Saints Row: The Next Chapter

Chapter Two: A Night To Remember

Shaundi sat at one of the bar stools while The Boss was on the other side of the counter, pouring her a drink. After handing her a Singapore, he began mixing a Long Island Iced Tea for himself. "So, are we drinking our troubles away or something?" Shaundi asked, sipping on her alcoholic beverage. "Well that depends. Do you have any problems you wanna drink away?" He walks from behind the counter and takes a seat beside her. Shaundi looks down at her drink. "Not anymore, I guess." She answered. "So you're implying that you had a problem? Care to tell me what it was?" He asked, sipping off from his glass. Shaundi shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, before today, I was kinda worried about you, Boss. Like I said earlier, nobody's seen or heard from you in a while. I kinda started thinking maybe you were done with the Saints or something." The Boss smirked as he shook his head. "Sounds like you missed me, Shaundi." He joked, but she nodded her head to his assessment. She looked up at him as he switched his tone from a humorous one, to a more comforting and caring one. It's not often that The Boss displays this kind of behavior. The only other time he did, was when he was consoling Johnny over the death of Aisha. The Boss was ruthless, but he did care for his Saints, and he currently showed that as he placed a hand on Shaundi's shoulder. "Look, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I'm sorry for not being around more to show you that, but I'm here now. And I'm always gonna be here. And I think I've invested too much into this gang to just pull out now." Shaundi smiled at his comforting words. "Thanks, Boss. I needed to hear that." As she finished her drink, she thought about something before turning back to The Boss. "Hey, can I be honest with you?" The Boss raised his eyebrow as he sipped his drink. "Before joining the Saints, I didn't really have much going for me in life, you know? Getting high and having sex were all I really filled my life with. And for a while, I didn't have much of a problem with that. It wasn't until you recruited me did I start to feel something different. Not right away, but I felt like I had more of a purpose. And to be honest, you placing me as one of your lieutenants, it felt like you saw something in me that nobody else did, not even myself." The Boss sat his drink down and listened intently, giving her his full attention. "It really meant a lot to me whenever you relied on me for something. But ever since that incident with Veteran Child, I felt like I was a kid that needed to be watched. Like I couldn't be trusted out on the actual field." The Boss understood why she thought this. And he realized that benching her and reluctantly allowing her to tag along on missions helped make her feel this way. But he couldn't help but to feel protective over her, especially after what happened to Carlos. "Look, I'm sorry I made you feel like a liability. I just don't wanna see you getting killed. I know too many people who are now 6 feet under for being involved in this. Even indirectly." His thoughts immediately turned to Lin and Aisha as well. Shaundi knew that watching those people die made The Boss extra protective of her, especially since she wasn't like Gat, or at least Pierce. "I know, Boss. But isn't that what I signed up for when I joined the Saints? I mean, being in a gang isn't the safest lifestyle." She had a point, despite his concerns, if he really wanted her safe, he wouldn't keep her a part of the crew. "I guess I can't argue with you there. Look, I'll try not to be so overprotective, but you gotta make sure you can handle yourself." She immediately perked up at the sound of that statement. "I will, Boss. Veteran Child won't happen again, I promise." She said with excitement. He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Alright, I'll hold you to it then." He said, returning back to his drink. Shaundi couldn't hold back her grin, especially with the alcohol kicking into her system. It was quiet between them for a moment, before The Boss spoke up again. "You know, I know how you felt…" Shaundi looked up at him again in confusion, causing him to quickly clarify. "Not about being benched, but about finding purpose rolling with the Saints. Before I joined, I just roamed the streets doin' whatever the fuck I wanted, whether it was stealing, fighting, or killing random motherfuckas. Life kinda just coasted on by without anything real to look forward to. Shit was kinda depressing. It wasn't until I was recruited, did I feel like I finally had something. Friends, money, respect, power. Hell, I had a fucking purpose. I had a goal to achieve, and I was damn good at accomplishing it." He took another sip from his drink, as Shaundi gave her full attention. "And the nigga who gave it all to me in the first place? I couldn't be so thankful. And because of that, I was so damn loyal, and yet too damn trusting. So when that same nigga took all that away from me, just like that…" He emphasised with the snap of his finger. "I've never felt so betrayed in my life. Cause how could the one person you had idolized for giving you so much, turn around and yank it from you without a word? My position, my friends, my respect, my money, my hard work, and five years of my fucking life. Gone, just like that." He finished his drink before setting the glass on the counter. Shaundi was speechless, yet felt so much remorse for the man beside her. And although she couldn't find the right words to say, she made up for it with a simple gesture. She placed her left hand over his right hand and gently gripped it, whilst stroking over it lightly with her thumb. The Boss didn't say anything, nor did he look at her. He just stared at his empty glass. But she felt his fingers slowly curl around hers. She respected his small moment of vulnerability, by remaining in silence. Prepared to stay there for as long as she needed to. 

After a long, yet indeterminable amount of time, The Boss finally removed his hand from Shaundi's and got up from his barstool. She looked over at him as he straightened himself. He avoided eye contact with her as he spoke. "I'm gonna head out now. I've still got a lot of work to do." Shaundi wanted to call out to him and ask him to stay, but she decided against it when she saw him walking away. Instead, she only said "Bye, Boss." as he left Purgatory, also leaving her with her thoughts. She hoped she'd see him again soon, because now she was able to see him differently than she used to. But she was content for now. His company was something she needed these past few months, and she was just glad to have had a drink with him.