Chapter 56: Spreading influence and bringing a plan to the boss
Tristan went out on his first patrol at noon of the same day. Although their task was to watch out for danger, Tristan spent more attention on talking with the pair of gangsters that were sent with him.
Thanks to his last charisma boost right now, Tristan had an incredible charm to him. Although most gangsters were cautious people, as soon as Tristan's temporary partners saw him, they couldn't help but treat him like a friend of theirs just because they were from the same gang.
The two gangsters were young, hot-headed, and very unhappy that they had to patrol so much.
"What's the point of patrolling so hard, when we can just go to these square-faced assholes and shoot them back?"
"Yeah, like this we are like a guy lying on the ground and covering his head with his hands like it will protect him from kicks from above!"
Tristan didn't even have to say much to have them drink up his every word.
"I'm sure Mr. Clavon will force Mr. Pierce to act more decisively. Our boss isn't a coward. And if Pierce is, then you know how it is, he-he. I know that if I had tough guys like you under my command, dealing with the Angulos would be a simple task.
I have some experience in taking out the wrong people."
The implication that Pierce could be easily replaced was clear, and Tristan's listeners supported it. Just like the subtler thought that Tristan will be a fine replacement, thanks to his experience as an enforcer/assassin for the gang.
Tristan usually worked alone, but he always succeeded in whatever Pierce sent him to do.
For the next couple of days, Tristan followed Pierce's patrol schedule, using every opportunity to have similar talks with other gang members. Even when he ate in a diner or relaxed in a bar, he did it in places where other King Lion Gang members gathered, so he could spread his influence wider.
But he wasn't only talking, Tristan was also watching.
After the first two well-aimed attacks, Tristan was sure that there were people in the gang who sold information outside. Even if they were low-ranked and the information wasn't much, it was important to find them.
Talking and observing so much was actually more tiring than the patrols. However, as a result, Tristan's charisma rose by 2, and his observation skill by 14!
Thanks to Tristan's appeal, he got plenty of people on his side in just those three days, despite being a new person in the gang himself.
Most of his allies were younger members of the gang, but he got a few older, conservative ones as well. Tomas helped a lot there, supporting Tristan's views on the gang war situation.
During these three days, there were also two more small attacks, but each time, the enemy retreated at the first sight of serious resistance. Both sides only had wounded, and Tristan was lucky or unlucky to miss both attacks.
Tristan wasn't invited to important planning meetings, so he didn't know what exactly Leon and Pierce were going to do in the future.
There were rumors that Leon and Pierce were planning a big counterattack, but Pierce was too cautious to go to the enemy territory without more information. Especially because Cuatro Angulos was clearly provoking them.
On the fourth day, Tristan noticed a hint he was looking for.
A young gangster who came to another patrol in a shiny new jacket. A brand jacket! Tristan had some experience with these things. He KNEW the gangster wouldn't afford something like that with just his normal salary.
After that, Tristan just stealthily stole his phone when they went to take a lunch break in a diner, went to the bathroom, and checked the man's contacts and messages to confirm his suspicions.
The man was selling information about King Lion Gang's businesses to Cuatro Angulos.
Tristan quietly captured on camera of his own phone the incriminating messages, then returned the phone to its owner with him none the wiser, and Tristan now had the next step of his plan in his mind.
***
"I want to talk with Mr. Clavon. It's important, and it's about how we can hit Cuatro Angulos," Tristan explained to Clavon's bodyguard, who was also working as a secretary when it came to separating approved visitors from unapproved.
It was daytime, Tristan actually had a free window in his patrol schedule, and he knew Leon was in the building right now, coordinating his gang.
Although the bar was just one of the many businesses the gang owned, it unofficially became Leon Clavon's command center, at least during the daytime.
When the bar was open, he preferred to be in his house instead.
"Important? Everything people want to pass me with is important," the bodyguard said, sneering at Tristan. "You are one of Pierce's boys, isn't that right? Go to him."
Tristan pressed his lips together, oozing urgency and using his charm to infect the bodyguard with it, too.
"Mr. Pierce isn't in the office right now, and this might be urgent. C'mon, I know that it's your job to send people away, but I thought it only came to the unimportant ones!"
"Yeah, people like you," the man grumbled. "Fine, I will ask him."
He stepped inside the office and returned a minute later.
"Lucky you, you were let in. But no weapons in Mr. Clavon's office. I will hold them for you."
Tristan nodded, giving the man his gun and even his knife, as per standard procedure in case of assassins.
Despite that, the bodyguard still patted him down, although briefly, before Tristan was let through the door.
Inside Leon Clavon's office, the man himself sat over an enormous oak desk like a muscular, majestic lion with a huge (and fake) mane of blond hair.
He looked down at Tristan skeptically.
"I heard you know something important that can be used against the Mexicans? For your sake, it's better not be a hoax. Who are you, what is it, and where did you find it?"
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