"You seriously going to do what that kid tells you?" String Bean asks derisively as they get off their motorcycles outside the Whyte Wyrm. Tallboy's always saying that Dean is a sucker, a weakling, always following FP around like a puppydog, and as far as String Bean's concerned this is just more evidence against him. The kid's not even a serpent; the only reason he's got any clout whatsoever is because FP's his old man, and last String Bean checked, the Serpents weren't a hereditary empire.
Dean turns on String Bean angrily. "That 'kid' is our boss's son," Dean shoots back. "I made a promise that the Serpents would look after him while his dad's in jail, and we are all going to follow that promise. But even if I hadn't, he's just given us some information about what might be a creature of some sort. Tracking those things down is what us Serpents do."
"Yeah, whatever," String Bean replies, already bored. He didn't join up to be part of some stupid protectors; he joined up because the Serpents were where the power lay in the Southside. He joined up because he wanted a piece of that power. Dean and FP were too caught up in the whole Guardians of Riverdale deal; String Bean might have left and joined the Ghoulies if he hadn't been scooped up by Tallboy. Tallboy, there was a guy with a real vision for what the Serpents could be. Protection in return for fealty; that was how they should be using their training. Stop protecting those who didn't bow to the Serpents, and soon the whole town would be under their thumb, North and South sides both.
"Don't you 'yeah, whatever' me," Dean says. "I'm in charge while FP's gone. That means Serpents do what I say. You a Serpent, or not?"
"Chill, man, I'll follow your lead. I'm a Serpent all the way," String Bean says, trying to play it cool, although the threat scares him. Being kicked out of the Serpents wouldn't be a gentle goodbye, and he knows it. "You say we do research for FP's kid, we do research for FP's kid."
"Good," Dean says, turning his back abruptly and walking into the Wyrm. It worries him a little though; if even this kid is going to give him lip, how is he going to keep the Serpents in line? "You tell me if you hear anything."
He relaxes a little once he gets into the Wyrm, shooting a grin at some of the Serpent ladies as he grabs a drink at the bar. He tosses down the shot, then clangs it with his motorcycle keys. The sound cuts through the room, and the noise settles down as he stands. "We got a new target!" he says, and a couple of cheers erupt in response before people settle down again. It's been quiet recently; a few minor hauntings in the surrounding villages, but most of the Serpents have had to go roaming farther out if they want any action. The ones back home have been more involved in ordinary street crime of the sort that pays the bills than monster hunting recently. Once the room is quiet again, Dean continues. "We're not sure what it is yet, or even if it's one of our sorts, but there's been a shooting. Most of you will remember Fred Andrews; well he got shot during what they're calling a robbery at Pops."
"Serve him right after what he did to us!" someone in the crowd yells. They're far enough away that Dean can't see who it is, which is fortunate for whoever yelled that. Dean knows he's going to have to address those sorts of sentiments anyway; violence might scare them into silence, but it's not going to scare the thoughts from their heads.
"Fred might have done us a bad turn, but he's done us lots of good turns too. Man did what he had to do, just like us," Dean calls back, and there's a murmuring of agreement and dissent both. He waits for it to die down before continuing. "Thing is, I haven't heard anything about any robbery, and I haven't heard anything about anyone buying guns, which leads me to believe that this isn't any ordinary robbery. Thing was wearing a black hood, so it might be a spirit of some sort, but it also might not be human. Headless horseman, grim reaper, keep your eyes and ears open for signs of anything like that. Might also be a possession. You hear anything, let me know." His speech done, Dean steps down, and the rest of the Serpents return to what they were doing beforehand.
Dean might not have been able to see who called out, but String Bean was in the crowd, and he saw. He took note of the Serpent, then headed over to where he knew Tallboy would be waiting, ready to hear about what had gone down.
"Seems like Dean really means to look after FP's kid while he's gone," String Bean says quietly. "Kid asked for a favour and Dean was all too quick to give it to him. Real reason this job is here is because the Jones kid asked him to look into the shooting."
"That so," Tallboy says gruffly, but quietly as well. He thinks for a moment, arms crossed, looking out across the bar, watching Dean without staring. He's been waiting for FP to be out of the way for ages now, and he's damned if he's going to let FP's lapdog take over for him. Nah, now that FP's out of the way, it's Tallboy's turn. "Bet we could use that. What did he say, the kid? He think it was a monster?"
String Bean shakes his head. "Seemed to think it might be a Serpent," he says, laughing a little.
A bit of a smile seems hidden behind Tallboy's usual dour expression. "Does he now," he muses. "And he what, wanted Dean to find this Serpent?"
"Wanted him to ask around," String Bean confirms.
"Seems to me we might have a suspect." Tallboy raises his eyebrows at the man who yelled out in the middle of Dean's speech.
"You want to do what the kid wants too?" String Bean says, incredulous.
"Kid like that has a lot of influence," Tallboy says quietly. "Lot of people look up to FP. Well, if we get his kid on our side, that might win over some of them too. Join him up, set him up in Dean's place, he could be our puppet. Dean might step down for him. Then we bring him down, make him mess up - easy, since he's got no experience - and we step in to fill the void."
A slow smile spreads over String Bean's face as he listens to the plan. "Let's do what the boy asked," says String Bean.
"Quiet-like, now," says Tallboy. "You know the rules."
"A Serpent never harms one of their own," String Bean responds.
"Of course," Tallboy says, as if just an observation, "all depends what you mean by harm." He smirks. "Besides, a little bit of harm might be just what we need to send our old man FP a message. Let him know that just because he was leader out here, don't mean he's leader when he's locked up."
String Bean smirks and leans against the wall next to Tallboy, copying his posture, surveying the room. Tallboy notices the kid trying to be like him and laughs a bit to himself. Nothing like a kid who wants to be you when you're looking for someone to do whatever you say.