Author's Note: This story is a second part to Things I Don't Tell My Friends, the first fanfic I ever wrote and first story on the GTA archive. I last updated the story in March, but after three months without updating for it, I felt it was at a perfect place to do a second part. Some of the readers didn't like the slash elements in the story's first half, and when I tried to edit those scenes from the story's remaining plot, it did not go well. The story basically diverged from the plot I conceived and it was impossible to continue.

So, for this story, there will be no elements of slash. It will pick up where Thingsended, so the characters have basically the same motives as of the end of that story. But there will be original missions and I'll provide details to cover the slash from that story.

For the geography of Las Venturas (in case you've seen a map), all the horizontal streets will be named after U.S. presidents and officials. And all the vertical streets will be named after precious metals and minerals.

Also, I decided to set the ages of the main characters, as a reference point for future events. CJ is 25 (born September 1, 1967); Kendl is 21 (born November 26, 1970); Sweet is 29 (born May 1, 1963); Cesar is 28 (born May 28, 1964); and Ryder is 25 (born July 31, 1967).

Anyway, review and follow. Keeps me motivated.

Las Venturas, November 1992

Cesar Vialpando

From the window of his suite at the Emerald Isle Casino, Cesar Vialpando had a view overlooking the entire city of Las Venturas. Night had just fallen, embracing the city in a darkness like ink, but with myriad neon signs and phosphorus lights, the Las Venturas Strip glowed as brightly as a second sun. 'Esta ciudad es tan Hermosa en la noche. The perfect place to find mi amor and remind her how deeply she loves me.'

Cesar had checked into Emerald Isle only a few hours earlier after driving straight from San Fierro, had gone to sleep in his boxers and white tank, and woke up to find night had fallen. His ex-girlfriend, Kendl Johnson, had moved to Las Venturas and left her roommates (who were dead, but not by Cesar's hands) with a postcard inviting them to come visit her if they ever had the time. That was what led him to Las Venturas.

That, and his suspicions that whoever murdered Kendl's roommates, wanted to murder Kendl too.

Cesar turned from the window and started to dress: Gray Victim suit, gray Zip boots, and a gold Virgin of Guadalupe chain, with a gold watch. After he fastened the clasp on the watch, Cesar went to the mirror and examined his look. 'Que guapo! Just what I need to cruise the strip tonight y encontrar a mi amor.'

In the barrio of Los Santos, Kendl—and her notorious gangbanger brothers Sweet and Carl—were seen as intruders. They were African-American as far back as they could trace their heritage. Cesar, his brothers, and his barrio were all proud Chicano warriors, relegated to a smaller corner of the city that should rightfully have been theirs before the invasion of Columbus and European colonists hundreds of years earlier. In fact, Cesar was a prominent leader in his gang, Varrio Los Aztecas. They didn't tolerate any of the Black gangs—the Ballas and Grove Street Families—or the Russians, or even the Los Santos Vagos invading their neighborhood. Los Aztecas fought fiercely to keep their gang and their territory free of the influences of those gangs, dealing in crack, heroin, and any other potent drug.

Prostitutes were on the streets of Las Venturas as thick as flies on horse manure. Cesar saw them strolling the block in front of the hotel as he walked through the lobby to the parking garage, but he ignored them. But when he had climbed into his cherry red 1975 Fauchee Savanna, it was impossible to ignore the prostitutes, since one strolled right in front of Cesar's car.

"Puta desvergonzada, you need to move out the way!" Cesar called out to the hooker. 'Nunca quise uno antes, y yo no quiero uno ahora.' Kendl's brothers were no strangers to hookers, but Cesar knew about heterosexual gangbangers catching AIDS from women who sold themselves or from heroin needles. And Cesar had no time for that either.

The hooker glared at Cesar. She had the jet black hair, caramel brown skin, and the facial features of a Mexican woman. Judging from the heavy set of her hips, she probably had had one or more children old enough to go to elementary school. Cesar slammed his hand on his car horn, and the streetwalker sprinted down the street. He sped out of the garage and down the Strip to the nearest bar.

'I usted debe poner de su miseria,' Cesar thought. Still there was an ache in his heart, and it wasn't just for the prostituted woman or for her children. 'Si Kendl esta hacienda esto, voy a matarla.'

His first stop was the Happy Clam Bar on the strip, next to the Sticky Pages Adult XXX Store. The bar had low lighting, a seedy atmosphere, and it was packed with sweaty, smelly, drunk men. Even the bartender seemed disgruntled. 'Kendl hates places like this, but I know mi mujer. She wouldn't want anyone to find her easily.'

Cesar approached the grumpy-looking woman with long red hair. "Perdon, do you know if a woman named Kendl Johnson works here?"

"No."

Cesar pulled out his wallet. There was a 3x5 photo of Kendl inside the first fold. The Azteca warrior held it close enough to the bartender's face that it would be clearly visible, even in the bar's dim light. Cesar also placed a $100 bill on the counter. "Do you recognize her?"

The woman leaned closer and Cesar could see into the canyon of her cleavage. "Yeah, she works as a waitress at the Porker Steakhouse on Nixon Street.

'That's not far from the Emerald Isle. Mi amor, usted no era mayor nivel de vida.'Cesar left the bar, climbed in his Savanna, and sped through oncoming traffic up the Strip to reach Nixon Street faster. 'After only two weeks in Venturas, my baby's got a job at a classy joint like this one? Mi mujer es tan inteligente!' Cesar made sure to straighten his suit before he crossed the parking lot into the red-and-white themed building. He didn't see her from the picture windows on the side of the restaurant, but Cesar pulled on the elaborate gold handles, which were carved to look like golden calves.

A female maître d' with copper colored hair smiled at Cesar as he entered. "Welcome to Porker Steakhouse. You're sure to leave quite satisfied. How many in your party, sir?"

"No, no, no voy a comer, I didn't come here to eat. I'm looking for someone."

"Sir, I'm not allowed to provide information for our guests."

"It's not a guest. It's probably an employee." Cesar took out his wallet and showed Kendl's picture. "Do you recognize her?"

"Sir, I said…."

A waitress approached the maître d' with a menu in hand, "Liz, a customer said…" She glanced at Cesar's wallet. Then she did a double take and glanced at Cesar. "Sir, how do you know her?"

"Patty, you're not allowed to discuss anyone in front of a customer!"

"Please," Cesar begged. He took out a $100 bill and placed it on the maître d's podium. "I'm trying to find her. She's as important to me as life."

"Sir, I'm afraid it goes against our policy to disseminate any information about any employee or customer. We can't share that sort of information."

He glanced at the waitress called Patty. Her eyes darted from Cesar to his money back to Cesar. The meaning was clear. Cesar slapped another $100 bill on the maître d's podium and placed a business card (which Kendl had made for him and CJ) on top of the bill. "If you know anything, please give me a call on that number."

Cesar tapped the card and walked to his Savanna. 'Voy a buscar a todo el mundo, si tengo que. Pero, por que ella no me quiere?' He climbed in the car, backed out the parking space, and turned off Nixon Street to Emerald Way, en route to the hotel. Just as the parking garage came in sight, his cell phone rang. "Hola!"

"Hi, Mister Veelapando.

"Vialpando," Cesar corrected quickly.

"Right. This is Patty, one of the waitresses from Porker? I saw you were looking for Kendl. We were really good friends she worked at Porker. Still are, kind of." The girl on the other end giggled, and in eager anticipation, Cesar stopped the car outside his parking garage and listened to her on the other end. His heart raced with anxiety. "Anyway, she quit a few days ago because the manager wouldn't let her keep tips. She has a job at the Pink Muffin bar over by the Camel's Toe."

"Lo que en el infierno, where is that?"

"Straight down the Strip, make a left on Hoover Drive, and a right on Topaz Street. You can't miss it. Tell her Patty sent you. Bye!"

Cesar backed out the garage entrance and sped down Emerald Avenue until it merged with Diamond Boulevard, forming the Las Venturas Strip. He accelerated in and out of traffic like he was in a race. 'Kendl, a strip club? No trabjaría allí, no way. She knows how to make money using her brain.'

He was at the Pink Muffin before he realized it. The club was unmistakable: a two-story gleaming whitewashed building with a neon pink contribution to the Las Venturas skyline, which illustrated nude neon woman leaning back on her arms and raising her left leg to flash a pink muffin resting between her thighs. 'That looks like the Pink Muffin alright!'

There was self-parking and valet parking offered to the side and back of the club. Cesar drove to the very back of the club, down a steep slope, and parked at the back of the club. Exiting the car, Cesar made sure to grease the bouncer's beefy brown hands and to flash his I.D. before entering the club.

The Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets" set the mood as a topless White woman in a black leather pants gyrated her hips and seductively air-rode an imaginary horse. No fewer than six security guards walked around the club wearing gray suits, intimidating scowls, and micro-SMG guns visibly strapped to their waists Two other attractive women—one White and one Black—worked poles in other corners of the club, while less attractive Black, Mexican, and White women strolled the club in tight white tee shirts, pink leather skirts, and pink leather knee-high boots to offer drinks and snacks to the male patrons.. 'Kendl might not be one of these putas, pero I'm going to make sure.'

Cesar sauntered up to the bartender, a White woman dressed like the girls offering drinks and snacks. "Hey, welcome to the Pink Muffin."

"Aye, I'm looking for someone." She glanced at the nearest security guard as Cesar pulled out his wallet and showed Kendl's picture to her. "Do you recognize her?"

"Kandy Kane? Yeah, she's our next act! Only been here two days, and already she's a favorite of our audience!"

She pointed at the stage. "Between the Sheets" ended, and the White stripper walked through the pink curtains at the back of the stage. "Gentlemen, the Pink Muffin is proud to present one of its tastiest treats: Kandy Kane!"

Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up" began to play. The curtains parted, and Cesar's jaw dropped. It was Kendl as he had never seen her. She wore a candy striper nurse's uniform, white silk stockings, and white high heels. Her hair was in brown microbraids, which Kendl let down from a tight bun and swung free. She wound her body sinuously and ripped open the nurse's uniform. Her plump brown breasts sat proudly in a white lace bra with white lace panties to match. The audience cheered lustily. 'Como iba a hacer esto?'

Before Kendl could grind on the pole at the end of the stage, Cesar stormed across the club and hopped on the stage. He swept Kendl into his arms, but she was far from excited. "What the…Cesar?!"

"Yeah, it's me, baby."

The music had stopped. Customers were booing. "Get down from there, spic asshole!" one customer yelled.

"Hey, if he gets to touch her, I want a free lapdance!"

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Cesar, what are you doing here?"

Two security guards approached the stage. "Sir, put the girl down."

"What are you doing, Cesar? How did you get here?" Kendl repeated.

"Sir, put the girl down now," a security guard warned, aiming his gun at Cesar, "and step off the stage!"

'I estoy tomando mi mujer, hijoputa!'Cesar yelled and shifted Kendl onto his right shoulder, like he was a fireman. As he reached for his silenced .9 mm, Cesar stepped backwards to distract the aim of the security guards. Cesar reached his gun before the first one could fire and squeezed off two bullets into the cranial cavities of the nearest two guards. The first dropped cleanly. In the throes of death, the second one fell backwards, squeezing off a round of bullets.

A cacophonous explosion ripped through the club. Kendl started screaming and kicking frantically. Customers bellowed and upset tables and chairs, running in panic. Other strippers and the waitresses started screaming and running. "Don't shoot the girl! Don't shoot the girl!" yelled a porcine White man in a pinstriped suit from one side of the club.

Cesar processed it all, even as he turned to a third security guard and shot the man three times in his left side. The falling guard squeezed off a round of bullets, tearing up the plywood stage. "Hijoputas!"

Cesar jumped off the stage, still carrying a terrified Kendl and two shots ricocheted off the gold stripper pole behind them. Cesar overturned a table, laid Kendl on the ground, and took cover. She curled into crouch in the small space they had.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Cesar?"

Cesar spotted the gunman immediately. It was the bartender. Three other gunmen were shooting at him using walls as cover from the other side of the club, and the fat White man had joined in the firefight with a Desert Eagle, which he boldly aimed from an unprotected spot. Cesar dropped the bartender with a bullet to the head. "Sólo debe mezclar bebidas!"

He reloaded the gun. "Lo que me pasa? Te pasa, Kendl?!" The security guards took advantage of the lull in Cesar's shots to approach closer. The Azteca warrior popped up and emptied the chamber: two shots into the nearest guard's chest; a round in between the second one's eyes; and to the third and last, a bullet to his shoulder and to his throat. "I came to Venturas looking for you, and I found you working in a motherfucking strip club!"

Cesar slipped his gun back into his waistband and pulled Kendl to her feet. The Pink Muffin reeked of blood, urine, and gunpowder. The last gunman, the fat man in the pinstriped suit, lay on the ground with an emptied gun and clutching his chest. "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" he wheezed.

"Bien, now I don't have to waste the bullets on you," he said to the fat man. "Vamanos, Kendl, let's get out of here before the pigs show up." He ran with her, hand-in-hand to the front door of the club and to the parking lot. "You got some nerve talking to me like that, Kendl. No soy estúpido." He opened the car door for Kendl, shut it, and hopped over the door.

"Don't pull that angry Spanish bullshit on me, Cesar. I know what you said. And yeah, I'm working at a strip club. It's paying for my education."

Kendl indignantly folded her arms over her chest. It distracted Cesar to see her half-naked body so tangibly close, and he missed his turn on Nixon to the Strip. He drove past Treasury Lane to turn left on Reagan Avenue. "What kind of educación you getting, and you still have to take off la ropa for those horny businessmen, eh mami? I thought you were better than that!"

"Not just horny businessmen, Cesar. Las Venturas is still a mob town, and there are mob guys who come in and pay money just to see me take off my clothes. I ain't too good for that, when I'm trying to get somewhere better in life."

"De que estas hablando, mi amor? You're too beautiful for this ghetto mentality."

"No, I'm too smart for it." Cesar stopped at a right light on the strip. "Where you going?"

"I got a suite at the Emerald Isle we could share."

"I'm staying at the Clown's Pocket."

"You can stay with me."

"Not after all that bullshit you got into with Pitbull."

"Don't talk about him." At just the mention of his name, Cesar saw the beefy gangbanger's frightened face and heard the train squealing as it ran over his body back in San Fierro. Cesar didn't like what he had done, but it was necessary.

"Oh shit, don't tell me he was frontin', just like I warned you and CJ? I told both of you that motherfucker wasn't right the minute he rolled in from Los Santos. Talkin' about how he was down for the hood. That nigga wasn't about shit."

"Bien, tu tenías razón. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

The light turned green. Kendl sighed heavily. "You put him before me, Cesar. You were all about gangbanging and making your way back to Los Santos."

"So was CJ."

"I'm not dating my brother. I'm supposed to be your woman."

Cesar steered the car into the long, hedge-lined driveway of the Clown's Pocket. "Lo siento, mi amor. I'm sorry. Perdóname."

He parked in front of the elaborate gold doors inlaid with perfectly cut glass. Cesar glanced into the lobby; for a Saturday night in Las Venturas, the casino looked almost empty. There was no denying how beautiful the building was. Kendl sighed and captured his attention.

"Cesar, te amo a tí, para siempre, por la vida. I would stand by you through anything, you know that, baby. But you treated me like shit back in San Fierro. You had me living with those girls, Michelle and Katie, while you and CJ and Pitbull did all that shit to get back to Los Santos. You stopped treating me like your woman, and started treating me like a piece of shit. I don't know if I can or should trust you right now."

Kendl opened her car door, fastened up her dress, and walked into the casino. Cesar stared after her, but didn't pull off until the casino doors closed behind her.

Author's Note: Because I don't speak Spanish (but I do speak, read, and write in French—it was a mistake, I know now, but I was trying to impress a girl), I used Google Translate for all Spanish phrases spoken or thought by Cesar. Here's a quick rundown of each one:

Esta ciudad…en la noche: This city is so beautiful at night.

Mi amor: my love

Que guapo: how handsome

Y encontrar mi amor: and find my love

Puta desvergonzada: shameless bitch

Nunca quise…uno ahora: Never had one before, and I don't want one now

I usted debe poner de su miseria: I should put you out of your misery

Si Kendl…a matarla: If Kendl is doing this, I will kill her

Mi amor…de vida: My love, you were not far away at all

Lo que en el infierno: What in the hell?

Como iba a hacer esto: How could she do this

I estoy tomando mi mujer, hijoputa: I am taking my woman, mf

Sólo debe mezclar bebidas: You should just mix drinks!

Lo que me pasa? Te pasa, Kendl: What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, Kendl?

No soy estúpido: I'm not stupid.

Bien, tu tenías razón: Ok, you were right

Lo siento, mi amor…Perdóname: I'm sorry, my love…Forgive me.

Cesar,…por la vida: Cesar, I will love you always, for life.