My Name is Cyrus Temple

After calling Shaundi and suspecting that STAG captured her, Vince also received word that Johnny had been captured by them as well. Knowing how Johnny usually wasn't easy to take down, whether it's his skill in taking down rival gang members and cops, or the fact that he just wouldn't surrender even if he was outnumbered, there was definitely a way that STAG managed to capture him. Then again, Johnny was taken down a bit by the Morningstar and they kept him prisoner for a bit. Right after he talked with Kinzie and Oleg, Vince mentioned his big plan to free his friends.

Right after talking with Kinzie and Oleg, he also called Pierce and filled him on what had just happened. Pierce wondered if Loren or Killbane had gotten her, but Vince suspected it was STAG. It was then that they knew that their problems with STAG were not done yet. Even Pierce was a bit surprised that STAG managed to take down Johnny. He also filled Kiki and Viola with the same news. Vince had a plan and told the three to meet him at Kinzie's warehouse the following day for his big plan.

At this very moment, he was focused on how he would manage to rescue his friends. When Vince got to Kinzie's warehouse, he approached Kinzie and Oleg about his master plan – he was going to go onto the Thermopylae dressed like Cyrus Temple.

Vince stood before the two fellow Saints at the floor level of the warehouse where Kinzie had her other computer setup.

"Whoa, Boss, are you serious about this?" Kinzie said. "You can't just go marching onto STAG's aircraft carrier?"

"Why not? I'll look just like Cyrus," Vince said. "All I got to add is a fucked attitude."

"How will you be able to do that?" Kinzie said.

"Let me ask you this," Vince said. "Seeing as you got me that Decker outfit that one time, did you by any chance also acquire a STAG uniform while you were at it? Especially a dark greenish gray one?"

"Um, yeah, but…," Kinzie said.

"Well, I may need to use that soon," Vince said. "But I also need some other help from you two. Tell me, Kinzie, do you know anything about changing voices? Like putting something on my throat to make me sound different? The only other thing I need is a mask that will make me look like the bastard."

"I think I can help with that, friend," Oleg said. "When I worked with the Syndicate a while back, I knew some other scientists who specialized in making masks and voice changers. Both of us can help you out. When will you need this done by?"

"Tomorrow," Vince said.

"So that's all you need?" Kinzie said. "Both of us can try to get this done by tomorrow. I rarely sleep, so I'll see what we can do."

"Thanks, hit me up when things are ready," Vince said.

"We will, comrade," Oleg said.

For the rest of the day, Vince traveled down the southern part of Sunset Park. He drove right past the area where all the destruction had taken place just a couple of days prior. He busted out a pair of binoculars to get a good look of the main deck of the Thermopylae. It appeared that there was one of two ways to get there – either by boat or by aircraft. Even then, it would be likely that they would allow some of their own to enter the ship.

He went and drove eastbound and to the north and pulled over close to where the Rim Jobs was and where a view of Magarac Island was. He got out with his binoculars once again and took a close look at Sierra Point, the National Guard base which also had some of STAG there. It was also the same place where he and Shaundi raided when they needed more weapons, as well as stole a bomb. Speak of the devil, an N-Forcer was seen parked on the side of the road close to the Rim Jobs.

Bingo. Vince thought. He found a way to get onto Sierra Point without the National Guard or STAG wanting to gun him down. He saw a STAG operative walking around with a Viper laser rifle. The soldier's back was to him. Vince ran and jumped to deliver an attack to take down the soldier. Knowing that the soldier would react, he swiftly kicked the laser rifle away.

"Give me your fucking keys," Vince said after he pulled out a .45 Shepherd and pointed it right at the soldier's face, who was a man. Without any question, the soldier handed Vince the keys, but without warning, BANG! Vince fired the pistol right towards the face protector on the helmet, shooting the soldier in the face. He then went into the N-Forcer, started it up, and was now on his way to check out Sierra Point.

After scoping out the area, he got the call from Kinzie to come back to her warehouse. They needed to do some tests on the voice changer, but work was still being done on the mask. There was only a little bit of time before things were complete. After a while, things were ready. It was now showtime.

The next day, Pierce had arrived to Kinzie's warehouse in his Infuego, whereas the DeWynter twins arrived in their Temptress. They parked outside of the warehouse. Viola and Kiki knocked on the door, and once Viola let Kinzie know that it was her and her sister, the door rolled open.

Pierce and the twins walked in and looked around. Even in the daytime, the place was so dim. That's what would happen when they're in a place that has windows that are covered.

"Um, Boss?" Pierce said. "Where are you?

"Right here." Suddenly, the three jumped as the voice sounded really different and they looked right in front of them. It sounded a little deeper than they had heard before.

"What the fuck?!" Pierce said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Pierce, it's me," Vince said. "Oleg and Kinzie helped out with this."

"Wait, what's the fucking plan?" Pierce said.

"I walk in with my prisoners, they take me to the cell block, I grab both Johnny and Shaundi, and then we leave," Vince said.

Viola chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry, prisoners?"

"What are you talking about?" Kiki said.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Vince said. "I'm bringing in you, your sister, and Pierce."

"Oh, hell no!" Pierce said.

"It's the only way I can do this," Vince said. "Now come on. I got something for us to ride in."

Vince turned around and saw Kinzie nearby. "Kinzie, I want you to hack into the Thermopylae's surveillance. Check and see where I can find Johnny and Shaundi."

"I will," Kinzie said.

Vince faced the twins and Pierce. "Come on, let's get going."

He led the three to the N-Forcer that he stole the previous day.

"What's this for?" Kiki said.

"We'll need one of those STAG transports to get out to that carrier," Vince said.

"This is weirding me out," Pierce said.

"Okay, so we get to the carrier, what then?" Kiki said.

"I take you prisoners to the brig where we find Johnny and Shaundi and get the hell off the boat," Vince said.

"What if they just shoot us?" Pierce said.

"You worry too much," Vince said. "I'm their commander, remember? Now get in."

"And I thought dressing like a slutty nun was a bit much," Viola said.

With Vince looking like Temple, it was a surefire way to get onto the ship. All that he would need to do is not blow his cover. Pierce rode shotgun, while the DeWynter sisters rode in the backseat. It was going to be quite a drive from Salander to Sierra Point.

"So what do you think? Do I look the part?" Vince said.

"Considering I want to stab your ass right now, yeah, I'd say it works," Pierce said.

"Don't talk to your commander that way," Vince said with such authority in his voice.

"I should slap that mask right off you," Pierce said.

"Try it and I'm leaving you on that boat," Vince said.

"Will you two shut up?" Kiki said. "This isn't giving me or Viola any confidence."

Pierce turned to look to his left right at Vince. "You sure you got his face right?"

"You know how often this guy gets on camera?" Vince said. "Besides, Kinzie and Oleg helped out with this. They both knew what they were doing and had some extra help.

"I'm just sayin'," Pierce said.

"I'm sure I got the look down," Vince said.

"That's all I wanted," Pierce said.

Meanwhile, Viola couldn't help but look at the mask used. It was so lifelike and the voice sounded accurate to the man.

"You know, this is a good look for you," Viola said. "You should keep the mask when you're done with it."

Pierce turned to face Viola from the front. "Are you serious?"

"Cyrus is very powerful and statuesque," Viola said.

"I think he's pretty handsome myself," Kiki said.

"You complained about a costume, and now you want the boss to run around with Cyrus's face?" Pierce said.

"It was just a suggestion, don't get all bent out of shape," Viola said.

After some time had passed, they crossed the bridge from Espina into Sierra Point. Both of the twins as well as Pierce looked out the window and noticed many of STAG's soldiers walking around, along with any of the soldiers that were stationed in Steelport.

Once Vince made a right towards the area where many helicopters were, he drove right into the gate. There was a STAG VTOL Condor at the center. Vince parked the N-Forcer and they all got out.

"I got to get you three cuffed," Vince said.

"This is a horrible idea," Pierce said.

"Just do it already," Viola said.

"Look, you may be cool with wearing handcuffs, but this motherfucker ain't down with that," Pierce said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiki said.

"Well, you know, you two ran a prostitution ring and an S&M club," Pierce said.

"So clearly we're into kink," Viola said.

"Seriously, Pierce, you carry a gun, does that mean you like to be shot?" Kiki said.

"No," Pierce said.

"So how about you stop being a judgmental man-child?" Viola said.

"Okay," Pierce said.

"Quiet, put on the damn cuffs already," Vince said.

Vince helped put the cuffs on Viola, Kiki, and Pierce and guided them like he was guiding prisoners to the Condor. Once the back hatch opened, the three went inside and sat down. Vince helped strap them down. He then got out and went to the cockpit and started up the aircraft and they were now off.

It didn't take too long until the Condor landed on the ship. Many of STAG's special troops lined up, saluted, and a path was open for "Cyrus Temple" to bring in the prisoners.

Vince guided Pierce while Viola and Kiki walked behind them.

Pierce leaned and whispered, "Next time you get to be the fucking prisoner."

"Quiet," Vince whispered. None of the STAG troops even suspected a thing.

At the end of the path there stood Kia and Sergeant Steiner, as they stood at attention for "their commander."

Kia gave a salute. "Welcome back, commander."

"Hey, what's up?" Vince said while still under the guise of Cyrus Temple.

Much to Kia's confusion, she mentioned that Temple needed to sign off on some prototypes that she had been working on.

"Thanks for the offer, uh, you, but I want to process these three ASAP," Vince said.

"I can take these three down to detention for you, sir," Steiner said as he started pulling Pierce away.

"Thanks," Vince said in a shrugging manner like he didn't know how to respond to that.

"What the fuck, man?!" Pierce said right to his leader.

Steiner quickly pistol-whipped Pierce in the back of the head with his Viper rifle.

"Don't you look at the commander!" Steiner said. By that point, the twins had started walking, as did Pierce turned around to look at Vince with a look of "What the hell, man?" But Vince didn't want to blow his cover. He had to ensure that he would free both Johnny and Shaundi.

Once Kia and Vince got inside the ship, he knew that he had to keep his cover at all costs and follow the woman to wherever she would lead him to. This whole area had STAG soldiers standing around, armed and ready to fire at even the slightest foul-up that Vince would make in that moment. Many computers and monitors were on display with STAG insignias on the walls and stuff, as well as gray and orange with Kia walking across a corridor with railings on the sides.

"This way, sir," Kia said.

"Lead on," Vince said.

As he followed Kia, Vince decided to make some conversation.

"So, how are the prisoners holding up? Have they said anything?"

"We haven't broken them yet," Kia said. "That Gat guy seems like a piece of work that maybe we need to get physical with. I read his file. He has quite a body count. We still haven't broken him yet, either."

"Good for them, that's good," Vince said.

"I'm sorry, commander?" Kia said.

"Sorry for what?" Vince said.

"No, I'm not," Kia said. "It sounded like you said, 'good for them.'"

"You're hearing things, soldier," Vince said.

"I'm sorry, sir," Kia said.

"No worries, we're cool," Vince said.

"Thank you…commander," Kia said with a touch of confusion in her voice.

The two walked side by side. Vince was doing his best to maintain his cover. All he could think about was how he was going to free Johnny and Shaundi.

"Sir, R&D has sent another prototype for a new vehicle: a jet-propelled cycle," Kia said. "The same kind that Steiner had used."

"No shit?" Vince said.

"Sir?" Kia said.

"I mean, it better not be shit like some of R&D's inventions," Vince said.

"No, sir, it is top quality," Kia said.

"What else have they cooked up?" Vince said.

"They have some improvements on our tank's weaponry," Kia said. "Should pack more firepower."

Vince continued to play along while trying to maintain his cover by agreeing with what this woman said.

"And there is also portable satchel charges for the troops," Kia said. "Once we get to R&D, I'll need you to sign off on two projects."

This gave Vince an idea. Considering how some prototypes of that jet-bike were made, if they were present on the ship, maybe he could steal one of them. As for the other two, he'll try to get Kinzie to have them sent over in his name. She had a way of doing this. It should work.

Vince and Kia walked up the stairs to an area where there were more computers set up. One computer in particular had the three projects on display on the monitor. As Vince walked with Kia, he got out his phone.

"Excuse me for a sec," Vince said.

"I'll wait, sir," Kia said, not even questioning her "superior's" methods in the matter. Vince had quickly typed and sent the message to Kinzie with the details. With Kinzie having that supercomputer that was issued from Ultor to STAG, this shouldn't be a problem for her. Afterwards, he went up to the computer and saw the three projects.

The monitor displayed the prototypes. While the STAG bike seemed rather tempting and probably the way he could try to track down that sniper, the satchel charges and the stronger tank seemed even more tempting. He made his choice. He went with the satchel charges and the tank.

Right after the prototypes were signed off, a voice was heard on the PA system.

"Kia, I'm on my way back to the Thermopylae to interrogate the prisoners. Make sure no one has access to them."

Vince said, "So that's your name."

Once it became clear to Kia that the real Cyrus Temple was not in her presence, she reached for her holster to grab her pistol, but Vince was too quick and grabbed her hand. However, Kia showed that she was quick herself as she elbowed Vince right in the face, still with her .45 Shepherd in hand. All Vince could do was run. He knew he was screwed, but he had to free his friends soon.

Without any hesitation, Kia fired shots at Vince right to the wall. Vince quickly jumped down the stairs. Kia wasted little time in continuing to shoot at him, but none of the shots landed. Vince successfully managed to get out of the area through the sliding door as Kia ran after him. The moment Vince got out into the hallway, he fired shots from his .45 Shepherd through the open doorway as Kia ran after him, but the door closed as soon as Kia got closer. He then released that he took the woman's badge from her. He was now about to put it to good use.

Vince now found himself back in the research and development area. Although he knew what he had to do next, he was very sure what was about to happen right about now. Suddenly, the alarm siren started blaring.

"All soldiers in R&D are to shoot Commander Temple on sight," Kia said through the PA system. "He is a Saint in disguise. I repeat, shoot Commander Temple in R&D."

Damn it, better get them out of here quickly. Vince thought. He quickly got out two .45 Shepherds. That was all that he had in that moment, but lucky for him he had extra magazines in case he had to reload.

Many STAG troops stormed right into the R&D facility with laser rifles, they all stood in a firing position, ready to open fire as soon as Vince showed himself. He saw what these people were made of. They just fire at will, no matter if there were potential civilian casualties. There had to be a way out of this as he sat and leaned against one of their computer stands.

Vince peered out from one corner and got out a grenade that he happened to be carrying. Vince peeked behind him and noticed some STAG soldiers were closing in on him, walking in a stalking fashion. Vince quickly pulled the pin and tossed it towards them.

"GRENADE!" One STAG soldier yelled. BOOM! Three STAG soldiers were sent flying. They weren't close enough, however, as at least one of the troops managed to get up. Many lasers zapped across the facility, leaving holes and damage on the walls and computer monitors. Vince stayed as low as possible to cover himself from any gunfire.

As more STAG troops walked into the facility through the sliding door, they were a little far away from Vince. All that could be done was ensure that he shoot them in the head given how strong their armor was.

Here goes nothing. Vince thought. He peered out from mode of cover and aimed as best as he could. One shot landed through the face-protector of the helmet, dropping the soldier in the process. He fired more shots, hoping to make sure that they would land. One of the fallen soldiers had a Viper rifle lying around and another one had an S3X Hammer shotgun lying around as well. Though he was sure that his friends would need some firepower when he frees them, all that mattered right now was getting to the brig.

More shots were fired, this time they were lasers. He dropped as many STAG soldiers as he could and quickly ran right towards the sliding door on the other end of the facility.

"Intruder in R&D, possibly moving to cell block, resembles Commander Temple," Kia said on the speaker. "Shoot on sight."

With both weapons on him, as well as his own two pistols, he walked through the door. More STAG soldiers awaited his arrival.

Oh, fuck me. Vince thought. What didn't help was that one had a riot shield in hand.

Lasers fired right towards him. Vince quickly hid behind some crates. He grabbed another grenade and threw it towards the group of soldiers. All it took was a blast to take them down. Whether they were dead or not, it didn't matter. Time was running out. He had to go rescue his friends.

Vince picked up the riot shield while he had both the rifle and shotgun strapped to his back. Another door was seen. He quickly ran right to it, leading him into the tank hangar. More lasers fired towards him. He held the shield right in front of him as he fired a few shots from his pistol. That was all he could do at the moment.

"A Saint has infiltrated the Thermopylae disguised as Commander Temple," Kia said. "Shoot him on sight."

Not knowing where to go, and it would be a waste of time to even ask any of these soldiers where the cell block was, all Vince could do is kill whoever came his way. He used the Viper a few times to take any soldier from far away. Whenever some were a little closer, he fired a shot from the S3X Hammer, leaving buckshot in the chest of one soldier, dropping him down.

More troops came his way. All of them after one man, but there had to be another way out of this. Since he was in the tank hangar, there was definitely a way. He dropped the riot shield, ran and climbed into the Crusader tank and started to open fire with the cannon. Many STAG soldiers were blown away, some even blew up as bloody limbs and other body parts flew off.

"The Commander Temple below deck is an imposter," Kia said. "Shoot him on sight."

More damage was being done in the hangar. Walls, crates, the other tanks, they all got blown up. What was crazy was that the STAG soldiers didn't back down. Vince wasn't sure if that was a commendable feat, if they were crazy, or if they were just stupid. Whatever the case was, with so much damage being done, many of the troops were dead. Vince got out and grabbed the shield that was still lying around in case more came at him. It was now time to let his friends loose.

Unsurprisingly enough, STAG was far from done. With many of the dead troops lying around, Vince noticed that some had wielded the Annihilator RPG launchers. Vince got caught up in the carnage that he didn't really pay much attention to the weapons that they were using. After he went through one door, he dropped a few more troops but one door was seen at floor level of the hangar, and there stood two STAG troops with riot shields.

"Oh, fuck this," Vince said and picked up a rocket launcher and aimed at the doorway. BOOM! Both STAG soldiers blew up, limbs and body parts were blown apart. Even the door blew open. Vince quickly jumped the railing and as soon he landed, he ran right towards the doorway leading into another hallway.

The likelihood of more STAG troops being nearby was high, so Vince picked up one of the riot shields. He went in, more STAG troops came out, started firing more lasers. Vince fired a few shots from his pistol. All he could do was aim for their heads. More came out through a door on the right of that area.

"Oh, fuck this," Vince said and quickly threw a grenade towards the two live STAG agents. The grenade quickly exploded on the impact of hitting the ground, sending the two STAG agents flying. That door could probably lead into the cell block. As soon as he walked through the door, more computers were on display with camera footage being shown on the monitors but at the center appeared to be a scanner. Vince pulled out that badge that he stole from Kia and scanned it.

He walked through the other doorway. He was now at the cell block. Now all he had to do was search for his friends. A cell was seen on the right. He walked up and inside was Pierce.

"Boss? About time," Pierce said.

"Come on," Vince said. "Pick up any weapon you can find."

More STAG soldiers kept coming out of the woodwork. Vince fired at any he saw right on sight. This prompted Pierce to pick up one of their laser guns.

"Where are the others?" Vince said.

"Fuck if I know," Pierce said.

"Not helping," Vince said. "Okay, follow me."

Vince looked around and noticed a stairwell. There had to be more cells upstairs to search. Pierce fired at any STAG soldier who went their way. The first thing they noticed when they got to the second floor was that there were two cells across from one another. One had Johnny inside and oddly enough on the other, both Viola and Kiki were in the same cell.

Vince went to the one on the left and swiped the card.

"What the fuck do you want now?" Johnny said. "I ain't saying shit and you're gonna have to do worse to get it out of me."

"Relax, Johnny, it's me," Vince said. "I'm busting you out."

"Vince? Damn, you look like shit right now," Johnny said. "Just give me a gun and we'll cover your ass."

Right when he said that, more STAG troops came in on opposite ends. Vince fired down the hallway, while Pierce fired towards the stairwell.

"You got your gun now, Johnny," Vince said. Johnny went to pick up a laser rifle while Vince went to free the twins.

"Can we leave yet?" Viola said.

"That's what we're doing," Vince said. "Now we got to find Shaundi."

All three men gunned down more who kept coming after them.

"How many of these motherfuckers are there?" Pierce said.

"Don't matter to me, they fucked with the wrong people," Johnny said.

Vince looked towards the twins. "Go, pick up their weapons and follow me."

"We're right behind you," Kiki said.

Vince led the other four down the corridor. As soon as they made a right turn, they found another set of cells. Shaundi had to be in one of them. Vince turned to the right and saw her through the glass. He quickly swiped the card to open the cell door.

"What do you want now? I'm not saying a damn thing," Shaundi said.

"Shaundi, it's me," Vince said. "We're all here to get you out."

Johnny, Pierce, Viola, and Kiki were seen. Shaundi couldn't have been more relieved to see them.

Viola sighed in relief. "Thank God it's you. You look like shit right now."

"That reminds me, I don't need this anymore," Vince said and reached for his neck and pulled off the mask and threw it to the floor. He even pulled out the voice changer and threw it out as well.

"Now I look and sound like me again," Vince said in his normal voice. "Now let's get the fuck off this boat!"

"We have to find a way off this thing," Viola interrupted.

"We could blow it up first," Shaundi said.

"You read my mind, where to?" Vince said.

"Reactor control room," Shaundi said. "Heard the guards talking about how dangerous it was."

"Shit, I'm down," Johnny said. "Let's go blow this motherfucker up!"

Out of the blue, another report came on the speakers.

"This is Commander Temple. All personnel are to shoot any person looking like me and any Saints with me."

All of the Saints started laughing at that comment because Vince no longer had that mask on. Still, they were going to be targeted regardless. They headed down the stairs and walked down a hallway where another was seen on the right, exactly in the center.

"Must be this way," Vince said. Just when the door started to open, a big flash went off, probably from a flash-bang grenade.

"Fuck!" Pierce yelled.

"Shake it off!" Vince said. "Everyone go right to the corners now!"

Johnny and the twins hid on the corner on the right, while Shaundi and Pierce stuck by Vince on the left corner. When the brightness from the flash died down, some more STAG troops stalked their way into the hallway. Vince had one more grenade on him. He pulled off the pin and chucked it right at them.

BOOM!

Vince and Johnny popped out from their corners and fired lasers at any STAG troops coming their way. Pierce, along with the ladies, popped out and fired at anybody coming at them. The entire ship was a mess now. Bodies of STAG troops have been dropped lying in pools of their own blood, and that also included anybody who had body parts dismembered. All of the layouts had been badly damaged. The Saints were adamant about getting off the ship one way or another.

The alarm had still been blaring by this point and STAG wasn't about to give up, but the Saints weren't going to give up either. Even some of the lasers had grazed some of the Saints a bit. They managed to play it all safely by covering when needed. Vince picked up another riot shield. Johnny picked up the other as Vince passed him one of his pistols. Pierce and the ladies had their laser rifles and S3X Hammer shotguns. They were now set to blow this ship to hell.

"Attention: I am not on the Thermopylae, anyone who looks like me is an imposter," Cyrus said through the speakers.

Although any of the STAG soldiers had now seen that the mask was off of Vince, they still figured that he was the imposter. After all, he was still wearing that same uniform.

"Shoot Commander Temple on sight!" Cyrus said. "I repeat, shoot me on sight!"

Vince led the other five down some more stairs. They shot at more STAG troops the moment they saw them. They all ran as fast as they could. Johnny even stood out at times just so that he could just shoot at any waves coming at him. Both of the twins were by his side. Vince had Pierce and Shaundi by his sides.

They continued to follow any hallway and as soon as stairs were seen, it was their cue to run down them.

"Authorization is grant to shoot Commander Temple on sight," Cyrus said. "Damn it, I want him dead!"

Once the Saints reached an end where there were two flights of stairs, one going up and the other going down. It seemed that the reactor was close by. The sextet went with the more logical conclusion as they all ran down the stairs and then the automatic sliding door opened.

Inside was a drop-off with a bridge going across and a light-blue glow on the other end of this room. Right in front of it was a control area. This was definitely the place.

Pierce said, "Hey, Boss, bet there's something in that control area keepin' this place runnin'. Take it out and the ship should blow."

"You sure about that?" Vince said.

"Fuck no, I'm just working off movies here," Pierce said.

"Whatever it is, all of you cover me," Vince said.

Without any question, the other five stayed behind as Vince ran off to go the control area. A long red laser was seen coming from one doorway of the control area.

"Glad I came prepared," Johnny said as he busted out a rocket launcher. Shaundi and the twins looked at their cohort with so much confusion.

"Johnny, where did you get that?" Shaundi said.

"Tell you later," Johnny said. "Just shoot all those motherfuckers."

As Vince ran across the area, he fired at any STAG troop coming towards him. Lasers and buckshot flew across the room. Kiki had a S3X Hammer shotgun and fired at anybody who got in her way. Viola had a Viper laser rifle, as did Shaundi and Pierce. So many red lasers damaged the walls. Johnny fired two rockets towards the doorways into the control area where the snipers were as their bodies were sent flying. Once Vince got to one of the staircases going up, although the stairs were damaged and broken, he jumped and climbed onto the platform and found himself near the controls and console. His six lieutenants have now caught up to him as many of the other STAG soldiers were now dead.

Vince looked at all of the computers and controls in this room. Right at the center had to be the main console. He got out the laser rifle and fired at anything and everything around him, including the thing at the center.

KABOOM! Just mere seconds after destroying the console, the reactor had caused some explosions around them. Everyone stood close to the control area as Vince jumped down and reunited with his crew.

"We got to get out of here now!" Vince said.

Shaundi noted, "They had troop transports in the hangar. We could snatch them."

"Will we all fit though?" Kiki said.

"Relax, I have a plan," Vince said and turned to Pierce. "Hey, why don't you fly the ladies in one of those while Johnny and take another or a jet?"

"Good plan, Boss," Pierce said.

"Okay, move out!" Vince said.

More blasts went off in the reactor area. It wouldn't be long until the ship would go down with everyone on board. All that mattered now was getting off.

"Make sure the Saints go down with the ship!" Cyrus said through the speakers.

It was now or never. They ran towards the door, it quickly opened, and ran up the stairs and towards the other steps going up into the hallway. The blasts continued everywhere. In the hallway, an explosion went off, a STAG soldier caught on fire and flew towards the wall. Even with any of the STAG soldiers trying to kill the Saints, they quickly went down. There was no time to waste, especially fighting any soldier trying to kill them. One would think it would have been better if they had tried to get off the ship as soon as possible, but that wasn't the case. Maybe they had followed their commander's orders, as once the ship went down, the Saints' bodies would, too.

But that wasn't going to happen. Not today. The Saints had their strength in numbers. There were six of them and were well armed. They knew that for any troop coming their way, it was kill or be killed. So they shot any STAG soldier they saw as they went down the hallways and through any doors.

Once they passed through the door, they were back in the R&D center.

"The hangar is this way!" Shaundi said pointing towards the door on the end opposite from where they were.

All six of them ran towards the door. Once it opened, they all saw that some Condors were ported, as was an F-69.

However, the explosions didn't stop as they blew up any of the aircraft that was in the hangar.

"We got to go faster! We're running out of time!" Pierce said.

If that wasn't bad enough, a few more STAG troops tried firing at them. Most of the aircraft were now destroyed, except for one. In the southernmost part of the hangar, one Condor was seen right under an opening. Pierce got into the cockpit. The hatch in the back opened as Viola, Kiki, and Shaundi went in and strapped themselves into their seats. Johnny stood out there with Vince.

"Pierce, Johnny, go and take the ladies," Vince said.

"What?!" Shaundi said.

"Don't worry, I'll catch up with you somehow," Vince said.

Shaundi looked at him with so much concern on her face. Vince told them he will be right behind them as more of the STAG troops continued to shoot at them.

"Vince, I'm staying with you," Johnny said. "Let me take care of these guys one more time."

"Okay, you stay with me," Vince said. "I'll find another way for us."

Shaundi looked at Vince and looked down, like she was ready to cry a bit.

"Shaundi, I promise you we will be right behind you," Vince said and leaned in to kiss her on the lips. She was so surprised that her eyes were still open.

"Be safe," Shaundi said. The hatch closed. The Condor started floating into the air.

Vince looked around and saw an alternative for them to get off the boat.

"Johnny!" Vince yelled and pointed in a direction. Johnny looked and saw that there were two prototypes of Specter jet-bikes.

"Fuck yeah!" Johnny said.

Both men ran right to the Specters. Even with the boat still exploding, the STAG troops continued firing their lasers. Both men mounted on the jet-bikes and ascended into the air. They both turned around while in hover-mode and fired shots from the turrets on them as the remaining STAG soldiers dropped with blood flying everywhere and limbs breaking off of them.

While they were still in hover-mode, they approached the opening and as soon as they were outside, they switched to flight-mode as they flew away from the exploding ship.

Both Vince and Johnny flew with so much excitement in the air as the boat continued to explode. It wasn't far, though, as right at the edge Vince saw the Condor had landed with Pierce and the ladies right there. Vince turned and went into hover-mode. Johnny followed and they both landed right where the other Saints were.

"What the hell are those things?!" Viola said.

"Just a little parting gift," Vince said. "A little souvenir from the STAG tour."

All six Saints stood and watched as the Thermopylae blew up some more. And some more it did, because the ship broke in half, causing one half of the aircraft carrier to slant. Many of the surviving STAG troops slid and fell off, as well as any aircraft on the main deck, and then sunk into the sea, thus ending the Thermopylae once and for all.

Vince picked up his phone and recorded a video, as well as took pictures of the ship sinking.

"This one's going in the book," Vince said.

Pierce stood next to Vince and watched as everything went down, literally. "We might've overdone it."

"Now we can focus on the rest of the Syndicate," Viola said.

"First Killbane, and then Phillipe," Kiki said.

"I'm down for that," Johnny said. "I've been wanting to take those two assholes out. I think Killbane even tortured me that one time."

"What about STAG?" Shaundi said.

Pierce replied, "We just blew up an aircraft carrier. What else could they throw at us?"

"Not sure, but I don't see them coming back from this," Vince said. "Come on, let's go."

Pierce flew the women out of there while Vince and Johnny flew with them on their jet-bikes. Wherever they would go, they will play it by ear.

18 HOURS LATER

After the attack on the Thermopylae, there was just no way that STAG was about to give up after this. If anything, the Saints pissed them off some more.

The streets of Loren Square were flooded with Crusader tanks and STAG troops marching down alongside them. All of the bridges in the southernmost island of Downtown Steelport were now raised. No one could cross the bridges from Bridgeport to Sunset Park, nor could anyone cross from Arapice Island to Loren Square. Even the bridge of The Grove was raised.

With all of the streets of Downtown Steelport occupied with tanks and jets flying, it would definitely not be a good idea for any Saints or Syndicate members to be seen in that area.

From the top of the STAG PR Center, Cyrus looked outside the window of his office at the entire occupation taking place. The office had a statue of a Roman warrior near the doors. As far as STAG was considered, the Saints' days were numbered. Cyrus was talking on speaker phone with Senator Hughes.

"You knew it would come to martial law, didn't you?" Cyrus said.

"I knew the Saints," Hughes said. "How did Mayor Reynolds react?"

"He'll fall in line," Cyrus said. "They all will."

"Keep me updated, Commander," Hughes said.

"Of course, ma'am." Cyrus continued to look outside with so much awe. Kia stood by and ended the call with the senator.

"Sir, the commandos are en route," Kia said. "We'll have the whole city locked down in 72 hours."

"Outstanding, thank you, Kia," Cyrus said.

Kia turned around, ready to leave the office, but stopped. "Permission to speak freely?" Cyrus nodded to grant her permission.

"It's about time we took off the kid gloves," Kia said.

Cyrus turned around to face his second-in-command. "Two little words, Kia – shock and awe."

"Right, sir," Kia said and turned around to leave the room.

As soon as she walked outside, she got on her phone and made a call.

"Hello, Mr. Jackson," Kia said. "Yes, we are now occupying Steelport. The Saints will not have a chance. I, I mean, we shall see that they won't make it. Yes, I will be in touch. Thank you."

Author's note: Whoo! What a chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it.

First and foremost, a while back I had a hard time deciding on how I could do this mission without the whole plastic surgery angle that it went through. A friend of mine on here gave me an idea to use and while I thought about it, I went with a different approach. I remembered how it was done in the Darkman movies, as well as the Mission: Impossible movies how masks and voice changers were used and went with that approach instead.

I initially thought about not using the angle about signing off on the prototypes as I didn't want to include gameplay mechanics such as unlocking cars because it doesn't really work in this medium. But then I went with the approach of Kinzie using her expertise to have the prototypes come to them. I also wanted to add more to the bit towards the end of how Vince (the Boss) and Johnny hijacking the Specters for themselves.

The next one or two chapters will be interludes. You'll see what I may do soon.