Thanks to all of you for the comments and the Favs. I love seeing them in my inbox.

This chapter took me entirely too long to write, I will try to be a bit quicker about the next one. This one is mostly set up for later on.

I think my favourite overlooked piece of cannon is how the Boss knows fashion. doesn't necessarily dress fashionably but in both SR1 and The third they know their stuff. I figured they have to follow it somehow. I also realized taking Gat out of the Saints kinda takes away all of his friends which seemed mean, so I gave him Tony.

~ Vice

The bullpen had been a disaster for the last few weeks, the Saints' return had thrown a wrench in the works. The other gangs were on edge and causing more trouble than usual. The whole city was on edge, just waiting for the next disaster.

It was a bit odd though, with every cop on alert for the saints it should have been a matter of time before they started bringing them in. But every lead they got would go stale by the time any officers showed up to do anything about it. John honestly wasn't sure if he should be frustrated or relieved.

On the one hand the Boss, no the Playa had evaded the cops with almost inhuman ease, it shouldn't be possible. But on the other hand, John didn't want anyone else bring her it. It felt personal now, and had absolutely nothing to do with how well she pulled off that stripper costume.

She'd been playing with him from the very beginning, he just couldn't figure out why.

Last he'd heard, the Bo- Playa had torn through downtown with a rocket launcher. There hadn't been a reason. There were a few Ronin found dead in the area but they had just been victims of the carnage. The department was still sorting out the mess three days later. The repair bills would mount even higher. The surviving security cameras had verified that it had been a one-woman apocalypse that had taken up residence in Stillwater.

He pulled the polaroid from his breast pocket and looked at it for what must've been the thousandth time. As if memorizing the curve of her smile would bring him any closer to finding her, that the quirk of her brow was a secret message, one that only he could decipher.

Although he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted it to say.

His reverie was interrupted by a piercing wolf whistle and a hand clapping his shoulder.

"Damn Gat your girl looks fine." Detective James Barret, one of John's more annoying co-workers. They had been street cops around the same time, even partners for and particularly low three weeks of John's life.

Barret, was a social climber; not the type of person John really meshed with. The worst part was that the man thought he was good at it, but his attempts at comradery were faker that the tits on a stripper. He'd always seemed to be trying to gains something from people something John didn't have any time or patience for even back as street cops.

He had been grateful when Barret had been reassigned, the man bragged about a promotion not like Gat had cared, he would have punched the man if he'd had to spend another day sharing a patrol car with him. He sort of regretted that he never had. The man's face was very punchable.

After Gat's own climb up the Ranks Barret had found himself lower in the hierarchy, meaning john had to put up with the false chumminess once again,"

"Fuck off Barret."

Well he wasn't exactly good at it.

"That the same one that was in here a few weeks ago? She's super hot, you did good." Barret was always far too keen to stick his nose where it didn't belong.

"What did I just say?" Gat didn't have any cases Barret might want, the one he did have was between him and the chief so he wasn't exactly sure what the social climber was after by bothering him at the moment.

The man didn't seem to notice and kept leering at the photo, "What the hell do you want Barrett" HR wouldn't be happy, but to be fair as far as John was concerned they rarely were. He probably wouldn't still have a Job if it weren't for the Stillwater PD's high turnover rate. He still figured they'd be happy as long as he didn't punch Barret in the Face.

"you think she's got any friends, or sisters who might be single?" there it was.

"No."

The other cop seemed undeterred, "A girl like that's gotta have some hot friends." the not punching seeming less appealing by the second.

"And if She intends to keep them she's not going to set them up with you. Look I'm not your own personal fucking Tinder app." This was like being stuck in the squadcar with the guy all over again.

Barret looked like he was going to make another plea when John's phone chimed. Thank god for small favours. "Look I gotta take this." He Slipped the photo into his breast pocket while he grabbed his phone. He then stood up and walked out of the bullpen.

"Anthony, what's up." John probably owed him a beer for such timely intervention.

"Sal's got a tourney coming up next Friday you in?"

"Oh hell yeah I'm in. You got time tonight I really need to hit something."

"See you around 7." Guess he was going to get to punch things after all.

It was New York fashion week, Des had holed up at Aisha's as was tradition and she'd even invited one of her new lieutenants, it was an invitation she was beginning to regret. At least she had a daiquiri or three to soothe her.

"So my plan to rob the casino is too complicated, but there is no issue with you playing stripper to threaten a guy." They had just finished dying Des' hair the perfect shade of purple, and Pierce had made himself comfortable on one end of the couch.

Des rolled her eyes "What part are you having trouble with." She was sitting in front of the coffee table Eesh wouldn't let her near the couch while the dye was still setting. Why the woman insisted on cream coloured everything baffled the gangster.

Pierce leaned back on the couch, "The part where you want to fuck a cop."

Des raised an eyebrow, she'd known Pierce was competent but she hadn't thought him so astute. "Firstly, he's a detective. Secondly you're not invited so why do you care?" She wasn't going to deny it, she had never been particularly good at a bare faced lie.

"huh, I dunno? Maybe because it's his job to arrest you, and by association me.' He paused briefly, "wait who would you invite? Shaundi?"

Des shook her head, "God no. Probably just Eesh, if she's interested." She leaned back looking towards the kitchen where Aisha was making popcorn, "Hey Eesh wanna double team my new detective friend?"

"is he hot?" Aisha sauntered towards the tv placing a bowl in front of Des and handing another off to Pierce.

"if you ignore the shitty haircut yeah." Nobody spiked their hair anymore, it could only be worse if he had frosted tips.

Eesh curled up on the couch with a third bowl of popcorn on her lap. "find out if he's any good in bed, then get back to me."

Des toasted her daiquiri "Will do"

Pierce snorted incredulously, "Why can't you just sleep with her and skip the middleman? It'd be safer."

"When have I ever done what's 'safer?' Besides, been there hit that." She toasted the singer a second time.

"What?"

Aisha supplied "We dated, briefly."

Pierce whipped his gaze from one woman to the other several times, "You two used to date? Why'd you stop"

The two women shared a look before speaking in unison, "She works to much."

"You gotta give me more than that."

Eesh turned to Pierce "Every time we would go out and she'd see someone on some hit list or a car someone wanted jacked, not even date night was off limits." She looked over at Des when she spoke again, it was a fight the two of them had often, "that and she thought Freckle Bitches was fine dining."

Des merely shrugged pointedly ignoring her list of shortcomings to watch some neon covered models walk the runway. "So Boss what was your problem with dating Aisha?"

"None of her songs were about me." She huffed. She loved Eesh, but the gang had always come first. The same way Eesh's career had always come first, "and fuck you Freckle bitches is the shit."

Aisha had written half a dozen songs while they had dated and half a dozen more since. Not a single one was about Des, not even if you twisted the lyrics. She didn't get a breakup song, hell two years later she didn't even get a dead in an explosion song. Eesh was still her best friend but her own rampant narcissism needed more from the singer if they were to sustain a relationship.

They'd always be friends though, they both had far too few to let petty things like, failed romance spoil that.

It was getting dangerously close to being an awkward conversation, "So about that heist tomorrow."

Anthony was the only person who could ever put up with John, He used to work at the department and he was actually John's first partner before a shootout with some VKs ended his career.

Now he worked as a construction foreman, not a bad gig in a town like Stillwater, especially now that Ultor had taken an interest in remodeling the entire city. Having the Saints around to tear it down didn't hurt either.

The job was also a lot easier on His nerves, having two kids and a mortgage to pay off made him a more responsible person. But Tony still enjoyed a little danger now and again which was probably why he and Gat were friends.

Tony lived in the middle of suburbia but he had converted part of his three-car garage into a gym. Bench press, squat rack, hanging bag the works. They often got together to work out, keep in shape especially since Anthony introduced John into the fights.

Stillwater had a sizable underground fight scene, it wasn't technically illegal until you factored in all of the gambling. The PD usually left the fights alone, there were far bigger fish to fry in Stillwater.

So the fights went on mostly undisturbed and for that John was very grateful. He'd taken to beating the shit out of people incredibly quickly and finding a place to exorcise his demons made it marginally easier not the commit brutality against perps and coworkers alike.

Tony used to be big in the fights but the knee reconstruction kept him from going back, now he managed John's fights and usually bet enough to make a pretty penny at the end of the night.

Tony was holding tai pads while Gat practiced combos. It was a lot tamer than the actual fights were but besides getting into bar fights there wasn't really any other way to practice.

"So, what you're telling me is that this murderous gangster, got all stripperfied so she could threaten you, steal your gun and leave you a love letter?"

"I guess, I dunno if it was a love letter."

"You sure you didn't fall asleep watching porn?" John hit the pads a little harder.

"Fuck you."

"Sounds like this Boss lady is trying to fuck you."

John shook his head. "I'm not sure if she wants to kill me or sleep with me." He growled in frustration "and it's incredibly hot." Tony was probably the only person that he'd every admit any of this to.

Tony hummed, "I can imagine. If I could get Shandra into some stripper shorts, well I'd probably get her out of them pretty quickly."

"C'mon man I need advice. It's my job to arrest her." He stopped punching genuinely stumped.

"Since when have you ever really cared about the job John?"

"Since it pays my bills and lets me shoot people." Gat was simple like that. He threw another combo, for some reason thinking was easier when he was moving.

"Why not just embrace it? As far as you told me the Chief just wants information on this chick. Right?"

"Right."

"Well we all know how much slips during pillow talk, consider it going undercover."

That actually wasn't a half bad idea, except there was no way it was going to work. "She already knows I'm a cop."

"And she's still all over you." Well shit. Tony had a point.

"Maybe." Gat mulled over his options, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to sleep with the playa. He was still half convinced he'd been attracted to the stripper costume more than the woman wearing it. Besides it was a dangerous proposition, with her being a notorious cop killer and all "I actually kinda wish I could get something on her. Did you ever run into her when you were working vice on the Rollerz?"

They'd given up hitting the pads and were now making half-hearted attempts at stretching. Tony was quite for a bit. "You know I didn't but I may be able to get you a guy that did."

"He still with the force?"

Tony shook his head, "He's not a cop, Actually he's a mechanic."