He took the beer. He listened to the rant with a furrowed brow. This poor kid. All of these things he felt responsible for, that he'd put himself through. Yes, he deserved to be seen and recognized for all he did, but was it worth it? Was giving up half himself worth it?
John had to hope so.
"At least they're not brand new recruits," John offered. "It's good to know your teams strengths and weaknesses, and it sounds like you do. They'll fall in line because you'll get them to."
John let out a sigh, leaning to clasp Banzai on the shoulder. "You need to relax, though, kid. What is this, day one of your promotion and you're already feeling vindictive about it?" He wouldn't point out that Banzai is just as much a kid as the others. Even if it was true.
"I've seen you go through shit to get here, I've seen the light fade from your eyes and turn to smoke. You know that? That you don't look the same as that kid all those years ago. If that's a good thing and what you were after, then great. But just--" John shook his head. He wasn't going to get into this with Banzai. Not now. "I'm glad you got what you were after."
The laptop was protected by a PIN and after a few attempted at what could be significant dates for the old owner, he was in.
"Other than the crew, how was it leading a mission? Karen said it was a big one," John asked as he started going through files on the computer, scanning for names and dates that may stand out.
@banzai-bungu
John jumped a little as the items were slammed down in front of him. He'd been zoned out, listening to some conversation across the lounge. Some couple gossiping about one of their exes and that ex's new girlfriend and that girlfriend's secret instagram page... usual gossip.
This new surprise had all the makings to be far more interesting. Beer, a laptop, and Banzai.
"Never too tired for you," he grinned. "And you've got gifts? This gets better and better."
John was already interested when he heard it was a target's laptop. There was so much on here. So much potential.
He slid one of the beers to Banzai to open for him as John opened the laptop. "Ooh, you know I do--love some dirty little secrets," he scanned the lock screen, trying to see what he could gather from here alone. Calendar reminders, missed emails and messages. She just liked to see everything while her device was still locked, huh?
John paused and looked across the table though as more of Banzai's words sunk in. "You got promoted?" he grinned. "Look at you. Congratulations, Banz." When John first joined with MAFIA, he'd met Banzai's father. Mr. Bungu was an intimidating man for sure. But he also remembered a teenaged Banzai. It made his chest ache for a moment as he thought about the passage of time, seeing someone grow up into an adult. He needed to get into this laptop to stop thinking about this.
"Of course I want to," John laughed. "And you can tell me all about your promotion while I look for her Twitter drafts and DMs. There is always all sorts of stuff in there." He looked over the screen at the younger man, "You wouldn't happen to know if they found her little black book of passwords, would you?" he could figure out how to get in without it, it would just be more annoying and take more time.
@banzai-bungu