Chapter Text
Ray’s never been too particular about who he works with. From his days soloing as a sniper to his past few years in the crew, he's ended up partnered with all manner of weirdos, psychos, and idiots (the last mostly on the list by virtue of working with Gavin), and he's never had a problem with any of them.
That changed when the Vagabond was brought on as an extra man for a heist. The whole of Los Santos knew about the Vagabond in the same way that they knew about the Fakes- he was dangerous, a lone wolf that sold his services to whoever could flash the most cash at him. Nearly every hugely successful heist, murder, or act of major destruction in the past year had been carried out with the help of the Vagabond. It made sense why Geoff would bring him on- the crew had been growing, and a bigger crew meant bigger jobs. Keeping the Vagabond under his thumb would not only reduce competition, but also help their influence and ability to terrorize the city grow.
Ray wasn't qualified to be boss by any means, but he could still see Geoff’s reasoning. It made perfect sense to bring on another crew member, even an impermanent one, to help out. Of course, that didn't mean Ray had to be happy about it.
He wasn't sure what it was about the guy that rubbed him the wrong way. The Vagabond was excellent in the field, and he and Ray actually worked very well together, but regardless, Ray didn't like him at all. Maybe it was the skull mask and lack of speech that put him off, but if Ray was being honest, he had worked with weirder in the past. It could be his violent tendencies and penchant for… well, creative murders, but Michael was just as violent, and the whole crew got creative every once in awhile.
Whatever it was, it gave Ray a feeling of unease and dislike whenever he was around the Vagabond. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one who felt it, as Geoff kept inviting the creepy bastard back to take on jobs, and the others had started to include him in post-heist celebrations and the creation of teams (why he and Gavin were Love ‘n’ Stuff, Ray wasn't sure he wanted to know). As much as he wasn't a fan, the Vagabond was slowly becoming a part of the crew. There had been whispers among the Lads that he had even agreed to the heist they were currently planning without charging his usual fee.
Like him or not, the Vagabond was on his way to being a permanent fixture in the crew. Ray was pretty firmly on the side of not, but he was far outnumbered by the crew. For the time being, all he could do was grin and bear it, and hope that he didn't have to deal with the Vagabond for any longer than their jobs lasted. At least that bit would probably be easy- the guy hardly ever stuck around after a job was done. He would stay for the bevs after a successful heist (not that he drank anything, preferring to sit silently in a corner while the others partied) and then fuck off to wherever he lived until the next time Geoff called him in.
The job they were planning was pretty simple; a warehouse raid on a rival gang. Of course, the crew had to make it as complex and grandiose as possible, which meant a whole week of mostly unnecessary planning. Ray was the one to kick it all off with an all-day rooftop stakeout of the warehouse. Not his favorite job, or the most exciting, but at least he wouldn't have to be in the planning room with the Vagabond all day. He would take sitting on a cold roof over being near the creepy bastard any day.
Ray knew that eventually he would have to get over his hang up with working with the Vagabond, but eventually wasn't now, so he was more than happy to get away for a day. Besides, they could work together fine when they had to, and that was all that really mattered. Even if he tried as hard as he could, Ray suspected that he would never really be able to enjoy the company of the Vagabond. And, judging by the way the guy stared at him with cold eyes behind his dark mask, the feeling was absolutely mutual.