10
Not So Much an American Gangster
Jason sat on his new couch. He threw the old stained one out a long time ago and just now got a new one with the money he had been making on the side. As hard as this job was, he couldn't complain with the extra income he was getting. The new couch wasn't anything real nice, just cheap tan leather, but it was a huge improvement from the other couch. He turned on the TV and on the screen was the local Stillwater news. There was a picture of The FBI insignia and William Sharp. Jason clicked the volume and the anchor said,
"Yesterday the FBI escorts that were scheduled to transport, financier and suspected crime lord, William Sharp, to Los Angeles were rerouted back to Stillwater." The screen switched to a man and there was a title at the bottom of the screen,
George Coffman
"Mr. Sharp has his rights as any American to have his trial near to his family. There is no reason why he can't have his trial here in Stillwater." The screen returned to the anchor who said,
"Mr. Sharp was arrested two nights ago in a tea house in Chinatown. No more details were given by restrictions from the FBI."
Jason clicked the TV off. He knew the exact reason the FBI wanted to bring Sharp to Los Angeles. As frustrated as he was, he was also tired. He walked over and clicked off the lights to the apartment. He then collapsed onto his bed. He wore a pair of jeans and a white undershirt to bed most of the time. One, because usually he was too tired to change into something more comfortable, and two, sometimes Troy or someone would come in suddenly and he would have to leave with them in seconds. Before he closed his eyes, he reached his hand down and felt his SIG under the bed. Though his doors were locked tight he never knew when he would have to use it. He still wasn't used to living there. He was used to his apartment in Los Angeles that was almost sound proof. Here the walls were so thin, the sounds of police chases and gunfights were heard almost crystal clearly. Many nights he didn't get sleep and had a death grip on his SIG.
But this night was different. He didn't hear any ruckus outside, no loading of guns, only the silent hum of cars passing by the apartment. The hum slowly started to lull him to sleep and for a moment, there was peace.
But it didn't last long. Suddenly a click disturbed the silence of the night. It was coming from the front door. Jason reached down quickly for his SIG and rolled off the bed. Another click grinded the door. Jason didn't know where to hide until he could identify his intruder. Another click. The door opened.
From the door came a person. The person slowly entered the dark apartment. All was silent again. The person progressed into the apartment into the kitchen, feeling for the light switch. Suddenly the switch was clicked on and Jason stood around the corner pointing his SIG at the intruder.
"Who the hell are you?" he barked. The intruder was a woman all in black, not wearing a hint of any gang color. She had short jet-black hair and had a dark Hispanic skin.
"Jason?" the woman said turning and facing Jason. Jason quickly dropped his weapon when he saw Kerry's face.
"Kerry, what are you doing here?" He pulled her to his chest and they embraced.
"I needed to talk to you about his whole witch hunt in the team. You were the only one I could trust since we still have no clue who's feeding the Carneles and possibly other gangs information about us." Jason nodded. That hadn't really been on his mind lately with all that had been going on with the Saints.
"Well we know he or she's not talking with the Saints cause I'm still here." Just as he finished his sentence the door whipped open. Jason pushed Kerry away from the door and pulled his SIG toward the door. Three Saints quickly rushed in, one being Dex. They pointed their pistols at Jason and Kerry but Dex quickly said,
"Cool it guys, he's fine." The two other Saints lowered their weapons and Dex went up to Jason. "When we saw a lady we didn't know get into your apartment we thought…" Dex tried to say but Jason stopped him and said,
"Don't worry about it man, she's cool. I believe you to have met before." He moved out of the way and helped Kerry up.
"Oh yeah I remember you." Dex said. He quickly moved his attention from rushing in to Kerry. "So this your girl Egan?" Both Kerry and Jason couldn't contain themselves from laughing.
"Nah, just a friend of the family. She stopped into Stillwater for a visit." Jason quickly improvised. Dex had a mischievous look on his face and turned to Kerry.
"So, you gonna be in town long?" Kerry gave a fake smile and said,
"No I'm not I was just leaving after I said hi to Jason." But that didn't satisfy Dex. He got a little closer and said,
"Could I persuade you to stay longer?" Kerry gave him an unimpressed look and said,
"No you couldn't." The Saints behind Dex looked at each other and started to laugh at the rejection Dex was just served. Dex turned and shot them a threatening look. He turned back to Jason and said,
"Well you got yourself a hell of a girl Jason." Sending Kerry a look. Kerry returned it. "Well we'll get out of your way."
He exchanged a handshake with Jason and left without giving another word to Kerry. Jason waited till the two other Saints followed him and closed the door till he said,
"Nice."
"You weren't bad yourself." Kerry said brushing her hair out her eyes. "Dale is coming up empty handed in his investigation of the team. We need your help." Jason shrugged and said,
"What can I do? I'm having my own problems being a mole here how am I gonna find a mole in the team?"
"I don't know, get some gossip throughout the gang. If one of the other gangs has a leak with the FBI the other gangs should at least have a wind of it. I just need some help doing this because if it doesn't happen your life might be in danger." Jason was a little scared of the thought but he swallowed his fear and said,
"I'll try. Now you better leave before any other Saints come. I don't want to get my stories mixed up." Kerry smiled and said,
"Call me if you have any leads, I'll bring them to Foreman." She started to head for the door. Jason followed her out. There was a small orange car outside the apartment that Kerry got into. Before she got in Jason said,
"Kerry," She turned and looked at him. "Be careful." She smiled and nodded. She got into the car and started to drive away. Suddenly Jason's phone rang.
"Egan." Jason barely said when Johnny interrupted him.
"Get over to the church right now, Julius wants you this very moment." Before Jason could say anything Johnny hung up. Jason quickly ran into the house and quickly put on a black shirt and his black leather jacket. He put his SIG in its usual spot and he rushed to the garage. He started the GTO and sped down the street toward the church. He got to the church within five minutes of the call. There at the front was Julius, Troy and Johnny. They quickly got into the car, Troy in the front seat and Julius and Johnny in the back.
"We just got word from a big contractor for Benjamin King who wants out. He's willing to sell all the Vice Kings information and business they had with him to the Saints if we can protect him but we gotta go now. The Vice Kings are already looking for him. He's in the retail district hiding at his sister's Salon." Jason did a quick U-turn and then started driving toward the retail district. Troy was loading his Beretta, Johnny was loading a large Uzi in the back and Julius had a large SPAS-12 shotgun on his lap.
"This guy, Lombardi, just recently started his shit with the Kings but something changed his mind about working with the group. He's done deals with gangs all the way from Liberty City to Los Angeles. The Vice Kings were the first gang he had connections with in Stillwater. If we do this right, we might be able to make his deals in Stillwater exclusive for the Saints. He does everything from Drug trade to Prostitution rings." Johnny was looking out the window when he suddenly said,
"Oh speaking of." He then rolled down his window and yelled at a hooker on the corner of the street. "You're a fucking joke!" The hooker responded with the finger. Johnny almost unloaded his Uzi on her but Julius stopped him. Julius then continued,
"And Lombardi isn't just an American supplier here. He's got connections running from Black Markets in India to The Yakuza. This in no small shit we're dealing with here." Jason was astonished at what he was hearing. He was probably going to meet one of the biggest Crime Syndicate dealers in the world and he had to protect him. They crossed the bridge leading into the retail district. The Vice Kings owned a lot of the district and that created problems for the Saints and their hand in the retail business.
"Okay the Salon should be down this street." Jason drove down the street until they got to a Salon on the side of the street. The windows of the Salon were shattered and the door was wide open with a hue of blood spattered on it. Jason parked the car and they all got out. Jason quickly drew his SIG and followed as Julius and Troy led the way. In the doorway was the body of a Vice King with a bullet hole in his forehead. Julius pumped his shotgun and started to lead the way in but Johnny stopped him.
"What if this is a trap? We can't lose you Julius." He cocked the Uzi and led the way into the Salon. Blood was spattered all over the walls and Vice King bodies all over the floor. There was one body on the floor that wasn't in yellow. It was the body of a woman, probably the owner of the Salon and Lombardi's sister. She had several bullet wounds in his torso. Troy was the last one into the Salon. There was no sign of Lombardi unless he was one of the bodies in yellow. Suddenly Jason saw a man in a black suit rise up from one of the stations. He had an AK-47 and was ready to fire. Jason quickly acted on instinct and grabbed Julius. He pulled him to the floor behind a station. The man fired. Johnny returned fire as he dove out of the line of fire. Troy wasn't so lucky. He was hit in the bicep and he dropped his Beretta. He dropped before any more bullets pierced him. Jason shot up quickly and fired two bullets specifically aimed. They both were perfectly on target. One hit the man's weapon and the other in his shin. He cried out both in shock and pain as his AK shot up into the air still firing. Luckily the magazine was almost empty so no more bullets hit the man. Jason shot up once more and pointed his SIG at the man.
"Johnny take care of Troy, I got this bastard." The man was on one knee now the other was bloody. Jason slowly advanced on his fallen opponent. Suddenly the man had a switchblade that he lunged at Jason. Fortunately Jason saw it and he grabbed the man's wrist. He twisted his hand quickly and with a snap the wrist was broken. The man dropped the knife limply and clenched his wrist.
"Egan! Get away from him!" Julius's commanding voice called. Jason turned and gave a confused look to Julius. Suddenly Jason felt a barrel of a 12 gauge against the back of his head. He had no idea where this guy was getting these weapons.
"Lombardi?" Jason asked as he heard the click of the 12 gauge. There was a pause and Jason thanked God it wasn't broken by the sound of a 12 gauge.
"Who are you?" the man in the suit said. Jason sensed he still had his finger on the trigger.
"We're the Saints who came to protect you." Jason said nervously. There was a slight quiver in his voice.
"I'm Julius Little. I talked with you on the phone." Julius said. Jason saw out of the corner of his eye that Julius had his SPAS lifted. He guessed Johnny did the same with his Uzi and possibly even Troy.
"How do I know that?" Lombardi yelled pressing the 12 gauge harder against Jason's head.
"C'mon Lombardi. We're all wearing purple and who else would want your business more than the Saints." Jason cried out trying to calm down. There was another pause but then Jason heard Lombardi lower his 12 gauge.
"We better get out of here before more Vice Kings get here." Lombardi said cradling his 12 gauge.
"That's the beauty of cars." Johnny said. But just as he said that outside there was a scream of a missile and it hit Jason's GTO. The explosion sent Johnny and Julius flying to the floor. Gunfire erupted outside the Salon. Lombardi limped to his cover point and from a concealed case he pulled an M16 rifle and handed it to Jason.
"Here." He said. Jason checked the ammo on the rifle when suddenly he realized that Troy was in the middle of fire. Suddenly Jason saw Vice Kings appearing from the streets. He quickly rushed to Troy. Vice Kings started to fire on him. Jason quickly returned the fire and dropped down next to Troy. His bicep was pretty bloody.
"C'mon Troy, I'm not letting you be dropped by these fuckers." He said. He fired a few shots out at the yellow. Troy weakly got up and crouched next to Jason. He fired his Beretta widely with his left hand. Jason grabbed him with one hand and fired the rifle with his other. He led Troy back behind a station and set him down. Far over to the right, Julius had pulled out a revolver and took out a few Vice Kings. Johnny had unloaded the magazines of his Uzi and was calling Lombardi for another weapon. Jason fired on the Kings and quickly made his way back to Lombardi who was armed with another AK-47.
"We can't keep this up very long. Is there another way out of here?"
"Oh yeah. Of course there is I just wanted to stay here and exchanged lead with these bastards. C'mon Sherlock would I still be here if there was another way out?" Lombardi shouted over the firing. Suddenly there was a screech of tires and a few Vice Kings were run over by a small orange car. Jason suddenly realized who was driving the car. The door opened and Kerry shouted,
"Jason! Get in!" Jason grabbed Lombardi and pulled him to the car. Troy pushed Julius toward the car and said,
"We'll cover you guys escape. Head toward the train station some of my boys should be there." Jason pushed Lombardi into the car. He suddenly whipped around and fired at a Vice King. The bullet hit him straight in the chest and blood erupted into the air. He pushed Julius in after Lombardi then after taking out one more Vice King, got into the car himself and yelled,
"Go!" Kerry hit the acceleration quickly and the car sped down the street. Jason quickly closed the door and rolled down the window. Kerry sped down the street toward the station. She quickly maneuvered around the civilian drivers honking their horns at her reckless driving. Suddenly in front of them were two yellow cars full of armed Vice Kings. Jason flipped the safety off the M16 and fired on one of the cars. He saw blood spurt onto the windshield but the cars kept on their course. Kerry quickly maneuvered the car onto the sidewalk and out of the way of the yellow cars. Jason nearly dropped the M16 on the turn. The orange car ran against a railing separating them from a fountain. The train station was straight ahead. Kerry accelerated very quickly and stopped abruptly right next to the station. Jason got out and covered Lombardi and Julius as they exited the car and went up the stairs to the station where three Saints met them. Jason saw more Vice Kings heading their way. He guessed they didn't see Julius and Lombardi go up to the station but they would.
"I'll draw them away from you guys so you can get away." Kerry shouted. Jason was hesitant but he finally said,
"Meet me back at my apartment."
He closed the door and hurried up the stairs to the station. The train wasn't there quite yet so the Saints, Julius and Lombardi had hidden out of sight. Kerry accelerated and quickly got away from the station quickly. Jason crouched next to Julius and watched the yellow cars follow the small orange car. Jason sighed and sat against the wall of the station. He let the M16 drop to the ground.
"C'mon the train is coming." One of the Saints said. Jason turned and looked and saw the train quickly coming into the station. He weakly stood up and grabbed the M16. When the train came they all entered. The people on the train were all a little surprised when they saw the weapons the Saints were carrying but the Saints ignored them and so did Jason.
The train pulled into Saints Row and the Saints got out. Julius turned to Jason and said,
"I'll take Lombardi to the church. He'll be safe there. You go home and rest up."
Those were the best words Jason had heard. As he started to leave somebody called Julius. He quickly exchanged a few remarks then hung up.
"Troy and Johnny are fine. They'll be back at the church within the hour." Jason nodded, for the Saints that was good news. "Jason, you did a hell of a job today. I'm proud of you."
Despite the fact he was getting this from a gang boss, Jason took pride in the compliment. He handed the M16 to one of the Saints and started for home.
The apartment was dark just the way he had left it. Jason had a sigh of relief when he got there, thinking he could finally get a good night's rest. As he walked up to the apartment he looked at the empty garage. Yes his GTO had been blown to small pieces he guessed he needed to ask Mitchell for another one, which he wouldn't be happy for. Jason smiled at the thought.
He came up to the front door and started to unlock it. He looked down to put the key in the hole when suddenly he realized there was blood on the front step. His high spirits were suddenly shot and he quickly started to unlock the door. He quickly opened it and reached for his SIG. He entered the dark apartment, his SIG leading the way. He didn't hear anything in the apartment but that had happened before. He slowly went toward the light switch. He cautiously found it and switched it on. Light flooded the room and Jason was able to see what had been waiting for him in his apartment. On his bed was the bullet-ridden body of Kerry. Blood was spilling from his chest where she had been shot several times. Jason almost couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He collapsed to his knees next to the lifeless body of his friend. Tears started to weld up in his eyes. The first tears he had had on this job. On her body was a blood stained note. Jason grabbed it and through his teary eyes he read,
Mr. Egan.
I have to give you cred. You managed to fuck up my boys pretty badly and get away with a vault load of information. But there's one victory you didn't win. Saving your precious friend here.
Her last words were of you. When she was pinned between a wall and me. And suddenly she was dead. The trigger was pulled and an entire round was spent on her. I hope you can live with the fact that you were responsible for her death.
Sincerely
Carl "CJ" Johnson
Jason crushed the note in his hands as the name; Carl Johnson was branded into his mind. Before this job was over. Johnson would have a bullet splatter his brains all over the floor. Jason collapsed over Kerry's body. He cursed and apologized to the nothingness of the apartment.