Pool_1

rules always had consequence, unless there was intercession, and that, too, had its own toll. Subtle gestures meant much. Some gestures, less subtle, meant more. Louis had saved the ass of Jimmy Circ, a lieutenant of the Illinois fat man, and had done so on more occasions than anyone dared count. Jimmy the C, as he was called, was locally infamous because he supposedly shot his wife who he caught bedding some young stud. He shot her, and only her, because SHE was disloyal. According to the story, but who knows, having never met and therefore having not betrayed any special bond with Jimmy, the guy was spared and just told to get lost. So, had he worked for Circ, he would have died on and in her. It's was a stupid story but an endlessly retold stupid story. It reinforced and discloses the thinking of that time. It made a kind of sense in that place and in that culture. Obviously, love was relative. Loyalty was absolute. This same Circ, hellishly effective as a lieutenant, had a deadly flaw, a hunger, a dependence, gambling on horses. Horses always fail people who desperately need them to succeed. What's the deal there? You can't name a better way to get bled dry than betting on horses. Actually, you probably could get rich betting against people who bet on horses. Well no. Who'd take the bet? Even so, Prio paid off many a thousand dollar debt for Jimmy, in effect saving his life. Fat man or not, delinquency on a bet meant you were dead. This was a matter of honor, not mere money. Honor and loyalty were big issues. Prio could have played on that flaw in Sabia's ranks to his own advantage, but instead buttressed the defect, strengthening Sabia’s armor, a double reinforcement of an already strong bond with this brother-in-law of power. Don't think Sabia didn't notice that gesture, although it would never be mentioned. With men such as these, mentioning gestures demeans them.