Undercover
Warnings: Mentions of minor character death, blood and violence. (Possible OOC but not certain.)
Notes: This story had been on the back of my mind for awhile; especially since I started watching a play through of Saints Row and wondering why the whole undercover/informant idea wasn't explored much. (I mean, yes, you had Troy and Lin but it never actually went in depth and explored the psychology behind it, etc.)
Inspired by: "…you roll with people long enough and pretty soon, you start thinkin' like 'em." – Troy Bradshaw
Disclaimer: I do not own Saints Row.
(f/n) = Female name; I'm bad with names so that's left up to the reader.
"'ello." A British voice belonging to one of the male Deckers greeted me as I made my way inside the Burns Hills Reactor. The neon blue lights cast a hue in the building as techno music blared through the speakers. I merely made eye contact with other Deckers and nodded my head in greeting. The environment didn't call for much dancing, but if it weren't for the technologically advanced computers and the NEMO chair in the dead center, I would've gladly mistaken it for a raver's haven.
Well, the gang struck me as that type…
I still couldn't believe months had gone by since I was first assigned this mission of sorts. The fact that I was actually in good terms with the members of the Deckers only further fueled that little conscience in the back of my head that nagged at me, questioning my loyalty. Initially, I was sent by the Boss to go infiltrate the gang – he did remind me that Kinzie mentioned she couldn't infiltrate them herself, considering she was a little too old to do it herself – so they sent me instead. Why? Well, I'm only nineteen but some people have actually mistaken me for a fifteen year old before, much to my displeasure. So the Saints wanted to use that to their advantage – after all, I did join them voluntarily after they had taken down Morningstar; can't say I was a fan of the Saints' products but… they held my interest for quite some time.
But that was nothing compared to what kind of fascination I had with the Deckers. Before I joined, I had actually been obsessively looking up the Deckers; even went so far as to buy the same outfits that some of the female members wore. Something was just definitely cool about them – could never put my finger on it, though. Was it the dark make up they all wore? The technologically advanced gear they had or even their sense of style? Maybe it was a combination of all of those things. I had always been the eccentric type of person. Regardless, their Cyberpunk look was just… wicked – that probably made me more biased than usual… there was just nothing that I didn't like about them.
In whatever case, I didn't refuse when I was given the assignment. It only meant I would get closer to my favorite gang, as much as I wouldn't admit it to the Boss. Yes, maybe I had always been a traitor but I couldn't help myself… However, the only problem was how was I going to be in the Deckers' good graces? Luckily, Pierce was smart enough to come up with a decent plan to go about it…
The memory wasn't from that long ago.
The Boss, Pierce, Kinzie, and I were gathered at Kinzie's hideout, trying to figure out how to get close to the Deckers without any suspicion.
"Look, one of our boys just called in and said there's some Deckers buying one of the latest cellphones. Why don't we try to crash the place-"
"And I get to murder some of them?" The Boss inquired with a playful tone in his voice.
"Not all of them," Pierce groaned. He should've known better than to suggest something of this caliber to the Boss; but there was the implication that the Boss could go wreck mayhem anyway since that was something he was always good at. Pierce continued motioning at the Boss, "When you try to finish off the last few of the Deckers, our informant will go in and rescue them." [1]
"And if we're lucky, it means that she might end up being noticed by Matt Miller." Kinzie added with anger laced in her voice; well, if you heard distinctly enough. Her hatred for Matt Miller and the Deckers was real to me now if I wasn't sure before. I didn't know much about her – which I wasn't sure if the Boss, Pierce and Shaundi purposely left out – but I thought her hatred was a bit… out of control.
"Exactly." Pierce confirmed. Three pairs of eyes merely glanced at me – more like two since Kinzie was still busy typing away at her laptop - meaning that they were waiting for me to say something about the plan.
"Wait… who is that, anyways?" Kinzie merely groaned at my question. She just merely showed me a photo, which took an act of God to get her to find, and explained the details that the Boss hadn't told me.
"Okay… I guess I'm in. But how am I gonna get them to think I'm one of them besides the obvious fashion change?" I didn't want to let it slip that I had been secretly collecting the Deckers' fashion style for quite sometime now.
"Oh. No need to worry about that, (f/n)." The Boss motioned for me to follow him to the garage of the hideout, leading me to a customized Solar that belonged to one of the Deckers. "I already stole one of these earlier – couldn't help myself. I still think it would've looked better in purple, but what the hell." He shrugged.
"Well, shit. Talk about great timing, Boss." Pierce emerged behind us, apparently amused at the Boss having a wicked sense of timing without knowing this plan was going to happen.
"Alright, kid," The Boss turned to me, "You got any clothes from the gang? I can buy you some if you don't have any."
"I'm fine. I believe I have an outfit or two…"
"Good." The Boss merely loaded his handgun and walked over to a purple Torch; his silent indication that Pierce and I get into the car with him. When we drove back to the penthouse, I took that as an indication to hurry and get my disguise on. In that duration, Shaundi had given me a Bluetooth device to keep in contact with the Boss to know when my cue was going to be. Once that was done, I got into the Solar car, revving up the engine.
"You ready, kid?" The Boss's voice went through the Bluetooth device.
"Yeah. Let's do this."
I parked the customized Solar in an alleyway, a few blocks away from the building where the Deckers were spotted. Kinzie had given me the coordinates to the location, so luckily, all I had to do was wait. The Boss was merely going to give me a cue via gunshots… that was what he had agreed on the way over there – not strangely enough – it seemed to fit his personality quite well…
Even though I had the radio blasting, there was no mistaking the sounds that I had been waiting for; multiple gunshots were heard. This meant that the Boss was beginning his assault – and if I wasn't quick enough, he might have just entirely cleared the area by himself if he really wanted to. I mean he was really gifted with his accuracy and handling of weapons – much more so than I, anyways.
The tires screeched as I pressed my foot on the gas; the engine revving up as I tried my best to maneuver through the street amidst all of the drivers trying to hurriedly get away from the chaotic scene. Sure enough, I spotted multiple Solars, Kayaks and Criminals; and in the very middle of them was the parked Torch where the Boss was handling a good couple of handful of Deckers.
I power slid my car over to a specialist and three members of the Deckers, opening up the passenger window. "Get down!" According to plan, I had taken out my own handgun and began firing at the Boss and Pierce. They both took cover behind one of the Decker vehicles.
"Hurry up! Get in!" I yelled at the three male Deckers and the specialist. They sprinted into the car, still shooting as a means to keep getting the Boss distracted while the specialist held onto the back of the car. I don't want to say this to Pierce, but I'm pretty sure the Deckers were more afraid of the Boss than Pierce and rightfully so. I swerved the car around and gunned the engine.
"Bloody hell!" One of the Deckers sighed in relief. The one seated in the passenger seat merely glanced at me, "Who are you?" He had every right to be suspicious; I might have looked the part but I definitely didn't look similar to any of their specialists.
"The name's (f/n). You can't even give me a thanks?" I merely scoffed. The Decker wasn't able to say much because there was more gunfire coming from the back.
"The Saints are following us! Lose them!" One of the Deckers in the back leaned out from the back and began firing. From the rearview mirror, I noticed the purple Torch was following us – covered in bullets and what not. What the hell was the Boss and Pierce doing? This wasn't a part of the plan… looks like I had to improvise. I started driving a bit more manically and swerved off the road, running red lights, knocking off poles, near missing cars and driving in the wrong lane. No matter what I did, I couldn't lose the purple Torch – it seemed almost near impossible. However, somewhere down the road, the car stopped following us – much to my relief, I didn't want to exactly be given a chance to hurt the Boss.
"Alright. We lost 'em. Think you can drive us back to the Burns Hill Reactor?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I really didn't know where the hell the place was. I just hope they would understand that I was a new recruit. A small vibration in my left pocket alerted me that I had gotten a text – if it was from the Boss or Pierce, I had to ignore it for right now; pretty sure they would understand.
"Uh… I actually don't know where it is. I just barely got recruited the other day."
The Decker merely scoffed at me.
"What? You're a noob and you don't even know our own hideout? What kind of Decker are you?"
What a bunch of assholes, I mentally grumbled.
When I first drove up into the parking lot of the Burns Hill Reactors, the only thing that process was – why the fuck would a gang have a hideout inside what used to be a nuclear plant? Shouldn't they have been worried about contamination? Well, whatever… I just hope I don't remain here for too long. I climbed out of the car and was greeted with techno music that had a loud bass; it was loud enough that I could hear it from the parking lot.
"My god… is there a rave going on or some shit?" I inquired, secretly hoping there was. I will admit that there were the few times that I had gone to raves during my years in high school – which weren't that long ago and I had been quite the raver at the time.
"Ha. It kind of almost is…" The specialist roller bladed alongside me, amused at my statement. I merely followed the rest of the Deckers inside the building where the bass was now getting louder and louder. Inside, it was like a freakin' mixture of cyber tech and a mad scientist's lab. I had no idea if it was cool or not; the feeling was mixed. In the center was some huge computer of sorts that I hadn't really noticed. A male, about probably my age or a bit younger, was seated at the chair, doing some work. He didn't wear the specific Decker uniform – in fact, it was much more unique than the rest; if the tie and black leather jacket were any indication.
Wait… were those LED lights going through the outfit? Well, damn.
Wait. My mind did a double take…
Neon blue lipstick. Check. Black hair that seemed to be swept to the side. Check. Black leather jacket that had the Deckers symbol. Holy shit.
This was the leader of the fucking Deckers.
Just my luck.
"Hey, Matt! You really gotta check this girl out." One of the Deckers went up to him, practically yelling due to the loud music, and motioned towards me. I wasn't surprised if the Decker was going to praise me or something; regardless, it was gonna be a stupid reason to do so. Matt's facial expression went from disinterested to slightly amused to disinterested again – this time, though, he seemed to send a look my way that screamed that he was probably judging me.
Maybe I was apparently not good enough for the gang. I don't know. I mean the Boss never told me who the leader of the Deckers was. Matt had apparently said something to the Decker, for the Decker then mentioned for me to follow him. He and Matt led me to an area downstairs where there was less music for us to be able to talk.
"So you saved some of my crew…" Matt stated out loud, contemplating on what to do. He eyed me up and down, noticing that I had the same uniform as the Decker specialists. "What's your name?"
"It's (f/n)."
"Yeah," The Decker merely continued on telling the story, albeit at the risk of making himself look like a coward, "She completely saved our arses. The boys would've been dead if it weren't for her."
"Then how come I haven't heard of you?"
Matt's question caused me to scold myself. What the hell was up with me having to improvise all the time?
"I just joined yesterday…" I mentioned, albeit awkwardly. I still had a hard time adjusting to people when I didn't know anyone. This was especially true when I first joined the 3rd Street Saints; took them awhile to get me to be naturally open. Hopefully, this guy wasn't going to judge too harshly about that.
"I see then. Well, thanks for the unexpected help. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our fallen soldiers." He frowned in annoyance. Obviously, I knew he held a hatred for the Saints – I mean which gang didn't? A buzzing came from his pocket. Matt glanced at his phone before motioning with a wave of his hand, stating in an indifferent tone, "Well, feel free to make yourself home. I have more pressing matters to attend to." He walked out of the area, answering the phone call with his Bluetooth device.
And that was the first encounter I had with the Decker leader – it wouldn't be the last one, though.
From that moment, I was accepted by the Deckers…
From then on, I was always invited with my fellow Deckers – yes, my – when they went on heists or were involved in fights with the Saints. During those moments when the gang war spilled over to the Saints' territory, I felt incredibly guilty when I had to put a bullet inside the head of someone I once knew again and again. If I knew I was going to be cursed with this guilty consciousness, I wouldn't have agreed to the assignment. After all, once I was given the cue that my infiltration was over, I'd be doing the same thing all over again in some fucked up cycle. You just couldn't choose your loyalties or friends. But why was I suddenly so confused… I only had one job – so why was this difficult?
Was I really a Saint at heart or was I turning into one of the Deckers? I could switch to either side if I desired to – after all, I still was made aware of what the Saints were doing… but that was not information that I was willing to spill.
The guilt was especially felt more so in the times when I'd contact the Saints, specifically Kinzie, and let them know of the Deckers' dealings; either of people who were secretly infiltrating the Saints or monitoring their every move. After all, I was the one who alerted Kinzie of Kirsten – as much as that specialist became a good friend to me in the short time…
It still hurts to this day to know I indirectly caused her death. In this gang world of violence, you had no time to mourn your loved ones – I should have known better. Unfortunately, this didn't stop me from befriending the Deckers. When they weren't busy taking orders from Matt Miller, we'd all hang out together at either Nobody Loves Me or just cruise around with the radio blasting tunes from 89.0 Generation X. Plus, it didn't help that they occasionally played video games. It just… felt like I strangely belonged with them – as much as it's painful to really say.
I guess I could say the same for their leader.
Matt Miller.
There was a lot I had to say about the guy. In the time period from that day to now, I learned quite a lot about him. He had some strange quirks like his obsession with NyteBlade, going so far as to write fanfiction for it; not that I liked the show or anything, but it was nice to see someone passionate about their own interests. Plus, it was a bonus considering that I also liked to write during my spare time as well – so it was nice finding a fellow writer. In fact, there were too many days where I almost had forgotten that he was the leader of a gang – and I think if things were much more different, he may have been someone that I'd consider as a friend if it weren't for his arrogance and God complex.
And maybe I felt a tiny bit attracted to him – if I didn't exactly find out his age, though. I normally don't go for younger guys, but this was… different in a way. I just couldn't explain why I even liked him just a bit – but I'd better not accidentally spill that to Kinzie or else she'd kill me…
Maybe that's why it didn't sit well with me about the idea of bringing down the Deckers from the inside out…
Not only would I be betraying the Deckers, but I'd betraying Matt as well.
I really don't think I was cut out for being an undercover – but eventually, it came to an end.
"Move out! Make sure that computer doesn't fall into the hands of Agent Kensington." Matt Miller's voice transmitted through the Decker's devices. I was grouped with three other Deckers into a Kayak, heading over to the PR Center – evidently enough, there is a good chance that I'd be encountering the Boss once again. However, before this came to fruition, Kinzie believed that I had done enough of my job – and that it was time to reveal myself as the mole. The only choice I was left in was with the timing…
The drive there was excruciating as I merely grasped the handle of my handgun tightly to the point where my knuckles were white. My index finger tapped lightly against the trigger in anxiety. The other Deckers had known I was being unusually quiet, considering from the other times I was with them that I happened to be a bit of a loud mouth. I only gave the slight reassurances that I was okay, praying that they wouldn't ask me anymore questions – it would only make my own decision much harder to follow through.
We went through the back of the PR Center – several Deckers were already stationed around the lobby area. I was ordered to position myself behind the lobby desk, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Boss and Pierce. Gunshots were heard through the double doors – in an instance, the Boss and Pierce burst through the doors and began firing, taking down the Deckers that were stationed in the area.
In the meantime, Kinzie and Matt were having a banter of sorts – which would be typical of them to insult one another. During the times I hanged out with Matt, he clearly had a dislike for Kinzie – mentioning how inferior she was to him.
"A bit overconfident?" Kinzie's voice spoke through the speakers as I emerged from the lobby desk. She had quite a smug tone – the timing was definitely perfect. Before Matt could say much of anything, a single gunshot was heard; and it was as if the world had stopped spinning. My handgun was directed towards a Decker as his body hit the ground with a loud thud.
"W-what?! Why would you shoot one of my own men!" Matt's voice became a bit higher in pitch – almost in a shrill manner; he couldn't believe at what he was seeing through the camera feed. I joined the Boss and Pierce in eliminating the rest of the Deckers and the STAG team.
"Sorry, Matt. The game's over." I stated. I felt nothing in that moment – what was done was done. I may have just lost my own brief friendship with the Decker leader, but this was a consequence I paid. Matt's tone in voice shifted drastically, now realizing that the betrayal would be something he may not actually recover from.
"Destroy the traitor!"
I knew that was coming.
In fact, I would not be surprised if he was going to target me as well.
After the Boss and Pierce stole the computer and the NEMO chair, the Boss defeated Matt Miller in the Decker usernet. I will admit, seeing the last battle between Matt Miller's avatar and the Boss was almost a humbling sight – to see a cyber god fall on his knees and be defeated by a so called inferior being. Hopefully, that would make Matt a bit more humble because he definitely fucked with the wrong person. What was surprising to see, though, was the fact that the Boss actually gave Matt mercy, allowing him to live…
Once the Boss exited from the usernet, I couldn't help but ask Kinzie for one request.
"Kinzie, think you can give me the coordinates to Matt's location."
"Okay, I'm uploading the coordinates to your phone." Kinzie confirmed. However, the former FBI agent couldn't help but give her two cents on my intentions. "But… why do you want his location? We've already eliminated the Deckers."
"I have personal matters to deal with, Kinzie." I was about to head out of the hideout before Pierce stopped me.
"You sure you don't want the Boss and I to come along for backup?" Well, damn. He was more practical than anyone gave him credit for.
"Nah. It'll be fine, I swear." I got into my Halberd and sped off to where Matt Miller should be at. I doubt that he won't try to actually kill me – I mean I betrayed the guy, for crying out loud. Still. He should at least know of my true intentions before actually trying to pull something in retaliation. You just can't be sure with hackers, after all.
Taking another look at the GPS, I realized that he was actually residing at the Burns Hill Reactors. Pft. I didn't need the help. I knew the path like it was the back of my hand. I finally reached the power plant, seeing that there was a handful of Deckers guarding the place. Climbing out of the Halbred, I raised my handgun cautiously – maybe I was set under a kill on sight list or something. I may be new in the gang world, but I wasn't exactly stupid.
As expected, the Deckers began firing at me. Inwardly, I cursed at this because it may have alerted Matt to escape for his life. Spending several minutes in a gun fight, I took them all out and made my through the familiar path. I recall there being a secret room inside the place where I had, more or less, an idea of where the second NEMO chair might be located in. Climbing down the steps, I ended up in a secret hatch or room of sorts where there was a locked door.
Well. Whoever said I had time to figure out the combination to get in? Planting about two explosives, one on each side of the door, I scrambled out of the way and into a separate hall. A loud boom echoed as pieces of that wall shattered.
"What the hell!" Matt's shrill scream came from inside the opening that I made.
"Calm down, Matt. Sheesh." I climbed over the rubble and went over to where he was. Matt turned to me and immediately at the site, his expression contorted from fear to anger – he clearly hadn't let the betrayal die down.
"You. How dare you show your face in here after what you did to my gang!"
"Let me explain-"
"Explain nothing. You think I'm a fool, don't you? You may have fooled this cyber god once, Saint, but you won't fool me again." He huffed, walking past me. It still surprised me that he would still call himself that despite losing everything at this point. Regardless, Matt didn't want anything to do with me, that's for sure. I wouldn't blame him for it, though. I couldn't stop him in the end; there was no point in me trying to salvage a dead friendship. All I know is he escaped from that building going to God knows where – maybe back to his hometown or something.
Months passed after – and after all was said and done, I couldn't help but use the time I had for myself to self reflect on what I had lost.
"Hey, you okay or something?" Pierce asked during a premiere party that the Saints were having for their movie, Gangstas in Space. I hadn't noticed, but I was quite gloomy during the party. I guess I was thinking too hard about what happened months before.
"I… yeah. I'm fine, Pierce. Just thinking a lot, that's all."
"Okay then. Just don't get too gloomy or else I'm gonna force you to do karaoke with the Boss and I." I cringed at the mental image of Pierce and the Boss singing What I Got. Hell, I think even the image of Pierce singing Ne-Yo's So Sick managed to crawl in there somewhere…
"Uh. No thanks."
"Suit yourself." Pierce shrugged before going off to mingle with the partygoers, "Hey, Boss! Think you can put some Biz Markie?"
Oh dear god, they were still going to sing…
I shook my head at the thought.
But only one thing came across my mind that night.
I'm sorry, Matt.
I regret being an undercover…
But it was just much too late for me to take it all back.
Ending Notes: Initially, this was supposed to be a drabble but then this just expanded on it's own. I'm personally not satisfied with this but if people like it then whatever.
[1]: Is a reference to Lin's plan to try to infiltrate the Westside Rollerz in Saints Row.
