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“What did I just do…” The Boss sighed to herself, she put her head down in disappointment after the outcome of a new member’s canonization progress. It was up until that moment every new member was about to overcome the traditional initiation of joining the Saints bringing a beatdown to the other members. This was only the second time where the brunette witnessed the new member get knocked down instead of seeing multiple members being defeated.
Canonization took place right in the center of Purgatory, it was in the midst of a remodeling process meaning there are multiple obstacles that could be an advantage to newcomers, such as going around steel pipes or to go behind wood panels. Unfortunately the new member didn’t have enough time to go with those methods after one huge punch was enough to bring him down and get his guts kicked in, as typical gang fashion. The new guy was fortunate enough that the lieutenants were occupied with their missions to even be part of his initiation. Members were cheering on their own who decided to step out to give the newbie a challenge, getting louder when he was brought to the ground.
“Alright guys that’s enough fun for now. Give him some space, he definitely needs it after that!” Cecilia said, her voice was loud enough for the Saints to hear despite Gen X playing loudly from the stereo by the bar.
As Saints members dispersed after canonization, there was still one man that was laying on the cold ground, saddened by his own performance. Hallen Knash thought he could find a way to throw a good punch enough to knock someone down, only to be the one to get hit by a nasty punch in the face that dropped him immediately. To make it more embarrassing for him, the skater had a bigger build than a good portion of the gang and even towered the Boss. Despite his strong stature, his personality was a bit more soft, he never got into a serious fight before with the exception of pushing his older brother down a few times. Even with that, it was only because he was in better shape than him, being healthier compared to the elder brother that had a slacker lifestyle. One of Hal’s eyes were partly opened due to a black eye that he received moments ago, the pain was tolerable for the recruit but was bothered by the swelling.
“Okay big guy, time to get up.” The Boss said, with disappointment in her voice. She didn’t sound mad at Hal, but expected a lot more from him with his size. The brunette trusted Shaundi’s word when she vouched for Hal as someone that can do well in the gang, but it wasn’t just the lieutenant few of the members that had known the skater prior to joining. Hal rolled over to get up, to save his own dignity not allowing the Boss to help him off his feet. The newly canonized member couldn’t even look at the brunette directly, he was worried that he wouldn’t even be part of the gang for something he considered a loss.
“Sorry Miss Boss, I tried my best.” Hal said, he pushed his index fingers together which was a compulse that he does whenever he gets nervous. Despite the Boss being shorter than him, Hal was still intimidated by the brunette. It may not show as much physically, but to him the leader of the Saints had this aggressive demeanor she presented herself with a simple glare, that is still intimidating behind her bifocals. He had heard stories of the Boss by other members seeing her take hard hits in fights and didn’t flinch.
“You weren’t the first to get your ass kicked, Carlos himself had a beatdown when he first joined. However, I don’t want to see anymore of that now that you’re part of the Saints. Do something that will impress me, and at least try not to be such a pussy. Welcome to the gang.” The Boss said as she walked away from the skater. While Hal was officially part of the Saints, he didn’t get Cecilia’s approval or could ever be taken seriously.
Being up front and blunt to him, Hal walked over to one of the couches to lay down in to rest. He wanted to relax, but his anxiety about his first impression bothered him too much making the pain around his eye worse. Not too long after laying down, another Saints member came in and went towards the skater.
“TOMMY YOU’RE ACTUALLY IN?!?!” The woman exclaimed, she knew the skater years ago, when the two went to the same high school for a brief time before her family moved to a different state. Sheila Espinosa joined the Saints several weeks ago, of course being able to succeed in her canonization with no problems as she was handy with combat. Tommy was her nickname for him when Hal mentioned his name being Thomas, initially being referred to his middle name when he first moved to America from Manchester. At first, the woman was excited that her friend got to be in the gang, but was concerned once she saw the frown in Hal’s face and the black eye that he received.
“I sure did Shelly, but I don’t think I have what it takes to be a Saint….Miss Boss seemed upset with me. I couldn’t even beat someone up in my initiation...” Hal shifted to a sitting position to give a spot to his friend on the couch.
“I don’t think she is mad at you, she just expects everyone to be the best in the gang. Don’t get too worried about it, we all went through it.” Sheila responded, patting the taller man on the shoulder. She knew Hal long enough to know that despite how he looked on the outside, he wasn’t the type that can be aggressive if he needs to be.
“You know, Shaundi did mention to me that the Boss is simply like that to everybody until they proved their worth to her. It doesn’t even have to be physical strengths, Shaundi impressed Boss with her tactics from time to time.”
Hearing that, Hal felt better but still nervous about what he could contribute to the Saints. He wanted to get the Boss’ approval somehow, and it was something that he thrived to do in the weeks that proceeded after that day.
In a turn of events, Sheila and a few others have taught Hal the basics of being in a gang from firing a gun to learning how to properly defend himself. Standing up to his older and overweight brother is different than fending off against a stronger rival gang member. One night outside of the hideout some of the members and Gat had an impromptu shooting gallery to practice the gang’s new toys that were from a few wooden crates, courtesy of a Brotherhood Compensator the Boss stole hours ago. Hal happened to try out his aim with the others by shooting the beer can pyramids that were set up by Johnny. The skater just knew how to hold the gun and practice using the trigger in an unloaded gun beforehand, but it felt like instinct when he was able to shoot those cans dead center.
“Not too bad kid, now check this out.” Johnny complemented Hal before he went front and center to shoot all of the cans with his favorite AK-47 in his hands, which startled the skater for a bit as some of the bullets landed in other places.
“Well shit looks like we don’t have anymore cans to shoot up. We’re heading out to Freckle Bitch’s in a bit, wanna join?” Johnny asked Hal, the new member nodded, he felt that he was on Gat’s good side when offered his invitation. The lieutenant walked over to his car as two other members took the back seats, leaving the skater to ride shotgun. Before Hal could go up to Johnny’s car, he noticed a familiar figure outside the main doors of Purgatory smoking a cigarette. The skater turned his head a bit to see that the Boss got a glimpse of the guys’ fun shooting games, worried what she’d think of his skills. The brunette noticed Hal’s looking towards her direction and gave a bit of a nod at the young man. Without realizing it, Hal had a dumb half-smile on his face, he finally got the approval of the Boss. The guys drove out of the lot on their way to get some fast food, and the brunette took another drag of her cigarette before walking back inside.
“I guess Hal got something to prove afterall, I’m hopeful that you’re right about him Sheila.” The Boss said, she passed by the other new recruit who wanted to show the leader of the Saints that her friend got more to show than his first ever day in the gang.