Valko and Knight, before work
It has been three weeks since Mickey was killed and Tyler hurt, outside O’Keefe’s. A case that has not been closed, with a certain ‘person of interest’ unable to be found. In fact, a warrant was out for his arrest, including an extreme caution rider. Today, a Wednesday, Knight would arrive at O’Keefe’s before work, making up time. Normally, Valko starts at eleven a.m., today he catches Knight before he goes in. They have time for a coffee, at a nearby cafe. It is 9:30 a.m. They find a quiet table.
“Look, I’ve got some news…” Valko started. And then, clearly and openly, he laid out it all. Only a few times he paused, had to take a breath, his hands with that tell-tale shake he gets. How sick his brother and sister were, the operation of Friday night, how he needed to be in New York for four weeks, if the system let him.
He explained the necessity, and the speed, too. This was out of the blue, he’d only found out yesterday. With quiet pride he mentioned Theo, and Joe, and Rosie, and George; and their roles in all this.
Knight listened, and Valko knew this would be a huge shock to him. Valko needed to move on to the important stuff for Knight and Mal, but Knight was still grappling with the news Valko had just dumped on him.
“Knight, you’re not thinking this all through, maybe….” and Knight retorted “I’m not? Y’r gonna give up some’n’ tha’s necessary f’r your- life. Y’ can’t make another one.” Valko shook his head firmly “Look, I heal pretty fast, and plenty of folk have just one kidney and are fine. Nah, Knight, I meant about things over the next while, for you,” and he added the low blow “You’d give up a kidney for Mal, right?”
Knight almost literally ground his teeth. “Y’ hadda bring tha’ inta play.” He looked intently at Valko. “I got money. I c’n grease palms. Shit, I’ll go t’ Argent. I’ll go get a kidney outta a VIPER guy.” Valko drop his head firmly “Drop it Knight, please? No time, and it has to be compatible, and they know I am. And George says just one my kidneys can save both my brother and my sister. But it has to be quick, y’know? No time’ adding “Look, focus, there’s more stuff you gotta get on top of.”
Knight got up, slowly and with purpose. “If you’re so bound an’ determined t’ do this, then…” He turned and started to leave.” Valko called out “Wait! Please, Knight?” Valko sounds, well, almost desperate. Maybe he knows Knight fairly well. Knight paused, turned around. “I can’t help you.” It was a statement of fact, not cold or angry.
Valko shook his head, and became more like he was back in the day with the Rebels, at times. Laying stuff out for a boss like it was his job to. “No man, not about any of that. About you, and what’s going to happen if what Mal said is right.”
“Leave that to me.”
Valko shook his head ” Can’t. Knight, it is O’Keefe’s we’re talking about… Paulie. Family. Please, we gotta talk, I know stuff. Or think I do, and reckon I could be on the money maybe.” Knight sighed and came back, hooking the chair around and straddling it.
Valko laid it out pretty clearly, a small sad smile before he started “Thanks…”
“It’s easy for word on the street to figure out a guy named Gabriel is wanted for questioning about Tyler and Mickey, okay? And Mal said ‘My former king and I killed each other’. Now, he’s your King now, I know that. And guys like Mal, you, Gabriel, powerful motherfuckers. This ‘Gabriel’ is the guy who tried to sort Mal, isn’t he?”
Knight nodded. Valko waited a moment, and none of his tone is judgemental, or has been as he goes on. He nodded, “Okay, and you know how Mal was about me, at least at first, and how you were. How he can smell me on you, and all. And you guys have this whole shifter thing. I mean that kinda thing was bad karma that the Rebels and guys like I used to be avoided like the plague, if it came down to it. No future, if it came to a fight. Make sense? Mal and Gabriel killed each other, and a few days later Mal is wandering about happy, making friends with Paulie. And you’re happy, and that’s damn important too. And that’s cool!”
“But he’s still out there, ’til you see his corpse. He wants Mal? What’s he going to do? Take away what Mal has? Follow Mal’s scent and come into Paulie’s?” And Valko stopped his flow of words. They hadn’t been a torrent, just a laying out of how things might be, all clear. Every tone and nuance that Valko used urged Knight stop and think a moment, not react.
Knight looked pained for a minute. “Mal’s fightin’ him. Searchin’ him out an’ findin’ his manimals an’ lookin’ f’r him on Monster Islan’. Me, I’m holdin’ down th’ fort here, an’ home.”
Valko took that in, nodded agreeing with Knight “Okay, we have to make sure O’Keefe’s is safe, you know? Mal and Gabriel sound evenly matched, right? ” Knight nodded, adding “An’ I plan on bein’ tha’ way too.”
Valko grinned, delighted Good! Reckon you’ll be better.” Here Valko meant ‘better than Gabriel, or better than Mal, ” But you gotta think, this is the waiting game, and Gabe’ll hit the soft targets he finds, if he’s a sadistic sicko. Just… you can act to put O’Keefe’s off the map, for Gabe, so he never even knows about you being there. That isn’t going to work if you and Scott and Mal keep meeting there, you know? Each time you do that, chance is later that people like Gabe find out about it if they start asking about. And once there, the scent’s there…”
He paused, to see if this is was along the lines Knight could use. Knight slowly nodded. “Bu’ don’ think tha’ I can’t protect ’em, either.” Valko nods firmly, agreeing again “Well, yeah, but the best protection is never having to go all Knight in there? Scott shows up, bloggers from fan sites report a celebrity sighting, and exactly who he was with, for one. Just, while Gabe is out there, why not make sensible decisions to help Paulie? Make sure things don’t lead there more than they have to.”
“And yeah, you would protect them. But then Paulie and the world would know what you are, and that undoes all Blake’s work, right?” he stopped, not rushing Knight. None of this had been rushed. Giving Knight time to think.
Knight frowned, “Damn, I hate when y’r right.” Valko grinned and unaffectedly poked out his tongue. “Look, you been on a rollercoaster, someone gotta think till you get y’brain back.”
Now Valko and Knight talked a while, and worked out what they’d do today. How best to lay out what Paulie needed, no what Paulie deserved, to know. And no more than that. After that, Valko asided “You know I am glad things are good with you and Mal, right?” Knight nodded ” I can tell that, yeah. It don’t bother you?”
Valko leaned back, giving this some thought. ‘”Kinda, but not the way maybe you think. I mean, I can respect him, but really he’s gotta prove, just by how you are, that he’s not the guy you told me about? That’s… I mean that’s just time.” Valko sighed ” And honestly? Every time I see him, I hate it because I have to buy into the lie you told him about me to get him off your back.” He looke dup at Knight “I can’t really do that, and all. And anyway, I got to focus on Klim, Kat, mamo for now.”
Valko grins ‘”You know me and you are good. And yeah, the sex we had in that? More’n special. It really is okay as far as I am concerned to remember all that as good times, and honest.” Knight looks down, drumming his fingers on the chair. Then gave Valko a small smile “Yeah. Special an’ honest.”
Valko leans over, a little, says quietly “Don’t worry about that, don’t wreck yourself about it? Just you have to know you’re important to me. Not like, going for you, and all of that. But yeah, time? Gotta give things time. Sort out Gabriel. I sort out my end.”
” Y’ deserve better’n me, an’ I wanted y’ to. Yeah. We got ’nuff on our plates.” Valko smiled hearing that, a smile becoming a grin. Added honestly “No one’s better’n you, Knight. And we better get into work.”
~~~~~~~~~
In collaboration with Tao. Part 2 coming up.