The LoudVerse: Grand Theft Loud

by FrostbiteFear

Life for Lincoln Loud has been rough. With his family suffering through debt, he proceeds to look for answers that is until he meets a figure from the past who convinces him to turn to the life of crime to make money for his family. Things go well until his actions take a turn for the worse. What will Lincoln do when his family is caught in the midst of his Actions?

20. The Last Laugh (Act 1 Finale)

"Some things in the multi-verse undergo certain events that would escalate further down it's own timeline. Earth-2987 is a very basic example in the LoudVerse. We are now reaching the first step to Lincoln's journey and it's only the beginning. I was very intrigued as to how the Lincoln Loud of this universe differed from his other counter parts. In one world i have seen a Lincoln in which he was a mere machine created by his sisters. One showcased him as an inventor in a dystopian Victorian styled future. Another showed him in a cyber punk styled future where he was simply a street rat getting by. In another, he was a growing man who fought in Vietnam. This Lincoln however was different. Was he a hero? Or an antagonist? I could clarify him as an Anti-Hero with motives unfit for a hero. He's killed, robbed and now he's undergoing a vendetta against the man who tried to get his sister killed. I'm still keeping an eye on him. The more i discover about his true character, the more i can unravel about what role he will play in the upcoming danger. There are other worlds out there that will play victim as well, and i know what kind of danger they will be in. When the danger comes I'll have to interfere. As a spectator it is risky interfering with the universes out there as it can jeopardize the balance in that set universe but i'll have no choice. The other spectators are aware as well. He also watches them from afar. I've sensed his dark presence more than a few times. Here i am thinking I've gotten rid of him for good but somehow he's back. I know he's out there, and soon he will return with darker and devious motives. Until then, my spawns know what to do."

---

Here we are everyone. The Act 1 finale of Grand Theft Loud. The first act was merely the beginning of what we will explore down the road in this AU. There's still the next two acts, the sequel and a few spin offs left for this AU and that's just a small addition to my "LoudVerse Collection". Once i have these finished then the entire GTL Saga will be complete.

Now as i stated before once i finish this finale i will leave it on an intermission to work on other projects of mine. One example is Twelve Candles (a request long overdue for an ending) and i also have another i really want to release since i still have ideas brewing up for its story. GTL isn't finished yet. Still have 2 more acts to go. I won't start Act 2 for a while but i will come back to it. I want to start releasing more stories until then. That little paragraph in the beginning is my little "Easter Egg" to my build up i'm working on.

This chapter took a while for me to complete due to some parts being unwanted. I read over it many times and there were a few moments where i deleted a few scenes and replaced them with something better. I hope you guys enjoy this 10,000+ chapter.

Now without further ado, here it is; The act 1 finale. I hope you all enjoy.

---

Grand Theft Loud

.

The Last Laugh

.

Act 1 Finale

.

Elm Street

May 14th, 2019

3:34 PM

Why was she so conflicted? Everything on her mind is going around in never ending circles. She's trying to put it all together but something's missing. Was it because of Lincoln? What had happened to him? He went in a burning theater only to come out with injuries you'd see in a bar fight. The bruises don't lie. Something had went down in there that night.

That night stirred up a lot of questions. She was supposed to question Lincoln at the hospital but the same day she first came to visit him the Loud family were there with him. It felt wrong to question him there, not with his family around him. When she came back the next day she meant to continue but instead she chose not to once again. She planned to make a casual conversation that would lead to her questions but it ended up carrying on. A few times she tried bringing it up, he chose to either ignore the question or talk about something else. The two talked and talked for hours, reminiscing on childhood memories.

Back when things were much easier. Back when Royal Woods wasn't a shitty town to live in. She loved it here back then. Before she moved to Great Lakes she enjoyed hanging out with Lincoln. Not only did she have a serious crush on him, but she just enjoyed being a kid with him. They shared a lot of school memories and embarrassing moments that Lincoln preferred not to reminisce upon. Regardless, she enjoyed her visit with Lincoln.

But now the next time she sees him she will need to ask him about what happened. She isn't blind nor stupid. She could tell he was in some sort of brawl inside the theater. Whatever it was, she'll get to the bottom of it.

Today marked her first day of her vacation week at the RWPD. Every now and then she gets a vacation period where she can choose to either stay home or actually go somewhere to enjoy. Today she decided to just relax at home. Not even the weekends helped her kick back from a long week at the precinct.

On her couch she turned on the TV and went about to see what was worth watching. The first channel that came up was Weazel News.

Ugh

She really hated that channel. The constant "This is Weazel News" tended to bug her a lot. Whenever she turns on the radio that's the first thing she hears. It gets annoying real quick. However their current headline peaked her interest.

Several Liberty City Mobsters found dead

It's not Liberty City without its five crime families. From the Caveretti's to the Lombardi's, all the way to the DeLucci's. Each of the five families reign over each corner of Liberty City.

"Several known Associates and Enforcers for these families have turned up dead in many family owned properties and public favorites. The first victim was Delucci Enforcer and five time Alderney State Corrections convict Michael "Skippy" Gucco, who was found murdered in the Moonlight Cafe over by Star Junction. Witnesses say he was casually enjoying his meal before two men in suits walked up behind him and shot him while he ate. No robberies were made and no injuries were reported. Many have come to a conclusion that it was a mob hit."

"Next is Lombardi associate Giuseppe "Square faced" Luciano who was found murdered on Firefly Island over by the carousel. It was reported that Giuseppe was enjoying a day at the boardwalk with his wife and two daughters before another man in a suit approached the family and shot him in front of his wife and daughters. Witnesses say that the man got into a black vehicle before driving off."

"The last victim in these connected hits was Caveretti Enforcer Tony Jon Morano who was found murdered in Alderney City. Neighbors report seeing Tony leaving his apartment only to be shot down by another suited assailant. One neighbor named Rick Jackson attempted to tackle down the assailant only to be shot down himself. The assailant escaped not long afterwards."

"These murders share a strange connection to last month's incident involving Notorious Caveretti enforcer Tomas "Tommy" Zuretto. Zuretto was shot down in Middle Park at dusk and disappeared in the river. His body was never found and no arrests were made. Detective Vincent Pistone has deemed this a cold case, claiming that every possible clue to the assailant lead to a dead end. Not long after Zuretto's assassination, another Caveretti enforcer known as Lucky Lorenzo was taken down as well. LCPD continues to investigate on the matter claiming that foul play might have a role with these cases."

"Many residents claim that the city would be better off without these mobsters around while some claim that the streets will now get wild without the protection from these men. Liberty City, the worst city in America? This is Karen Palmer, reporting to you live from Liberty City."

She remembered hearing about that incident not too long ago. At first she didn't bat an eye, considering these were criminals to start with. But after hearing the following murders on the other mobsters, that's when it caught her attention.

It can't be coincidence that more of these gangsters end up getting killed afterwards. Like the news said, it has to be some kind of foul play.

But what did she care? These men most likely did things much worse when they were around. It's not like they're saints. But yet again with her grudge, she isn't one either.

Her phone started to ring. Looking over to the screen it revealed an unknown contact number.

At first she wanted to just let it ring and go to voicemail. She just didn't feel like answering. A few rings later she reluctantly answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"If it ain't so! Haven't heard from you for a long time!" said the excited voice from the line.

She was confused as to who it was she was talking to. "I-I'm sorry? Who is this?" she asked.

"What? No way! Don't tell me you forgot about your best bud from Great Lakes?"

"Great Lakes?" she wondered who it was.

"C'mon Ronnie Anne! It's me! Sid!"

Sid? Oh man she hasn't heard from her in a long time, and she feels really bad about it too. She had her contact and she was very capable of reaching out to her online and yet she hasn't.

"Sid! Dude oh man! H-How you been? It's been so long Jesus Christ!" she said ecstatically

"There's the Ronnie i know! I've been good actually. Great Lakes has been pretty boring. How is it over there? Any better?" Sid asked.

Ronnie Anne sighed "It's shit Sid. Seems like crime here got a helluva lot worse. Gang violence is higher than it was in March after the bar shootout, Then sometime last week Flip DiMaggio was killed. Apparently he was somehow involved too. Then there was a shooting in an apartment complex over by Pine Bay... Did you hear what happened recently?"

.

.

.

"Yeah..I did."

"It's about the worst thing that's happened in this town. To make things worse, a close friend of mine was there too...and his sister."

"Is he okay? What about his sister?" She asked in concern.

Ronnie Anne remembered how Lincoln looked when he emerged from the blazed building. Bruised and slightly burned. The image came across her mind plenty of times and it hurts her.

"He's fine so far, but god...Sid if only you'd seen him that night. He had a few burns on his leg but worst of all he had bruises on his face. Like he was attacked. I asked him about it but he refuses to tell me what happened."

"Well you're a cop now right? Can't you just interrogate him or something? From the sound of it, seems like there's something he isn't telling you that he doesn't want you to find out. I mean don't get me wrong i think i know who you're talking about when you say close friend...is it Lincoln?" Sid asked.

"Yeah, it's Lincoln." she replied

"Yeah, i mean he's a real charmer from what you've mentioned about him. You couldn't stop talking about him when we met. But back to the important matter, i think he knows something you don't or that he doesn't want you to know."

"Yeah it seems like it. I mean every time i ask him he either changes the subject or just doesn't answer at all. It's really starting to fucking annoy the shit out of me Sid. We were best friends growing up too, why is it so hard for him to tell em what happened? I really want to help him."

"Talk to him about it. If he truly cares about you then he'll tell you. I don't mean that to come off the wring way, i mean i'm sure he cares about you a lot. However Lincoln needs to be truthful to you. He can't hide it away and expect you to ignore it. Men can be that clueless sometimes. I mean take Ryan for instance. He hesitated so many times before he finally proposed to me. I mean every fucking time i was expecting him to do it but he always backed out probably thinking i would say no."

Ronnie smiled a bit "I remember you telling me about it. He finally took the courage to ask you right?"

"Eventually he did. And i even told him that all he had to do was just do it and i would've said yes! I really love the man, no way i would say no! All Lincoln has to do is just talk to you about what happened. There's no way in hell you'd judge him for what happened right?"

"Hell no Sid. I just want to help him that's all."

"Then either you talk to him about it firmly or he does. Just show him that you care and he'll open up to you more."

She really had to give credit to Sid. After months of not speaking to her or keeping in contact she did help like she would've any other day. She really missed her.

"I will. Thanks Sid, you truly are an amazing friend a woman could ask for." She said sincerely.

"Why wouldn't I help out my best friend? After all you were my first true friend when i moved to Great Lakes and i could never forget you Ronnie Anne. Do come visit some day though, i really miss seeing you around."

"You can count on it Sid, I get another vacation period next month so i promise that I'll come by then. Carlota will let me stay by the apartment so I'll have no problem coming by. Do say hey to Ryan, tell the dork to not mess things up between you two otherwise I'll kick his ass!"

Sid laughed on the other side of the line. "He's scared of you already Ronnie, I think that's the last thing he'd do as long as you're up breathing. Anytime you want to chat or if you really need someone to talk to just give me a call anytime, except Thursdays. That day of the week is reserved for...special occasions between me and Ryan."

"Ohhh well take it easy dude!" she laughed. "But no problem Sid. I enjoyed hearing your voice again."

"Likewise Ronnie! I'll talk to you real soon. Take care and stay safe. Oh and good luck with Lincoln, i hope he does open up with you."

"I do too Sid. You take care too."

After their conversation she took a trip down memory lane. She remembered the day Sid moved to her apartment building and how the two quickly became best friends.

---

Great Lakes City (Casagrande Apartment)

June 3rd, 2006

1:04 pm

Life in Great Lakes was getting decent for Ronnie Anne. At first, moving here was a hard adjustment to her life. She left her old life back in Royal Woods and had to make a new life here. Her mother, Bobby, and Bebe had no issue moving since they loved it here. Bobby loved working at the bodega with grandpa Hector. The bodega was his second home in Great Lakes and there was no other place he'd rather be than there. Hector for one was glad that he'd soon have someone young and fresh in the family to run the bodega. Her older sister Bebe was always a fan of the big city. She dreamed of living in the city someday. Her life goal is to start a life in Liberty City so that she could start a career as an actress. Great Lakes City was a good start. She and Carlota got along very well. Carlota herself was glad to finally have two sister-like cousins living with her. Bunking with Bebe was like having a twin sister. As for she and Ron, the two twins didn't like the fact that they had to move so far away from Royal Woods.

Ron was upset that he'd be leaving behind his life and friends back home. Lincoln was his best friend and Lincoln saw him as the brother he wanted. That alone hurt him because the two were inseparable back in Royal Woods. He wasn't sure he'd find friends like Lincoln in Great Lakes. Ronnie Anne felt the same way. She hated the fact that she would leave behind her home and friends as well. She and Lincoln were close too. Like REALLY close. They had a hidden relationship together and she loved it. Ron knew instantly however. Said it was a "twin instinct".

And now, here she was. Living in Great Lakes along with her brothers and sister.

In time she did make friends. She met Nikki, Casey and Sameer. They quickly became friends from the get go. She did think that because she wasn't a city kid like they were, she would end up neglected. Not soon after she found out Sameer wasn't even from the city either.

Today she went about to check out more of the city on her own. The skate park sounded nice so she decided to pay it a little visit. She asked Ron if he wanted to come by but he was too lazy to get out of bed. Sleazeball.

On her way back she went to get herself a fresh hot dog from a stand nearby. When she got her hot dog she bumped into a girl who was walking by,

"Can't you watch where you're going? Seriously you almost made me drop my hot dog." she said

"Oh! Sorry about that. Didn't mean to!" said the girl.

Ronnie Anne looked over to the girl who bumped into her. She was an brunette of Asian descent. She wore a blue striped long sleeve, black jeans, black and white converse and a blue headband. The girl looked to be around her age.

The girl looked at Ronnie Anne's skateboard. "Wow! You skateboard? That's so cool! I always wanted to ride one! It looks so much fun!" she said hyper actively.

She was a bit taken back by her high energy. She seemed overexcited by her skateboard. Should she even let her touch "Railrider"?

"Uh yeah it's my board. You never rode one before?" Young Ronnie Anne asked.

"Nope! Well at least not the way most kids do. I was on it once but every time i step on it I slip and fall." She replied.

She felt bad for her. The girl never rode a skateboard like she has. Maybe she can help, that is if she could cooperate well. Just lending "Railrider" to a stranger felt wrong.

"How's about i teach you?" She suggested.

Sid's face lightened up "Really? That would be awesome!"

"So what's your name?" Ronnie asked.

"I'm Sid Chang, and you?" Sid asked.

Ronnie Anna stuck her hand out "I'm Ronnie Anne Santiago."

Up a block they went over to a pathway that had a stairway. Ronnie Anne thought maybe this could be a good start. She wouldn't have Sid shred on the rails but the area was always so easy to ride on. Maybe Sid could catch on. The two went up the stairs as Ronnie Anne was explaining to Sid the basics of riding a skateboard.

"You see, those are just basic things i learned when i rode my board. If you've seen Tony Hawk, then you know how awesome he is on a board. So here Sid, try it out. Just be careful please." Ronnie Anne said, giving her board to the twelve year old.

Sid took the board as if she knew how to ride it. Upon putting her foot down on the grip tape she instantly slipped right off and landed on her back, leaving the board to fly forward towards Ronnie Anne. Luckily she managed to catch it all while injuring her hand.

Sid looked as if she had birds flying in circles around her head. Good thing she wore a helmet.

Ronnie Anne went up to Sid to see if she was alright. "Sid! Dude you okay?"

She got up as if she were just resting on the floor. "Oh yeah. Didn't expect that to happen. Probably should've held on to something though."

Ronnie Anne couldn't help but laugh. She remembered all the other times she fell on her board. She got better the more she fell and she was sure Sid would too.

"Hey it's alright to fall. It's how you learn. We could always hang out and teach you how to ride." said Ronnie Anne.

"Yeah for sure! I'd love to hang out!" Sid said excitingly.

The two stuck around for a bit talking about themselves. Ronnie Anne learned that her family had recently moved to Great Lakes and were just settling in. Sid decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see how the city is and if she'd like it. She also learned that Sid was a year older than her.

Ronnie Anne started to walk back home and Sid followed. At first she thought Sid just wanted to walk her home before going back herself. Upon reaching the building Ronnie Anne went to say goodbye.

"Well Sid it was nice to meet you. Pretty cool getting to know you too. I don't have too many friends here since i moved. I have a few but they haven't been able to hang out as of recently. Hey maybe you can meet them someday!" she said.

"Totally! It would be nice to meet some friends that are from around here. My parents and younger sister are still new to these parts. Luckily we managed to get an apartment for decent rent and the place isn't bad at all. Although the stray cats are a bigger problem."

Stray cats? The only stray cats she knows of are the "street gang" Grandpa Hector mentions. Maybe they relocated?

"Well Sid it was definitely nice to meet you. I'll look forward to hanging out with you again soon!" Ronnie Anne said as she went upstairs.

"You too!" Sid replied. Sid was walking up the same set of stairs Ronnie Anne was. She caught notice.

"Uh Sid? Aren't you going home?"

"What are you talking about? Of course i am i live in this building."

She lives here!?

"Wait! Here?" Ronnie asked

Sid shrugged "Well yeah. A nice old woman named Rosa helped us move here. She showed us the apartment and everything."

Her Grandma Rosa? No Way

"Dude! That's my Grandmother Rosa! She's the manager of this building for Mr. Scully who owns the place. Dude you have no idea how awesome this is! We're practically neighbors!" Ronnie Anne said excitingly.

Sid's faced lightened up and began to jump in excitement as well. She couldn't believe that the first friend she met in her new home city is also her neighbor. One thing's for sure, the two will have a lot of memories together.

"Whaddya say we hang out by the skate park tomorrow?" asked Ronnie Anne. "I'll even knock on your door to meet with you."

"Definitely! Can't Wait! See Ya!" Sid said as she entered her apartment.

What a day. First she meets someone new out in the street who she first thought was some random kid not paying attention to where they're going. Next thing you know they're practically best friends. She looked forward to having her as her neighbor.

---

That was years ago.

Back when they didn't have all the stress of being a grownup. Back when they could only focus on being a kid and only worry about school. Now all they seemed to worry about was the danger of today's world. The violence, the fighting, just about everything.

Just recently her closest friend Lincoln was in the danger zone of Royal Woods' recent terror attack. What scared her deeply was that he could've died. He went into the danger to rescue his sister but in the end he came out with serious injuries.

One thought she kept in mind, what is their current relationship? They act like best friends like they have in their childhood but they also care and adore each other like lovers. She's still unsure on what exactly their relationship currently stands.

Back in her home she sat on her red velvet suede couch. The TV was on and her current show was almost to a conclusion. She spent so much time in her own thoughts that she missed most of the episode but that didn't matter much to her.

Her current vacation period still lasted for the week. Maybe she can go somewhere for a change. But where?

No way she can travel out to other cities such as Vice, Liberty or Los Santos within a week. Not even San Fierro or Las Venturas. Traveling far was out of the question. She could visit Great Lakes and catch up to her old pals. She told Sid that she'd visit next time simply because Carlotta wasn't in town for the week. Sid would offer to let her stay but Ronnie didn't want to burden her.

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

Up she went and over to the door. She briefly wondered who was visiting. Upon opening her door she was a bit surprised with who was at the door.

It was Lynn.

---

1216 Franklin Avenue

11:30 AM

May 14th, 2019

What else is there to do? How should he do this? After spending many hours awake he finally made a decision.

He was going to find the guy and kill him.

It's been days since the incident at the theater and the entire Loud house was filled with dread since the return of Lincoln and Luan. No one seemed happy. At dinner, the table would be silent. Everyone would eat without saying a word. Not even looking at one another. It wasn't that they were nervous to look at Lincoln or Luan but it was because the fact that the two almost died is spinning in their minds.

Lynn felt like she was going to lose two family members anytime they went outside. Whenever Luan or Lincoln would step out even if it was to take out the garbage, she would constantly ask them where they were headed off too and even try to accompany them. It was more odd with Lincoln she thought. Every time she tried to even speak to him he would brush her off and tell her that he's fine or that he wants to be alone. With Luan she just seemed really worried.

Lucy for once was frightened at the fact that Lincoln and Luan were almost nothing but burned spirits. The night after visiting Lincoln she had a nightmare and for Lucy, she enjoys nightmares since she was a little girl but this one wasn't one she enjoyed at all. What she remembered about it was seeing Lincoln. He wasn't the same brother she remembered. It was like he was someone else, someone more...dangerous. She could see him with the most frightening death stare he could ever give to someone. He had blood on his hands and she wasn't sure whose blood it was. The last thing she remembered seeing was him turning to her not saying a word before he raised up a weapon and shot her dead. She woke up in fear and for that entire morning she was afraid of her brother. She wasn't sure if her nightmare was trying to tell her something.

Things weren't different for Lana. The past few days she was on the phone with Lola, someone she hasn't spoken to in a long time. Lola heard about the incident and called Lana immediately asking if everyone was alright. She asked for Luan and Lincoln and soon broke down on the phone hearing that Lincoln was in the hospital. She spent the entire day talking to her twin and for once since the incident, she felt pure happiness. Lola missed a day of photo shoot just to talk to her sister and she didn't regret not one bit of it.

The youngest Loud sister was scared for her brother and sister. She was happy knowing that they survived and all but she feared for them the same way Lynn did. Soon when Lincoln came home she became very clingy to him. Normally Lincoln would appreciate his sister acting like that but he didn't. He had a dark atmosphere floating around him. He just seemed so cold. She spent the day at home and skipped the school day. The next day no one questioned her about the incident and her absence was noticed but she wasn't penalized for it.

Rita and Lynn Sr. were glad that their two kids were safe but now it seemed like it started to affect them more now than it did that night. Rita would refuse to let Luan leave the felt like someone was after her daughter and the only thing she could think of doing was to shield her at home. Lynn Sr. however took things a bit lighter than his wife. He just wanted them to be safe and anytime Luan would go somewhere he would just hug her and tell her to be careful. He did however break his promise to Luan. When she wasn't around he would go to the basement over by the the cabinet where he stored alcohol. From there he would attempt to drink his sorrows away once again.

Luan however was different. She was scared that night over the fact that someone tried to get her killed but what scared her more was seeing her little brother as some sort of killing machine. After the revelation she became distant from her brother. She didn't visit him at the hospital nor did she ever want to. At home, she wouldn't even look at him because every time she did all she could see was the man she saw that night, a cold blooded killer. As of now she wasn't sure what to think of him. What else has he done that no one else knows of? Was he responsible for the latest shootings and acts of crime around town? If he was, then she could no longer see him the same way again. In the end he'll be a complete nobody.

Lincoln sat in his room for most of his time since he came back from the hospital. He would only leave his room to use the bathroom, shower or to eat. He was coping in his own way. On one side he's angry over what had happened that night and on the other side he was scared of what had happened. Mostly because of what he ended up doing.

He felt satisfaction in killing Otto. It felt good that night but today, it feels weird and terrifying. Never in his life did he ever think that killing someone felt great. When he first started as a hired gun he didn't feel good about killing people. That all changed however, and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

However his main concern was Luan.

She knows now.

She knows what he's done. How he flat out murdered a man amidst the terror and chaos that killed innocents. The look on her face said it all. When he looked at her eyes he saw hurt and terror. She was afraid...of him.

After the two came crawling out from the theater she made a quick maneuver to get away from his as possible. When they walked over to the ambulance she quickly forced his arm away from her as if he were touching her inappropriately. She looked at him with the same eyes she had at the stage and in his heart he felt hurt. He was only trying to save her but in the end he scared her. He wondered if she spilled the beans to Mom and Dad.

So far it didn't seem that way. But every attempt to talk to her resulted in her completely zoning him out and avoiding eye contact.

It's as if the bond between brother and sister had shattered completely.

His heart grew furious by the minute. Ignoring the current feelings he had over the dispute he and Luan are having he shunned himself from the family to devise of a plan.

Realizing that the only answer was to kill the real man behind his sister's attempted assassination he decided he should visit one person.

Lisa Vale.

If there's one person he knows that could find someone anywhere it would be her. She could help him track down the man and from there he would hunt him own and kill him.

He got up from bed and changed into a shirt, jeans and orange jacket. He missed breakfast but that didn't bother him. He was about to leave before Lynn noticed him stepping out the door.

"Yo Linc, where are you going?" she asked him. She got up from the couch and walked up to him by the front door.

He didn't turn to look at her. "I'm going out."

"But where?" she nervously asked. "I'll go with you-"

"NO!" he instantly roared. She flinched at him yelling, almost as if he was about to hit her.

"No. I don't need anyone to come with me and don't bother following me." he said. He then walked away into the street leaving Lynn tensed up.

What was his deal? Not once has she acted hostile to him since he came home. She was only just worried about him but instead of receiving the affection he seemed to be turning it down. She noticed his behavior changed ever since that night.

At first she thought maybe it was over what had happened and how Luan almost died. Maybe he's just dealing with it harder than anyone and he doesn't want anyone to know.

Thing is, it didn't seem that way. He's been acting strange as of lately and she's going to find out why.

Her mother came to the living room after hearing Lincoln's short outburst. "Lynn? What happened? I heard your brother yell."

She turned to the aged woman. "Honestly mom i think he's still upset about the whole incident. I think we should just give him a bit of space." she lied.

Her mother looked very worried but agreed to it. She returned to the bedroom while Lynn had a different destination in mind.

---

Lisa's home

12:00 PM

May 14th, 2019

There sat the man with white hair.

His eyes still ignited with the anger and rage he felt that night at the theater. What was first a rescue mission turned into a deadly fight took a turn for Lincoln. There he discovered that his sister was being hunted down by a ruthless mercenary who hired men to do his work for him. In turn he killed those men and soon killed the merc. He felt a sensation of happiness and anger when shot him multiple times. The final blow being a headshot.

That night something changed Lincoln. Almost as if he had a change of heart. Starting his path as a hired gun ended up changing the once beloved brother into someone else. Someone different.

This revelation didn't bother him at all. In fact to him, it was a change worth needed.

Now he wanted to take an act of vengeance on the real mastermind behind Luan's attempted assassination. There was only one person who could help him.

Lisa Vale.

He called Lisa and asked to speak to her in private. She agreed, noting that the tone of his voice had something important to say but not over the phone. She awaited his arrival and when he arrived she had him seated. From there he told her everything. The show, the attack and the merc.

"Otto Percivus, yes i've heard of him." She turned to her computer and opened up a few files showcasing all she knows about the man.

"Born on September 3rd, 1982 to Calvin Percivus and Rayne Krenshaw in Detroit, Michigan. Constant bad behavior in Elementary. Went to what was known as Andrew Garfield high school before dropping out and surprisingly obtaining his GED. Got arrested the first time for shooting the neighbors dog with a pellet gun and then assaulting said neighbor when confronted. At one point he was held in Alderney State Corrections when he and a few other men who are now presumed dead tried to rob the Liberty bank. This was before the actual successful robbery by the way, you know the one where some blabbering Irishmen brothers were arguing? Anyways, After his sixth arrest he was last seen in Detroit where he murdered his father out of rage and heavily wounded his mother. Of course i actually had tabs on him but what fun would it have been to release said info to the authorities?"

"You mean you knew where he was and you did nothing?! He almost killed my sister you sociopathic bitch!" He yelled.

Lisa didn't flinch. Of course she understood where he came from. The man almost killed his sister.

"Then consider my most sincere apology. This is however an old file i kept track of. After a while i stopped giving interest about him and moved on to more important people to steal info from. If i had known he would attack your sister i would have done something about it Lincoln. That itself isn't false.

It's all in the past. There really is nothing he could do now but do what he came here for.

"I guess so. Sorry Lisa. But back to the matter in hand. Can you find any trace of who he was working for?" he asked.

She thought about it for a second. If she remembered where, she might be able to trace phone calls or any sort of communication between Otto and his contact. Retrieving phone conversations were impossible for the average person but she's capable of doing just that, but it wasn't easy. Doing that would take time and she could only imagine that Lincoln did not have the patience to wait.

"I could find his records and see if he had any sort of communication with his contact. Maybe if i dig deep enough i may find a mention of their name."

Typing as fast as she could, she went on to look for something. She opened up emails he sent and received and tried looking for keywords. Little by little she found some pieces, one of them being "entertainment company."

"Here, i found one clue that may help us sort out everything i have on him. One email states a payment made from 'M. A.' but it doesn't include a full name or complete email."

The email recipient name was mashed up into different words and numbers. "MA23wE7hnsi99"

Lisa tried tracking down the IP address in which the email came from however it seemed that whoever used this email did a good job on scattering its origin.

"I'll try a different method. I'm not saying that finding this culprit will be impossible but it may be a bit difficult, even for my standards. It's almost as if they didn't want to be found." Lisa explained.

As irritating as this was he was willing to give her time. After all she was his best chance at finding the person.

He watched as Lisa continued to decipher and decrypt everything she had on the screen. Multiple addresses showed up and one by one they started to disappear. The names on her screen popped up and vanished all at once, not even giving him enough time to read them.

A few seconds later she struck gold.

"I may have found a possible lead." she said.

"What is it?" Lincoln asked.

She pushed her glasses through the bridge of her nose. "I found a name. According to this paragraph the whole name mentions a man named Merle Ashton."

Isn't he the big entertainment guy?

"Merle Ashton? Of Ashton Media Studios?"

"That is correct. According to a recent transaction from Merle Ashton himself, he deposited $75,000 to what is labeled as "Exterminator" under the contact name. And if we go to Otto's recent transaction."

She opened up his bank account and statements.

"It shows that he's received $75,000 from Ashton himself. It's no coincidence that he received such currency. We could only piece together that he had received a bounty payment to exterminate your sister. My best bet is to confront Ashton himself and-"

"Where is he now?" Lincoln interrupted.

She checked her computer and located his cellphone. His direct location pinpointed him near town over by the main square.

"According to his cellphone he's over by the square. His recent text messages suggest that he was in some sort of meeting with a coroner. Most likely about Otto's death. Now i suggest-"

Lincoln had no interest in hearing her anymore. He wanted to go over there and shoot his goddamn brains out. All he could focus on now was to get rid of him. But now he remembered something.

He has no weapon.

He lost his firearm in the theater.

"I'm aware that you have nothing to defend yourself with. I suggest taking a suitable firearm over by that case by my separate desks." Lisa pointed out to a silver trimmed black suitcase that was closed but not locked.

He approached the case and retrieved a new weapon.

She was a new wine colored wooden gripped black snub nose .38 with an improved iron sight. In the case were boxes of rounds. Enough to shoot down a military base if given the firepower. He took the gun and took a feel for it. The grip felt good and the weight felt nice. He looked through the iron sight and felt it was just right.

He turned to Lisa "How'd you get your hands on weapons?"

She shrugged. "You have your way and i have mine. Now do be careful, he'd most likely have armed guards around him. The streets of Royal Woods have been crazy as of lately. And of course you'd know." She turned her chair back to face her computer. "Might i also suggest taking another spare firearm? A six round revolving handgun won't be too much of a use if he's on the run and you have to reload cartridges. I suggest taking a semi auto regular handgun. There should be one in the case underneath."

Lifting up the case he opened the second one. There was a black tinted P99 Handgun with a rubber grip and green iron sights. The 9x19 Parabellum handgun feels good in his hand. The grip is possibly the best feature. Firing this gun would be easier than the .38 he has. The magazine was loaded with the safety on. Five spare magazines were on the sides. By now he has enough ammunition to take out any guy he sends his way. Luckily for him his orange jacket was capable of holding both firearms and the spare rounds.

"You want them back clean?" He asked. Knowing he might get some blood on the weapons sometime soon.

"Consider them a gift Lincoln. As compensation for your recent help." Lisa said not looking away from her computer.

At last the moment will come that the man responsible will suffer for everything he's done Once he kills him, there will be nothing left of that guy. No legacy, nothing. Because someone is about to have the last laugh.

---

Town Square

12:24 PM

May 14th, 2019

The town square was crowded with people looking for a story. Ever since the incident that terrorized and killed people, that was nothing but the main topic constantly being asked. Merle was already annoyed with the fact that these sleazeballs who call themselves news reporters just can't seem to get the picture that he wasn't there, but little do they know he was the one behind it.

Today he paid a visit to the coroner who discovered Otto's body at the scene. Once he found out who they were he decided to give them a little phone call to discuss important matters involving his corpse. Today Merle wore a black formal casual styled suit and round UV sunglasses. He took a few security arms with him and drove to the coroner to meet them at the town square where they would meet by a local Burger Shot.

The coroner turned out to be an African American man in his late 40s with dark toned skin and shaved hair. He wore a navy blue 'Liberty City Swingers' windbreaker and a navy blue Swingers cap with black trousers and black sneakers. He was a tall man whose body shape seemed less perfect. His name was Lewis Ojomo

The two were sitting outside the Burger Shot by the picnic tables set up outside. Lewis had a small drink that he purchased while waiting for Merle to arrive. The sun in their faces and the wind breeze at an average speed.

"Swingers huh? I'm more of a Los Santos Corkers fan." Merle slightly chuckled.

Lewis laughed a bit too. "Nah man. Swingers have always been my team. Corkers ain't got what the Swingers got."

The two men had a brief moment of humor over baseball. Lewis took a sip from his drink.

Lincoln was walking towards the center in search of Merle. From all the promos and web photos of him, he already knew who he was looking for. Looking to his left he saw a mother and her two daughters whom were fighting.

"Jessy! Stop fighting with your sister! Now!" she yelled. The two girls kept pulling each other's hair ignoring their mother's command.

A few feet away from them was a classy looking man reading from the recent newspaper.

Los Santos Mexican Cartel Boss Found dead by Del Perro Bay

He continued to scour around for Merle, hoping to find some douche looking businessman out in the open. The smell of the wind started to hit. This meant that it was most likely going to rain soon. Looking above he saw that dark clouds were hovering Royal Woods. He should just make this quick and go home.

Back to Lewis and Merle, the two were about to wrap up on their conversation.

"So did he have any sort of money left behind?" asked Merle.

"If you count the money this man earned from blood money then I'd say a lot." Lewis said while finishing his drink. "Man could've made millions without us knowing. He could make us even richer overnight."

"More money the merrier." said Merle.

Lewis got up."Alright Ashton look i gotta get back. Got some other guy looking for me to look into his dead girlfriend. Personal reasons according to him."

Getting up he took Lewis and shook his hands. "Guess we'll be seeing the money real soon then."

The two parted ways. Lewis going back to his car and Merle back into his.

He had enough on his plate as it was.

With the failure of Luan's attempted assassination, he now has to cover his tracks to prevent any loose ends from biting his ass. All he wanted was that fucking girl gone! If she brings back her business then he's going to have a hard time getting comedians for his studio. Which means less money. And he did not want to lose a shit ton of money over some bitch.

With Otto gone he had no other option. He'll give it a few days before he sends over someone else to finish the job. Until then, he might as well suck up any money Otto had. At least Otto would've repaid for his failure.

Lincoln was losing his trail. The crowd of people began to bunch up which could easily have Merle lost and gone. He was starting to lose his patience. However, destiny had other plans. He looked over to a table where Merle and some other guy were recently chatting. The two men were parting ways which meant he was going to lose Merle.

No. He won't let him get away.

He began to pace and move quickly to get closer to him. Incoming people were shoved away, he told a man "Move out of the fucking way!" when he bumped into him.

Just before Merle got into his car one of his security guys tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Lincoln, who looked pretty obvious about what he was going to do.

"Hey asshole! I know what you tried to do to my sister!" yelled Lincoln. His voice filled with Venom and rage.

His eyes widened in fear. He saw his face before.

Luan Loud's brother.

How did he know? No fucking way! His best option now was to run as far as he could from Lincoln.

"Fuck! Derek! Jon! Whatever you do make sure he doesn't come back to the studio!" He jumped into his car alongside with the rest of his guards.

The two men reached into their suit pockets and pulled out small concealable handguns. Lincoln quickly drew his P99 and opened fire.

BLAM!

BLAM!

The crowd began to scream and scatter. Everyone in the square started to panic and run for their safety. Merle's two guards did nothing else but return fire.

"You got nowhere to go asshole!" yelled Jon. The broad shouldered black man took cover by the car next to him while Derek stood by and continued to open fire from his USP handgun.

BLAM! BLAM! WHIZ!

Lincoln ducked in time to just barely miss that last shot. The bullet flew right by his ear. He took cover by a nearby mailbox and readied his gun.

"Yo D! Get down man!" yelled Jon.

Derek continued to ignore his command and instead began walking to where Lincoln took cover.

Trying to think his way out he decided to turn the right by the mailbox and behind the red car. The people in the background continued to run and scream for help. A few started to dial 911.

Derek began to shoot towards Lincoln again. Once Lincoln peaked his head over the car he would fire directly at him, causing him to retreat.

"He's not going anywhere let's just waste the guy!" yelled Derek. The pale man continued to move towards Lincoln while having his gun up.

Lincoln was hoping lady luck was on his side. He moved his gun over the side and began to blindly fire towards Derek. The first two shots hit Derek at his stomach causing him to drop his weapon and drop to his knees in pain. The third struck him by the chest which finished him completely. With one guy down Lincoln moved to take down the next.

Jon didn't know what else to do but to finish the guy. With Derek dead, he had to do this on his own. He moved away from cover only to be shot twice, one in the neck and the other by his arm. Blood was gushing from his neck which weakened him completely. Lincoln moved to where Jon fell and fired three more shots to execute him completely. He took out a fresh magazine, knowing he'd need a full clip at the moment.

Merle watched in fear as Lincoln took down his two best guards. If this man was capable of killing two experienced hired guns, he was afraid what he will do to him.

"Move it Cole!" He yelled at his driver. "Take us back to the studio and lose this guy on the way!"

Cole stepped on the gas and began to drive away.

Lincoln quickly tried to run to Merle's black Mercedes A220 which was already speeding away. With the car driving away he needed to quickly find a way to catch up to him.

Looking to his side he saw a man riding on a yellow Falcon 250cc which stopped at the red light.

He ran up to the man. "Sorry buddy i need this more than you do!" He yanked the man off the bike and tossed him aside.

"What the fuck! Hey that's my bike!" yelled the man.

Lincoln hopped on, revved up the bike and sped away to chase the fleeing car.

---

Mecha Autos

12:36 PM

May 14th, 2019

The day was as boring as it was.

Lana had been working on tuning a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse that had been here at the shop for the past few days. She and Kevin had been finishing up the last touches before the owner came by to pick up the ride. The owner was a scruffy Caucasian man in his early 40s who was rude to just about everyone he met. When he dropped off his ride he gave strict instructions to keep it maintained and tuned so that it still runs as good as it did when he got it back in 2006 when the model was released. From "No scratches!" to "I want her to shine!", evidently Lana was just annoyed with the man.

Days since the incident she didn't have the best mood. She would come in with a depressing vibe that Kevin didn't say anything until now.

He looked at her for a bit. "You okay?" she reacted by looking his direction. She nodded in response. He didn't buy it of course. "Cause it doesn't seem like it. You've been down for quite a while now."

She was silent. Not responding to him at all, but she continued working on the car.

Kevin shook his head a little before setting down his tools in the toolbox next to him. He moved the chair closer to her. She noticed but didn't say anything.

"Hey look. What ever is bugging you, just know you can talk to me." he decided to risk entering in dangerous territory. "If this is all about what happened that night... It's okay. I can understand where you're coming from really." She turned over to look at him with curiosity.

"When i was only Nine, me and my parents were visiting our cousin's ranch over in Indiana. I remember me, my cousin Gerry and his sister Erin would go over to the barn house and play with the pigs their family had. He had a prized porker named Sherry and let me go on and say that she was a huge pig. She's won over three awards in county fairs. Gerry's dad, Uncle Bill, cared for her more than he did his fields and crops. Not once did he ever forget about Sherry."

"Gerry's other younger sister, Amelia, ran along with us that day. She was a small girl, about five or six at the time. Gerry would yell at her like "Amelia go back to Mom! Stop following me Erin and Kevin around!" and at first she wouldn't listen She never did. She didn't even listen to Erin who was much calmer to her. We went back to the pigs and we saw that Sherry was there. Like i said before she was huge. And heavy too! She was as heavy as a boulder."

"Amelia never paid any attention to where she goes. She wandered around the barn carelessly until she tripped on a broom that was on the floor and stumbled towards Sherry. Now the thing about Sherry was that she got scared easily. If you so much as scream she would tumble all around squealing as if she were gonna get slaughtered."

Kevin stopped for a second. When Lana looked closely at him, she saw tears forming.

"Amelia scared Sherry. She screamed and so did the pig. Sherry ended up crushing her with all her weight. All we saw...was Amelia kicking her feet and wailing her arms as Sherry had her whole body on top of her face. She was suffocating. We just...froze. We didn't know what to do at the moment."

"Soon, Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bill along with my folks came over after hearing the screams. They saw Amelia just laying there...motionless while Sherry continued to squeal in fear. Amelia was dead. Aunt Elaine screamed while my Uncle Bill was in shock. The ambulance came by not a moment after. They carried Amelia's corpse in a body bag."

"My cousin Gerry took Amelia's death really hard. I haven't seen my cousin cry so much. He kept telling me about what he could have done and that he shouldn't have yelled at her. He just felt broken. Erin was just as upset. She felt just as broken and so did my Aunt and Uncle. But Uncle Bill took it worse. He had Sherry slaughtered the next day. He killed the pig himself and got rid of her. He just couldn't live with the fact that his prized porker, the one thing he cared for so much in the world, killed his youngest daughter. We didn't visit them anymore. But the sight of seeing Amelia dying still haunts me."

Lana felt terrible hearing Kevin's story. He felt traumatized seeing his little baby cousin die like that. He saw a loved one die meanwhile she almost lost her sister. He was right. He knows the feeling all too well.

She hugged him in comfort. Kevin hugged her back, trying to dry his tears away. If Ian saw him like this he would never hear the end of it.

"I'm so sorry Kevin. I can't believe you went through that."

Kevin never talked about his haunting memory to anyone. And he realized it completely that he had told Lana, who he met not too long ago, everything he remembers. It didn't cross his mind until now but come to think of it, Lana seemed more trustworthy than just about anyone else.

"You've had it worse. You saw a family member die. I almost did." She said.

"I think you and your family were lucky enough to find out they were alright. You should be more relieved and happy that they're okay now. That's all that matters."

And he was right.

If Lincoln or Luan had died that night, the family would be in a deep depression. Even worse than when Luna disappeared. Back then, no one wanted to forget it. Lori would go out late at night hunting her down and hoping to find her somewhere. Leni and Lynn would help too. Luan however never left their bedroom. She would constantly blame herself for not consoling Luna when she needed it. She believed if she had comforted her sister, she would still be at home today. The rest of the family either helped with looking for her or fell into sadness.

And she did not want a repeat of that dark feeling. With the incident, it almost did.

She smiled at him and he smiled at her. Their moment was interrupted with a gunfire that was happening outside the shop.

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

Everyone ducked into cover. Lana peeked over to the open garage door. All she saw was a speeding car and a guy in a motorbike leading a chase while the cyclist was shooting at the runaway car.

---

He couldn't let him get away.

Like the true coward he is, Merle tried to run away from Lincoln. He got into his car and sped away from the scene. Lincoln followed. He got his hands on a bike and accelerated down the road to tail the black car.

Merle was giving a good chase. The car was driving faster than any other car in the road. If one car was in his way he would swerve into the next lane to cut ahead. In one instance the car bumped into another car and nearly caused a pileup on the street. Luckily the car only crashed into an open sidewalk where no pedestrian was seen.

No cop car was within sight. Lincoln would have to catch this guy on his own like he intended to. It wasn't any easier with Merle driving like a road raging alcoholic.

He revved the bike up to give any bit of boost the motor could give out. The yellow sports bike sped down the asphalt road faster than he'd ever been before. What worried him at the moment was crashing. For one, he didn't even have a helmet on.

The car was within short distance. If he could ride the bike to approach the window he could shoot him right there. However that wouldn't be the case. Merle had the car swerve to the right in an attempt to knock him off the bike. He managed to react fast by putting on the brakes. He ended up losing a good amount of distance.

The car turned right towards a more open and less crowded road. They were leaving the downtown area and heading to the outer skirts of Downtown Royal Woods. Lincoln followed, the bike regaining the lost distance in a short amount of time. With every turn and every twist, Merle kept backing Lincoln off the car. He had a destination set in mind but he wanted to lose this guy first. Once he gets back into his building and up into his office he can make a haste phone call to someone much more...important.

He should end this here and now. He took out his P99 and opened fire with any chance he thought he had of hitting Merle.

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

The first three shots only hit the trunk of the car. The bystanders around them all ran, screamed and hid behind cover hoping to not get hit with a stray bullet. Lincoln could've cared less if someone was struck by his shots.

In the car Merle began to let out his frustration.

"Cole! I swear to fucking god why can't you drive any faster!? This son of a bitch is tailing us and nearly getting us killed! LOSE HIM OR KILL HIM! FUCK! SHIT!"

His driver was pressured as it was. Speeding on the road will nearly kill them if he goes any faster, but he was more worried about what Merle would do to him if he didn't listen. If there's one thing every employee that works for Ashton knows, it's to never cross, anger or deceive Merle. The man takes it to a whole new level.

The engine of the car was slowly heating up. Merle is forcing too much from the car and he most likely knows it. But his main concern was to lose his chaser.

BLAM!

BLAM!

Lincoln kept firing. He hoped he would find some way to stop the car before he loses him completely. Reloading while speeding on a motorbike down a road that had cars driving down is not an easy task.

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

The two were speeding down a main road now. There they passed many business spots like Pizzerias, Fusion and even an Auto and body car shop. From the looks of it, seems like the local law enforcement has yet to find these two. No doubt someone called the cops already.

"Cole what the fuck are you doing! Just rear end the son of a bitch! Send him flying from the bike!" yelled Merle.

The car was slowing down a bit, waiting for Lincoln to catch up. Once he was in close range Cole will knock Lincoln off the bike. From there they will lose him at best.

He took notice that the car was slowing down. This was his best chance now. He'll get near the window and shoot inside.

The Falcon began to catch up. The motorbike and the car are now within equal distance. As the car slowed down, the closer Lincoln was to the passenger side of the car. He readied his gun. It's now or never.

As he raised his firearm he looked into Merle's eyes. The man had fear and anger raging in his retinas. The sharp look of hatred enraged within Lincoln's. He was ready to kill this fucker.

Cole took the chance now to swerve the car right. He turned the steering wheel towards where Lincoln was to knock him out. As soon as Lincoln saw that the car was going to hit him he did the best he could in a quick reaction to avoid the vehicle. He wasn't quick enough however as the black vehicle had bumped into the bike causing Lincoln to lose control. He did his best to stay on the bike. If he slipped off, he could forget any chance of finding this guy because he will instead hunt him down, or even worse hunt down Luan once again.

As he held on, his finger was still on the trigger. When the car hit the bike his finger pulled the trigger a few times.

BLAM!

BLAM!

One bullet hit the passenger side window while the other completely missed.

That's it. He's had enough!

When he regained balance and control of the bike he sped up with the best the bike could do and shot through the window.

BLAM!

The first shot went through the window.

BLAM!

The second went through the window as well but nearly hit Merle.

BLAM!

The final shot went right through the window and struck Cole in the ear. The bullet pierced his flesh and tore through his head. The exit wound coming out through the left ear, leaving a bloody mess in the car. Cole was no more.

His body instantly went limp, leaving the car to speed out of control. Merle was shaken at the fact that he killed Cole in an instant, but now it seemed like a car crash was going to be the end of him. The vehicle was now speeding down the road about to hit the nearest pole or vehicle.

He quickly grabbed the steering wheel and put his foot on the gas. He wasn't about to die now.

In retaliation to Cole's death, Merle went to do exactly what he wanted to do. To knock him off the bike.

And he did.

He turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, leaving Lincoln no chance to avoid getting hit this time. He hit the bike and sent it driving out of control. In reaction to this Lincoln pulled the trigger one last time.

BLAM!

The final bullet hit the right tire. The projectile bullet struck through the rubber, leaving the air inside to break free. The car was swerving out of control. There was no way he was going to drive cautiously now.

He turned left one last time. The car was drifting non stop towards the right. The car eventually hit a parked car. The windows shattered and the car itself took damage. Blood flying everywhere now. Some even got on Merle's suit.

As for Lincoln, his bike was in no shape to recover. He tried to turn left with the best the bike got. When he did, the balance tipped over to the left. At this point, he slipped away from the grasp and fell off his seat. He was rolling through the road, leaving injuries to his shoulder and legs. He then hit a mailbox with his back crashing at the impact, leaving him in a great state of pain. Blood was seen above his right eye where the ground scraped his brow. He was currently unable to move.

The bike was sliding towards the car parked behind the one that Merle hit. The impact left that car damaged to the left side. Gas was steaming from the motorbike. It was now in a damaged condition.

---

Back in the auto shop, everyone was still hiding behind cover. Lana hid behind the Eclipse alongside Kevin. Their heartbeats going a hundred beats per second. Those gunshots scared everyone really good. Not long after, Ian came out with a loaded P226 in his right hand. Everyone in the shop knew he had access to firearms. Ian owns a gun license and had for the past twenty years. He was ready to fire back should any of the shooters decide to come near the auto shop.

"Everyone good?" he asked. People were relieved to hear the familiar Irish accent.

Everyone shouted back in response. No one was hurt or shot in the instance.

"Stay down everyone. I'm going to check it out." He cautiously moved through the shop, knowing that if they were still out, they were still capable of shooting.

Lana knew the shooters were no longer out there. She saw where it came from. It looked as if two men were on a high speed chase down the street. She didn't get a good look at the shooters. The only thing she noticed was a bright orange coat on the man riding the motorbike.

A few moments later Ian came back inside. "They're gone for now. Let's not get too shaken up now. Things like this are happening more often now aren't they?"

Shortly after, everyone went back to what they were doing. A shooting outside was now a forgotten memory among everyone else.

---

Struggling to get up, Lincoln laid in pain on the sidewalk. Behind him was the crash site of both Merle's car and the bike he stole. Merle was still in his car, blood streaking from his head. The shattered glass cut through the side of his head. The impact of when the car crashed caused the airbags to inflate instantly which left him bruised. Two men were in a great state of pain. None were able to move at the moment. The corpse of his driver blocked one way to get out while a car blocked his other way.

Merle's eyes opened. He remembered what happened. Luan's brother led him in a pursuit throughout the downtown area of Royal Woods. Cole was killed and the car crashed. Did the guy die? Was he still alive?

His question was answered when he looked ahead through the shattered windshield. There lay the man with white hair, alive but in pain.

Lincoln opened his eyes. He remembered taking a bad dive into the pavement and hitting his back on the old blue mailbox. Not a person in sight. The gunshots must've scared everyone off.

He tried to get up the first time but his aching back was pulling him down. He took a pretty good hit, enough to make it feel as if he were hit with a sledgehammer. He knew better than to lay around moping about his injury. The cops will take notice of the chase and follow the trail here. Speaking of which where were they?

He looked around and saw the big "AMS" sign in front of the building.

They were outside of Merle's building.

He figured going inside would be a safer bet. He had more armed guards to take care of his pursuer. Reaching his office would also enable him to reach a weapon of his own. But first he needed a way out of the car. With his door blocked and a heavy corpse blocking the other door. He tried to go out back to the rear doors hoping to get out from there. He looked back and saw that the door was dented inwards. Trying to pry open the door would take a while but he didn't have the time to do so. Once Lincoln gets back up on his feet then it's all over for him.

He only had one option left. He needed to escape through the windshield.

The windshield took a great amount of damage. The side where Cole is was open halfway. The cracks all aligning to a hole. Blood was also in between the cracks, most likely from Cole. This did however give him a greater chance to break through the glass.

He used his right foot to kick the glass outwards. The first kick did nothing. The second made a slight dent. The third was pushing through some more and the final and fourth kick released the cracked glass. Shards flew out and a handful were still attached to the car. Crawling out will mean getting impaled with shards on his arms and legs. Oh well, better than gunshots.

He crawled face first. Two mildly large shards sunk right into his elbow. He winced at the stinging pain. A burning feeling coming from his elbow. He'll deal with that later. As he continued to crawl he received a few more sharp glass shards to his arm and legs. His cuts started to bleed. Blood leaking through like a water balloon with a small hole.

As soon as he was out of the car he collapsed into the pavement. Just ahead of him was Lincoln who started to process the whole situation.

Once Merle escaped from the wrecked car Lincoln realized that the weasel was still going to make a run for it. Luckily for him he still had his P99 in his hand. He must've held onto it with a firm grip when he flew off the bike. The gun was empty however.

Merle quickly got to his feet and made a run for it to his office. Lincoln got up as well, ignoring his aching back, and chased after Merle. He quickly swapped the empty magazine for a fresh one. At least now he'll be loaded and armed.

Merle ran straight into the lobby and into the elevator to the right. Upon running in he saw two members of security.

"You two! There's a deranged man after me! Make sure he doesn't get to my office!"

The bulky men nodded and pulled out their firearms. Both using a USP handgun.

Lincoln ran through the revolving doors and looked all over the area. To the front was the receptionist desk. The receptionist was hiding behind the desk, believing Lincoln to be a mentally ill shooter. She believed that if she tried running she would be shot down. To his left was a waiting area with two black leather sofas, a maple table and a flat screen just above the wall showcasing a sponsor performing in a way that would advertise the company. To his right he saw a glimpse of Merle in the elevator before the doors closed. He also saw two security guards raising their loaded handguns before firing their shots.

The first two missed by a few meters. From there Lincoln took cover over to the side of the reception desk. When the receptionist caught a glimpse of Lincoln she screamed in terror and turned to run, ignoring her first precaution from before. The woman running never fazed Lincoln, his only objective now was to go after Merle. No doubt he ran to his office like the coward he is.

The guards never took stood where they were, shooting at Lincoln, and never moved. If he is to get passed them, he'd have to find an opening to get these guys. He tried to blind fire in their direction but it seemed like they never flinched at any passing bullet within a few meters away from their position. A bullet could nearly miss their heads and they wouldn't move. He was running out of time. Who knows who else Merle might send.

He took a chance when they stopped firing to reload. Their flaw was that since they never took cover they had no way to protect themselves should they need to reload. He peaked over and fired at the two men. Two shots were fired at the guard on the left. Two blood spots appeared on his left side of his chest. He staggered, screamed and fell back to succumb to his wounds. The next three were fired at the guard on the right. One hitting his stomach and two on his hip side. He too fell back and dropped his weapon, only difference between him and the other guy was that he was still alive.

Lincoln approached the dying man and put the barrel of his sidearm by the guy's left cheek. "Where did your boss go?" he asked, his voice intimidating to his ears.

He could simply lie, considering he was going to die anyways. But instead of doing that he told him where it was. After all it's not like he'll be fired anyways. He'd just be dead. "Top floor. Only office in there."

"Good boy." Lincoln said. He could simply shoot him and put him out of his misery, but instead he let him suffer to his wounds.

Heading into the elevator he pressed the button to the top floor which was the 30th floor. The doors closed and the elevator went up. The floor indicator kept passing through the floors.

1

...

2

...

3

...

4

...

5

It hadn't stopped once since he got on. Word probably got out that a gunman was in the building.

Meanwhile, Merle kicked open the doors into his office. He sprinted to the phone by his desk and made a few urgent calls. Not a moment soon more and more armed security guards came to his office. About ten guys came, two positioned by the main doors that led to his office, two more in the hall, three by the corridors and three by the elevator. As soon as the elevator door opens, Lincoln is going to be in for a surprise.

Lincoln kept his weapons loaded. He doesn't know what's going to happen as soon as he reaches the top floor. No doubt Merle called for help. Rather than get the cops involved he relied more on his security to take him out.

Not a problem.

He's taken out a few of his guards so far. He'll just kill more of them.

As he suspected he was right. As soon as those doors opened he was greeted to gunfire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

KRRRRRRRRRRT!

BANG! BANG!

Several handguns fired at the elevator while two had micro UZIs. Semi auto and automatic fire pushed Lincoln to immediately take cover. No way he could go through that. There has to be another alternative.

He retreated to the floor below. He pressed the 29th floor button. Doors closed and descended down. The wall behind him was filled with bullet holes.

He thought of several plans. One involved him opening the emergency hatch above and hiding up there and find some way to surprise them. But that wouldn't work. He'd have no way to push through.

His second idea was to see if there was another way up to the top floor. Taking the stairs seemed like a good idea but considering his recent actions he went against it. They would be expecting him to go up through the stairs. As soon as he goes up those steps he'll meet with the same gun fire as he did just recently.

He exited out the elevator with caution. He wasn't sure if this floor was cleared of his guards.

The 29th floor of Merle's building was reserved for financial teams and stock. Here accountants and financial advisers would maintain the cash flow from the business' incomes. Here is where they paid their employees as well as sponsored performers. The whole floor was like a ghost town. Everyone most likely evacuated once they heard what went down in the lobby. That or they were hiding.

Every corner he would take careful steps. He didn't know if there was someone here who posed a threat. Eventually he found himself in a conference-like room which had huge windows that overlooked downtown Royal Woods. On the other side of the glass was a high rise that was probably used by window cleaners. His best bet was to use that.

He opened the window. The smell of an upcoming rainstorm hit his nose. The wind outside began to grow increasingly. He stepped over to the high rise with caution and held himself in place. The platform wasn't exactly stable with the heavy wind. He used the lever to elevate himself to the next floor. When he arrived he opened the window and stepped inside. This wasn't Merle's office. It was the nearby security desk.

Coming to a corner he did his best to make sure if he saw someone nearby. All of those guards were somewhere. He exited through the corner and continued past the doorway. There he caught a quick glimpse of some of the stationed guards. He quickly retreated into cover, hoping no one saw him yet. If he's ever going to get to Merle he needed to get rid of every guard here. Before more come that is.

He cocked his handgun and readied himself.

He peaked over the corner and aimed his sights on the first guard he saw. That same guard had an automatic micro UZI in his hand. He fired three times at the guy. All three hitting him through his side, killing him. The other guards looked to where the shots came from and with a quick reaction, they opened fire. Lincoln took cover. Two bullets nearly hitting his partially exposed leg. He took an effort to blind fire. At least two of is five fired shots hit someone. Two shots struck a guard in his stomach. He fell back and dropped his weapon. He was although, just barely alive. However any effort to get back on his feet was slim to none.

The guards that were by the elevator had arrived and joined the rest in taking down Lincoln. About six guys were left here. Only four took cover. Lincoln opened fire at the two that were wide opened and shot them down. One bullet teared through the man's neck and the other being a headshot. The only way he'd get the rest was to shoot them when they stopped firing to reload.

He took his chance when the shooting stopped. He lurked out and fired two shots which killed one guard. The bullets piercing through his chest. The barrel of the gun turned to its next victim. Two more shots were fired, one hitting his neck and the other hitting his collarbone. The other two guards fired back however one was instantly killed when a bullet struck his neck. He fell down to the floor and choked on his own blood before death came to claim his life.

The last guard had fear clouding his mind. "How could one guy take out five guys without a scratch?"

BLAM!

He was too distracted with his thought to realize that Lincoln had him in his sights. The bullet fired right into his right eye.

The answer to the guard's question was simple. He had determination and rage. Determined because he had set out to kill this guy for what he tried to do at the theater. Not only did he cause the death of innocents, but he tried to put his family in danger. His rage came from the very thought of killing him. He didn't care who got in his way. Cops, people, anyone. He would have no remorse for killing anyone.

With the last guard gone he kept on moving. Surely this wasn't all Merle had to offer. Sending in only six guards wouldn't be enough.

Moving down the hall he could see a double door that most likely leads to his office. He kept his weapon loaded and ready for anything that might happen. As he got closer he heard voices from what he presumed were a few guards.

"Guy'll be crazy to just walk in here."

"Ain't like he got much of a choice you stupid guinea. There's only one way in and one way out."

"Hey! Watch your goddamn mouth you fucking mick bastard!"

It was best to take a better course of action for this. He walked over to the corpse of the guard who had a Mini UZI, took out a fresh magazine and reloaded the weapon. If he is to take out multiple guards all at once then this would be the best choice of weaponry. He went by the door and readied himself. He kicked the door open and sprayed a countless amount of bullets into each of the four guards there. Neither had the chance to return fire. Their bodies were filled with blood spots from each bullet fired. They all fell to the floor lifeless. Bullet holes all over the walls and door however it didn't seem to pierce through.

He tossed aside the empty sub machine gun, having no use for it anymore. This was it. Like the guard said, there's only one way in and one way out. Merle can no longer run away from his inevitable death.

He opened the door with his gun on one hand while using the free hand to open doors. He came across a small reception desk with a woman hiding behind the counter. That same woman was Riley Laughlin, Giggles' cousin. Lincoln however was not aware of that.

The woman feared for her life and while Lincoln had no intention of hurting her, he couldn't let her go now that she's seen his face. He doesn't need a wild witch hunt looking for is name once he kills a huge sponsor in the entertainment industry. His chance to do something was abrupt as Merle came from hiding and grabbed Riley. He had a black four inch revolver in his hand while using the other to use Riley as a human shield. Riley screamed, now fearing for the worst.

Merle smiled a bit. "Sorry bud. End of the Line." the barrel of his weapon aimed straight for Lincoln. He froze in place. One step forward and the finger will pull the trigger which would rotate the cylinder and pull on the hammer to fire the round.

He couldn't stop here. It doesn't end like this.

With his gun at hand he raised it to Merle. He responded by firing back at the white haired man. Lincoln knew that was going to be the case. He swiftly ducked by letting his feet slide off which resulted him in landing on the floor with his rear. The magnum round missed entirely and Merle knew that his gun only had one round. He had hoped to kill him right there and then but since that failed he had to retreat. Lincoln opened fire, hoping to shoot Merle down. He missed him however, instead he ended up shooting the poor woman three times in the chest. With Riley dead Merle threw her lifeless body at Lincoln and ran back into his office. Lincoln tossed the woman's body aside and got back up into his feet to chase him down.

As he overheard one of the guys he shot down, there's only one way in and one way out. It all ends here.

He ran through the open doors and finally entered Merle's office. It was huge. It had a lot of open space. Silver matte walls and black carpeted floor. A huge window wall overlooking downtown Royal Woods. He found Merle trying to reach his phone, most likely to try and call for help. As soon as he came in he halted into a stop. He had him here.

Merle sensed him come in. He reluctantly set the phone down and faced the man with whatever dignity he had left. He started to smile a bit.

"You think you're real smart huh? You think that by killing me that all of your problems will go away?" Merle said. Lincoln just stood there, listening to what he had to say.

"You have no idea who i work for! These guys are serious! Once they find out that you killed me...they'll hunt you down." He started to laugh.

Lincoln took a few steps forward.

"If i had known that Luan had a killer in the family i would've had you killed as well!" his laughter started to intensify.

He kept walking. His grip on the gun hardening.

"The only reason i wanted Luan dead was because i didn't want any competition against my business. I remembered how successful Funny Business was. Hell, i even attended a cousin's birthday party where Luan performed herself and Boy was she good. But with someone like her in the spotlight, my clients would be second best compared to her. I would've been her sponsor temporarily before she would move on to bigger things in the entertainment industry. She would end up reviving the one thing that could take me down. And for that i needed her gone."

Lincoln was a few steps away from his desk. His facial expression cold.

"Oh i wish i was there to see Luan suffer. That would've been the best thing to see all night!"

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

Merle cowered in fear. He covered his face the moment he heard those gunshots. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was perfectly fine. Not one shot hit him. He looked back to his window and saw that the bullet holes formed a square frame around him.

What was he doing?

He looked back at Lincoln. He was directly across from his desk.

BLAM!

That gunshot hit his left shoulder.

BLAM!

The next his his right shoulder.

BLAM!

BLAM!

The following two shots struck his stomach. He held his hands over his bleeding stomach. His hands were covered in blood. Lincoln quickly made his way over his deck and kicked him backwards. Merle stumbled back until he hit his leather black chair. He sat back and rolled back. The chair hit the windows which shattered upon impact.

Lincoln watched as Merle's body plunged thirty stories to his demise. His body had fell onto of the same car that had blocked his passenger side door when he had first arrived to the building. The windows shattered and the roof of the card had dented inwards. Blood splattered all over the car as Merle's corpse took a huge impact upon landing. His face had been slightly mangled. Bits of broken glass had cut through his face and neck. One eyeball had a shard going through while the other had its retina slashed. His suit soaked in blood and his body lay limp. Merle Ashton was dead.

The drizzle of the rainy weather was gently making its way inside the office. The strong smell of rain hit Lincoln. He was still on the edge of the window as he looked down at Merle's body. He had finally killed the man who had put his family in danger.

His minor celebration wouldn't last long. The cops will be here any moment now. He made a dash for the elevator and headed straight through the lobby doors. Thankfully no one was around just yet. The people from earlier before had fled upon hearing the gunshots. He took a sharp right and ran as far away from the building as fast as possible. When he was far enough he slowed down to catch his breath. Four cop cruisers passed by him in a rush. They were on their way to AMS studios upon receiving reports of a gunman. Too bad they wouldn't find him.

This was all and done for. Now it was time to head home and relax.

His walk home was filled with nothing but mental thoughts. He remembered how cold he acted towards his family recently. Especially to Lynn earlier today. She only wanted to help him but he refused any efforts she made. He felt terrible about that. As soon as he got home he promised himself to apologize to Lynn. He began to realize that had he not been careful today he could've died with the last contact with Lynn being aggressive. No, he promises to make it up to her as well as to everyone. He could've never seen them again if he was killed today.

He looked back at the way he had killed every member of security today. He had never acted like a violent madman in his life. Never had he felt such satisfaction to rid of everyone who got in his way.

Something had changed in him. Turned him into some violent human being. It appeared as if he killed with no remorse. That thought scared him. Is this what he's become now? A sadistic criminal? That's about the last thing he wanted to become.

He kept walking. Kicking a tin can on the way. About a few blocks later he found himself near Ronnie Anne's house. After having a near death experience maybe he should just kick back a bit. He felt bad about his last phone call with the woman. She called him to see if he was up for something and he told her off. He didn't mean to do that. He was in his state of rage. He should apologize and make it up to her. His foot turned right and continued walking on the concrete path to the house.

Suddenly, he remembered that he wanted to go home and make it up to everyone he acted cold to. Maybe Lucy, Luan, Lana, or Lynn could do something for the day. As much as he hated not being able to apologize to Ronnie Anne, he did make himself a mental promise to make up for his attitude from the past few days.

He turned back. Heading back on the path towards the Loud House.

---

Back when she was only thirteen, Lynn Loud Jr. wouldn't express her emotions out in public or home since it created a different view on the tomboy, making herself look weaker. Her ego was strong back then however nowadays it mattered little to none. If she felt something towards someone or something then she'd be open about it. If it's something that's bothering her she would fix it. If it's someone then she'd confront them and talk about it. The past couple days she worried about her little brother. The incident at the theater changed who he was. She didn't see the caring and loving little brother she knew. Instead, she saw someone else. Someone who wouldn't give thought about a loved one. Someone who could kill someone and not feel any remorse about it. Someone who ignored everyone who loved him and instead chose to zone everyone out. On the inside she felt upset about that thought. Upset because hat isn't who Lincoln is. While he may be a dork she still loved him.

Earlier today he went out to do go knows what, and insisted that no one followed him. She worried that he may have done something he would regret. He might've went out to find out who nearly killed their older sister.

But he isn't a killer...Is he?

No way. Not Lincoln, not her little brother. He wouldn't do such a thing no matter how far you pushed him.

When she insisted on going with him he simply shouted at her to stay home. How ironic that Lincoln made her flinch. Usually it's the other way around.

However the thought about Lincoln being some sort of killer started to cloud her mind. Not once has she ever seen him commit any act of violence. It's practically impossible to see him beat a man to pulp. He's no killer. He can't be. But she was scared that he might be. Just the idea started to float through her head. If he is a killer, then where did he go? Who was he going to kill? Who's he going to kill next?

Her heart felt like it skipped a bit. It then began to pace. She was starting to get nervous.

She went downstairs from her old room to the kitchen to get water. She passed by the dining room where Lily was doing her homework. She looked as if she were struggling with a certain question, and if Lynn had to guess then it was Algebra. Lily always struggled with algebra. So did she back in school. She hated math most of all. When she passed by the fourteen year old she felt Lily look up from her sheet. Lily could see that something was on her older sister's mind.

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked. Her hand still in the same position holding the pencil on the sheet.

Lynn nodded without looking at the blonde. "I'm fine Lilster." She headed into the kitchen where it was empty save for the Alaskan Klee Kai scratching it's ear.

Last year she heard from Lily that her Lana found the poor puppy by the park. It was a male puppy and he was smaller than his current height and shape. It's black and white pattern was mildly dirty and with no collar to be found she assumed it was a stray. They took him in, named him Frosty. As an Alaskan Klee Kai he only grows to a certain height, which can be a good thing considering he won't be a huge dog as he gets older. Most of the time he sleeps. With the Loud kids grown up, there isn't as much playful attention going on around since they either work or are mostly gone for the day. Lily however took the role in caring for him most of the time. Frosty has grown to be very close to Lily too.

Frosty looked up at Lynn who had just passed by and headed for the sink. She took an empty glass, filled it with cold water and began to take a drink out of it. She looked down and saw Frosty looking straight at her. "I haven't seen you around lately, where have you gone off to?" she asked the dog. In response Frosty tilted his head. He then approached Lynn and began to take in her scent. As he sniffed, his tail wagged. He seemed to be comfortable around the brunette.

She set the glass down after drinking all of the poured water. Kneeling down she petted Frosty behind his ears which he most definitely enjoyed. "Guess you might be a tough sleeper, just like Charles." she smiled faintly after mentioning that name. Just before she left home for college their dog sadly passed away. He was suffering with a tumor for a few years and was soon put down to put him in peace. It was a sad day for the Loud children. He was the last pet to have passed. Seeing Frosty around brightened her up a bit but at the same time she knew that soon he would eventually pass on.

Her thoughts went back to Lincoln. The idea of him being a cold killer plagued her mind like a virus. There was no stop to it. She didn't want to think about it anymore but it just wouldn't stop.

She wants to talk to Lincoln but she feared that he would just deny the idea of such thought and might not appreciate it either. If there's one other person who might know Lincoln on a deeper level, it would be Ronnie Anne. The two started to talk once more which is a good thing. Last she remembered they broke off on the wrong foot after their breakup. They never saw one another nor mentioned one another for years afterwards. Not to mention that since she was present at the theater then she might've spoken to Lincoln about it. She had to.

Looks like she's going to pay a visit to the police officer. It's the only way she might find out more about Lincoln's well being. If she could find out more then maybe she can help.

Heading back to her room, she retrieved her car keys and put on her shoes. She went downstairs and headed for the front door. When she opened it she was met with a surprise.

Lincoln

He opened the door just as she was about to head out. She took a good look and saw that he was in terrible shape than before. His clothes were grimy and his arms were slightly bruised. It's as if he was in some sort of brawl. Asking him about it would lead to nowhere. She knew that he would deny any claims.

His eyes were filled with worry. He didn't have that same look he had when he left the house. He took a good look at her and pulled her into a tight, loving hug. She tensed at first. She didn't expect him to do this at all.

"Lynn, I-I just wanted to apologize. For the way I've acted as of lately. It wasn't fair for me to treat you and the rest of the family that way. You guys wanted to help and i was too stubborn to accept. I was still in shock about what happened. I never meant to shout at you. I'm sorry. There's nothing more I want now than to be with the family now." his eyes started to tear up.

He hugged her tightly. Slowly, she hugged him back. This was the brother she knew. This was Lincoln. And now he's back. While this alone might've stopped her from stepping out of the house, it didn't. Something still wasn't right about Lincoln. With the way he looks now, there was something else he's not telling her. Asking him now wouldn't be the best option. She was still going to see Ronnie Anne.

"It's okay Linc. We were all just so worried about you." Her hands gripped his shoulder while she leaned back to look at him. He was taller than her now. This alone could fool people into thinking he was the older sibling. "I'm just glad you're back." She hugged him once more before letting him go.

He saw her walking out of the house. "Hey uh, i was wondering if maybe you and the rest of the sisters wanted to do something? I got the whole day free. I was thinking maybe we could all go somewhere? We having had a sibling outing in years and i really miss it." Said Lincoln. She stopped in her tracks.

"S-sorry Linc but i sort of have plans at the moment." She needed to think of something. "I-I'm going to...See an old friend. Yeah you know, since i just came and all? Me and her thought about going out for the day to catch up. S-sorry Lincoln. Maybe another time?" She hated lying to him but it was the only way to find a way to help him.

He was a bit upset that he couldn't hang out with his sister like he wanted to but she's also a grown adult now. She also has the freedom to make her own choices. He decided maybe another sister would want to do something. Anything to get his mind off of his most recent murder.

---

Out of the many days where she doesn't want any call from the station, today HAD to be the day. Here she was, finally choosing to just kick it back by watching a movie today. She went to the kitchen, took out a bag of microwavable popcorn and got it set. Luckily there was still a bottle of Sprunk around. She could never get enough of that soda. She went back to the living room and decided to go on a live stream service to find something worth watching. The moment she sat down her phone rang. She groaned in frustration and answered.

Now here she is, in front of Ashton Media Studios where a crowd of people were being held back by the local law enforcement. She received a call from Grogan. He told her how the body of entrepreneur Merle Ashton was found dead on top of a car near a wreckage. And while she didn't care much for the man, she found his death to be quite shocking.

Every turn she made she heard a cop yelling at the crowd to back off. News reporters and live streamers were trying to break through from the looks of it. The rain was still dripping from the sky. The air felt chilly. Oh yeah it felt like death alright.

The coroners were done taking pictures. Every angle of the crime scene would be submitted to be looked over. The detectives surely will have a tough time with this case.

She found Grogan among the ambulance. There he was talking to one of the paramedics on the scene. A blonde thirty year old looking woman who had a pretty face. She seemed like she was on the verge of becoming a mother herself.

It was best to talk to him about this. She began to walk up to the man.

"I'm telling you Joyce this is something else-" he said before interrupted by the Hispanic woman approaching him.

"Grogan!" she yelled. With that he turned around. "Hey Joyce I'll talk to you soon." to which the woman nodded.

Ronnie Anne was now ready to see if they had found out anything lately. "So what's up? What's the backstory?"

Grogan's eyes turned to the body covered in a tarp. "A few calls we received earlier today indicated that there was a shooting going on. The catch with this one was that the shooting was happening in the middle of some hot pursuit between some biker and this guy. Only a few people remember seeing Merle and the guy in front here. A woman was also present when the killer entered the building. From what we guess, this guy was set to kill Merle. The body fell from his office window up there." He pointed to the shattered window thirty stories above. A caution tap was placed by the opening. A few cops were up there as well.

"Well? What did the witnesses say?" She asked.

He laughed a little before replying. "They all said some old guy was the one who killed him. Had a strap and everything. Even took out all of his armed security too. You wouldn't believe the body count too. Another casualty was his receptionist. She took a few shots in the stomach. Either the wounds killed her or blood loss did. After that no one has seen where the guy went."

"Cameras? What kind of place like this wouldn't have cameras placed?" She insisted.

"Well we did confirm from one of the staff members that the security cameras were no good. They were actually going to get them replaced today too."

Ronnie Anne sucked her teeth. "Shit. This guy is still out there no doubt. Was it some sort of mob hit? Sounds kind of like it." she asked.

"Grogan shrugged his shoulders. "Could be. Not too sure however. But you know what? You're guess is as good as mine."

---

Ronnie Anne returned home. She sat back on the couch and slouched over in exhaustion. The way back felt dreadful. What happened to Royal Woods? When did it get this bad? When she was still a kid, things were never this bad. At least back then the worst thing that would happen was someone not picking up after their dog. Only a few burglaries were ever so present.

Her popcorn and soda were still on the coffee table where she left them. She didn't feel like watching a movie anymore. She threw out the popcorn and put the bottle of Sprunk into the fridge. She sat back onto the couch and went on to rest her eyes. "Maybe TV would help me get my mind at ease."

She took the remote and turned on the flat screen. There she saw the headline about the strange yet interesting case of Liberty City mobsters being hunted down and killed. You know what? They're criminals. They deserve to be killed.

A phone call with her childhood friend Sid helped relax her mind. She missed her childhood best friend and she'd give anything to see her again.

Upon thinking of places to go for her short vacation there was a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone lately. She got up and answered the door. There, she was met with Lynn. Someone she hasn't known too long to really know much about her other than she was Lincoln's older sister.

"Lynn? Hey what's up?" She asked.

Lynn had a weird stoic expression on her face. It's as if she's still debating whether or not she should do this. Her mouth gaped at first but she then did what she came here for.

"Listen. H-have things with Lincoln seemed...odd? Like, it's as if he isn't the same guy anymore?"

Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow. She was confused at what the woman before her just asked.

"What do you mean weird? And what exactly do you mean by that?" her puzzled tone made it clear that she had no clue what she was talking about exactly. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Uh...Ummm."

Ronnie Anne widened the door for Lynn. "Why don't you just come in and just talk to me inside instead of standing out here." Lynn nodded silently. She held the door for Lynn who entered without a sound other than the sound of her shoes tapping on the wooden flooring.

They walked into the small hallway and into the living room where her TV, Sofa and coffee table sat. Lynn sat by the sofa. Ronnie Anne came in last.

"Want anything to drink?" She asked.

Lynn shook her head. "No thanks."

She sat next to Lynn. "So what exactly do you mean by Lincoln not being the same person anymore? Is something up with him?" In her mind, she had a nervous thought about something bad going on with Lincoln. She hoped she was wrong.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that...well, today...I mean not today, i mean this past week since the night at the theater. He seemed so different." Lynn answered.

"Maybe he's still in shock? He almost lost his life saving Luan." She thought back to the bruises she saw on his face. Unless he was as clumsy as an idiot, that doesn't happen naturally. It would've seemed more natural to see him come out of a burning theater with burns and maybe a cut.

"It's not that. I-It's just..." She took a pause before continuing. "He started acting really cold to everyone. He barely talked to us and we barely saw him in the house since he came back from the hospital. Something's up with him. I can just sense it around him. Did you hear about that guy who was just murdered earlier today?"

Now she feared for the worst. "Yeah i heard."

"What if he had something to do with it? Before that, he wasn't as compassionate as he usually was. He was different. And when he came home today, it's as if he went back to normal. He also had this weird smell on him. I mean not like he never showered or anything, but it smelled like...shit i don't even know how to explain it."

"I think i know what you're saying." She sighed. "I agree he wasn't acting like himself since then. I even tried talking to him about it but he never cooperated. I would call him to see how he's doing and when I brought it up he would either ignore it completely or tells me to forget it. Then just the other day, i called him to see if he wanted to maybe do something since I'm off duty for the week. He told me no and to just leave him alone. He was really aggressive about it. I was pissed when he did that."

Lynn listened to every word that the Hispanic woman had said. She had no idea that Lincoln acted that way to her. Had they been kids she would've kicked his ass for that. She felt sorry for her. She didn't deserve such attitude for being friendly.

"The idea that Lincoln is a killer? No. I-I just cant picture him doing anything like that. That isn't who he is." said Ronnie Anne. The idea was now bothering her as she kept pondering about it. It was best if she decided what to do. "Look Lynn" she sighed. "I'll have to think this through.I don't know what to think or say about this. Lincoln's a great guy, I can't picture him killing anyone. I'll see what I'll come up with and if I do, you'll be the first to know."

Lynn nodded. "I think I'll head back out. If i find something I'll let you know as well." She went through her pocket and found the family photo she's held on for since she came home. Every one of the Loud family member was in the photo. This was taken before Luna left. She looked towards Lincoln, where he had his dorky chipped tooth smile, his casual orange polo and blue jeans with the same haircut he's had for years. He was still such an innocent dork in this picture. Not once would she have thought that this Eleven year old boy would ever commit such atrocities.

"I just hope I'm wrong." Lynn said.

From there she got up and was lead out the door by Ronnie Anne. She waved goodbye and headed back out. Once she was gone, Ronnie Anne went back to the living room.

She didn't know what to think now. For one, Lynn was right about Lincoln's recent odd behavior. He hasn't acted like himself since that night. The last time she called him he yelled at her aggressively to leave her alone which pissed her off very much. That alone could've had her berate him the next time she sees him. However she still wants to believe that Lincoln is a good man. She wants to believe that he is still the same caring guy she remembers but with the way things have come to, that may not be the case.

Whether she believes Lynn or not, she thought it would be best to look into it. If something is happening with Lincoln she'd surely want to know. If he is involved with some sort of criminal activity, then at that point she would need to make a choice.

Bring him in or let him go.

Either one of those ultimatums will hurt her no matter what.

---

ACT 1 EPILOGUE

Somewhere in the center of Downtown

4:00 PM

May 14th, 2019

"Mr. Steele sir." said a tanned man dressed in all black formal wear."We have identified Mr. Ashton's killer."

A man sitting in his red velvet office spins his chair to face the man speaking to him. He has a very intimidating face with a burned scar by the bridge of his nose. His grey charcoal suit had been pressed daily, his slick black hair fixed with gel and his silver thousand dollar watch would show anyone who sees him that he is a very wealthy individual. His name is Isaac Steele.

"Really now? And who might our suspect be Mr. Diggons?" said Steele.

Diggons pulls out a photo of a man with white hair. At first glance one could mistaken him for an elderly man, but upon further inspection it is clear that he is among his early to mid twenties. He places the photo on Steele's black dyed maple desk and slides it over. Steele picked up the photo and began to look at his face.

"His name is Lincoln Loud. Small time hired gun. Son to Lynn Loud Sr. and Rita Loud. Brother to Lori Loud, Leni Loud, Luna Loud, Luan Loud, Lynn Loud Jr. , Lucy Loud, Lana Loud, Lola Loud and Lily Loud. Only boy in his family of nine girls. Aged 24 and lives with his parents at 1216 Franklin Avenue. Had a management job at Gus' Games and Grub. He is also Flip DiMaggio's killer. Our guys indicate that he has killed several criminals within the past week. Has no police or military training." Said Diggons.

Steele's face had not changed. He didn't look impressed nor afraid. He set the photo down and looked at Diggons in the eye.

"Have some guys pick him up. I want to have a chat with him." he said. "I expect him here by tomorrow."

Diggons nodded "Yes Sir."

With that he left. Steele looked at the photo one more time.

"You fucked with the wrong businessman Loud."

---

A/N: I have finally finished this long awaited chapter. So many things came up and so little time. This is in fact my longest chapter in this story. I was supposed to have this done last month. I wrote so much for this chapter and when i went on to save it, my computer crashed. When i went back to retrieve the file it was completely gone. I was so pissed that i didn't bother writing it back for a while. I do apologize for the wait. I wanted to have this out sooner. But finally after many months working on the Act 1 finale, it is done! I'm not too sure when i'll start writing Act 2 but i may start once i finish more projects. I have a One shot coming up and i want to finish the request story i was given. After that I'm starting a new story with a feature most if not some of you would be familiar with. Other than that, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked hard to finally give this act and ending as well as a cliffhanger to give you a taste of what's coming up. I am sorry that i'm not as active anymore. Now that i have responsibilities on my own, i have to make free time. I will never give up on a story however. I intend to finish a story that i have started. And this goes for all of my stories and future projects, especially my big project that i hope to write once I have enough projects done. That will be my most anticipated story yet. But until then, I will provide with whatever i have at the moment. I also fixed the issue with two chapters being the same. I may have made an error with that when i tried to fix something. It should be all good now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and i will see you on the next chapter/story. FrostbiteFear out