[Vrenille only pauses half a moment before reacting, momentarily looking at Ash sidelong. It could be a bluff, a lie, an exaggeration, but he already knows it's not. He does not react with surprise.]
Heh. And here I thought you were a good guy. [The humor is dry, sardonic. Of course he has no basis for thinking Ash is a good or a bad guy. And "gang boss," even "professional hoodlum"...well, Vrenille's street smart enough to know that those could mean a lot of different things about a person. He would like to know which way they go with Ash though.]
Well, you'll find plenty of opportunity for that kinda shit here if you want it. The Down's like a spider's web of street level gangs, one for every day of the week 'n each square of turf. [And there's no insinuation that Ash might not be good enough to run a gang here. Vrenille might not be from Earth, but he's heard of New York all the same, even seen a version of it in shared dreams. He knows it's no backwater.]
Just pick your poison--[and he watches Ash's face carefully as he says his next words, looking for any kind of tell,] guns, drugs, muscle, human trafficking, prostitution.
[Some of those are a lot worse in Vrenille's book than others--a lot more based on exploiting people who are weak and vulnerable as opposed to ones who are strong. To him, the distinction matters quite a lot.]
no subject
Heh. And here I thought you were a good guy. [The humor is dry, sardonic. Of course he has no basis for thinking Ash is a good or a bad guy. And "gang boss," even "professional hoodlum"...well, Vrenille's street smart enough to know that those could mean a lot of different things about a person. He would like to know which way they go with Ash though.]
Well, you'll find plenty of opportunity for that kinda shit here if you want it. The Down's like a spider's web of street level gangs, one for every day of the week 'n each square of turf. [And there's no insinuation that Ash might not be good enough to run a gang here. Vrenille might not be from Earth, but he's heard of New York all the same, even seen a version of it in shared dreams. He knows it's no backwater.]
Just pick your poison--[and he watches Ash's face carefully as he says his next words, looking for any kind of tell,] guns, drugs, muscle, human trafficking, prostitution.
[Some of those are a lot worse in Vrenille's book than others--a lot more based on exploiting people who are weak and vulnerable as opposed to ones who are strong. To him, the distinction matters quite a lot.]