Chapter 4: A Dinner Date, A Big Meeting, and a Bloody Fight

New Arcadia (1 Hour Earlier)

The sun had yet to rise on this day in New Arcadia as five purple wearing gang members found themselves standing on a corner in Uptown Arcadia in the early hours of the morning. The five gang members were members of the Ballas Street Gang and were spending their mornings selling drugs just like they normally do.

"There them fools go Dre." Said an African American man with long dreadlocks and sitting in the passenger seat of a white Emperor before looking to a large muscular African American man with short black hair, black eyes, and wearing a white wife beater, a white baseball cap, blue jean pants, and white shoes sat in the driver's seat.

"Alright get ready to roll on them." He said while looking into the backseat where two men with short dreadlocks were loading magazines into two AK-47 Assault Rifles while the man beside him pulled out a Tec-9 Submachine Gun.

"I'm set!" he said before the man with the baseball cap stepped on the gas petal and sent the car rocketing to the corner earning the attention of the Ballas who watched as the car came to halt before the four men inside of the car quickly jumped out with their weapons drawn.

"Fuck Ballas, Smash on Sight Mafia!" said the man in the front seat before the group opened fire on the Ballas striking one man eight times in the chest, another was hit three times in the head and seven more times in the chest, and another being literally riddled with bullets. The other two gang-members tried to run but it was in vain as they were easily cut down by the powerful rounds ripping through their backs and actually exploded out of their fronts.

"Let's go!" said man in white before the men hopped back in the car while he drove away from the crime scene.

New Arcadia (Present)

The drive to the New Arcadia Police Station wasn't long for Alison as she parked her car in the parking lot before stepping out and making her way inside. Despite today being her day off, the urge to come into work after turning on the news that was talking about the murders caught her attention. This was third attack against the Ballas that operated in New Arcadia since the massacre in the 7th just two days ago.

She had heard rumors about the New Arcadia gangsters being known for the viciousness and quick ability to retaliate, but this was something she never expected. The first attack left three Ballas dead and another two injured while the last left one dead and five injured and they didn't show any signs of stopping.

As Alison entered the office she quickly noticed everyone working at their desk before walking past Tavon and Regina who quickly gave her a smile and greeted her with a good morning.

"You gotta be the first person I met to come into work on their day off." Said Regina with a chuckle.

"Yeah well it's hard to enjoy a day off with all these bodies on the street." Alison replied as she approached the duo and noticed pictures of the bodies on the street.

"So what do we have?" she asked.

"Same as all the others multiple bodies, all members of the Deep Down South Ballas Street Gang, shot more than times then you need to kill a person, and over two dozen shell-casings of multiple calibers were located at the scene of the crime." Stated Tavon.

"Most of them from AK-47 Assault Rifles." Added Regina.

"So we're most likely looking for the same shooters as the last two shootings?" asked Alison.

"That's the way it's looking." Said Derrick from his desk as Alison noticed the elderly man flipping through papers with his glasses on.

"Ten bucks say these dumbasses still have those gun on them." Added Sawyer from across the room with a slight chuckle.

"And that's what we're counting on." Said Locke as he entered the room before his eyes quickly fell on Alison.

"Agent Trueblood I thought today was your day off?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"It is, but I thought I'd be better off here." She replied earning a nod from Locke.

"I like your enthusiasm, but if you don't rest up that makes you bad on the streets. So if you want to help us I think you'd do it better from home." He said to Alison's surprise.

"Huh yes sir." She replied with a disappointed tone in her voice.

"But while you're here I'd like to show you all why you're all here." He said before walking out of the room with Alison, Derrick, Sawyer, Regina, and Tavon following after him as he led the group to the middle of the room where a tack-board was located.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I'd like for you to say hello to our bad guys." He said before flipping the board over where everyone noticed a series of pictures tacked to the board in a specific order with names, aliases, and ranks on them along with "New Rising Council at the top in big bold letters.

"What's the New Rising Council?" asked Tavon with a raised eyebrow.

"The Rising Council is a democratic alliance of the major drug traffickers within the city of New Arcadia. They were formed a few years after Hurricane Katherine with the purpose of reducing the violence in the city and promoting more business relations between gangs." Stated Locke to everyone's surprise.

"Their structure is almost similar to the Italian Mafia of Liberty City with a Boss, Underboss, Captains, and Soldiers but in their case they would be the one who supplies the group with the drugs, his underboss will be his most trusted lieutenant, and the Captains would all be the leaders of the local gangs under them, and soldiers would be the men that make up their gangs." Locke added.

"As of right now there are a total of several gangs that are a part of the New Rising Council. Those gangs include The Roman Boyz of the 3rd Ward, The Voodoo Park Boyz of the 4th Ward, Game Tight Boyz of the 5th Ward, Smash on Sight Boyz of the 7th Ward, Mangrove Boyz of the 11th and 12th Ward, Paper Boyz of the 13th Ward, and Fight or Flight Boyz of the 8th and 9th Ward." He said as the group took in pictures of the various known gang members and their leaders.

"The man at the top of this pyramid is Joseph Green known on the Streets as Heavy Joe, by day he is a simple Appliance Store Owner but behind closed doors he's the lead supplier of Heroin and Cocaine for most of the New Arcadia gangs." He stated as everyone took in the picture of a heavy-set African American man with short dreadlocks and wearing an expensive brown suit.

"A job that makes him over a two million dollars a years." Locke finished.

"Jesus!" said Alison.

"I've heard of Joe a lot during my time in Narcotics, but the man doesn't have a record and many people don't even know what he looks like you mind telling me how you found out who he is? We know for a fact this man so insulated from the drugs he's almost invisible in the game." Regina asked earning a slight chuckle from Locke.

"What's a cop without a good CI." Locke said with a chuckle of his own while Alison took in the sight of the various gang members before his eyes fell on a picture of the various members of the Roman Boyz and under it she took in the sight of the pictures of both Maurice and Marrick Roman.

"I wonder-." She thought with a raised eyebrow before Locke interrupted her by putting his hand on her shoulder.

"If I recall you've got a dinner date with a couch." He said with a smile.

"Right!" she said before walking away without much of a fuss while her mind pondered more on the youngest Roman.

Red Stick

The scene at Task's home was different today as he sat on the couch in his living room watching Adahy throw a series of punches and jabs into a Boxing Heavy Bag that was hooked to the ceiling. Many people didn't know it but Adahy was an experienced Boxer and started on his reservation at a rather young age. Back home he'd earned the nickname the Lightning Lefty by many of those that came to see him box because of his wicked left hook.

As Task watched the man pound into the bag he was almost mesmerized by the sheer speed and power of the man's punches while the heavy bag seemed to teeter further and further back away from him.

After hitting the bag with a three hit combination Task couldn't help but say "Damn" as Adahy swung that lightning quick left hook of his that seemed almost like a King Cobra striking its prey and connected it the bag with enough force to knock it from its hook and cause it to hit the floor with a loud thud. The scene was even more amazing to Task as he watched Adahy put his foot on top of the bag and give a Cherokee War Cry that radiated throughout the room.

"I think you're more than ready for tonight." Said Task with a chuckle as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Of course I do these white boys ain't gonna know what hit them." Said Adahy as threw four punches at the air with the same style of boxer who'd been Shadowboxing for years.

"I hope you're right we gotta earn the rest of the elders money for those guns." Task replied earning a shrug of the shoulders from Adahy.

"You should worry more for whoever those dumbasses stick in the ring with me brother." Adahy replied before walking away while Task looked at him with a smile.

New Arcadia

"So how's our friend?" Mark asked while stepping out of his bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist and his cellphone to his ear with a cloud of steam rising behind him and the song Busy Being Born by Middle Class Rut played in the background.

"Davey and Eddy are watching over him, he's still got some slight stomach pains and a headache, but other than that he's A-Okay and won't shut the fuck up." Stated Lee from the other end of the phone as Mark nodded his head. The duo were talking in code to discuss the gang member they captured from the corner. One of the things they learned from working under Dockington Cities biggest drug lords was never use a phone to discuss business, unless it was in a form of code.

"Well that's good." Mark said as he walked into his room and pulled on a pair of black cargo pants with white socks and shoes.

"You know he invited us to a party later today, gonna be a lot of people there some we know." Lee stated while Mark put on a white belt followed by a pair of studded black wrist bands like that of a punk rocker.

"Alright I'll meet up with you, and Felix at the clubhouse after that we can go." Said Mark.

"Just the three of us the others aren't allowed to come?" asked Lee while Mark gave a chuckle.

"Nah they the party-poopers." Said Mark before he hung up his phone before hearing a series of knocks at his front door causing him to walk out of his room and quickly open the door where he came face to face with a familiar cop.

"Hey oh-." Started Alison before she trailed off while Mark gave her a confused look.

"Hey!" he said while noticing Alison continuing to stare at him causing him to look down and notice that he had yet to put on his shirt. As Alison took in the sight of him she noticed that the youngest Roman had a slight stomach but one wouldn't really call him fat and he wasn't really muscular but he did have a pair of muscular arms. Too add to it he had a dragon tattoo on his upper left arm with his tattoo on his right forearm in full display for her to see.

"Sorry I just got outta the shower." He said breaking Alison from her concentration.

"Okay!" she said with a slight chuckle.

"Come in and I'll be with you in a moment." She said as Mark turned around to walk away from her causing Alison to get a good view of his back and see what he had tattooed across it.

"There's Nobody Praying For Me!" she repeated while also noticing the three stab wounds in his lower back as she following him inside and closed the door before taking in the nicely furnished house with two leather couches in the living room, a flat screen TV with three Chinese Swords hanging above it while next to that was a small bookshelf that was filled with books.

"Nice place!" she said while taking in the smell of lemon air-freshener.

"Thanks…I do a lot of thrift shopping believe it or not." Mark replied while walking out of his room after putting on a black shirt with white sleeves.

"So what do I owe the visit?" Mark asked breaking Alison from her trance.

"Yes well today is a Saturday and my day off, and I was going to cook so I was hoping you would…join me for dinner." She said with a slight smile earning a raised eyebrow and a slow nod from Mark.

"What are you making?" he asked earning a surprised look from Alison.

"What do you want to eat?" she asked with a half-smile.

"Surprise me, as long as it's a home-cooked meal I can eat just about anything." He replied with a chuckle earning a slight smile from Alison.

"Great I'll surprise you." She said.

"I hope you don't mind me asking though, but why are you doing this?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well…I've been here a few weeks and well you're kinda the only person I've really talked to and it seems like you know this city better then me, so maybe you can help me out. Plus I'd like to get to know you…a little better." She replied earning a slight chuckle from Mark.

"You had me a free food sweetheart, I'll be over at seven. I've got somethings to take care of while I'm the suns up." He said earning a nod and a smile from Alison.

"Great I'll start cooking now." She said before making her way for the door.

"And Ms. Trueblood!" he said causing her to look back at him.

"Thank you for this...not many people have done something like this for me." He said earning a slight blush from Alison.

"No problem." She said before walking out of his apartment remembering the tattoo across Mark's back and remembering the information she had read about him.

"Well then I guess she's finally looked into my file and my fathers." Mark said with a chuckle while rubbing his chin.

Red Stick

Things were quiet at the BSU Clubhouse as Lee got off the phone with Mark before making his way into the living room where he noticed Felix, Link, and Manfred sitting on the couches watching television with the song Vice Grip by Parkway Drive played in the background.

"So what does he want us to do?" asked Manfred as the Indian man looked up at Lee.

"He wants me and Felix with him when he…"meets" with the Council." He said.

"Just the three of us in a room full of them that seems like a terrible idea." Said Felix.

"No Mark's playing it safe." Said Link earning everyone's attention.

"You guys basically massacred an half of a gang, stole a corner, kidnapped, and tortured a gang lieutenant. If we go in there in force they might see this as a declaration of war-." Started Link before Manfred interrupted him.

"Brother if they don't see all of that as a declaration of war I'd be shocked." Said Manfred.

"They probably will…or they'll do what Mark knows they will." Said Link with a slight chuckle.

"And what does he know they'll do?" Felix asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Take the best free agent on the streets." Lee replied with a slight chuckle while everyone looked at the group confusingly before they heard a knock at the front door that caused them to turn their heads towards it.

"I got this." Said Lee as he went to the door before opening it and catching site of an African American woman with almost almond colored skin, long black hair, bright brown eyes, and wearing a white jacket over a black t-shirt, blue jean pants, and black boots.

"Well damn!" said Lee as he looked the woman up and down causing Link, Felix, and Manfred to come to the door.

"Sorry to bother you, I thought someone else would be here." The woman said as Lee leaned against the wall with a chuckle.

"Who were you expecting, a lot of people live here?" Lee asked while crossing his arms over his chest with a smile on his face.

"Marcus Roman." She said earning a nod from Lee.

"Our brother isn't here at the moment, but he should be here a little later. Mind telling us how you know him" Lee replied to the woman's surprise.

"You're brother!" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Aye he's been with us since after Katherine, and we all see each other as brothers." Lee responded as the woman took in the sight of Felix, Link, and Manfred.

"Well then when Mark gets here his sister Gwen will be out here waiting for him." The woman said before walking away with Lee watching her sway her hips as she walked off the porch.

"Mark never mentioned having a sister." Said Manfred.

"He did to us he's got three brothers and one sister. That one has a different mother along with his other brothers, so they ain't all that close. I got a feeling it won't be long before we meet all of them though." Said Lee earning nods from the group.

New Arcadia

Things at the police station seemed to be a bit of a bore for the officers of the Task Force even though they had multiple bodies on their plate. Despite the bodies the group had no leads, no witnesses, and multiple variables as to who the shooters may have been. So figuratively they had all ran into an imaginary brick wall.

"You find anything new?" Tavon asked as he approached Regina who was going through the file on her computer.

"Not since the last ten minutes you asked me that." She said before turning to face him.

"What's on your mind we've only been on this team a few weeks and you've been acting weird since we've been here?" she asked as Tavon took a few seconds to respond before finally getting the words out.

"You think Alison single?" he asked earning a confused look from Regina.

"Tavon…we're sitting on over a dozen bodies and you're thinking with your dick at a time like this?" she asked.

"I know, but come on you gotta admit she sexy." Said Tavon earning a roll of the eyes from Regina.

"She white girl cute." Regina replied.

"Come on now I know you and her have been talking she mention me?" he asked earning a slight chuckle from Regina.

"No Alison doesn't really talk much about people or really anything that ain't work related." she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"So she doesn't have a social life…I can work with that." Said Tavon as he walked away from a confused Regina.

"Dudes and they dicks." She replied before going back to her work.

Outside New Arcadia

The drive to New Arcadia wasn't long for Task and Adahy as they stepped out of the black SUV, they stole from the Families, in front of a warehouse far out from the city limits before making their way inside where they were quickly hit with the smell of sweat, Redwood Cigeratte smoke, and the loud howls and hoots of rednecks cheering.

"And we're here." Said Adahy as he and Task stepped into a large open area where an octagon cage was in the middle of the room with two men inside fighting it out.

"This is where men come to cry." The Creek Warrior said with a sick smile as he watched one of the men inside hit the other with a punch that was hard enough to knock a tooth from the other's man mouth and send him sprawled on the floor while those standing around the ring cheered.

"Men come here to cry, let's just hope you aren't one of those men." Task replied as he watched Adahy put some tape around his knuckles and remove his shirt while the announcer stood in the middle of the ring.

"This next bought is scheduled for one fall approaching the ring at a weight of two-hundred fifty five pounds from Washington Parish, Louisiana Adahy Lightning Lefty." He said earning a series of boos from the mostly white audience as Adahy stepped in the ring. He wasn't expecting the ring announcer to say his last name because in his lifetime he'd learned that many none-natives had a hard time pronouncing it or just refused to.

"And his opponent weighing in at two hundred eighty seven pounds from New Arcadia, Louisiana Billy the Kidd." Said the announcer as Task noticed a heavy muscular white man with short black hair, blue eyes, and wearing boxing shorts, and fingerless gloves approaching the ring before getting inside with Adahy.

"Alright you two know the rules I want a clean fight, now let's go." Said the referee as the official rang the bell signaling the start of the match as Adahy took a few steps back while his opponent approached him.

As the duo stared each other down Task felt a sense of worry in his heart. Adahy was a descent sized Native and well-built one at that but the guy he was fighting had well over forty pounds on him and he was taller than the Creek warrior as well. All in all would prove for a difficult fight that wasn't swinging in Adahy's favor.

"Come on!" Adahy said before his challenger rushed towards him ready to throw the first blow, but Task worry soon faded away as he watched Adahy throw a powerful left hook that connected with the side of the man's head and literally left the man seeing stars before he hit the ground with a loud thud while Adahy walked away from him similar to that of a trained assassin who hit their target once before quickly fleeing the seen without anyone noticing.

"Damn that was quick." Said Task with a smile while a series of cheers erupted from those watching Adahy who stood over the man with a smile on his face before giving a loud war cry.

Red Stick

The drive to the clubhouse wasn't long for Mark but it was surprising as he noticed a red Dilettante parked in his usual spot causing him to pull his Buccaneer to the side of the road before stepping out and making his way inside of the house.

"Who's driving the rolling vagina?" he asked while walking through the front door and taking in the site of Lee sitting on the couch with a somewhat familiar woman while Link, Felix, and Manfred sat around the couch.

"Well I see he's taken up having a potty mouth." Gwen said as she looked at Mark closely.

"Yeah the streets will do that to you." Said Lee with a chuckle.

"Gwen!" said Mark.

"Mark!" she replied as the duo continued to stare at each other.

"This must be really awkward." Said Manfred with a chuckle.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to be?" asked Mark as the group made their way out of the room and into the next while remaining in ear-shot.

"So what brings you here my dear sweet sister?" Mark asked.

"I can't come to see my younger brother. We may have different mothers but we are still blood related." She stated while standing up and putting her hand on her hip.

"True but do you mind telling me how you found out I'm here?" he asked.

"The whole family knows about it, how you just showed up out the blue, talked down to you mother and father, beat up Marrick, and stabbed TJ in the ass with a knife." She said putting emphasis on the ending remark which earned a chuckle from Mark.

"Yeah that was funny." He said while trying to hold back his laughing.

"I don't know what happened to you while you were away, but whatever it was it changed you from the bubbly boy you used to be to what you are now." She stated earning a slight chuckle from Mark.

"I grew up in a hostile environment, so I had to adapt…to survive in that hostile environment and this is the result of that." Mark replied with a slight chuckle." He replied.

"I still couldn't believe I heard what you did, but now that I'm looking at you I can see you doing it." She said earning a slight scoff from Mark.

"I know you hate them for abandoning you all those years ago, but this family still remembers you, it still loves you, and we still want you to be around." She stated while Mark looked away from her.

"Think about that little brother." She said before walking away from Mark and patting him on the shoulder as she walked out of the house.

"And those are some pretty…interesting friends you like to associate yourself with Marcus." She said before closing the door behind her while Mark stood in silence.

"Is interesting a good thing?" asked Link.

"Not for you but it is for me." Said Lee with a chuckle.

"Shut up and let's go." Said Mark as he, Lee, and Felix made their way out of the house.

"I better call Davey and Eddy and tell them to get the guest of honor ready." Said Link as he walked out of the room.

New Arcadia

Things weren't good as good as Alison may have hoped for with Alison as she stood over a stove preparing food with bits and pieces of food in her hair. Despite inviting the youngest Roman over for dinner Alison herself never really was much of a cook, because she was always working that didn't give her alot of time to learn or much of a social life.

One might have the wrong idea about the nature of this situation with Alison and Mark right now, but it was strictly business. The phrase is "The Key to a Man's Heart is through his Stomach" and that was true, but Alison wasn't after Mark's heart. She was after information, more so on who he was and if he could be of use in bringing down the Roman Boyz or the New Rising Council or more importantly why much of his file is restricted to people. She remembered having conversations with her old friends in the bureau and how they told her how cooking meals for men was a good way to get them to open up and she was gonna see if that was true for herself.

She knew it was most likely a long-shot to get the youngest Roman to open up to her about who he is or his past, but she's learned in her line of work that even if there is a partial chance of something it was best to take it.

Alison's thoughts were quickly broken by a burning smell as she noticed smoke coming from the oven causing her to quickly open it up and fan away the smoke.

"Damnit!" she said while taking in the sight of the baked chicken that had a few burn patches on it.

Outside New Arcadia

"Kick his ass brother." Said Task as he watched Adahy throw three punches against a man's face before finishing him off with another hard left hook that knocked the man off his feet and sent him sprawled on his back.

"Hell yeah!" said Task as he watched Adahy step out of the cage with a smile on his face while people passed the man money.

"That was a mighty fine fight back there." Came a strong southern accent as Adahy and Task both turned their heads and noticed a Caucasian man with short black hair and wearing a rather expensive looking suit despite the place he was in.

"Thanks who are you?" Adahy asked earning a chuckle from the man.

"My friends call me Woody Gold and I'm Brock Grimes manager. If you don't know he's undefeated around these parts and he's interested in fighting you in the main event for double your winnings." The man stated earning a surprise look from Task and an evil smile from Adahy.

"I think we're-." Task started before Adahy interrupted him.

"I accept." He said to Task surprise.

"Good I'll tell my client." He said with an evil chuckle before walking away from the duo.

"What the hell man you already been in three fights and you're already up thirty thousand dollars, which was more than enough pay back our lost guns." Task stated.

"I know but I really really want to knock a white man's teeth out." Said Adahy as he cracked his knuckles with a sadistic smile.

"If you think you can handle this go for it, but I think we should-." Started Task before he noticed Adahy looked away from him as the duo noticed a large muscular Caucasian man who must have stood six-eight and weighed well over two hundred and ninety pounds with a shaved head, blue eyes, and wearing red and black shorts enter the arena with a crowd of people cheering after him.

"Okay you cannot go through with this." Said Task but Adahy just gave a sinister chuckle and smiled at the man.

"Oh I'm going through with this and I'm winning." He said while licking the sides of his lips.

New Arcadia

While the Major Crimes Task Force was plotting against the New Arcadia criminal organization known as the New Rising Council, the same organization was plotting moves of their own at the local community center in the cities 4th Ward. Amongst those there were Maurice and Marrick Roman along with six other leaders and lieutenants of the major local gangs that operated in New Arcadia. The group was sitting at one long table that was vertical from the entrance with chairs on each side and a chair in the middle that was reserved for the man at the head of the table.

The group then quickly turned their heads and watched as a heavy-set African American man with wide black eyes, short black dreadlocks, and wearing an expensive brown suit made his way inside of the room followed by a man wearing a white baseball cap, white letterman jacket, blue jean pants, and white shoes.

"Afternoon gentlemen." Heavy Joe said as he took his seat at the head of the table while everyone nodded their heads at Joe.

"Now we all know why we're here, for two reasons the first being our problem with the Ballas. Thanks to Dre and the Smash on Sight Boyz we hit them back hard for that attack on the corner and we believe they've got the message that in New Arcadia it's get down or laydown." Said Heavy before he was interrupted by the sound of the door to the room being forcibly kicked open and three figures standing on the otherside.

"The fuck is this?" asked Joe as Mark, Felix, and Lee walked into the room with smiles on their faces. With this being a gang meeting and the chances of raids being high nobody was carrying a gun at the risk of a police raid so all the men could do was sit there and watch the trio.

"Me making my presence known." Said Mark with a slight chuckle.

"Well then who are you young man?" Joe asked as Mark sent a look to Maurice and Marrick.

"My name is Marcus Roman and I'm the youngest son of Maurice Roman." He said to everyone's surprise as they quickly turned to the two Roman Boyz members.

"I'm also the one who massacred those men on that corner and blamed the Ballas." Mark added to everyone's surprise.

"What the fuck Maurice, I know my boys ran yours off that corner but you didn't have to kill them?" asked a man wearing a black fedora and white suit who was representing the Game Tight Boyz.

"Actually I didn't kill them on his orders, I did it to send a message to him." Mark replied to everyone's surprise.

"And what was that message?" asked Maurice as everyone noticed a sinister smile spread across Mark's face.

"That in a day your youngest son made just killed your name." Mark replied earning an angry growl from Maurice and Marrick who looked ready to pounce at his younger brother.

"So now what son, you kill Nicky's men and take his corner and expect to walk away from this without a scratch?" asked Joe.

"No actually I killed Nicky's men yes, but in all fairness I did tell Maurice that whoever was on that corner his men or whoever was gonna be dead by eight. I guess since it wasn't his boys on the corner he didn't have to worry about nothing, but he did know me and my boys were gonna hit the corner and he knew I was serious because I stabbed his friend TJ in the ass." Stated Mark as all eyes fell on Maurice who remained silent.

"Doesn't matter you think you can kill my boys, take my corner, and I won't do anything about it. Little Nigga you got me fucked up." Yelled Nicky as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Actually the corner is for whoever I grew tired of the corner boy life when I was working for Leroy back in Dockington." Said Mark earning a raised eyebrow from Heavy.

"Besides I don't think you'll be able to kill me, hell I doubt you'll be walking out of this room alive." Stated Mark to everyone's surprise.

"Oh yeah and why is that?" Nicky asked as everyone noticed a smile spread across Mark face before he put his fingers in his mouth and let out a whistle as everyone noticed two Caucasian men leading a bruised African American man into the room with a bag over his head.

"Rise and shine princess." Said Davey as he removed the bag from over the man's head revealing to everyone the fedora-wearing man that ran Maurice's men off the corner.

"Everyone this is Preston Charles but his name on the streets is Peanut so we'll call him that. Peanut is a lieutenant in the Game Tight Boyz and works directly under Nicky here and we scooped him up after we hit the corner. Now me and my guys over the years have developed a bad habit of torture for fun. So while we were feeding our habits Peanut here told us some very interesting things about Nicky and the Game Tight Boyz that he would love to share with all of you." Said Mark with an evil chuckle as he turned Peanut to everyone.

"Now Peanut tell them what you told us." Said Mark as the man remained silent while looking at Nicky who was shaking his head from side to side.

"I love this part." Said Mark as he drew a switchblade from his back pocket and stabbed Peanut in the back earning a loud shriek from the man that was almost like a banshee.

"Nicky's been stealing from the Council." He said to everyone's surprise.

"What?" asked Joe with anger in his voice.

"Shut up Peanut." Yelled Nicky as Mark pushed his knife deeper into Peanut to get him to talk.

"Nicky's been hiring a stick up crew to rob stash houses for us and we split the drugs fifty-fifty. We've been doing it for almost a year now." Peanut screamed out.

"You sneaky motherfucker." Yelled Joe as all eyes fell on Nicky.

"Wow family dispute." Said Mark with a slight chuckle.

"I trust you and this is the thanks I get for it?" asked Joe as Nicky went to rise from his chair and run away only to be stopped by Lee who kicked the man in the side of the face.

"Well looks like our work here is done." Said Mark as he turned to Lee and Felix while Davey and Eddy also nodded their heads before turning and heading for the door only to be stopped by Dre and three more Smash on Sight Boyz.

"Well then it looks like we've got an obstacle." Said Felix as he cracked his knuckles.

"Aye and I like obstacles." Said Mark with an evil chuckle.

"Dre let them go we got a bigger situation here." Said Joe as Dre sent a look to the man before looking back down at Mark who chuckled at the man as he stepped aside

"Smart move." Said Mark as he led the BSU members out of the room while everyone set their sights on Nicky and Peanut.

"You know even with what you told them they'll still more than likely come after us." Stated Eddy earning nod from Mark.

"I'm aware but I've got that covered did you get the location of their stash houses?" Mark asked.

"Yeah are we gonna torch them?" Davey asked with a raised eyebrow as the group walked out of the community center.

"Nope but we are gonna deal a major blow to the New Rising Council." Mark stated as the group watched him make his way to his Buccaneer.

"Head back to the clubhouse, I got some business to take care of." Said Mark earning nods from the group before they went their separate ways with Lee and the others having the longest drive since they were going all the way to Red Stick while Mark was going just a short drive back to his apartment.

After parking his car in his usual parking spot he quickly got out and made his way inside of his apartment where he quickly went to wash the few specs of Peanut's blood off his hand, take a shower, and change his clothing. He knew that the only reason Alison had invited him over for this dinner date was just so she could pull information out of him and what she failed to realize was that was what Mark had wanted her to do.

After changing into a pair of black jeans, a black and white flannel shirt that button up at the front, and a pair of white sneakers Mark quickly stepped out of his apartment while pulling a red rose from a plant that was growing in his corner.

"Gotta love the things grandmother taught you." Said Mark with a chuckle as he went next door where he quickly knocked on Alison's door where he quickly heard a "Shit" from the otherside followed by the scurrying of feet.

"Guess I'm early." Mark said while looking at the parking lot for any signs of an unfamiliar car. He knew he didn't have much to worry about the apartment complex was gated and mostly white so whenever an unknown black man entered the area the supervisor was quick to call in the usual report to the police of a 925 or "Suspicious man who just so happens to be black."

After a few seconds of looking around the door quickly slid open and Mark took in the sight of Alison standing on the otherside. He must have come early because her hair was somewhat of a mess and her black dress looked like she had just thrown it on because Mark could catch a few wrinkles in it.

"Mark glad you made it." She said with a forced smile that was easily detectable to Mark as he handed the woman the single rose that she easily took with a smile.

"Sorry am I early?" he asked.

"No you're right on time." She said before leading Mark into her home where he noticed the chicken still in a aluminum pan on the cabinet.

"So I was thinking maybe I could just order a pizza-." She started before turning her head and noticing Mark picking pieces off the chicken and eating it.

"Why this is good." Said Mark as he continued to cut pieces of the burned meat from the bird.

"You're actually eating that?" she asked.

"When you grow up the way I did beggars can't be choosers and as long as it's home-cooked I don't care I'll eat it." He said with a smile earning a half-smile from Alison.

"Well I'm glad you like it." She said while continuing to watch him eat.

Outside New Arcadia

"Ring the bell." Said the referee as the official rang the bell starting the match as Task watched Adahy dance around the ring before Brock ran at him and swung at the Creek Warrior who managed to avoid the blows before responding with three punches of his own.

"Stick the jab." Yelled Woody as Brock dodged one of Adahy's punches before hitting him once in the chest and following up with a punch to the stomach that left the man reeling before Brock pushed him back into the cage and started to hit him with a series of knee strikes to the stomach.

"Cover up Adahy!" Task yelled as the referee pulled the professional fighter off Brock giving Adahy time to recover.

"Can he do that?" Task asked as Adahy slow rose up.

"It's a Mixed Martial Arts fight yeah." The Creek Native replied while standing up straight up and stopping the referee from counting.

"Alright take a breath you got it." Said Task as Brock quickly approached Adahy and started to dance around him.

"Kick his ass Brock!" yelled a man that was obviously drunk as Brock dodged another punch from Adahy and responded with three punches to Adahy's stomach before following up with two knee strikes that were hard enough to make Adahy spit blood before Brock followed up with a strike to the side of the man's head causing him to hit the mat hard before Brock followed up by going for a ground and pound and striking Adahy four times in the face before standing up and walking away from Adahy.

"Come on breath brother breath." Said Task as Adahy slowly rose back up just as the referee got to the count of six.

"Tough prick ain't he?" asked Woody with an evil chuckle as he eyed Task closely.

"Finish him Brock!" yelled Woody as the large man charged at Adahy ready to deliver the finishing blow but at the last second the Creek Warrior dropped down to avoid his strike before following up with a series of punches to the side of Brocks head before hitting him with an elbow strike that caused Brock to take a few steps back.

"That the best you got bitch?" Adahy asked with a smile while licking the blood from his mouth before Brock charged the man only for Adahy to grab the approaching man and use his own momentum to toss him across the mat until his back slammed against the cage.

"Son of a bitch!" started Woody as Brock stood up only for Adahy to charge him and strike him with a series of punches to the larger man's stomach before Brock responded with a kick to the Native's leg and caused him to fall down on one knee before Brock hit him with a knee strike in the mouth that knocked the Native on his back.

"So you actually got some fight left in you." Said Brock as he wiped some blood that was leaking from the side of his head while Adahy slowly rose to his and cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah and I'm bringing you down white boy." Said Adahy as Brock charged him and through a straight jab that connected with Adahy's face but that seemed to only encourage the man as he responded with four punches to Brock's head followed by hitting the man in the chest with his knee and knocking the wind from his chest.

"You ain't shit!" Brock yelled as he went to swing for Adahy who responded by hitting him with his knockout left hook with enough force to knock the larger man to the ground and actually break two of Adahy's fingers.

"He's out!" said the referee as Adahy gave a loud war cry while Task cheered his partner on while Woody looked at the scene with anger.

"Our ancestors smile on this day brother." Said Task with a chuckle while the audience cheered for Adahy who kept a stern face while not caring for their cheers.

New Arcadia

The atmosphere at Alison's apartment had changed from what it was earlier as Alison found her frustration had quickly faded and was basically taken over by a sense of pride as she sat on her living room couch with Mark, who was still eating the burned chicken without question, while she dined on the mashed potatoes.

"I still can't see how you can eat that." She said earning a chuckle from Mark.

"When it comes down to home-cooked meals I don't really care as long as it's cooked. Maybe next time I can cook for you and show you how us Southern Folk do things." Mark stated earning a slight chuckle from Alison.

"I think I'd like that." She said while looking away from him so he couldn't see the slight blush he had put on her face.

"Mark…there are somethings I wanted to talk to you about." She said earning the youngest Roman's attention as he nodded his head already knowing where this conversation was coming.

"Really what's up?" he asked in a surprising-tone that wasn't meant to raise suspicion.

"Why does that tattoo on your back?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from Mark.

"It means the same thing as why I told you never to tell my family you saw me if you ran into them." He replied to Alison's confusion.

"I was born in New Arcadia in the mid 90's. My mom and dad were very involved in the drug trade so for my own good my grandmother and grandfather took me away from them and raised me like she did my eldest brother so I wouldn't turn out like my other brother. " He started earning Alison's full attention.

"I have two brothers from my mom and another brother and sister from my dad. My eldest brother is a Criminal Justice lawyer, my middle brother belongs the streets, my sister on my dad side is a pharmacist, and my other brother on my dad side is…I'll get back to you on that one." He said with a slight chuckle while keeping his gaze away from Alison.

"My grandmother raised me in a one bedroom house in South Red Stick with no internet, cable, and barely any air-conditioning and she often beat my ass to keep me from being swallowed up by the streets and I praise her for that…but all that changed when I was thirteen." He said before going silent for a few seconds.

"What happened?" Alison asked.

"She died, my grandfather died the year before and his death hit me hard, but her death destroyed me. When she died people tried to send me into the foster system, but I had family in New Arcadia. I didn't want to go to them but they were family. So I went to them but that same day Hurricane Katherine made landfall and that changed my life forever." Said Mark.

"I saw bodies floating in the water, I saw people get eat by alligators that had been displaced by the flooding, I saw a mother yes a mother kill her teenage daughter over a bag of ice." He stated to Alison's shock.

"Jesus I didn't know it was that bad." She said earning a nod from Alison.

"You had to be on the ground to really understand it. I stopped seeing a lot of the bodies though after they moved me to the Megadome. A few days later I was on a bus with a bunch of other kids who had been orphaned because of the weather being sent to foster home in Northern Louisiana." He stated.

"I kept telling them I had family and they said that when my family came looking for me they'd find me…they never came looking." Mark replied.

"Where were they?" she asked.

"Sunbelt they had left days before the storm hit and they never bothered to look for me, and because my father basically disowned his own mother he didn't find out she died until years after her death." Stated Mark.

"In two years I was bounced from foster home to foster home across Louisiana and Mississippi until I moved to Dockington City and that's where I was tested by a lot of people. At the end of those test I got that tattoo because around that time I realized that nobody prayed for me and nobody cared about me." He finished while lowering his head while Alison found her heart starting to sink as well and to her surprise she found herself taking Mark's hand within her own.

"You don't have to think that way anymore." She said while squeezing his hand earning a partial smile from Mark.

"I'm glad to hear that and I'm more happy it's from you." He said.

"So…what happened to you in Dockington." She asked as Mark remained silent before rising to his feet and turning to face her.

"That's a story for another day." He said to Alison's frustration that she had managed to keep hidden.

"Thank you for this Ms. Trueblood, but it's about time I go I got an early class in the morning." Mark said while Alison stood up before him.

"It's nothing and call me Alison." She said grabbing a piece of paper and pulling out a pen before writing her number down on the paper.

"In case you want to talk some more." She said earning a nod from Mark who took the paper with a smile.

"Thank you!" he said before turning around only before turning back to face Alison.

"There's something I want to give you." He said to Alison's surprise and shock as she watched the youngest Roman approach her. She didn't know what he had planned but she was ready for anything. She would endure a hug, a hold of the hands, or a kiss on the cheek but anywhere else was strictly off limits.

She was surprised though when the physical contact came in the form of Mark passing a piece of paper into her hands to her surprise.

"What's this?" she asked before opening the piece of paper and noticing that it was filled with names and addresses that were divided into two columns.

"What is this Mark?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The names on the left belong to the men who shot up that house and killed those seven people a few weeks back and the addresses is where you can find some of them along with the guns used in the crimes. The names on the right belong to the guys who've been hitting the Ballas these last couple of days addresses are where you can find them and where some of their stash houses are located." Said Mark to Alison's shock as she looked up at the youngest Roman with wide eyes.

"I suggest you hit them both at the same time if you want things to swing in your favor." Stated Mark before Alison interrupted him.

"Mark how did you get this?" she asked earning a slight chuckle from the youngest Roman who turned his back on her.

"You be surprised how freely people talk when they're trying to intimidate you." Said Mark as he made his way out the front door while Alison stood in a state of utter shock.

Outside of New Arcadia

After leaving the warehouse Task and Adahy thought they had earned a well-deserved meal at a restaurant in New Arcadia. As the duo made their way out though they were quickly ambushed by a group of men who beat them with baseball bats before putting bags on their heads and sticking them in the back of a truck and driving away from the restaurant.

Authors Note: And this seems like a good place to stop. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter it was a little longer then my usual ones but I find that to be a good thing. It's better to have a detailed story then a short high school essay.

This story didn't have much action with the exception of Adahy fighting so I added the shooting scene in the beginning. In Redstick or really much anywhere in the South Drive-by's are pretty rare. It's mostly seen as an LA thing so when dudes do shootings down here it's normally Walkups or someone standing across the street shooting and if a car is involved dudes actually stop the car so they can aim better.

The character Dre is visually based off David V. Thomas who played Kelvin Owens on Gridiron Gang. The Smash on Sight Boyz is actually based off a gang that was in my middle school. What happened to them I have no fucking clue all I remember about them was they used to get beat up a lot, but they did have a good name.

The New Rising Council is based off the New Day Co-Op from The Wire which was basically an alliance of the local drug dealers in Baltimore coming together to stop the violence and work together. Well the same can be said for the New Rising Council, but the only difference is where in this the Council is being targeted by the cops while the New Day Co-op was never targeted by the police.

Heavy Joe is visually based off Proposition Joe from the Wire and he'll play a very big role in this story as the major drug lord of New Arcadia.

Underground fighting is somewhat big in New Orleans and the South in general sometimes you see bare knuckle street fights and sometimes you see cage fights and what Adahy took part in was a cage fight. His first fight was based off that fight Pacoma had with the biker on OZ, the second was based on Khan's fight with Kenny, and the last was based off an MMA fight I saw but the beginning was influenced by Khan's fight with Cyril.

I also introduced Mark's big sister Gwen who will play more big roles in this story and she's visually based off Serayah who plays Tiana Brown on Empire.

And Alison having a dinner date with Mark as you can guess was a ploy for information on him and the end result is it worked. It may have seem like an unorthodox method but you have to remember she still thinks Mark doesn't know she's a cop so right now she's just trying to get him close to her but that obviously backfires.

Stick around for next chapter as Alison and the Major Crime Task Force go after Dre and the Smash on Sight Boyz, Heavy Joe employs Mark and the BSU to take deal with his traitors, and Task and Adahy get themselves out of a sticky situation with some Rednecks.

Have a good night everyone Zilla 2000 out.