Xanxus was one of the most powerful figures of the Seven Legends in the Solaris Province, and Sunshine Casino alone was an enterprise that every gang leader drooled over.
Never did Victoria expect someone as formidable as Xanxus to die. She had been sure that death was something that eluded him.
"Do we know who's behind it?" she demanded, eyes wide and thoughts clamoring. "I don't think Jarett would resort to such clean and forthright methods of eradicating Xanxus, would he?"
Rupert slapped his own thigh as if to calm himself. "Every witness in Sunshine Casino has either been killed off or captured, so no one can provide intel on this. All we know is that the mysterious forces who killed Xanxus and wiped out his gang fled as soon as the deed was done, and no one has claimed ownership of the casino yet!"
Next to him, Leoric could hear his own blood beating in his ears. No one knew the details of Xanxus' downfall except for him. "Uh, Jeanne, there's something you should—"
"Oh, for f*ck's sake, can't you see that I'm speaking to Jeanne here? Stay out of this!" Rupert barked at him before he could explain what happened back at the casino with Kingsley.
In truth, Leoric had been getting on Rupert's nerves these days. He thought the man was nothing more than an over-glorified errand boy for the Jeanne Gang who was put in charge of their territory in the urban village, but that was until recently when Leoric had, with Kingsley's help, fought back against Kenzo and his men during a turf war.
Ever since then, Victoria started seeing Leoric in a new light, and the subtle admiration she had for him was beginning to show. After all, Kenzo was one of Xanxus' most trusted subordinates, not to mention, one of the most capable. To be able to hold onto the Jeanne Gang's turf and keep it from falling into Xanxus' hand was enough to prove Leoric's competence.
As such, she praised him for the job well done and told him she saw potential in him. She also said his kindness, despite his circumstances, was a remarkable trait to have as a gang member. She even planned on having him help out at Jeanne D'Arc once business at the urban village had been concluded.
Having sensed the shift in structural dynamics, Rupert couldn't help panicking. He was worried that Leoric would climb up the organizational ladder and eventually take over his place in the gang.
"Leoric, you ought to learn your place around here. Don't get so full of yourself just because Jeanne gave you a few encouraging words!" Rupert snapped with a manic gleam in his eyes, riding out the rage he had felt when he came in earlier and saw that Leoric was already in the office speaking to Jeanne.
However, there were more pressing concerns at hand, such as the news of Xanxus' downfall and the subsequent abandonment of Sunshine Casino, so he held back from chewing Lcoric out at first instance. He thinks I'm going easy on him and now he's climbing over my head! He has quite the nerve, interrupting me while I'm speaking to Jeanne!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Leoric, and don't try to butt into gang matters. You don't get the right to speak when I'm in the room!" he growled, glaring at Leoric mutinously.
Meanwhile, Victoria was frowning in disapproval when she saw how unnecessarily rude Rupert was being, but she thought about how he had stuck by her since junior high and helped her with gang matters all these years, then decidedly brushed this incident off. In any case, she couldn't put him in his place in front of Leoric and her other subordinates.
Presently, a grim look flashed across Leoric's features as he pointed out impatiently, "I wasn't trying to butt into gang affairs; I was only trying to tell Jeanne about the incident with Xanxus—"
He was cut off once again by Rupert, who demanded incredulously, "And what the hell do you know about Xanxus’ death, huh? Do you even know how serious things are right now out there in the underworld? Huh?" He did not wait for Leoric to respond and turned to address Victoria in a considerably gentler tone, "Jeanne, now that word on Xanxus' death has broken out, the entire Solaris Province underworld is getting restless. Every gang we know will start making their moves soon. A war may be inevitable."
Victoria slowly resumed her seat on the couch, her pretty brows furrowing as she said, "The casino was Xanxus' pride and glory. Anyone with power, no matter how little of it, will try to get their hands on it." She twirled a lock of her hair around one slender finger as she continued pensively, "But as long as Jarett doesn't make a move, then no one will get to take the casino for themselves. It'd be a feat for gangs like ours to get even a tenth of the share!"
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