Harvey had expected to see a lot of things when he stepped out into the ally way for a smoke break, and he did. He saw walls so covered in grime even some of the Kid's magic couldn't clean them. He saw long abounded cigarette butts scattered around, one still holding on to life with a small orange glow. He a dumpster overflowing the way they did the night before trash day. What he hadn't expected to see was Carl "The King" Rogers. Really a coward of a man who thought of himself as a God of the underworld.
He was closer to an annoyance, anyone with half a brain didn't stick with him for more than a few months. Hell, compared to Rogers, 90's Idiot was as smart as Linksano. Rogers was so incompetent he couldn't even hire decent assassins. That's why it hurt so badly. That's why Harvey would drink himself to sleep every night after. Because not only had he lost his one and only child, but he had lost him at the hands of an utter moron. His Charlie died because some Jackass wanna-be couldn't hire a decent assassin. Because the assassin he did hire didn't kill Harvey like he was hired to but shot little, five year old, Charlie instead. And instead of killing Harvey and putting him out of his misery, he panicked and ran off. Left Harvey standing there covered in his little boy's blood, holding his forever limp body.
Rogers diapered soon after. There was honor among the Mob after all, and Rogers knew it. He knew that hiring an assassin to off Harvey would put some heat on him, but he figured the benefits outweighed the risks. Killing a former member of the Mob was on thing though, killing his kid, killing his five year old kid, that was another. Harvey never did find Rogers after that terrible day. He didn't think of what he would do if he ever did. In fact once his wife left him, less than two months after the shooting, he didn't have too many coherent thoughts again until the Kid found him. Linkara was so much like how Harvey had imagined Charlie would end up. Once the Kid got him cleaned up and taken care of he was so grateful to have his son back, though deep down he knew Linkara wasn't his son, that he hadn't given Rogers too much thought.
Now standing in a back alley behind a showroom in New Jersey, he was faced with his son's murder. Roger's recognized Harvey immediately. He seemed too scared to run, his once clean shaven face was rough with hair, and his once jet black hair was riddled with gray. He was scared and stressed. He deserved much worse. Someone who stole a man's whole world deserved much worse. And Harvey could inflict it…
Not just because of the skills he picked up while apart of the Mob, but all the Kid's magic and technology. It would be easy to knock Rogers out and store him away in an undisclosed location. Then he would just barrow some of the Kid's stuff. Easy, truly very easy. But what happened when the Kid found out? And the Kid would find out. Harvey could just imagine the look of disappointment and betrayal in his eyes. He could almost hear him ask what he thinking in that shrill voice of his was. Harvey imagine it all, he wasn't sure he could bare it if he betrayed the Kid like that. Then he thought of Charlie, his poor lost Charlie, and what he would think. He could just see the scared look on his boy's face. As if he were looking at a stranger and not his father. He's seen that face once before when Harvey had to kill a man in front of Charlie. He never forgave himself. He was sure he wouldn't forgive himself if he not only betrayed the Kid but Charlie also.
He glanced down at the quivering mess of a man who once called himself "The King". Harvey had been standing in silence smoking while he thought over his options. Rogers couldn't have pushed himself closer to the wall if he tried. Harvey started to think about how the others would react. 90's kid, Linksano, all of them, would feel hurt and betrayed. He just knew it.
He gave his cigarette a long drag. So what if they cared? Linkara wasn't his kid, Charlie was dead, and the others, well though it would take some getting used to he could live without the others. He could live without his entire new family. But to lose him so he could sink to the level of the man who took away his Charlie? That would be unbearable. Harvey flicked his still lit cigarette at Rogers before turning on his heel and walking back inside. Rogers begun to whimper in relief.
Harvey had expected to see a lot of things when he walked into the back ally, the man who took his Charlie wasn't one of them.
