The Gig [Finished]

[yamikuronue]

He should be crying right now.

That's what you do when your life falls apart, right? You cry. Throw yourself against the car and weep into your arms with abandon. You let someone hold you and rub your back and tell you it'll be alright, and you pretend to believe them, and you cry.

There's no tears inside Vic. The fear fades, but there's no sadness to replace it. There's just.. nothing. Emptiness. Dispassionately, as if commenting on a book, Vic realizes he doesn't have a job. Well, the desk thing, but that's not going to pay as much. And he can't be seen with his brothers, or they'll be out of a job as well. Does he bring in enough to offset his costs? The risk? He can't seem to get math to work in his head. There's numbers, but he can't remember them. Some kind of trade off. He can't quite get his head around the concept.

[accalia]

"Well. That could have gone better." Tony admits, walking up behind Vic. "But at least there was only shouting, there could have been shooting. Climb in, we both need something for our nerves and i don't think a milkshake's going to cut it."

Tony's visibly shaking as he gets into the car himself, he was at least as terrified of that encounter as Vic had been.

[yamikuronue]

Vic notices the shaking with the same dispassionate gaze. It was a mistake to bring Tony along. He put Tony in danger, and for what? Now Tony would have to work twice as hard to get back in the Boss' good graces, and it didn't matter, nothing mattered at this point.

"Can you take me home?" asks Vic, his voice quiet but steady.

[accalia]

"You think that's a good idea?" Tony asked concerned "I thought given that reaction it would be a bad idea to head home, at least until he calms down.... if he calms down...."

Tony's not saying No..... just "are you sure?"

[yamikuronue]

"If I get there fast enough, I can my stuff packed before anyone comes calling." he says, again in that steady, soft tone. I'll need my clothes, my gun, my belts... maybe some canned soup to eat until I land on my feet.

[accalia]

"Ah. Well good thing you have a place to crash at until you figure out where to go from there." Tony says as he starts driving, going rather faster than normally and certainly faster than the law would strictly allow.

.... wait? Vic has a place to crash at?! where?!

[yamikuronue]

He does? He churns through the options in his mind. The church on 5th street was his best option, but the Family knew about that, they'd know where to find him. He could hide out in the park for a while, but it wouldn't provide much protection from the elements. He could leave town, but go where?

And his brothers... would they manage without him? It'd be a struggle. They'd grow to hate him, if they didn't already. He'd failed them, in the most catastrophic way possible.

There is another option. A coward's option. But an option.

But Tony said he had a place to go. Focus on that. "I do?"

[accalia]

"You do." Tony confirms "beds might be a bit dusty as i never bother cleaning upstairs, but you should be able to fix that easily enough."

[yamikuronue]

Oh. He means to transfer the risk, yet again, to himself.

Vic stares out the window, silent, letting the odd stillness inside him overtake his body. He can't do that. It's out of the question. But since there's no answers, there's no point in dwelling. Just... let it all go. Who cares? His life is over.

[accalia]

Tony drives in silence from that point on. Vic's got a lot to think about and Tony can't do the thinking for him. Before long he stops at Vic's appartment.

"The packing will go faster with two, right?" He asks, offering help in packing so Vic can be in and out faster.

[yamikuronue]

"Yeah. I don't need much. Grab some soup?" he says, as he gets out of the car, heading into the apartment.

[accalia]

Soup? What's Vic planning with... Nah, better not ask. Just get the stuff. Planning can happen later.

[yamikuronue]

There's a whole cupboard full of canned soup; it's cheap, and only requires water and a bit of heat on the stove, no big deal to cook. Vic vanishes into the back room, coming out a short time later with a backpack stuffed full of clothes and other necessities.

[accalia]

Tony's cleared out pretty much all the cans into a couple of bags, and found time to even leave a short note in the cup board. Okay the note's only the word "sorry" and seven numbers, but Tony figures that Vic's brothers will get the message when they notice the missing soup.

"Ready to go then?"

[yamikuronue]

Vic notices the empty cupboard. He slides his wallet out of his pants, drops the cash he has on the coutner next to the note, and nods. "Right. Let's go."