Chapter 1 – "I will not die here"
This was it. Everything would be said and done.
No more STAG, no more Killbane, and no more of the Syndicate.
The Third Street Saints would finally rule Steelport.
Grueling months of hard work, of gang wars, of having a tiger in his fucking car, it would finally pay off.
This was it, assuming he wouldn't bleed out first.
The Boss was lying on his back, clenching onto his bomber jacket near his chest where he had been injured. He was aboard the Daedalus, attempting to annihilate this oversized, overpowered piece of scrap metal. His breathing became heavy, and blood was dripping from his hand where his wound was. The Boss was seeing red, his hearing was slipping away from him, and his mind was falling apart. During his final confrontation with Cyrus Temple, the commander of STAG; he had dealt with lasers, rocket blasts, and several pieces of shrapnel sticking into his body.
"Damn this hurts like a bitch," he groaned, "I need to get the hell out of here."
The Boss struggled to his feet, and scanned the area for any means of escape; across the ship he spotted an unattended VTOL.
The Boss began to stumble over the twisted metal, the scattered cargo boxes, and the dead STAG agents. He picked up speed towards the hangar,
"To hell with this, I will NOT die here!"
He climbed aboard the VTOL and attempted to ignite the engines, but to no luck, "Shit," he exclaimed, "work you fucking piece of garbage!"
With all of his rage, The Boss slammed his right leg into the control panel and screamed. The VTOL jerked and the thrusters activated, "VTOL, active," a computerized voice went off. The Boss shifted into jet mode and flew out of the blast zone. It was a short-lived moment of glory, within 2 minutes of lift-off, The Boss grew lightheaded, his muscles went weak, and his body dulled numb, he began to hear the conversation he had with Kinzie before ascending to the Daedalus and after planting the explosive devices.
"Kinzie, we're not doing enough damage to this thing, we've gotta go big."
"Well, just be careful."
"When this is over I'll steal the Daedalus blue prints from the DoD. A few years we can probably build our own"
"I love you."
("I love you.")
In that moment of lightheadedness and confusion, The Boss began to wonder if he had meant what he said. Kinzie was smart, attractive, and one of the closest friends he made in Steelport. However, his thinking was cut short when he noticed the ship was behaving strangely, his path was no longer straight forward, but he was deescalating downwards while the ship was rolling towards the right.
"Aww shit," he spoke weakly and then cried, "are you fucking kidding me!?" One of the jet's wings had been broken off by a piece of the Daedalus, and he was beginning to spin off trajectory.
Meanwhile on the ground, Pierce was watching in amazement at the Daedalus' destruction.
"Shit, I hope the boss made it out of there." He spoke to himself; the rest of the Saints had regrouped, attempting to hold off whatever STAG forces on the ground until the Daedalus was taken care of. Soon after the initial explosions, STAG members had begun to fall back and retreat.
"Ya'll better fall back, and don't fuck with tha Saints again," Zimos cheered.
The group had begun to cheer along with Zimos in excitement; after all, they did just take down a paramilitary group along with their carrier ship and whatever the hell that flying menace was.
The celebration was interrupted by a transmission on a nearby radio, "Mayday, mayday," a familiar voice rang throughout the area, "This is *bzzt* *bzzt*, my ship is badly damaged, I'm coming in for a crash landing!"
"Oh shit, that's the boss!" Angel said.
"There he is, above us!" Oleg pointed towards the sky to a VTOL with smoke fuming out of one side. Time was running short; soon enough the VTOL would be a wreckage three feet into the ground, The Boss began to wave his right arm around trying to open the glass above him, "To hell with this." he said as he pulled out his handgun and fired at the window until the glass was cracked, he then unbuckled himself and launched his weight with all of his remaining energy. The glass gave way and The Boss flew in the air, he had hit his head harder on the glass than he thought and became disoriented, his arms and legs flailed wildly through the air as he attempted to gain his balance and find his parachute. The ground was getting closer and The Boss was close to lethal impact. In that moment he saw his life flashing before his eyes, followed by the friends he had lost; Lin, Carlos, Aisha, Viola, and even Shaundi. Damn, it was one hell of a ride, but he wasn't done just yet, not by a long shot. The Boss grabbed a hold of the chord for his parachute and pulled as hard as he could just seconds before hitting the ground at a high speed on his back. He cried in pain as his back arched. The nearby Saints surrounded him, amazed to see him still alive with blood stained all over the left side of his jacket. The Boss opened his eyes, relieved to be back on the streets, but exhausted and dying from the suicide mission he just departed from.
"W-where is she?" The Boss slurred, looking directly at Pierce.
"Where's who, boss?" questioned Pierce.
"Kinzie," The Boss said as he caught his breath and shouted, "Where is Kinzie!?"
Out of the blue, a light, yet worried voice broke through the crowd that surrounded him, "I'm right here."
The Boss had lit a smile on his face to counter Kiznie's frown of concern and fear. It was hurting him on the inside to see her, concerned about his well being; after all, most of the time they knew each other, he was concerned for her well being.
"Hey Kinzie, r-remember when you told me to 'be careful' up there?" The Boss forced out a chuckle. Kinzie tried to smile back at him; she answered his question with a nod.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." The Boss grabbed a hold of Kinzie's hand, closed his eyes, and laid his head on the pavement.
"Somebody get a damn medic up in here!" shouted Pierce.
Kinzie kneeled by The Boss's side, holding his hand until his grip had loosened. He had been too good to her, he treated her unlike most people, he protected her, he had retrieved the necessities she needed despite the risk, and now he wanted to see her one last time before succumbing to the fatal injuries that were inflicted upon him.
Despite the chaos and panic of nearby Saints, Kinzie was shedding several tears, over The Boss's bruised, scarred, and bloodied body. She leaned in towards his lips with hers and gently kissed him, for the next ten minutes, she sat by his side until paramedics arrived. Before he was loaded up onto the ambulance, she whispered into his ear faintly, "I love you too".
Pierce climbed aboard the ambulance with The Boss, he would have to tag along with his friend to make sure nobody could get a hold of him while he would be stuck in the hospital. Pierce glanced at Kinzie, in a matter of almost saying "I'm sorry you can't come", Pierce then slammed the ambulance doors and the vehicle speed off in an instant. Kinzie stood there among other Saints, who began talking with each other about what would happen to The Boss, it may have been a victory against STAG, but it was a bittersweet victory at the most.