The Argument

"Are you serious? You're kidding me right now!" He said in an angry voice. "I told you not to go that far, and look at you, you're already in the thick of it! Now you've brought death to yourself, and hopefully not to the rest of us! Idiot!"

"Hey, don't you dare yell at me like that. You're the one who told me to do it, and you knew it was risky. This is on you!"

"Never talk back to your boss like that!"

"You aren't my boss! You're just another gang leader. You don't own anything, especially me."

"I will kill you! My men will do as I say, and they will kill you!"

"They're more loyal to me than they are to you! They hate you! They don't care to obey you! All you do is send them to their death for no reason at all! If you think they respect you you have a big reality check comin' your way, pal."

"I will kill you myself," he said in a tone so angry, it could be felt for miles around him. He took off his shirt, put up his fists, and said, "let's go fool! I'm not gonna shoot you! I'm going to fight you the way we're supposed to, mano a mano!"

"I'm far above fighting scum like you. I don't even care if I win or lose, I won't do it just for the sake of keeping my dignity intact."

"I can't believe I'm being treated like this by my own hired hand! I pay you, fool! You do as I say. You're basically my slave, got it?"

"Naw, you just think so," he said in a fairly indignant tone. The circle of gang members laughed with him, making it clear they supported him but weren't going to intervene if anything happened. "Put your money where your mouth is."

"Go. Kill. Your. Target." He said with clenched teeth. He could feel his traction slipping, but he was so angry that all he cared about was making this one man do as he said. "I gave you a job to do, now do it, before a put a bounty on your head."

"Yeah, like anyone's gonna respect that!" He motioned around him. "These guys are cool. They aren't gonna kill me. And every other gang hates you! Why the hell do you think you have ANY power here?!"

"I will pay them half of everything I own!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "If I want you dead, you're going to show up dead!"

"But for real, I'd love to see you lose half just to settle a grudge" he laughed a little as he said this and the crowd laughed with him."

"Everyone else, walk away! I don't need you here. Go do your duties!"

"Naw, keep going!" Someone shouted from the crowd. "I got a bet going, and I ain't losing this one!"

The gangmaster slowly turned his enraged face towards the disruptive hired hand.

"You are mine!" He yelled with anger vicious and intense. "Bow down to me! Worship me! Do as I say, now!"

"Never" he screamed back with tenacity as intense as his.

"What have I taught you about loyalty? About honor? We all have a job to do, to survive, and you refuse to kill the one man who threatens our survival the most?! That means you're on top of the list buddy! You got that?"

"I'm not your buddy. And I because I refuse to kill my own brother. Besides, he isn't as deadly as you think - he just puts on a big show and stuff."

"Kill. Him. Now."

"Uhhhh nope."

"I said now!"

He rushed towards him and threw a punch towards his face. He saw it coming, though, and ducked out of the way. The gangmaster took a few steps back.

"How am I supposed to kill him if I have a black eye, fool?!" He said in a mocking tone of voice.

"You're done," he said in a surprisingly calm tone. He had snapped, he was so angry that now he just had a target to attack, the provocateur.

He swung punch after punch with none of them connecting. The hired hand knew how to fight, surprisingly enough, and he landed a few good hits on the gangmaster, including one where he picked up a black book and smacked him in the face. The crowd cheered and the gangmaster's face became red with rage.

"You're done! You're fired! That is if I don't kill you first!"

"That's not your decision to make. The gang makes that choice, and they choose to respect me, not you."

"I am respected by everyone! At all times! If I have to kill them all, I will do it just so I can finally relax, knowing I have their respect.

"You're crazy, man. You're demented."

He growled with anger and threw a very fast punch. Once again he dodged it, and this time he chopped the back of his neck so hard that he lost consciousness right on the spot.

"Sorry everyone, but I'm not gonna kill Jake, no matter what this fool says."

The crowd cheered in unison and appointed Torrance as their new leader. They even gave him $20,000 on the spot, which he didn't expect. He did things the smart way, unlike the previous gangmaster, and he was loved by everyone in the group for a long, long time.