"Yo, this gangsta loses his cheeba out his jeans, an' he thinks somebody snatched it, so he tries to cap my holmes wit a 9 and miss all 10 rounds,' Lamar drawled, unaware of Franklins uninterest. The bruised pink clouds were fading on the horizon as they stalked down the street, and the skyscrapers in the distance were flickering with a million bright lights that illuminated the Los Santos was a hot night, hotter than usual and Franklin had gone for clothes that didn't hug his figure closely to avoid sweating and overheating. He had donned some white, shorts that cut off just below his knees and a monotone
"Yanno Frank, I'm starting to think you is gon be a real big S-N-itch when you gets to the top, homie' he continued, limbering up to Franklins pace.
"You knows I ain't gonna be no snitch when I'm bringing in the paper dawg, everyone makes their own cash and nothing else matters man" Franklin retorted, focused down on his scuffed sneakers dragging along the pavement.
"You say it now dawg but when you at the top it cloud yo mind' Lamar snapped "if you think yo gonna get in wit the biggies yo gotta start messin with the rivals, you ain't going no where while they still reppin,".
" That ain't good though, the Ballas are danger man and you wouldn't know that if it sat on yo face, nigga" he countered "and anyways if we get this job then we gonna get out of this mess with the Vagos".
"You ain't doing nothing until Carlos is down, you know that ho-" he faltered as he noticed a rusty old Vigero prowling down the street. It stopped by the side of the pavement and two Hispanic men ducked out of the car and it stayed there, its engine purring. One was wearing a loose fitting yellow tank top that hung down to his knees and a baseball cap fitted backwards, and the other was wearing another yellow Los Santos shirt and baggy jeans that were halfway down his legs. They were both wearing bandanas around their necks and both carried short, snub-nosed pistols. Franklin silently grabbed Lamar and pulled them both behind a parked car. He risked a look and the two men were skulking down the street towards them. "Vagos" Franklin breathed.
"Dammit it nigga, this is not good" Lamar whispered back as he fumbled in his jeans pocket. He pulled out a small, thin bladed knife and gripped it tightly.
"Lamar put that shit away they ain't gonna do nothing" Franklin hissed, "you gonna get yourself killed dawg, a knife against a gun? No way man."
"There ain't nothing else I can do man they coming for us and this all I got" he sputtered, but Franklin silenced him with a wave of his hand and gestured to the two Vagos. They had faltered in their path and turned towards a shabby old liquor store across the street. A wave of relief washed over them both. The two men trooped towards the store and stopped a few meters away from the shabby entrance. They pulled up their bandanas across their face so only their eyes were showing, nodded to one another and swung open the door to the shop.
"Shit nigga are they doing what they think they are doing?" he whispered to Lamar.
"They be cheebing that store man" Lamar murmured, "we gonna do something or what nigga? This is our hood after all"
Franklin was too distracted watching the store to acknowledge anything Lamar had said. He traced the words out on the dilapidated sign above the door. 'Robs Liquor' it spelt. Then something must have clicked in his brain because he suddenly remembered his Aunty worked there in the night shifts. He slipped into panic jumped to his feet only to be wrenched back down by Lamar. He took a quick glance at the stationary car parked only a several meters away.
"What the hell is wrong with you dawg?" he hissed "Keep the hell down, I don't want your brains splattered all over me nigga."
"No man this really ain't good, my aunty works as the cashier in that store, she gon get shot you know how these Vagos work, shoot first think later nigga" Franklin stuttered "I don't want my aunty to get slipped by one of these rats, she's all the family I got left. I gotta do something man."
"What the hell we gonna do though nigga, we can't do nothing all we got is a knife." He retorted, "I know she means lots to you man but it ain't worth both of our lives."
"No I can't just let this happen" Franklin stammered, and before Lamar could do anything about it he leapt to his feet and dashed across the road. Lamar gave a quick sigh and chased after him, knife still in hand.
They both burst into the store at the same time to see Franklins Aunty held up by a gun while the second gang member emptied the cash register, shoving wads of money into a large, leather bag. They both looked up at the same time to see both Lamar and Franklin stood in the doorway. The rage at seeing his aunty treated this way made his blood boil. Sure, he didn't like her or appreciate her most of the time but she was still his aunty. Before any of the Vagos could react Franklin snatched a bottle of beer from a shelf next to him, closed the distance between him and the first man and smashed the bottle into his temple, sending him crashing into a rack of wine. The other Vagos behind the desk realised what was happening and fired several shots at Franklin but he reacted quickly and ducked into an aisle. Lamar quickly slid along the ground to hide behind an empty bottle crate as a bullet sliced the air above his head.
Lamar jumped to his feet and sprinted at the Vagos while he was reloading but was slammed from the side by the other Vagos member, their momentum taking them both into through the shop window, shards of glass splintering everywhere. Franklin grabbed another few bottles off the shelf in front of him, dashed out from his shelter and proceeded to hurl them at the gangster. They all smashed on the wall behind him but it was an effective time waster. Franklin flew over the counter and kicked the Vagos in the mouth sending him sprawling across the floor. He took the opportunity and leapt on top of him, knocking his gun out of his hands and then smacking him in the jaw with his fist. The Vagos spat in his eyes and then headbutted him in the nose, causing a nauseating crunch and then elbowed him in the head, opening up a brutal gash. Hot, salty blood flowed down his face, into his eyes and mouth. Franklin stumbled blindly over the counter and shook his head, trying regaining his senses. The Vagos advanced to him and swung his fist in a fast, wide arc towards Franklins head. He managed to duck as his arm swooshed over his head, then he retaliated by thrusting his own fist upwards into the gangster's chin, sending him reeling backwards into a rack of cigarettes, scattering them across the floor. Franklin gripped the cash register and pulled it from its wires. As the gangster got up, he swung the object at the Vagos' face and it connected violently, rocketing his head into the counter, putting him out cold.
Franklin stared at the disarray before him and then gave a quick nod to his aunty, which was returned with a shaky thanks. He then turned and ran out of the door, the stuffy night air hitting him after the AC of the store. He spotted Lamar grappling with the other Vagos in the street and leapt over. The Vagos got a brutal connection into Lamar's temple and he knocked him out for a second, but he recovered quickly. Franklin ran past the gangster, catching him by the neck as he hurtled past at full pace, hurling him off Lamar. Lamar jumped to his feet to run to the gangster and as soon as the Vagos got up he smacked a fist into his mouth, sending blood spraying over the concrete. The Vagos fell onto his back and reached across the ground for his pistol and blindly fired shots at both Lamar and Franklin. Most of them missed again but one lucky shot connected with Franklin, sending him spinning to the ground with a scream of pain and a red mist only just visible in the fizzling street light. Lamar was torn for a moment whether to see if Franklin was okay or to go for the Vagos. He made a snap decision and sprinted for the gangster, reaching for his knife just as he got there and sunk it hilt-deep into the Vagos' shoulder. The gangster shrieked in pain before being abruptly cut off by a kick to the temple.
He ran over to Franklin and prayed he was okay. In the dark night he could just see a shiny, sticky liquid spreading slowly on Franklins sleeve. He found the source of the bleeding a moment later and was relieved to find the bullet had just grazed his arm. Lamar's ears pricked as the wail of sirens could be made out in the distance, coming closer. He hoisted Franklin up and they both stumbled back across the street and into a dark alley, confused and bewildered. He knew he needed to act fast and so his muddled brain used the last of its bodies power and hauled both of them into a green garbage bin. The smell was suffocating but the blackness was seeping into his vision and then everything just blacked out.