car door. “Assuming you’ve got all your belongings, get in. I’m sure there’s plenty of catching up we can do.”
Victor had already made it clear that he had nothing to offer Ganon. And Ganon knew it would take awhile before he finally nudged him to the edge. And for once, he was willing to be patient.
“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” he asked. And then with a defeated sigh, he got into the car.
“So am I to expect that you’re doing all this because you missed my company?” he asked. “I feel like a prison visit would have been a lot simpler.”
Sully knew that Ganon never did anything out of the goodness of his heart. He wasn’t even sure Ganon even had a heart. He couldn’t exactly let himself relax around him. The other man wanted something from him and Sully didn’t know what it was, but he refused to let himself be sweet talked into giving it to him.
“Don’t be so negative,” Ganon said with a snort and drove off, getting into the empty highway. The prison was beyond most civilization and he’d recall a quaint little diner on the side of the road, open 24hrs. He’d treat Victor to something a little more classier some other time. “I could simply be doing you a favor, Victor. You were one of the people I didn’t necessarily harbor the intense feeling of murder towards.”
Ganon flashed him a grin, pearly whites showing and all.
“You could be,” Sully acquiesced. “I’d like to believe it’s just that you’ve realized just how much you’ve missed my charming mug.”
He tapped his fingers against the cupholder.
“But given our history, I’m inclined to believe you’re not,” he continued. “Unless you’ve turned to Jesus or something. In which case, you’ll have to forgive me for not immediately believing you. You know what they say about old habits.”
A man with a conscience was sometimes a little more dangerous than a man without one. Ganon wasn’t stupid, and he knew if he wanted to get anywhere with Victor again it wouldn’t be anything anytime soon. The process would be slow, but if Ganon played his cards right - which he did often - it would be worth it.
“No Jesus. You’ve got nothing to worry there,” he said after parking his car at the little establishment. There were barely cars there but when they got in, the smell of coffee hit his senses like a brick. “Any plans of what to do now? Not that I’ve got plans to recruit you, Victor - you’re obviously disinterested, and surely whatever you have up your sleeve will pay you enough to survive out of prison.”
“I figured,” he said with a dry laugh. “You finding religion seems even less likely than you being nice just to be nice.”
Crappy diner coffee was better than prison coffee, even if it was only marginally. The minute he smelled it, he wanted it, and so he ordered a cup the moment the waitress came up to them. He didn’t exactly have the funds for it, so he was hoping Ganon would pick up the bill.
“I have some ideas,” Sully answered. “I’ve got a few skills that I could make work for me outside of your particular kind of business. I’m pretty good with cars, you know. I could always do something like that.”
Ganon looked too out of place for where they were; the looks earned from the staff reinforced that. But it barely phased him, and he ordered a coffee along with Sully. Once he got his he doused it in an unhealthy amount of artificial sugars. There was something about shitty diners he loved - they had such a charm to them, and for some reason every important meeting happened in a shitty dinner.
“And do you have funds set aside to help you back on your feet?” Ganon questioned not-so-innocently, taking a sip of the hot brew before him.
“There’s the rub,” Sully said with a grimace. “You and your associates--or maybe it was someone else, I don’t want to be rude and jump to conclusions here--got into my bank accounts when I was arrested. I am significantly less well-off than I once was.”
Which was, of course, the coy way of saying he was flat broke. He briefly pondered lying about it, but he knew Ganon would call his bluff and didn’t see the point.
“Might take a little while to get back to where I’d like to be,” he continued. “But I’m a very patient man. Prison’ll do that to you.”
Ganon didn’t give him a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer on whether or not he was actually guilty of that. “That’s unfortunate,” is all he said to that and took another sip of coffee. When the waitress came back, the only thing he’d ordered was an apple pie ala mode - he thought it would compliment the coffee quite well. “I could always loan you funds, should you be interested. Not a lot of places will have room for someone who was in prison, Sullivan. Let’s be honest.”
Sully, however, was pushing his luck by ordering an entire plate of food. Bacon, eggs, and a chicken fried steak. You couldn’t get the same amount of grease and quality present in diner food than you could in prison.
“It is unfortunate,” he said. “And your money would probably be a big help. But you know, there are places that hire ex-cons almost exclusively. I’m sure some kind soul will take pity on me and help with rehabilitation. Some kind soul that won’t expect anything from me other than the fact that I’m trying to leave my wicked ways behind me.”
When the waitress came back with the food, Sully immediately tucked in.
“No offense, but I’d rather not have to start my life as a free man owing you something,” he said. “And even if you say you’re doing it just to be kind, I’d still feel like I would owe you. And I’m not ready for that. I’m sure you understand. Although if you’d like to use your kindness to pay for this food, I wouldn’t say no.”
Ganon was all about loans. After all, that was his title. A loan shark. To the public faces he was something of a financial investor and advisor, always willing to dish out the funds to those in need, but he was always right there, hunting them down to collect that debt tenfold as well. There was something about being in control and watching people squirm in their seats, nervous and completely groveling at his feet that satisfied Ganon more than sex ever could. Even if the sex involved a threesome.
“The offer continues to stand,” Ganon insisted and watched him indulge in breakfast food with mild sneer. Surely it’d been awhile since he’d have food that was a higher quality than what they served in prison and diner food compared to that must have been a delicacy. “Still a little disappointed about the path you chose. I’m sure you’ll get bored, living normally.”
Living clean. What a drag.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sully said, shoving a bite of eggs and steak into his mouth, knowing full well he was probably never going to take Ganon up on that offer.
“I could do with a little boring in my life,” he said. “I think I’ve had plenty enough excitement for one person. Plus, compared to prison, I’m sure every day will be like a party. I wouldn’t worry about me if I were you. I’ll get by just fine.”
Ganon watched him carefully. There was...something similar to annoyance etched into his features, and while his mannerisms had, for the most part, been the same, this was not the Victor he’d worked with all those years ago. Most prisons bred more criminals; not good intentions. He’d hope it would sharpen Victor’s edges, but instead he came out older and softer.
While Ganon remained fairly young, and had grown even more ruthless as time went by. And the more ruthless he became, the more gentle his facade seemed.
“I suppose you will,” he finally said, the side of the fork cutting into the pie. “At least allow me to take you where you need to go. What destination did you have in mind?”
“I think there’s a half-way house in the city,” Sully answered. “You could take me there. It specializes in rehabilitating prisoners. I can probably charm my way into a job faster than most of the schmucks that live there, so I don’t think I’ll stay there for very long. I’ll let you take me there at least.”
He shot Ganon a smarmy look.
“After you pay for this food, of course.”
“Well, the waitress has been giving you suggestive glances. I’m sure even without my contribution to the bill, you could work your breakfast off in other ways.” Ganon snorted, not bothering to fight the major shit-eating grin that decided to appear. “And here I thought you didn’t want to owe me anything. What a shame. Next time we make a stop to a shitty eatery, you’ll be owing me then.”
“I’m pretty sure prostitution also falls under the classification of illegal activity,” he said. “But I like that I still have that option open to me.”
He shot the waitress a saucy wink. He didn’t even know if she was looking his way or not. He was really only doing it to show Ganon that he wasn’t afraid of him. He was still cautious around him and suspicious of his intentions, but he wasn’t afraid.
“A meal, I can do,” he said. “I’ll buy you a burger with my first paycheck, I promise. Then we’re square. Even Steven.”
“There’s also the matter of the strings I pulled to shorten your sentence and grant you a release,” Ganon pointed out and finished nursing his coffee. He still wore that pretentious grin and with the way he talked, one might assume he was actually joking.
But what did they say about people who assumed?
“A burger may suffice for this. I’ll keep you to it.”
He was worried that Ganon would say that. He’d been worrying about since he found out the other man was responsible for it in the first place. But he’d had the whole meal to sit and think about an answer.
“I never asked you to do that,” Sully countered. “So, really, that was you doing it out of the kindness of your heart. I don’t really owe you for that. Not really. We didn’t make a deal for it, so it doesn’t count.”
It was a crapshoot, but it was all he had. He hoped Ganon would buy it. Or it would at least buy him time to think about how he’d get out of owing the other man that. He didn’t like the idea of being owned. Not any more, anyway. It was part of the reason he got out of the business in the first place. The payoff wasn’t worth it in the end.