Chapter 48: The Wounds of Our Brothers

New Arcadia (Two Weeks Later)

The song Lazarus by David Bowie seemed to fill the mind of Marcus Roman and his hospital room as he found himself sitting on the couch next to the window going over the events of the last two weeks. He'd had a seizure it would seem from the force of Neto's punches and all the head injuries he had over the years pounding away at his skull, he'd developed a slight concave fracture in the back of his skull. It wasn't serious enough to cause a great deal of brain damage but it was serious enough for him to require surgery.

As he layed down he couldn't help but to remember the cold metal of the surgery tools cutting into his skull while he was sedated. The surgery had left him with a rather prominent ball spot in the back of his skull along with it a long scar that was still healing after having the staples removed.

"Pas Encore Marcus." The voice of his doctor seemed to play like a broken record throughout his mind as he remembered the dark figure standing over him with a clipboard in his hand.

"He survived the Hurricane, he was on the roof of a house that collapsed." The voice of Tasha filled his mind as he continued to lay back and remember not only the voice of the doctor but the fear and sadness within the voice of the woman he once considered an old flame. "His grandmother passed away just days prior. He was only nine years old."

"Take care of him!" she added as Mark remembered his days receiving aid from the nurses to help him stand-up, walk, use the bathroom, and numbing the intense pain in his head and body with Codeine he'd had Marrick bring him. He didn't like the idea of using drugs to solve his pain, but he had to swallow his pride along with the purple liquid he'd put in a white cup of Sprunk.

The sound of the door to his room opening caused Mark to quickly lift his head as he noticed a familiar dark figure step into the room in a white doctor's jacket with blue scrubs underneath. The man looked to be of Spanish descent with short black hair, wide black eyes that were somewhat yellowing after years of smoking, and a nonchalant complex.

"Vous vous sentez mieux?"

("How are you feeling?") The man replied in French causing Mark to roll his eyes at his response.

"Avec chaque jour!"

"With each day!" Mark responded while watching the man nod his head. This particular doctor wasn't just of Spanish descent. He was born in Spain of Spanish parents, but emigrated to France where he spent most of his life before settling in America after the birth of his only daughter who Mark had a rocky relationship with.

"I was quite shocked when my daughter called me from New Arcadia screaming that she needed me to come all the way down here to help a friend who needed a surgery." He stated earning a chuckle from Mark.

"Where you shocked to see that it was me Mr. Roaché?" Mark asked with a smile.

"Not so much and it's Doctor Roaché, when you're my patient." He replied while moving to take a seat beside the youngest Roman. "You know when Tasha introduced me to you I was happy, she went out and got her a French speaking boyfriend who I can talk about Football with, and I mean real Football not that shit you Americans have." He replied earning a chuckle from Mark.

"Instead you got me, I wanted a girlfriend who was faithful…guess we both didn't get what we wanted Père." Mark retorted and ending with calling him the French term for father. This man was Tasha's father and was the second most important people he cared about in Sunbelt. He was an old school French man who helped him improve his knowledge of the language and to learn about modern medicine and get into soccer or real Football as he called it.

"I didn't have a problem with who you are and what you did in your free time fils as long as you kept it away from my daughter. Her deciding to hook up with Ryan, that's something I hated." He replied while Mark chuckled.

"Tis was her decision, she has to live with it." The Creole shot back.

"Yeah she does!" he stated while looking away from the youngest Roman.

Meanwhile

The song Face to Face by Sevendust seemed to be blaring loudly throughout the speakers in the club in the 17th Ward as Tasha found herself sitting with Julie while the other BSU members found themselves talking and dancing amongst themselves in the club. Once the news that Mark was fine and recovering had came the group was going through a state of constant partying while Lee, Link, Jimmy, and the others have been virtually ghost.

She wondered if the man who'd killed Laurie was still alive or if they had already killed him. She didn't want to think too hard on the matter, lest it would haunt her so she often tried to think of something else whenever the thought wormed its way into her head.

"Where the hell are you guys?" she asked under her breath and far out of the earshot of the others as she looked up in the VIP section and noticed the mysterious man of Afro-Dominican descent sitting on a couch with an ACR Assault Rifle resting on the couch beside him as he wiped down a green handled Machete as though he'd just used it a few moments ago.

She still didn't know much about the man only that he'd returned with Mark and a man of Italian descent after the attack. Since then the Italian man left a few weeks ago but he was still here and she wanted to know why.

"Hey Billy!" Tasha called out earning the attention of a man with short red hair a strong chin and stood about six feet tall with a muscular frame and wearing a black t-shirt that promoted the band Slipknot, blue jean pants, and studded wrist band on his arm.

When it came to bar knuckled brawling and getting their hands dirty in BSU names like Mark, Lee, Blondie, and a few others quickly came to mind but before any of them arrived on the scene the name Billy Kitchen rung bells throughout the Northeast and Midwest. Unlike most of the current BSU members who were around their mid to early twenties Billy was just a year away from making thirty and had been in BSU just years after its foundation in the mid-90s when he was only fourteen.

He'd gotten his hands dirty in fist fists, killed for his brothers, and even did a nickel in prison but he never turned his back on the group and even now during the troubling times they were facing he'd stand beside them all the way.

"Have you talked with that guy at all?" Tasha asked earning a shake of the head from the redheaded man.

"Pete and Tector tried but he won't speak and they think it's best to keep their distance. That guy's got a look in his eye that…doesn't seem right." He stated earning a nod from Tasha.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before." She finished while sending another look to Marco who popped his neck while looking down at the group of punk rock enthusiast.

Elsewhere

While Mark and the others were inside their cool air-conditioned buildings, things were different for the Warriors of BSU as they found themselves standing out in the middle of nowhere in the heat looking down at the Mexican National splayed before them who was being left to bake in the hot sun.

"Is this really the best you got." Neto taunted with venom in his tone as he stared up at Lee, Link, Jimmy, Thire, Tup, Buck, Davey, Eddy, Robbie, Manfred, and Pete who looked down on him with anger on all their faces.

"You've only been out here for a few hours, but don't worry things are gonna get a lot hotter for you and soon you're gonna be wishing that we did put a bullet in your head." Jimmy retorted.

"Feel lucky we're good at following orders or else we'd be pouring honey on you right now and showing you why Louisiana ants are some of the worst in the country." Lee added.

"I'd expect no less from Mark's bitches." Neto shot back causing Lee to step down on the wound where Link had removed his Appendix and causing him to let out a loud grunt of pain.

"You call of Mark's bitches but you've been a bitch your entire life." Lee stated while applying more pressure to the man's wound. "You are a bitch for the Azteca's, you were a bitch for the Madraza's, Onda, the Zapatista's, and that list is just steadily piling on you piece of shit!" Lee yelled out before stomping down in the stomach of Neto before spitting on his exposed chest.

"That's gross dude!" said Eddy just as Lee took a picture on his cellphone of Neto and sent it to a series of numbers.

"So everyone knows who won." The Chinese man let out just Link's cellphone vibrated and his eyes went to the device and immediately went wide with what he saw on the device.

"We gotta go!" he said trying to hide the obvious fear in his voice as Neto eyed him closely as he started to pull Lee and the others away.

"What's going on?" he asked as Link pulled them all to the side to show him his cellphone where they noticed a post on LifeInvader.

"Son of a bitch!" Lee said with anger in his tone.

Carcer City

The smell of grilled beef, mashed potatoes, and peas seemed to be the only thing caught in the air for Alison as she found herself sitting on the couch in the hospital room with a laptop on her lap looking at a news report from New Arcadia that was posted weeks in advance.

"I always hated hospital food." Came a familiar voice that caused Alison to let out a slight chuckle at the response.

"You say that everyday but it doesn't mean you shouldn't eat it." The FIB Agent replied before looking up at the familiar Chinese woman sitting on the bed staring down with one eye at the food that was placed before her.

It had been a few weeks ago, but Ana had finally awoken from her mini coma at the hands of Neto. When she woke up she was quite surprised to see the familiar redheaded woman sitting beside her and even more so surprised to not see a familiar Creole in her place. Still Ana was grateful, her body still somewhat ached and much of her bandages had come off with the exception of a few wrapped around her torso, arms, legs, and the more prominent one around her left eye but she was grateful…to see Alison, to be alive, and to know that Mark had gotten revenge for her.

"Are you still looking at that news report?" Ana asked earning a nod from Alison who let out a small sigh.

"I still can't believe Mark would be so reckless as to shootdown a fucking airplane." She let out before a new voice cut them both off.

"Then stop believing it and listen to me when I say it again." The voice yelled out causing both women to turn their heads and notice a familiar man of Italian descent walking in the room with an angry expression on his face. "Me and Marco shot the plane down, all Marcus did was let Baba Yaga escape so he could go off and fight a little fish." He added with venom in his tone causing Ana to let out a slight chuckle.

"I gave Mark a strict order, never to engage Ivan Azarov whether I am present or not. He may push his boundaries with some of the things I tell him, but do be assured…when I give Mark a direct order he will follow it." Ana stated while Charlie gave a loud scoff.

"You turned him soft, if he'd helped me and Marco instead of going after some Sicario whose days away from an overdose we'd have one last KGB Dinosaur to deal with." He stated with venom in his tone.

"I don't get it, why is this man so dangerous compared to Neto who was able to do all of this to you?" Alison asked earning the attention of Ana who gave a slight chuckle before responding.

"Because that man will make Neto look like a clown despite what he did to me." Ana responded to the surprise of Alison.

New Arcadia

The song Antidote by Travis Scott was blaring loudly over a car stereo as Marrick found himself sitting on the hood of a car outside an apartment complex smoking with four other members of the Roman Boyz while watching as crackheads came and went throughout the complex.

"Man this some good shit!" said Marrick as he looked at an overweight African American man wearing a black t-shirt, hat, and microbraids.

"Man I told you, that's that gas." The overweight man responded before taking his own hit of his weed and passing it to the next man who took a hit just as an all-black truck pulled up in front of them and caught them each by surprise.

"Oh hell no the fuck!" the overweight man said before watching as Jimmy, Davey, and Eddy stepped out of the car and started to approach Marrick and the Roman's.

"Yo Mook calm down." Said Marrick as he looked to the overweight man just as the BSU members stopped in front of them. "I remember you white boys getting a pass to come to the third with Mark, but I don't remember saying you could just pop in anytime you want unannounced." He added.

"We ain't worried about that." Jimmy responded.

"You need to be." Mook retorted earning the attention of Jimmy who gave him an angry look. There weren't many of the Roman Boyz the BSU Members knew by name, but they each knew Mook. He was a hot headed asshole that each one of them would have riddled with bullets without hesitation. It would have been a peaceful ending for someone like him.

"Marrick you gotta call your mom and tell her take that post down on her LifeInvader." Jimmy stated to the confusion of the middle born son of Yolanda Roman.

"Post what post?" he asked before Jimmy showed him his cellphone and revealed a LifeInvader post from his mother.

"I didn't know you followed my moms on LifeInvader." Marrick stated.

"We don't." Jimmy replied.

"Keep it that way." Marrick finished before looking at the post and reading that she was wishing Marcus a speedy recovery.

"Why you showing me this shit, what's so fucking bad about his goddamn post?" he asked with venom in his tone.

"We don't follow your mother on LifeInvader so anybody can see her post. We can, you can, and our enemies can and right now that post says that one of our leaders is hurt right now and that we're weak without him." Jimmy stated earning a slight chuckle from Marrick.

"Man put these white boys in they place Marrick." Mook yelled out.

"Why don't you go stuff your face and shut the fuck up." Davey yelled out earning an angry look from Mook who moved to step towards him only to be stopped by Marrick.

"I think you need to leave now before things happen that I can't control." Marrick stated while eyeing the three BSU members angrily. "You can't just come here disrespecting my homies and making scene in my hood." He stated.

"I think this scene is something you'd rather see than what we have in mind." Jimmy shot back with venom in his tone while Marrick eyed him closely.

"Man fuck these-." Mook started before the loud bang of a gunshot captured everyone's attention and caused them each to turn their heads and listen to the shots in the distance before hearing a few screams in the distance and then seeing a few gangsters running down the streets firing off their pistols before running in the direction of the apartment complex.

"AH!" one of the men screamed out before an all-black Baller slammed against him with enough force to actually make his body explode against the side of the car and coated it in his blood.

"FUCK!" Eddy yelled out as he, Davey, and Jimmy rushed to cover behind their truck as the Baller was followed by an all-blue SUV, a red Peyote, a Granger, and two Emperors with gang members firing out from the windows at the group causing both Marrick and Mook to take cover behind their car while the one of the other gang members was hit six times in the chest by a man armed with a Mini Uzi.

"Shit they got my nigga." Mook yelled out as Jimmy, Davey, and Eddy continued to duck for cover as the armed gunmen barraged their position with bullets.

"Who are we dealing with Manny?" asked Jimmy over his cellphone as he looked up at the sky and noticed a familiar drone hovering over their heads.

"Guys from New Arcadia I guess, but they're all wearing so many colors it's hard to give an exact pinpoint as to what ward or gang." Manfred reported from his position inside of his van as he looked down at his laptop at the men shooting at his brothers.

"Alright I guess we're gonna have to do this the fun way!" Jimmy responded before opening the back door of his truck and pulling out a black duffel bag that contained his M14 Battle Rifle and passing Davey and Eddy their G36C Assault Rifles.

"Let them have it." Jimmy shouted as he, Davey, and Eddy opened fire.

Elsewhere

The sound of his bedroom door opening seemed to be what next filled the ears of the youngest Roman as he turned his head with the expectation of seeing Tasha's father only to be taken off-guard by the sight of a familiar Japanese woman walking in with a smile on her face.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Ren asked while Mark gave a slight chuckle.

"I should, but I never was one for staying the bed all day." He replied earning a chuckle from Ren. "I was raised when the sun was out to be outside the house taking it in." he added.

"And what if it's raining like every other day here?" the Los Santos BSU member asked with a smile.

"To take in the sight of the rain." He replied while moving to take a seat on the edge of his bed while Ren took a seat on the couch across from him.

"Being here reminds me a lot of Osaka when I was young." She stated earning the attention of the youngest Roman. "Winter isn't too cold until January like it is now, it's mostly rainy, and humid and I'm guessing your so called Hurricane Season comes around the same time as our Typhoons." She stated earning a nod from Mark.

"August, September, and into October?" he asked earning a nod from the woman.

"I think I'm gonna enjoy it here." She replied causing Mark to look at her with a raised brow.

"You are sticking around permanently?" he asked earning a nod from the woman.

"And so is Thire, Tup, Tector, with a little convincing I think you can get Billy Kitchen in your ranks as well." She stated earning a raised brow from Mark. "You also have about thirty to forty members of the Tax Free and Los Santos BSU willing to call New Arcadia their new home." She stated earning a slight scoff from Mark.

"And why is that, I thought after Los Santos and all the shit in Sunbelt many of you would be tired of fighting." He replied earning a nod from the Japanese woman.

"Some of us are and those are the guys that are now walking away from BSU for good, but some of us know that we can do a lot better if we're here…fighting under you." She stated causing Mark to look away from her for a few seconds before speaking up.

"You know what you faced in Los Santos doesn't hold a candle to what you'll be facing if you stay here though right?" he asked earning a slight scoff from Ren.

"Please what's the worse you got?" she asked.

Elsewhere

"FUCK!" yelled out a man of African American gangster from the 17th Ward found himself at Mark's warehouse being stomped on by five African Americans while another stood by watching with his arms folded who were yelling and screaming at him so much that he couldn't make out what was being said to him.

"You don't fuck with the 4th Ward and you white boys about to learn." The man yelled out with venom in his tone as he delivered a sharp kick to the gangsters stomach.

"Hey you prick's lost." Lee yelled out as he approached the group with Buck, Pete, Thire, Tup, and Robbie walked up to the group who eyed them each angrily.

"You bitches want-?" one of the men asked before he was silenced as Lee pounced on top of him and started to pound into his face until he fell to the ground under the weight of the Chinese man who was launching rapid elbow strikes to the man's nose until his face was a bloody pulp.

"Motherfucker!" another man yelled out as he quickly drew a switchblade and moved to stab the Chinese man only to be grabbed from behind and face a series of punches courtesy of Thire who pushed the man with enough force until he landed back first on top of a stalled car.

And with a flash it didn't take long before the other gang members to step in as Robbie found himself squaring up a against a guy that was almost twice his size, Pete with a guy who was almost just his size, and Tup against a guy who was just a bit taller than him.

Despite the size disadvantage Robbie seemed to find away to get an advantage over his larger opponent who charged at him only to be taken off-guard as Robbie spun out of the way and delivered a sharp kick to the man's groin causing him to fall to one knee and leaving him wide open for a series of punches to the head from the Dominican Punk Rocker.

"Should wear a cup it'd be smarter." Robbie burst out as he continued to throw punches at the man who merely pushed him off like he was a flee and throw a right hook that sent the Dominican man stepping back.

While Robbie was dooking it out with his opponent Lee had quickly finished with the man he'd battered and looked down to notice the man's face was somewhat disfigured. His nose was broken, his lip was bust, he'd knocked out his two front teeth, and his right eye was so swollen that it looked like it had been completely shut.

"Feel lucky I don't feel like wasting a bullet." Lee yelled out as he threw one more right hook at the man who feel to the ground before looking up at the man who was standing back watching it all with a smile and giving him a smile of his own that seemed to unnerve him.

"You gonna just stand there laughing or are you gonna step up?" the Chinese man asked before watching the man reach behind his back and pull out a rather large meat cleaver before pointing it at the Chinese man.

"I was hoping to cut up a Frenchman for the Army today, but I guess Chop Suey is just as good." He yelled out causing Lee to go wide eyed as the man took a swing at him causing Lee to spin out of the way and respond with a punch to the side of the man's head that didn't seem to faze him as he threw an elbow at the Chinese man and forced him into take a few steps back.

While Lee was trying to his to avoid the blade of the gangster, Tup also found himself on the receiving end of a beating as the 4th Ward Gangster threw a hard right hook to the side of his head and caused the Filipino man to take a few steps back before being hit again in cheek and again in the body with enough force that caused him to fall down on one knee with drops of blood leaking from his mouth.

"I guess all them mosh pits don't mean shit for you in a one on one fight." He yelled out only to be hit from behind courtesy of Buck who jumped on his back and started to punch him in the side of the neck.

"Life's one big mosh pit bitch!" he yelled out while continuing to hit the man who tossed him off his back with enough force to knock the wind out of the young man's body only to be taken back down as Tup knocked him back to the ground and started to pound into his head.

"Stay the fuck down!" Thire yelled out as he continued to pound into the face of the man he'd attacked early on only to be knocked over the head by the man who swung wildly and managed to nick the Polynesian with enough force to knock him away.

"You got some more shit to talk motherfucker." The New Arcadia gangster yelled out as he moved to stand over Thire who merely reached out and grabbed a rock and slammed it over the man's head with enough force to finally knock him out.

"Yeah but you ain't." Thire said with a smile as he spit on the man, but before he could celebrate anymore the sound of a loud crash seemed to earn the attention of everyone as they turned their heads and noticed Robbie standing over the man he was fighting whose head had been slammed into the side window of a stalled car with enough force that it actually went through the glass.

"Fucking asshole!" he yelled out as Pete traded blows with the gangster he was fighting before hitting the man with a hard right hook that knocked him off his feet.

"Shit I haven't been in a fight like that in a while." He said with a chuckle before spitting blood from his mouth as he turned his head and watched Lee trade blows with his attacker while trying to avoid his blade.

"BGA and the 4th Ward must be desperate if they're launching another all-out attack against us. I think you know how this is gonna go though." The Chinese man stated with a chuckle.

"That was back when Mark was by your side and now that he's gone we're gonna roll right over you white boys and anything else you got." He stated while Lee chuckled before ducking another swing from the man's blade and throwing a few punches in the man's side causing him to stagger backwards.

When it came down to fighting Lee was like a professional boxer, in boxing there was twelve rounds unlike MMA. That was Lee's style of fighting, to prolong the fight and to let his opponents tire themselves out, spill their guts out along with their knowledge before he finished them off.

"You should feel lucky I'm just gonna cut you too pieces what's happening at your club is gonna be much worse." He said earning a chuckle from Lee.

"You know what buddy-." The Chinese man started before pulling out his switchblade, rushing the man, and stabbing him once in the throat with enough force that his blade actually came out the back of his neck. "You talk too fucking much." Lee finished before pulling his blade out of the man's body and watching as a pool of blood poured out of his wounds.

The Chinese man then turned his attention to Buck and Tup who were still struggling with their much larger opponent. Deciding to just end the battle quickly the Chinese man quickly threw his blade as hard as he could and watched as it embedded itself deep into the back of the attacker who gave a loud scream before being forever silenced as Buck pushed him to the ground and watched as he fell on the knife that was pushed deeper into his body.

"You're welcome!" Lee yelled out as he approached the duo and pulled his blade from the gangsters back before looking to the wounded 17th Ward gangster who approached him and the other BSU members carrying a Mini Uzi.

"Thanks dawg." He said earning a nod from Lee.

"No problem, think you can handle this while we clean this infestation?" Lee asked while the man nodded his head.

"I'll call some homies, take this you're gonna need it." He said while passing Lee the Mini Uzi that the Chinese man quickly snatched up. He wasn't the best shot with automatic weapons, he wasn't a weapons specialist like Mark, or a Marksman like Jimmy, but he was a surgeon with a Shotgun.

He'd just wished he'd brought himself one when he went to see Neto like Jimmy and the others often did. He knew it was dangerous to ride around with guns in the car, but it made things a lot simpler for a man of his line of work.

"We gotta go." Lee said earning the attention of the BSU members who started to follow him to his car. "Those assholes are heading to the club, we gotta cut them off before they get there." He stated while the others nodded their heads.

"No offense but all we got is pistols while these guys outnumber us probably with Assault Rifles for each of them." Retorted Pete. "How are we gonna stop them."

"By any means necessary." The Chinese man shot back before running off.

Metra, Lincoln Parish

The sound of weed was the first thing that filled the nose of Felix as he found himself walking into the living room of Ernesto's safehouse as he noticed the Veterano sitting in his reclining chair with a half smoked blunt in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other.

"I never pegged you as the smoker." Said Adahy as he walked in behind Felix with a serious look in his eyes.

"Only when there's a lot on my mind and right now there's a lot on my mind." The Onda member let out before looking at the duo and noticing that they were down one Lakota. "Where's Task?" he asked causing Adahy to shake his head.

"He's got some kinda side business going on in Sunbelt." The Creek shot out to the confusion of Ernesto.

"What kinda business?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Could be money related and it could be a woman, either way we don't have all the facts or details." Adahy responded earning a nod from Ernesto.

"That's what this is about?" asked Felix earning a few seconds of silence from Ernesto before he responded only by tossing the duo his cellphone.

"Looks like we know who won the war." Ernesto retorted while both Felix and Adahy went wide eyed at the picture before them of Lee and Jimmy standing over the tied up body of Neto who looked like he was baking in the sun.

"That son of a bitch!" Adahy yelled out before looking up at Ernesto.

"We have to go help him." Felix added.

"He's probably dead by now and in a box being shipped back to Los Santos as a warning to the others." Ernesto replied while Adahy gave a violent growl.

"I'm gonna kill those fuckers." Yelled out Adahy.

"If you're gonna do it, you're gonna have to do it on your own." Said Ernesto earning mixed looks from the duo. "The Azteca's, have a truce with Mark and BSU and for the sake of not losing any more my Soldados I can't spare anyone to helping you kill him." He stated to their shock.

"You can't be serious." Yelled out Felix.

"I am Felix, our war with Mark had us bury more than half of our Varrio. We get more Vatos from New Austin, San Andreas, Arizona, and New Mexico and guess what...they end up dead as well." Ernesto yelled out with venom in his tone. "For the sake of survival, I think we need to take a step back and stick with the peace." He added to both men's anger.

"Come on Ernesto, we need to make this right. If Neto is dead than we can't let his death go unanswered." Felix stated with venom in his tone.

"If Neto is dead than his death is the result of him killing your former friends Miller and Viktor…Sangre por Sangre." Ernesto stated while laying back and allowing the two men to look at each other before walking out of the house in anger.

Meanwhile

The sound of laughter seemed to the be the first thing to enter the ears of Link as he walked into the room of the youngest Roman and noticed him sitting down and having a laugh with Ren.

"Brother what brings you here?" asked Mark as Link looked back at the Japanese woman who merely smiled at him.

"Someone's gotta check on you regularly." He replied while moving to take a seat across from Mark alongside Ren.

"So how's our dried out friend?" Mark asked while Link shook his head.

"Drying out, he's fighting it but he won't be long of this world." Link replied before pulling out his cellphone and sending a text message. "You sure this is the best choice of torture, I mean you've done worse to people." Link retorted.

"I've done worse, but I don't want him to feel worse. I want him to reject life." Mark finished just as Ren's phone vibrated causing her to look down and notice that she had a rather surprising text message from Link that read, "Act natural like this text is from someone else, there's a war going on outside and we're in the middle of it. Lee and Jimmy are handling it, but Mark needs to remain here clueless about what's going on. Nod your head if you understand."

Upon finishing her text she immediately sent a nod to Link who nodded back while Mark sent a look at the television and noticed that it was tuned to another World War II documentary.

"Hey is it just me, but does it seem like the entire plan for the Americans on D-Day was just to send wave after wave of men at the beaches and hope the Germans would either run out of ammo or guns would ham up from the constant firing?" Mark asked earning a slight nod from Link.

"Pretty much, they followed the same strategy in The Pacific against the Japanese as well." Ren stated earning a nod from Mark.

"Do you like talking about that?" Mark asked.

"Do you like talking about slavery?" she asked with sarcasm in her tone.

"That answer may surprise you." Mark retorted while Ren merely chuckled.

"Yeah it bothers me!" she replied while Mark gave a chuckle of his own.

"Well if you must know I'm a history buff so things like slavery, the murders, and such don't really bother me. I mean it does bother me, but it's not like something I can't have a debate over." He replied while Ren gave him a raised brow.

"Well than I don't know much history on this place, but I figure you don't know much history on Japan outside of the wars. How about a game of show and tell." She replied while Mark chuckled.

"Alright let's start with the Atlantic Slave Trade." Mark let out while Ren sent a look to Link who merely smiled at her.

Elsewhere

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" yelled Marrick as ducked down from a series of bullets flying over his head along with Mook who both looked over and noticed Jimmy, Davey, and Eddy trading shots with their attackers and even taking a few out in the process.

"Motherfuckers shot me." Yelled one man with a black ski mask covering his face as he layed on the ground with blood leaking from the two bullet wounds in his stomach.

"Looks like someone's spilling their guts out to you brother." Davey yelled out as Jimmy fired another shot that struck one man in the side of the neck and sent him falling on the hood of the Baller pouring his blood on the windshield.

"Just the way I like it!" Jimmy shot back as he fired another shot that hit the side of a man's car and sent him ducking down as the glass exploded and sliced into his right arm.

"You know you assholes can help us out at any fucking time really." Eddy screamed out as he looked to Marrick and Mook who were both taking cover behind a car.

"I'm out here naked white boy." Marrick yelled out.

"Really you're the older brother of Marcus Roman, the Concrete Soldier, the Black Gunslinger, the fucking Human Arsenal and you're ducking down over there telling us you don't have any kind of gun at all? Davey yelled out as he ducked for cover against another wave of bullets that slammed into the side of Jimmy's truck and blew out his back window.

"THAT's MY TRUCK MOTHERFUCKER!" Jimmy yelled out as he fired four more shots that hit one man in the right eye and blew out the back of his head. The redheaded man than ducked back down and started to reload his rifle while looking at Mook and Marrick.

"Shit!" he said before barrel rolling to cover behind the car and avoiding the several bullets that hit the ground in his place.

"Shit who invited your ass?" asked Mook.

"At least I can fit behind the car fat ass." Jimmy yelled out before looking back to Marrick. "You mean there aren't any guys at this place?"

"There a few in that apartment, but one of the homies got hit and ain't come back out." he yelled out.

"Then get in there while we cover you." Jimmy shot back while firing off a barrage of rounds in the direction of their attackers while Marrick and Mook took their chances and ran for the apartment with a few of the shooters noticing them and moving to take aim at them.

"I got-!" started one man before he was hit twice in the mouth courtesy of Davey who blew out the man's front teeth and sent them flying across the hood of a car.

"Your fight is with us, remember that you pricks." The BSU member yelled out before ducking to reload while a gangster with an AK-47 sent a barrage of rounds their way and managed to strike Davey once in the arm going completely through and leaving him screaming as loud as he could.

"Motherfuckers." Eddy yelled out as he fired another barrage of rounds on his own and managed to hit the man with the AK before yelling for Jimmy who took in the sight of the shot Davey and gave a low growl.

"Damnit!" said Jimmy just as the sound of gunshots came from over his head and caused him to look back and notice Marrick running out of the apartment armed with a AK-47 with a drum magazine in his hands that he quickly started to unload on all the gangsters killing four, injuring seven, and pushing the remaining behind their cars in cover to avoid the bullets.

"Ain't no hiding." Said Jimmy as he stuck his hands through the broken window of the car he was using for cover and pulling the stick shift into neutral before pushing the car in the direction of their attackers.

"Hey that's my car asshole." Yelled out Mook as he stood beside Marrick armed with a Glock 19 watching Jimmy as he opened the gas tank of the car and yelled out, "Buy a new one."

With those words Jimmy quickly pushed the car in the direction of their attackers catching them by surprise and causing them to unload on the vehicle thinking that the group was trying to make an escape. Instead of killing them though they merely created a tool for their own destruction as fire started to erupt from the hood of the car before it went up in a violent explosion that took three of the other cars and the gang members around them with it.

"You motherfucker!" yelled out Mook.

"Alright push forward." Jimmy yelled out as both Davey and Eddy came vaulting over the hood of Jimmy's truck and opened fire on the remaining gangsters who were left incapacitated by the force of the explosion and left vulnerable to the onslaught of the BSU and Roman Boyz.

"Fuck you!" yelled out one man as he went to raise his Rifle at Marrick who merely shot him in the head before moving on to the next.

"Some are trying to run?" said Eddy as he looked up and noticed four men were trying to run down the street but before they could get far Marrick merely unloaded his AK on them and watched as they all hit the ground with bullets in their bodies.

"Stupid motherfuckers." Said Marrick as he looked to Jimmy, Davey, and Eddy and watched as the trio made their way to his truck.

"Where the fuck are you going?" asked Marrick.

"Back to our club, I have a feeling these assholes are coming for us as well." Said Jimmy.

"You riding on these motherfuckers I'm riding." Marrick yelled out as he climbed into the back of Jimmy's truck before looking to Mook.

"Man you can have fun with these white boys on your own dawg I'm gonna hold it down here." The Roman Boyz Soldier yelled out.

"Good I don't think my truck can handle the suspension." Jimmy yelled before driving off leaving Mook in anger.

Meanwhile

The sound of a gun cocking came like a breaking glass to the BSU members inside of the club as they each lifted their heads and noticed Marco standing in the VIP section with his ACR Assault Rifle in his hands and his Machete strapped to his back as he started to make his way down the stairs.

"It would seem this place is about to get hit so I suggest you all either take cover or take up a gun and help me." The Afro Dominican man stated before looking to the BSU Members who gave him mixed looks. "Forgot none of you are actual killers, pathetic." He added before walking out the door and leaving the BSU members more confused than they already were before the sound of gunshots in the distance caught all their attention.

Elsewhere

"There they go, we're cutting them off." Yelled Lee as he and the other BSU members noticed a convoy of about six vehicles heading in the direction of their nightclub. They were still a block away from the actual building but they didn't want to bring the fight down upon them.

"Hang on!" Lee yelled out as he pulled his Dominator in the middle of the street with a screeching halt causing the convoy of gangsters to stop in their tracks before watching as the BSU members piled out of the car with Lee lifting up the Mini Uzi and firing a barrage of rounds in the windshield of the first car killing the driver and the passenger who were both hit multiple times in the face, neck, and chest until their bodies were almost unrecognizable.

"Get these motherfuckers." Yelled a 4th Ward gangster as he climbed out of his vehicle along with their others who sent a barrage of rounds in the direction of Lee and the others forcing them into cover behind the Dominator while blindly firing from cover.

"I think we got their attention." Said Buck as Robbie took a moment and fired off three shots in the direction of the gangsters while Lee looked around and noticed the somewhat empty Mediterranean restaurant to their right.

"Into the restaurant." He ordered before laying down covering fire and striking one gunman in the chest while the others made their way into the restaurant that was soon the next target for the gangster's attack as they shot out the windows, blew open the door, and painted the walls in bullets while the BSU members used tables for cover.

"Son of a bitch!" said Lee as he blindly fired his Mini-Uzi and managed to hit one man four times in the chest and blow what was left of his lungs out the back of his body.

"Damn and I thought smoking was bad for your lungs." Said Buck as he fired off two shots from his Pistol that hit one man in the knee only to duck back down as the same man returned fire.

"We're gonna run out of ammo at this rate." Yelled Thire as both he and Tup continued to shoot while Pete kept his head down.

"You're right!" said Lee as he slipped in the last magazine of the Mini Uzi before looking to Buck, Thire, Robbie, Tup, and Pete. "Alright new plan, Pete take Buck and go a block over to the club and get us some ammo and better weapons. We'll hold them off and keep them from crossing to the next street over." he stated.

"We can't just leave you all here?" Buck yelled out.

"You got no choice, these assholes can't reach the club and we won't allow it." Said Lee as he looked to Robbie, Thire, and Tup who each nodded their heads at him.

"Alright, but this restaurant won't hold them back forever. If it looks like they're breaching fall back to the club Lee and that's an order." Pete retorted.

"I don't take orders from you." The Chinese man shot back.

"I'm not giving it from BSU, I'm giving it as a friend whose tired of burying his own." He corrected.

"We'll try to keep it that way." Replied Lee as a man armed with an AK charged the building only to be hit in the face courtesy of Thire with a well-placed shot through his right cheek.

"Let's go!" said Pete as he ran out the back of the store with Buck who couldn't help but to look back at Lee who ducked down to avoid salvo of bullets.

9th Ward

While Lee and the other BSU members were battling it out in the 17th Ward, the Kingpin of New Arcadia Joe found himself sitting on the far end of a table with Cake standing beside him. As the duo sat they took in the sight of Muujai talking with Fatman and Mookie.

Despite being known by many as the Kingpin of New Arcadia, Joe was quickly becoming the puppet to Muujai and the BGA. He was starting to lose face on the street and more people seemed to be going to the self-described cannibal instead of him. Even the war efforts against BSU and the Roman Boyz seemed to all be swinging in the favor of Muujai and his new favorite army in the 4th Ward.

"Marrick escaped his onslaught." Said Fatman earning a wide eye from Muujai.

"And how did he accomplish this?" the Somali man asked with venom in his tone.

"He got help, three of Mark's white boys were there and the rest of them bitches stopped a couple of our guys when they was heading to his club. They bucking on them now, but they ducked off in a store." Stated Mookie earning a nod from Muujai.

"Redirect all your homies to the club, forget Maurice and his worthless other sons. Mark is down and we have a chance to wipe his entire crew off the board now while he's down. We can't waste it, so send everyone to that club, burn it down and kill everyone inside." Muujai ordered earning a nod from Fatman before he walked out of the room with Mookie in tow and leaving the BGA members alone with Cake.

"All that heat you putting on Mark's crew, you know that's gonna bring a lot of heat on us." Joe stated earning a slight chuckle from Muujai.

"It will bring a lot on New Arcadia mostly the 3rd, 4th, and 17th Ward. It's good if the government wants to go after them because of all the killings, and today it would just make them strengthen their efforts against them. It's a good thing, that we distance ourselves from it and make it look like just another feud between gangs in the wards." Muujai stated before looking to Cake.

"I hope neither of you have a problem with this." He stated earning slight nods from the duo.

"Nah we good." Said Cake with little emotion in his tone as he watched Muujai walk out of the room with a smug smile on his face.

Meanwhile

The sound of the club doors opening was thunderous and caused a series of shutters from the BSU members who turned their heads and noticed Buck and Pete standing in the doorway.

"Goddamn you almost gave me a heart attack." Yelled out Julie with anger in her voice.

"We don't have time for this move." Said Buck as he ran off while Pete moved to the other BSU members.

"What's the hell is going on out there?" asked Tasha with concern in her voice. "It sounds like a goddamn war is going on out there." She added.

"The assholes out here have found out Mark's hurt and are moving on Lee and his family. Jimmy's fighting them off with his brothers, but Lee, Robbie, Thire, and Tup are a block over trying to keep douchebags from coming this way and lighting us all up." Pete stated before a loud clattering sound caught the attention of everyone as they watched Buck open up a duffel bag and throw in a series of gun while Pete walked over and picked up an AK-74 Assault Rifle. "And I'm gonna help them." He finished.

"If you're gonna help us you're gonna need a gun you can handle for a beginner that you can handle." Said Buck as he passed Pete an AR-15.

"And this is any better?" the Sunbelt VP asked with a raised brow.

"If a mass shooter can use it so can you." Buck replied while loading a fresh magazine into his P90 Submachine gun as Pete rolled his eyes at him.

"Pete you don't have to do this, let them handle it." Tasha stated while looking to Buck who loaded more weapons into the duffel bag.

"I can't do that, Mark, Lee, Jimmy…all of them have solved all of our problems and are probably the only reason so many of us are alive right now and right now they need help and I'm not gonna turn away from them." Said Pete as he looked to Buck who merely nodded his head at him before heading for the door with the duffel bag over his shoulder.

Meanwhile

"Shit, I'm out!" yelled out Robbie as he looked down at the spent shells near his feet in anger.

"Yeah me to." Added Thire as he looked down at his pistol in anger along with Tup while Lee fired off his last five bullets from his M9A1 before ducking back down to avoid another salvo of shots.

"Goddamn it, I was hoping they'd run out of ammo before we did." Said Lee as he lowered his head from another passing bullet before the sound of silence filled their heads.

"Shit their about storm us, out the back." The Chinese man yelled as the group of BSU members started to run for the door just as a Molotov Cocktail was thrown through the window and quickly ignited the restaurant and sent the BSU members running out the back gasping for air.

"We gotta get to the club." Said Thire as he and the others made their way down the street before running into Buck and Pete midway.

"Glad to see you're in one piece." said Buck with a smile.

"Not gonna die to these dickless assholes." Lee replied while Buck handed him his Tactical Mossberg 500, then Tup and Thire their MP5 Submachine Guns, and Robbie two Mac-11 just as a familiar truck came speeding down the street with a white van behind it and pulling to a halt in front of the club.

"Damn you drive bad son." Yelled out Marrick as he jumped from the tail bed of the truck while Jimmy, Davey, and Eddy jumped from the front and Manfred stepped from the white van.

"You guys made it." Said Lee earning a nod from Jimmy.

"Yeah and just in time all these assholes are being rerouted to this location. We stopped a couple of guys on the way here, but we don't think we made a dent in their numbers." The redhead stated just as a shot went off and caused them all to take cover before looking up and noticing Marco standing on the rooftop of the club with a Barrett .50 caliber Sniper Rifle in his hands.

"Hey that's Mark's!" yelled Buck.

"He won't be needing it and you guys need to set up a defensive around the club if you want to keep it intact. These assholes are gonna come from every direction." Marco stated earning nods from the BSU members.

"Ya'll white boys need to come up with some shit fast." Said Marrick as he looked down the street.

"Me, Thire, Tup, and Robbie will cover the back, Jimmy and the rest of you cover the front." Lee ordered earning nods from the group just as three all-black Ballers came speeding down the street.

"Fights here!" yelled Jimmy as he lifted up his Rifle and fired off a series of shots.

Metra, Lincoln Parish

The sound of the door being slammed open caught Ernesto by surprise as he lifted his head and noticed Felix and Adahy made their way inside. "Didn't your familia teach you how to knock?" The Onda member asked with venom in his tone.

"Word on the street is the 4th Ward and the BGA are moving on BSU and the Roman Boyz while he's down." Stated Adahy.

"Sounds like their problem." Ernesto responded. "Our truce with Mark doesn't say I have to send Soldados to help them whenever they're having problems." He added.

"Exactly, they're screwed either way if we help them or not." Stated Adahy.

"Mark is down, so that means Lee's in charge. Lee isn't as good a leader or tactician as Mark, they're gonna lose a lot of people today. Enough that we should be more comfortable taking on Mark and the remnants of his crew." Said Felix causing Ernesto to look up at him with a mixed expression before speaking.

"I guess we'll see by the end of this day won't we." The Onda member shot back with little hesitation in his voice.

Meanwhile

"Here they come!" yelled out Buck as he stood his ground with Jimmy and the others in front of the nightclub in a defensive position just as three all black SUV's came speeding down the road in their direction.

Before the vehicles could get far though, Marco was the first to strike and managed to snipe the driver in the lead vehicle in the center of the head and leaving him crashing his vehicle into a light post to the shock of everyone in the other vehicles before the sound of automatic gunfire filled their ears as the BSU members opened fire on their vehicles and sent them rushing out with one man being stopped in his tracks as his seatbelt became the instrument of his death, pinning him down to be hit by a hail of gunfire in the leg, shoulder, and side courtesy of Marrick Roman who shot almost like a madman at his biggest rival in the ward.

"Come on Motherfuckers you want to try and kill me, well I'm fucking right here." The middle-born son of Yolanda Roman yelled out with venom in his tone as he fired off another barrage of rounds sending a few men ducking for cover to avoid his shots and blindly firing over their vehicles.

"Hiding means nothing!" Marco let out with little emotion in his tone as he fired a single round from high powered Rifle and managed to strike one man in the shoulder and watching in glee as the powerful bullet went through the man's torso and struck another man who was standing behind him in the leg and leaving them both on the ground screaming out in anger and venom.

The Dominican Trinity gang member then turned his Rifle on another 4th Ward gangster who was starting to push forward with a Glock 19 in his hands. Than with another squeeze of his trigger, he swept the man off his feet deciding it would be more amusing to hit the man in the kneecap instead of any vital area on his body.

To his delight he was met with a howl of pain and sorrow from the man as he looked down and noticed that his knee was almost nonexistent on his body. The bullet had torn completely through his flesh and literally made his bones implode from the force of the shot.

"Now just lie there and bleed out." He stated with venom in his tone while Jimmy reloaded his M14 and fired off three selective shots that hit one man in the stomach and sent him falling on the side of his car clutching his body abdomen while another man was hit once in the mouth.

"Give them everything you got." The redheaded BSU member ordered as he looked to Davey and Eddy and watched them fire off another salvo of rounds shoot down three men with shots to their chest and sending them crashing to the ground before ducking for cover behind Jimmy's truck as another barrage of rounds came their way.

"Seems like they're giving us everything they got as well." Said Buck.

"Don't worry, we don't have Mark but we do have a Roman with us if it's any constellation." Said Davey as the group watched Marrick cut down a man wearing a New Arcadia Sinners cap and sending it flying off the top of that man's head.

"I claim that dead bitches hat." Marrick yelled out.

"Anybody ever tell you not to take a dead man's hat?" asked Jimmy.

"His hat, his shoes, he took my bullets I'm taking his shit!" Marrick barked out before he shot another man in the leg and sent him sprawled out screaming.

As Marrick and the BSU members fought in the front, Lee and the rest found themselves defending the back as another wave of 4th Ward attackers tried to fight to the back door.

"Alright now this is more like it." Yelled out Lee as he racked his Mossberg and fired off a single buckshot that managed to hit one man in the side of the face and another in the shoulder. "You fucked up by coming here." The Chinese man added as he continued to fire off more burst of shells and managed to kill five men before needing to stop and reload.

"Keep me covered!" he ordered out as Thire and Tup opened fire on their attackers with their MP5's spraying up an all-black Peyote with rounds to the hood and windshield that actually sent chunks of glass into the bodies of the men around it is leaving them open to an attack from Robbie who cut down three men with a single clip from just one of his Mac-10's.

"That we can do!" the Dominican man stated before firing off another barrage from his Machine Pistol and hitting on man six times in the back as he tried to flee.

"There is no fucking escape for any of you." Lee barked out as he finished reloading and hit one man with a well-placed shot to his face that tore the entire left side off and left his eyeball dangling out of place.

"Holy shit I think I'm gonna be sick!" said Pete with disgust in his voice as Lee looked over and noticed the man squatting behind a dumpster for cover and not firing any shot from his Rifle.

"Come on Pete…stand up and fight." Yelled out Lee earning the attention of Pete who tried his best to listen through the sound of automatic gunfire going off all around him. "Get on your feet and fight in the trenches like the rest of us." He added and his words seemed to be encouraging to the Sunbelt Vice President as he started to stand on his feet.

"That's right Pete, you can do it." The Chinese man added and then watched as Pete started to lift up the Assault Rifle he was given and aim it in the direction of their attackers. "Fire your weapon Pete, hit these goddamn sons of bitches Pete…LET IT OUT!" Lee finished than to his surprise Pete actually squeezed the trigger not once, not twice, but three times in the direction of their attackers. He didn't hit anyone or even come close to it because he wasn't expecting the recoil.

After readjusting himself though he soon started to shoot in rhythm with the other BSU members until reality started to hit him. "Keep firing let um have it, don't slack it off, pour it on them Pete." Lee continued barking orders like a WWII Captain to his soldiers and watching as the 4th Ward gangsters reaped the punishment of his soldiers.

"Kill all these motherfuckers right now!" Lee yelled out with venom in his tone.

Sunbelt City, New Austin

The sun was starting to set on this day on Sunbelt's Southwest side and when the sun was away, the demons came out to play. It was these demons that filled the eyes of Task as he found himself driving through the streets and taking in the sight of prostitutes whistling at passing cars, dealers on corners, and a few Pee Wee gangsters on bikes roaming the streets.

Both Mark and Felix warned Task about what the Southwest of Sunbelt was like in a few words. "A large area with a bunch of gangs laying claim to it." As the Lakota rode through the streets he understood why they each said this. It seemed almost like with every corner he turned he saw gangs of a different color and different tagging's proclaiming the South West as their territory, but all showing disrespect to each other in their own way.

It was these intense rivalries that made the South West dangerous and the people living here under a constant fear that they may one day come home and catch a bullet or find out that their loved ones caught it.

It was no way to live, but right now Task wasn't putting much thought into their problems. He was focused on the job at hand and the job at hand was destroying a stash house of guns by any means necessary.

New Arcadia

The sound of laughing continued to fill the ears of Mark as he found himself still sitting down talking with Link and Ren, the former of whom seemed to be acting somewhat differently since he came to see him. The youngest Roman couldn't put his finger on it, but he would finger out what was bothering him.

Before he could think more on the matter though the sound of his cellphone ringing seemed to caught his attention. So as swiftly as he could he snatched up and answered thinking that it was either Lee asking him for something or Patrick calling to taunt and gloat as usual.

"Hello!" he answered before only being met with a familiar voice on the other end that caught him by surprise. This didn't go unnoticed either as Link and Ren turned to face the Creole who had a puzzled look on his face.

"Ali!" he let out earning a raised brow from Ren while Link merely touched her shoulder and directed his head to the door. Taking his hint Ren immediately followed him out of the room and left Mark alone with one of the three women in his life.

"How are you?" he asked earning a slight chuckle from the woman on the other end of the phone.

"I should be asking you that, I'm not the one who had brain surgery." She responded while Mark merely chuckled. "How is your head anyway?" she asked.

"Doing better, my doctor says I can go home in a few days." He replied.

"Really that makes me feel better." Alison stated while Mark merely chuckled.

"We got Neto and in a few days…he'll only be a memory and that chapter of our lives will be forever closed." He retorted.

"But what about the other chapters in your life Marcus. The gang wars in New Arcadia, the BGA, your families business…when will all of those chapters close?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from Mark before he responded.

"Soon-!" he finished while keeping his head low.

"How's the club?" she asked.

"It's doing good, we had to push opening night back but nobody has shot it up yet." He replied.

"That's good!" she responded as she and Mark continued their conversation while Link stood outside the room trying to reach Lee on his phone.

Elsewhere

"Damnit not now Link!" the Chinese man responded as he sent his phone to voice message before firing a single shot that struck one man in the chest and sent him flying backwards on the hood of a car.

"Alright we've cleared um out." Lee yelled just as the sound of more screeching tires coming from the front of the club caught all their attentions.

"You had to jinx it." Said Tup as Lee and the others started to run back to the front of the club where they noticed Jimmy, Davey, Eddy, Buck, and Marrick ducking for cover behind what remained of Jimmy's truck as more 4th Ward and BGA gunmen opened fire on their location.

"Shit is it gonna end anytime soon?" Lee asked as Thire and Tup turned their guns on the arrivals killing two men with shots to the chest and stomach only to roll to cover as more men sent a barrage of rounds their way.

"Talk about constant bullshit we're gonna run out of ammo at this rate." Said Eddy as Davey forced his head down to avoid a series of shots coming for his head.

"We're gonna need something big to drop on these assholes." Said Jimmy as Lee nodded his head.

"GRENADE!" Buck yelled out.

As the group outside the walls continued to fight hard outside many of the BSU members inside found themselves cowering in fear underneath tables and behind the bars in order to avoid the shots. Lucky for them Mark had made sure to buy reinforced walls just for events like this. So no shots were coming through the walls or windows but there were still bullet holes on the outside of the building.

"Screw this I'm going out to help." Said Tector as both he and Billy rose to their feet and started to make their way over to the table of guns.

"If you guys go out there you'll die." Said Mira.

"She's right let Lee and the rest of them handle it." Retorted Tasha.

"It's easy to say let them handle it because they've handled things like this before, but Pete's right. We're tired of sitting on the sidelines and not doing anything while Mark, Lee, and Jimmy solve all our problems. It's time we stand on our own two feet and solve our own goddamn problems for once, because if they die protecting us and we did nothing about it…that'll really make me wonder why they call us Brothers Stand United when we didn't stand united." Billy stated earning mixed looks from the others.

"So if you want to take a stand and help than-." Billy started before a loud explosion caught them all by surprise and sent them all falling to the ground to take cover and letting out screams in fear at the deafening blast.

Carcer City

"So how is she?" Mark asked as Alison turned from her seated position on the couch and looked to Ana who was sitting on the bed looking at Alison's laptop.

"She's doing much better." The FIB Agent responded earning the attention of Ana who looked to her closely.

"Will she speak with me?" he asked causing Alison to look again at Ana who merely shook her head in a no response.

"She's sleeping right now." She responded.

"I understand let her rest." Mark retorted before he and Alison shared their goodbyes with the woman soon turning her had to face Ana.

"Is he doing any better?" the IAA Agent asked earning a nod from Alison.

"So he claims, why won't you talk with him?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from Ana before she finally responded.

"Because I have an image to keep." She let out to the confusion of Alison who looked back at her with one raised eyebrow. "I had a tube down my throat for a few weeks so my voice hasn't fully returned and I sound weak." She responded.

"What does that have to-." Ali started before being cut off by Ana who caught her by surprise with her next comment.

"Being in the IAA is about image, over the years I've created myself this Femme Fatale image to those around me. When Mark, Lee, Link, and the rest of them look at me they see this unbreakable unstoppable warrior in a red dress. If they see me now…weak, hurt, and broken it won't just damage my image to them but it may damage them emotionally to see their anchor of strength so hurt." She stated earning a slight nod from Alison.

"I see your point, but are you really gonna stay here for months to heal just so they won't see you weak?" she asked with a raised brow. "I think they can handle seeing you hurt because I know they'll take time out of all their days just to help you and seeing you like this…it just may get them away from their life problems." She stated earning silence from Ana.

"Visiting hours are almost over, and I'm gonna be buying a plane ticket back to New Arcadia in a few days. After you're medically clear to fly, if you want to come back let me know but if you want to stay… I can't just stay here with you anymore." Alison finished before giving Ana a goodnight than making her way out of the door while the IAA Agent sat in silence.

New Arcadia

A cloud of white smoke seemed to blanket the battlefield that was created outside of the club as Lee found himself slowly starting to come back to reality and notice Davey, Eddy, and Buck each lying on the ground with blood leaking from their arms and legs where the Shrapnel from the Grenade had hit them.

Luckily for them Jimmy had managed to shoot the guy ready to throw it in the arm just as he let the explosive go. Still, he managed to let it go and in dumb luck a gangster kicked it in their direction but before it could even get two feet off the toe of his shoe the Grenade went off with an explosion that knocked both sides back and left them all feeling the effects of its explosion.

As Lee started to stand to his feet though he quickly noticed that he was the only one standing up on his own side while a few other 4th Ward members who were standing behind those that got shredded by the Grenade started to woozily stand on their own.

"To hell with-!" Lee started before watching in shock as one man fell to the ground with four bullet wounds in his chest that came from almost out of nowhere.

"What the-!" he started before turning his head and noticing Tector standing behind him with a group of about twelve other BSU members each armed with a different type of gun that was pointed in the direction of their aggressors.

"Brothers Stand United!" he yelled before squeezing the trigger of his Rifle along with the other BSU members who showered the attackers with bullets and riddling five of them with bullets while causing Lee to duck back down as a series of bullets went over his head.

"Goddamn it, same side." The Chinese man yelled out before a rock was thrown at him and caused him to lift his head and notice Marco standing on the roof of the club staring at him.

"Lee get up here now!" the Dominican man yelled out causing the Chinese man to roll his eyes as he watched Marco kick the ladder on the edge of the club so that it hit the ground beside Lee.

"Oh that's so much better." Lee muttered under his breath before walking over to the ladder and beginning to climb it.

Upon reaching the top he was greeted by Marco who walked him over to the edge of the building where he noticed Mark's CM901 Assault Rifle with the M203 Grenade Launcher attachment resting on the edge of the building with a bag full of . "You guys rely so much on Mark that he has the best weapons. You better learn to use his weapons for when he is not around." He stated before picking up and tossing Lee the Rifle.

"I'm not really good with Rifles." Lee replied.

"You better learn to use the Rifle and the Grenade Launcher quick and cover your guys because you got more of these guys coming in and this will even the fight." Marco stated while Lee looked over the weapon before the sound of screeching tires caused him to turn his head and notice three SUV's speeding towards the club.

"They just keep coming." stated Thire venom in his tone as he started to come back to reality with the other downed fighters.

"Just when I thought this was gonna get easy." Lee yelled out with venom in his tone as he lifted up Mark's Rifle and aimed at one of the three cars as it pulled to a stop just behind a few others.

"Got ya!" he yelled out before firing a single Grenade that soared past the BSU members on the ground and caught them by surprise as they watched the explosive slam into the hood of the first vehicle and go in a violent explosion that took out the other two vehicles and another two vehicles that were stalled from a previous attack. Along with the vehicles a total of fourteen gangsters were caught in the blast and were sent flying in pieces while another twelve were left choking from the fire that was produced from the blast.

It wasn't just powerful enough to wreck the vehicles of the 4th Ward, it was also strong enough to shatter the windows of several building, including the reinforced windows of their nightclub and blow the doors off another three. The BSU members on the ground were also knocked to their feet by the force of the explosion and were now all on the ground coughing, choking, and wheezing from the cloud of smoke produced by the Grenade.

"Holy shit!" said Lee as he looked at the weapon with wide eyes.

"Goddamn what the fuck was that?" asked Jimmy with fear and shock in his eyes as he rubbed his sore ears but also struggled to breath.

"Son of a bitch, where the fuck did Mark get a XM1060 Grenade?" asked Marco as he looked at the weapon while Lee looked at it also with wide eyed.

"What kinda Grenades are these?" Lee asked.

"XM1060, they're thermobaric!" replied Marco earning a raised brow from Lee. "It set's the air on fire, those things are in the process of being outlawed by most countries. How the fuck did Mark get his hand on one?" the Dominican man asked with anger in his tone as he looked at Lee who continued to look at the streets in awe.

"All of you get off the street now, get inside the club, and don't breathe in the black smoke." Marco ordered before watching as the group of BSU members made their way inside of the club while Marco looked to Lee with wide eyes.

"Should I load another?" the Chinese man asked.

"Not if you don't want to level this entire street, stick to the Rifle!" Marco yelled out.

"I don't think we'll be needing it." Lee stated before looking out with the others and noticing that the few remaining 4th Ward members were now running and some stumbling for their lives away from the club while Marco turned his Rifle on them and shot them each down as they tried to flee.

"Damn if the police weren't on their way before they're definitely on their way now and the National Guard won't be far behind." Said Lee.

"Let me make a few phone calls, I'll have this solved." Marco stated.

Hours Later

"A violent gas explosion almost leveled a small street in Uptown New Arcadia earlier today. The explosion took place on Nether Avenue in the upper 17th Ward and resulted in the deaths of nearly fifty people but also the destruction of several buildings and vehicles-." The news reporter stated as Mark found himself looking at the television while his phone was placed to his ear.

"Gas explosion you want to tell me exactly what the hell happened today?" the Creole asked with a hint of emotionlessness in his tone.

"The forth and the BGA came at us and we handled it." Lee replied while Mark merely nodded his head in his response.

"Really and how did that go?" he asked.

"A few bumps and bruises, but we came out whole even some of the Tax Free's got involved and came out whole." Lee responded.

"A good leader would do that." Mark responded before.

"Speaking of which that gas explosion was a result of your…special grenade." Lee stated earning a nod and a chuckle from Mark. "Mind explaining what the hell was that?" he added.

"That was supposed to be my secret weapon against Neto when we last fought. He can't fight me if his bitch ass can't breathe." Mark retorted.

"Yeah a lot of us couldn't breathe earlier today either from that shit." Lee replied.

"Don't worry now you know to run when I shoot more because I still got two more of them in places you wouldn't expect." Stated Mark while Lee rolled his eyes.

"Give us the warning the next time you use one of them I like oxygen." Lee stated while Mark merely chuckled before the sound of the door creaking open caught his attention and caused him to turn his head and notice a familiar woman standing in the doorway.

"I gotta call you back." Said Mark as he hung up his cellphone and looked to the woman in his doorway with a chuckle. "So how was your day, I heard it was pretty interesting." He added with a sick smile.

"Shut up, I wish you would have told us we are about as safe as we are in Sunbelt as we are here." Tasha retorted with venom in her tone.

"Worse, you guys just got some Onda Bullshitter trying to kick you out of Sunbelt. Here the lead Kingpin of New Arcadia wants us dead, the BGA have been trying to kill me since I was sixteen and STILL want me dead, gangsters in the 4th Ward want me dead, a couple of other gangs secretly want me dead, NAPD want me dead, FIB want me dead, some KGB Russian wants me dead, and a couple of gangs in Carcer City and Los Santos also want me dead." Stated Mark with a smile. "Seriously it's not even the end of January and I've been to the hospital so much this room is kinda reserved for me." He added.

"All of this happens to you because you choose this lifestyle." Tasha retorted with a snark response.

"I seem to recall the saying is be the best at what you're best at." Mark shot back with a snark smile of his own. "Why exactly are you here right now Tasha, and don't say to see your father because I know you and him haven't been seeing eye to eye with each other in the last couple of years." He added while Tasha eyed him angrily.

"He'd rather see his daughter with a killer just because he speaks French over a hardworking man." Tasha responded.

"Ryan has just as much blood as the rest of us, because in case you forget Ryan only brought us into BSU because he needed guys to make the Skinheads they keep beating up to disappear and we weren't afraid to do that. He's just as fucked up as we are." The Creole stated before watching Tasha's demeanor soften.

"The reason I'm here is because in a few days Lee wants us and the Tax Free's to…!" she started before trailing off.

"Strike back against these assholes that attacked us?" he asked.

"Yes, but this isn't our war and our guys helped you fight so why should we help you fight your wars?" she asked with venom in her tone.

"Because if you want me to take control of the Tax Free's and lead them, then you're gonna have to impress me and since I'm fighting your wars…you will help me fight might." The Creole stated to the surprise of Tasha as she eyed him closely.

"How did you know about that?" she asked with shock in her tone.

"Go back to them and let them know my protection doesn't come from those that fight behind me but instead those that fight beside me and if they want it…tell them to move to the front." Mark finished before turning away from Tasha who merely eyed him angrily before walking out of the room and slamming the door.

"Is she gone?" came a familiar vice that caused Mark to turn his head and notice a familiar brown haired woman standing behind him with a serious look on her face.

"Yeah she's gone!" he replied while Brooke started to approach him from behind. "How did you figure she was gonna try and sleep with me to get me to take over the Tax Free's?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Because when Ryan wants something really really badly he'll pull out all the stops to get it." She responded while Mark nodded his head.

"Did…did he make you-." He started only to be cutoff by the tattooed girl.

"A couple of times, he was gonna have me sleep with you if you'd refused. He calls it taking one for the team." She stated while Mark nodded his head. "We all got to pitch in." she stated while Mark again nodded his head before looking away.

"I shouldn't have thought it as taking one for the team." She retorted causing the Creole to look over at her just as she moved to give him a quick kiss only to be stopped by Mark who merely recoiled his head and took her by surprise.

"It wouldn't feel right, I don't sleep around on Ali. We both know what that pain feels like, and I wouldn't want her to feel your pain." He replied looking away from Brooke who merely nodded her head at him.

"I understand, and I'm proud you turned me down and said what you said. It lets me know there are still some good men in the world." She stated before turning around and walking away from Mark who only muttered "I'm not a good person," under his breath.

"Hey Mark-!" she called out causing Mark took look over his shoulder at her as she stood in the doorway.

"If I wasn't with Ryan, when you did join BSU would you have given me a chance like Tasha or would you have just seen me like Shawna and Whitney?" she asked earning a few seconds of silence from Mark before he spoke.

"The reason Shawna and Whitney didn't have a chance was because of what they did on the side with other guys. Being faithful is important to me and I knew they couldn't do that." He stated earning a nod from Brooke. "You're as loyal as it gets so yeah you had a chance." He finished earning a smile from Brooke before she walked out of the room and left Mark alone to himself.

Sunbelt City

The sound of a sewer lid opening seemed to be faint to the ears of those in the South West Sunbelt as Task crawled out from the sewers with a serious look on his face as he looked around the street and took in the sight of the neighborhood he'd entered.

He was deep in South West Vago territory and to avoid being spotted he used the sewer system the same as he did during his escape with the Rifas. It made entering the hood a lot easier but it also made carrying a great deal of weapons a lot harder with the extra weight pulling you down in the waters.

As of now he was only armed with his MP5K and a Glock 19, but he only planned to use them if he really needed to. Right now his mission was strictly demolition, so he didn't need to interact with much people…so he hoped.

Upon spotting the house that Cheta and the other Rifa's had told him about, he quickly undid a rope that was tied around his waist and led back into the sewer. The Lakota than began pulling on the rope until a bright red Jerry Can with a metal tube coming out of the top of it. When it came to demolitions, Adahy was a master of it and had taught Task a few useful tricks on making homemade explosives.

This particular Jerry Can wasn't just filled with Gasoline the metal pipe at the top was filled with gunpowder also for an extra bang and it acted almost like a funnel giving the Lakota enough time to light it, throw it, and create some distance before it finally exploded.

As Task started make his way to the house he quickly noticed that all the windows were either boarded up or were covered in aluminum foil preventing people from looking inside. These were clear signs that this place wasn't an upstanding home and what was going on inside was more than likely on the illegal side of things.

"Seems like a god spot." He whispered out before standing next to a window covered in aluminum foil and deciding it was the best spot to hit.

The Lakota than pulled out a lighter and lit the top of the pipe creating a burning ember at the top it before grabbing the Jerry Can by the top and tossing it through the window of the house and creating a loud crashing sound that came from the glass alerting everyone inside of the home and the surrounding area that something was up.

Taking his chance the Lakota quickly started to run back to the manhole just as four men of Mexican American descent came rushing into the room where the window was broken with guns drawn only to look down and notice the sparking Jerry Can on the ground.

"SHIT!" the lead man yelled only to go silent along with the others as a violent explosion went off that sent the house up in a fire ball with debris and a cloud of black smoke raining down on the streets.

"Holy shit!" said Task as he looked at what remained of the burning crumbling home before watching as a charred body landed in front of him with a sickening splat and caused him to fall back into the sewer as the sight of the body caught him by surprise.

"Man Adahy what the hell!" the Lakota let out before running down the sewer line and out of the neighborhood.

Authors Note: And I have returned, sorry for such a late update and feedback everyone my laptop was in the shot for two weeks and the first week I wasn't able to take it there. I know this chapter may seem somewhat short but it's mostly because I've had to hold off on this chapter so long that I shorted the battle scene just to get it out faster.

That beginning scene of Mark in the hospital dealing his skull fracture is based off an opening scene in Season three of Peaky Blinders. That entire injury is actually based on Peaky Blinders, also I introduced Tasha's father in this chapter. He's visually based off one of my favorite French actors Jean Reno. I have shown in past chapters that Tasha can understand Mark clearly when he speaks French but she doesn't know too much French herself to speak it.

That and Mark's knowledge and love of his French half, caused a strong relationship between him and Tasha's father. That relationship is strong enough that he distanced himself from her after he found out about what Tasha did to Mark. He's not his father, but I don't think anyone's parent would support them cheating.

Alright time for the action, in reality a lot of problems in life around the world stem from post on social media and a lot of people friend or enemy do look at the pages of people they know but probably aren't on terms with and will probably take advantage of the information they find.

If someone saw a post that Mark was hurt and couldn't fight, they'd probably see that as a goldmine and would probably mount an attack. In this case it didn't go too well.

This chapter was short to my liking but next chapter will be longer as Mark gets out of the hospital and deals with the fallout of everything, BSU move on the 4th, Lee strikes back at Cruz, Felix, and Adahy for their actions in Onkwehonwe's chapter before last, and Link finds himself a white needle in a dark haystack as he sits down with various New Arcadia Ward Bosses to negotiate peace.

Thank you all for reading have a nice day Zilla Out.