TRIGGER WARNING! There's a section of this story, taken from the game dialogue, which infers forced sex as repayment of a debt in a conversation with Venus Dare. Just a head's up.


Blood of The Rose
Chapter 44: The Russian Problem

Downtown LA, Skyeline Apartments

Ruby peeled her eyes open, her vision filled with white tresses. Weiss was laying next to her, also blinking her pale blue eyes as consciousness returned to the pair of Kindred.

It was then that Ruby noticed an arm snaked around her waist and a warm body snuggled up against her back.

With a sigh, she slowly and carefully extracted herself from the embrace. Heather must have snuck in at some point late in the day and passed out with her clothes and shoes still on. Her mouth was open slightly and soft snores issued forth.

"I suppose if she went out, she must have gone to class?" Ruby whispered.

Weiss nodded absentmindedly as she pulled out clothes to change into. "It would seem that way," she whispered back before disappearing into the bathroom.

The brunette moved as quietly as possible so as to not wake the slumbering ghoul. As she pulled her new favorite shoulderless hoodie up over her head, she pondered the previous night's conversation with Octavia, wondering if the idea she'd had could bear fruit.

Just as she was padding down the stairs barefoot, sneakers and socks in hand, her phone began to ring with the fast-moving beats from the opening of Metallica's Hardwired.

With a grin, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and swiped to answer the call. "Hey Yang, what's up?"

"Rubbles! Got a message left for me last night about a job, wanna meet me outside the alleyway next to Confession?"

"Love to! Um… Where's Confession?"

Yang laughed lightly in her ear. "Right down the block, you pass it going towards the Last Round. Big old gothic church, lit up in red?"

"Ohhh, that!" Ruby grinned excitedly as she pulled her socks on one-handed while seated on the couch. "So what is it, a club?"

"Oh, yeah, and a fucking awesome one at that… We're meetin' up with a guy, though, he deals outta the alleyway."

"Deals? Like drugs?"

"Nah, none of that, more like black market shit. You'll see."

"Cool. Give me fifteen minutes?"

"Awesome, I'll head out now, then. See ya soon, Rubbles!"

"Bye, sis!"

She sat the phone on the seat next to her and began lacing up her shoes, looking up as Weiss sat across from her.

"Plans with Yang?" the platinum-haired Kindred ventured.

"Yep, some kinda job… Be a good time to, y'know, bond and such."

"Hmm, I suppose so…" Weiss offered her a small smile. "Well, that is just as well, there have been several endeavors I have been… neglecting lately that I need to check up on. And I should meet with my sire once again…"

"Yeah, I do need to go see him at some point… Think he'll be upset with me if I put it off a bit longer?"

"I doubt it. In any case, I shall meet you here once again before sunrise."

"You know, I love having you around and all, but you can spend a night at your own Haven," Ruby interjected with a grin as she sat back. "Don't want you to feel like you gotta babysit me all the time."

"Are you sure about that?" Weiss enjoined with a raised eyebrow, her pale eyes twinkling mischievously. "There's no telling what end of trouble you might get into on your own, you know…"

Ruby stuck her tongue out playfully before rising to her feet. She walked over to the side table against the wall where she'd left her sword and picked the weapon up. "And you think me an' Yang won't get into trouble together?"

"Point," the other fledgling sighed with a smirk. "Well, in that case, I'll stand by with the bail money."

"Much appreciated!" the brunette laughed back. "Whelp, I'm off, see ya later, bestie!"

"Ruby, how many times-"

By that point she'd already exited the apartment and closed the door on her friend's protests, giggling all the while. It was starting to become a game, now, how she could manage to fit that little jab in and then bail out before Weiss could berate her once more.

Eventually, she'll get used to it With a shrug and a grin, she entered the elevator, clinging to that delusion as far as it would take her.

Downtown LA, Outside Confession

Past the red-tinted windows of the nightclub Confession, around the wrought-iron and stone fence, was an alleyway that would seem rather unremarkable were it not for the small box truck habitually parked there. Outside of the vehicle stood a dark-skinned, portly man with sunglasses, a yellow basketball jersey, baggy jeans, and an impressive afro. He gave Yang and Ruby both a wide smile as they approached, nodding to Yang before turning his attention to the petite brunette vampire.

"Babygirl, I saw you coming from down the street and I started prayin' to the Lord to find it in his heart to send you to me and HALLELUJAH if he didn't come through for me." The overweight man's grin widened as he tilted his sunglasses down to regard Ruby. "Welcome to Fat Larry's truck of mack!"

"Alright, Larry, no hittin' on my little sister," Yang mock-growled.

"Wha-Wha? Me? Naw, girl, you know me, I'm jus' bein' friendly is all!" Grin unabating, he leaned back against the truck again, arms crossed atop his stomach. "Don' go bein' like that, babygirl."

"Suuure, you are." Yang gave her sister a wink. "Ruby, this would be my contact, Larry. He's good people."

"Right..." Ruby regarded the man with an amused grin. "So… you're Fat Larry?"

"I am the proprietor and salesman of the month several years in a row; the ladies call me 'Oh gawd!', but you can call me Fat Larry with a F-A-T 'cause there's mo' of me to love."

Ruby's giggling intensified at the man's outrageous mannerisms. "Uh-huh… So, what, you sell counterfeit basketball jerseys or something?"

Fat Larry's shades slipped down his nose again as he placed a hand over his heart, his visage a melodramatic blend of both offended and aghast. "Counterfeit?! Man, I look like one of those peanut-headed, rock-smokin' brothers sellin' S-H-A-C-K shirts they made at thei' momma's house? I'm the real deal, OG, man in the alley with what you need! Counterfeit! Why-why you gotta be like that?"

Ruby couldn't help herself, she was outright laughing by this point along with Yang. Omigod you're amazing please be my friend! "Alright, alright. Why don't you show me what you're selling?"

"Nahaa- now that's what I like to hear." He gave the two girls a slick smile. "But it's like this: I save my best stuff for select clientele. Now that don't mean I don't appreciate your bu'ness, it's just, you know, bu'ness."

"Don't give me that shit, Larry. I said she's my sister, and I vouch for her, okay?" Yang tried to be stern but gave it up as a lost cause once the man rolled the back of his truck up. Ruby was already there, practically hanging off the edge as she oohed and aahed over the various weapons on display.

"Yang, lookit here, it's a machine gun pistol!" the brunette gushed excitedly, while Larry just looked on in amusement.

"Yeah, that's an Ingram MAC-10 and there's no way I'm letting you have one after how I saw you handling your pistol in the hotel."

"What? I could totally handle it!"

"Yeah… no."

"Ok, what about this?"

"And that's an auto-shotgun, no way in hell."

"This?"

"Are you kiddin' me? An HK assault rifle?"

"But it looks sooo neat…"

"Fuck no."

"Fiiine…"

After a while of listening to their bickering, his grin growing wider by the second, Fat Larry finally broke in with a chuckle. "Say now, wonder girl - seeing the kind of commando gear you been lookin' at, and knowin' what my main girl here already got stocked up, you ain't just using that stuff for keeping the neighbors away from your shit, is you?"

Ruby grinned back but put her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised. "Now, is that any of your… bu'ness?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He raised his hands in front of him as if to ward off the petite brunette girl. "Yeah, that's your bu'ness, okay. I just figured somebody with a shoppin' list like you and my girl here might be up for a little action's all, a'ight…?"

"That's why we're here, Larry," Yang interjected in amused exasperation. "Fitz passed along your message."

"Well, a'ight, then…" Fat Larry looked both ways around the dim alleyway before he leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Yo, I need a pair of hardcore, pimp-killin', Cleopatra Jones' for a super-sized score. Straight up foxy Pam Grier style. Still wi' me?"

Most of what he said went straight over Ruby's head but she got the basic gist. "Um… yep, you've got my attention… but if we're doin' a favor for you, how about a nice little discount on your cool stuff?"

"Yo, baby, why you gotta shake me down like that?!" He looked down at the ground, indignant but resigned. "If I hadn't just got my foot outta a cast, I'd go do this myself, but… Yeah, it's gotta be that way, fine!"

"Sweet…"

"No new guns, Rubbles," Yang interjected. "Not until you an' I can sit down and work more on that shit, okay?"

"Okay, yeah, fine… and then you'll bring me back here so I can buy the cool stuff?"

"Yes, Ruby."

"Well, then… um… I only have, like, one magazine for my automatic, here…"

"A'ight, a'ight," Larry mused, looking over at the gun Ruby pulled out from behind her back. She carefully kept it pointed at the ground and her finger off of the trigger, remembering Yang's words from earlier. "I gots a coupla Glock mags for that… Yeah, here ya go, babygirl, three of 'em, fully loaded with the good shit."

"Good shit?"

"Hollow-points, jus' the thing for a Kate Beckinsale like y'self."

"Sweeet!"

She happily handed over the money, tucking the new magazines into her pockets and her gun back behind her waistband.

"A'ight, here's the deal," Larry began once they had finished the transaction. "My girl down at Confession right there - name Venus Dare - she askin' around for someone with skills to - well, I'll let her tell you the details. But she paid me to find someone, an' I figure you two the best terminator-types on the block. I c'n give her a call right now, tell her you're on your way if you're interested…?"

"With all the build-up, this oughta be fun," Yang laughed. "Sure, Larry, we're in, let her know we're on our way."

"A'ight, then, you come back to Fat Larry next time you need somethin' y'hear?"

Downtown LA, Confession

If Ruby had been excited about the interior of Asylum, when entering Confession she felt like she'd died and gone to heaven. If heaven consisted of a dance club with the ultimate Goth vibe full of gyrating bodies, dimly-lit atmosphere, and wrought-iron aesthetics.

"Oh… my… freaking… kittens!" she squealed softly, gazing about in open-mouthed rapture from the entryway. The club itself was situated inside a renovated church, though most of the trappings remained, including the iron fence surrounding the property and the heavy, iron-bound doors. The stained-glass windows had been replaced with red-tinted ones. Once through the vestibule, the interior, laid out in the shape of a cross, was an unbelievable sight to the young vampire.

Against the left was a bar and then all along the stone-walled sides were dimly-lit booths. A red carpet led the way to the dance floor in the middle, while at the spot where normally an altar would rest was the DJ booth. Business seemed to be good, with over half of the booths filled and plenty of young people jumping up and down to a wholly appropriate song blasting from the speakers mounted along the roofline.

Ruby sang along to Goth Girls Are Easy by the group Lesbian Bed Death, much to Yang's amusement, as they made their way over to the bar.

"I take it you approve?" Yang asked, leaning towards her sister slightly to be heard over the music.

"Are you kiddin' me?" Ruby laughed happily. "This is even more awesome than Asylum, and it's right down the street from my apartment! It… Man, it just speaks to the Goth girl in me, y'know?"

"Never did outgrow that phase, didja, Rubbles?" the blonde laughed.

Ruby scoffed good-naturedly. "Goth is a lifestyle, Yang, you don't outgrow it."

Almost to the bar, she pulled to a stop and gaped above her head at the cages suspended next to the catwalks that seemed to run the length of the club along both sides. "Are there… naked girls dancing up there?"

Yang chuckled, pulling her further along by the elbow. "Mostly-naked, and yes. It's an ambiance thing."

"Well, I still love the place," Ruby shrugged.

As soon as they arrived at the bar, taking a spot on the far end where it wasn't elbow-to-elbow customers, the bartender hurried on over. She gave Yang an amicable nod, clearly a past acquaintance of the blonde, which Yang returned in a friendly manner with an accompanying grin. And then she directed her attention to Ruby, giving the fledgling a once-over.

Right off the bat, the brunette vampire was a little dumbstruck by the casual way this woman displayed her body, not to mention slightly envious of the confidence it'd take to reveal that much flesh around people. The bartender and presumably club owner's mascaraed eyes were pale, a cross between Weiss' light blue and Yang's lilac. She wore a black halter top with a boob window for her very generous bosom and high-rise orange shorts. Raven hair in a shag cut framed her round face. When she spoke, it was with an English accent that immediately struck Ruby as pretty damn cool, not that she was already inclined to think that this woman was awesome or anything.

"Everybody comes in here's got to have a shot, house rules," Venus grinned invitingly as she pushed a shot glass of some amber-colored liquid towards Ruby. "Inhibition's the first thing to go. Two more of these and you'll be telling me your nastiest, dirtiest stories. I am your beat priestess and it's time to confess."

Ruby glanced over at Yang who was grinning just as widely as if this was a private joke between the two. "Um… are you Venus Dare?"

"Mmhmm. Venus was her name. Sure you don't have anything to confess?"

Yang shook her head as she interjected, evidently deciding to rescue her little sister. "Hey Venus, did Larry mention we were coming by?"

"Larry?" Venus raised an eyebrow elegantly. "Oh, so you two are the 'Cleopatra Jones Squad' he was going to send over?"

"Yep, that's us!" Ruby piped up cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah? Well, then, I've been waiting for someone like you to come in here." She gave the pair of vampires a smirk. "You see, I've got this situation that's gotten a little out of hand and I need someone to inform some people that they won't be getting paid this month. Intrigued yet?"

Trying not to give away the fact that she was intrigued the moment she set foot in the club, Ruby shared a grin with Yang before answering. "Definitely."

"Well… the parking lot next to the Empire hotel - couple of guys, Russian accents, bit thick. I need you to tell them Venus doesn't have their money. That's it."

Yang tilted her head to the side. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"And what's in it for us?" Yang asked, her tone all business-like now. "You know I don't work for free, Venus."

"Fine, fine, standard rate, then, luv." The Goth club owner waved a hand airily before facing Ruby. "As for you, darling… How about drinks on the house for a week?"

Ruby scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Um… Well… I don't drink."

Venus sighed, though more in resignation than exasperation. "You want cash? Whatever, I can do that. Question is: are you worth it?"

"Definitely." The brunette nodded her head, pulling herself up straighter and attempting to exude some of the confidence that her sister next to her always seemed to exhibit so effortlessly. "We'll do it."

"Mmm… I expected you'd bite." Venus' grin was a bit wan this time. "Empire hotel, tell them I'm broke. You can run, right? Never mind… just don't go starting any streetfights you can't finish, alright? These guys are connected. Anyhow, a lot of people have yet to confess to the beat priestess. Later, darlings."

On their way out of the club, Ruby glanced aside at her sibling. "Hey, Yang… How do you know Venus, exactly?"

Yang shrugged easily in reply. "Eh, I just happen to stop in there sometimes for a drink, the ambiance is cool and there's lots of dark booths. Oh, and I did a little job for her a while back, deadbeat who ran up a tab and then tried to skip town." The blonde glanced behind her once they were outside the club doors and the resounding beat of Kanye West's Stronger faded to a dull roar. "Y'know, this place… It'd make for a great Kindred hangout if it weren't owned by kine... Still, you can find some of us there just about any given night."

"Oh, yeah? Were there some Kindred in there tonight?"

"I noticed a couple. One Cammie and one Anarch, though not together, obviously."

"Heh, yeah. Obviously."

As they kept walking past Ruby's Haven, her thoughts drifted to her current situation so far as vampire politics went.

Man, it'd be nice if there was some way people like me an' Weiss from the Camarilla could, I dunno… hang out with folk like Yang an' Nora without everyone getting all judgemental and all… We need something like… like… a neutral zone?

With a snort, she quickened her steps a little to reach Yang's side just as they reached the Empire Hotel. It had a familiar grand facade from when last they visited to deal with Jezebel, but neither girl paid it much attention as they passed the building, turning the corner and into a small parking lot which was dimly illuminated by flickering streetlights. The area was fairly deserted with only a handful of cars and a trio of burly men in ill-fitting suits leaning confidently against the wall of the hotel. The one in the middle perked up as they approached, his beady eyes locking onto the girls.

"Confession bitch send you?" he asked in a very thick Russian accent.

Yang planted herself in front of him with her hands on her hips and a confident smirk on her face. "Who wants to know?"

He apparently decided to ignore that. "Money, where is money?"

Of course, Ruby should have figured her sister would be itching for a fight by this point. She held back a groan as Yang turned her head to give her a jaunty wink before cheerfully answering the question."Up your mother's ass."

At that, Ruby slapped a hand to her forehead, not bothering to conceal the groan this time.

Understandably, the Russian thug didn't take to well to that. "You die," he snarled, reaching into his jacket.

"Again?" Yang laughed as she brandished her knuckledusters.

She didn't give the middle goon a chance to draw his weapon, surging forward to deliver a fierce uppercut. The blonde didn't hold back, her hands glowing with that electric blue that Ruby associated with the Brujah, and her opponent was lifted up on his toes as his jaw shattered before starting to crumple. The coup de gras was delivered to the side of his head, crushing his skull.

Ruby wasn't about to let her sister have all the fun, however. She whipped her sword out of its sheath, heading for the thug on the left. He'd drawn an automatic pistol but was momentarily stunned by the brutal end of his comrade, enough so that she could slash at him unopposed. He let out a guttural shriek as he stumbled back, his hand holding the gun lying on the ground and a deep, bleeding gash in his shoulder. On the backswing, his head fell to the side in a fountain of blood.

By that point, the third man had gotten his gun around but before he could fire, Yang clamped a powerful hand on his forearm. The snap of his bones breaking almost covered up his anguished wail, but that cut off as a punch to his middle knocked all of the wind out of him, staggering him against the wall. Ruby darted in, thrusting her sword up and into his ribcage before jumping back again.

The final Russian mobster slumped lifelessly to the ground.

In all, the fight was over in a matter of seconds. Yang gave Ruby a guileless shrug as she cleaned her knuckledusters off on one of the corpses while the brunette did the same with her sword.

"Oh, don't give me that," Ruby laughed. "That went exactly as you planned it to."

"Who, me?" the blonde queried, affecting innocence.

"Yes, you, dork."

"Dork? I'm not the one with the amine outfit…"

"That outfit is way cool!" Ruby defended herself loftily. "Better than your outfits!"

"What, are you tryin' to say you got better fashion sense than me now?"

"No, I just know people."

Yang snorted humorously as they strolled unconcernedly along the sidewalk towards Confession once more. "Ok, sure thing, Rubbles."

"I do! I got people now who are like, totally awesome at fashion! That's just like me having totally awesome fashion!" Ruby pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Right?"

"Right," her sister laughed, pulling her into a sideways hug. "God, it's good to be with you again. I missed you."

"Yeah?" Ruby stopped and returned the hug fully, ignoring the other passersby on the sidewalk. "Well, I missed you too, Yang."

"Even if I am a dork?"

"Especially because you're a giant dork."

Giggling, the pair separated and resumed their short journey, a little more of a bounce in each of their steps.

Back inside the club, both girls were assaulted by the deafening beats from Dead Bite from Hollywood Undead, another wholly appropriate tune in Ruby's estimation. Though for different reasons this time. In any case, as they approached Venus gave them both a quick wave from the other end of the bar, holding up her index finger to indicate she'd just be a moment.

Time to report on our success! Ruby though with satisfaction their job. Well… more or less.

The crowd was suitably appreciative of the new thunderous beat, going wild as they flung their bodies together on the dance floor.

Finally, Venus arrived, looking at them expectantly.

Yang nodded, leaning forward and practically shouting to be heard. "Passed on your message."

"What?" Venus yelled back, one hand raised to her ear.

Yang sighed and raised her voice further. "I said-"

Frowning, Venus waved her off and gestured towards a door behind them. "I can't hear you, let's talk in my office."

Fortunately, there was another employee there who gave a resigned shrug as Venus pantomimed that he was to take over for a bit. She then lifted the end of the bar as she passed through and then to the door, gesturing for the pair of vampires to follow her.

Up the winding iron staircase took them to where the catwalks were. The beat was just as powerful up here, making conversation impossible, but Ruby's attention was rather occupied in any case. She was stuck between marveling at the gyrating, mostly-naked dancing girls in the cages up there and admiring the view of Venus from behind.

Of course, Yang took the opportunity to nudge her from behind, giving her a teasing snicker that caused Ruby to duck her head in embarrassment.

Well, I mean, maybe I'm finally figuring out my sexuality and all… now that it's a moot point, of course. Still, I can enjoy the view…

Glancing at another of the dancers, this one with cute Asian features and wearing only a pink thong, she once again was grateful for her inability to blush when the girl shot the brunette a jaunty and knowing wink. Of course, this caused her to drop her gaze in embarrassment once again.

Son of a shitbiscuit...

Finally, the trio arrived in the small refectory at the rear of the converted church. The heavy wooden door shut out most of the noise, even though the DJ booth was directly below them. The green carpet looked to be worn but sturdy enough, and the room was lined with a pair of leather couches that surrounded a wide coffee table with some unlit votive candles resting on it.

Venus gestured to one of the couches as she sat on the other with a weary sigh. "I need to have a word with that DJ… Well, you certainly did better than my bouncer did; poor dear can't turn his neck to the right anymore. Already had a call from Boris - wasn't too happy about tonight, son of a bitch." She bit the last phrase out viciously. "Say, how would you like to get into the club business, hmm?"

Sitting up straighter, Ruby gave an eager nod. Omg, yes, with this club? Fuck yes, all the yes! "Sure, yeah, okay, we're listening…"

The Goth woman pulled a pair of envelopes out from her rear pocket, creased in half, and slid them across the coffee table before sitting back again and crossing her arms over her ample chest. "Well, to start this club, I had to take out a significant loan from a king bastard by the name of Boris, and every time I haven't been able to make the monthly, plus interest, the bastard takes what he feels is a suitable late fee."

Ruby picked the envelopes up off the table, passing one to Yang before glancing inside curiously to spy five worn twenty-dollar bills. Sweet!

"Go on." Yang encouraged when the woman had paused, staring off into the distance thoughtfully.

"I've got a club to run, so I'll be blunt." Venus uncrossed her arms and affixed them with an intense gaze. "I refuse to… fuck… that fat, misogynistic old man one more time to hold on to the club. So, I need someone to eliminate him. Do this and I'll make you silent partners."

"Uh-huh." Yang leaned in knowingly. "What's the catch?"

"Boris is high up in the Russian mafia. Does that make a difference?"

"Hell, no," Yang laughed.

Ruby nodded once more, firmly this time, in acceptance. Neat, and this is like rescuing a damsel in distress, even! Well, sorta. I mean, it counts, right? She gave Venus an excited grin. "He's still human, right? He'll be dead before the sun rises."

"Knew I could count on you, darlings." Venus gave them a relieved smile. "He's at the Empire hotel. Always has a few of the fiercest bully boys standing around trying to out-sneer each other. He's got a short temper, and more than likely he's been drinking for the last four hours. Here - key to the penthouse level."

Ruby rose from her seat, accepting the key. "Easy-peasy."

As the pair of vampires exited the refectory, Yang waved cheerfully over her shoulder. "Be back when he's no longer breathing!"

Ruby, leading the way, paused at the top of the spiral staircase. The music was a bit more muted now, relatively speaking, but for a change, she actually didn't recognize the tune. Still, they could converse over the music with their enhanced hearing. "Hey, Yang?"

"Yeah, Rubbles?"

"I really, really, really like this place."

"Heh, yeah, me too."

"And… Venus is pretty cool."

"Yup, she is."

Ruby chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Fortunately, this time she remembered to be careful of her fangs. "Wouldn't it be cool if this club were, y'know, like The Last Round?"

"Um…" Yang stared at her in perplexion. "How so?"

"Like… Like a Kindred-friendly club… But one that Camarilla and Anarch could go to without, y'know, bein' judged or anything."

"That's actually kind of a cool idea."

"Yeah," the brunette grinned, plans forming in her head. "Yeah, it is."

First things first, let's go kill a Russian mob boss and get Venus out of debt…

As they reached the bottom of the steps, Ruby noticed a door opposite the one which would take them back to the bar. It was halfway open, revealing an alcove that could be used to take tickets for events. Curious, she pushed the door the rest of the way open and poked her head inside.

There was a laptop sitting on the countertop, open and powered on. Yang leaned in as well, her mouth open to clearly admonish the brunette, but Ruby had already found the sticky note on the back of the lid with the word "slave" written on it, logged in, and opened the single unarchived email. Both girls paused and stared agape at the message.

(Subject) Tonight?
(From) Larry
I thought we might get together tonight if it pleases you, Mistress.

Ruby covered her mouth over her giggling and raced out the door and out of the club, Yang close on her heels.

"This is why you shouldn't snoop!" Yang chastised half-heartedly.

"I can't help it!" Stepping onto the sidewalk, she let out a snort. "And besides, it could be a different Larry, right…?"

Both of them paused, identical images flashing through their heads, and shared a shudder before moving on, resolutely and wordlessly deciding never to bring this up ever again.


A/N: I love Fat Larry so very much. I've done this questline a tad differently as I wanted to just skip the whole garage stealth mission (yawn) and get to the good stuff. That said… I actually had to deliberate on whether or not to include "peanut-headed", which was part of the game dialog but might be taken as racist. That's not the intent here, and I don't think Larry would use it as such, more as a derogatory phrase in general. If it truly offends anyone, let me know and I can strike it out.

Next chapter, let's go beat up a mob boss, eh?

Much love as always to my wonderful Beta and collaborator, SilvanaCrowe, who still manages to keep up with me even when they're back at college, and hugs to you awesome readers and reviewers, it was great to hear from you all again! Blacsparrow, kinigget, Sharkdude5, noselo, Kingofclubs8129, Erenor, deathgundam006, AntonSlavik020, Knight of Everwatch, noone297, zerosabers, TacoKing23, Scott Wolf - Thanks for sticking with me!

Stay shiny!