[VegasPete] I Was There

I Was There When You're Sad

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(I was there when you're sad)

In his fifth year as the major family bodyguard, Pete was assigned to handle a bigger responsibility. Not only was he the head bodyguard of Khun Noo Thankun, he was also the head bodyguard for the major family, meaning that every bodyguard now was under his command. Phi Chan, the head of the security division that supervised everything, said that Pete was the only one he could rely on.

Pete thought, why not Big or Ken? Afterall, they usually worked in more dangerous missions compared to Pete. Porsche was of course out of the question since Khun Kinn would rather have him around than put him in the position that will occupy most of his time. And to think about it, Pete thought that he wasn't really someone bossy, someone whom people would seek leadership from. But Phi Chan said, it's not about that at all.

"If the head bodyguard must be strong and brave, everyone here can do it," Phi Chan said when Pete asked him, "...our head bodyguard needs to be someone who is honest and loyal."

Pete didn't know what to say at that time, so he kept his head down. There was pride blooming inside of his chest, like he had unlocked some value to himself that was recognized by other people. That's exactly how he sees himself too--being a trusted bodyguard of the major family was the only thing he knew to do, and he was planning to do it as long as the major family would have him.

Afterall, Pete thought that he's nothing if he wasn't honest and loyal. That's how he defined himself, that's an identity he chose.

So with pride, he carried the title like it's his entire life.

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"The financial reports have been too spotless in the last few months, things have also been going too steady without much commotion. This doesn't seem too much like the minor family style." Khun Kinn said. On his laptop, there was an excel sheet full of numbers. On the table, there was the printed out version, marked here and there with lighters and red markers.

Pete studied Khun Korn's expression, he always looked like he was thinking, somehow. Instead of liquor, there were cups of coffee on the table for both father and son, meaning that this meeting was an important one. Before the monthly meeting with the minor family, both Khun Korn and Khun Kinn would have an internal meeting first, assessing the whole reports and situations so they would know what to spot on the actual meeting.

"You cannot confront this," Khun Korn said. His tone was calm and collected as usual, "...with everything on the paper being good, your suspicion is baseless. If you confront them based on 'something is off' your uncle would take it as an insult."

Khun Kinn looked like he agreed with what his father said, but was still frustrated. Even for Pete, a mere bodyguard who only has access to the report partially, it really did look suspicious. The minor family's style was presumptuous, they excelled at dirty and harsh works compared to the civil ones, that's why they often stir chaos left and right. Everyone was used to it already, not that it's a bad thing in the dirty mafia world they live in.

So them being too careful, with financial reports being too perfect, might be the sign of something being planned. And the fact that the minor family didn't really feel the need to hide everything makes it look like a silent and subtle threat - yet the major family cannot really do anything about it.

Afterall, in the book, the numbers were right. And everyone knows numbers speak louder than instinct, especially when it's involved a lot of stakeholders, not only the major and minor family.