Prologue: "Then I guess that makes us even"

I walked into the familiar church, not knowing what I was about to get myself into. It was deserted, the pews were empty and the altar stood without a priest, as it usually did. The pistol in the back of my pants seemed to weigh me down even more than usual here. I didn't appreciate what Ultor did to the old hangout, but it was better than swimming in cockroaches. I brushed an invisible insect off of my purple plaid shirt at the thought.

I walked down the aisle, admiring the new furnishings and carpet. Ultor has some serious interior decorators, I'll give them that. I thought as I brushed past another pew and stopped. I heard the creak of the large wooden doors as they swung open.

Dex. I thought "What the fuck took you so long?" I questioned my visitor. I was expecting someone else. A tall black man walked into the church, he had a beard of wispy white hair and was considerably skinner than the last time I saw him. He wore dark grey pants that matched the suit and hat.

"You ain't Dex" he said confused

"Neither are you," I said, equally puzzled.

He grew the smallest glimmer of a smirk. "You look different did you..."

I pulled the gun from my waistband faster than he could finish the sentence. "I didn't do shit to my hair!" I pulled the hammer back and pressed the weapon close to his forehead.

"You pulling a gun on me!" he accused.

I scoffed at this "Well I didn't have time to plant a bomb in the church so this'll have to do." I shrugged as I remembered the last time I was on a yacht and the subsequent coma.

"You don't know what you're talking about" he stammered as his eyes trailed the barrel of the gun.

"Why don't you educate me."

He scrunched up his nose "I don't gotta explain shit to you!"

"This is where we're gonna have to agree to disagree." I said, never taking my eyes off the sights of the gun.

"Why don't you just put the gun down?" he said, as if talk would get him out of this predicament "We both know you're not going to use it."

"Not yet" I said right before I smacked him with the barrel of the gun. I hit him in the nose and blood was drawn immediately. Ruby red gushed from his face as he fell to the floor. I climbed on top of him and whacked him again, and again, a fourth time. I brought my hands up and pulled the slide on the gun back. I thrusted the barrel into his face again.

"STOP" he pleaded as his words reverberated throughout the church.

"I never thought I'd see you beg Julius" I spat as I pushed the gun forward.

"I'm not begging" he stammered "I'm trying to talk some sense into you" Julius explained to no avail.

"I'm done listening to your bullshit"

"Put it together." He commanded "Dex wanted us in the same place."

"Yeah, and why'd he want that?" I asked. Then a shatter, a small canister flew through the window and bounced off the floor before spilling out thick smoke.

"Can we kill each other later?" Julius asked as I pulled him off the floor.

We fought our way through heavily armed guards, driving, shooting, and trying to escape. Finally we did. We cut through downtown Stillwater and up into the college campus. We took shelter in one of the pseudo-Roman pieces of architecture.

"Just like old times." Julius said as we walked away.

"Yeah," I said as I turned around. I fired a bullet into Julius's belly, making sure not to hit anything vital, I wanted him alive.

"Jesus," he said "I thought we were past this shit." He said after he fell to the ground and held a hand to his wound.

"Not by a fucking long shot." I said as I walked over to him.

"Don't you get it" he chastised me. "The Saints didn't solve a goddamn thing. Drugs were still being pushed. Innocent people were still getting killed. All we did was turn into Vice Kings that wore purple"

"Jesus Christ" I chuckled "You sound like a pussy."

"I sound like someone who's not a sociopath." He retorted.

"You wanna be the killer with a conscience" I declared. "FINE… Drop your flags and write a book like King." I puffed out my chest in an attempt to look bigger. "But you never should have came after ME."

"Are you telling me… That if I asked you to walk away you would have said yes" he sat up against the column.

"Fuck no" I stated "This is my city."

"Jesus" Julius shook his head "You haven't learned a goddamn thing."

"Wrong" I pointed the gun at my former friend again "I learned that being in charge is better than being a bitch who keeps his mouth shut and does what he's told" I laughed "Your times over old man"

"What's happened to you?" he asked as I saw a small tear escape his eye.

"I woke up" I stated as I turned to face him again.

"You owe me Playa." He said trying to bargain with his life "If it weren't for me you would have died on that street corner." He accused

"IF it weren't for you I wouldn't have been in a goddamn coma." I pointed the gun at his head again.

"Then I guess that makes us even." He said before I pulled the trigger. The bullet shot through my gun and into Julius's bald head, splattering blood and brain matter all over his seat and making me feel very fulfilled.

"Not really" I said as I walked away.