Dallas’s time in the mob left marks on him.
Made him good at finances. If you didn’t pay your money in time, they send in guys like him. A smashed window, a broken finger, a dead spouse. There was consequences to every action.
If you showed you had someone you cared about, they would be used against you.
Just pay the protection fees, think of your loved ones.
A heart left to harden.
It made him reconsider his morals. To reconsider everything.
But the lessons it taught him where not so easily erased. Brutality's to his enemies lest they rise up against him. Always check for exit paths. Keep medical supplies always in reach. You never know when an ‘accident’ could happen.
Some of these lessons faded with time.
But there was one that didn’t.
Nobody but Chains even knew that Houston existed. Hoxton might’ve felt a bit hurt; if he didn’t know how it was like pulling teeth to get the banker to reveal anything. He and Bain had that in common. Must’ve been something they bonded over. He thinks he understands it a bit more after Hazelton.
And yet...
Well why not try to get a good story to poke fun at the mask stealer for a bit.
Dallas got very talkative if you got enough drinks into him. He rarely drinks that much at once anymore. But the false Texan bends quickly to certain requests the Fugitive makes.
Trying to make up for time or something.
Of course what he wasn’t expecting was for the man to gush about “his little bro.” About how he was proud. About the complex emotions he felt when he first saw the younger brother. About how he helped raised his brother. About how far he had come.
It was funny at first.
But three hours in and Hoxton was sick of the conversation topic.
He even said so.
The fugitive was fed up. Annoyed. Jealous. Annoyance at his drinking partner for not talking... Envious that no one talked about him like that. He learned a lot that night.
Dallas has a closely guarded heart.
But if you ever got past of those walls, you’d see a man who cares deeply about those around him. He’s not one to treat others like tools. Doesn't make decisions dealing with people lightly. Careful with others and willing to die for them. Morality made flexible for them. But he still has those morals anyways.
Experiences making him who he was.
There was a reason Bain approached him, and it was only partially because of his skills.