Tristan watched Leon and Delgado's reaction intently.
He put on a big show of being 120% confident in his every move, but there was always room for mistakes, as a recent fight with police showed. And he'd rather not be shot again.
Delgado opened his mouth again and hissed quietly enough that no one outside could hear,
"You are ill in your head if you think you can just come and take over what we built over the years, Hayes. I thought you were the fresh blood our organization needed, but you were poison. Poison!"
Tristan didn't bother replying, still keeping most of his attention on Leon.
Delgado wasn't the one who could sway Leon's opinion, but Leon could give Delgado orders. Even now, Delgado was giving Leon cautious glances.
It was another insight that Tristan could only find now, when tensions were high and guns were ready to shoot.
'If Leon gives a signal, Delgado would throw himself between him and bullets. He's loyal to the man himself, not to the organization. But he thinks Leon deserves nothing less than all of it.'
Leon himself was clenching his fists until white knuckles.
"You point a gun at me even after everything I gave to you, Hayes. Every opportunity, every promotion. Heh. You are a truly ruthless person—a beast that doesn't know or care what loyalty is."
"I am loyal, Mr. Clavon—to you and to this entire gang. Otherwise, you'd be dead. But you would never allow me to take over the gang otherwise—even after growing old, you'd prefer your biological heirs. I'm sure you have someone, even if you hide them well."
Leon's frown deepened.
"What kind of loyalty is it, if you just step over it for the sake of ambition?!" Delgado asked, looking at the gun aimed at him as if waiting for opportunity.
Tristan chuckled. Although it's been a while, his hands were still not tired of holding the guns aimed, because he had a good stance and lots of endurance.
He could keep these two at gunpoint without even a tremble in his hands for a long time.
"It's a mutual benefit, admittedly. My ambition is satisfied, and the gang prospers. And both of you can have a cushy, rich retirement—or influential position under me. It won't be a loss. Just... a younger lion comes into the pride to protect it, when the older one can't."
Instead, he took the wig. It was a high-quality thing made from natural hair, and currently slightly wet with Leon's sweat. There was a thin, stretchy net under it, which Leon took off together with the wig.
'I can try it on once—for effect. This will definitely prove the other gangsters who're in charge now.'
With that thought, Tristan put the wig on. It was somewhat big on him.
The sight of Tristan with long blond hair was as shocking as that of Leon's being bald. Martinez and Delgado both couldn't help but just stare at both of them.
Tristan flicked the hair off his face and stuck a pose. No matter his haircut, he still looked handsome. However, if on Leon the blond, wavy hair gave an impression of a lion's mane, with Tristan it made him look more like a dangerous, unforgiving angel.
"I'm very glad, Mr. Clavon. What about you, Mr. Delgado?"
"I... I don't want to work for you, Hayes." He said with sudden determination. "My loyalty is still to Mr. Clavon. You can take my assets and my people, but I will work for him alone."
Tristan smiled and sat back in his seat.
"This is fine. Now, there were a lot of sudden changes—the entire hierarchy of the organization will have to be rearranged. Plus, I want to include our new allies more tightly into it, to gradually incorporate their gangs into ours and create inter-city structure. But let's start our today's meeting with finding a replacement for Whitman. No, wait."
He pointed at Leon's cup of coffee.
"Please, call someone to bring a cup of tea to me, too, Mr. Clavon. And Mr. Martinez?.."
"Coffee, please. Black."
Leon nodded.
"Snacks for everyone. This seems like it's going to be a long meeting."
When a bodyguard carrying a tray of food and drinks entered the door fifteen minutes later, he almost dropped them after seeing the change of hair.
Tristan just smiled at the man's shock, and at his even bigger shock when Leon suddenly announced, "Mr. Hayes is going to take my place as the King Lion of this gang. Defer to him."