This chapter is a little dry, sorry. But it was needed as it establishes a few things in the story.


"You sure you're okay to go to work today? I might be able to make something up to get you out of it, if you want?" David asked Mack, frowning as they stood together outside the door to his apartment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A small hangover never killed anyone." Mack smiled.

"Okay. Well, for the millionth time, you look good in my clothes." David stated, eyeing the girl up and down.

As Mack hadn't bought a spare change of clothes, David had lent her a spare business shirt. She kept the same skirt she was wearing from the previous night, but changed the low cut top to a more conservative look, making her look a little more presentable for work.

"I'd make the joke that a woman wearing a man's clothing is like a flag on a conquered fortress, but you didn't conquer this one last night." Mack teased, smiling brightly at the man before her.

"Yes, but what happened last night was a lot better." David replied.

"Urgh, lame. Anyway I better get going, especially considering I want to get coffee before work. But we'll talk." Mack said.

David swiftly gave her a kiss and a hug, watching her briefly as she turned and went down the stairs, shutting the door when she was out of sight.

Mack was planning on going to work, she actually was. She could deal with the banter from her co workers about her choice of attire, and a coffee, greasy breakfast and some painkillers would help her sore head. But her plans changed when she saw a call on her phone from someone she had been dying to talk to.

"So now you call me." Mack bitterly chuckled, answering the phone call from her brother as she began walking down the street.

"Hey, what are you doing today?" Brandon asked her.

"Aside from being hungover, I have work. Why?" Mack replied.

"Well, I have the morning off, so I was hoping we could do breakfast in Vespucci Beach. We can clear the air." Brandon proposed, ignoring the fact that Mack was meant to be working that day.

She sighed. She was a hard worker and hated calling in sick, even when she genuinely was ill. But this curiosity was killing her, and she needed to know. She wouldn't be productive at work with this hanging over her head.

"Okay. I'm nearby anyway but don't have my car so I'll have to get the bus. I could be there in abour thirty." Mack informed Brandon.

"Well that's a story I'd like to hear too. I'll be seeing you then." Brandon stated, swiftly hanging up the phone, leaving Mack to find her bearings as she tried to work out a public transport route to Vespucci Beach.

"Hello." Mack said as she spotted her brother in a polo shirt and shorts, sunglasses on top of his head as he was reading the paper casually.

Mack kept her oversized sunglasses on firmly as she sat down, her hangover preventing her from being comfortable with the sunlight.

"Sit. What do you want?" Brandon asked her politely.

"To know why the hell everyone thinks you're a criminal." Mack growled.

"I'll explain that in a second. What do you want to eat, I mean." Brandon explained.

"Full english breakfast, with hashbrowns. A coffee with a double shot." Mack groaned, her mouth salivating as she imagined consuming a hangover friendly meal.

Brandon smirked as he called over a waiter and ordered his light meal and exactly what Mackenzie had stated. He then took a good look at her attire and her current state, and smirked wider.

"So, who's bed were you in last night? Is this poor guy never going to see the shirt you're borrowing again?" Brandon asked his younger sister.

"Yes he will," she snapped "considering he's my boyfriend!"

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Brandon stated, matter-of-factly.

"Yep, he's that cop I've been seeing. We made it official last night. Boyfriend and girlfriend." Mack grinned widely.

"Maybe we shouldn't be having the conversation we're about to have, then." Brandon grumbled.

"Why not? Clearly I'm not a prude. You used to take me to Los Santos' most high end clubs to shovel powder up my nose. Saturday afternoon I jumped into Michael's car with Franklin and we chased after some yacht thieves and I shot at them!" Mack stated, in an excited manner.

"You what?! Michael said you were going to be confronting me, but he didn't say anything about yacht chasing. I thought you were just hanging around with his daughter?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, but I'm friends with Franklin. We were meant to be going to a bar but shit just happened. But it was fun...more fun than it should have been. I'm keeping that shit separate from David." Mack explained to her older brother.

He looked at her for a few moments. He smiled, but then began to frown before letting out a sigh.

"Okay, baby steps then. The gist of it all is that I'm a connections person. I work with mostly underground criminals in this city and source them the right people for the right jobs. Sometimes it takes a little bit of influencing, but I get the job done. I don't do any of the criminal work myself." Brandon explained.

Mack let Brandon's words sink in, before she let out a hearty chuckle. She couldn't believe that was it. As Brandon had been avoiding her she was bracing herself to imagine him being a hardened criminal, but he was connections guy? That was nothing.

"So that's it?" Mack asked, to confirm.

"That's it. For me, anyway. The connections can go onto doing fucked up stuff, but I don't get really involved in that stuff." Brandon explained, smiling at his sister's light reaction to this information.

"So how do you know Franklin and Michael, anyway?" Mack asked Brandon.

"I don't really know the black kid, but the De Santa family is interesting. I met them at the golf club, they're actually in witness protection. Michael is a retired bank robber who did a deal with the Feds to leave that lifestyle. But the mastermind of his old crimes is a mutual friend of mine who I do connections for." Brandon explained.

Mack rolled her eyes. The stupid golf club. Her father was heavily involved in the club when he was alive as he was very talented at the sport. Brandon attempted to follow in his father's footsteps and failed miserably. Mack seemed to inherit her father's talent at golf, but the conservative wealthy people at the golf club had a strict policy of no women on the course, so she never got to play.

"So let me get this straight. You met Michael playing golf, and you have a mutual friend. What's that got to do with the criminal underworld of Los Santos?" Mack asked, now finding it difficult to wrap her head around the small facts.

"Oh, not a lot really. He's retired, hasn't done a thing since 2004. But he used to be heavily involved with a person named Lester. Lester is still involved in petty crimes, mostly white collar involved. Lester is one of my friends, who I gain connections for." Brandon explained.

"Right. So Michael's ex criminal mastermind is a friend of yours. How does that work out anyway? Isn't the whole point of witness protection about being secretive about one's past and true identity?" Mack snorted.

A waiter came over to bring the food, and Mack rolled her eyes. She was starving, but she always felt that waiters always came at the wrong times. She had lost many of good conversations over the years as waiters came over and interrupted, only to have the subject changed once the waiter left. She wasn't letting that happen today.

The second the waiter left, Mack began her interrogation before Brandon could change the subject. Even neglecting her greasy breakfast to do so.

"So?" Mack asked.

"That's the thing, my dear Mackenzie. I'm the connections person. I can know the person in the witness protection, and the person who the witness protection is for. I know a lot of people in this town, you know that. I can hang with pretentious wannabes in the golf club, and can roll with criminals. It's not that weird." Brandon stated.

Mack nodded her head. It made sense for Brandon to know people from different walks of life. She had seen it. Hell, she had experienced it herself. Mackenzie wasn't as well-known as Brandon, but thanks to the internet she knew a lot of different people around the city. It wasn't uncommon for her to speak to someone and realise they already had lots of mutual friends. Unlike Brandon though, not all of those people loved her. She had a small amount of charisma, but nothing compared to her brother. She could definitely see how Brandon could easily know the mastermind, and Michael.

"Okay, I get it. It's easy for you to know them both. But that doesn't answer the witness protection question I had." Mack stated.

"Oh, that one's easy. You've seen how fucked up his family is. They're the worst at keeping secrets. Michael was the first one to spill when he was drunk, this was a while ago. Amanda then confirmed the whole thing one day when she was crying on my shoulder." Brandon smirked.

Mack nodded her head, satisfied with the answers she received. Now she was fine to dig into her greasy breakfast, ready to face her hangover.


"So…I've been thinking." Brandon stated.

"What much is there to think about when your dog is pooping like crazy?" Mack asked, arching an eyebrow as Brandon made that statement as he was discussing his dog's bowel movements.

"No, about you. Look, for a long time, I've wanted to introduce you to this underworld game. Its easy money, and we're after intelligent people. I've always been too scared to, you know. I've always felt like I've led you astray. You were always the nice, innocent girl growing up." Brandon explained.

"Yet you still introduced me to the secret lives of the rich and the famous." Mack stated.

"That was baby steps. There's a difference between snorting a few cheeky lines on a Saturday night, and getting involved in serious crimes. I need to ensure you're okay with this." Brandon stated.

"I'm not sure. Before last weekend I don't think I would have been. But after going on that yacht mission, I hadn't felt that alive in such a long time. As you said, baby steps. If I slowly got introduced, I think I could do this." Mack said.

"Alright. I'll tell you what. I'll set up a meeting with Lester and we can discuss everything and see how we go from there. Okay?" Brandon asked his younger sister.

"Okay." Mack smiled.