tell me i'm a wreck

Would Niko even be interested in her money? Probably not, but it never hurt to ask, especially when it affected his family. Chase gave her a lot to think about it and she took note of it, already feeling good about her decision to trust him. "I guess you're right. I'll think on it. I don't want to be too eager in my approach, you know. Strategy is everything but we can't force it. We'll try to be too strategic and overthink it. If there's anything I've learned lately is that balance is a must. As many places as you can strive for it, you should." And she knew that often became a grey area for many but she truly believed she could have a more level head in this.

"I'm not sayin' you gotta do it on your own or anythin'," he started with a shake of his head, "just offerin' some ideas. I'll help, too. It's where I spent most of my life so it's the closest thing I got to home. I can get you looped in with Levi if you wanna start there, but book club might be up your alley since you're a writer and all. Just make sure it's not one with all the mommy's from the 'burbs." He snorted. He motioned towards their empty drinks, a silent question as he stood to go refill his own. "I'm guessin' you wanted to take over for a long time, so what did you wanna do with the company when you were dreamin' about the CEO position?"

He stayed silent as Chase made his case, noting the frustration that fueled his words -- and, admittedly, despite Niko's own preconceived notions and trust issues, it was hard for him to argue with anything that he said. The two of them had been thick as thieves for much of their lives, family in everything but blood. Hell, Chase had even seen him through some of the worst, most perilous moments of his life and yet never treated him with any pity, or like he was damaged or broken. Why had it been so easy for Niko to disregard all of that? The answer was simpler than he'd care to admit; he was broken, since his injury had succumbed to the darkest places of his mind that warded off anything -- anyone -- who had the potential to cross him, to hurt him. And it worked, to a degree, but at what cost? Well, that part Niko was still trying to figure out, but at least in that moment there was some twinkle of clarity that caused a simple sigh to fall from his lips.

Chase watched Niko carefully. He didn't expect what he said to make everything better between them, but he at least hoped that Niko would have a better understanding of why he'd done what he did with Nando, that it'd be a step in the right direction towards reconciliation. He was relieved -- and surprised, though he'd be loath to admit it -- when Niko tossed him the beer, but he caught it and used the bottle opener he had on his key ring to pop off the top. "What's that sayin' about a broken clock's right twice a day?" he replied with a snort, sipping his beer. "We okay for now at least?"

"Yeah but I'm not just teaching 'em to get free labor. Can't let myself get lazy, man. It's how I stay young and pretty," he joked. Levi was usually more reserved but around Chase he probably joked the most. "Yeah I don't know why someone would get a tattoo if they can't take it. Seems kind of like torture. Healthy side of what? You wanna split a salad we can split a salad." And Levi would just to commit to the bit but the mention of a root beer float had his eyes lighting up and he was in immediate agreement. "Deal. Let's go for it. I deserve it. We're teaching kids all about affirmations, might as well practice them myself," he joked. "But when are we gonna put your skills to real good use and have you teach some kids about tattooing. We've got some real artists." As the waiter came back, Levi held up his hands. "Okay, enough about work, promise. How about...sports. You seen the way the Lions kicked the Cowboys ass the other day? Made my week."

"Sure it's not that girl of yours keeping you young?" Chase remarked with a suggestive wiggle of his brows. Although Chase knew of Freya as Maeve's sister, he hadn't gotten to know her in this new capacity as his little brother's girlfriend. They seemed happy enough from what he knew, so he'd wait until Levi was ready to introduce them. "Course I did. Y'know how much I gloat whenever the Cowboys choke," Chase chuckled, shaking his head. "Though I can't say much since the Saints ain't doing so hot this year. They gotta get their shit together." He leaned back against his seat. "You really want me to come teach the kids, though? I could find time, but not sure how parents would feel about their kids gettin' taught by a felon."

Valentina took the notebook back and quickly looked over the list. "Your brother can't stand me, Maeve can't stand you and the rest, well, I'd say it's touch and go on whether they give a shit about you but I'll keep an open mind." She wasn't even trying to be manipulative but in all the time she had been visiting Chase, she had mostly only seen his brother on the visitors log. "You should think on it more. Consider what you would do if you used your mind more. I'm not saying that to be sarcastic, I'm saying it to be encouraging. If you keep thinking of yourself as just another henchman, then that's all you're ever going to be," she told him with complete sincerity and probably a genuine dose of care for him. "I don't know how open Niko is going to be to talk to me after what my father did to his girlfriend but crazier things have happened. But I can't go having conversations without a clear vision. Something to offer and to gain. I only have one shot at this, I can't come off as an amateur. But I have to be clear that I'm not my father. Which is kind of easy considering how none of them actually really knew him or who he was." She stopped herself when she realized she was just thinking out loud.

Valentina genuinely wanting his opinions and for him to feel as though he were an equal part of whatever was to come of The Enterprise still seemed like such a farfetched idea without there being strings attached. Her encouragement to be more than what he'd always been to others up until that point, it was... new. He wasn't sure how to take it. "An apology would go a long way," he started, his voice holding no hint of sarcasm. It wouldn't erase things by any means, but it might make it so Niko was open to hearing whatever she ended up having to say. "I know us takin' out Alejandra meant his family's restaurant was havin' cash flow issues. Could start there, figure out the rest later."

"Of course I fucking trusted you -- you and Hernando, I trusted with my goddamn life. You know how many people outside of my family I can say that about?" The question was a rhetorical one, but Chase knew him well enough to know that there were very few people he'd put his life in the hands of. Jaw set, he finished off the rest of his beer as the other male continued on, turning his back brief moment so that he could place the now-empty glass by the sink. "You want to talk about trust? You left me in the fucking dark, McCoy," Niko explained, brows arching as he leaned back against the counter. "Regardless of how well you and Valdez managed to pull that shit off, it was stupid. It was reckless. This isn't just about your little joyride imploding everything my family has built for the past thirty years -- I'm a grown man, I've come back from much fucking worse." He shook head. "How the hell can I trust that you ain't gonna stab me in the back if I piss you off the wrong way? Or that you'll take matters into your own hands again and leave me to deal with the fucking fall out?"

"That wasn't my call." Chase had wanted to loop Niko into things, but Nando had wanted to keep things limited, unsure of who he could trust within the organization that had betrayed him. And then Chase stared at him as silence passed between them, Niko's words lingering in the tension. Chase was known for his temper, and though a part of him wanted to curse the man in front of him for questioning his loyalty and storm out of the room, he could tell there was hurt there beneath everything, the same emotion that fueled most of Chase's anger. "I'm not gonna turn on you," he started, as though the answer were the most obvious thing in the world, "because you've never used me for your own agenda. Never let me take the fall for you without showin' some kind of gratitude or returnin' the favor. You've had my back since day one when I was a stupid kid gettin' into trouble tryna make money to send my brother to school. We ain't always seen eye to eye, but it didn't mean the love wasn't there." At least until now, he left unsaid. "She never hated you the way she did me. You had the family ties, that reputation to back you before you could prove yourself. I only had Matias's word backin' me up, and we know how much good that was worth." Chase scoffed. "You know how much I sacrificed for her, for Los Santos, and then I gave up what should've been the rest of my damn life behind bars 'cause I wouldn't rat her out. And how's she repay that, huh? Tried to kill me like I was just some loose end for her to tie up, somethin' to check off her to do list." He looked away. "I trust you with my life, Nik. Always have, always will."

Niko simply let out grunt, knowing that whatever he had to say about Hernando getting off scot-free, riding into the sunset with his girlfriend or whatever would not be productive in the grand scheme of things. Chase knew how he felt about the male, the entire situation -- there was nothing more to say. Jaw clenched slightly in response to the other male's quip, but he kept it hidden with his back turned as he moved to grab the beer he'd been nursing. "Who says I'm taking time off?" He tossed back, something he probably should have kept close to his chest -- alas, perhaps pride had gotten the better of him. Taking a sip from the bottle, Niko considered the sentiment, and a part of him knew that Chase was being honest -- that he would have been there if he'd asked. "Maybe." He said after a moment, turning to face the other male. "It's not about what you could've done, McCoy. It's about the fact that I can't trust you." Niko shook his head. "It's not personal. It goes beyond that for me. You know that."

Chase rose a brow at Niko's response to his joke. He figured Niko wouldn't have totally been out of the game, but it did make him curious what exactly he was doing in that time. He hadn't heard anything about drugs still being moved back and forth in the area, but he hadn't necessarily been keeping his ear to the ground in the same way since Alejandra's death. "So, all the times I've been there and had your back over the years mean nothin' now 'cause I didn't consider how the fall out would affect you? How's that enough to break your trust unless it was flimsy to begin with?" he asked, maintaining an even tone. He was genuinely trying to understand where Niko was coming from and failing. He'd always seen Niko like family, but maybe the feeling had never been mutual. "I'd get it if I'd ratted you or your family out to the feds or somethin'... Look, I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but you're gonna have to explain it to me like I'm a kid so I can get where you're comin' from here."

"Ah man it's nothing, just got into it with a fence on the football field. Silas said we could get someone to fix it but it was pretty easy." Levi explained the cut on his face as he sat down to join Chase for dinner at the diner. "What about you? That four hour piece actually take four hours or what?" He grabbed the menu despite knowing exactly what he was gonna order and smiled at all of the familiar faces there. "What you thinking? Same shit as always or you wanna try something new? I'm thinking we should split a stack of strawberry pancakes." @chasemmccoy

"Ain't that the point of havin' those shop classes to get them to do stuff like that?" Chase replied with a snort of laughter. Chase would be the first to admit he hadn't expected the community center Levi put together to become as big as it had up to that point, but seeing how successful and fulfilled his little brother had become because of it made him prouder than he could ever verbalize. "Just about, but they weren't a squirmer which made it easier to get it done. Hate gettin' someone with a low pain tolerance in my chair 'cause it ends up takin' so much longer to get through it." He looked over the menu before nodding. "Pancakes sound good. Should probably get a healthy side or somethin', but I'd rather do a root beer float. What d'you say?"

"Don't act so surprised. You think I just negotiate getting everyone out of prison? I'm not Kim Kardashian," she joked, actually making herself laugh with that one. "Assurance in writing? Chase I'm hardly running an incorporated business right now, my father left a bit of a mess and everyone's anxious. But I mean how long is this list? For the record, my father's style is not my style. Life lost does not necessarily mean money gained." Still, she got to her feet and grabbed her notebook, handing it to him with a pen. "Write down your conditions and the name of the people you want me to look out for. We're going to need to recruit some a bit though. People think we're ghosts at this point, a non liability, inconsequential," she continued before reaching for her wine. "Which is good for us, gives us a moment to fly under the radar, consider our resources. I'm getting rid of the board entirely though. I mean what good did they really do us? Most of them were idiot men my father somehow deemed worthy of his use. We keep the circle small and our associates strategic," she declared and met his eyes to see how he was processing her words. "How do you feel about that? Do you have a vision, Mr. McCoy? What would be your vision if you were in charge?"

Chase took the notebook and pen from Valentina, watching her as she spoke. It was hard for him to trust people after having been fucked over so often in his life, but especially those who had authority over him in some capacity. She had gotten him out of prison, and for that he owed her, but even with the assurances that no one would be losing their lives, he couldn't help but to think of Alejandra turning on him at the first opportunity. He flipped to a blank page and wrote out his few conditions and a list of names for the people he cared about -- Levi and Maeve at the top, followed quickly by Niko and his cousins, Emiri included. "I was never much of an idea's guy," he began, writing out the last of his list and closing the notebook, "but I think it's smarter to play things close to the chest. I think your pops got too big for his britches by involvin' too many people." He shrugged, handing the book back over. "I can help with recruitment, though. Some of the names in there: capos I worked with in Los Santos, ones I'd trust with my life if it came down to it. Niko especially. It could be beneficial to set up a meet and see if there's a mutually beneficial relationship that can happen."

Wry but still fond smile flickered over his lips at the mention of his sister. "She's a force of nature." Shoulders rolled into a lazy shrug, as though there was nothing more that needed said, that he could do nothing but go along with his sister's whims. "Yeah all good. My neighbour wasn't so lucky but we'll soon get that fixed up." At least it was his intention to help as much as he was allowed. "Shit, definitely luckier than that guy." Head tilted to the side, indulging in a rare moment of teasing. "But I didn't know you were holding out on me with all these other friends. Do I need to be worried?"

Chase couldn't help the snort of laughter that left him at Stef's comment. "Friends are few and far between still, don't worry. This one's an old friend who moved outta town long time ago and came back, so you're still above him in the rankin'," he reassured the man, though if he really took a few moments to consider it, he had more people in town he cared about than he let on. When it came time to order, he got a beer -- whatever was on tap, he'd said -- and leaned back in his seat. "I wanted to make sure we were still good," he began once they were alone again. "The stuff with Alejandra -- I didn't mean to fuck y'all over with the restaurant or nothin'. It became personal when she sent people after me while I was locked up for not rattin' her ass out."

Hernando. He was still sour on the other male, probably even more so than he was Chase considering that he hadn't even been man enough to face Niko himself after this had all gone down. Brows quirked, he stared at the other male for a few moments with a blank expression. “So, what, he has you acting like a lapdog now? Why can't he come and say this to me himself?" Not that it would be a warm reunion, but at the very least Niko wasn't planning on putting a knife to his throat -- so why the distance? Obviously, he hadn't been tracking Hernando's movements for some time now. "Alright?" He repeated, an incredulous smirk falling from his lips. "You really think Giovanni's goons were any match for me and Stef? Money don't make people competent." Considering the man had gone off in handcuffs only this past week, that much had to be true. Pausing momentarily, Niko let out a short breath and stepped back into the house, leaving the door open -- a silent invitation for Chase to enter, though he'd never say it out loud. "I'm fine. Not a scratch on me."

Chase bit his tongue to not snap back at the lapdog comment, knowing full well that Niko was doing it purposefully to get under his skin. "He and his girl rode outta town into the sunset to live happily ever after somewhere, otherwise he'd be here himself," Chase explained, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stepped inside, toeing the door closed behind him. Chase hummed low at Niko's comment about Giovanni's goons, though, knowing full well there had been plenty of people who had gotten hurt because of the men the CEO had hired. "Guess your time off hasn't made you soft yet." It was a light joke, one he realized he probably shouldn't make seeing as he was one of the reasons for Los Santos skipping town. He paused, debating if he should continue. "M'glad you're good. I would've had your back if you'd asked."

WHERE: Dionysos WITH: @chasemmccoy

Chase had managed some kind of tentative peace with Niko, so he didn't feel quite so on edge. Niko was a force to be reckoned with on a normal day, but once you included his cousins in the mix, Chase would be lying if he said he hadn't been looking over his shoulder a little more than usual. He made his way into the restaurant, paying no heed to the hours listed on the door, and noticed a familiar face he hadn't seen in god knows how long behind the bar. "Y'know I don't write so good," he joked back with a smirk, making his way over towards Lukas. "Besides, you weren't the only one locked up for a minute. They were always on my ass, so they'd have been pissed if I'd asked for shit to write with."

"And you deserved it." It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Raf learned almost everything he knew from the man in front of him. As a child Raf had followed Chase around like a bad smell, accepting any menial jobs from the older boy. "Of all the people that survived... you're like a roach or something." He spoke fondly and gave him a firm clap on the back. "It's good to see you though."

"That's a good description," Chase remarked through a peel of laughter, shaking his head. He'd been called scrappy a few times, but being a roach felt far more accurate, especially with the way he now operated more in the shadows working for Val than he ever had with Los Santos. "Nah, nothin' like that. She sent some guys after me while I was locked up. I managed to fight 'em off, but she kept sendin' new ones every now and then to make it look like I was jumped and it was a 'tragic accident' or some shit." He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Got close once or twice to takin' me out, but like you said, I'm a roach that's hard to kill."

One last disgruntled look was given at his fellow patrons before huffed words leave his lips. "Shoulda known." Head shook moments later, dispelling the thought. After all, they were there now, no point in bitching about it when they could enjoy each other's company instead. "I was." He grimaced at the memory, the hours spent among drunks painful even to look back on. "But you don't have to worry. This meetup isn't so I can confess my secret love for any of them. I was supposed to just pick up Tori but she had other ideas."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Chase remarked with a snort of laughter. Though his interactions with Tori over the years had been few and far between, what he'd heard from Niko and Stef had been enough to let him know she could be a bit much. "They're good though, right? Nobody got any bones broken or anythin'? One of my old friends got his shit rocked -- I guess somethin' fell on him and knocked him out -- and I saw a couple other people got caught up in it."

Owen let out a low whistle, tapping the ash off of the end of his cigarette. ""Used up, huh? What does that make you, the Virgin Mary?" Honestly at this point the two of them probably just hated each other to, well, hate each other. With Los Santos dismantled, him and Maeve broken up (for now), the smarter decision would have been to just let bygones be bygones -- but it could never be that simple could it? "Nah, just figured if you weren't in prison, you'd be hightailin' it out west or wherever the hell your little cartel brethren scurried off to." He brought the cigarette to his lips, taking a quick drag. "How far the mighty have fallen, huh?"

"That's right. Makes me one of your saints, don't it?" Chase smirked. He had never been religious, but knowing out of the entire MacNally family, Owen had the deepest Catholic roots, he liked to use it to get under his skin whenever possible. The mention of Los Santos, though, caused a snort of laughter. "Must be behind on your news, boy-o. Been outta the game since I got locked up." He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "And I'm the reason they've scurried off, as you put it. So you might wanna think twice about antagonizin' me so much, yeah?"

"Power is one thing but control is another. People like to be in control, act as if they're truly the center of the world." She shook her head as she thought about it. It would have been easy for her to go down that road considering the path her father had paved but it had never interested her. What good is control if you're not even truly happy with what's in front of you? "Speaking of," she told him, pushing herself to sit up a bit before sipping her wine. "We need to talk about our working relationship, our general relationship..." she paused, trying to find the words. It wasn't easy for her to be vulnerable, especially with a man but Chase was different. Whether she wanted to admit it or not. "I don't want you to feel like I own you," she said finally, clearing her throat as she looked at him. "I need somebody I can trust, not just because I pay them to keep secrets or something. But because..they actually care about me and I care about them." She met his eyes so he knew she meant it. "Would you want that?"

Chase raised a brow, interest piqued as Val transitioned the conversation to work. He wasn't going to complain about her diverting from talking about her feelings with regard to what happened to her father if she had exhausted everything she intended to say, but he hoped she would have someone she could get it all out with later if she didn't quite trust him with that side of herself yet. Though that thought was wiped out by her next words.