After the boss' involuntary "coming out" to Gat, a strange routine settled in.
Of course the Saints continued to aggressively work on their city take-over, growing in numbers and valuable members alike. The addition of former FBI agent and technical genius Kinzie Kensington was a great asset to their team that opened a whole new range of possibilities for their cause and took their information procurement to another level.
The rescue of whoremonger Zimos resulted in the acquisition of yet another important ally whose connections to the criminal underworld provided the Saints with invaluable information on Syndicate operations. And of course Oleg, whose genius and brute strength were priceless, in and out of battle.
There was only one thing that could compete with the thrill of the Saints' rise to power under the capo's command: His secret reunions at Professor Genki's with Gat. Weekly at first, their meetings soon turned biweekly as their impatience and thirst for adrenaline grew.
They hadn't exchanged numbers. Every new appointment was set at the end of the one before, usually after a round of store-bought beers shared at the back of the Genki warehouse. So far for the Saint's account only.
They hadn't frequented the bar Gat had taken him to after their first duo round, nor had they gone anywhere else after their murderous get-togethers since then, which made sense. Playa didn't know how things were on Johnny's end, but it seemed that none of the other Saints had taken notice of his secret meetings with the opposing gang member so far - and he felt like neither of them wanted that fact to change.
When the duo sat on the curb, shrouded by the darkness of Professor Genki's poorly-lit parking lot, they didn't talk about gang business. Johnny hadn't brought it up again and Playa knew better than to touch on that sensitive topic himself. They hadn't broached the kiss either and, while the Saint had crossed the arena's finish line with a mix of nervousness and anticipation the first few times that followed, nothing of the sort had occurred again. Strangely enough he found it somewhat disappointing.
Cross that thought, the capo scolded himself and took another greedy sip from his beer, eyes observing the man next to him with secret admiration.
It was silly. They barely knew each other and what they did know should have been enough to split their paths forever. But despite that knowledge the duo kept meeting up, kept playing and drinking together, and whenever they shared conversations and beer in the privacy of the night, Playa felt more comfortable than anywhere else in the world.
Sometimes they would talk about that day's Genki challenge, sometimes they would share anecdotes from the past. Sometimes they just sat in quiet contentedness and sometimes they would speak for hours without pause. Usually Playa did most of the talking but every once in a while Gat would lead the conversation, and whenever he did, the Saint would hang on his every word, savouring the sound of Johnny's smooth voice.
How could such a dangerous man own such a soothing voice?
"Yo, it's getting late. I better head back." Gat interrupted Playa's thoughts and set down his empty bottle before he pushed himself off the ground. The capo glanced at his watch and realized that they had been sitting outside for two hours already. To him, it had felt like a fraction of that. "Same time, Monday?"
"How about tomorrow?" The Saint suggested before he could stop himself. He knew the more frequently they'd meet, the riskier it would become, but he was too impatient and enjoyed their meetings too much to wait another three days for the next. Gat hesitated and Playa began to regret his overzeal.
"...I got plans tomorrow." Johnny answered and the capo hoped that the dim light would hide the disappointment on his face. "How 'bout Sunday?"
"Good enough." Playa answered and finished his bottle before straightening up as well.
"Sunday it is." Gat nodded and gave his shoulder a pat before he walked past him towards a black and red car. "See ya then."
Playa watched him leave, once again unable to place his feelings.
Eventually he pulled out his phone and noticed that Kinzie had called him a while ago. Knowing that she didn't like discussing important matters over the phone and also never seemed to sleep, he decided to pay her a late-night visit. At least it would help him redirect his thoughts to something that wasn't Gat. Just what kinds of plans did he have the next day? Was he meeting someone? Was it for business, pleasure or… both? Part of him wished he had asked, but he suspected that, if Gat hadn't told him, there was a reason.
He was glad when he had finally reached Kinzie's warehouse and could put his roaming thoughts to a halt.
"You called?" Playa announced his presence as he walked into the hacker's hideout.
"Boss... Didn't expect to still drop by today." The redhead answered, slowly spinning around in her chair to look at him. She seemed strangely tense.
"Figured it might be important. So what's up?"
"It actually is. I've been tracking the Deckers' movements and it seems like they're preparing a major heist to take back Brickston."
"When's that?"
"Most likely tomorrow afternoon, from what I could find out." Tomorrow. No, that couldn't be what Johnny's 'plans' were all about, could it?
"Are you sure it's the Deckers?" And not the Morningstars, he added in thoughts and was taken aback when Kinzie suddenly snapped at him.
"I'm sorry, would you rather sit down and spend a few hours double-checking while I go off and participate in a broadcasted gaming show with Johnny Gat?" When Playa stared back at her in surprise, she continued. "Oh come on, you can't seriously be surprised. It was literally broadcasted nationwide!"
"...Who else knows?" He asked carefully and the way Kinzie rolled her eyes already answered his question before her words did.
"Uh, everyone who has a TV or internet connection? I can't believe you honestly thought that this could stay a secret. I mean, 'Smokey'? If you really wanted to go undercover, you could've at least hit up an Image As Designed before showing your face on cam with our enemy? Did you even listen when I told you about laying low!?"
"Hey, I didn't choose that name–" Playa tried to object against at least one of the charges but Kinzie merely let out an exasperated sigh and turned away to face her screens again.
"... Okay, fine, so everybody knows. Why is now my first time hearing about this?"
The few Saints he had passed by on his way to Kinzie's warehouse hadn't acted any different than usual.
"Are you serious?" Kinzie sent him a look of disbelief over her shoulder before typing away at her keyboard. Something flashed up on one of the screens and she turned it for her boss to get a better look. It was a video with the caption 'SAINTS BOSS and JOHNNY GAT BLOODBATH PROF GENKI SERC'. "You think anyone would want to get involved with this?"
What followed was a compilation of stabbing, headshots and exploding heads - the carnage Johnny and he had caused on their first meeting after Loren's assassination - but while Kinzie had opened the video to prove a point, her superior watched the recording with a growing smile on his face.
"Hey, that's pretty good. Are there comments on this? What do people say?" He asked with childlike excitement that earned him a shove against his shoulder.
"Are you for real? Hello? Do you have any idea what kind of light that casts on you? On us? It's only been a few hours since this aired but people are already talking."
"And what are they saying?" Kinzie hesitated before she answered, much more carefully than before.
"That you're in cahoots with the enemy. That you can't be trusted and… that you're a ticking time bomb..."
"They say that over a fucking game?" Playa asked calmly, still contemplating how serious the situation was.
"It's not just about the game to them, boss." Kinzie sighed, her eyes on the screen to avoid the man's glare. "Everyone is working hard to fight against the Syndicate… and then they see you on TV, having fun with the guy who murdered so many of their friends… It's only natural they feel betrayed."
The sound of the capo's ringtone interrupted their conversation and when he saw Pierce's name flash on the screen, it was easy to guess the reason for his call.
"Hey Pier–"
"Please tell me the reason why you were so curious about Johnny Gat was not so that you could go play Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax him."
"I mean… I'm not lying if I say that I hadn't planned on it yet at the time."
"Please tell me you didn't really go play Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax with Johnny Gat."
"Pierce, do you really have to say the full name of the show every single tim–"
"Boss, please. That wasn't you, right? It was a doppelganger posing as you to stir things up among the Saints? Probably some wicked scheme by the Syndicate – that's something I can sell to the media, but please tell me that was not you."
"Do you want me to lie?"
"Will I be able to sleep again if you do? Then yes, please, lie. To me. To the media. To anyone who asks. You've never been to Professor Genki's Sup–… to Professor Genki's. You've never even met Johnny Gat in person. If anyone asks you've been at–… Where are you right now?"
"At Kinzie's."
"Perfect. If anyone asks you've been at Kinzie's. We cool?"
"..."
"Boss. Please don't–"
"Yeah, alright, fine."
"Okay, good. I gotta hang up now, I'm getting a call from Channel 6… And please, remember–"
"Never played Genki. Never met Gat. Been at Kinzie's. Fuck the Syndicate. Right?"
"...right. I'll call you back."
With that Pierce hung up and Playa looked up to meet Kinzie's puzzled gaze.
"What?"
"I don't get it. I mean… you must've known that this was a terrible idea. So why risk so much over a stupid reality TV show?"
"You wouldn't get it." Playa mumbled, immediately regretting his choice of words that seemed to be a trigger to the woman who prided herself on her high intelligence.
"Why, because I'm a technical genius who's only saved your ass about a dozen times, developed a software for you to track your enemies, constantly helps you gain valuable information to gain the upper hand, and still has your back even though it was just revealed that you happily hung out with the very people we are working against? Or maybe it's because it's a man thing?"
"Whow, that's not what I-... It's just kind of complicated."
"Try me. It's not like you should leave here anytime soon, given the PR mess you've caused."
Admitting that she was right, Playa sighed and dropped himself onto the empty chair to Kinzie's right.
"So you're saying at first you went along because you felt cornered, then on a whim to maintain your macho pride and in the end because you actually started to enjoy not only the game but hanging out with Gat afterwards?"
"Gee, Kinzie, why didn't you tell me you wanted the 10-second version of the story?"
She ignored her boss' sarcastic tone and, having turned around on her chair during their talk, she rested her chin on her folded arms on top of the backrest.
"Okay, but why? I can understand craving for the challenge's adrenaline rush but what made you want to grab a beer and hang out with the guy who's one of the biggest hindrances in your own plans? Did you think you could talk him into surrendering or switching sides?"
"We didn't talk gang business." Playa answered with a shrug, not quite sure of his own motives himself. "And I know it sounds weird but it just felt like the right thing to do."
"Hanging out with the guy who murders your own people."
"If you put it that way, nah, of course not. But that wasn't really on my mind when we hung out." Kinzie raised an eyebrow.
"Then what was?"
Immediately Playa's thoughts jumped back to their kiss and he cleared his throat to nip his embarrassment in the bud.
"Not much."
"I can see that…" Kinzie commented slowly, suspicious eyes observing her boss.
"It just felt like hanging out with an old friend. Someone's who's on the same wavelength and who just gets you, without much being said."
"An old friend who kills your other friends."
"Do you want me to talk about this or not?" Playa sent her a mildly annoyed look.
"Sorry. Keep going."
Playa took a deep breath as he tried to make sense of his thoughts and looked up into nothingness as he attempted to put them into words.
"It just felt like, if it wasn't for our colours, we'd be unstoppable. And I guess that's why I kept going, even though I knew we'll eventually have to go up against each other."
Kinzie watched him in silence and, strangely enough, her skeptical look had melted into one of understanding. Without another word, she turned back around to face her computer screens and her fingers were once again swiftly moving across the keyboard.
"There's a couch in the lobby next door. You can rest there if you want." She said, her back turned towards him.
"Alright, thanks." Playa answered, interpreting that Kinzie had gotten a satisfactory answer out of him and was now kindly asking him to leave her to her work.
He lifted himself off the chair and moved past the computers and screens when Kinzie's voice held him back for a moment longer.
"Boss?" He turned around and saw that she, too, had briefly looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry."
Before Playa could ask what exactly Kinzie was sorry for, she had returned her attention to the computers and placed a set of large headphones over her ears.
"Alright…" The capo mumbled to himself and finally walked over to the lobby where he lowered himself onto the old couch the hacker had offered him.
For a long time he lay awake, wondering what exactly Kinzie had meant with her words, how Pierce was handling the media that were probably overflowing with the newest gossip about the Saints and if Johnny Gat was in trouble too, now that their secret meetings had been found out and publicly exposed.
And what about Sunday? Was their meeting cancelled? Or would Johnny show up anyway? Would he himself find an opening to go? God, did Playa want to go.
Johnny Gat… If only he hadn't been a Morningstar. None of this would have been an issue. They could have met freely, enjoyed their beers in the cozy pub they had been to only once and, best of all, they wouldn't have been forced to fight each other. If anything, Playa felt sorry about that, and as he drifted off into a restless sleep, the capo wondered if Kinzie had meant the same.