Ahh, feeling christmassy today, so here's your second present of the day. Enjoy Reading! ;)


Chapter Nine: My Name Is Tiana Lee

Day 15: 16th September, Monday

Needles. Of all the things she's been stabbed with, needles were her worst one. Every time it pierced her skin, it felt like worms slithering through her muscles and it made her feel all weird inside. She winced when she was closing the wound in her abdomen and Viola would purposely stop to just stare at her distorted face. "It's just a needle," she said, passing it through her stomach again and Amber hissed.

"I don't care. I fucking hate 'em."

"Nobody told you go get into a fight with an armed civilian."

"Well, she asked for it."

"Plus, we're almost done and you decide to start acting like a child now?"

"I didn't even realise you were stitching me up."

"So, you'd assume I'd come into your room to do what?"

"Watch TV. Use the bathroom because Pierce is in the other one. Read a book."

"Read a book?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes, I wonder about you."

"You couldn't tell." She tugged hard on the freshly stitched wound and drew out blood, Amber grunting and barring her teeth as her cousin patted her midsection with a wet cloth. "Do that again and I will stab you in the eye."

"In your dreams..." She sealed the stitches with dressing, smiling after putting on a couple layers and patted it in place. "There, all better."

"What do you mean all better? I'm still feeling the pain."

"Take painkillers every four hours. The knife wounds will heal faster than the hole in your arm, since that hasn't healed yet, but you're free to go."

"Fucking finally," she complained as she stood up, furrowing her brows when she felt the stitch move against her skin and shuddered, walking over to the brown sofa.

"What's today's plans?"

"Get in touch with Xavier and see if he has something new for me."

"How's the Boss?"

"He's being a bit moody today. I asked him why and he told me to go away. I couldn't be asked with him so I just hung up."

"Someone's on their period..."

"You can say that again." She wriggled into her 'Goth Lyfe' pants with the purple straps and fastened her white Ultras before taking her vest off and replacing it with her black and white safari jacket and tee. "Where's my..."

"Where's your what?"

"My... Uh... My rings? And no, not the gold one."

"You put them in your pocket."

"Did I?" She dove in her pockets and let out a low chuckle, bringing her hands out and sliding all four on separate digits. "I did."

"Where you going now?"

"Syn Tower. Really and truly, it should be changed to 3rd Tower. Or Saints Tower. Something along the lines of that..."

"Just go."

"Don't you wanna come?"

"No, I'm okay. I already texted Sharron to go meet you there."

"At least I got someone," she jogged towards the ex-Morningstar member and planted a cheeky peck on her cheek. "I'll see you soon."

"Did you really have to do that?" Viola questioned, holding the cheek that was kissed.

"Yeah. You're my good luck charm." Winking, Amber caught her smile before she left her room, one of the Saints tossing the keys to her new bike. Agony bit into her with every confident step but she couldn't give up now; no pain, no game.

Reaching the ground floor, she walked through the lobby and opened the doors, not surprised to see enemy gangs normally walking the streets even outside their HQ. Disregarding them, she strolled to her bike, the X-2 Phantom, tracing its frame and taking the bike helmet from the seat. She squeezed her head into the helmet and got on, slotting the key in and watching the bike glow with life. "Now this is a bike," she said to herself, before coming streamlined with the vehicle and zooming down the street.

OoOoO

She sauntered through the corridors of the '3rd Tower', knowing that she was lost but didn't want to admit that to herself, as she passed the same room at least 20 times. "Oh my god," she said quickly, throwing her arms up in frustration. "How many times am I gonna pass this fucking room?"

Gradually, she picked up the sound of two familiar voices and followed it, welcoming herself in the boardroom and two people greeted her; a Latina and a Caucasian. Xavier had a square face, with high but wide cheekbones and a delicate jawline. Pink lips full and wide, eyes a luminous, warm golden colour and shaped like almonds, showing off his optimistic glow and eyebrows always arched so perfectly near the end. His raven-dark hair falling down almost to his eyes and body built to a muscular but lean physique, with broad shoulders and slender fingers. He had a purple striped top with a black blazer jacket, denim jeans and white indie kicks. Xavier was beautiful, in a handsome sort of way but the tattoo on his wrist saying 'Never Lose Hope' gave him that edgier look. In Amber's honest opinion, Xavier looked nothing compared to his brother, Bradley. He was power-hungry, killing anyone in his way to get what he wants but Xavier already had power thanks to him.

Sharron wore something different; a tied up purple plaid shirt with a matching bandanna wrapped around her head, tight, leather trousers and Hi Tops. He smiled warmly before gesturing to a chair and Amber filled a space, putting her feet up. "What's new, Xavier?"

"The Frontiers are bringing in a shipment of goods via cargo and..." he threw a file towards her, making her put her feet down and stop the motion in time. "I found one of the guys who messed up Nate."

"Steve Harrison... Afflicted with The Frontiers and SWAG, personal weapon specialist. No wonder..."

"You should find him at Technically Legal, but... There's a few things you might need to do."

"Like?"

"Well, you're gonna have to fake an identity."

"I'm gonna have to wha?!"

"Yeah, I know. But all you need to do is change a couple things and you're done."

"Fake my identity? Holy shit, we're really going out on a limb here."

"It's the only way. If you were to go in TL right now, you'll get assaulted with a full-on ambush."

"Okay, X, tell me what I need to do."

"Go Image as Designed and dye your hair. I've got contacts for you. Here." He slid it on the table and she caught it, opening the contact case and admiring the lenses.

"The colour's really intense. What? The guy have a strong... I don't know... Relationship with vampires?"

"Kinda..."

"It all makes sense."

"Sharron has already got the clothes for you to wear... Haven, I've noticed you haven't spoken a word ever since Amber arrived." The Latina glared at Xavier, who kept his warm smile, then at Amber.

"Just searching for more information, Kian."

"Atta girl."

"Wait, so who am I?"

"Tiana Lee," he threw her another file and when she saw it, her brow rose in shock and suspicion. "This is more of an assassination; you go inside, you kill him, you come back out."

"But I can guarantee that it won't be that easy."

"That's why you have Sharron."

"I'll cover you at all times, baby girl," she called out from the other end of the table, not moving her eyes from the laptop screen.

"Dear God, do I really have to do all this for one person?"

"Actually, there's three. Steve, Michael and Josh. All three are related and scattered about Steelport. Everyone knows who you are now, Amber, and trying to kill one of them without disguising yourself will seek the attention you really do not want."

"Fine, fine, okay. Sharron, you coming? Gonna have to drop by I. A. D to do this."

"Call me when you're done... I've almost found the exact person who shot down your chopper."

"You have?!" Amber and Xavier said in accordance, getting out of their chairs and walking towards Sharron to stare at the lit-up screen.

"Yeah, but there's so much stuff, it's nearly impossible. It's definitely a girl, mid-twenties, afflicted with SWAG."

"Way to go, girl! Keep working on this and I'll surprise you. I promise."

"Take care, Collins," Xavier said with an assuring tone just as she left the boardroom. She made her way to the elevator, where she was revealed to two red-and-blacks. It was like instinct to her, as she reached behind her and fired both rounds in under seconds, catching the two in the chest and they performed a quick half-turn before their nerves stopped working. Talk about an ambush, she thought, as she stepped in and pressed the ground button with the nuzzle of her gun. She sighed, scratching her said and muttering to herself "Can't believe I'm doing this..."

OoOoO

Steve Harrison pushed open the doors and grinned in satisfaction, the girls dancing on the stripper poles and their audience watching with big eyes and salivating tongues. He combed a hand through his cinnamon hair before raising a hand to wave at a group of fellow female friends and made his way to the bar. "The same?" the bartender asked, cleaning glasses and Steve nodded, his friend nudging his shoulder.

"Yes, Johan?" Steve said, glaring at the guy next to him with deep blue eyes, watching in disgust as Johan chewed in his gum as if were sticky toffee sticking to his gums.

"I've been waiting 30 bloody minutes for you... And all you say is 'Yes, Johan'?"

"Sorry, J, I've been busy."

"Fucking chicks..."

"No... Just running a couple errands. Remember, some street gang called me in and I improved their weapons. I created heat-seeking rockets for them, I'm quite the bad-ass, don't you think?"

"Just because you can dismantle guns and put it back together, doesn't mean..." Johan's jaw dropped in shock, the chewed-up gun dropping from his jaws and his eyes grew in surprise.

"What? Doesn't mean what?"

"Holy shit, she's fucking hot!"

"Who is?" He turned in his chair to examine this girl and Johan was right: she was hot. She had fiery red hair held up with black chopsticks, twilight brown eyes and caramel skin, like the perfect tan. A silver piercing sat on her lip, as well as hoops in her ears and white manicured nails. She wore red biker pants with a matching, unzipped biker jacket that revealed her bikini under, and red Heyday sneaks. She held her helmet by its jaw and started walking towards the bar and passed a girl with honey brown hair, where she winked and shyly smiled. "Who is that?"

"No fucking idea... She doesn't look from here."

"She doesn't..." She rested her elbows on the counter and whistled to the bartender, who spun and blushed when she requested for a bottle of beer. "Excuse me?" Steve started, grabbing her attention and he cleared his throat. "Are you from here?"

"Oh no," she replied in a strong American accent. "I just came from Stilwater. Wild city that was, huh?"

"No doubt."

"Have a name, hun?"

"I'm... I'm Steve Harrison. This is my friend Johan Mitchell," Johan waved once and the girl nodded slightly at him. "And you?"

"My name is Tiana Lee. I just needed a break from all the stress of working so... I thought I'd come here. A friend of mine says it's the most famous strip club in Steelport. I say she's right."

"What are you doing here on your own?"

"Waiting for my friend. She told me to meet up here so here I am." She placed down a $5 for the beer and took a long sip, making a refreshing sigh just before putting it down. "You seem like the handsome, muscular man. What do you do for a living?"

"I create guns."

"No way!"

"I'm serious. I've made missiles that track heat signatures, guns with bullets that detonate on impact and SMGs that incinerate anything fired at."

"That's pretty awesome." Tiana sat down, still having her elbows pressed on the hard surface and Johan couldn't help but look at her chest. "I wish I could create guns. I'd get a fortune for that. I'm an artist; I draw concept arts for video games."

"Then you must be a really good artist to be drawing for video games."

"Yeah, maybe... Hey, you seem like the person I'd like to get to know better. Do you mind if I can have your number?"

"Oh, not at all." Johan was still distracted as he glared at the girl, who was swapping digits with Steve.

"Thanks a lot..." Her phone started ringing in her hand and she hummed in an annoyed manner. "I'll see you soon then, Steve... Hello?" Taking her beer, Tiana walked out of the strip club and Steve was frozen, Johan patting him on the back.

"Now, that's a real pro. Did you see yourself?! Fucking MLG'd that shit!"

"I was myself, I guess."

"You were perfect, man! Abso-fucking-lutely perfect!"

"And all you did was act like my bitch. You didn't even say shit."

"That was your girl. All yours. Plus, even if I tried to talk, I'd make a fool out of us two."

"No, just you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I know you'd only embarrass yourself. Don't get me involved, Johan." He stood up, drinking the rest of the whiskey in his glass and got his keys out.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Do what I normally do. Make guns."

"You just came."

"Then that means time is not by my side. I'll call you, J."

"Asshole." He walked away, the girl with the honey brown hair getting up as well and Steve noticed but just thought of it as a coincidence. Exiting Technically Legal, he walked to his red and black Phoenix and got it, the girl hopping into the purple Torch in front and speeding out of the parking space.

"Huh." He revved the car and it responded, growling with life and survival. Indicating first, he peered at his side mirror before turning out of the space, smiling to himself. "Tiana Lee..."

OoOoO

Steve stared up at the ceiling, still thinking about that girl with the hot red hair and twilight brown eyes. Her eyes were sexy and he couldn't deny that, her curves were perfect and he actually didn't freak out when he talked to her. It was just a normal conversation with the opposite sex, a normal, decent, light-hearted conversation. His heart suddenly fluttered and his hand came up to his chest, sitting bolt upright as his phone started ringing beside him. Hesitantly reaching for it, his fingers curled around it and thumb automatically pressed the green button. "Hello?"

"Hi, Steve." It was Tiana, her voice gave her away. "I was wondering... Oh, this sounds stupid and very weird... But I was wondering if I can just drop by your house for 10 minutes. I know we just met but I need time to burn."

"Oh, not at all Tiana. I'm not doing anything at the moment."

"Okay. Where do you live?"

"Near Angel's Gym. You know, those houses that are all clustered together."

"Oh there! Alright, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Bye Steve."

"See you soon." He hung up and dropped his phone, wiping the sweat that was forming on his forehead and rushed to the bathroom, where he threw cold water on his face. "Control yourself, Stevie boy," he told himself, pointing in the mirror before patting his face dry and fixing his hair. Going to the kitchen, he went into the fridge and pulled out a can of beer, cracking it open and taking a huge swig.

The doorbell rung and Steve jumped in his place, cursing to himself as he walked to the door. The frame behind it wasn't of what he expected; as soon as he opened the door, it was kicked and Steve was sent backwards, Tiana inviting herself in while pointing a diamond-encrusted Shepherd at his head. "What a nice place you have, Steve. This is what happens when you fall in love with somebody you don't really know."

"Tiana, what the... What the hell are you doing?!"

"Like I said, I just wanted to drop by. I was supposed to kill you at TL but I wanted to be... Dramatic." Pushing the door shut, she closed in on Steve and he tried to flee but he fell over himself. "Where do you think you're going? Don't you have something to say to me?"

"Like what?!"

"Like... I don't know... I didn't mean to get involved with SWAG and The Frontiers and make heat-seeking rockets so they can use it on the Saints. That's what you should be saying."

"How do you know about all this?"

"I'm not Tiana Lee... I'm Amber-Leigh Collins and you definitely fucked up."

"Amber-Leigh Collins... Oh shit!"

"You should've thought better, Steve. It's sad because If you didn't create the rockets, you wouldn't be stuck in this mess."

"They told me about you. How you killed your own brother. What psycho does that?"

"I'm not the psycho in this story, man, I'm more of the damsel but I'm not in distress. You see, my husband and I were involved in an aircraft accident that put him in a deep coma for three fucking months! I promised I'd go for every single person who dared to fuck with the Saints and look, I've already killed a bunch of people and it seems that you're next on my Hit List."

"Go to Hell, asshole." He jumped up and Amber fired a shot, missing him completely and she swore, chasing him to the kitchen where he got out a knife and dashed it. Ducking in time, she looked at where the knife lodged into the chair behind her and jumped backwards, missing a swipe from another knife he obtained. He swiped again and managed to run the blade through her cheek and she hissed, taking hold of his wrist and striking kicks at his side before flipping him on his back and aiming at his head again.

"Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide."

"Alright, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, don't kill me."

"It may take two to tango, but it takes one to handle a gun. Sleep well." She pulled the trigger just as he reached for the gun and the bullet wedged into his head, Steve's eyes rolling back and slapping the back of his head against the cold floor and a pool of blood started expanding from his head.

"Did you do it?" her caller asked and she glared at the corpse before getting out a lighter and throwing it on his clothes. His shirt was engulfed in flames instantly and Amber watched for a minute before leaving the house and getting onto her Tron-like bike.

"Yeah, I did. Who's next?"

"Michael. He should be down at 3 Count placing bets and whatnot. Sharron's waiting for you."

"Cheers, Xavier."