“Well, that was fast.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Victor groused as he took another sip of his vodka. Jolly Bar just laughed at his old friend’s discomfort. They were sitting at the end of the long bar in Two Drink Tavern and drinking to escape their sorrows. Well, at least Victor was. His old friend was just there to have fun at his expense.

“No, that was impressive. Your daughter talked, and ten minutes later, you folded like a pack of wet tissue. I never thought I’ll see the day when a woman got the Sweet Fist wrap around her finger like that. That was like superpower impressive.”

Jolly Bar laughed and Victor could only take it. He knew Bar was right. He did fold but there was nothing he could do about it. Jennifer got him to agree to the stupid racketeering plan of H.A.V.E after showing him a series of charts and graphs of how successful it was in other cities. The numbers were very impressive. She also explained to Victor that he was already doing the marketing. His presence in her diner had increased the revenue and foot traffic of Jennifer’s Place by at least twenty percent, and he would just be doing the same thing, only for other businesses in the neighbourhood.

It left a bad taste in Victor’s mouth, but she was right. There was no good reason for him to reject the racketeering plan; it just seems so wrong. If you want to go into racketeering, then go into racketeering! Calling it a ‘protection agency’ and legalising it was almost offensive to him. Victor took another sip of his vodka, and he looked around aimlessly to take his mind off the decision he made.

It is a quiet night at Two Drink Tavern but that’s to be expected after surviving a Gap event. Families would gather after an event for comfort and that was what his daughter was doing. They were probably having a nice comforting dinner now. A dinner Jennifer had invited him to, but Victor declined. He did not want to intrude on their family time.

There were only a few patrons and as a soft rock song began over the speakers, Victor saw a photo on the wall. The walls of Two Drink Tavern were covered with ancient posters and pictures of the various villains who had patronized the bar before. None of them were big names but Victor recognized some of them. Captain Sweet, Candy Spray, Lady Popsicle; old friends from his days in the Candy Crew.

Old villains whose names had been all but forgotten by the public.

The pictures brought back memories. If not for his System, that would probably be Victor’s fate as well. Forgotten by everyone, and only half-remembered by people who once knew him. Victor took a sip from his vodka as he thought about what to say next.

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“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

“Of course,” Bar laughed. If the information broker was surprised by the change in topic, he gave no indication of it. “I had joined the Candy Crew just two weeks before when this arrogant young man walked into the armoury like he owned the place, and demand we provide him with a bullet-proof vest. Remember what I told you?”

“Who the ‘F’ are you?” Both laughed as Victor gave his best Jolly Bar impression. “Oh man, that brings back some memories. You were such a polite henchman back then. You actually said ‘F’! It took the crew months to break you out of it.”

Bar immediately objected. “Hey, I wasn’t broken. I just choose not to fight it because you guys were getting too annoying. I was the cultured, smart henchman of you sorry lot, and proud of it.”

“Not smart enough to get out of trouble.” Victor said with a chuckle. “We stirred up some shit back then, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did,” said Bar. He looked at Victor intently, his eyes shining even in the dimly lit bar. “We both had our share of troubles back then, but we survived and look at us now.”

Victor just gave his friend a small nod. “Yes, look at us now.”

Victor’s tone caused Bar’s eyebrow to rise. “Is something wrong, Victor? You don’t sound too happy. Is being the leader of your own crew not to your liking?”

“No. Things are great. Well, they are going as good as can be expected.” Victor leaned forward on the bar counter as he thought about how he could say what was on his mind. “It is just a little complicated, you know. Things were easier in the past. More…fun? Simpler. Now, I need to dress up to do marketing. Marketing! I bet Mage never had to deal with something like that.” Victor shook his head and gave a sad chuckle. “I sound like an old geezer.”

Bar just grinned at Victor. “Yes, you do. You are also wrong. Things weren’t easier or simpler in the past. It just seems that way because we were younger.”

“You really think so?” Victor asked. “I don’t remember corporate villainy, or heroes streaming their fight live on the internet back then. You don’t think things had changed?”

“The Game is always changing. You live long enough, and you will see changes, but The Game was always tough. You don’t think Mage and Taste were facing problems like how to finance the Candy Crew when they were running things? We just didn’t know about those things because it was above our pay grade. We were the young guns, and that part of The Game was none of our business. Didn’t mean it wasn’t going on though.”

“That’s one way of looking at things.” Victor said dubiously. “You really don’t think things are different now?”

“Sure, it is. The technology changed, we are older, and our kids are now adults. It's all part of growing up.” Bar added after a pause. "A little responsibility makes everything look different. It got nothing to do with the ‘times’. It is just our responsibility as veterans to deal with these problems while the young and stupid have their fun.”

Victor thought about what Bar said and had to agree. “Here to responsibility then.” Victor raised his glass. “Why don't we finish a bottle and try to forget all about it?”

Bar roared, nodded his head, and raised his glass in agreement.