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It had been an eerily quiet time amongst the Saints in recent days. Anyone oblivious enough to believe it could blame the cold weather that held Stilwater in a tight grip and the subsequent fatigue that it brought upon its residents, while those more in the know would immediately point fingers at the events that had occured a week prior.
The untimely death of Saints lieutenant Carlos Mendoza was still fresh in everyone's minds. Not a day went by where his presence wasn't missed and his passing mourned. After an initially rough start in the gang, the young man had pushed himself to become a valuable asset to the Third Street Saints, and perhaps that overconfidence was what eventually had gotten the better of him.
For now, it was unclear how exactly the poor boy died, all that was known was that it involved a kidnapping, followed by torturing at the hands of the Brotherhood, the rival gang that he had been assigned to gathering vital information on. The funeral had been closed-casket, which many assumed stemmed from the state his body must have been in, due to the violent nature of his death. Only a handful of trusted individuals were aware of the true circumstances of the eager lieutenant's demise. Those included the Boss, her two remaining lieutenants, Pierce and Shaundi, as well as her incessantly loyal second in command, Johnny Gat. However, saying that the latter's loyalty wasn't at least shaken by the revelation of recent events, would be a flat out lie.
Among the higher ranks of the gang, the Boss appeared to be the most affected. She didn't appear in front of the crew as much as she used to, locking herself away, either alone or with her trusted circle. At first glance, it didn't seem unordinary for her to be impacted in such a way. After all, it had been her who recovered his body from his captors. Though, if you had been paying closer attention to her behaviour in the past, you'd discover an abnormality in her demeanour. It wasn't unusual for a Saint to die, it came with this lifestyle, everyone accepted that fact. And while it was fair to assume that the death of a lieutenant would hit harder than that of a regular grunt, someone who had been around the Boss for a while would know better.
Johnny had known the Boss longer than anyone else currently in the gang. Back when they were still doing petty crime on the Row, he had gotten to learn more about the now leader first hand. He had seen her cheerful, he had seen her enraged, and he had seen her filled with sorrow. Back when Lin was killed, the Boss was indeed affected by it, her and Lin had gotten along well, and she blamed herself for being unable to save the other woman. And when Aisha was murdered, she was visibly impacted by her loss, as much as she tried to hide it to stay strong for him.
But Carlos' death was different. She was mourning, yes, but it felt deeper than previous instances of losing someone that had been close to her.
Of course Johnny had heard the rumors of their relationship, most have. And he had noticed how protective and forgiving she had been with the kid. Originally, the second in command had mistaken it for nothing more than her way of showing gratitude towards the young lieutenant for busting her out of jail, a feeling the convict could relate to all too well, he felt similarly towards the Boss for getting his ass out of that courtroom. But, over time, it became clear that it was more than just that. She had a weak spot for the boy. And it was a secret to no one that he had been infatuated with her as well.
Not that it mattered much to him, she was free to date or fuck whoever she pleased, he was well aware of her wild nights and escapades.
What came as a surprise to him, however, was that it increasingly looked as if there had been more to their relationship than just sex.
Was it love? He couldn't say. He honestly doubted it was, at least on her part, but at this point, he was convinced that she returned at least some of Carlos' feelings. The implications all pointed towards it.
All the more adding to the confusion as to why she ended up doing what she did.