Definition of ‘horizons’
noun

the limits of what one wants to do or of what one is interested or involved in.
As your horizons expand, these new ideas can give a whole new meaning to life.

Who does Kristal Santiago even think she is? Twenty-three, riding on her bicycle along the wet concrete footpaths of Las Vegas at 5pm as she exercised her rebellious ways. She was SUPPOSED to be waiting for Rom in the lobby of The Flamingo Hotel, but… for some odd reason she thought taking her sweet ass time would be better. 

It was October 4, 1930. And it is also the day that Kristal’s life would be changed forever.

As it always is on October, it’s a time for change. The trees turn from their same ole natural green leaves to a triumphant hurrah of colour. Smiles turn bigger. The streets change too somehow because the people feel a little more warmth in their hearts. Autumn comes gradually in such a comforting manner and Kristal loved it.

Change was coming. 

For a little backstory, Kristal had been working at the local diner located not far from her crappy apartment for a few years now and finally she wanted a career change. The tips were nice as a waitress, but she felt stagnant and wanted new challenges in life. She thought about taking up an accounting degree, but the thought of crunching numbers for long hours made her spine shiver. 

She had an old friend though whose name was Rom who she heard was in deep with the mafia. She wanted to enquire about taking up a job with him. Apparently, the payout was pretty damn good for those organized crimes and best believe she wanted a piece of that. 
 
A wave of regret formed in Kristal’s mind as she checked the time on her watch that was tightly adjusted on her left wrist, while trying not to fall off balance from her bike. “Shit,” she blurted out past a few strangers that gave her a weird look. Kristal noticed. Her face turned a pinkish-red shade. 

She now rode as quickly as she could to the hotel and swearing to herself that she would never be so stupid and late again. And as if all her luck didn’t already run out, the sky started pouring. 

When she finally arrived, her outfit was drenched from head to toe. 

“…Hi.” 
 

"I supposed your guest is going to be a little late, sir."

Rom rolled his eyes ever so slightly, his movements slow and full of boredom. It had been a while, Kristal or as he had taken to calling her, Kris. She seemed to be a bit late, something that had him smiling, being late, was never good in their business. He would need to make sure she understood.

"Give her a moment, mate."

This is going to be fine, he thought to himself. This had no reason to turn left and sour something he had been working on for a while. 

And as if Fate decided to do him a solid for once, here she was, drenched and clearly the Las Vegas weather had done a number on her. He called for a few towels, handing a few over to her as they sat in the lobby of the hotel. 

"Hello to you as well.... I see the weather won in your little....fight."

A little teasing chuckle escaped him before he stopped at the pinkish-red hue that soon covered her face from her neck to her cheeks. 

One thing was certain, she certainly commanded a crowd. Everyone's eyes were on her and not in the good fashion, a few of the snobs seemed to be turning their noses up at them. It was something that had these guys did on all occasions, he remembered his moments in this hotel. Speaking with Optimus about business but that didn't matter right now, he needed to make sure that they handled what was coming next. 

"Well then lass, it seems like this is certainly an entrance. When you said you wanted to meet and discuss business, I certainly didn't expect this...it is something. Nevertheless, you're here now, and we can begin."

Looking around, he noticed the eyes on her, and he called for a few of his people. Let them take them by the ear, talk with them and get this crowd of gossiping hens out of his sight. 

And once the crowd had been cleared, Rom looked at KristalSantiago with his classic boyish smirk before waving his hand to the elevator. Informing her that they could continue this discussion in private, without the...prying eyes of many civilians who looked at him, especially, with disgust. It was obvious, he was no longer their hero for all he had done in the league. 

"Whenever you're ready, we may go talk in private. For now, dry up and I'll make sure to give you some cash for new clothes. It's the least I could do bringing you all the way out here lass."

The reaction she had received from Rom was nothing short of smug and maybe she sensed just a little disappointment? Hell, even Kristal was herself. However judging from that familiar sassy smirk that he plastered on his face, everything was going to be fine. She hesitated on sitting on the lobby chairs in fears of getting complaints from the hotel manager, and she was already receiving nasty looks from other hotel guests and she didn’t want to bring more heat to the fire.

Guess it wasn’t bad though. It was nothing a few towels couldn’t fix and as quick as a bee could buzz around, Kris came back from the downstairs bathroom with no clear evidence of her being drenched from earlier. She took advantage of the hotel blow dryer.

When she approached Rom again, the people who were judging her before were out of sight. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, yes. We should probably head up and discuss things.”

In the elevator, Kristal couldn’t help but smile sheepishly.

“Been a while, eh Rom? Is it just me or did you get… hotter? Or do I just have moderately low vision now?”

Nothing much changed in Kristal’s relationship with him. She would make her silly little jokes and banter was always fun, now that a few years had passed, Kristal still looked to him as a long-lost brother. Something horrendously corny like that.

She noticed earlier that when she arrived that… people answer to him when he asked for something. Kristal definitely felt like she was no where near he was on the career spectrum. When she asked for something at work, people ignored her.

Funny though, even though he seemed to be at a really successful point in his life, she still sensed how humble he was.

Also… how was she going to pay back all that cash he was going to give her for the clothes if she literally had nothing left in her bank account?

"Look at you now, I'm sure this is all great for you now. You're about to experience some wondrous things, and it all starts here in Las Vegas, although the way it's been going and seemingly the way that you're nervous, you lost that spark...that confidence, it's still there...bubbling. We'll bring it out of you in no time though."

Leaning against the elevator panel, he chuckled at her words though. Yep there it was, slightly hidden underneath the surface but still there. Like a fire with embers, just waiting for that match to turn it into a blazing inferno that would consume everything and everyone in its path. It was special, he knew that much. 

"I'd say both, it's been a while and here is my friend, contacting me out of nowhere and wanting something that even I sometimes couldn't provide. But you're a friend and I do not leave my friends stranded with no way of contacting me though. Though back to terms of dashing good looks and my charm, I'd say that I always had 'em, you just never noticed..."

With that, his laughter came back, he enjoyed this, it was easy sometimes talking to a friend and not someone who you owed a lot too. In this life, you didn't know who were your real friends or you never even had friends to begin with. Yet here KristalSantiago was, she had reached out to him, needed that help and without thinking or having a secondary agenda, he helped without another word. 

"I would have to say that the low vision could play into this. Hey, what's that look for? You're not worried about anything are ya?"

Being who he was, he needed to read people on the court in that past of his. Then once he entered the den of another game entirely, he found himself playing something of a chess match, thinking multiple steps ahead that even with the sheer advantage of numbers, strategy and pure dumb luck often won out. 

"You do know that you being here, the money that you received and will continue to receive until you are back on your feet is not coming back to me, right? You've taken this leap, let me help you out and allow you the benefits of working together, alright?"

His voice was soft and the elevator had softly dinged as his soft stare broke, with a smile, he stepped out. Looking back at her with that grin back in place, his eyes ever so slightly shifting around him as he knew that while he was connected, there were others that were above him that held much more power than he. 

Yet he knew right now, it didn't matter, a friend needed help. That was all, with one more chuckle, he slowly started walking towards the room. His eyes looking back every so often to make sure that his friend didn't break out in a run...which brought another smile to his lips.

Kristal mirrored his humoured expression as she let out a light chuckle. “Yeah, you are probably right about that. Haven’t been paying much attention to anything these days. And don’t worry about me being worried. Just a little tense. Probs.”

As usual, Rom was nice as ever. His way of telling her that she was making the right decision by coming to see him gave her comfort and motivation. She already told him about her financial situation and whatnot, so she was grateful she didn’t have to relive all the depressing things again today.

She grinned when he looked back at her after the elevator sounded. “Okay Rommy. Thank you.”

But the shifty eyes gave her the impression that he wasn’t confident in what he was saying, or maybe she was just reading him wrong. Perhaps he was still in the process of ranking up and building his reputation. Kristal was excited to see him progress though.

 She followed him into a room, feeling slightly uncomfortable by how luxurious everything looked. Even the little flower vase on the console table by the door. Kristal snickered. That single item probably cost more than her life. Quit with the undermining, Kristal! She broke out of her delusional thoughts and went straight for the kitchen looking for a glass of water. Honestly, she just wanted to busy herself to distract her from herself.

Silence flooded the room for a quick moment before Kristal broke the ice. She poured him a glass before offering it to him. Who knew an elevator ride could be so exhausting.

“Penny for your thoughts? Where do we start? I’ve told you my situation and I’ve come to you seeking some kind of… solution I guess? You did tell me about that one guy who was looking for some delivery people for a drug operation?”

It amazed Kristal that she already knew that much, but she owed it to how well he explained things to her and how the mafia worked in their cunning ways. She took a sip of her water, the coldness refreshing the corners of her mind. Kristal was ready for whatever the handsome bloke had to say. But what she wasn’t ready for though, was the part where he might say to her that guns might be involved because firstly, she had NO CLUE how to even properly hold one and second of all, her aim was probably shit.

Kristal was nothing like her mother who was skilled in that kind of stuff.

Remembering her words from the elevator, he took the glass of water as he places it down on the table. It was quiet, for a moment, he turned on the radio. His lips upturning into a smile as he heard the smooth plays soon come out and his head swayed from side to side before he finally settled. His cheeks turning a shade redder than he ever meant too, without another word, he sighed and drank the water. 

"Well first, look at you, raring to go and trying to dip your hands into the water already? I wanted to make sure that you knew what was going on but fine, I'll be sure to make sure that you get the real down to real brass tacks."

Shifting himself to the side, his arm lazily hung over the back of the coach as he found himself thinking about certain things. He knew that he should teach her the game, the way it came to this point in this time, the way she could make her money. Things like this were often better with a more experienced member of the society of the chosen but for now, she had him, and he was going to do his best. 

"Well first, relax, this won't work if you're tense. You need to find your balance in what you're about to do. Are you an enforcer, advisor, or earner? Do you know what it takes to be someone who can kill a man, someone who decides drugs or booze is the way to earn their place in this world, or maybe you're a natural-born advisor and in wartime, your boss leans on you a lot more than he does his other guys. There is a lot of screws in this life, Kris. I want you to find yours, it could take a while, that's why I'm here."

He took another sip of his water as he sat opposite her, she was certainly a bit nervous, but she need not be that way. With his way of helping her, he hoped that she could find something to be a little more centred in what she wished for in the life of the chosen.

"Tell me Kris, what do you want to do? I'm not going to take you by the hand and toss you into the deep end without any means. Picture yourself in this life, the endless nights, the moments where you want to go home, what do you want to do in the middle of all that? You have to be sure, and this is not me trying to plant doubt in your mind. EVERYONE has a role in the family, everyone has a place, regardless of what you may think of yourself, your boss has a use for you. Find what you're good at, and we move from there."

The opening speech was a good one for him at the very least, she needed to know what she was getting into with this life. He knew that she had a slight introduction but here it was, the brute honesty and for right now, he would need something but that would come alter. He needed to know more about her situation. KristalSantiago was seemingly on the want for something, he just needed to know what or better yet, he needed to be reminded. 

With his soft smile back in place, his eyes meeting hers and that nervous chuckle escaping him again, he found himself trying to remember her situation. A lot of business flowed through his mind, and he couldn't place her situation in all the haziness of it. 

"Tell me Kristal, just what is going on? Remind me, please. Let me help you, more than I've done now."