Author's note: Happy late Christmas present! sorry for the delay but work has been crazy, as always Saints Row belongs to Volition and whoever owns them now
Little Miss Tattle Tale
The dress was green and way too tight for her, But Shaundi still managed to look stunning on it. She had asked the producer for a purple one but he had replied that it was "too tacky" Shaundi had told him that she didn't care she wanted it in purple.
"Shaundi dear" began the producer.
"Don't you think it would be a good thing to distance yourself from the saints, at least just a little bit? This is your show after all"
"I wear purple because I like to wear my family's colors and the saints are my family, so no I want it in purple"
They had argued for over half an hour until she finally relented. Now here she was fifteen minutes late to the saint's meeting looking at two overgrown men so tanned they looked like a pair of oranges on steroids.
"I'm sorry Darryl but you broke your condom today, you can't sleep with me" said Shaundi and the tanned man groaned.
"What! Why?"
"Man this is such bullshit!" Darryl kept ranting but Shaundi tuned him out she had to finish this.
"Puerto Rican Thunder God" said Shaundi as she handed him a condom.
"You still have a shot to sleeping with Shaundi" said Shaundi as she readied herself to leave.
"Oh hell yeah, I want to sleep with Shaundi!" said the other tanned man as he danced. Shaundi started leaving the set when she was stopped by the producer.
"Wait Shaundi we haven't finished the last shot, we still got to"
"I don't care. Edit it out chuck!" said Shaundi.
"But…"
"Look I'm late for the meeting and you are good at what you do, right? So just fucking edit the ending. I'm getting the fuck out of here" said Shaundi as she headed out to her changing room. As she entered she quickly began to change her attire, she placed her long brown hair into a ponytail, she put on a freckle bitches black t-shirt and she wore her hot purple leather pants. Knowing she had no time to take off her makeup she quickly entered her car and fired up the engine.
The soft purr of her car made her smile. Shaundi loved very little things in life but her car was one of them. She pressed the gas and she started driving through Steelport at a very high speed. The boss had called for a meeting today, and she was now 25 minutes late. She knew the boss was not going to be happy about it but she did not care.
Bastard goes around sleeping with random women and he thinks he can chastise me about being late? Fuck that! Thought Shaundi as she drove like a maniac through Steelport.
10 minutes later she arrived in the Saints HQ. Descending down the ramp like a mad woman, Shaundi parked her car next to a young Saint foot soldier.
"Park the car" said Shaundi as she looked at the kid in front of her.
"I don't park cars" the kid complained.
"You will if you don't want to eat things through a straw" said Shaundi as she stepped off her car keys in hand.
"You get one scratch on my car and I will gut you like a fish" and with that parting statement she was off to the elevator. As Shaundi waited on the elevator for it to reach the penthouse, she tried to fix her appearance and gasped as she realized she had forgotten to take off her makeup from the show.
The doors to the penthouse opened laving Shaundi no time to adjust her look. The first things she saw was Pierce who was pacing back and forth like a maniac. It was a miracle Shaundi thought that he had not carved a hole in the floor with all his walking. His eyes met hers and he yelped.
"Girl where the hell have you been?" asked Pierce.
"I was still shooting my show, why are you acting so weird?" asked Shaundi.
"Why am I acting weird? Girl! Get your ass over here and see for yourself, I'm acting calm. The minute you see what I've seen… shit I better get some popcorn" said pierce as he left quickly.
"What- Goddamn it Pierce! Where are you going?" yelled Shaundi.
"To get me some popcorn! I want to have some the moment you get all catty and shit" said Pierce as he activated the microwave.
"Give me four minutes Shaundi" yelled Pierce.
Shaundi was confused for a moment but then her mind started to wonder to last night. Her mind started playing tricks on her; the smug smile on Carmen's face, the bra she found last night and the mental image of the boss sleeping with another woman made Shaundi feel something bitter growing in her chest, Shaundi took a step back and kicked the door to the meeting room with all her might.
"The popcorn ain't ready!" yelled Pierce as the wood gave away and the door opened; startling everyone inside. The first one she saw was Oleg who stood up quickly expecting some kind of attack, next was Zimos who had fallen from his chair and now was hiding under it, Kinzie seemed uninterested on whatever was going as he eyes remained glued to the screen of her laptop.
The newer Saints sat in the edges of the boardroom table there were two more chairs; the ones that belonged to Shaundi and Pierce and at the head of table stood the boss; wearing a purple 3rd Street Saints T-shirt and dark blue trousers, his dark hair was well groomed and he had shaved. That took her by surprise. His five o'clock shadow was one of his trademarks and now it was gone. It wasn't that Shaundi did not like him when he shaved it was just that he didn't look rugged or menacing. She just preferred him that way.
The boss looked at her dumbfounded. She was feeling nervous with his stare until he muttered the words that took her back.
"You look amazing Shaundi" at that Shaundi found herself at a loss of words. She felt her cheeks getting warm and her mouth forming a stupid grin but before she could try to stop herself she looked at the chair that belonged to the second in command of the Saints and found it not empty.
Shaundi's blood began to boil as Viola DeWynter smirked at her while making herself comfortable in the chair.
"That's Johnny's chair" said Shaundi in a whisper, her rage growing by the second. Behind her Pierce ran into the room with a half cooked bag of popcorn. He almost tripped on Shaundi but his quick reflexes saved him and he rushed to his seat where he looked at Shaundi with excitement.
"Shaundi- … listen I can" said the boss trying to explain but he was interrupted.
"That's Johnny's chair!" yelled Shaundi as she stormed to where Viola was sitting intent on beating the living crap out of her. She was stopped by the boss who stood in front of her.
"You and me outside; now!" Shaundi glared at him for a few seconds but she slowly complied.
As they left Pierce was cursing mentally, he had brought the popcorn for nothing. Suddenly a thought hit his mind and he grinned.
"100 bucks they start having make up sex in front of everyone in the hallway" said Pierce.
"You're on baby" said Zimos who seemed to have found his backbone after Shaundi left.
"Would someone please explain to me why can't we continue this meeting without Shaundi?" asked Viola.
"Cause, Shaundi is the heart of the Saints" said Pierce. "I'm the face of the Saints, the boss is the brains and Johnny… well he was Johnny Gat."
"I really doubt that" said Viola with a scoff.
"I agree, the mathematical probabilities of the boss being a good strategist are quite low and I've run many tests" said Kinzie without taking her eyes off the computer screen.
"The man can barely work the DVR" added Kinzie.
"Look I know y'all are new in this, but trust me the boss is not only a cool cat but he's very smart except with electronic shit. When it comes to it he always pulls through, that's why he is the boss" said Pierce.
"That is not it Pierce. To be honest when I joined the Saints I was kinda scared. I know all about the things the boss did in Stillwater and I was very surprised when he rescued Shaundi. The man from the FBI reports all those years ago has apparently changed a lot. But that doesn't the fact that what he did to that girl, Jessica was pretty fucked up" said Kinzie as she adjusted her glasses.
"Nah girl, the bitch had it coming. The moment the brotherhood killed my boy Carlos, everyone knew there was gonna be hell to pay and she paid it… with interest" said Pierce with a dark look on his eye.
At that moment the door opened and Shaundi and the boss entered the room. Shaundi was still upset she had managed to calm down a bit but she still wanted to rearrange Viola's face. Trying her best she wisely sat across from her and began to try to relax while the boss drank a glass of water and began his speech.
"Well lads, since we have all calmed down. How about we get started eh?" the rest of the Saints nodded and the boss reached inside a bag and pulled out a map of Steelport.
"First of all I want to thank you all for coming, even though some of you were late" the boss looked at Shaundi who rolled her eyes.
"As you can all see, I called you all here today to discuss our next move. Morningstar, the Deckers and the Luchadores are done. But that's their own bloody fault. You pick a fight with the Saints, except it to be to be your last"
"Hell yeah!" yelled Pierce from his chair and Shaundi nodded in agreement.
"Now the problem here is that we haven't completely won Steelport." Said the boss pointing at the map "we own the downtown area and all the entrances into downtown; New Colvin, Carver island and Stansfield are still enemy territory, so beginning tomorrow we begin what I call: Operation Cyprian Smack down Thunder Bottom" said the boss raising his fist in the air with an ominous look on his face.
"You have been watching too much Nyte Blade" said Kinzie.
"Well, it's a good show luv. I still have to finish season one though" said the boss looking somewhat distracted.
Shaundi cleared her throat.
"What is it Shaundi?" asked the boss.
"The plan, what is it?"
"Right… sorry luv, Zimos you are in charge of taking New Colvin, we already own the southern part. Tomorrow I will send Pierce and twenty soldiers to begin the offensive" said the boss.
"Listen baby" Said Zimos his auto tuned voiced distracting everyone "I don't do mornings, too much partying you know what I mean? Anyways can we do it in the afternoon?"
"No"
"What about all the people going to work in the morning? They're just going to slow us down" said Zimos.
"I'll sign each of them an autograph if I have to"
"What happens if they get shot by a stray bullet?" asked Zimos.
"I'll sign two autographs" said the boss.
"What if one of their cars get blown up?"
"I don't know mate. I'll fuck their wives or something, we are the Saints we just do things, besides Zimos. The Saints are bloody heroes don't you forget that" said the boss grinning.
"I do not wish to disturb you but what if Morningstar brings their brutes?" asked Oleg.
"Right that's something I forgot about. Oleg you're coming with Zimos and Pierce"
"Fair enough. but if you can indulge me; What is your role in all this?" asked Oleg.
"Well mate, I'm going to sit on my chair until you lot need my help. I'll get on the helicopter and bomb the Morningstar bastards to kingdom come" said the boss.
"Boss may I have a word?" asked Viola DeWynter who had been very quiet during the meeting so far.
"Go ahead" said the boss as he turned his attention to Viola.
"Before you wipe them out, I would like for you to consider sparing some of them. I know it sounds crazy for you but some of them are quite good at what they do" said Viola as she pleaded her case. Seeing how this was obviously some kind of plot of hers. Shaundi decided to speak.
"You want us to save your buddies now? What's next are you ask us to clean your shoes?" to that the surviving DeWynter sister shot her a withering look.
"I already have a maid that I pay to clean my shoes thank you very much Shaundi. However if you want to volunteer for servitude, I can always use a new plumber" to this Shaundi stood up from his chair when the boss extended his hand and spoke.
"Settle down you two! Viola explain to me why I shouldn't shoot every Morningstar member I see?"
"It's simple really; Morningstar is made up from more than just common soldiers. We have accountants, lawyers and small time politicians" said Viola.
"The scum of the earth then" replied the boss.
"Not necessarily given the right leadership they can prove to be a very valuable asset"
"And let me guess, the right leadership would mean you right?" asked Shaundi feeling sick.
"Do you have a masters in economics Shaundi? Cause if so I will gladly let you run the show" said Viola.
"So you're saying that if we spare these blokes, they will make it worth my time?" asked the boss.
"I guarantee it boss. After all, we need the money since Matt Miller froze your bank accounts. Also I'm going to have to run an assessment on the Stillwater assets and see if they took damage while this whole thing was taking place"
"You mean after your boss came up with the brilliant idea to fuck with us" said Shaundi.
"It was you who started it. You tried to rob our bank!" shouted Viola. Shaundi stood up ready to argue, at this all the boss could do was shake his head.
15 minutes later
"Alright listen up! Now that everyone has settled down, it's time to discuss the reason why we are here today. As you all know we still need to get a tighter leash on Steelport and therefore we are not going to be able to move back to Stilwater for some time. Besides we got a lot of projects in this city to leave it, so one of us is going to have move back to Stilwater and run the business while we stay in Steelport" said the boss. Silence took over the room as each saint thought about what the boss said. Pierce spoke first.
"Nah sorry boss I can't. I got to shoot two commercials this week"
"Me neither. I got to finish filming my show" said Shaundi feeling a little odd that she was putting priorities before the Saints.
"I know guys. We are all busy at this moment. That is why I'm putting Viola in charge of Stilwater until we can secure Steelport" said the boss.
"WHAT?" came the reply from both Pierce and Shaundi. Viola seemed unfazed she stood up from her chair.
"Look Pierce, Shaundi I understand your reservations, a couple of weeks ago we were enemies but I assure you I have nothing but the best intentions here. I'm more than qualified to take care of Stilwater in absence of you three. I have a master's degree in economics and I already have experience in running profitable businesses"
"Running whorehouses you mean" said Shaundi.
"I don't have to explain myself to you Shaundi. All you need to know is that I'm the best at what I do"
"As long as you don't get her name wrong in bed, you're cool baby" said Zimos who had been quiet all this time until now.
"You don't get to talk, Zimos and you deserved it" said Viola.
"Look there were two of you. How was I supposed to tell you apart!" said Zimos trying to defend himself.
"So it's settled then. Viola will be in charge of Stilwater for the time being. The problem is that you don't know anything about Stilwater right?"
"That's true but I'm confident I can do some research boss" said Viola.
"That's not good enough for the Saints luv. You need some people to show you around and give you the law of the land. Fortunately I just so happen to have the perfect people for the job" said the Boss as he turned to Kinzie.
"Kinzie send my guests up will ya luv?" asked the boss.
"Do I look like your secretary?" asked Kinzie.
"No but you are the closest thing I've got to one. Send them up"
"Ugh, fine!"
Two minutes later the doors opened and a middle aged woman of brown hair stepped inside. She looked busy as she took to her surroundings.
"Oh wow! Boss this place is amazing, it makes Purgatory look like a studio apartment" said the woman as she set her eyes on the people in the table.
"Shaundi girl! I love the new look. It screams make over!" said the woman as she rushed to Shaundi and gave her a hug. To the newer Saints surprise Shaundi actually hugged her back.
"Hey Laura" said Shaundi as she hugged the older woman who turned towards Pierce and the boss.
"Hi Pierce! Hi boss!" said Laura.
"'Sup Girl!" said Pierce while the boss merely nodded in acknowledgement.
"Where is Tobias?" asked the boss.
"Oh he's getting stoned by the Helipad, there was this burned up plane and he decided to make it his home. Isn't my husband dreamy?" asked Laura. Shaundi looked at Viola who seemed uncomfortable at the presence of Laura and Shaundi knew that this was going to be fun.
"What's wrong Viola? Don't you want to make friends?"
"I don't mind making friends Shaundi. I just have a lot to think about. Considering the Sisyphean task I'm about to take on, I need you to cut me some slack" said Viola as she turned to the boss.
"Boss, I was hoping to leave Steelport tonight, if you can arrange my transportation. I would appreciate it" said Viola with a small smile which caused Shaundi to glare at her once again.
"Actually that's what Laura and Tobias are here for; they will take you to Stilwater by helicopter and give you a tour. I know that you are In a hurry Viola so I will cut this meeting short so you can get on your way" said the boss, causing Viola to narrow her eyes on his direction.
"Good luck and call me when you get there, as always you can stay in Purgatory, but if you want to rent a hotel room. It's cool" said the boss as he began to exit.
"This meeting is over" said the boss as he left leaving the rest of the Saints in shock none were more in shock than Viola. Feeling great Shaundi left to attend to other matters.
"Mousey one" That's the nickname Oleg had given her yet there was nothing that gave Shaundi the impression that Kinzie was a mouse. Then again, what did she know about Kinzie? The only time they had some semblance of any kind of conversation, was when they had met. She took Kinzie to safety but they did not talk much. Besides she didn't want to talk to anyone. The pain of losing Johnny was fresh on her mind. Now weeks later, she did not know what to say. Kinzie seemed busy typing away at her laptop, feeling that it was a waste of time Shaundi turned around to leave when she spoke.
"You need something?" asked Kinzie. Her voice filling the room, taking Shaundi by surprise, what can I say? She asked herself.
Shaundi had never been a person for words, a game of hacky sack and hitting the light bulb was her usual way to make friends, other than sleep with them… but that was another story. Feeling actions were better than words; Shaundi pulled off the bra from her pocket and tossed it at Kinzie.
"Is this bra yours?" asked Shaundi. Kinzie looked at the bra adjusting her glass and with a smile she answered.
"I wish, do you have any idea how hard is to get one of these? These are Tara Shang limited edition luxury bras, they only made 80 of them in the whole world. Where did you get this Shaundi? I didn't know you liked this kind of lingerie… I need to update my files on you" said Kinzie as she resumed her typing.
"How do you know so much about lingerie Kinzie? It's kinda disturbing" said Shaundi.
"Leather and Lace is my favorite store and I'm subscribed to their newsletter, they're very thorough. Where did you get this bra?" asked Kinzie.
"I founded it in the boss's room last night" explained Shaundi.
"And what were you doing there? I always thought you would be the life of the party, the infamous Shaundi… I guess none of you are who I thought you were. Why are you trying to find the person who slept with him? Are you jealous?"
Shaundi felt almost as if someone had punched her.
Is that what I am? Jealous? She thought for a second before her stubborn nature convinced her otherwise.
"Don't be ridiculous Kinzie, the boss is… a friend that's all" replied Shaundi.
"Good because I just had my way with him" said Kinzie her eyes on her screen.
"What?!" said Shaundi raising her voice.
"You are a terrible liar, how were you able to score drugs in College? Anyways if you want to know who that bra belongs to, it's really easy. Just think who would have the kind of connections to own one of those bras in this gang? You don't have to be a genius to figure it out" said Kinzie as Shaundi's mind raced to a simple conclusion.
"Viola DeWynter…" said Shaundi and Kinzie nodded.
"Yep, now if you are done throwing jealous fits of anger I should really get back to these files" said Kinzie.
"Can I ask you something Kinzie?" asked Shaundi.
"It's not like I have something important to do, like trying to protect the Saints from cyber-attacks. Oh wait I do have something to do!" ignoring the sarcasm Shaundi continued.
"How come you are not in your warehouse?"
"Sanctum, inner sanctum; there is a difference Shaundi. Batman has his own Bat cave, my sanctum is mine" shouted Kinzie annoyed at Shaundi who just frowned and looked away.
"Alright I get it, calm down!"
"Yeah… so Shaundi… what are you gonna do with Viola? She's in Stilwater now, you can't confront her or anything" said Kinzie and Shaundi had to admit she was right. Shaundi frowned and looked down, trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly genius struck her and she was moving leaving Kinzie confused.
"Where are you going?" asked Kinzie.
"I'm going to confront the boss, it's the only way to know all the truth" said Shaundi without looking back, her ponytail dangling like some sort of tail.
"Wait! I'm coming with! I want to see this" said Kinzie as she chased after Shaundi. Both women didn't have to walk long as they approached the boss's version of a man cave; a room surrounded by movies and posters and a stripper pole attached to a pool table. The boss and Pierce were sitting there watching TV, Shaundi looked at the boss and began.
"Boss I have a question and I need you to be honest with me" said Shaundi as she looked at a very confused boss. Who blinked as if he hadn't heard what she said.
"What are you on about luv? Listen I'm glad you and Kinzie are here, I want to talk to you about…"
"Did you fuck Viola last night?" to this question the boss looked shocked, while Pierce appeared confused and Kinzie who face palmed herself.
"Pardon?" asked the boss.
"I know you did! Last night I…" before she was able to say anything else, Shaundi felt someone pushing her to the side with a surprising amount of strength.
"I noticed Viola had been very quiet last night, so I knocked on her door but then I saw her leaving your room, I didn't even have to connect the dots" said Kinzie adjusting her glasses.
"Is that why she's taking over Stilwater?" asked Kinzie and Shaundi couldn't help but admire the hacker, she might be a recluse but she could speak plainly without any remorse, she had to admire that.
"No, that's not why she's in Stilwater" said the boss.
"So you admit that you slept with her?" spat Shaundi. She was about to let him have it but she interrupted by Kinzie.
"Then why is she in Stilwater?"
"Because she is good at what she does and no I don't mean it like that, she's bloody great when it comes to running an empire" said the boss.
"So you are going to let her run the business, all by her lonesome? No supervision?" asked Kinzie narrowing her eyes, somehow making the boss wince.
"No Tobias and Laura are going to keep an eye on her"
"You are going to have a stoner/pilot and an expert on drugs, keep an eye on a genius businesswoman?" asked Shaundi.
"Yes but I doubt that Viola would betray us, she needs us right now. Beside I believe she is grateful and I have an agent that will keep an eye on her, just in case. Someone that is not involved with the Saints" replied the boss.
"Someone that is not a Saint? That might work but… who could possibly be able to gain her trust?"
"That's what I have been trying to tell you, I have the perfect candidate, he and I don't see eye to eye but he's willing to do anything to return to Stilwater, even wear purple"
"Who would want risk his life just to return to Stilwater?" asked Shaundi confused.
"I would" said a voice from outside the room. It was a man that hid in the darkness Shaundi was unable to see his face but as he entered the light, Shaundi's jaw dropped to the floor.
"Motherfucking son of a…" was all Pierce was able to say in his state of shock while Kinzie looked at them confused.
"If wearing purple is the price to see Lin again, then I will gladly pay it, I know that you and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things" said the man as he looked at the boss.
"But I will call you boss from now on, if you lift my exile from Stilwater" said the man.
"I know, from now on, you are a Saint. Welcome to the Saints Donnie" said the boss and Donnie smiled.
"Boss" said Shaundi "I don't know about this…" said Shaundi unable to express how she was feeling right now.
"It's a genius idea man!" said Pierce and the boss grinned.
"See? I told you I had this under control" said the boss.
The attention of the room was stolen by the TV. The logo of the local news station came alive with the words that were about to hunt the Saints from now on.
"Breaking News!" said the screen and in it appeared an all too familiar woman.
"Good evening Steelport, my name is Jane Valderamma and this is Steelport nightly news!" the theme of the show blasted through the TV and yet no one in the room made a sound.
"The Third Street Saints, who are they? What do they want? Such questions could never have been answered by anyone but the Saints, but perhaps tonight we will know the answer. After the events of yesterday, this reporter expected the Saints to lay low, or least for a bit… but it seems it was not to be, for we have the exclusive interview that will shed light into their darkest secrets. We all know the legend of Johnny Gat, and we all have at least tasted Pierce's Saint's flow once, and we have all wanted to sleep with Shaundi, but what of the man who leads them? Who is he? A Champion of this year's Murderbrawl? A leader of man? Who is he? What does he want? The public doesn't know anything about this mysterious figure, until now! In a few minutes this reporter is about to interview a very courageous young woman, who knows the inner workings of the Saints, and this little Miss Tattletale will shed light on the leader of the Saints and I promise you, the world will never be the same again"