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The night had already started well, and Gideon was proud. 

The crowd was alive with excitement, the food was hot, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.  The conversations were important, and he was learning about new and better ways to be involved in the local communities.  The previous two guests had mentioned that the local gas company was offering predatory payment plans that were making it hard to afford heating in their home.  Gideon cracked his knuckles.   Nothing could break his mood tonight.  

[color=ff7360]"M-M-Mr Cross, hello!"[/color]  Gideon turned his head ever… so… slightly towards the newcomer.  He raised a single eyebrow.  [color=ff7360]"I’m Loni Rodriguez! Uh, Vin’s twin- which I’m sure you guessed!"[/color]

His mouth dropped ever so slightly at the sight.  It was one thing to know a friend had a twin, yet it was another thing altogether to see it for the first time.  This woman in front of him was the spitting image of Vin if Vin had a stroke and dressed femininely for once in their life.  It would be wrong to look at Gideon if he didn’t know ahead of time that this twin existed.  Gideon looked away from the woman and into the crowd, spotting Marco, and whistled to get his attention.  When Marco looked towards Gideon, he simply pointed towards Loni with a ‘you–seeing this’ look across his face.  Marco took a second to find what Gideon was pointing towards but when he did, a surprised look crossed his face.  Gideon turned back to Loni in a slow, deliberate turn, as a large smile crossed his face.  As he was about to welcome Loni to the celebration, she revealed a little bundle of joy, causing the smile on Gideon's face to grow even larger.

[color=ff7360]"Say hello to the, uh, nice boss man, Mijita."[/color]

“No!”

Gideon gasped humerously at the defiance.  It seemed stubbornness was a family trait, and this baby was displaying it already.  As the baby kicked Loni, Gideon turned his attention back up to Loni and raised an eyebrow.  What a cute family!  He would need to have Vin bring them around more often.  [color=ff7360]"You gotta say hello to see your Tio, Luciana. C’mon, Baby, for Mama."[/color]  Gideon shot his head back down to the child and wited wth bated breath.  “O-ah!”  The baby responded, before retreating from the conversation altogether and hiding amongst her mother's warmth.

[color=ff7360]"Good girl, see, ain’t so bad, huh?"[/color]

[color=#ffff00]“She is ador-.”[/color]

[color=ff7360]"I’m sorry, she normally ain’t like this, she just ain’t been happy since she got up and Vin wasn’t there! I ain’t sure if she knows it’s meant to be a family day or somethin’, but she ain’t mean any offence by it, Mr Cross! P-Please don’t take my hand for it! I swear if we ever come round again she’ll be all smiles and giggles, ‘specially if it’s with Vin- uh, we ain’t gonna take anythin’ either, promise, we gotta dinner at my work we’re gonna get fed at! So ain’t takin’ anythin’ outta other people’s mouths… And I know Vin’s workin’, it’ll only be a few minutes, just enough time for her to see ‘em then she’ll be back to herself and we can get outta here. We ain’t gonna keep ‘em long! And- And if you gotta dock that from their pay then I’ll pay it! I ain’t got the money right now but… I bet my boss would cause she loves Luci, she’ll be the most upset if we get back and Luci still ain’t talkin’ to her. O-Or if it’s limbs you cut off for stuff like that, you can have mine! They’re basically the same. B-but it’ll just be a few minutes! Then they'll be back to work! So if you point me to ‘em, I’ll be outta here soon as! Promise!"[/color]

As Loni spoke Gideon was blown back by the speed of her words.  His eyes squinted, his head leaned back, and he was briefly stunned by the relentless auditory assault. Inside, he could not help but like this woman just a bit.  While his status as a crime boss was indeed known, it was good that it still stirred some fear in people.  Yet he could not have this.  Loni was family by extension, and that meant that Gideon would need to make her feel more welcome than any other.  

[color=#ffff00]“Loni!”[/color]  Gideon interrupted with a chuckle.  [color=#ffff00]“Loni, who do you think I am, some kinda thin-skinned knucklehead who can’t handle a child being a child?  You do not need to apologize to me because you, nor your adorable kid, have done anything to be sorry about,”[/color] he paused as he closed the gap between the two, [color=#ffff00]“and everything I do is to ensure that people like you,”[/color] he pointed towards Loni, [color=#ffff00]“and children like yours,”[/color] he paused as he pointed towards the kid, [color=#ffff00]“are safe, fed, taken care of, and given the same chance that you would had you been born a mile north of here.  Spend as much time as you’d like here, and come find me when you need to leave.  I will have one of my best boys, Marco, help you get where you’re going.  This weather is terrible, and I will not send you back out unless you are safe.  Ya feel me,”[/color] Gideon paused for a brief second, not long enough to allow for a response but long enough to let the words hit home.  Loni was always going to be taken care of, as was her child.  [color=#ffff00]“Marco will also be asking you some questions.  Tell him what you need, what’s a struggle, and we will see what we can do to give you two a good holiday season.  Capiche?”[/color]  Gideon paused once again, and again it was not long enough for Loni to respond.  [color=#ffff00]“Now, go find Vin and tell them that they did me a disservice by not introducing us themself.  Why I had to meet you as a stranger in line like this, I will never understand.  It seems you got all the manners, and they got an attitude.”[/color]  Gideon gave a playful wink as he used his massive hands to guide Loni into the building.  

The line was still long, and he was happy to be leading it.  Nothing could ruin this night, not even a scared mother who had heard all the stories of what Gideon had done to earn his spot at the front of the line.

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Marco shook his head at the sight of Loni in the flesh.  While he had known since the start that Vin had a twin sister, their styles clashed so much that it often made it hard for him to accept that reality.  Still, from what he was able to gather from Vin, her twin sister was different in more ways than just style.  Loni seemed genuine, kind, and maybe a little over her head at times.  Marco sighed.  Why couldn’t they have that come out of Vin every once in a while?  For what job they did, Vin’s personality was perfect, yet they could never turn that off.  Everything is always so serious to them, or an affront to their honor, or a disrespectful, expletive-filled statement that always seems to drag on far longer than it had any right to.  Marco leaned back his head and sighed.  He knew he needed to talk with Vin, and he knew it had it happen now before a kid stabbed another kid, but he did not want to.  Still, it’s not like his night could get any worse from there.  Marco sighed as he looked towards Vin, and his stomach dropped.

[color=FF69B4]“Fuck.”[/color] Palmoa was here.  A person who saw him powered up who was not in the crew.

Marco shook his head clear of negative energy and bad thoughts.  He needed to be the calm, yet firm, rock that the crew could build off of.  And right now, the crew needed him to keep Vin in check so some rich prick out of her depth doesn’t get a scratch on her.  Marco navigated the crowd, blending in as much as a man of his size and stature could, until he was close enough to hear the conversation but far enough away that he wasn’t in their orbit.  Eventually, the conversation drifted towards a kid who wanted help training to fight better.  Marco spotted her from his location and raised an eyebrow.  The kid did not look a day over ten, maybe eleven tops, and was already facing so much that they are looking for training on [b][i]thanksgiving[/i][/b] of all days.  This would not be something he could overlook.

[color=FF69B4]“Vin,”[/color] Marco spoke as he walked up to the troupe, hands in his pocket. He looked from Palmoa to Destiny, to Vin, and then down to Destiny once more.  [color=FF69B4]“What’s the situation?”[/color]