Retribution

EARLIER THAT EVENING…

It had been hours since Liz had come back to Franklin's house after hanging out with Tracey. She had spent some time with her new friend. She didn't think that she would form a friendship with someone from Rockford Hills who also happened to be in one of her classes. But after that night that she joined Franklin to go have dinner at his friend Michael's house, it seemed like it was fate for both ladies.

She felt the need to stay in the area of Vinewood, because it was possible that if she went southbound, some of Alonzo's friends would be on the hunt for her. She had told some of her friends to get out of town for at least a night. She had told her friend Lupe to maybe crash with their friend Cecilia and her husband. She wanted to make sure her friends were safe.

She sat on the red couch close in the living room area that was close to the kitchen. It felt that apart of the bedroom and bathroom, there were no actual rooms in that house. She turned on the TV and put it on the CNT channel where the show "Rehab Island" was being shown. But she couldn't keep herself focused on the program as she had a lot on her mind.

The main thing that was on her mind was how and why she stayed with Alonzo for quite a bit. Even though she did date Kyle the tennis coach for a bit, she had said it was during an off-period with Alonzo. If anything, those two broke up and saw other people, but for some reason, she went back to him.

Alonzo was definitely not good for her. She was abused both verbally and physically from him. It didn't help that he often tried to hit on some of her friends. She even felt uncomfortable when he would bring her around some of his friends and talk about how he wanted to get in with the Vagos. He was connected, but the one thing he wanted was to be in with them, like if he became a full-fledged member of the set.

What was so hypocritical was that while he would try to talk to other girls, and she even figured that he cheated a bit, he would get on her for talking to other guys. It did not help matters that he beat up her stepbrother, for no other reason other than that he wasn't blood-related to her. It wasn't until that fateful day when Franklin gave him a ride to meet up with her that everything changed for the better.

She didn't think that she would fall for Franklin like this. They had been dating for about a few months, but they had known each other for a bit longer as they had their friends-with-benefits relationship. She even slept with other men while he slept with strippers during that time. She even provided entertainment for some frat parties at times. But for some reason, even though she wasn't ready to date after the breakup with Alonzo, there was something about Franklin that made her want him, and it was more than just sex. She fell for him enough that she cared about him so much.

She wondered what else could happen. She knew what Franklin wanted to do, but if things go as planned, will it be the end of their problems?

"Hey." Liz jumped when she heard the voice say that. She looked up towards her left and saw that Franklin was standing close to the kitchen area.

"Hey, girl, you okay?" Franklin said as he walked towards her and leaned in.

"I'm fine." She said, though her tone said otherwise.

"It don't sound like you okay," Franklin said. He walked up and placed himself right on the couch beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you think there is something wrong?" Liz said.

"'Cuz I know that shit has been bad for a few days," Franklin said and then inhaled and exhaled to take a deep breath. "Listen, I'ma go and solve this whole problem. I'm finna get those Vago cats off our backs and then things will get better."

"I don't want you to go over there," Liz said. "Even if you do get out alive, will everything be over? Those Vagos are horrible people. I know this for sure."

"I got a plan," Franklin said. "The only thing I want is for the Vagos to get off our backs. I'm only going over there to speak to the man in charge. The rest of the shit involving that ex of yours, it will get dealt with."

Liz turned away after having heard him say that. She wanted nothing more than to be done with Alonzo, but it seemed to her that even if things were to get resolved, he wouldn't give up. Franklin placed his left hand right on the right side of her face and guided her to turn her attention towards him.

"Listen, I got this, I know what I'm doing," Franklin said. "I'ma go down to Rancho and handle this shit. It seems that it's only with that set that I should deal with. I know that the Vagos run in Murrieta Heights and Vespucci Beach, but it's only with that set. I'ma get their shot-caller to back off of us. I can't let nothin' bad happen to you or any of your friends and family."

Liz then leaned and pressed her face against his left shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her and ran his hands up and down her back.

"I'ma be fine, okay?" Franklin said. "I won't be gone that long. I'll be back."

Liz moved her face away from Franklin's shoulder. Franklin saw that her eyes looked a little moist. It wasn't hard to see what happened there. Can he blame her for feeling so emotional?

"Promise you'll be back, I'll be waiting." Liz's voice cracked a bit when she said that.

"I will be back, ain't nothing bad gonna happen to me," Franklin said.

He then leaned in to kiss her right on the lips. "Just stay here."

Liz nodded her head as she watched Franklin grab the keys to his Buffalo. She stood up and walked a bit and watched as he walked out the door to the house. Her eyes shifted to the floor to her right and then sighed at what just happened, or what may happen to Franklin, for that matter. To her, there was a possibility, if likelihood that Franklin would not come back. But at the same time, she knows that Franklin is a strong guy, so he'll be fine.

She sat back down and watched TV some more. She had to get her mind off all this concern.

Outside, Franklin had started his and rolled eastbound on Whispymound Drive to get onto Baytree Canyon Road. He was heading south to get to Rancho. He got out his phone to make the calls to a few people for their assistance in case things were to happen.

However, after he left, a yellow Tornado pulled up right close to Franklin's pad from the west. Three men wearing yellow inside the car and looked over at the pad. Two men got out with masks on to find a way to get inside, while the third man sat in the driver's seat.

NOW...

Franklin had rolled down Elgin Avenue at that point. He was close to the Olympic Freeway, in the same area where he first met Liz that one time. The same place where some homeless people have their tents set up.

He was at a red light. In that very moment, he picked up his phone and went to his contacts. He looked up Michael and Trevor. He sent a text message to both of them.

Hey, I'm about to get in some shit right now. I want you to use the Trackify app to find me. Something tells me some shit is about to go down in a bit.

There was something that was eating at him in that moment. It was a hunch, a hunch that told him that this was a trick. Now that Liz has been taken, it almost seemed like Alonzo wants Franklin to come to him. This wasn't a matter of kidnapping Liz and having her go missing. No, this was more that Alonzo wants Franklin to come to him so that Liz can watch Franklin die right in front of her, or the other way around. In either case, Franklin was about ready. He wanted to settle this once and for all.

If anything, Franklin wasn't stupid enough to think that Alonzo was going to hand her over that easily.

He pulled up right under the overpass in that very area. It was nighttime and it was dark, so the headlights were on so that Franklin could see what was in front of him.

He put the car in park and turned it off. He got out and looked around to see if there was anybody around.

"Hello?" he said out loud. "Is anybody here?"

Within a quick breath, somehow it even got darker for Frank, as he couldn't see anything. He was moving though, as he felt that there were two men right beside him dragging him. He heard a clicking sound and right after that, he felt like he was shoved until fell into what seemed like the trunk of a car. Then he heard a sound, like something closed over him. He knew what was up. He was prepared, even though he fell into a trap. But after that phone call, he knew what happened to his girlfriend and this was the way to get to her.

AN HOUR LATER…

The car went to a complete stop. It had been an hour since Franklin was abducted, but unbeknownst to the two kidnappers, he was onto them. He may not have been armed, but he contacted a couple of friends to help him in this situation.

The trunk had opened. It was still dark for him, mostly because of the bag over his head. He had heard some guys talking.

"So what do you want to do, homes?" one guy said. The voice didn't sound familiar to him. "Do you want to bury him in this hole? Or do you want to bury him at sea?"

"I will worry about that." A familiar voice had said. "You two get the puta out of the car and I will handle this cabron right here. I don't want her to miss this."

Franklin knew that was the plan Alonzo had. He had figured that Alonzo wanted to give Liz a show. But what if he wanted to kill Liz right in front of him? It could go either way.

"Whatever, ese." Another familiar voice had said. "Just know that we might be in some serious shit after this."

"The fuck you talking about, carnal?" Alonzo said. "Jose, you better not be bullshitting me."

"I got word from Queso and he said that he wants us all to back the fuck off," Jose said. "We might be in some shit because we gunned down a Families puta after some shit went down in the barrio."

"So, what's your point?" Alonzo said.

Jose said, "Luis shot that mayate who brought Loca and Whisper back. Big Queso sent us a message that the hit has been called off."

"WHAT?!" Alonzo yelled. "You know what, I don't give a fuck. I just want to teach este hijo de puta a lesson in taking another man's woman and also beating my ass. He ain't gonna be so lucky this time. He also stole my car."

Luis added, "Hey, at least I finally got that guy who I couldn't kill the other day. If you want me to have a little fun with that guy over there, I'll gladly do it."

Alonzo looked over at the open trunk. "I think it's time to take of this." He looked over at his two friends. "Can you take Liz out of the car now?"

Luis went over to take Franklin out of the trunk. Jose went to get Liz out of the back of a yellow Cavalcade. It seemed that was the car that Alonzo drove. The moment the tailgate opened, Jose had grabbed Liz, who was blindfolded and gagged with duct tape and had her hands zip-tied behind her back. She got out kicking and tried to scream through the tape, but she couldn't.

Luis got Franklin to his feet, but much to the surprise of all three men, he walked with Luis guiding him. In a quick second, the bag was pulled from his head. In that same moment, Alonzo went up to Liz to remove the blindfold and the gag. He did it so hard that Liz turned her head around and even with little light around, with some of the light coming from headlights and a light pole that Alonzo brought with the SUV he drove. Franklin saw that Liz felt some pain from the removal of the tape.

Franklin tried to be calm in this situation, but it was so obvious that Liz wanted to cry at that point. He wanted to get close to her, until he felt something his back and he felt right onto the dirt. He tried to look around and see where he was.

"Isn't this quite a reunion?" Alonzo said. "You know something, Franklin, Liz never really knew what was good for her. I often tried to keep her in line, but she always went off and tried to go and do stuff without me. Even when she went to school, I had to be on the lookout for any boys trying to go for that pussy. I even kicked some guy's ass who was her partner in a project. I figured he wanted to tap that ass. He cried like a little bitch, just like the way this little bitch is starting to cry."

Alonzo went up towards Liz, who was looking towards the ground at that point. He grabbed her by the jaw and yelled at her to look right at him in the eye.

"Don't cry, puta," Alonzo said. "I'm going to take care of this asshole and then I will take you where you belong."

Liz's shoulders trembled a bit and she took a deep breath as she looked on what was right in front of her.

Alonzo looked right at Franklin. "I can't believe you're so stupid to fall for a slut like this. I even heard she got turned out by some frat boys. Even some huero tennis coach had fucked her. She couldn't keep it in her pants. I am also sure that because you had been fucking her, she probably got HIV by now."

"Fuck you, Alonzo!" Liz yelled.

Without question, Alonzo delivered a backhand slap right to her face. "¡Cállate! You fucking whore!"

Franklin didn't want to say anything. He knew that this guy was whipped and wanted to teach both him and Liz a lesson. But was this his way to get in with the gang? After the massacre that occurred at the Rancho projects, as well as what Big Queso had told him, Alonzo probably won't get his respect after all. The fact that this guy was berating her for dating and/or having sex with people outside of her ethnic group was enough to piss him off, especially with the blatant racism. Franklin knew that the MacAllen came from her Scottish grandfather, but she mainly identified herself as a Mexican-American woman, especially with her being three-quarters Mexican. It even explained why she had an accent and tan skin complexion.

While Alonzo continued to talk, Franklin had gotten himself to his feet. His hands were not tied or cuffed at all before that and weren't tied in that moment either.

"But you want to know what's even worse?" Alonzo said as he stared right into Franklin's eyes and then got closer to him. "You fucking stole my car in my barrio. But I got to hand it to you. You got a way with taking my shit. My woman, my car, my fucking pride. You are going to pay for what you have done."

It was time for Franklin to break his silence. "I didn't take shit, asshole. That car was never yours. Liz wanted to leave your ass. How the fuck did I take your pride? You started that shit under the freeway. I kicked your ass and you're still fucking pissed off at me?"

Alonzo scowled at him a bit.

"Oh, and I got news for you," Franklin said. Without hesitation, Franklin laid a hard right hand to Alonzo's face. But that didn't stop Luis and Jose to swing the bat and hit him with brass knuckles and knocked him down.

Franklin was on the ground and the two Vagos kicked and stomped on him. As much as Liz wanted to help him, she couldn't because her hands were tied behind her back.

After Alonzo had gotten up, he went right towards his friends, as they held Franklin by his arms while he knelt on the ground. Alonzo then laid a hard right hand and then a left hand to Franklin's jaw. Franklin started to bleed and was bruised around his jaw area. Jose and Luis picked him up to his feet and then Alonzo laid a hard punch to Franklin's stomach and then dropped to a fetal position on the ground.

"That's what you get for fucking with me, pendejo," Alonzo said

"STOP! PLEASE!" Liz said as she sounded like she was about to cry.

As Liz knelt there, she couldn't help but watch her boyfriend get beaten up. But out of the blue, she felt something behind her, like her zip-tie was being cut. She turned her head a tad and out of her peripherals, she saw what appeared to be a middle-aged man. Her eyes shifted to her right more and it turned out it was Michael who was cutting it loose. The moment they made eye contact, he gave her a shush sound. She quickly turned her attention to what was right in front of her.

As the three Vagos stood over Franklin's battered body on the ground.

"Hey, Alonzo," Jose said. "Should we just bury him now?"

"Nah, not yet," Alonzo said. "I think Liz got to see us fuck him up. Now he has to see us fuck her up."

Franklin may have been in pain in that moment, but he felt like he had some fight left in him. Nonetheless, Jose and Luis picked him up to his feet to take him closer to his girlfriend. It was then that he realized where he was. This was the same place he had picked up a woman who was about to get buried alive and as a reward for that, he had received 60 grand, especially when he realized that she was the daughter of a mobster from Liberty City.

Right when they stopped, Alonzo's friends held him down like before. Alonzo then got out a knife. He then looked right at Franklin, who wasn't sure what he was about to do with that knife. Was he about to stab him? Cut his throat? Cut or stab him in other areas?

"You're gonna watch me kill your precious slut," Alonzo said. "And then I will kill you. Is there anything you want to say?"

"Yeah, I do," Franklin said. "You know what Big Queso told me? He told me that you're a fucking hothead and that you're also a fucking joke. You ain't got no respect in your fucking set, asshole."

"You know what, fuck this shit," Alonzo said. "I'll do this a different way." He raised his knife, with the blade facing downward from his grip, like he was about to stab him.

Franklin was unsure if his friends got his message, but if not, he was ready to accept his fate. He didn't want Liz to get hurt. If Jose and Luis didn't hold Franklin down, Franklin would have tried to block and counter the attack. But he couldn't. There was no way around it for him.

BANG!

Everything went to a screeching halt the moment that sound occurred. Alonzo, Luis, and Jose looked up and tried to see where that gunshot came from. All three men tilted their heads to their sides and to the front to try get a sense as to where that was fired.

"You guys," Alonzo said. "Go and find whoever shot at us."

"Got it, carnal," Luis said. He and Jose went to go search the woods to find the shooter.

Alonzo was so distracted that Franklin used that time to get to his feet. He stood right behind him and said, "Hey, Alonzo." He turned to face him and then felt hard knuckles slam right to his left eye.

But the punch only sent him moving backwards a tad.

"So you want to play that way, huh?" Alonzo said and then took off his varsity jacket to reveal that he was wearing a black tank-top.

Liz continued to kneel there and pretend that she was tied. However, she saw the knife lying in the dirt. Alonzo's back was turned towards her. She had to come up with something to do.

Alonzo put his fists up in a stance. "Come on, puto. You got lucky last time. It ain't gonna happen again."

Franklin was a little vulnerable considering he was jumped just moments ago, but he was not going to let that stop him. Franklin threw a couple of jabs right to Alonzo's shoulder but when he was able to let out a left hook, Alonzo ducked and then delivered a punch right to the left side of Franklin's abdomen. But that didn't stop Franklin from grabbing Alonzo's shoulder and laying a hard left hand to his chest. Franklin laid a left and right job and delivered an overhand right hand to Alonzo's head.

It left Alonzo to stumble backwards. He shook his head a tad and then glared at Franklin with an angry scowl and then rushed right towards him and then grabbed him by the legs to slam him right on the ground. Being that they were close to a rocky area near the ocean, some parts of the ground were made of stone.

Franklin screamed a bit as his back hit against the ground. He looked up and saw Alonzo right on top of him and then swung a few times right to his face. Blood had flown right from Franklin's face.

As they were a little far from her, Liz had finally gotten up to her feet. She slowly made her move to grab the knife from the ground. It was in that moment, Alonzo grabbed Franklin by the head, ready to bash his head against the ground. But that wasn't going to happen, as he felt a sharp alloy pierce against his right shoulder. He got up from Franklin and noticed the blade fall from his shoulder. He got up and turned around and saw Liz standing up. So much blood was boiling in her veins, she started to breathe and tremble. Alonzo saw the knife on the ground and then picked it up.

He looked back and saw that Franklin was still lying there. He didn't want him to miss "the show." He went forth and tried to grab Liz.

"Alonzo, stop this, you made your point," Liz said as she was being grabbed.

"I am going to do something that I should have done a long time ago," Alonzo said as he gripped her hard and held the knife in the same stabbing position as before.

"Hey, Franklin!" Alonzo yelled. "Watch this!"

He held onto Liz as she was shaking intensely. Franklin barely got up, but as Alonzo was getting the blade close to her, he moved quickly to tackle Alonzo. He dropped the knife once again. Liz quickly reacted and picked up the knife.

Franklin went to town and wailed on his him with several hard punches to the face, ranging from his head to his nose to jaw. Alonzo's face was getting bruised and bloody as Franklin laid several hits onto him. He got up and decided that he had enough and then approached Liz for those two to get out of there.

But Alonzo didn't have enough. He got up once again and was ready to swing, except it was towards Liz this time. But what he got was something he didn't expect: a knife to the gut. Liz pulled the blade from his stomach and then looked at him with so much disgust in her eyes.

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" she said, as a tear trickled from her eye and sweat was running down her head.

Blood had started to run from Alonzo's mouth. Liz then started to remember all the hell he put her through, ranging from the physical abuse. Not just on her, but also her friends and also her stepbrother. She even reflected on everything that she had gone through that whole week. For that, she pounced and despite being smaller, the intensity in her system caused Alonzo to fall backwards. It could also be said that he was in a vulnerable state because of the stabbing.

But Liz didn't care. Alonzo was on the ground and she mounted over him and slashed the knife across his chest, his neck, and then started to puncture those areas of his body as she screamed at the top of her lungs. She stabbed him and cut him a few times enough that blood had sprayed right on her face. She stabbed him in the heart multiple times.

Franklin could not help but watch as she hacked right into her ex-boyfriend like that. The only thing he could do is grab her by the waist from behind and get her off what was left of Alonzo. She turned right to Franklin. She shook. She cried. She sweated from all of the tension. Franklin grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Liz, it's me," Franklin said. "Breathe, girl. Take a deep breath. He's already gone."

The couple looked right at Alonzo's bloody corpse that was lying right on the ground like that. Liz could not believe that she just murdered someone.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Franklin said.

"But what about Luis and Jose?" Liz said.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Luis and Jose had been incapacitated with gunshots to the legs. It turned out that Franklin's support came through, as Michael and Trevor had their sniper rifles with them. They also had the infrared scopes on them. They could have easily killed them, but Trevor had other plans.

Trevor and Michael carried the two Vagos back to where Franklin and Liz were. Franklin was holding Liz tight. She had ceased crying from all the emotion and tension, but that didn't mean that they went away.

"Hey, Mikey, just leave these two here," Trevor said. "I got something planned for them."

"You sure about that, T?" Michael said. "You know, I don't even want to know what you will do."

"What's he talking about?" Liz said.

Franklin let out a slight breeze from his mouth. "You really don't want to know."

Michael approached the couple. "Hey, are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we are," Franklin said.

"Hey, how did you two find us?" Liz said.

"Franklin said he felt something was about to go down," Michael said. "So we used an app to track him down."

"I see, it makes sense," Liz said.

"Yeah, do you want me to take you guys home?" Michael said.

"Sure thing, Mike," Franklin said. "Just drop us off at my crib. It's been a rough week for all of us."

"I bet, Frank," Michael said. "I bet. Come on, follow me. I'll show you where I parked.

Franklin and Liz followed Michael down to the road near Paleto Forest. The lights were on down the Western Highway. All three people had approached Michael's black Tailgater that was parked on the side of the road. At that same moment, they saw Trevor put the two Vagos in the back of his Bodhi. However, he went back into the forest for some reason.

Franklin and Liz turned their attentions elsewhere and went into the backseat of Michael's car. Franklin wanted to sit with her to comfort her after what had just happened. She looked down at the floor. She still couldn't believe what she just did.

"Listen, baby," Franklin said. "I know what you felt. But there was no stopping that guy. If anything, you let out all your anger. Come on, let's go home. I'll make you feel better. I'll take care of you."

Liz nodded her head and then leaned her head against Franklin's shoulder right when Michael started his car. They were about to head back to civilization.

Author's note: What a chapter I wrote. I will admit that I had a hard time deciding where the final confrontation should take place. It was either the forest/mountains or the desert. Then I remembered the random event of finding that mobster woman and saving her from getting killed.

I know that Alonzo's death was pretty gruesome. I had debated as to who should be the one to kill him. I thought it was better for Liz to do it as she had more of a reason to. Not saying that Franklin didn't have one, but when you look at Liz's history with Alonzo, it was pretty cathartic for her.

As for the fates of his friends, I'll leave you to wonder what Trevor will do with them.

I also planned on doing the minor flashback sequence from earlier that same day in this chapter. It was just like how I did that flashback in the previous chapter.

Also, there's going to be one more chapter. It's going to be the epilogue. I have a plan for it and I will get it up soon.