santi vargas

-

Was this guy for real? “I don’t care who you are, or who the fuck you think you are, don’t take that fuckin’ tone with me.” Gabriel pushed his chair back abruptly as he stood, drawing himself up to his full height, a good inch or two above the other man. “You’ll be finished in this gang before you’ve even gotten started. Don’t care how much potential you’ve got. I just have to say the word, and you disappear.” He looked down his nose at the guy, who then stepped forward, a step too fucking close for his tastes. “Yeah. I’m the guy you’re looking for. Anything else you wanna say to me, Santiago Vargas?”

***

Santi showed his palms in a mockingly defensive way, of course the smirk on his face was still lingering, not regretting his previous attitude. If he was going to get killed out of it, at least he was doing it going all in, on his own terms. “Yeah, I figured there’s a zero shit taken policy around here, but you’ll really make me disappear without knowing who I am?” A pause. His gaze was fixed on the younger male in front of him, giving himself some thinking time to consider whether to drop the bomb right the or wait a little longer.  “What if we’re related somehow? Murdering even your own blood is how y’all work here, Gabi? Can I call you Gabi? Or you prefer Mr. Melendez?”

TIMING: Early in the morning LOCATION : Somewhere between Aaron’s house and NYPD headquarters.

OPEN

What a euphemism to say that Aaron missed being out there, in the field. He was fully aware that he could only change things from his desk, but he missed what really made the heart of the profession : investigating, following the trail of the criminal, finding clues. He even missed interrogating witnesses and perps. It was no wonder that he had stopped his car that morning, as he caught sight of the flashing red and blue lights in the distance. 

Although he had tried not to step on any shoes while he was watching detectives, officers or the M.E. do their jobs, he could tell that he had cast a chill in the room just by being there. Obviously. If he was here, it was probably bad news, wasn’t it? It didn’t take long for him to become frustrated and approach the body. “Looks like this guy had a peaceful death,” he glanced at the medical examiner who gave him a deadpan look. Yup, that woman was clearly not in the mood for jokes. Leaving them all to do their jobs, he walked away from the crime scene, tossing the pairs of latex gloves into a trash can.

He was heading back to his car, by the sidewalk, when his eyes fell onto someone watching from a distance. “Hello,” he greeted them, adjusted his cap on his head and decided to approach them. Perhaps they had seen something, or perhaps they ought to be ushered away from here.

***

Fucking Gabriel. That’s the only thought really crossing his mind as he was following one of his so many demands this early. Maybe Santi should have found another way of getting closer to him other than joining the cartel, but alas, after so many years of flying solo and despite him not wanting to admit it, it was nice having a sense of belonging, so he stayed.

It was just his luck that the package he had to retrieve was in the building near the now very dead guy on the sidewalk. He was on a safe distance, pretending he was just another regular curious citizen, waiting for all the cops to leave ─until one of the them caught his sight, walking over to him. It wasn’t just a regular pig, he was the goddamn big bad wolf. Shit was all he could muttered under his breath.

They should’ve been back by now. 

Nora, however, shouldn’t be stressing or worrying about them. They were grown ass people, perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. And yet, there she was, pacing around the study in circles. To give her restless self something to do, she headed to the kitchens– if she were lucky, she’d find some whiskey. And as if being in James’ den wasn’t nerve-wrecking enough, someone else joined her. Nora turned on her heel and blinked twice at the man. He seemed familiar, but for a brief moment there she couldn’t place his face. … Running into flings usually wasn’t awkward for her but doing so at the Cartel headquarters? The day Nora was overwhelmed with worry? A frown creased her brow. “Dios mio– si, hey, I didn’t expect to see you after…” I kicked you out of my apartment. “Well yes, we’ll be working together, or you tracked me down– I find both possibilities equally upsetting.“ Despite her joking tone, her frown deepened. “You work for James and Gabriel?” 

***

"Trust me, I didn't expect to see you either. No offense." Considering the size of New York City, encountering one of your one night stands down the street had a very low probability, but it was just his luck that's exactly what happened on his first day at work. Not that he cared in the slightest, Santi was all for giving second chances if it was worth it. On this area, of course, he wasn't that lenient when it came to make someone pay. A light chuckle left his lips at her response. “Why upsetting tho? You gonna tell me you’re not happy to see me? I’m wounded, really.” The cheeky smirk on his face said the contrary. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t track you. I actually have a meeting with Gabriel Melendez. I assume is the same dude you’re talking about.”

The face of true horror stamps Hans’s every feature as he stares, for perhaps the eleventh minute now, one of the gallery’s many… errr, masterpieces. He manages to be somewhat alone not because of a lack of guests, but surely because he’s the only one who would willingly give the monstrosity any attention. But not without comment:

“This is a fucking joke, right?” He asks then, sensing someone near. “And don’t tell me ‘art is subjective’ or I’ll throw myself off that balcony.” Come on, he could frankly beg. Give me the excuse. “It’s worth like a million, isn’t it? I fucking bet.” 

***

If there was someone in the room who knew nothing about art, that was him. The place wasn’t his scene, it was clear, yet he attended the stupid gala so Santi had to get the best out of it, if something good could really come out of this type of event. Walking around, he stumbled across that hideous thing someone else was also looking at. “What the fuck...?” People really paid for this shit? Rich people were crazy.

“Man, I agree with you. I really do, but maybe if you actually jump from the balcony this party would have some entertainment goin’, y’know?” He commented, shrugging his shoulders as he offered a side smirk. “Can this shit really cost a million? Fucking hell...” They deserved to be robbed, too bad he had his hands tied to do anything.

It was always interesting, meeting the newest recruits of the gang. Gabriel liked to see what they were made of. After all his time within the cartel, he could usually gauge pretty quickly if the newbies were made of the right shit to survive in the Cortázar world. He was sat at a table in the corner of the room so he had the best vantage point, eyes following the guy who walked in and asked pretty confidently if he was Gabriel.

“Yeah. I might be.” Gabe leaned back in his chair a little. Well, fuck. He couldn’t read this guy, not like he read the others; or at least he didn’t get the same energy from him. No, this guy was cocky, that was the immediate vibe he got here. The guy was cocky, he thought he was the bees fuckin’ knees, and Gabriel wasn’t about to take any of that shit. “Who the fuck are you, esé?”

***

“You might?” A scoff left his lips, practically like an automatic reflex at what he had just heard. Cartel people were tough, but Santi was being impulsive and not weighting the danger of the situation; he didn’t know this guy, how he could react at someone below his rank laughing at him, nor what he was capable of doing. He was just there, pushing all the wrong buttons. “You’re him or you’re not, dude. Came here to meet him, don’t make me waste my fuckin’ time.”  Well, maybe that had been too much for first impressions, but who the hell cared? He certainly didn’t.  Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he took a step forward the other. “Soy Santiago Vargas, the new recruit.”

Walking into a room as if he owned the place, he gave a nod acknowledging the other person in there. “Hey, are you Gabriel? I’m supposed to meet him.” ( @pxndemonium​ )

— BASICS

Name: Santiago Vargas Age / D.O.B.: 38 / April 14th, 1982 Gender, Pronouns & Sexuality: Cis male (he/him) & heterosexual Hometown: South River, New Jersey Affiliation: Cortázal Cartel Job position: Recruit Education: High school Relationship status: Single Children: One (unknown to him) Positive traits: Observant, loyal, confident, independent, easy-going Negative traits: Resentful, arrogant, impulsive, impatient, aggressive

— BIOGRAPHY

Santiago was raised mostly by his mom, since his father left them when he was around 4 years old. He didn’t know back then, but when he grew older, Santi discovered his father had been having an affair with another woman ever since he was born, and eventually, took off with her.

As if his absence wasn’t enough, this revelation made him grow even more resentful of the man, so when he turned 18, he decided to legally change his last name to his mother’s.

His mom remarried when he was a teenager, and even though it was hard information to digest, this man was decent, and he seemed to care about both of them. Santi accepted him, but he didn’t make his life that easy.

Everyone thought his rebellious phase would only last during his adolescence, but it’s something that never really went away. He has always had issues respecting authority, hence why he rarely lasts much in whatever job he starts. Not that a 5-to-8 job is his real source of income, anyways… breaking and entering, stealing cars, mugging people on the street, you name it.

The last job he tried to pull with his friends went wrong, and got him 5 years locked up. During his serving time, he met some interesting people, but one in particular stood up. The guy told him about a cartel, where he could make a good amount of money, which sounded pretty tempting per se, though there was something else that also picked his interest. The name of one of the top dogs: Gabriel Melendez.

Some years ago, he had done some digging about his father’s whereabouts, and found out who the woman he left with was, where they lived and that she had conceived four other kids from him. Useless information since he didn’t want anything to do with that asshole, but maybe it’d come in handy eventually. Now, the name of the guy he was told about could just be a coincidence, it’s not an unusual name after all. But, he’s matching the dots and, since he’s getting released, maybe it’s time to pay a visit to his possibly distant family.

— WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS

Other members of the Cartel. Friendly or not, I want them all. He’s not good at following orders, so it’s very likely he’d clash and bump heads with a lot of people. Someone needs to punch him, really.