I'm way behind schedule with this update,the release of GTA 5 has not aided my productivity.

The mood among the returning troops was jubilant; the clan had killed thirteen of the Atlantic gang without a single loss of their own. Another plus for the clan was finding the three Gatling guns, which would add to the already impressive assortment of weapons owned by the clan. Even though he was one of the unlucky few that had to lug the large crates into Peach Trees, Noah was confident that his performance during the firefight and the subsequent finding of the new weapons had earned him good standing with his new gang.

I am the law!

"We got thirteen of them and I left a message for them so there's no chance they won't know who hit them."

"How many did we lose" Ma-Ma asked, sounding less than concerned.

A cocky grin grew on Caleb's face before he spoke, "None, we got the drop on them and we came in with overwhelming force. We didn't lose anyone."

"I want people dealing at Atlantic tower by tomorrow and I want it to be a heavy presence in case they didn't get the message."

Caleb nodded his head in agreement and left Ma-Ma's room to organize the force headed for Atlantic tower.

By the time her exchange with Caleb had ended the sun had finished setting and Ma-Ma sat down on her bed which was flanked by two night stands covered in Pill bottles, alcohol and slow-mo inhalers. Thanks to her frequent substance abuse Ma-Ma's sleep schedule was anything but consistent and she felt ready to start nodding off even though the sun had just set. In her earlier days as a "working girl" Ma had always worked nights and after a few years she had become practically nocturnal. When she came to power she no longer needed to keep a schedule and the availability of Drugs meant that there were days where she simply ran off slow-mo till she collapsed on her bed and passed out. She knew that she would be waking up to a headache and a painfully empty stomach, but she made no effort to resist the encroaching desire to sleep.

I am the law!

He couldn't wrap his head around it, the idea that Ma-Ma would ever offer anything other than pain and the threat of violence ran contrary to all that he had learned in the last five months. In an act of cynicism, Kevin went to his room and ran Ma-Ma's gift through a card reader and found that it still had several thousand credits on it. Kevin was stunned, not only had she given him money but she had given a very generous amount of credits and he was in the unfamiliar position of having spending money.

In the five months he had spent in the clan Kevin had gotten by on just three different changes of clothes and all his food had come from the shops that gave their product away to Ma-Ma clan members in return for the "Protection" the clan offered. Now that he had a healthy amount of credits on him he could get some new clothes, but right then he was hungry and he could finally get something different to eat instead of simply taking what he could get.

Typically Kevin didn't like to leave the relative safety of the 200th floor once the sun had set but the sirens call of new food and clothes drew him into a service elevator that took him down to the lower levels where the mega blocks shops were located. His first stop was a small restaurant he had been forced to ignore for a long time no matter how enticing the smells that came out of it were. Now thanks to Ma-Ma's bizarre act of generosity he could afford to eat his fill of the food that had been tempting him for months.

The satisfaction of a full stomach was short lived for Kevin since as soon as he stepped out of the small restaurant he was hit by a viscous punch to the face. The blow to head was a complete shock that left him in a daze and in his stunned state it was next to impossible to resist the man that moved behind him and wrapped an arm around his neck in a choke hold.

"So" the mugger spoke as he tightened his hold around Kevin's neck. "I don't think you would be coming out of that shop unless you had some credits on you."

Having realized what his attacker was after Kevin pulled the card out of his pocket and held it out for the mugger to see. The man took the card from Kevin's hand before he shoved the Techie to the round and gave him a hard kick to the stomach which knocked the air out of Kevin's lungs.

By the time Kevin regained his breath and stood up his mugger had been long gone. He was still in a good amount of pain but he had certainly felt worse in the past so he was able to stumble back to the elevator that would carry him back up the 200th floor. Kevin knew that he was lucky to be still alive since the thief easily could have just slit his throat but he still felt disappointed for losing the card. The credit card that had come from Ma-Ma from of all people had been the first good thing to happen to him in years. As the elevator made its upward journey and Kevin rubbed the sore part of his face that had been punched, he became aware of huge potential problem for himself.

What if Ma-Ma came and asked for her card back? He didn't have it and he didn't get a look at his attacker so he couldn't tell her who had it. He supposed that he could look it up on the security feeds and get a picture of the thief but he had misgivings about that. Snitches didn't last long in a school playground let alone a criminal enterprise. He didn't like it but Kevin knew that he alone would have to deal with the repercussions of losing Ma-Ma's money.

Now he had to worry about whether he should tell her or not, there was the chance that Ma-Ma didn't care about the card and that she wouldn't be asking for it back, but Kevin worried about whether she would. He was certain that if she asked for it back when he didn't have it, she would be displeased. If he was upfront with her and just told her what happened there was a chance that she would be more merciful with him but Kevin knew that the likelihood of receiving any mercy form Ma-Ma was slim.

I am the law!

As she had expected, Ma-Ma woke with a splitting headache and a painfully empty stomach. After forcing herself to sit up in bed, Ma-Ma looked to the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was 2 A.M; it was by no means unusual that she would wake in the middle of the night. In fact Ma-Ma never slept through the night, but simply nodded off for a few hours whenever her drug laden body allowed it.

The remedy to her pain was a few prescription painkillers, but she knew that she wasn't doing her stomach or the rest of her body any favors unless she got something to eat as well. After a night time breakfast, Ma-Ma felt awake enough to know that there was no chance of her going back to sleep. With going back to bed no longer an option she sat in the quiet seclusion of her room pondering the activities of her clan.

If all went according to plan, the clan would soon be selling slow-mo in the Atlantic tower which meant they would have thousands of new potential customers. This new market had the potential to substantially add to the clan's income. With more credits, they could increase production of slow-mo which in turn meant more credits; with that train of thought it was hard not to fantasize about controlling the city.

Ma-Ma knew the potential pitfalls from thinking such thoughts, Caleb had warned her numerous times of the danger of expanding too fast. It would be easy to fall into the trap of spreading out to new parts of the city when her foothold of her current turf wasn't strong enough. Ma-Ma accepted that and agreed with Caleb's caution for another reason. If by some luck the Ma-Ma clan became the cities dominant gang, it would only bring her the misfortune that came from the attention of law enforcement.

As she stood up from her seat Ma-Ma came to the conclusion that it was best to just let things play out at their current speed. Under Caleb's supervision the clan would continue to sell slow-mo in the Atlantic tower and soon the people there would become hooked on the drug their gang couldn't provide for them. In that situation it would only be a matter of time till the Atlantic clan lost the support of its people. Without any support at home it would be easy for the Ma-Ma clan to slowly squeeze the Atlantic gang till they simply disbanded. This plan would be safer for her boys, not that she was concerned for their safety she just didn't want to have to go out and get replacements again.

Now content to let things be Ma-Ma climbed down the stairs that lead to her bedroom and entered the extra large bathroom that only her suite on the top floor had. As her tub filled with water Ma-Ma made certain that she would have a slow-mo inhaler within reach, she had found that the drug made bathing far more entertaining.

I am the law!

Ordinarily he would have been asleep this time of night but after being robbed and then having to worry about Ma-Ma becoming angry with him for losing her money; Kevin felt far too stressed to sleep. Instead he plopped himself down in front of the monitor and hoped that doing his job would somehow spare him from Ma-Ma's rage. At first he found nothing of interest but then he noticed something suspicious on the 51st floor. Two men were standing in front of an open apartment and speaking to each other. Soon after he saw them exchange something; zooming in on their hands he saw that a slow-mo inhaler had been exchanged for credits.

A drug deal was anything but unusual in Peach Trees but there was something that felt off to Kevin. Switching to another camera's perspective that was inside the apartment, Kevin was able to see the back of the man selling the slow-mo. After zooming in on the man's back he saw that there was no Ma-Ma heart tag on his neck. While the Techie had never been involved in the clan's drug trade, even he knew that dealing slow-mo in Peach Trees without being in the clan was a big problem.

Having realized that what he was seeing would be of interest to Ma-Ma, Kevin switched back to the previous camera and made sure to get a clean still image of the unsanctioned dealers face. He knew that telling Ma-Ma would likely lead to that man's death but Kevin was too concerned about his own well being to care about someone else. Right then He needed a distraction and an example of the benefit of him keeping his job. Kevin couldn't think very highly of himself for what he was going to do but in his current situation it was impossible to get away from the mentality of better him than me.

I am the law!

After her bath Ma-Ma was once again faced with the need to kill some time. It was still very early in the morning and it would be sometime till Caleb and the most the clan would be awake. Until then she would simply have to wait for an update of how things were going in the Atlantic Tower. Now fully awake she would have to keep herself busy for the next couple of hours. Ma-Ma left her home and headed towards her new favorite source of entertainment, she had no clue as to whether the kid would be awake or not, but Ma-Ma was sure that having him wakeup while she stood over him would scare him senseless.

She stood outside his door listening for any signs of life, soon after she heard the distinctive chatter of practiced hands using a keyboard. Opening the door as slowly as and as quietly as she could, Ma-Ma stepped into the Techie's room without making a noise. Judging by the way that the kid was staring intently at his monitor, she guessed that he was unaware of her prescience.

Rather than letting him know that she had entered his room by speaking to him, Ma-Ma strolled up behind him quietly and watched him work. Ma-Ma tried to see what the Techie was working on but she knew that a lot of the information that was keeping him preoccupied was only visible on his ocular implants.

Now very curious as to what had him so absorbed Ma-Ma decided to find out and screw with his head while she was at it. Leaning forward so that she could press into his back, Ma-Ma rested her chin onto of his right shoulder causing the Techie to flinch in surprise. Next she draped her left arm overtop of his and left her left hand to rest on top of his. In her right hand Ma-Ma held a knife that she dragged across his right forearm with just enough force to scratch the skin. Eventually the knife came to a stop when the tip of the blade fell between his fingers. For a short time neither of them spoke, Ma-Ma just held her place and enjoyed the feeling of him literally shaking in fear because of her.

"Ma" he spoke with a shaky voice, "I think you should see this."

Ma-Ma said nothing in response but simply let out a quiet yawn, as if her current situation was a common occurrence. On the large monitor a video started, showing a man in his late twenties hand something to another man. "That guy lives on the 51st floor and he's selling slow-mo."

"So" Ma-Ma questioned, not understanding why he had thought this was worth her attention. The Techie reached towards the keyboard with his left hand, which Ma-Ma allowed him to move and pressed a single key. A different video came up, showing the same man only from behind.

"He's not in the clan" the Techie said nervously although Ma-Ma thought she heard a hint of confidence in his voice. The video zoomed in on the man's neck showing that there was no Ma-Ma heart there.

Now she understood why he had brought this to her attention. Ever since its inception, slow-mo had become synonymous with the Ma-Ma clan and that was the way Ma-Ma liked it since it meant that she was the only one that benefited from the drugs sale. The idea that someone could get slow-mo from anywhere other than the clan had to be stamped out immediately.

Ma-Ma was now glad he had told her what was happening but that didn't mean he had to know that, instead Ma-Ma simply asked "can you print me a picture of him"

"Sure" he said sounding all too eager to please thanks to her strange closeness and the knife play.

Ma-Ma released Kevin from her hold and sheathed her knife before she walked over to the printer that had finished spitting out the image of a man she would soon have put to death. She didn't recognize the man in the picture which Ma-Ma knew was a long shot given the enormous number of people in her block, but still she tried to place him and remember if he had ever had any dealings with clan. Ma-Ma came up with nothing and was then certain that the Techie was right. The man in the pictures was dealing slow-mo without her permission and that had to be stopped.

Ma-Ma folded the picture up and pocketed it for later before she turned her attention back to the Techie. His focus still appeared to be on the large monitor in front of him, which radiated light back onto his face. It was then that Ma-Ma noticed a slight discoloration around his right eye. Ma-Ma strolled back next to Kevin before she took hold of his chin in her right hand and then less than gently turned his face towards hers. The kid had a very large and very swollen black eye that looked painful, then again Ma-Ma reasoned if there was anyone that could cope with pain in the eyes it was him.

Still the kid had sustained injury and it hadn't come from her, Ma-Ma was less than keen on having one of the keys to the clan's security being brutalized unnecessarily. "What happened to you" Ma-Ma asked him, sounding annoyed and as if this was just one more problem she had to deal with. With her hand still holding him the kid couldn't look away but she noticed that he refused to meet her eyes.

"That uh, card you gave me, I lost it."

"Lost it" Ma-Ma repeated in disbelief.

"I mean…" he started again sounding petrified as he always did. "Someone took it from me."

Having found his second explanation far more likely Ma-Ma released him and stood next to him silently. She had forgotten about the money she had given him until he had brought it up and judging by his voice he probably thought she would be angry with him. In actuality Ma-Ma couldn't bring herself to care about the card. The amount of credits she had given him was a pittance compared to what the clan pulled in from even just one day of slow-mo sales.

"I'm sorry" she heard him say to break the silence, In return Ma-Ma just glared at him in annoyance. She didn't need his pathetic apology, not that she told him that, she just wanted him to do his job and not have to worry about his well being. It was annoying that he had ended up in danger but she knew it wasn't his fault; there were plenty of idiots in the clan that would turn on each other for petty amounts of cash.

Ma-Ma reached out and grabbed hold of the Techie's head again to inspect his wounds with greater focus. The ocular implants she had given to him or forced him to take had been expensive and Ma-Ma wanted to make sure that the artificial eye surrounded by bruised tissue hadn't been damaged. The trouble was that the kid outright refused to look her in the eyes which made inspecting the implant impossible.

"Look at me" she commanded, and all but instantly he looked forward into her eyes. As per usual the kid was shaking in fear as she held onto him but Ma-Ma ignored it and leaned in closer to him to inspect the eye. She didn't understand how the device worked and she wouldn't know how to repair it if it was damaged, but Ma-Ma figured if his right eye looked the same as the left than it was probably still functioning normally.

Contented that her monetary investment in the Techie hadn't been damaged, Ma-Ma leaned back away from him but left her hand to cup his chin, since his obvious fear of her touch was too entertaining not too play with. With her eyes still locked onto his Ma-Ma began to caress his face with her thumb, making sure put extra pressure against his skin when her thumb ran over his bruises. The Techie let out a quiet grunt in pain, but did not say or do anything to resist her touch.

Ma-Ma had always enjoyed toying with people and after her first murder she had learned to like hurting people. Being a crime lord in a very large and violent criminal enterprise, she had many opportunities to enjoy herself especially ever since the clan had acquired the Techie. In a way the kid was the perfect target since his position of importance in the clan necessitated that she keep an eye on him and she could put her violent tendencies to use on him to ensure that he did his job.

There was something different about her current situation though, while she was causing Kevin discomfort and he was clearly terrified, the way she was touching him felt border line amorous to her. Ever since the previous day her interactions with him while still clearly threatening had taken on a strange affectionate tinge. Ma-Ma felt a discomforting confusion about her own actions and gave Kevin's head a slight shove away from her before she left his room without saying a word.