Chapter 33: An Ending War In New Arcadia
A New War Begins
New Arcadia (Two Days Later)
The sun seemed to be shining on this new day in New Arcadia as Felix found himself finally out of Ernesto's home at a restaurant in the Rose District with Loka, Task, Adahy, and Miguel. The group mostly was just looking to get Felix out of the house while also taking their minds off Primo's death.
The former Azteca was a good Carnale to all of them and the way he died seemed fucked up at best. He wasn't just killed like any banger he was executed like a dog for everyone to see in front of women and children by the National Guard who also killed seven more people including a man who was just trying to defend the group. It was a sickening sight and message for them all.
As Felix found himself looking up at the news report on a television at the back of the restaurant he couldn't help but to notice with the others the story they were displaying.
"Tensions seemed to still be mounting between the communities in New Arcadia and members of the National Guard as this morning a man armed with only a knife was detained by the soldiers who claimed he was seeking retribution for their actions." A dark brown haired news reporter said as they showed amateur footage of the scene.
"The Hispanic communities in New Arcadia seem to be the most hurt by this and are looking to get the National Guard to end their occupation in New Arcadia-." she started while Miguel gave a loud scoff.
"I hate that fucking term." He shot out with anger in his tone just as the image on the screen changed to a woman of Honduran with long curly black hair and dark sun-kissed skin.
"We are just trying to live our lives in this city and raise a family but we aren't getting that with bullets flying over our heads every night. First we have New Arcadia gangsters taking shots at us and burning down our homes for the actions of a few but now we have the National Guard who seems to be playing favorites." She pointed out with anger in her tone.
"That's what I'm saying." Added Loka as she looked to Felix.
"Trust me, Mark and Ana have a hand to play in this." He stated earning the attention of everyone at the table.
"You think he bought off a few of the National Guard?" asked Task as a picture of the suspected Guardsmen who've been missing over the last few days showed on the screen.
"Bought them off or got them to disappear, it's his MO." The Quechan replied while looking to the television.
"Is killing babies apart of his new MO?" asked Adahy with a hint of anger in his tone. They weren't there to see it and many of them Task included couldn't believe that Mark had a hand to play in the death of Isabela and her baby by who they believed to be Marco and Charlie.
"He's never done it before, but even if he didn't do the cutting himself this bloods on his hands." Said Felix as he gave a low wince at the feeling of the burns on his back causing him a little pain.
"That fucking Mayate better hope we don't come across him or else-." Started Miguel before he was interrupted by Adahy who's eyes had widened before him.
"Well look who I see." Adahy shouted out causing the group to turn their heads and notice two familiar BSU members making their way into a liquor store across the street. "Isn't that Davey and Eddy?" Adahy asked before turning to Felix.
"Yeah it is." The man of Quechan descent pointed out before moving to rise to his feet to Loka's dismay.
"Don't try to be macho idiota." She said causing Felix to let out a low chuckle.
"I wish you'd stop calling me that." He said before finally standing up on both feet with Miguel and Adahy rising up with him. "You guys want to send Mark a clear message?" he asked earning nods from the group before they turned to Task who reluctantly rolled his eyes before standing from the table and moving to follow them out of the restaurant with Loka rolling after them.
As the group slowly went Task drew his cellphone and quickly sent a text message to Mark warning him about what was about to happen to Davey and Eddy. He was still playing a double aent for Ana and he knew if Davey and Eddy turned up dead things would be bad for him so he decided to give the youngest Roman his heads up before it happened.
As the group of brown gangsters entered the liquor store they quickly spotted Davey and Eddy standing by the deli area ordering food from a Vietnamese woman.
"Hey assholes." Adahy yelled out earning the attention of both men who immediately went wide eyed at the sight before them.
"Oh shit!" Davey and Eddy both yelled as Adahy and Miguel led the charge towards them and caused them to get in their fighting stances before being completely overwhelmed by the duo with Davey fighting Miguel and Eddy holding his own against Adahy while the Vietnamese woman screamed loudly.
Despite being taken by surprise Davey seemed to be holding his own well against Miguel as he threw two punches to the man's face and forced him back before Miguel shouldered tackled him into a shelf filled with chips and started to pound into him.
"You're fucking with the wrong people." Davey said before headbutting Miguel and forcing him off him before rolling onto the floor and hitting the man twice in the face.
With Eddy things were different he maybe six feet tall but Adahy was taller at six foot four and he also had more size in the muscles department. To make it worse Adahy was a underground fighter in New Arcadia while Eddy had barely any real combat training aside from what he'd learned in fights. So the duo was an ultimate mix-match.
"Fucking baby killing bitch." Adahy yelled out while throwing two punches at the face of Eddy forcing him back before slamming Eddy head first into the glass door of one of the refrigerators where the drinks were.
As Adahy went to approach the fauxhawked BSU Member Eddy was ready and quickly grabbed a can of Sprunk and spun around with enough force that when the aluminum beverage can hit the side of Adahy's face it literally blew up and splashed sticky lemon smelling liquid onto the face and into the hair of the Creek Warrior who had to take a few steps back as blood dripped from his cheek.
"Cheap shot taking-." Adahy started before looking up and watching as Davey grabbed another can of Sprunk and tossed it at him catching him in the center of the face and knocking him backwards with the force of the can exploding across his face.
"Say it don't spray it." Eddy yelled out through the blood leaking from his forehead before he turned to Davey who was balling up in a corner while Miguel pounded into his back.
"Hey asshole catch." Eddy yelled before tossing the can and hitting Miguel square in the mouth with the force of the can actually blooding his mouth and causing him to grab his mouth and giving Davey a moment to act as he threw two punches to the man's face before kicking him away and causing him to fall backwards into a Slushy machine.
As Eddy went to throw another can soda that unintendedly hit Task in the side of the head he was quickly taken off guard by two can of sardines hitting him square in the mouth courtesy of Felix and Loka who caused the BSU member to turn his head and eye them angrily before quickly approaching only to be stopped as Adahy grabbed a bottle of beer and slammed it over the head of Eddy knocking him back and causing more blood to leak from the side of his head.
"Fucking piece of shit." Adahy yelled out before throwing several punches into the face of Eddy until his nose was broken and blood was oozing from his mouth before he was taken off-guard by Davey jumping on his back and putting him in a sleeper hold.
Davey's chokehold was locked in tightly but he wasn't the first person to try and put the Creek Warrior in a chokehold and he knew he wouldn't be the last so Adahy quickly responded by running backwards and ramming Davey's back against the wall of the store before reaching behind his back grabbing Davey by both of his arms and flipping him forward until he came down back first and hard on the top shelf of a series of shelves filled with junk food with enough force to send him crashing through all four shelves until he hit the concrete ground hard.
The sound of the shelves breaking was loud and seemed to send a disgusting sound throughout the store that even froze the Vietnamese cashier as she and the others looked at the sprawled out body of Davey who lay helpless on the ground with a blank expression on his face and blood leaking from his mouth.
"Fucking bitch." Said Adahy as he spit on the chest of Davey while Miguel stood up wiping the blood from his mouth before approaching the large Native.
"Let's get to sending that message." Said Miguel as he grabbed a broken beer bottle and stand over the downed Davey only to be stopped by a bag of chips hitting him square in the face and causing him to lift his head and notice a familiar Chinese and Creole men standing at the front of the store.
"Well look whose here." Said Adahy as he eyed both Lee and Mark angrily while the two men looked at the downed Davey and Eddy.
"You have ten seconds to step away from them or else we're putting you all on your asses." Said Mark with a hint of anger in his tone as he eyed Adahy closely.
"You're not calling shots anymore in this Mark." Adahy yelled out while eyeing Mark angrily.
"We gave you the benefit of the doubt of not going after you despite you choosing your side in this war, but I guess now we don't have to hold back against you anymore." Mark said with a hint of anger in his tone while Lee turned to Felix who was standing protectively over Loka.
"Hey Felix how's that brand feel?" he asked with a chuckle in his tone while noticing Loka move closer to the man of Quechan descent. "Hold on…is that really why you betrayed us Felix?" Lee asked causing everyone to turn their heads to Felix and Loka. "You gotta be fucking kidding me out of all the pussy in the barrio you went after the one with her own handicap sticker." He pointed out with a slight chuckle.
"And whose fault is that?" Loka asked.
"Yours if you ask me, you know there's always the gangster in the wheelchair and it just so happens to be your ass." The Chinese man shot back with a laugh. "I'm actually surprised you haven't just rolled into traffic yet, dudes have a hard time being in wheelchairs but I can only imagine how hard it is for you." He added.
"Shut up Lee." Felix yelled out while Lee continued his verbal assault.
"Hey do you lie awake at night asking yourself to be killed because imagine what all you've survived and what all you're living with. You watched your brother and friends get slaughtered by Mark and cut apart to be eaten by some cannibals, dumped in a swamp, and now you can't even take a shit without someone being in the bathroom with you. Talk about the fucked up life." Lee points out with a smile.
"I'm warning you." Felix added while Loka continued to sit in silence with her head.
"I'll tell you what after we're done here I'll happily roll you back into that swamp that was supposed to be your tomb and this time I'll make sure to cut your wrist so you'll be serving a purpose to the alligator. Hey since you're legs don't work will he get a full meal or half?" Lee asked with a sick chuckle.
"A BABY KILLER LIKE YOU DOESN'T DESERVE TO TALK!" Felix shouted to the confusion of Mark and Lee who watched the Mexican man run at them despite his injuries with anger in his eyes and face. "THIS IS FOR CHEETAH, PRIMO, ISABELLA, AND EVERYONE ELSE YOU FUCKERS HURT!" Felix yelled out while moving to punch Lee but his body still wasn't fully healed from the burning so the Chinese man was easily able to sidestep him before throwing a hard knee strike into the center of Felix's chest.
"First rule always target the weak points." Lee shot out before dropping an elbow strike in the center of Felix's already hurt back just over his bandages and causing him to shout out in pain before Lee repeated the process only for Miguel to run at the Chinese man and tackle him to the ground while Mark and Adahy continued to stare each other down.
"It's just you and me." The Creek Warrior said while Mark shook his head.
"No it's not." Mark pointed out to the man's confusion only for Adahy to be taken off-guard by a piece of cold steel slamming across the center of his back and causing a stinging feeling to wash over his entire body while a loud clanging sound filled the room as the Creek turned his head around and noticed Buck standing behind him with a steel folding chair in hands.
"Why you-." Adahy started only to be stopped by another chair shot that caught him in the side of the head courtesy of Jimmy who watched as Adahy struggled to stay on his feet while Buck tossed his chair to Mark who quickly caught it and slammed it over the back of Adahy with enough force to create another loud clanging sound.
"I'll be damned if I fight your ass straight up, you don't deserve a fair fight after them." Mark yelled out before moving to punch Adahy once in the face and causing a cut to form on his cheek while Jimmy handed him his chair and watched as Mark hit Adahy again across the back with the chair.
"Come on baby boy daddy ain't here to help you." Lee pointed out only for Miguel to swing and catch him three times in the face bloodying the Chinese man's mouth and causing Lee to kick Miguel in the abdomen to get him to fall backwards.
"I'm gonna break your fucking spines like I did your friends." Miguel pointed out while spitting blood causing Lee's eyes to widen at the news. He along with the others had assumed Neto was responsible for all the pain Viktor and Miller had felt over their course of being tortured so to hear that Miguel had a hand in it as well seemed to drive the Chinese man mad as he growled at Miguel who was taken off-guard by Buck swinging his steel chair, hitting him in the center of his back, and causing him to fall forward with his arms outstretched while Lee charged him and knocked the Azteca to the ground before beginning to pound into his face.
"Stand up from this." Mark yelled out as he repeatedly hit Adahy in the back, stomach, shoulders, arms, and legs with the steel chair until it was almost bent up. The New Arcadia Creole even resorted to thrusting the top of the chair into the midsection of Adahy almost to the point where the Creek Warrior was spitting blood from his mouth.
"Let's end this." Mark said while looking to Buck who handed his chair while Lee drew a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed Miguel's hand before handing him from the top of a counter leaving him with both of his arms outstretched over his head and exposing his midsection while Lee moved behind the counter.
"Mind if I borrow this?" Lee asked the cowering Vietnamese woman before grabbing her heavy wooden broomstick and breaking off the bottom in and just leaving him with a hard heavy stick.
"Task get up." Loka yelled out while looking to the Lakota who was still knocked out from the can of drink hitting him in the side of the head. The hit he took was hard and actually knocked him out so the Lakota was unaware of what was about to transpire but if he could stop it he definitely would because if he could see Jimmy and Buck holding Adahy's head down on the hard counter of the store while Mark stood over him with the steel chair he would have most definitely intervened.
"Felix." The woman then turned to Felix who seemed to be frozen in pain from the shot he took to the back that hit him in his burns. He didn't have to remove his bandages to know his injuries were probably worse now with the hit.
A loud clacking sound quickly captured the attention of the female Azteca as she turned her head and noticed that Lee had slammed the hard end of the broomstick into the side of Miguel causing him to shout out in pain from the hit while a red sore was starting to form where the stick had impacted.
"This is what happens when you fuck with our brothers. First Link now Davey and Eddy so now you gotta feel it and don't worry this maybe the Rose District but it's still the 3rd Ward and ain't no cops coming for another five minutes." Lee yelled out before swinging the broomstick almost like it was a bat and hitting Miguel again in the side before doing it again and again until there was literally blood leaking from a small wound the man's side that had developed from his skin splitting open.
As Loka watched in sadness and pain she was then taken off-guard by a loud clanging sound that got the attention of everyone in the store as Mark brought the chair down on the top of Adahy's head smushing it between the hard counter top and the hard metal of the chair and causing him to fall back onto the ground literally gazed from the shot.
Mark then responded by hitting him again in the head with the chair before letting him hit the ground with blood leaking from the top of his head and staining the white tiled floor of the store while Felix looked on with fear, sadness, and anger in his heart as he eyed Mark angrily before noticing the man moving over to Loka.
"NO!" he shouted before moving to stand back up only to be stopped by Jimmy slamming his chair against his back and causing Felix to again shout out again in pain while Mark kneeled before Loka who merely spit in his face causing Mark to smile before grabbing her by her hair and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"If you want everyone here to live, I suggest you start talking to me about this baby killer thing." Mark said while eyeing the woman who seemed frozen in fear.
1 Hour Later
"Outta the way." Yelled Ernesto as he ran through the halls of New Arcadia General Hospital with Cruz and Neto as they forced their way through a series of people before arriving at a room where Miguel, Felix, Loka, and Task where located.
"Fucking shit what happened?" Ernesto asked while approaching Miguel who was lying unconscious with bandages wrapped around his side.
"We saw two of Mark's guys going into a store in the Rose District. Adahy, Miguel, and Felix went to fight them and they were winning…until Mark showed up." Loka stated while looking to the group.
"Where is Adahy now?" asked Cruz with concern in his voice.
"Damn near in a fucking coma Mark beat him over the head with a chair to the point where he died on the way over here until they brought him back." She pointed out.
"What happened after that?" asked Ernesto.
"He asked me why we called them baby killers. He went quiet for a few seconds before telling that Chino to call an ambulance Felix and the others." She replied to the group's confusion.
'Why would he want an ambulance to come and save them?" Ernesto asked with a raised brow.
"Does it matter we need to strike back at that mixed blooded Mayate for this shit." Shouted Cruz with anger in his tone.
"We can't just go after Mark and his crew like we did in the past the National Guard will come after us and we'll have more problems." Stated Ernesto.
"Well we can't just let this go unanswered." Cruz shot back just as Neto's cellphone started to ring causing the former Zapatista to move to answer it.
"Who is this?" he asked before hearing an unfamiliar voice on the other end of the phone.
Present (Red Stick Ten Days Later)
Things were starting to return to Mark as he slowly opened his eyes and realized he was lying face down on the bed of the groups clubhouse in Red Stick. It wasn't safe for him or any of the other BSU members to stay at their home in New Arcadia after the Azteca's paid him a visit.
As Mark slowly started to rise up from his prone position he couldn't help but to admit that every organ and muscle in his body felt like it had just been shot crushed by a Mini-Van. Neto had forced him to take Heroin until he overdosed, but Alison brought him back from the brink of death even after fifteen minutes of being dead.
He was alive but he was feeling the affects of it. His heart had stopped and the lack of oxygen to his brain did cause some minor brain damage to him that could have been worse if Alison didn't perform CPR on him. He still had some problems with remembering and his nerves did hurt every few seconds and from time to time he had to remember how to move. The doctors said these problems would be gone in a few days but some damage may remain.
In the past few days though Mark was getting better, but his body did still ache and he did go through the stages of heroin withdrawal and he'd admit that had to be one of the most unpleasant life experiences he's ever been through.
"Damn!" the Creole said while slowly moving to throw his legs over the bed only to be caught off-guard as his bedroom door opened and he noticed a familiar redheaded woman standing on the otherside wearing a pair of black running shorts and a white t-shirt.
"Don't!" Alison said without giving a formal greeting and only giving the youngest Roman a serious look that made him chuckle.
"Sorry, but the doctor said I have to move around some days." Mark replied before slowly standing up on his feet and moving to walk towards Alison who stood by with her arms folded across her chest as Mark made his way over to her. He was moving at his normal speed but he didn't want to go out in a full sprint less me may he lose his balance and fall.
"See!" he said while smiling at Alison.
"Hard-head." She said before making her way to the back of the clubhouse where Mark followed her with a slow stride.
It had been a long couple of days for him with the attack that killed Primo, taking out Adahy, jumping Neto, getting sent to tribal jail and spending a few days in lockup, and the OD and things only seemed to be getting worse as he turned his head to a television that was showing the news.
"Violence and protesting is still high in the city of New Arcadia these last couple of days. First it was with the National Guard's questionable raid on a Hispanic Community in Lincoln Parish then it was followed by a series of murders across the city." The news woman stated causing Mark to keep his eyes on the TV while Alison turned back to look at him.
"First it was with the death of 20 year old Tricia Palms who was found raped and strangled just a few short days ago in New Arcadia. The news of the girls brutal death went wide and many protestors descended on New Arcadia in search of the young girls killer." She started just as a video started to play on the news. This video featured a well-dressed Caucasian man with short brown and wearing a grey pants suit. Mark recognized this man as being James Weston the leader of the Dixie Union of America.
"Uncalled for, that's the only phrase that comes to mind when I think of this heinous crime. A young woman who had a long life ahead of her is dead solely because she made the wrong kind of friends-." He started causing Mark to give a low growl.
"Dixie Union of America. I've never heard of them before." Stated Alison as she eyed the man on the television.
"Dixie Union is basically the Klan." Replied Mark earning Alison's attention. "A few years ago a couple of their members spray painted "God Hates Niggers," one the side of a church in the 9th Ward and a couple of their members were accused of killing a woman during Hurricane Katherine." He pointed out to Alison's shock.
"When he says made the wrong kind of friends, that's what racist white people say when white people turn up dead and blame their black friends." He said to Alison's confusion.
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"New Arcadia isn't a big city and I knew that girl. She got around in the hood, she didn't go out with the hood niggas just the guys who could make it." Mark replied while Alison nodded her head before turning back to the television.
"Police named Darius Roux, an honor student at New Arcadia University and a well-known Homosexual, as the lead suspect in the case for being the man last seen with her. Before Roux could be taken into custody though he later turned up dead as the result of a hate crime in New Arcadia and DNA test from Tricia's body proved him innocent." The reporter continued. "This still didn't stop hundreds from New Arcadia and Red Stick's African American community from taking to the streets and protesting over the man's death." The screen then flashed to that of an African American man wearing a black suit, glasses, and red, black, and green Kufi then took the stage.
"This is a horrible crime, a young brother who was making something of himself is accused of killing some young white girl and is brutally killed for it. And do the police do something about it…I see more black and whites shaking down young black men then going into those upscale white neighborhoods and asking them questions." He yelled out.
"Did you know him?" she asked.
"Yeah he grew up in the 3rd right around the corner from us. He and Martin were good friends and wanted to stay away from the life and we accepted that…it hurts to see him go out like that." Mark replied while clenching his fist angrily. Alison could see the hurt and pain his eyes from the news of the boys death and she could tell he was pissed off about it almost to the point of acting.
"Just days later New Arcadia was struck by another tragic death when another New Arcadia University student was killed. This one was Maya Pham who was found in a park with a gunshot wound to the head and signs of being brutally raped. Her accused killers Jamal Pierce and Arnold Lansdale are still at large but the cities Asian American community are up in arms." The picture then changed to an elderly Vietnamese man who had assimilated to America wearing a black suit with grey hair, dark brown skin, and looking at the camera with an angry look on his face.
"Enough is enough for too long the Asian American Community has played victim to all manner of men within the city of New Arcadia and across the country and we're fed up with it. This heinous crime needs to be solved and stop looking at us Asian American's like we're the group to be picked on with no-." the man started before the feed was cut Alison was taken by surprise by this but Mark knew it was coming whenever there was civil unrest within the Asian American communities the media barely covered it mostly because they knew covering it was a snore fest because it was all talk with no action.
It was interesting though because through the crowd of Asian Americans in New Arcadia the sight of a familiar Chinese American BSU member standing in the crowd seemed to easily catch the attention of Mark and Alison.
"Did Lee know her?" Alison asked while sending a look to Mark who gave a loud scoff.
"He didn't know her, but he did know her brother." Mark replied. "Her brother is a soldier in the Vietnamese Mob." Mark replied to Alison's shock.
"Viet Family?" She asked with a raised brow.
"On the East Coast they're called Destined to Murder, but down here we just call them the Viet Family or Vietnamese Mob or at least I do anyway." Mark replied while leaning against the table in the living room. "New Arcadia has had a pretty big Vietnamese population since after the war so it only makes for them to be here. The Vietnamese in the city are small and there are only about three gangs that fall under them but they have a lot of power within the Asian community in New Arcadia." He finished while Alison continued to eye him closely. It seemed almost unreal to her that there could be such an organization within the city.
"So what do you think is gonna happen?" Alison asked as Mark looked out the window of the house before retorting.
"Those guys accused of the rape were never caught." He started earning Alison's attention. "They were never caught because Joe's hiding them." He finished to her shock. "Whenever we need to lay low for a few days until time passes over there's a place Joe likes to send guys to hide and protects them and I figure these guys are no different." Mark replied before Alison watched a wide smile graciously pass his face.
"Which is one of the things I'm gonna find interesting today." He added to her confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asked with a raised brow.
"The Vietnamese are gonna sitdown with Joe later today and they're gonna want both guys involved in that rape. I can see it now, the BGA won't want to give up the black guy and only offer the white guy and the Vietnamese will take that as a sign of disrespect and go out and take him themselves." Mark stated.
"Starting a new war between Black and Asian." Alison pointed out.
"Maybe or maybe not, Joe gets his drugs from the BGA who gets them from a Cartel but Joe get's heroin from the Vietnamese to sell that the BGA doesn't know about so that money goes directly to his pocket. So as you can tell this is gonna be a funny negotiation." Mark let out with a chuckle.
"Wil Lee be there?" The FIB Agent asked while Mark looked away from her.
"Great I want you all to get out of a war and now you're being dragged into another." Alison yelled out with anger in her tone and somewhat startling Mark who watched her make her way into the kitchen while he sent a look to the television where he saw three groups of protestors in Downtown New Arcadia.
After a few seconds of eyeing the television the youngest Roman finally broke his gaze away from the television and made his way into the kitchen where he noticed Link making his way into the living room.
"I miss anything?" he asked while running his hands through his dyed red hair. Ever since the incident with him robbing a number of people across New Arcadia, the once blonde haired man was now lying low. He stayed mostly inside and had to dye his hair red just to keep from being recognized after his face was plastered all over the news.
He didn't like the new look, but it was coming along well with the group especially Jimmy who didn't feel so alone being the only Ginger in the group anymore.
"Nothing out of the ordinary." Mark replied while making his way to Alison while Link moved to answer the door after hearing a knock on the otherside of it.
As Mark entered the guest room he quickly noticed Alison sitting on the edge of the bed with her head down in her hands before quickly approaching her with an emotionless look in his eyes. The youngest Roman then kneeled down before the FIB Agent and planted a quick kiss on the top of her forehead before pulling her head down on his shoulder.
"Don't worry I'm not going anywhere." He said in a reassuring tone. "I prom-." He then started to make his normal promise but before he could get the words out he was taken off-guard by a new voice entering the fray.
"Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep Marcus." Stated Ana causing both Mark and Alison to look back at the woman who was standing in the doorway with her usual half-smile and he her hand on her hip.
"Mind telling us where you've been?" he asked with a hint of anger in his tone. It's been almost a week since he saw the Chinese IAA Agent and in the time of him being drugged he had to admit he was kinda worried about her.
"I do have other matters to see to Marcus not just yourself." She replied while moving over to the youngest Roman to look him over before rubbing his cheek and then turning to Alison. "You took care of him well." She stated while looking to the IAA Agent.
"It's becoming a hobby." She jokingly replied with a slight chuckle while also wondering about the whereabouts of Ana.
"Why are you here?" asked Link as he quickly entered the room and leaned on the door.
"I like the new look." Ana said with a slight smile while Link rubbed his hair. "I need to take Mark for a few hours." She stated to the confusion of the group.
"Why?" asked Alison with much concern in her voice as she eyed the Chinese IAA Agent. "He's still too weak to do anything serious." She pointed out while looking to Mark who gave a low scoff. He still felt weak because of the overdose but he wouldn't doubt his abilities were still better than most.
"Don't worry he won't be doing anything that can get him killed or hurt." She stated with a smile. "Me and him just need to have one of our famous talks." she finished.
"Ah hell." Said Mark earning the attention of everyone. "She's gonna yell at me." He pointed out.
"I'm not gonna yell at you." Ana replied.
"Yeah you not gonna yell you gonna give me that stern talk like a disappointed mother." Mark shot back with Ana deciding to ignore him.
"So can I take Mark off your hands?" Ana asked while sending a look to Alison who remained silent before responding.
"Yeah you can take him." The FIB Agent replied while Mark sent her a disappointed look. In truth she didn't want the youngest Roman to leave, for his own safety and Ana's vague reason for taking him, but she had to relent, it had been a week since any of them saw Ana and she felt Mark needed time with the woman. "His guns stay here though." She added earning a slight nod from Alison.
"I can live with that." Ana said with a slight smile and a slow chuckle. "Where he's going and who he's meeting he won't be needing one. Plus we have a lot to discuss about what's been going on these last few days." She added to the group's confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Mark asked while looking to Ana with a raised brow.
Metra, Lincoln Parish
Things seemed to be going slow for Jimmy as he found himself sitting in the driver's seat of a black pickup truck while a black duffel bag rested in the passenger seat beside him.
The redheaded BSU member was deep in Azteca territory and had been sitting there since finding out about what happened to Mark. He was out for revenge and Lee would be here him helping him but the Chinese American man had other matters to attend to. The racial violence in New Arcadia was getting out of hand with white angry at black, black angry at white, and yellow angry at both black and white and it seemed to be getting worse.
He had been listening to the song The Broken by Fireball Ministry for the last five minutes but the song had ended and as he changed the radio station he found an interesting news broadcast on KKKlassics Radio.
"A young woman was raped and killed in New Arcadia and nothing seems to be being done about it. These past few months these animals in New Arcadia have been running wild and even with the National Guard in the city and if the government can't protect us I say we-." The man on the radio started before Jimmy changed the station again and finding the song Worthy Amongst the Worthless by Coldrun.
He knew the radio station was basically run by the Dixon Union, or as Mark called them The New Age Klan. One of the ways Skinheads and White Nationalist got people to join their side was by taking advantage of the racial tension like this one to recruit followers into their cause. It was something they were known for and a tactic they used once to recruit him in Dockington after he was jumped by some black drug dealers.
When he told Mark about the Skinheads and getting jumped Mark took care of the dealers, but the BGA gave him a mission and he ended up shooting the recruiter six times in the back. It was his first solo kill and he still didn't know how to feel about it. The BGA had paid him three thousand for killing the man and Mark's Shotcaller, Barksdale, had given him a few choice words that still wrung out in his ears.
"I can deal with white people. We can eat in the same restaurants, go to the movies, and some of them can live in my hood…but they need to know the rules. The number one rule is ain't nobody gonna look at me like they better than me."
That phrase rang through Jimmy's head mostly because he felt like he was directing that mostly to he and Link since they were the only white boys that worked for him.
Jimmy didn't like White Nationalist for that reason and because his genes are mostly split between two groups Irish and Slavic. His grandfather was a Jewish Immigrant from a town that was once a part of the early Russian Empire. White Nationalist hated blacks, Catholics, and Jews especially so he saw great reason to hate them for it.
But he was gonna hate himself as well for what he was about to do.
As he looked out the front window of the truck he noticed a several Azteca's standing in front of a house talking amongst each other and cracking jokes while taking sips from a beer bottle.
"I guess it's show time." He said before looking down and further restraining the National Guard Uniform he was wearing and then moving for his duffel bag and pulling out an M4A1 Assault Rifle, M9A1 Beretta, two Hand Grenades, and a Combat Knife.
He didn't like what he was about to do not because he would be killing Azteca's, he had no problem with that and wanted revenge for Mark, Davey, and Eddy. No…he hated the role he had to play in order to get his revenge. Still he had received an order, not from Mark but from Ana so it was a must that he had to follow it, no matter how much he hated it.
After checking his guns the BSU member of Irish and Slavic descent quickly wrapped a black mask around his mouth and threw on a pair of dark sunglasses before jumping out the side of his truck and running to the house with the Azteca's with his Rifle raised.
"Get the fuck back across the border roaches." He yelled out earning the attention of the group who could only watch as he got into the shouldered firing stance that he and Mark were both known to take and fired off three shots that struck one Azteca, a man with a black wife beater and blue bandanna tied around his head cholo style in the twice in the chest and once in the arm.
He then shot the man with the beer bottle five times in the chest with the powerful 5.56 Rounds tearing through his shirt and coating the white walls on the outside of the small box house red while the sound of his beer bottle shattering as it hit the ground seemed to fill the ears of the stunned Azteca's as Jimmy moved into cover behind a car before shooting down the remaining men before starting to reload.
Jimmy wasn't in the Louisiana National Guard but he was once a member of the New Austin National Guard before becoming joining the Army Reserve. He hadn't seen combat like the Middle East but he was trained, not on the level of walking into an entire neighborhood and wiping it out like Mark but trained enough to hold his own in a gunfight.
After loading a fresh magazine into his Rifle the BSU member lifted his head and quickly spotted some Azteca's coming out of their homes armed with Pistols, Submachine Guns, and Shotguns.
"Come and get me fuckers." Jimmy yelled out before rolling over the hood of his car and firing off six shots that struck a man who was more than likely a Veterano in the face right at his upper lip and blew out a few of his teeth in the process.
"You fucking National Guard Putos are gonna pay for all this shit." Yelled an Azteca member who appeared to be mixed with Mexican and Salvadoran and who's skin was somewhat darker than most black people. Jimmy could even detect a hint of a slight Arizona accent in the way he talked.
"Guess they didn't get all of them." Said Jimmy as he put his Rifle on the hood of the car and fired off three shots that hit the man in the chest and left him sprawling forward before tripping and rolling across the ground.
After dropping another Azteca with a Shotgun with a headshot Jimmy was taken off-guard as six more came around the side of a house and managed to hit him four times in the back with all the shots hitting him in the vest.
"Damn!" Jimmy said as he lifted his Rifle and fired off the last seven bullets he had in the magazine and struck an Azteca six times in the chest before moving to grab one of the Grenades, pulling the pin with his teeth almost like an action hero, and then tossing the explosive into the group who tried to run away but was quickly taken off their feet and blow away by the explosion with one man losing both of his legs and another having a big chunk of shrapnel caught in the center of his back.
After taking down the group Jimmy loaded his last magazine into his gun. He had only brought the three because he was only supposed to drop a few bodies not wage a full-on war and then bail out as quick as possible but the redheaded man was in his own world and decided that just a few more bodies couldn't hurt.
After shooting down another Azteca he noticed three Glendale's making their way down the road towards his location. The Azteca's were bringing in reinforcements so he couldn't overstay his welcome. With that in mind he quickly fired off the last of his magazine into the windshield of the first Glendale killing both the passenger and driver who slammed his foot down on the petal in the process and rammed the Glendale into the side of someone's house.
"Oh shit!" Jimmy said hoping that a civilian wasn't inside the house. He like many of the other BSU members were still feeling down about Isabela and her dead baby. None of them had actually did the killing or knew about it but it still weighed on their heads.
Jimmy was then taken out of his thoughts as two more shots struck him in the side of his vest and caused him to roll to cover as he noticed a Mexican American man wearing a black wife beater with a tattoo of a Prayer Hand on his upper right arm run out of his home firing a AK-47 Assault Rifle at him. After being hit Jimmy immediately rolled to cover behind the side of a truck while the gangster showered it with rounds.
"Come on out and face your death you racist fucking gringo." The man yelled out as Jimmy drew his M9A1 Pistol and blindly fired four shots at the man who was wearing a vest of his own and managed to just shrug off the hits.
"You need to do better than that Cabron." He yelled out while Jimmy looked underneath the truck and noticed the legs of the man moving towards the truck and with that he noticed a clear shot and the BSU member took it.
"I Know!" he yelled out before falling flat on the ground and firing four shots that hit the gangster twice in his right foot blowing off his most of his toes, once in the ankle, and in the top of his leg causing him to scream out in pain at the shocked feeling before tumbling over and falling shoulder first on the ground.
"DAMN!" He yelled before looking up and noticing Jimmy lying under the truck eyeing him angrily with his Pistol aimed directly at him. "Oh Shit-!" he started before Jimmy pulled the trigger and fired a shot that went clean through the man's forehead and blew a huge chunk off the top of the man's head and sent his body flying backwards in the process.
After shooting the man the BSU member decided it was time for him to leave and as he went to hit head for his truck he was taken off-guard by three shots hitting him in the back causing him to look back at what was behind him. He was expecting to see more Cholo's but instead he saw three Chola's eyeing him with anger, hatred, sadness, and fear in their eyes as they gazed him down.
The first seems to have been the one to have shot him as she had a smoking Glock 17 in her hands aimed at him. She was a rather thick woman of Honduran descent with light brown skin, long curly black hair, bright brown eyes, dark black lipstick, and arched eyebrows while wearing a black spaghetti shirt that showed off her bust, black jeans, and white low top shoes.
The second was a lot more skinner and looked somewhat more innocent then the first as she stood looking at Jimmy with tears in her wide brown eyes. Her skin was around the same shade but her clothes were different unlike the first she was wearing a blue sports bra under a blue shirt with only the top buttons buttoned, khaki pants, and low top shoes.
The last was around the same shade as the first but her eyes were more squinted and gave her an almost Asian appearance and she appeared to be the youngest of the group and was wearing a blue shirt, black khaki shorts that hung down to reveal her thong, and black shoes.
"You killed our brother you fucking puto." The girl with the gun screamed out at Jimmy who only gave a low scoff.
"Bitch please, I've done a lot worse." He yelled out with more truth in his tone then he would like to admit. He'd killed their brother but in his life time he's orphaned children, widowed wives, and left once whole families broken in an instant. He didn't like to say it out loud but it was as true as it got.
This seemed to make the girl angrier as she quickly squeezed the trigger on her gun and shot Jimmy again in the vest and caused him to fall back into his truck before driving off while the woman continued to shoot after him.
"Shit!" Jimmy said while pulling out his cellphone and dialing Lee's number. "Yeah it's done brother." He replied.
Meanwhile
"Alright thanks brother." Lee said before hanging up his phone and then moving to lift his head up and notice Sonny talking with a man of Vietnamese descent with long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, black eyes hidden behind a pair of shades, and a black suit.
This man's name Donny Pham and he was the older brother of Maya Pham the young woman who was murdered a few days ago.
In the world of gangsters everything can seemed like a hit or a sign of disrespect and this situation didn't seem no different than any other. The Viet Family didn't know if Donny's sister was just another wrong place wrong time deal or a message that was to be sent to them directly. Either way it went though, they were out for blood and they would soon take it.
"Hey Sonny." Lee called out earning the attention of the Vietnamese man who quickly lifted his head to look at Lee before making his way over to the man.
"What's up Lee?" Sonny asked with a raised brow.
"Anything change since yesterday?" Lee aske earning a shake of the head from Sonny.
"No and the boys are getting tired of waiting." Sonny retorted. "The boss has finally been able to get in touch with Joe and setup a sit down but if things don't go our way-." He started before Lee interrupted him.
"I understand and I want you to know my loyalties are here." Lee stated earning a nod from the man.
"I'll hold you to that. You've been helping us for two years almost to the point where you're in the Family, but you should understand if guys are second guessing you because of your relationship with Joe and the Roman Family." He replied while Lee nodded his head.
"Understood but I wouldn't say Joe and the Roman Family are on the same page." Lee shot back to the man's confusion. "In a few hours, I'm gonna get a phone call with the location of these cocksuckers so have a team ready to leave on my say so." He finished earning a slight nod from Sonny.
"This to show your loyalty?" Sonny asked with a slight smile.
"Always brother." Lee shot back before watching Sonny walk back over to Donnie who eyed the Chinese man angrily. It was true there was some animosity to some members of the Viet Family towards Lee not only because he was Chinese but because of his relationship with Mark.
It was this reason that out of the two years Lee had been working under Sonny that he'd never met the actual boss of the Viet Family or even been in the same room as the man. It was something he didn't really care about but he still liked the idea of being respected.
Elsewhere
"I like how you give my guys assignments without me knowing about it." Mark stated while looking to Ana from the passenger seat of her car as they drove on the interstate and made their way into New Arcadia.
"There are matters for them to do as well, besides none of you like to keep still." Ana stated while Mark looked out the window of the car and noticed a few people protesting outside the car about these last few days of violence in the city.
"Why'd you bring me here, this isn't the best place for me to be right now." Mark asked while continuing to look out at the city he called his own. He was from here and in the past few days it was on the verge of tearing itself apart from the inside.
New Arcadia was a strong city, one of the strongest in the country. You never hear stories of Los Santos or Liberty City surviving things like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and ethnic clashes as still standing tall. New Arcadia was though, but it seems like this would be something that destroys it.
"I brought you here so you can see the cost of what your war is bringing down on everyone." She replied while Mark lowered his head. These protests started because of three unsolved murders but prior to that the city was already split with his war with brown.
"Every war has its collateral damage." He let out while Ana nodded her head.
"Yes but how much collateral damage are you willing to dish out." She shot out causing Mark to go silent while lowering his head in disappointment. "In a few hours Neto is gonna be on a plane back to Los Santos." She let out to Mark's shock as he looked up at her with confusion in her eyes.
"Mai was finally able to break through to Neto and now he'll be leaving and since he's leaving you can finally end this damn war." She stated earning a chuckle from Mark.
'Why would I do that, since he's gone I can finally wipe those fucking Ass-Takers off the fucking map?" he asked with a hint of venom in his tone.
"There has been enough blood spilled in this war Marcus and we don't need more because we have a bigger problem at hand." Ana let out while Mark gave her a confused look before noticing that they had arrived at their home in New Arcadia.
As they stepped out of the car Mark hesitated a bit before following Ana inside of the house where they noticed the door was a little bent off the hinges after being kicked open. As they entered the living room Mark quickly noticed that the living was partly trashed and to his shock there was still a small amount of the heroin he was forced to snort on the table.
Upon looking at it, Mark could feel his blood begin to boil and Ana could feel it as well as she watched as Mark slammed his fist down on the glass table with enough force to shatter it while looking at the broken glass with wild eyes.
"You have to understand me when I say I'm against this truce." Mark shot out while Ana nodded her head.
"I understand, but you have to understand when I say that both me and Alison are tired of seeing you hurt." Ana shot back while Mark lowered his head in anger before finally speaking out.
"You mentioned something else that we need to deal with, what is it?" Mark asked while eyeing Ana closely as she remained silent for a few seconds before speaking out.
"Patrick is the New Arcadia Serial Killer." She let out to Mark's shock and surprise.
"Are you sure?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Patrick was the one who killed that woman and her baby, and the look on his face after he'd done it…it was the look of a serial killer and I know it well." Ana let out while Mark looked to the ground.
"I don't understand how, why would he?" he asked with a raised brow.
"I talked to Devlin about him and he confirmed it." Ana stated to Mark's confusion.
"We now know Patrick as the New Arcadia Serial Killer, but a few years ago he went by another name…the Butcher of New England." She stated with Mark paying close attention to her.
"Patrick had a hard life, his father was a Jew and his mother was Irish. His father would beat him, his mother would beat him, he had a strict religious upbringing from both parents, and when he was nine he watched his dad beat his older brother to death and lie to police saying he fell down a flight of stairs." She started.
"Even with all of that he was able to make his way through college and get a job as an accountant all the while picking up and killing prostitutes across the Northeast. He even gave a detailed time where he chased a woman down in an ice cream truck before running her over and slicing her up to the point where the only parts of outside flesh was her breast." She stated. "After getting caught he was sentenced to life imprisonment…that was until Devlin saw a use for him." She finished.
"And what was that use?" Mark asked while watching Ana look away from him.
"To tear us apart." She replied to Mark's confusion.
"Patrick has been working for Devlin for a while now as a hired hitman in exchange for his freedom. He sent Patrick to New Arcadia to do what he does best…cause chaos and murder. He knew his actions would draw the attention of the FIB and Alison." She finished before looking back to Mark. "Devlin manipulated the system so that Ali would come back to New Arcadia with the hopes that with her here it would drive a wedge between you and me."
"Guess he didn't account for Alison being with Steve did he?" Mark asked with a slight smile.
"Yes, that's why he's tried to kill Steve. He has the belief that with Steve out of the way Alison will go back to you." She finished causing Mark to look at the ground before looking up with an angrily look in his eyes.
"Where is Patrick now?" Mark asked with anger in his tone.
"He's on his way to Liberty City with Charlie and Marco." She replied to Mark's confusion. "Marco's gang, the Dominican Trinities, were hit by a combined force of Marabunta and a Mexican gang in Liberty City called Pocos Pero Locos. Amongst them was a man that's been on the IAA's radar for a very long time, they call him Baba Yaga." She added to Mark's confusion.
"Baba Yaga, the Boogeyman." Mark let out while Ana nodded her head.
"He's Russian Mob and ex-KGB, killed a few of Marco's friends and left a threat. He even threatened me." She said causing Mark to eye her closely. "Neto is one thing, but we don't want to start a war with this man Marcus because I doubt even I can beat him." Ana stated causing Mark to lift his head at her remark.
"He's that dangerous?" he asked earning a nod from Ana.
"He killed one of Marco's girlfriends and made sure he listened as she screamed." She replied causing Mark's eyes to widen in shock and terror. He and Marco weren't that close, but he had to admit that was fucked up and could only imagine the anger the man must feel.
"Marco, Charlie, and Patrick are going to fight that?" asked Mark.
"No they're going to get payback on Marabunta and the Locos. They're gonna watch them for a while and then they're gonna strike, but Devlin has given Marco orders not to go anywhere near this man…at least not yet." She replied to Mark's confusion. "I don't want to go into too much detail about that just yet, but just know that Devlin hates someone more then you." She finished while Mark gave a low growl at the realization.
"I can't kill him, but I can kill Patrick." Mark shot out.
"No you can't." she replied to Mark's confusion. "We believe Patrick is behind all of this conflict in New Arcadia with these murders. He's done things like this before and we believe he has a few disciples under his wing carrying out kills for him." She finished.
"Damn…I kill him and-." Mark started before Ana interrupted him.
"His disciples walk up to Alison one day when she least expects it and slits her throat and then go to you." She replied while Mark angrily punched the wall and put a hole through it.
"GOD DAMN IT!" he yelled out with anger in his tone.
"If you won't end this war because of your pride end it because you have other matters to deal with. Patrick is the bigger threat and everything going on out there needs to be dealt with now." She finished causing Mark to give a low growl before speaking out.
"Do you have their Shotcallers number?" he asked.
"Ernesto already know's where the meeting is and he'll be meeting us in a few hours." Ana replied while folding her arms over her chest while looking away from Mark who turned to look at her with a serious expression.
"What?" the IAA Agent asked before looking back at him.
"Devlin did all this just to tear us apart." he stated while angrily clenching his fist.
"It seems that way." Ana replied before looking to Mark with a serious look on her face. "Would it have worked?" she asked causing Mark to look up at her and notice the emotionless look in her eyes.
"No." he replied to her shock. "Like I told Alison, she's my better half, but I need you." he started to Ana's confusion. "You've been in my corner since I was sixteen and I doubt I'd be alive right now if it wasn't for you." He stated before approaching Ana and quickly bringing the woman in for a tight hug.
"You're that breath of oxygen I need to go on and I can't imagine living without you." He finished earning a slight smile from Ana who wrapped her arms around Mark's while he planted a quick kiss on the top of her head.
"You always were a good sweet talker." Ana let out before placing her head on the center of Mark's chest while the Creole rubbed his nose in the top of her hair. "Were you afraid…of dying?" she asked with a slight whisper while Mark took a few seconds to respond.
"Of dying no…leaving Lee and the others, crushing Alison, and disappointing you yeah." He replied while Ana gave a confused sound at his remark.
"Disappointing me, what makes you think I would be disappointed?" she asked.
"I'm supposed to be your knight in battered armor and I can't be that if I'm dead especially from a damn overdose." He let out while Ana remained silent before grabbing him by his hands and leading him over to the couch. He then watched in surprise as Ana layed her back on the couch before grabbing him by his hands and pulling him down on top of her.
"You wouldn't disappoint me in dying, I'd be disappointed in losing you and knowing I could have prevented it." She let out while forcing Mark's head into her chest and wrapping her arms around his torso.
"Can we stay like this until the meeting?" he asked.
"For a few minutes, but after that there's something else I need you to do." She let out while Mark nodded his head before closing his eyes and taking in the smell and warmth of the woman.
Red Stick
With the departure of Mark and Ana Alison found herself still sitting in front of the television watching the news about the protest in New Arcadia when Link entered the room dressed to leave.
"Things aren't gonna change for the better there in a few hours you know." He said earning the attention of the woman.
"I know…there just isn't much else on." She shot back with a disappointed tone.
"You worried about Mark?" he asked with a raised brow.
"He left his guns and he's with Ana, but I don't know if that makes me feel any better or worse. He's not back at full strength and he's out in a world that wants him dead." She stated while lowering her gaze to the floor.
"Makes sense, but you need to relax Mark is a big boy and injured or not he can handle himself." He stated while Alison remained silent. "Hey why don't you come with me, getting out of the house may do the both of us some good." He offered causing Alison to look up at him.
"Where are you going?" she asked with a raised brow.
"To visit Davey and Eddy, they're getting out of the hospital today." Link replied while Alison nodded her head.
"Sure." She said with a half-smile mostly just because she wanted to take her mind off Mark, but realization soon hit her.
Davey and Eddy weren't the only people getting out of the hospital today.
Metra, Lincoln Parish
The drive to Metra wasn't long for Ernesto as he stepped out of his Tornado with Miguel, Felix, and Cruz and quickly noticed the police tape that seemed to wrap around the street along with several chalk outlines that seemed to be put in place around the neighborhood.
"The fuck is this?" asked Felix before he and the others noticed the three Chola's from earlier sitting on the side of the road with tears in their eyes before approaching them.
"Angel, Dede, Lady Joker what happened here?" asked Ernesto as he quickly approached the three women and noticed the youngest one dubbed Angel beginning to talk.
"They killed Noel." She let out with tears in her eyes before directing her gaze to a body that was placed under a white sheet.
"Shit!" said Miguel with anger in his tone.
"I guess this is retaliation for Mark." Cruz let out only for the heavier set girl named Lady Joker to speak up.
"it wasn't those fucking Mayates that did this shit, it was a fucking Gringo in the National Guard. I shot at the fucker but got away." She let out with anger in her tone as her tears caused her black makeup to drip down her face.
"Asshole just came in blasting the barrio up and dropping Vatos left and right." The third girl let out with a hint of rage in her tone that she used to drown out her sadness.
"These fucking shitheads need to pay for this." Miguel let out with anger in his voice. He had healed up well since the confrontation at the liquor store but he still had a permeant scar on his side from where he struck with the broomstick that he saw as a permeant reminder of his hatred for Mark and his BSU allies.
"Think first before saying shit like that mijo." Ernesto let out.
"No fuck that, these fuckers killed Primo and a bunch of other homies now they're just going around killing us for fun and I'm getting sick of this shit." he shot back while Ernesto eyed him angrily.
"We'll get our payback for this shit, but we won't get it running head first into the National Guard especially with Neto gone." he shot back with venom of his own.
"You think making peace with that IAA Puta will do that, how do we even know this isn't just a trap for her to avenge her side-dick." Miguel let out.
"He's got a point Ernesto." Felix let out while the group turned to face him. "Ana is more ruthless then Mark and this could be a play against us." he finished.
"You mentioned that already, but I figure if she hasn't killed us or our families yet maybe what she has to say is interesting ese." He replied before walking away from the group that remained in silence.
New Arcadia
The drive to the 4th Ward of New Arcadia wasn't long for Mark as he took in the familiar New Arcadia streets. He hated coming through the 4th Ward mostly because of his hatred for most guys from the 4th Ward. He didn't know exactly why he hated them but he figured it was instinctual since 4th and 3rd didn't get along.
He figured it was almost like Mexicans from Southern San Andreas vs Mexicans from the North, or blacks from the south vs. blacks from the north. Nobody truly knew why they hated each other only the fact that they did.
"What are we doing here?" Mark asked before sending a look to Ana.
"When was the last time you spoke to your friend Courtney?" the IAA Agent asked earning a confused look from the youngest Roman before he responded.
"Before Miller and Viktor's funeral, we got into a fight and I think we're just giving each other space." He replied earning a nod from Ana.
"Do you love her?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from Mark before he responded.
"In a way yeah." He shot back just as Ana pulled her car into the alleyway across from a Shotgun house with two African American men Mark figured was affiliated with the 4th Ward Gang.
"Why'd you stop?" Mark asked before Ana silenced him.
"Look!" she said before Mark turned his head back to the building where he noticed a white Cavalcade pull up in front of the building with Mookie stepping out of the driver's seat and to his surprise a familiar woman stepping out the front door.
"Holy shit." He said before noticing Courtney just as Mookie approached her with a smile. Seeing her with the man caused Mark to give a slight cringe in anger, but he knew if she wanted to move on he couldn't be pissed about it. "So what she's moved on, I can't get pissed about that." Mark shot out.
"Wait for it." Ana replied while Mark looked back to the duo and watched as Courtney reached into her purse and pulled out a handful of money before handing it to Mookie who snatched it out of her hands, processed to count it, and to Mark's horror slap Courtney across the face.
"Son of a-." Mark started before moving to exit the car only to be stopped by Ana who locked the doors on him as Courtney made her way back into the building while Mookie hopped back into his car and drove off.
"You two haven't seen each other for a reason and it's not because you're avoiding each other." Ana started causing Mark to look at her. "It seems the boys in the 4th Ward has this little side business going on of kidnapping girls and turning them into prostitutes." She pointed out to Mark's anger.
"Everything that happens in between that I'll leave to your imagination-." She started before Mark interrupted her.
"Why'd you bring me here?" Mark asked while looking to Ana with anger in her eyes.
"Because a few weeks ago you almost died and I have my doubts in your abilities." The IAA Agent pointed out while reaching into her glove compartment and pulling out Mark's Bowie Knife. "Prove to me you're still as good as I think you are." Her words were like an order and it was an order Mark seemed hell bent on following.
Ana couldn't help but to smile as Mark snatched the knife from her hands, pulled the hood of his jacket over his head, hopped out the car, and made his way over to the building.
"Time for a show." Ana said with a smile as she watched Mark made his way for the door of the building.
"Hey nigga you can't just go-." Started the first man before he approached Mark and moved to grab onto his right arm, but before he could touch the youngest Roman he was quickly taken aback as Mark swung his Bowie Knife sideways and sliced the man's throat before forcing him aside and turning to the other man.
"Oh shit!" he yelled before moving to draw his gun but before he could Mark was already on him and his Bowie Knife was already embedded deep in the man's chest and after taking his hands off the handle of the blade Mark immediately grabbed both sides of the man's head and with a violent jerk created a snapping sound from the man's neck.
After tossing the Gangsters corpse on the ground Mark immediately reached into the back of the man's pants and pulled a Glock 17 from off his body. The youngest Roman then checked the weapon before making his way into the building where he was immediately walked into a living room with five men inside and four women who were dancing for them.
"Who the fuck are-." Started one of the men as he went to stand up from his seated position in a reclining chair only to be knocked back down as Mark lifted the Glock and fired a single that hit the man in the center of his chest and caused him to fall back while the women screamed and the other men prepared to defend themselves.
Mark didn't have time to look at the man closest to him who quickly stood up and went to throw a punch aimed for the head of the youngest Roman. His attack was countered though as Mark lifted his left arm and blocked the man's strike before lifting his Glock with his right and firing two shots into the man's stomach, hitting him over the head with the butt of the gun, and then grabbing him by his blood soaked shirt and throwing the man into the television with enough force to break the television and send it falling back.
Mark then spun around in a firing position and fired six shots that struck one man three times in the chest, another twice in the throat, and the last in the leg. The last man was injured but alive and he quickly moved to lift his Mossberg 500 Shotgun but before he could Mark had ran at him with his knife drawn and immediately stabbed the man once in the stomach before pulling his knife out, spinning around, and forcing the blade into the back of the man's neck with enough force to sever his spinal cord.
"I suggest all of you leave." Mark yelled out while looking to the woman who started to run out of the building while he picked up the Shotgun and cocked it just as a series of footsteps from the back of the building sounded off as they made their way to the front.
"Let's see what you fucks got." Mark said to himself while raising his gun just as the first gangster burst through the door armed with a Mini-Uzi. The man didn't even set a foot in the living room as the force of Mark's shot struck him dead center in the chest and sent him flying backwards to the shock of the others who looked at their dead friend with wide eyes just as Mark fired another slug that hit one man in the back of the head and blew his brains all over the wall.
"Step right up step right up to MEET YOUR FATE!" Mark yelled out while shooting another man in the leg and caused him to fall forward and clutch his leg in pain while watching in terror as Mark shot down the last two men before making his way to him.
"Wait please." He pleaded just as Mark aimed the Shotgun at his head. "Come on man I got a little boy at home." he let out with fear in his tone.
"Alright this is my way of saving his life." Mark let out before squeezing the trigger of the Shotgun and blowing the top of the man's head clean off his body and sending it skidding across the floor. "You're a bad influence and your kid don't need that." He finished before making his way down the hall of the building and kicking open the doors and watching as women ran out of them. This process continued for another two doors before he kicked open the one at the end of the hall and quickly noticed Courtney sitting on the side of the bed with her head down before looking up at Mark with tears in her eyes.
"It's time to go." He said while the woman looked up at him with wide eyes.
Elsewhere
The drive to Central New Arcadia Hospital wasn't long for Alison as she found herself standing out front of the main building watching with a half-smile as Steve was rolled out of the building in a wheelchair by the doctor.
The look on the man's face was a smile, but she could tell he was annoyed with the idea of being rolled out in a wheelchair. He could walk just fine with only minimal pain that came from his injuries after the explosion.
His injuries weren't too severe but he did have some internal bleeding and that's what caused him to be on bedrest for so long, but he was better now. He was better, but Alison didn't know if she would call herself better.
After the doctor rolled him just a few feet before her, she was taken by surprise as Steve jumped from his seat, ran up to her, and wrapped her in his arms for a tight warm embrace that Alison struggled with returning at first but she soon found herself falling into the hug and hugging him back just as tight as he hugged her.
"I missed you." Steve let out before pulling away from Alison who moved her head back and puckered her lips just as Steve pressed his against her for a long deep kiss. She wasn't too surprised by the kiss, she knew it was coming but she still wasn't prepared for it. Here she was kissing Steve when just a few hours earlier she was kissing Mark, here she was hugging Steve when just a few hours earlier she was hugging Mark, and here she was loving Steve when just a few hours earlier her heart was flustered and the only person on her mind was a Louisiana Creole.
"I missed you to." Alison let out before she and Steve shared another kiss but as broke away from the man she quickly noticed a familiar once blonde haired man and a man of Punjabi descent walking out of the hospital with three men with bandages wrapped around their foreheads and arms.
Seeing the FIB Agent like this made Davey, Eddy, and Buck cringe before Link sent them a look and moved his head to the side in a silent order that meant for them to walk away without saying a word and like loyal soldiers they followed the order while continuing to eye Alison and Steve as they went.
As Alison sent a look to Link she watched as he gave her a half-smile before following the other BSU members as they made their way to the parking lot while she had the front of the hospital with Steve.
Before she could think more on the matter though she was interrupted by her cellphone ringing from a familiar number with a text telling her to go to the New Arcadia Police Station.
Red Stick
Things seemed to be going slow for Task as he sat silently in the living room watching the news report on what was going on in New Arcadia. Tensions were mounting to their highest point and he didn't like it. He was sent down here to make money and this war between black and brown was interfering with that, but a full-on race war between black, brown, white, and yellow.
That was not only bad for business it was bad for everyone's health.
Before he could think more on the matter he was interrupted by a knock on the door that was soon met by the door being opened and to his surprise see a familiar Chinese woman step through the doors with a smile on her face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the Lakota asked with anger in his voice at the sight of the woman.
"I can't check up on you now Chayton?" Ana asked while closing the door and eyeing Task angrily.
"Not if you want me alive, Adahy isn't here but what do you think he would say if he saw you here right now?" he asked earning a slight smile from the woman.
"I can care less about what he thinks at the moment." She replied before looking over the man whose head was still bandaged. "How's your head?" she asked with some concern in her tone.
"It still gives me some problems, but I guess I should be thanking Mark for that." He shot back with anger in his tone.
"Eddy was the one who hit you with the can and he did so indiscriminately." Ana shot back.
"Still, what Mark and Lee did to Adahy, Miguel, and Felix was fucked up and I never would have called them if I knew they were gonna take it that far." The Lakota shot back with anger in his tone.
"I understand your anger, but tell me your opinion of what your friends did to Davey and Eddy as well as Link. Was that…fucked up to you?" she asked with a hint of venom in her own tone. "You knew the consequences that would come with putting your hands on those close to Mark, you gangsters all follow the same code and I expect you would have done no different if someone did the same to Adahy or anyone else you're close to." Ana shot back causing Task to go silent at her statement. He wanted to argue but he knew there was some truth in her words.
"But look at it this way, Mark got his revenge for Davey, Eddy, and Link and Neto, Miguel, and Adahy got their revenge by damn near killing Mark. So as far as I see it everyone's even." She added earning a slight scoff from Task.
"There won't be an even in this war until either Mark or Neto is dead." He shot back with a slight smile.
"That would be true, if Neto wasn't already on a plane out of New Arcadia." Ana shot back to Task's shock. "Yeah he's gone now…so what do you think happens now?" she asked with a slight smile.
"Mark waiting outside to kill me or is he and Lee preparing to move on the Azteca's?" he asked earning a slight chuckle from Ana.
"Actually Mark is on his way to a Diner in New Arcadia where he'll be meeting with Ernesto and the remaining Azteca and Vago leaders and looking to gain a truce between them." Ana shot back to Task surprise.
"Mark's out of his mind if he thinks they're just gonna roll over to Joe." He replied.
"I said a truce, not a surrender, and he'll need your help to make sure it goes through." The IAA Agent stated causing Task to look up at her with a confused expression his face.
French Town, New Arcadia
The drive to Frenchtown wasn't long for Sonny as he pulled his car up in front of a familiar night club along with two other black vehicles before stepping out along with nine other members of the Vietnamese gangsters including Lee, Danny, and the head of the Vietnamese family Mr. Ngyuen.
Mr. Ngyuen was an elderly man of Vietnamese descent who had left the war torn country when he was only six and emigrated to Liberty City with his parents. There he had hooked up with the Vietnamese gang Bred to Kill, but after the gang was brought down in Liberty he expanded his business to New Arcadia's Vietnamese community while still having connections with gangs in Liberty, San Andreas, and New Austin.
He was a powerful man and everyone knew it.
As Sonny led the group to the front door of the Voodoo Club he was quickly met at the front door by three buff African American men who stopped him and the others. "No guns." the lead man said earning an angry look from Sonny.
"They good Moose." Lee pointed out earning the attention of the men. In his time working beside Mark under Joe he'd gotten on a first name basis with a few of the security guards in his clubs with some even asking him to do a few favors for them.
And with Lee's words the security guards quickly stepped aside to allow him, Sonny, Mr. Ngyuen, and Danny and two other Gangsters inside of the club where they were quickly directed to the back by an African American woman who Lee was also acquainted with.
Upon entering the back of the club they were quickly directed into a familiar office where they noticed Joe, Muujai, Blue, Elijah, Fatman, Mookie, and a few other members of the New Rising Council seated at a round table looking to them.
"Mr. Ngyuen please have a seat sir." Joe greeted before watching as the man nodded his head and moved to take a seat across from the combination of New Rising Council and BGA members.
"Cut the formalities Joe and let's get down to the business at hand." The elderly Vietnamese man pointed out with a hint of anger in his tone.
"I understand you and your men want justice for what was done, but you have to understand my position." Joe stated.
"What position your hiding men who raped and murdered my sister." Danny yelled out with venom in his tone.
"We know that's what the news is saying but the men who were said to have killed your sister were nowhere near your sister at the time of her death." Muujai pointed out.
"That's bullshit." Danny shouted out.
"And you trust their words?" asked Sonny.
"I trust the words of all those under me." Joe shot back.
"Well DNA tells us differently." Said Sonny pointed out while Lee sent a look to Blue who seemed to be smiling at him.
"We're willing to make a deal with you though-." Started Joe before a loud crashing sound was heard in the back room followed by a few grunts of pain that earned the attention of everyone in the room and caused them to look to the door.
A loud shotgun blast seemed to fill the air next followed by a loud scream then a wave of silence that had everyone confused and worried.
CRASH
Was the new sound that filled the room as they watched in shock and awe as the door was blown off it's hindges and noticed three familiar Creole's standing on the otherside of the door with angry looks on their faces.
"YOU!" Mark yelled out as he eyed Mookie who looked at him with wide eyes and watched as Mark lifted the Shotgun he took off the 4th Ward Gangster and prepared to fire. As Mark pulled the trigger though he dove under the table avoiding the slug while the Vietnamese and black gangsters moved for cover as Mark fired another slug aimed for the center of the table and blew a hole clean through it before jumping on top of it.
"Shit!" Mookie yelled out as he noticed Mark aiming the Shotgun at his face.
Before Mark could squeeze the trigger though he was stopped by the feeling of a gun being pressed against the back of his skull causing him to turn his head and notice Muujai pointing his Pistol at the side of his head.
"I'd take a seat right now if I were you Marc-." He started before feeling a gun being placed along the side of his head.
"You don't threaten my brother when I'm here." Jimmy stated while passing a Pistol to Lee while Marrick and Maurice strolled into the room.
"What is the meaning of this Marcus?" Joe asked while eyeing the youngest Roman angrily.
"Why don't you ask that fat piece of shit beside you why I'm here." Mark said while continuing to eye Mookie angrily as Joe sent a look to the stunned Fatman. "No words, alright I'll speak." Mark started with venom in his tone.
"This fuck and his uncle kidnapped Courtney and a couple of others girls in New Arcadia and have been turning them out to be tricks." Mark stated earning a few not so surprised looks from the BGA members.
"So the girl wanted to make a little extra money and she uses what she had." Fatman pointed out.
"No you kidnapped her, raped her, and then threw her back out on the streets telling her that if she didn't make your money for her you'd kill her. There's a difference." Mark shot back with anger in his tone.
"Courtney's one of us, and you had no right touching her." Marrick pointed out while keeping his gun trailed on the BGA members.
"Marcus put your gun down we can deal with this another time." Elijah stated earning a slight smile from Mark.
"We're doing something about it now." Marrick pointed out.
"Mark if you kill Mookie I'll put two in your head right now." Muujai stated while Jimmy tapped the man in the back of the head with his gun.
"I'll put two in your head before you get the chance." The redheaded man stated.
"Protecting rapist, is that what we do now?" the Creole asked earning looks from the Vietnamese gangsters. "I guess I should have saw that first hand though." Mark pointed out before sending a look of his own to the Vietnamese. "If this is what we do now, I won't be a part of it." He finished before lowering his gun and stepping off the table.
"You guys can take your New Rising Council and shove it up your asses." Mark stated before walking out of the room with Marrick and Maurice sending him looks.
"Think about this Maurice do you really want to walk away from this table and follow your son?" he asked while eyeing the head of the Roman Household.
"Winning side." Maurice pointed out before following Mark out of the room with Jimmy and Marrick while Lee sent a look to Sonny and Mr. Ngyuen.
"I believe I've seen enough." The Vietnamese gangster stated before rising from the table and making his way out of the room with Lee and the others in tow.
"Shit!" Joe said with a hint of anger in his tone.
Meanwhile
The drive to the New Arcadia Police Station wasn't long for Alison as she walked through the front door and quickly noticed Major Locke standing in the waiting room with a serious look on his face.
"You called for me sir?" she asked while approaching the man who turned to smile at her.
"Yes I did, how's Steve?" he asked with his smile still wide.
"He just got out of the hospital today and looking to get back to work." The FIB Agent shot back earning a slight nod from the man.
"That' s good to hear, at least you'll be hearing some good news today." He pointed out earning a confused look from the woman.
"What do you mean?" she asked with a raised brow.
"Sawyer told me about what happened at his house a few days ago." He shot back earning wide eyes from the woman.
"I know you care about Marcus, but I think it's time you take a step back from him before you get hurt." He added causing Alison to eye him closely.
"What do you mean get hurt?" she asked with a seriousness in her tone before Locke gestured for her to follow him to the back of the building and upon doing so he quickly led her inside of a small office where Alison was quickly taken aback by what was inside.
This was the same room where it all started where her last case in New Arcadia had started with the same tackboard that once held pictures of Joe and members of The New Rising Council, but those old pictures were gone and replaced by something new.
"Roman Crime Family." Alison said aloud as she looked at the banner on the board that was followed by various members of the Roman Family with Maurice and his wife Yolando at the top followed by pictures of Martin, Marrick, Marcus, Hakeem, and a few other members of the family that could have been called Captains or street bosses operating in the 2nd, 3rd, and 17th Ward.
Under those pictures were pictures of known soldiers and associates and amongst them Alison was quickly able to spot the pictures of Lee, Link, Buck, Manfred, Felix, Davey, Eddy, and the crossed-out pictures of Miller and Viktor that were placed beside pictures of Andre, Quick, Courtney, and a few people she'd never met before.
"I won't ask you to help me with this case, but I will ask that you not interfere." Locke stated while looking to Alison who couldn't do anything but remain silent at what she had just seen.
Elsewhere
The tension in the air of New Arcadia seemed to be so thick someone would have to cut it with a power tool as Jimmy and Lee found themselves sitting at a diner in the cities lower 14th Ward. It was a part of the Uptown Neighborhoods that Mark and the Roman Family claimed as their own but the area they were in was right around the corner from a major university so it seemed the best fit for a meeting place.
"Here they come." Jimmy as he looked out the window and noticed a blue Glendale's pull up before watching as Ernesto, Miguel, Cruz, Felix, and a bandage covered Adahy step out of the vehicle and make their way towards the Diner.
"Damn they look weak as shit without Santa Muerte." Stated Lee before he sent a look to Jimmy. "Should I be thanking you for that?" he asked with a chuckle.
"I didn't kill any more of their leaders before retreating but I did drop a few OG's so they're a little short in the leadership position. Plus with Cheetah and Primo dead and a few of their other guys getting deported " Jimmy shot back while Lee nodded his head just as the group watched the men of Mexican, Honduran, Creek, and Quechan descent make their way into the Diner.
"Where's Ana?" Ernesto asked with anger in his tone as he eyed Lee and Jimmy angrily.
"This concerns us not her." Came a familiar voice that caused Ernesto and the others to turn their heads and notice a familiar Creole walk out of the bathroom with an angry expression on his face.
"No fucking way." Miguel shot out in disbelief at the sight of the youngest Roman alive and well. "There's no fucking way your ass should be alive right now." He added with rage in his tone while Cruz eyed him closely.
"Yet here I am." Mark stated with a slight smile. "So shut up, sit down, and let's get this shit over with before I remember you assholes tried to kill me the last time we saw each other." Mark shot back while taking a seat at the booth while Ernesto eyed him angrily before taking a seat across from the Creole with Cruz while Felix, Miguel, and Adahy stood behind them.
"How's the side?" Lee asked while looking to Miguel with a chuckle.
"You better shut the-." Miguel started before Ernesto cut him off while keeping his eyes on Mark.
"If you want us to continue sitting at this table I suggest you show respect." Ernesto stated while looking to Mark only for Cruz to give an angry scoff.
"I don't want know respect from a damn baby killer." Cruz shot back while Lee, Jimmy, and Mark eyed him angrily.
"You keep calling us that, when all you know already that we had nothing to do with it." Mark shot out.
"But someone you associate with did so that makes you guilty by association." Miguel shot back.
"Bad logic dumbass if that were the case then that would mean all those Mara Pussies are rapist and all you Ass-takers get along." Jimmy shot back with a hint of superiority in his tone.
"Don't entertain the children brother, the men are here to talk." Lee shot back causing Miguel to eye him angrily.
"If you must know we don't associate with the man who killed your friend and her child." Mark started before Cruz interrupted him.
"HER NAME WAS ISABELA!" he shouted earning the attention of a few people in the Diner who turned to face the group who looked around and caused them to turn back away from the them.
"Yell again and we'll have more problems, but as far as I'm concerned your friends name doesn't matter anymore she's merely a memory that you all should move on from." Mark shot back causing Cruz to angrily eye him. "The man who killed Isabela is this serial killer that's been running around New Arcadia these past few months." He stated earning confused looks from the group.
"That doesn't make sense why would he target her?" asked Ernesto.
"He's a serial killer he targets anyone?" Jimmy asked earning confused looks from the Azteca's.
"I thought we were here for a truce not a chance for you to fill our heads with lies?" the Onda member stated with venom in his tone while Mark nodded his head.
"We are so let's just get this shit over with." The Creole said aloud while eyeing the group closely.
"We aren't surrendering to Joe." Ernesto pointed out with venom in his tone.
"Who said we were here speaking on behalf of Joe?" Mark asked earning confused looks from the group.
"A change is coming to New Arcadia in case you haven't heard." Jimmy stated with a slight smile.
"My faction of BSU, the 17th Ward Gangs, and the Roman Boys are breaking away from Joe, his little regime, and the BGA." Mark pointed out to the shock of Adahy and Felix. "Our resignation notice has already been sent." He added.
"So you finally decided to grow some balls huh?" Felix asked.
"Yeah around the same time you decided to stop hiding behind us and hide behind them." Lee shot back. "Hey where's Hot Wheels?" he asked with a chuckle earning an angry look from Felix.
"Us breaking away means we don't have to continue Joe's war, so this us officially making peace with you." Mark pointed out with anger in his tone. "No matter how much I don't want to." He added while Ernesto gave a slight chuckle at his remark.
"This isn't just you asking for a truce you're asking for a partnership in case Joe comes after you isn't it?" he asked.
"Nope, we're pretty confident we can beat Joe and with Neto gone we're certain we could wipe all of you off the map." Lee stated with a cocky smile.
"We're not asking for a partnership, and this truce isn't something I want to do. It's more or less something I promised to…entertain." Mark shot back while Ernesto eyed him clos
"What if we don't want a truce, Joe may have started this war but it's been you and your group pulling the triggers?" Ernesto asked earning a nod from Mark.
"Then we can keep trading blows but with much of your friends in the ground are you sure you want to keep this up. Especially since you'd be fighting us, Joe, the BGA, and it seems like the National Guard hate you as well." Mark stated.
"Yeah and we wonder who's the cause of that." Cruz angrily retorted as he eyed Mark closely.
"Believe what you want, we can care less, you've heard our offer and you can do what you want with it." Mark finished before rising from his seat with Lee and Jimmy standing up behind him. "You don't have to give a verbal response to a truce, we won't attack you and if you do the same we say there's a peace but if you move against us even once…we'll put an end to you forever." Mark let out while eyeing Ernesto closely.
"If you haven't noticed you guys are taking a lot of loses, don't take more than you need." Lee added before he, Mark, and Jimmy made their way out of the restaurant while Ernesto and the others stood by watching as they left.
"I say we hit them now while they least expect it." Adahy pointed out.
"They expect it and it's what they want." Felix pointed out before lifting his finger at a building across the street from the restaurant where they noticed Marrick and two other Roman Boyz aiming Assault Rifles at the building.
"Mark's no idiota, he's ready for an attack not just from us but from anyone." Ernesto stated earning the attention of the group. "We wait and see how this plays out, then we make a move." He finished earning nods from the group Just as they noticed Lee break away from Mark and Jimmy and put his cellphone to his ear.
Hours Later
The sound of protest still seemed to be going on heavily in the night as Lee found himself sitting the passenger seat of a black Glendale with his Ithaca 37 Shotgun in his hands and his M9A1 Pistol in the back of his pants while noticing Sonny and Danny in the front seat of the car, the latter seemed to be busy loading a magazine into a Micro SMG.
Ana had come through and given Lee the location of the two men accused of raping Danny's sister so now he and the Vietnamese were moving to take action. They were doing this without Joe's permission but as of this point none of them cared. They heard all they needed to hear when Mark told them about what happened with Courtney.
Lee was pissed when he found out and he wished he was making a move against the 4th Ward for it, but he knew that there would be a time when they would get theirs and when it came he'd be putting bullets in all their asses.
"We're here." Said Sonny as he pulled his car outside of a small apartment complex in the 9th Ward where the group knew the two men were hiding out and more than likely with a few armed guys watching over them.
After stepping out of their car Lee quickly noticed another SUV filled with four Vietnamese Gangsters park just behind them before watching them step out armed with Assault Rifle and SMG's.
"Remember we wan't both of them alive, but should anyone get in the way…leave none of them standing." Sonny pointed out as he popped the trunk of his car and pulled out a M16A2 Assault Rifle and loaded a magazine into the weapon.
"Let's go!" he said before making his way towards the front of the apartment complex with Lee and Danny in tow where they quickly noticed three African American men standing near the staircase while another five stood talking on the second-floor balcony.
"Intel says the two guys are on the second floor in the apartment at the end of the building." Said Lee as he sent a look to Sonny.
"Good that means the only way they're getting out of here is through the front door." Said Sonny before the group was interrupted by the loud of crackle of a Submachine Gun causing them to turn their heads and notice Danny running from cover firing his Micro SMG at the men at the end of the stairs.
"Die you fucking bitches." He yelled out while one man fell with eleven rounds striking him in the back and another three striking one man in the shoulder.
"Fucking slant eyed killed my brother blast that bitch." Yelled a man of Haitian descent with long dreadlocks as he pulled out a Desert Eagle and started firing at Danny who was quickly knocked to the ground by Lee and forced behind a Moonbeam.
"Are you fucking insane." Lee yelled out just as the 9th Ward Gangsters started to shoot at the vehicle and causing the sound of bullets striking metal to fill the air as Lee and Danny pressed their backs against the vehicles as the men on the second-floor balcony drew their guns and started to shoot at the duo before one of the five had the side of his head blow clean off his body and spray blood on the man closest to him.
Lee and Danny then watched as Sonny came running from the side of the apartment complex with the other Vietnamese gangsters firing off rounds that hit another man in the chest just as the others turned their guns on them and struck a Vietnamese gangster who was firing a Tec-9 Machine Pistol.
"You don't have to die here today, just hand over the rapist and we won't kill you." Sonny yelled out as he hid behind the car with Lee and Danny.
"Fuck you dog eating bitch." Yelled the Haitian man.
"Very well, SMASH RIGHT THROUGH THEM!" Sonny yelled out as Lee vaulted over the hood of the car racking his Shotgun and striking the Haitian man in the center of his chest blowing it out and knocking the man back while the last man on the ground was struck in the legs and fell forward.
"SHIT!" he yelled out before looking up just as Danny fired his gun and struck him six times in the chest while Sonny opened fire on the men on the second floor forcing them into cover while Lee and the other Vietnamese gangsters rushed to the staircase.
"Kill those fuckers." Yelled another man as he pulled out his Glock and blindly fired at the stairs striking one of the Vietnamese gangsters in the back and causing him to fall backwards down the stairs while Lee cocked his Shotgun and fired a single shot that went through the cheap wooden panels of the balcony and struck the man in the shoulder causing him to scream out in pain.
As Lee rolled around the staircase he immediately was knocked to the ground as a New Arcadia Gangster charged him and caused him to fall backwards before looking up and noticing the Gangster drawing down on him with his Pistol.
"Fucking little dicked nips-." He started before going wide eyed as a felt a knife being embedded into the center of his spine.
"Who's got the little dick now?" asked Sonny as he let go of his knife and put his hands around the man's head before giving a violent jerk and creating a familiar snapping sound that was the man's neck breaking.
The Vietnamese gangster then extended his hand to Lee who quickly took it and rose from the ground just as Sonny handed him back his Shotgun.
"Let's get these assholes." Sonny pointed out as Lee nodded his head before making his way to the door at the end of the hall before kicking it down, rushing inside, and beginning his search for the men.
To his surprise though he quickly found both men in the bathroom trying to force open the bathroom window that seemed to be stuck.
"I guess Karma want's you to get yours." Said Sonny as the Caucasian and African American men turned to face the Vietnamese gangsters with fear in their gaze.
"Come on man we didn't do anything to your girl." Yelled the black man before he was silenced by Lee slamming the butt of his Shotgun over the man's head and knocking him out followed by hitting the other man.
"Yeah like I've never heard that one before." He said before looking to Sonny who merely nodded his head at the man in delight.
Red Stick
The sun was finally beginning to set on this day as Mark finally arrived back at the clubhouse in Red Stick after visiting Courtney who he had to take to the hospital. Aside from malnutrition and having to get various test for an STD's she was fine physically but Mark knew mentally she wasn't going to be all the way there.
As Mark pulled his car into the parking lot of the clubhouse though he quickly noticed a familiar redheaded woman sitting on the steps with her head down. He knew he had come home later then he hoped and did everything he promised her that he wouldn't do, but he hoped he could talk his way out of her anger.
After stepping out of his car Mark slowly began making his way to Alison who kept her gaze away from him until he was literally hovering directly over her and his black and white shoes were in her sights.
"You're late." She said still without looking up at him.
"I know." He replied in a short sentence that Alison seemed to not want to know more about. "I ended the war." He said earning the attention of the woman who finally looked up at Mark with confusion in her gaze.
"Neto left New Arcadia this morning, and I made peace with the Azteca's this afternoon." He replied while Alison eyed him closely.
"What about Joe?" Alison asked while noticing Mark lean against one of the poles on the porch.
"I don't work for Joe anymore and he knows that, along with everyone in New Arcadia now." The Creole pointed out while Alison eyed him closely. "I'm out…I'm out of this war, I'm out from under Joe, and I'm out from the BGA." He started before moving to sit down beside the woman.
"Everything you wanted." He finished while looking to Alison with a half-smile that she couldn't seem to return.
"There's something I need to tell you." She let out earning a confused look from Mark who eyed her closely. He was unaware of the case that was being against him, and she wanted to tell him but there was something else she needed to talk to him about.
"Steve…he left the hospital today and we went out to eat." She stated earning a slight nod from the youngest Roman who looked away from her.
"That's…good, I'm glad to hear he's fine." Mark shot out his words filled with a lie that even he couldn't hide as he noticed Alison look away from him. "Your serial killer won't be a problem for a while now to." He let out earning the woman's full attention.
"He's not in the state, but he could still be a problem." Mark let out before Alison cut him off.
"There's something else you should know." She said while Mark continued to look away from her. "The New Arcadia Police Department, they're working on building a case-." She started before going silent she knew she wasn't supposed to be telling him this, but she had to leave him with something that let him know she cared.
"Against me?" he asked.
"Against the entire Roman Family." She spat out to Mark's surprise. "They're coming after everyone, you, your father, your brothers, even your sisters, and Lee and the others. They're trying to put evidence that links all of you to the violence in New Arcadia, the drug trade, and much more." She added causing Mark to look away from the woman. "They want you all Mark." She finished earning a few seconds of silence from Mark before he spoke up.
"All the more reason you should leave right now." He let out to Alison's shock and confusion as she watched Mark stand on his feet before looking back down at her. "If they're coming after us they can come, but I won't allow you to get swept up in my shit." He finished before watching Alison rise to her feet to eye him.
"Mark I'll help-." She started before he cut her off.
"No you won't." he finished to her shock. "I don't want you to get involved with helping me, I don't want to put you in danger so promise me…let whatever happens happen." He let out causing Alison to go silent for a few seconds before speaking out.
"I won't make that promise." She shot back. "As many promises you've made to me and broken…I think you can understand this one." She let out while moving to grab a hold of Mark's hand.
"Things like this come with the life, don't get swept into it with me." He stated while lightly squeezing her hand.
"I won't, but I won't let you drown in it either." She let out before moving to give the youngest Roman a quick hug that he quickly accepted.
Authors Note: And there you have it for this chapter. Sorry for the late update but it's been a long couple of weeks I've had Midterms, many test, and a series of minor setbacks that have made it so that I have to restart on the final chapter of Roman Empire and the next chapter of Into the Deadlands.
Ain't that a bitch.
I can't give an exact date on either's release but I can say that they will be coming.
Now onto this chapter, I want to thank Onkwehonwe for providing the new cover image for New Arcadia hopefully I can capture a few eyes out there and get more readers into both our stories.
In the last chapter of New Arcadia I was supposed to show the beginning fight scene at the liquor store that left both Davey and Eddy incapacitated but forgot to do so and Onkwehonwe mentioned in his last chapter of Concrete Jungle that Adahy had been injured by Mark and along with that he showed Neto paying a visit to Alison and Neto, Cruz, and Miguel getting a little payback on Mark for everything he's done.
If you haven't seen it I advice going to read it, if you want to understand something like Neto leaving New Arcadia and why Marco, Charlie, and Patrick are on their way to Liberty. Remember this is a sort of a collaboration story and some events in this story can affect others in other places.
Speaking of Patrick his backstory is somewhat similar to Jewish serial killer and Mafia Hitman known as Richard Leonard Kuklinski otherwise known as the Iceman Killer. I gave Patrick traits of various serial killers throughout American history, and I want to thank Onkwehonwe again for the idea of giving him disciples so in a way he's more dangerous than they expected.
The three woman who were present when Jimmy attacked the Azteca hood are new characters that will be explored within the Azteca's. With Primo and Cheetah dead, Chivo and Tinto deported, and now Neto gone they're sorta stretched thin in terms of characters to follow so now I'm adding more.
Lady Joker is based off Seidy Lopez who played Dreamer on Training Day and Mousie on Mi Vida Loco. Dede is based off Samantha Estaban who played Lefty on Training Day, and Angel is based off Tania Verafield who played Patty in the movie Harsh Times.
You'll see more of all three of them in later chapters that will be leading up to something big that I know Onkwehonwe can't wait for.
Mark has finally reunited with Courtney for all of you Courtney fans but how did you like the way he basically told Joe and the BGA to go fuck themselves and trust me when I tell you there will be consequences for that along with Lee and the Vietnamese for attacking the 9th Ward.
And now there is an open case against the entire Roman Family it's kinda interesting ow that will play out mostly because you don't know where Alison will stand with it.
I don't want to go onto too many details but I will say there will be a time skip next chapter and we'll see what everyone has been doing after these events.
Thank you all for reading, have a good day, Zilla Out.
