Chapter 24: A New Enemy
Six Days Later (New Arcadia)
The sun had barely risen on this day in New Arcadia as Mark found himself walking out of a home in the 17th Ward that was used as a pickup spot for the money that his Hustlers in the 17th Ward would pay to him for taxes.
Upon walking out and readjusting the duffel bag full of money Mark instantly spotted Miller and Viktor who were waiting outside the house with mixed looks on their faces as they watched an ice cream truck go by.
"That one of ours?" asked Mark as he watched the truck come to a halt on a corner and instead of kids approach it several drug addicts did and in a frenzy.
"Yup that's one of ours and hot as always." Said Miller with a chuckle.
In Mark's time in Dockington he'd learn many ways to sell drugs incognito and in plain sight without the feds paying him much attention and one of those methods came in the form of ice cream trucks. They were vehicles that could move across the neighborhood undetected and in plain view and whenever kids went to the truck the drug dealers did keep ice cream in stock just to make the image stick.
It wasn't an original method, with some flaws but it was still being practiced and if it ain't broke why fix it.
After taking his eyes off the ice cream truck Mark then looked around the neighborhood and noticed that the area seemed almost deserted and for good reasons.
Since the church burning and the fight at the club the animosity between the 4th and 17th Wards has escalated almost into an all-out war. It started out small with a few fist fights here and there in the clubs and across the city, but the 4th took it a step too far last night when they cornered two 17th Ward Hustlers coming out of a store and killed them both with Shotguns.
Naturally the hood wanted revenge and that revenge and it would soon come in full, but not at the moment. In truth Mark didn't really care much for the two men that got killed or anyone from the 17th Ward for that matter, to him they were just expendable pawns and means for him to fill his pockets with money.
He knew though that he had to keep them happy so giving them what they want was one way of doing things.
"So, how are you guys doing?" Mark asked before looking down at Miller who Viktor who gave him confused looks.
"What do you mean?" The Belizean man asked with a raised brow.
"Well I usually don't get to spend time with you guys so I just wanted to see how you two are holding up with everything." The Creole repeated earning a slight nod from Viktor.
"We're good boss." He shot back while Mark nodded his head.
"That's good, what about things within the group Lee's been telling me about some instances between you and Felix Viktor." He stated earning the attention of the Puerto Rican man. "Want to tell me your side of things?" he asked while continuing to look out at the road.
"Yeah well, I'm just sick of his bitching and moaning about race, culture, and shit. He has his own, I have my own, and I don't want him to pass on his brown pride bullshit on me." He replied.
"You aren't proud to be brown?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow,
"No I'm proud to be Tri-Racial." He replied. "When I wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror I'm proud to be what I am, while he's the asshole that wakes up every morning hating who he is just because he's got a little European blood in him." He added with a hint of venom in his voice.
"He a bunch of those assholes are like that, they hate to embrace that they have European in them but I don't see them speaking Azteca or Mayan." He finished earning a slight chuckle from Mark.
"Well I don't know what to say to that." Mark replied.
"You have a lot to say on the matter you've got European blood in you from the French, yet I don't see you hating yourself over it." Viktor shot back.
"True, I do embrace the fact that I have some European in me, but honestly I don't think that's Felix's problem. His problem is that he's in need of people he can relate to and can relate to him and you get that with people of your own color." Mark replied.
"Really well how come you, Lee, and Link aren't like that?" asked Miller.
"The three of us grew up in the foster system going through the same struggle so we found what we can relate to in each other through experience and not race so there's that, but if you haven't noticed we like to spend some time with our own." He stated earning confused looks from the duo.
"In Dockington we had each other, but in Sunbelt we had BSU and there were days where I had to be away from them because there are things I can't talk about with white people because they don't understand or they just fucking…-." Mark started before trailing off.
"Stupid." Stated Miller earning a shake of the head from Mark.
"I was gonna say ignorant and I'm gonna stick to ignorant because it's less hurtful, but yeah." The Creole stated. "When I got hassled by police I couldn't talk to them about that, when I couldn't find a job they just kept telling me to suck it up, and most importantly when I needed money and went got it the best way I knew how they frowned on it but I can name thirty things they turned a blind eye over." He added with anger in his tone.
"Some people don't know your struggle brother remember that, it's not really a race thing as much as it is finding someone you can relate to." Mark finished before lifting his head and watching with a mixed look as a grey Sentinel parked in front of the house and Courtney quickly stepped out before approaching him.
"Well good morning to you." Mark greeted with a slight smile while eyeing the girl closely.
"Don't give me that, I want to know how you're gonna handle what happened last night." She replied with a question of her own that caused Mark to nod his head.
"We're handling it, just not at the moment." Mark stated earning a roll of the eyes from the woman.
"Right you handling it, that's what you said after Mookie and them bitches burn down Pastor Mills church and I haven't seen many results." She shot back while Mark rolled his eyes.
"Look Court's this takes times especially what we have planned-." Mark started before the sound of gunshots rang out in the neighborhood and caused Mark, Miller, and Viktor to go into autopilot with their bodies moving without their minds fully grasping what was going on.
In a flash Mark had quickly tackled Courtney to the ground and knocked her down into the bushes outside of the home before laying on top of her while Miller and Viktor jumped to the side off the porch and also landed into the bushes on the otherside of the porch as gun fire from a Micro SMG and Remington 870 being fired from inside a light blue Sabre Turbo ripped through the house and shattered the windows, bounced off the steps, and tore through the wood frame and raining debris on the group.
"We gotta crawl." Mark yelled out before rolling underneath the house with Courtney, Miller, and Viktor following after him. Like many homes in Southern Louisiana this home was built on Concrete Piers on each corner and underneath it that were holding it up. As a child Mark hated going underneath homes because of fear of what was underneath it that could have ranged from snakes, rats, possums, and worse but now was a desperate time so he needed to.
"FUCK THE 17TH WARD!" yelled a gang member wearing a black ski mask as he leaned out the back window on the driver's side of the Saber Turbo with an AK-47 Assault Rifle and unleashed a barrage of rounds on the house that easily tore through the wood.
As Mark, Miller, and Viktor crawled on their bellies underneath the house they couldn't help but think they were in basic training. Here they were crawling through the dirt and mud underneath an old building while bullets flew over their heads. The irony of the situation, none of them had served a day in Uncle Sam's Military but were living like they were in a warzone.
As the bullets finally stopped firing and the group heard the screeching of tires speeding off Mark quickly sent a look to Miller and Viktor who gave him thumbs up to say they were alright before looking down at Courtney who was still cradled in his arms.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, you?" she asked before looking to Mark's arm and noticing that he had a scratch on his right arm from where a splinter of wood grazed him.
"Yeah it's just a flesh wound." He replied with a light chuckle.
"So-." Started Viktor earning the attention of the duo. "When are we going to pay a visit to the 4th Ward?" he asked while Mark gave a low growl.
"Now!" the Creole replied before leading the group from underneath the house and quickly dusting himself off while they did the same before looking to Courtney.
"So you gonna make them pay for this shit?" she asked while looking back at Mark.
"Yeah…you want in?" he asked knowing full well the stripper was going to include herself whether he liked it or not.
The woman quickly nodded her head earning a slight smile from Mark who responded with. "Let's get going then."
After a quick investigation of the house and finding that two people inside where hit Mark, Miller, Viktor, and Courtney found themselves cruising through Uptown New Arcadia in route to the 4th Ward in his all black Duke with him driving, Courtney in the passenger seat despite him telling her to get in the back, and Miller and Viktor in the back. Mark was armed with only his M1911 Pistol so he could shoot while keeping his hands on the wheel, Courtney had her own person Glock 23 that she apparently never left home with, Miller had his MP5 Submachine Gun, and Viktor had a UMP-45 Submachine Gun.
In truth he didn't like using his personal car to carry out hits but he needed to do this in his own vehicle. The vehicle that gang members knew about, because he figured the assholes who took a shot at him were already running their mouths off about taking shots at him and he wanted them all to know that when she took shots he responded by dropping bodies.
"You say you know who we looking for?" Mark asked while looking to Courtney and noticing the woman loading a magazine into her Pistol.
"Yeah his name Bobby, he be coming to the club a lot looking for my girl Passion. He was also there last night with a few of his boys when yours got killed." She replied earning a nod from Mark. Thanks to Courtney being a stripper and one of the thickest ones who works at the Voodoo she knew many of the players in New Arcadia. "Passion say he stay on Kansas Street near the park." She added earning a nod from Mark.
"Alright I know just where to find this son of a bitch." The Creole stated before turning the corner a few corners and making his way deep into the 4th Ward and running a Red-Light in the process. He knew it was dangerous doing what he was doing now but he was smart enough to know when driving through an enemy territory in your own it was best not to slow down or stop at stop signs or street lights. Lucky for him he had a stolen license plate in the trunk of his car that he immediately switched out before leaving.
"That's the dude right there?" asked Miller as the group noticed a blue car parked onside the road of a house with four African American men sitting out front. The first was a man with long dreadlocks, the second had shorter dreadlocks, the third had a mouth full of golds, and the other had a long beard that was twisted up.
"That's Bobby with the golds." Stated Courtney earning a nod from Mark.
"Alright let's make this fun." Mark replied with a sick chuckle.
"Yeah we got that nigga Mark and two of his boy's boss." Stated Bobby as he held his phone to his ear before the sound of an engine reeving caught his attention along with the other men. As they turned their heads they quickly noticed a familiar all-black Duke parked at the end of the street with the engine being reeved loudly.
"OH SHIT!" yelled Bobby with fear as he and the other men ran to Saber Turbo and quickly hopped inside while Mark slammed his foot on the gas petal and sent his Duke speeding forward while Bobby slammed on the gas petal of the Turbo and sent it rocketing forward with Mark following close behind before ramming the Duke into the side of the Turbo and knocking it a little to the right.
"Shit!" yelled the man with the short dreadlocks before grabbed his Micro SMG and held it out the window before firing a barrage of rounds at the car and causing Mark to pull back as three rounds ripped the front of his car.
"You Motherfucker." Mark yelled out with anger in his voice before the man with long dreadlocks pulled a Glock 19 and fired two shots at the car that bounced off the windshield.
"Okay we're getting lit up here, you guys can shoot back at any time." Mark yelled out with anger in his voice as Miller and Viktor stuck their Submachine Guns out the window and fired off several rounds that collided with the back of the car while Courtney leaned out with her Pistol and fired off three shots that broke through the back window and hit one of the men in the backseat in the back of the head.
The sight of the man's splattered brains seemed to send the other men in a frenzy and a panic that the Creole easily exploited. Keeping his right hand on the steering wheel Mark stuck his Pistol out the window and as Bobby swerved into his sight he fired a single shot that struck the 4th Ward Gangster in the shoulder causing him to let out a loud shriek of pain while being pushed forward by the force of the .45 Caliber Pistol.
"I got him." Mark said with a chuckle as Bobby lost control of the wheel and hit the side of a stalled car wrecking the left side of his car and causing him to push inward.
"I hope all of you have your seat belts on." Mark said with an evil chuckle while Courtney, Miller, and Viktor braced themselves as the Creole slammed into the backside of the Turbo with enough force to make the vehicle do a full 360-degree spin while wrecking the side of Mark's car.
"Damn!" said Mark as he noticed Bobby continue to drive the vehicle away from them while onlookers got out of the way.
"Don't let them get away brother." Yelled Miller.
"Punch it Marcus punch it." Added Courtney as Mark slammed onto his gas petal and sent his Duke rocketing forward after the fleeing gang members.
"Man fuck these fools." Yelled the man with the long beard as he leaned out the car with his Shotgun and fired a blast at the Duke causing Mark to swerve out of the way.
The trio of BSU members then watched with surprise as Courtney leaned her entire body out the passenger side window and fired off the remainder of her magazine at the vehicle lighting up it's backside and striking the front tire and causing it to explode. Mark then gave a wide smile as the sound of scrapping metal from the metal of the rim of the tire hitting the asphalt filled his ears, his smile quickly vanished though upon hitting a pothole and watching Courtney almost fall out the window before being quickly pulled back in by Mark and Viktor.
"Damn you're insane." Miller said with a slight chuckle.
"You got any better ideas?" she asked before eyeing the smile on Mark's face.
"Yeah they're slowing down because of that blowout Miller Viktor you two know what to do." The Creole yelled out earning nods from the Belizean and Puerto Rican men as Mark pulled up on the left side of the car as Miller and Viktor leaned out the windows with their Submachine Guns and fired a barrage of rounds aimed for the tires and quickly striking the last both tires on the left side causing Bobby to quickly lose control of the Sabre Turbo again as Mark collided with the side of the car with enough force to send it spinning before flipping over three times, landing on its roof, and skidding fifty feet before coming to a halt in the middle of the road.
"Whoa!" said Miller.
"Holy shit brother." Viktor added while patting Mark on the shoulders as he pulled up alongside the wrecked car and quickly hopped out with Miller and Viktor.
"Snatch that bitch up." Mark yelled out as Miller and Viktor instantly ran to the driver's side of the car where they noticed Bobby trying to crawl out before being stopped as Miller kicked him in the mouth before grabbing his right arm while Viktor grabbed his left.
"Fuck you-." Started the last man as he reached for the AK-47 and prepared to shoot Mark who quickly stopped him by firing a round that struck the man in the left side of his cheek and quickly separating the piece of flesh from his face.
"Wrong move." Mark replied as Miller and Viktor tossed Bobby in the truck of his car while Mark climbed back into the driver's seat.
"You just gonna leave those guys like that?" asked Courtney as she turned to face Mark.
"Nope!" Mark replied before firing three shots into the gas tank of the vehicle before watching it go up in a violent fiery explosion that engulfed the gang members.
"Well then it's good to see you ain't just letting the 4th roll on you." Stated Courtney earning a roll of the eyes from Mark.
"Of course not and since you so convinced we are, I got something to show you." Mark shot back while Courtney gave him a confused look.
"What you got to show me?" she asked with a half-smile.
"If you haven't noticed yet Lee isn't with me right now and where do you think he would be?" Mark asked earning a confused look from Courtney.
Outside New Arcadia
"Fire in the hole." Yelled Link as Lee, Felix, Task, Adahy, and Buck lifted up five AK-47 Assault Rifles and quickly fired off a barrage of rounds at five make shift targets that were setup at the end of the warehouse they were using as target practice while Andre and ten other 17th Ward Hustlers stood by watching with mixed looks on their faces.
"Ceasefire." Yelled Link causing the five to stop and look at their handiwork with smiles on their faces.
"Well that was fun." Said Buck with a slight chuckle as Lee turned his head and looked back at the 17th Ward Gangsters.
"Alright then boys as you can see, we only use the best for jobs and tonight we using the best to get payback for your friends. If you want in on this payback, show us you worth taking with us for this job." Lee replied earning mixed looks from the group.
"Man why I gotta prove myself to y'all niggas?" asked a man with short dreadlocks and a mouthful of gold teeth wearing a white t-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and black shoes.
"Because we don't believe in leading men to their deaths and if we think you'll die tonight we want to avoid that, but that's a two-way streak. So either show us you worth fighting beside or get the fuck out." Lee yelled out before tossing the Rifle to Andre and watching as the man fired three shots at the target and easily struck it three times in the chest.
"Now show us what you got." Lee yelled out before the 17th Ward Hustlers started shooting at the targets while he turned to Felix, Task, Adahy, Buck, and Link.
"Thanks for the sale, but you mind telling us exactly why you need all this hardware?" asked Task as he and Adahy sent looks to the Chinese man.
"Smart just to be a little on the safe side in New Arcadia and we'd rather have our boys well-armed if something happens." He replied with a half-smile.
"We heard about your little spat with the 4th Ward is this because of that?" asked Adahy.
"Sort of." Lee shot back.
"We're also having problems with Joe and he's got a shipment of drugs coming in tonight through the harbor." Started Felix causing Lee to look at the man closely with a hint of anger.
"And you guys are gonna take it?" asked Adahy.
"Sink it into the harbor is more like." Came a familiar voice that caused everyone to stop firing their guns and turn to face Mark, Miller, Viktor, and Courtney as they walked inside of the warehouse with a bound and gagged Bobby being forced with them.
The sight of the 4th Ward Hustler instantly brought angry looks to the face of the 17th Ward gang members who started call out to him angrily before watching as Mark tossed him down before the group.
"Well you guys have an enemy in your hands…have at him." He finished before watching as five hustlers instantly pounced on the man and started beating him into the pavement while Mark, Miller, and Viktor regrouped with their team and Task and Adahy.
"I don't think Joe is gonna be too happy about this little insurrection Marcus." Said Adahy with a slight chuckle.
"Fuck him and what he thinks." Mark replied with an angry scowl.
"Well, we would help you but we do still have some business with Joe and we got something to do tonight ourselves." Adahy replied to Task's confusion.
"Anything you need help on?" asked Felix.
"No it's just our thing." Adahy finished while Felix gave him a confused look.
"Handle your business brothers." Mark replied before slapping hands with Task and Adahy along with the others before watching them walk out of the warehouse.
"These weapons are reliable, but wouldn't it have been smarter to get them from-." Started Buck before Mark cut him off by sending a look to Felix who was still eyeing the other gang members.
"Yeah it would have been, but they're stretched for cash as is with the loss of revenue so I'd rather help them out on the small things." Mark replied earning nods from the group while Felix turned to them and noticed him, Lee, Buck, and Link whispering amongst each other.
"So are you gonna tell your new friends that if they go into the 3rd Ward and start shit the freshly-armed 17th Ward will come to their rescue with New Arcadia's Concrete Soldier." Task asked.
"No we'll tell them that Joe's got a shipment of drugs coming in at the docks and take it before Mark and his men get there, how does that sound." Adahy stated earning a confused look from Task before he nodded his head while they made their way back to their truck.
The sound of Mark's cellphone ringing quickly caused him to look away from the gang members and walk away upon seeing the name of who was calling him.
"Hello." He answered before hearing a familiar voice on the other end that caused his eart to fluster.
"Hey I haven't heard from you in a few days, are you okay?" asked Alison earning a slight chuckle from Mark.
"Yeah I'm fine, I figured you were a little busy with all these new bodies that turned up." Mark shot back.
"Yeah I think we caught a break this time though, we got a call the other night about someone being in that area and seeing someone." She shot back earning a nod from Mark.
"Little Malik came forward?" he asked with a raised brow that caused Alison to become confused.
"Malik, no the guy we brought in is name Eugene." She replied to Mark's confusion.
"Huh, I've been hearing on the streets that that Debbie Washington's son Malik was out that night going to the store for her and he saw somethings. I just haven't had any real time to look into, but if you have someone then go for it." Mark replied to Alison's surprise.
"Give me his address, and I'll go chat with him later." she replied before Mark gave her the address.
"Alright I gotta go." He finished earning a happy "Goodbye" from the woman before he hung up his phone.
New Arcadia FIB Headquarters
The news of another witness seemed to brighten the day of Alison as she quickly put her phone back in her pocket and made her way out of the bathroom and back into the interrogation where she noticed the other FIB Agents standing outside the glass while Steve sat inside with Caucasian man with short brown hair, bright green eyes, and blue jean pants.
"So Mr. McGee, tell me again exactly what happened out there?" asked Steve as he sat in the room with a half-smile.
"Alright I was coming from a party at a friend's house a few blocks over and when I was driving home I saw a black guy with short dreadlocks walking out of that same building and hop into an all-white Blista drive and drive away." He replied.
"Do you remember a license plate number?" Steve asked.
"Yeah I got a plate number." He replied with a smile.
"Looks like this case maybe closed sooner than we thought." Stated Jenna as the group watched Steve walk out of the room with a smile.
"Case soon to be closed people." He replied with a chuckle while some of the FIB Agents clapped for him as he made his way to his office with Alison following after him.
"We're on a roll across the nation sweetheart." He replied earning a smile from Alison.
"Yeah, about that I just got word of another potential witness who was out that night and I wanted to see if I can collaborate the stories." She replied earning a confused look from Steve.
"You're welcome to it, but in the meantime we're gonna look for whoever this guy is and bring him in form questioning." He replied earning a nod from Alison before she walked out of the room.
Voodoo Club
"Sounds like Mark didn't give your boys an hour to breath after that little attack Fatman." Stated Joe as he sat across from the leader of the 4th Ward Paper Boyz Gang with a mixed look on his face.
"Mark started this shit when he attacked my boys." He replied.
"You know he says the same about your boys burning down that church and I feel the same. Your boys brought down a lot of heat on us for that." Joe replied.
"And I was gonna discipline them for that, but Mark beat me to it." Fatman shot back with anger in his voice. "Look my boys can handle holding down your product tonight if-." He started to add before being interrupted by a new voice.
"First of all it ain't his product." The sight of a muscular African American man with a slight Somali Accent quickly caught the eyes of Fatman who eyed the man confusingly. "The BGA is putting a lot of faith back in Joe and he's putting a lot of faith in you tonight so I expect you to handle this without problems." Muujai added with a hint of venom in his tone.
The sight of the man instantly caused Fatman to get the message that the man before him was BGA and higher up the ladder then Joe and doing this job wasn't just doing a job for Joe but the BGA as well.
"Alright, I'll call Maurice and see if he can get Mark to calm himself down and end this shit." Fatman shot back earning a chuckle from Muujai.
"Honestly I don't care about your little war with Marcus Roman, frankly I like it." Muujai shot back to Fatman's surprise. "If you kill Mark I don't have a problem with it, but your war gets in the way of us making money then I have a big problem with it. You got it son?" he asked earning a slight nod from Fatman before he walked out of the office to leave Joe to talk to Muujai in private.
"Are you sure making your presence known to more people is such a good idea?" Joe asked earning a slight chuckle from Muujai.
"Brother Joseph do you know how the Russian Empire could lose wars to countries like Japan or the German Empire?" Muujai asked while Joe gave him a confused look.
"The hell you talking about Russia beat Germany and they never fought Japan?" he replied earning a chuckle from Muujai.
"If you educated yourself outside of business and hustling you'd know that the Soviet Russia had beaten Nazi Germany in WWII and prior to that Russia was one of the largest empires in the world controlled by a Czar and they'd lost a war with Japan in the early 1900s and they lost on the Eastern Front to the German Empire and Austria-Hungary in WWI." The Somali BGA member shot back with a hint of anger in his tone over the man's ignorance.
"Then no I don't know why." He shot back.
"Russia lost to Japan because they were unequipped, untrained, and had no allies to fight with them." Muujai replied.
"And how does this pertain to killing Mark?" Joe asked with venom in his tone.
"The Roman Family controls the entire 3rd Ward and a number of projects in the 2nd Ward. In terms of numbers they are one of the largest hoods, while Mark and his little made up family have complete control over the 17th Ward and from what I just heard they aren't guys to be pushed around." He stated earning a slight nod from Joe. "We can kill Mark and all his friends but his family will retaliate and when they do you'll need someone to watch your back, and a potential ally just walked out the door." Muujai shot back earning a slight nod from Joe at realization of what he was just told.
East New Arcadia
The drive to East Side New Arcadia wasn't long for Alison as she parked her car in front of a small one story home built on concrete piers similar to most other homes in the city.
Upon stepping out of her car she instantly noticed that she was being eyed by many of the residents who must have quickly identified her as being a cop because some quickly made their way inside of their homes while she approached the front door of the house and quickly knocked on it.
"Who is it?" came a voice from the otherside that caused Alison to respond but before she could get a word out the door swung open and she came face to face with a heavy set African American woman who looked to be in her mid-50's with short black and wearing a red t-shirt, blue jean pants, and black slippers.
"Who are you?" she asked while eyeing Alison closely.
"Yes Ms. Weathers, my name is Agent Alison Trueblood and I'm with the FIB-." She started before watching the woman's eyes widen.
"I ain't doing nothing illegal here." The woman shot back.
"Yes I'm aware, I'm actually here to speak with your son Malik." She stated earning a confused look from the woman before she opened the screen door and allowed Alison to walk inside of her home.
"Malik mother been in jail since he was in diapers, but you can call me his mother since I practically raised him." She replied earning a slight nod from Alison. "Look Malik, my grandson, he maybe a little hardheaded but I think he's capable of doing anything bad enough to warrant you all coming after him." The woman shot back.
"Yes Mam, I'm not here to arrest Malik just to ask him questions. There's a rumor going around that he may have seen something concerning an ongoing case." She replied earning a few seconds of silence from the woman.
"You mean those people in that vacant house." She stated earning a nod from Alison.
"Yes you were there?" Alison asked with a raised brow.
"No, but I regret it, I sent him to the store to pick me up something and…he saw something. He wouldn't tell me too much about it, but it really missed him up." she replied while looking to the floor.
"Why didn't Malik go to the police?" The FIB Agent asked earning a slight chuckle from the woman.
"The police are the people who ripped his mother out of his life, the police are the reason his father isn't here to today mam. There are rules to living in this city, if you value your life or your family's life you don't talk to the police." She replied earning a slight nod from Alison.
"Do you think he'll be willing to tell me what he saw?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from the woman.
"I'm hoping he does, what's going on out there being killed and left to rot in vacant buildings…it just ain't right." She replied earning a nod from Alison before leading her into the living room of the house where they notice an African American boy with cornrows and wearing a grey jacket who could have been no older than eight sitting on the couch watching television.
"Malik this nice woman here is here to ask you some questions." Ms. Weathers replied causing the boy to look over at Alison with a mixed look.
"Malik my name is Alison Trueblood, and I'm here to ask you some questions on what you saw a few nights ago." She replied earning a confused look from the boy before he turned off the television. "I know it may be hard to relieve what you saw that night, but I want you to know you that you'll be doing a really good thing by helping me." Alison added while the boy remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"I can't snitch." He replied.
"You're not snitching, you don't know the man you're telling on and you're not taking a stand in open court all you're doing is telling me what you saw that all I want to know." She replied with a slight smile while Malik to in a few more minutes of silence while Alison eyed him closely.
"Okay I'll tell you what I saw." He replied earning a smile from Alison.
Metra, Lincoln Parish
The drive to Lincoln Parish wasn't long for Task and Adahy as they entered the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It was a part of Lincoln Parish but the city was still a part of the New Arcadia Metro Area and actually bordered the 17th Ward to the right.
The city seemed almost the exact opposite to New Arcadia. The city was over seventy percent white while New Arcadia was over sixty percent black and that showed off to Task and Adahy as they rode through the streets of Metra.
Another thing that made the area different from New Arcadia was that not only were blacks not the largest ethnic group, but they also weren't the second largest ethnic group…brown was. It wouldn't have seemed like it when you look at the city because there were a number of black areas comparted to just one brown area on the Northside of the city, but that was the true numbers to the city.
As Adahy drove his car to the Northside he quickly noticed that the demographics had changed and he and Task were now seeing more people of Mexican and Honduran descent walking around the streets with a few shops and stores with Spanish names. It was only a three block neighborhood but it seemed almost like a different world to the duo.
"We're here." Said Adahy as he parked his car in front of a home on Siena Road and quickly noticed three Azteca members sitting on the front porch.
After stepping out of the car and making their way to the front door they were quickly stopped as a heavyset Mexican man with shaved head and wearing a white wife beater, khaki pants, and white shoes stepped in front of him.
"Easy there Diablo." Came a familiar voice as the duo watched Miguel stepped out of the house with a half-smile on his face.
"These Vatos are chido." He added before watching the man step aside.
"Smart move." Said Adahy while eyeing the man closely.
"We're here to see Ernesto." Task stated.
"Whatever you got to tell my father you can tell me as well, we're both the same rank he's just older than me." Miguel replied with a hint of venom in his tone for being undercut because of his age again.
Silence then spread across the duo that was quickly stopped though as Ernesto walked out of the house wearing a white wife beater, khaki pants, and black shoes before quickly eyeing the new arrivals.
"What brings you two Vatos to the Varrio?" he asked while eyeing the duo with a smile.
"You call this a barrio?" asked Adahy while looking around the area.
"It ain't our Varrio, but the homies here are letting us lie low here while we take care of business." Ernesto stated before looking back at the group. "You mind telling me why you two are here ese?" he asked.
"We just got word from the grapevine that Joe has a shipment of Coke coming into New Arcadia through the docks later tonight and we just thought you should know." Adahy replied causing Ernesto to rub his chin.
"Really where'd you hear this from?" the New Austin and San Andreas Onda member asked with a raised brow.
"We're gun dealers do you think you're our only buyers?" asked Adahy.
"We're willing to give that information but we don't work and fight in wars that aren't our own for free." Stated Task earning a slight chuckle from Ernesto.
"Or we could just make you tell us what's going down." Stated Miguel.
"Easy, mijo we don't threaten our amigos." Ernesto replied earning a loud scoff from Miguel. "Alright we'll pay for your service, just to prove that this isn't a trap." He added.
"Papa-." Miguel started before Ernesto sent him a look that caused him to go silent.
"I'll call Cruz and the others." Ernesto stated with a half-smile.
New Arcadia FIB Headquarters
The drive back to the station wasn't long for Alison who thought she must have run a few stop-lights with how fast she got back. It didn't matter to her though, the news she just received was too important for it to wait.
As she rushed into the building she quickly made her way back to the main office where she noticed Steve sitting in the interrogation room with a African American man with short black hair wearing glasses, a blue t-shirt, black jeans, and white shoes with a scared look on his face.
"Now buddy are you gonna start talking to me?" he asked while the man cowered in his precense.
"I told you already I don't know nothing about what you're talking about." the cowering man stated while Steve chuckled.
"You're looking at hard time son, if not the needle I hear that the death penalty is legal here." The FIB Agent shot back causing the man to cower but before he could respond Steve was interrupted by a knocking on the interrogation room window that caused him to divert his attention away from it.
"I suggest you call a lawyer." He said before making his way out of the room and being quickly greeted by Alison and a few other FIB Agents.
"What is it Ali, I was just about to get this guy to talk?" he asked with a hint of anger in his voice.
"That's not the guy." She shot back to the man's shock and everyone's confusion. "I followed up on that second potential witness and his description of our suspect didn't match Mr. McGee's." she added.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"Mr. McGee described the suspect as being a black male with short black hair and driving a white Blista. The other witness described seeing white male driving a dark grey Asea and wearing an all-black outfit walk out of the vacant home and drive away from the scene carrying a gun." Stated Alison.
"And who is this second witness?" Steve asked.
"Malik ." Alison replied earning a few chuckles from a group of FIB Agents. "He's a reliable source though, both he and his mother can place him close to the vacant home when everything happened." She replied with a hint of venom in her tone.
"Ali…I get you want to solve this case but we can't just trust the word of some kid. You remember our case in North Holland a few years back. That kid said he saw a murder and turns out he was just making up stories to protect his drug dealing friend." He replied.
"This isn't that." Alison shot back. "This kid saw something that literally spooked him and he was willing to tell me that. This city isn't like any other Steve, when people start talking to the police it's smart to listen because it doesn't happen often." She added.
"Look Ali I know you like to find the good people, but I'm gonna stick with our witness from earlier because my gut is telling me it's the right thing to do." He replied.
"So you aren't even gonna bring the kid in to answer a few questions?" she asked.
"No!" he finished causing Alison to give him an angry look before walking away from the man.
"Ironic first you're mad at her and now she's mad at you." Stated Jenna with a chuckle.
"She'll get over it, especially when this case is solved. I learned a long time ago that when Alison's mind is made up she'll stick to something even if it goes the wrong way." He replied before walking back into the interrogation room.
Elsewhere
It must have been a few hours since Mark arrived at the warehouse with Viktor, Miller, and Courtney and the group quickly found themselves growing ever bored along with Lee, Felix, Buck, and Link as they stood and watched the 17th Ward Gangster shoot at the human sized targets.
Practice must have been making a few of them better because there were a few who were getting better but some seemed to be lost causes.
"Hell yeah." Yelled one of the men who was wearing a white wife beater, black jeans and white shoes with a shaved head that the group had dubbed "Quick" for reasons the group could only figure because he was a fast runner because he wasn't a quick shooter.
Sure he was hitting targets but everything about the way he was shooting was driving Mark insane. The Concrete Soldier can best be described as a Marksman, a Gun Specialist, the Heavy Artillery of his band of Thieves and Murderers, but this guy was none of those things.
The first thing he was doing that was pissing the Creole off was firing a barrage of rounds from the hip, it was hitting targets but he was wasting ammo and leaving himself open to be shot. Mark figured it would only take this him a few seconds to off this guy with a headshot.
The second thing that was making Mark contemplate wasting this guy now was his firing stance when he actually did take one. The word to best describe it was simply…nasty. He was standing like some distinct action hero in a cheesy movie or some gangster with his Tommy Gun about to mow-down a speakeasy. He was holding the weapon almost outward away from his body and he wasn't even holding the barrel right to keep it steady, and the recoil of the shot had the weapon banging into his right shoulder almost to the point where the group could figure he'd have a bruise on it the next morning.
And the third thing that was really really pissing off the youngest Roman was the fact that this guy was looking at himself like an excellent gunslinger. The assclown was so happy confident he even tried to quick draw and even that looked weird. Mark was confident in his own abilities with a gun but at the end of the day he knows he no Cowboy, or Marine, Navy Seal, or even Army Reserve so his confidence only went so far.
The sight of the man's bad shooting was leaving Mark heated and Lee and Link could tell. They knew one of the main things Mark hated in life was a fucked up gunmen and this guy was filling out all those qualifications.
"That's another one for me." Said Quick as he eyed a target that he hit seven times in the stomach.
"Nigga you keep hitting the stomach not the fucking head." Yelled Andre as he eyed the man angrily.
"Son, what for ain't like nobody in this bitch wearing body armor and if they is this bullet going right through that bitch with the sickest." He shot back without realizing the ignorance in his words.
"Hey Quick." Said Lee earning the attention of the man and the other 17th Ward members as they watched the Chinese man lift up his shirt to reveal he was wearing a bullet proof vest along with Buck, Felix, Mark, Viktor, and Miller.
"I bet this bullet go through that bitch." He replied.
"It probably will, we'd probably kill you before you hit us dog you ain't no gunmen." Lee shot back with a chuckle.
"Nigga I am thee gunmen motherfucker believe that." He replied before the sound of a gunshot going off caught everyone's attention and caused them to look at Mark and see him holding his M1911 to the ceiling.
"What the fuck Mark?" asked Andre.
"Here we go." Said Link as the group watched Mark get into a squared shooting stance with his shoulders squared up with the target, his feet shoulder width apart from each other in a straight line, his right foot behind his left foot to keep him balanced from the kickback, and his arms extended only so slightly so they don't lock up with both hands on the Pistol. The Squared Shooting Stance was the most effective way of shooting and was used by a lot of military people because it took a lot of the recoil. It was mostly meant for Rifles but Mark liked using it for a pistol because it allowed him to better track his targets.
As Mark gently squeezed the trigger and let three shots everyone watched in awe as he hit one of the targets with all three shots in the head before moving onto the next target and hitting it three times in the head. The Creole then went to reload his gun before snapping it back upward and instead of firing three shots fired two and striking two targets in the head before moving to reload again.
"They got him started." Stated Link earning a chuckle from Lee as the group watched Mark reload the Great War Era Pistol again but shoot extend it outward with his right hand and fire two shots that hit one target in the head before doing it again with another. Then in a move that left many of the 17th Ward gang members in shock and awe Mark quickly threw his gun out of his right hand and caught it with his left and firing off the remainder of the magazine at the targets.
"Okay now he's just showing off." Said Link with a chuckle. A lot of people didn't know it but Mark was ambidextrous so he could use both his right and left hands as good as the other making him deadly with a gun in either hand.
The group then watched as Mark quickly jerked the AK-47 Assault Rifle out the hands of Quick before loading it with a thirty round magazine and then getting back into his Squared Stance but with his right hand on the trigger while his left was holding onto the barrel from the midway, the butt of the gun near the center of his chest, and his right cheek on the side of the gun.
The gun wasn't set to semi-automatic but the group watched in awe as Mark fired off five shots at each target and struck them in either the head or the neck and when the magazine was only down to fifteen shots he turned his gun slightly to the right side where the gangsters were too dumb to realize was a Backup Iron sight on the weapon. It was a feature that was becoming more common in newer model guns but Mark wasn't complaining.
The sight didn't offer much use though because instead of getting head shots Mark had to now aim for the chest to account for precision.
After finishing off the magazine Mark quickly went to reload but the sound of his cellphone ringing quickly stopped him and caused him to toss his gun back to Quick who had a look of shot along with the other gangsters.
"DAMN!" a few of the gangsters said while watching Mark walk away while answering his phone.
"I wonder who that could be, Mark was just starting to warm up?" asked Buck as he looked at the metal human sized targets and noticed that some of them had holes going all the way through them.
"Only two people it can be." Lee shot back folding his arms over his chest while Courtney gave him a confused look as Mark started walking back towards them.
"Everything good?" asked Link.
"Yeah I just gotta see to something right quick." Mark stated to the groups confusion. "Felix you and Miller get them ready to move out. Lee take Viktor and Bucky here and go scout out the area, Manfred will meet you there." He stated earning nod from the group.
"Anything you want me to do?" asked Link.
"Yeah take Courtney home for me." He shot out to the woman's surprise as she sent a look to Link before looking back to Mark and watching him make his way out of the building where Davey and Eddy were waiting with a black truck.
"Bring it back in one piece." Stated Davey before he slapped hands with Mark followed by Eddy as Mark hopped into the truck and drove off.
"What's got him leaving in such a hurry?" asked Courtney as she sent a look to Lee.
Metra, Lincoln Parish
The drive to the Metra wasn't long for Primo as they stepped out of a yellow Tornado with eight other Orgullo Marron Vagos members with them and quickly made their way into the safe house of Ernesto where they noticed the man sitting in his living room with Miguel, Task, Adahy, and several other Azteca members who appeared armed to the teeth.
Despite recently selling Mark and the gangsters from the 17th Ward a two dozen AK-47's Task and Adahy still had another two dozen M16A2 Assault Rifles a dozen MP5-PDW Submachine Guns. If a war was brewing between the two sides they'd rather both sides be well armed, with Adahy focusing mostly on the money the war would bring in the duo.
The Azteca's and Vagos were both well-armed with weapons with new age weapons, but Ernesto was a little old school. Along with his old school .44 Magnum he was still carrying his SKS-M Rifle. He's used a similar weapon the for years when he was a younger soldado. It was a weapon used by many Vatos both black and brown back in the day and if you had one you could be best described as your hoods badass.
"So what are we doing ese?" asked Primo as he approached Ernesto and Miguel.
"We're hitting this Joe guy where it'll hurt him worse…his pockets." The Onda member replied before looking to Task and Adahy. "These two found out that Joe's got a shipment of Coke they're bringing into a warehouse at the New Arcadia Docks." He added.
"How much Coke we talking?" asked one of the Orgullo Marron members. He was a man of Mexican and Honduran descent that looked to be in his late twenties with short black hair, dark brown skin, and wearing a brown and yellow striped shirt, black jeans, and white shoes.
"Who's this guy, where's Cruz?" asked Adahy.
"This is the homie El Cheetah, he's Orgullo Marron." Stated Primo.
"Cruz is a Veterano that's lost his son, he doesn't have to go out and fight unless he wants to. So I'm calling shots for the Orgullo Marron Vagos in the Rose District." The Vago shot out while eyeing Adahy closely.
"I thought only old-heads ran hoods you don't look that much older than either of us." Stated Task.
"I ain't that old, but I've earned my stripes and I learned from Santa Muerte himself." He shot out earning confused looks from Task who wanted to press the man but was stopped by Adahy.
"Enough introductions if we're gonna do this we have to do this now." The Creek Warrior stated earning the attention of the group.
"Why such a tight schedule ese?" asked Miguel as he folded his arms over his chest while eyeing Adahy closely.
"Because Joe's men are under orders to get the drugs and move them quick and if they leave before we get there we won't be getting those drugs anytime soon." Stated Adahy.
"You never answered my question skin." Added Cheetah as he eyed Adahy closely with a look of anger in his gaze.
"Joe supplies coke and heroin to majority of the gangs in town. I think that says enough." Shot Task in an attempt to end the hostility building between Adahy, Miguel, and Cheetah.
"Which is why we need to take that entire shipment. The Varrios here are looked as jokes because they aren't financially stable and we don't have much of a rep going down here. We pull this off, we let everyone know that brown is on the map in this city." Stated Primo earning a nod from Ernesto.
"Aye it'll also let Joe know that we're coming from him and maybe draw out the Chavala that iced Guardo." Stated Ernesto earning nods from the group.
"So get ready to load up." He replied before watching as everyone made their way out of his safe house and quickly climbed into five cars and drove away from the location.
New Arcadia FIB Headquarters.
"Talk Damnit!" yelled Steve as he stood over the frightened man who seemed short of pissing on himself at the sight of the FIB Agent threatening him with life in prison or death by the state.
"I keep telling you I don't know what you're talking about. I was at home a few nights ago playing the game." The man shot out while Steve eyed him angrily.
"The at home excuse doesn't work here, can anybody else account for you?" he asked.
"Yeah, my friend Jeffery was there playing with me." He shot out with panic in his tone while Steve gave him a confused look.
"Jeffery who?" he asked with venom in his tone.
"MCGEE!" he yelled out to Steve's confusion.
"Jeffery McGee!" he repeated as realization hit him that he just named the witness who pointed the finger at him.
"What were you playing?" he asked.
"Impotent Rage The Game." He shot out while Steve watched him closely. "I was winning and he got mad and left." He added causing Steve to rub his nose.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me." The FIB Agent yelled out before walking out of the room to the young man's surprise.
Elsewhere
The drive back home wasn't long for Mark as he noticed a familiar car parked outside the front of his home. After stepping out of the truck he quickly made his way inside where he noticed a familiar woman sitting on his couch with a somewhat angry look on her face.
"Mind telling me where you've been and where are the others?" Alison asked with a sly hint of anger in her tone that caused Mark to give her a confused look. "You promised me you'd start coming home early and that there wouldn't be any bodies in the 17th Ward yet I find out there's a drive-by earlier and the guys suspected of doing it were found dead in a burned out car in the 4th Ward after a high speed chase." She stated while folding her arms over her chest.
"Well I'm waiting." She added while eyeing him closely.
"Okay you got me, but this kinda isn't my fault." He replied.
"Damnit Mark, why can't you just listen to me." She shot out earning a confused look from Mark. "I go out and find something useful and you won't even listen to me." She added earning a raised brow from Mark who watched her take a seat on the couch before slowly taking a seat beside her.
"You want to talk about work, because I suspect you're not truly mad at me?" he asked while eyeing Alison closely before she looked at him with a still somewhat angry look.
"I am mad at you, just not as much as I am at someone else right now." She replied before looking away from Mark. "I followed your tip on that kid Malik and well-." She started before the Creole interrupted her.
"He wasn't helpful?" Mark asked.
"No he was very helpful. She replied. "He gave me an almost full description of the man he saw and his car, but someone else came forward today and they're just brushing him off." She added.
"They've interrogating a man who's innocent right now while a true killer is running the streets of New Arcadia looking for a new victim." She stated earning a slight chuckle Mark who found irony in her words. There were dozens of killers running around the streets of New Arcadia right now and here she was in the home of five of them, but despite all the lives they've taken she was more focused on someone else.
It was quite amusing to him.
"So you believe Malik is telling the truth?" he asked.
"I saw the look in that boys eyes Marcus and they were filled with fear. He saw something that night that really messed him up and that's worth looking into." She replied while sending a look to Mark.
"What's even more messed up is the fact that I sat there in front of him and promised him that if we told me what he saw I'd listen to him, but now he's being ignored." She stated before lowering her head and resting her head in her lap.
The FIB Agent was then interrupted as Mark placed his arms over torso and pulled her in for a tight hug. He knew he was testing the boundaries he'd established when finding out Alison was seeing someone else, but right now he could tell she was distraught and needed comforting and he did promise to always be her shoulder to cry on if she needed him…and right now she did.
"Don't worry about them, because in the end when you're slapping the cuffs on whoever this sick fuck is you can smile in all their faces and tell them you were right." He replied causing Alison to look up at him. "You'll get this guy with them or without them, because you're stubborn and headstrong and that's how I know you'll be the last man standing at the end of all this." He added while rubbing Alison's right cheek and earning a slight blush from the woman.
"Thanks." She replied as a slight smile crossed her face.
"No need it's why I 'm here, to pick you up when you need it." He stated before moving to take his arm from Alison who quickly stopped him by falling into his arm.
She didn't realize it at first but this was her first time seeing or even speaking to Mark in almost a week. She'd been so preoccupied with Steve and work that she'd forgotten about him, and he was so busy trying to keep his distance he didn't call to check on her.
This revelation left the FIB Agent saddened. There were things she liked and didn't like about Mark and him avoiding her seemed to be on that list. She knew she had a boyfriend in Steve but the idea of Mark still caring about her caused her heart to flutter and the thought of him forgetting about her seemed to frighten her more than she thought.
As the seconds seemed to pass before the duo Alison couldn't help but to move her hand towards Mark's causing her to look at her confusingly and notice the bright blush on the woman's face as she tried to look away from him.
The feeling of her soft hands made his own made his heart skip a beat and before long he found himself leaning forward towards the woman for a kiss. He knew she wasn't going to make the first move but before his lips could make contact with hers the duo was both interrupted by the sounds of their cellphones going off at the same time.
"I gotta…take this." Said Alison as she pulled out her phone and quickly answered it before walking into the next room while Mark did the same.
"You got a lot of nerve right now Steve." Alison answered with a hint of venom in her tone.
"Yes, I'm sorry about earlier just blowing you off like that, but you were right this guy ain't the killer. His friend just wanted us to arrest him because he beat him at a game." He replied earning a slight chuckle from Alison.
"Seem fitting." Alison replied.
"I know, that's why I want you to bring the kid in. If you're so sure about him, he's worth listening to." He finished earning a slight nod from Alison as she put her hand on her hip before speaking.
"Alright I'll go get him, but I you owe me for this." She finished before giving her goodbyes to Steve and then making her way out of the room where she noticed Mark with his phone to his ear. As he looked up and eyed her he noticed that she had an emotionless look on her face.
"Don't worry it's Lee I'm just telling him to come home now." He stated earning a raised brow from the woman.
"Alright then, I need to go." She said before grabbing her car keys and making her way for the door silently hoping she'd get a goodbye hug or kiss but it never came. Instead Mark just walked her out the door and waved to her as she drove off.
"What were you saying Lee?" Mark asked.
New Arcadia Docks
"I was saying it looks like someone beat us to our heist." The Chinese man stated as he, Viktor, and Bucky watched as a twelve armed masked men stepped out of their cars and quickly cut chain off the fence surrounding the docks before making their way through the docks.
"Looks like our brown friends beat us to it." Lee replied before watching the group make their way towards the warehouse before surrounding the building.
"How'd they find out?" Mark asked.
"No clue, but it's going down now." Lee replied before watching a man with an SKS-M Assault Rifle slowly open the backdoor of the warehouse before making his way through the backdoor with two other men. "You want us to put an end to this, maybe we can ambush them as they're coming out?" he asked.
"No, if brown wants to hit Joe we'll let them take the heat and the casualties for this. So come back to home brother and tell Andre to send his men home and await further instructions." Mark replied earning a nod from Lee.
"Alright we're on the move." The BSU member replied before hanging up his phone.
"Looks like we're letting brown have this one today brothers." Lee finished before walking away with Buck and Viktor in tow as Ernesto made his way into the opening of the warehouse where he noticed twelve African American men taking packages of Cocaine out of white crates.
"Man we're gonna have a field day with all this white." Said a man with gold Dreadlocks as he and bald man wearing a New Arcadia Sinners Jersey pulled out two packages of Cocaine while Ernesto lined up dreadheaded man in his sight.
"How do we know when we he'll signal us?" asked Task as he gripped his MP5 tightly while looking out and noticing three African American men guarding the front of the warehouse, just as a loud gunshot went off that caught everyone by surprise.
"That's how!" said Miguel as he, Primo, Adahy, Cheetah, and five other Azteca members jumped from cover and fired a barrage of rounds at the three men instantly lighting them up in a hail of gunfire while the bald man inside the warehouse looked on with wide eyes as the man he was working beside now lay dead on the ground with a bulletwound in the back of his head.
The mixture of his red blood staining his gold colored dreadlocks seemed to remind the man of ketchup coated French Fries. As he then tore his gaze away from his friend he instantly looked up and noticed Ernesto standing on the staircase of the warehouse with his gun aimed at his head.
"SHIT-!" he yelled out as the Onda member peppered his head, neck, and chest with seven rounds before directing his fire on the remaining 4th Ward gang members who quickly moved to cover and started to return fire on the man while the Azteca members he was with opened fire from their hidden cover.
"Get these motherfuckers." Yelled a 4th Ward Gangster firing a Mac-11 as he shot one of the Azteca's that was armed with an MP5 six times in the hip bringing him down to his knees before feeling a sharp pain in his side and noticing that before the Cholo fell he shot him four times in the stomach with his MP5.
"Fucking puto." The downed Azteca member yelled out as directed his fire on a group of gangster causing them to duck for cover. He was then silenced as a gangster with an AK-47 blindly fired from cover and struck him several times in the torso.
"All you motherfuckers are dead, do you know whose product you're fucking with" asked a gangster armed with a Desert Eagle as he fired three shots at Ernesto who quickly broke for cover.
"Yeah and your boss fucked with the Azteca's and Onda so he's gonna pay for it." Ernesto yelled out before firing several shots at the man with the Desert Eagle and quickly blew his arm from its socket.
"Never heard of them or you, but that won't matter in a few hours." Yelled the man with the AK as he shot at Ernesto who took cover while reloading his Rifle just as the other Azteca was shredded in a hail of bullets.
"You're all alone now so I suggest you bring your fucking ass out amigo." Yelled the man with the AK and his order was followed Ernesto did come out long enough to fire a single shot from his .44 Magnum and blow a hole clean through his head before ducking back down to cover.
"Shit he killed E, fuck that bitch-." Started another gang member before he was interrupted by several shots striking him in the back courtesy of Cheetah who led Task and the others through the front of the warehouse and quickly cut down the remaining 4th Ward gangsters.
"About time Carnale." Said Ernesto as he smiled at seeing the group as they approached him.
"Got a little caught up back there." Stated Primo as the group quickly watched as the Azteca members started going through the crates and quickly started getting pulling the packages of drugs from the crate.
"Alright we need to load this-." Started Ernesto before the sound of automatic fire ripped through the air and the group watched a Orgullo Marron member be hit ten times in the chest and blown backwards onto a table and falling onto of brick of Cocaine while the bullets ripped through the powdery substance and had it floating through the air.
"I guess they had guys close by." Said Task as he and Adahy layed down covering fire outside the warehouse where they noticed three cars with nine armed gangsters outside shooting into the building.
"Lay these Mayates out." Yelled Miguel as he broke one of the window with the butt of his M16A2 Assault Rifle before sticking the barrel out the hole and firing several shots outside and striking a man with a Mossberg four times in the chest and once in the head.
"They're coming in from the back." Yelled out Primo as he shifted the fire from his Remington 870 and racked the Shotgun three times and striking two gang members as they came rushing through the door while Ernesto cut down the last with a single shot from his .44 that blew a hole through the man's chest.
"Cheetah." Yelled Primo earning the attention of the Orgullo Marron member who watched as Primo tossed his Shotgun at him and quickly directed him to the backdoor.
"Stupid ass Chavalas." He yelled out before firing a slug and striking a man in the neck before moving up and using a crate for cover so he could shoot down any more gangsters who came through the back door.
"Almost got it." Said Task as he looked down the sight of his Submachine Gun and fired a series of shots aimed at the gas tank of one of the cars, quickly striking it, and watching it go up in a loud violent explosion that knocked five of the gangsters off their feet.
"Hell yeah!' he yelled out while Adahy fired his AK at the other car blowing out the windows and striking one man twice in the chest.
"Motherfucker got me." The wounded gangster yelled out as he tried to crawl away from the shooting before being struck once in the head by Task.
"That all you got come on putos." Yelled Miguel as he fired off his Rifle and struck a man once in the neck and another several times in the chest before reloading.
"You're mine." Yelled a 4th Ward member armed with a Mini-Uzi as he fired jumped from cover and fired a barrage of rounds at Miguel forcing the man away from cover and striking a Orgullo Marron member six times in the chest and face before he turned on his heels and started running from the fighting while Miguel struggled to shoot him.
"Forget him, that Cobarde ain't worth the trouble." Stated Ernesto. "Start loading everything up, we need to go before these Chavalas make another move." He yelled out earning nods from the group before they quickly started to load up the drugs.
Elsewhere
The drive back to the home of Malik and his grandmother wasn't long for Alison as she parked her car in front the home before quickly stepping out and making her way to the front door and knocking on it.
To her shock though the door was slightly opened and the lock was busted open almost like someone had kicked the door open.
Seeing this quickly made Alison draw her gun before calling for backup and then making her way inside of the house where she quickly caught the familiar smell of blood as she entered the living room.
"Oh god." She said while putting her hand over her mouth in disgust and horror at the sight before her.
There on the now blood stained carpets lie the body of both Malik and his Grandmother. They both were lying face down in the carpet with bullet holes in the back of their heads.
They had both been shot execution style but the sight that unnerved and scared Alison was the sight of Malik's grandmother. She had her shirt ripped off and into her back there was a message that had been carved deep into her back that simply read.
"HELLO PIGS!"
Authors Note: And there's one big cliffhanger for everyone that I hope all of you liked. One thing I didn't do in the first war of New Arcadia I didn't have all my main characters fighting separate villain's Mark, Lee, and Alison were all fighting the Ballas while Task was fighting the Dixie's.
With this part I want things to go different Mark and Lee will be fighting the Vagos, Azteca's, and later on Joe and the BGA, Task will be helping the Vagos and Azteca's fight against Joe and the BGA, and Alison will be more focused on hunting the new Serial Killer in New Arcadia as he continues his bloodbath across the city.
One of the things I like about cop show is when the level of criminals they may face from gang bangers, to rapist, to thieves, to serial killers and we've seen Alison take down gangsters but going after this serial killer will push her and test her mentally and physically like she's never been tested before.
The car chase scene with Mark, Courtney, Viktor, and Miller was somewhat based off the car chase scene from Four Brothers. One of the reasons for featuring that wasn't just to show off the closeness Mark is developing with Courtney, the war between the 4th and 17th Ward, but also because if you've read the last chapter of Onkwehonwe's chapter of Concrete Jungle you'll know that his character Neto payed a visit to New Arcadia and killed off both Miller and Viktor.
Obviously this happens in a later chapter, but just know their deaths are coming and he showed how Neto killed them while I will show how Mark will react to it. Since the both of us have both of our stories in the same universe as GTA Online it'd pretty much be a waste not to have our two stories collide at least once.
The reason for Neto being in New Arcadia is to assist Onda in the war against the BGA. One of the things the war with the Ballas didn't have was serious losses on Mark's side and I wanted to have more of that in this war with Mark now having the deck stacked against him. Joe basically has thrown him to the wolves and he's got a dangerous foe like Neto to face along with Ernesto, Miguel, Muujai, and he doesn't have Task and Adahy to back him up because they'll be assisting the Vagos.
So initially this war is basically Mark and what remains of his BSU with Lee, Buck, Felix, Link, Manfred, Davey, and Eddy. If you look at in on paper the odds aren't looking in his favor and that's what I want.
The scene with shooting range with Mark was similar to Deadshot's Gun Range scene in the movie Suicide Squad. Deadshot has always been one of my favorite Anti-Heroes in comics along with The Punisher, Wolverine, Spawn, Deadpool, and Rorschach. And occasionally I give some of these traits to many of my characters and with Mark he's not the man that never misses like Deadshot but he's still skilled shot.
You may have noticed Lee has some treats of Deadpool like being a trash talking asshole from time to time and in some of my other stories my characters are sort of the same.
The stances Mark took while shooting was something a friend of mine in High School showed me. His dad was an Ex-Marine who thought that the Zombie Apocalypse would soon come. He taught him how to shoot his M4 Carbine and he showed us how to shoot it. Naturally as an amateur I failed on the first attempt and damn near dislocated my shoulder. In fact the way I described the way Quick was shooting was similar to the way I was shooting, expect I wasn't shooting from the hip and spraying wildly. They described my shooting was horrible but our other friend was straight horrible.
The city of Metra is based off Metairie in Jefferson Parish which is another place with a large number of Mexicans and Honduran residents and would fit as a breeding ground for a gang.
I also introduced a new character in Cheetah who is visually based off one of my favorite Mexican American Actors Reynaldo Gallegos who played Carlos Acosta on Gang Related and Fiasco on Sons of Anarchy.
Stick around for next chapter as Alison copes with the deaths of Malik and his grandmother, the Killer leaves another striking message to the FIB, Mark and Lee cross paths with Ernesto and Miguel, and Task and Adahy find them fighting alongside the Azteca's and Vagos as they make their move on the 3rd Ward and leaving them in crosshairs of the Roman Boyz led by Maurice and Marrick Roman.
Thank you all for reading stick around for next chapter, be sure to check out my story Into the Deadlands on Fictionpress if you're looking for a Zombie Story to read, also check out Onkwehonwe's story Concrete Jungle to see learn more about Neto and see how he'll shake things up in New Arcadia, and check out his new story on Fictionpress Labyrinth if you have time.
Have a great night Zilla 2000 Out.
