Chapter 2

Hello everyone. You knew its kind of sad this story didn't get any traction on the first chapter. But whatever I need to get these things out of my system, and I am really trying to write mostly for me at this point. My mind is just so filled with thoughts that I can't just do one story and keep going. So for those few who read this story so far expect more chapters for at least a while.

As always reviews are welcomed, and any thoughts always welcomed.

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I want to take a moment here and make some things clear because I feel like I didn't do so beforehand. I sure at this point you all wondering did I come from a broken home or something. What made me the way I was? Well to be clear I didn't come from a broken home in my past life and I sure as fuck can't remember what the first 8 years of my life here was. My dad in my old life was a good man if not just a bit distant. We never really talked, or rarely went out anywhere with each other, but I never had a reason to believe he didn't love me. He went to work, made money and took care of his family. You can't really ask for much more than that and if you do your just being needing. As for my mother she was a loving supportive women. She, like my dad, went to work, made money and took care of her family. Only difference was we talked and went out to do stuff with each other.

My parents also loved each other very dearly and were married for 40 years before my mom passed. As for dad he couldn't live without her and died shortly after. As for me I passed about 5 years after them in my 40's with no family of my own but was still surrounded by my sisters and their families. So, I didn't go out like I didn't even matter. So how did I end up the way I am in my new life. Well, who knows maybe it was just who I always was but never realized it?

But let's get back to the story.

-1997-

A few months had passed since the hit at the orphanage and things had progressed a lot like I had thought they would except for a few miscalculations. In hindsight I really should have realized that the hit would gather national attention. I mean Johnny and I just killed 5 people at a state ran orphanage, oh my bad group home, fucking same difference if you ask me. So of course, there was going to be an extensive investigation into why four well known mobsters were there meeting with the caretaker of the place. From there shit kind of hit the fan, but not for me or Johnny. Just everyone else that was involved with the caretaker's dirty business.

I really did owe a thank you to the caretaker for keeping such very well detailed records on those he did business with. People ranging from inside Child Protective Services to even some in the FBI, the mobs, and gangs were in his ledger. And the best part the man didn't write even a little big of it in code. The caretaker just wrote down names, payments and what day those payment were made. Why he it this way I will never know. Maybe he thought if he named names, or something happen to him he could take does those responsible for whatever happen to him down as well. He was a bitter person after all so I could see it. Regardless once that ledger got in the hands of the authority's arrests were being made left and right. And the media were having a field day that even months later it was still on the news. Questions of who knew what and how was it that no one seemed to know about the trafficking children under the state's nose had happen.

By the end of the investigation more than 200 people would be arrested and quite a few people who were not even involved lost their jobs. But all that would happen well after war with the Russians and Irish had started. A war that started exactly as I had thought it would.

After the hit and I mean the very next day Johnny and I had just gotten back from delivering the drugs and money to Harrison. As I had thought Harrison in his typical fashion took his cut of the loot and no more leaving us a sizable score. I don't remember how much money it was anymore seeing as it was just a passing moment for me, but it was enough to buy the loyalty of the kids in the warehouse for a time and enough start-up cash to get our own little gang running.

While it was nice for a time just playing the go between the Irish and the warehouse it wasn't enough to take over Hell's Kitchen like I wanted. To do that I need a number of things such as muscle, money and people I could trust. Now I already had some of that before in Johnny and Dominic, but the others I lacked. I mean while Johnny's reputation for violence pretty much put everyone in the warehouse under my thumb, I didn't believe in ruling through just fear. You really wanted loyalty you give people what they really wanted and for street kids that the world had told to go fuck off that was a place to belong, money, fancy clothes and a belief that they were somebody.

And lo and behold two weeks after the hit at the orphanage and before the investigation really started bearing fruit the Saints of Hell's Kitchen were born. Now I am not one for gang colors or signs. To me they were pointless and brought too much attraction to an organization, but the crew I was now running were kids and they needed things like that. Seeing as that was the case, I just stole the whole thing from the game Saints Row. It was easier than coming up with something new on my own plus Johnny liked the color purple so that kind of worked out well.

Speaking of Johnny a few things had changed with him after the hit. Well not changed as in personally wise seeing as he was a budding psychopath anyways. No, I mean change in ability wise. You see after the hit I went up several levels and was gifted with a total of 325 points to use towards my skill tree. Now sadly again due to this fucked up system I had no clue how I got those points seeing as there were no messages on how those points were earned. Did I get them all at once due to the level up or were some of them given to me due to the murders I had committed? I have no clue and still don't but moving on I got a nice number of points and with it more options became available.

For a moment when this happened, I had thought for a brief moment to use all those points on myself. I mean there were quite a few powers in that price range that could be potentially useful to me. But after taking a moment to settle myself down and really think about it, none of those powers were going to be useful to the organization, I was going to build around myself. So, after sitting back and thinking really hard on it the perfect power would be the power to give others abilities or superpowers if you prefer.

Now to my surprise there are a lot of abilities out there that would give me the ability to grant others special powers. I mean there was the ability to unlock the mutant gene in a person, the ability to act like the Ray Sphere from the video game infamous and so on and so forth. But they all cost a fortune and when I say fortune I mean like hundreds of thousands of points. I wasn't going to get there anytime soon if at all. There was however one ability that was in my price range and that was the ability to unlock another person's skill tree.

This ability only cost 200 points for me to unlock and only cost me 50 points per person to unlock their skill tree. That wasn't so bad but if you were not paying attention before anything that looked too good to be true always was. As you can see, while I can unlock someone's skill tree that didn't give them the ability to start earning their own points to put towards their own tree. I had to pay for those out of my own points and I couldn't give people who already had powers more power. Oh, and before I forget, unlike my tree everyone else's tree was more streamline. While my extended to like forever everyone else was based off of what I suspect was their personality.

I know too many of you all these limitations would seem like a dealbreaker on this one ability and to that I would say you're wrong. While yes it was very limited it was not so bad that it was not useful if you knew what you were doing. You see I didn't what to have a shit load of superbeings at my beck and call. Nor was I looking to take over the world. What I wanted was just enough power to stay alive and free once the bull shit stated to really happen. Because I had little doubt, I would be dragged in one way or the other at some point. But if I had just enough people under me who could go toe to toe with the likes of the Avengers or the X-Men or at the very least give them a run for their money then I could bring Nick Fury to the table for a talk.

Dominic the guy I made a slight mentioned to before was a good start, but I didn't and never would trust that little fuck. He was loyal to Johnny and Johnny was loyal to me. If something happened to Johnny there was a good chance that fucker would hold me responsible and stab me in the back for it. Not that I was worried about such a thing happening to much seeing as I had no plans to let anything happen to Johnny. He was the closest thing I had to family at this point, and I would be damned if I let anything happen to him.

Which was why he was the first person I had opened a skill tree for and after taking a look at the abilities that were available for him, I picked the first thing that would give him an edge over everyone else. That being the ability simply called Enhanced Toughness. While it didn't sound like much it did just as advertised making Johnny's overall body tougher than it was before. I am talking about denser and stronger muscles fibers, stronger bones and thicker skin. This gave him a degree of superhuman strength. Not on the level of let's say Steve Rogers from the MCU who was perhaps the strongest one of them all seeing as it was hinted that he was able to move over 58 tons, but still Johnny was no push over. While not at Rogers level he could still life up to 500 pounds now with some ease and bones were like concrete. He was a force to be reckoned with.

But enough about that let's get back to what was happening at the time of the war itself. Yet to tell how it started I will turn it over to Johnny himself.

-POV Johnny "Gat" Sun-

Is it my turn now? Good, alright well seeing as I am going to be the one to tell you how shit went down, I want to say this first. I didn't think much about the boss at the time of our first meeting. To me he was just some small Mexican kid that was always standing around my himself. But then I wasn't much to talk about at the time either. Just some shy punk who couldn't even look a person in the eye. A lost kid in a fucked-up system with no hope and no god. The son of some John and a two-dollar whore who died on crack. That was what I was at the time of our first meeting.

I was all sorts of fucked up and wouldn't have lasted long in that orphanage without him to be honest. Scared and alone, I thought more than once of just ending it and it was at the point the boss stepped forward. You see the day I met the boss was the same day I had my pudding cup taken from me by some bigger kids in the orphanage. Now I know what you're thinking, a fucking pudding cup, whats the big deal about losing a fucking pudding cup. Well, here is the thing when you are an orphan and have nothing you hold on to whatever you can for dear life. That pudding cup was the only treat we orphans got at the orphanage and only once every week if we were lucky. For me and almost everyone else there that pudding cup represented a make belief sense of hope in a hopeless world. So, to have it stolen was like having hope taken away from you. Shit like a pussy I probably would have given up right then and there and ended it all.

The only reason I didn't was because the Boss when he reached out his hand to me there it was. His pudding cup, his hope he gave it to me. Now I know now the boss didn't give a fuck about the fucking pudding, just like he doesn't give a fuck about all the money we have made over the years. But to me in that moment it meant the world, and I was sure as fuck going to pay him back one day for what he did for me that day. And the only way I saw myself doing so was with my loyalty to him.

Loyalty that the Boss would gave back to me when he showed me his power. I am not going to lie to you when the Boss fucking stab himself in the leg with a knife I fucking freaked out. Even more so when it healed slowly in front of my eyes. But as freaked out as I was, I knew what the Boss was saying to me that day. He was telling me I had his full trust and that we would rise together or die together. That is why I knew everything about him, even the shit he didn't and never would tell anyone else.

So, I knew about his want to take over the city from the get-go. Personally, I thought he was crazy but after that shit at the orphanage I knew he was the real deal. It one thing to kill someone with a gun or with a knife. That shit is easy compared to betting a man to death with your bare hands or a fucking hammer. For you see a gun is impersonal, you point, aim and shoot. Easy as it gets. As for a knife, that is a little more personal because you have to put physical effort into killing someone, but if you do it right you can still kill someone almost instantly. Your bare hands or a hammer however that is very personal especially if the person you're killing sees it coming. You get to hear the bones cracking, breaking and the blood-filled screams of dying begging for mercy before they die. Those horror movies you see they don't do that shit justice.

But let's get back to the story. It was about 2 weeks after the hit, and I had just gotten my powers and was helping canonizing the kids in the warehouse for our new gang. Maybe I was also taking out some of my anger at giving the prick Harrison 75 percent of our take as well. Anyways as I was doing this the Boss came over to me and said.

"Hey Johnny stop beating the shit out of the recruits for a moment and come over."

"Ya what's up man." I asked him

"We have a problem." He says to me.

"Hmm with what?" I asked him.

"Harrison, he is a loose end. We have to take him out if we want to move forward." The Boss tells me.

When the Boss said this I was honestly surprised. While ya I didn't like Harrison, the dumb fuck had his uses as a fence. So killing him had me wondering why we needed to kill him.

"How come? I mean I'm no fan of Harrison or nothing, but this is a bit out of the blue." I said to him in confusion.

"It does, doesn't it." He laughs a bit before saying, "But, no the plan was always to kill him. We just needed to make sure he played his part in the overall plan."

It took some thinking on my part, but figured out what he was saying, "Ah you don't what to take the chance he will talk."

"That's right. We got 53 people under us right now but that isn't near enough to take on the Irish or the Russians. Something we will end up doing if the Russians get a hold of Harrison." He says to me.

Rubbing my chin I says, "Fuck your right. They don't just want to kill Harrison they what to torture the dumb fuck. Make him pay for the killing of four of their guys."

"That is right and how much you want to bet he starts screaming our names the very second they get their hands on him."

"Son of a bitch and these fuckers, aren't killers." I say and point to the kids around us. We haven't even gotten to gun safe training yet. They were thieves and could maybe lay a beating on someone if they had the numbers. But a straight up gun fight, no way most of these kids would run like the bitches there where if that happen. Sometime down the road that wouldn't be the case but now the only killers were me and the Boss

"That is right, Johnny and it's best to cut the loose end ourselves before it is cut for us." He said to me.

"Alright, how do you want to do it?" I ask.

"Simple" Was all he said to me as he walked over and opened a crate to reveal four AK47s and a few magazines. I just smiled as I saw them.

You know you really have to give it up to Dom and his shadow powers. Thanks to them not only was he able to steal a crate of AK47s for us to use, but also was able to find out where and when the Russians would hit Harrison. It just so happened to be the same night Harrison was being put in charge of one of the Irish's bigger gambling dens. A big bump up for someone who was dealing with stole goods from children beforehand. But one that was necessary for the guy who hit Russians for doing business on their turf.

"Johnny, they are just down the street and will be here in a few moments." Dom says as he steps out of his shadows.

"About fucking time. Was getting tired of waiting." I told him.

"Johnny, are you sure you don't want my help?" Dom asked me with a worried look on his face.

"Hey, don't worry so much about me Dom. I got this, just sit back and enjoy the show." I tell him.

He looks at me with unsure eyes but goes back to the shadows anyways. I swear that kid worried too much for his own good. Not that I could blame him too much. Like when the boss found me, I found Dom and was grateful to me for picking him up when he was down. Difference was I wasn't so fucking clingy. God, I would so think he was a fag if it wasn't for the fact that I had caught checking out some of the girls in the warehouse when he showed up from time to time.

A few moments later a black van pulled up to the building the Irish were in, and I watched as a small group of Russians jumped out of it. They moved quickly to the building and kicked in the door. What followed were a lot of gunshots. Then a few moments later those same men minus one came back out dragging Harrison out covered in blood, but very much alive.

Now I know what you are thinking. I step out the alley and say something dramatic or really kick ass like in those action movies. Then I opened fire and some great gun battle started where you got to see me use my kick ass powers to bring the other guys down. Well, fuck you this is no fucking moive.

Yes, I step out the ally with my machine gun raised, but I didn't say shit and the only person who saw me was one of the fucking Russians who just so happen to see me before I unloaded on them. The sounds of gunfire was like music to my ears and the spray of blood was like the most fascinating of paintings. By the time I was down firing my first clip everyone was laying on the ground in a pool of their own blood and Harrison well that fucker never even saw who killed him. But I wasn't done yet and reloaded my machine gun and opened fire again just to be sure everyone was dead.

Even that wasn't enough however as after I emptied that clip, I pulled out my gat and walked up to the clearly dead bodies. The Boss was a paranoid fuck and had told me to make sure they were dead. So quicky I put one bullet each right between their eyes or in the back of their heads before heading inside to do the same thing. What was that old saying, trust but verify or something like that.

-End of Johnny's POV-

When Johnny returned that night with that big ass smile on his face, I knew the job was done. Harrison was dead and there were no witnesses to the act itself. We had covered our tracks and while there would be questions on who hit both the Russians and the Irish at the same time, I preferred that to Harrison talking. Now as I said before criminals are not stupid and that went especially for Michael Jortrier, Harrison's cousin who I had only met once before.

That guy had from what I knew never believed for a moment that his cowardly cousin could have pulled anything like the hit on the orphanage off. Yet he never called him out on it in front of the other Irish. Wouldn't have looked good and all that, but the moment Harrison was killed the man was smart enough to put two and two together. The way he saw it whoever killed his cousin and those Russians were the same guys who hit the orphanage. And seeing as Harrison was small time and didn't have any real connections outside of himself, he figured it had to have been someone from the warehouse. Primarily me that is.

Of course, he didn't have any evidence of this but if you're a criminal you don't need things like evidence. You just needed to believe that it was someone and that was it. It was all the justification you needed. Sadly, for him Christmas had come early for me in the form of the investigation nobody knew was going on.

On December 20, 1997, the FBI raided his apartment and arrested him for human trafficking, child abuse, sexual slavery and a number of other charges. He was one of the few unlucky few higher-ranking Irish who had done direct business with the caretaker of the orphanage. About a month later his body would be found hanging in his cell. I only found out later that he was looking to turn and becomes a stool pigeon to save his miserable hide. Clearly, he never got the chance to do so.

As for me and Johnny we were in the clear and sat back watch as our enemies were bleeding hard. But it wasn't with just a feeling of joy and satisfaction. There was bitterness there too and no small amount of hatred for the authorities. And before you ask why I want to just go on record and say that in my old life I was a lot like everyone else who claimed they wanted to know the truth. I ranted and raved about the system I lived in. Demanded to know the truth about shit but in reality, I didn't want to know the truth. I wanted a black and white, right and wrong, bad guys lose, and good guys always win type world. Never truly asking what the cost of so-called justice was.

The media hyped up the bust as the biggest crack down on crime in the country's history since the fall of the Italian Mafia in the 70's. What they didn't tell you were a lot of the people arrested were the same people sold to the crime syndicates. Kids that never had a choice, that were downgraded even more to the scum of society. And like history has shown time and time again the ones who suffered the most were the women. No attempt was ever made to find the girls who were sold to the gangs. They were just written off as unimportant and the gangs, well they don't like leaving witnesses so many of those women were killed anyways. At least the ones still in New York.

Ha, how is that for justice? Do you still believe in it? Well even if you don't it doesn't matter because like I said this gave me the prime opportunity to rise to power.