Chapter 60: What If:
Mark's Grandmother Lived
Sunbelt City
The sound of police sirens weren't nothing familiar to the number of residents living in the Paletas Housing Complex in South West Sunbelt. The building was known as a hotspot for police raids in the city mostly by ICE and the local law enforcement nothing serious though.
Today though everyone could tell something major was about to go down. The Police Chopper flying overhead was one piece of evidence but the biggest being the rather massive convoy of about ten all black SUV speeding down the streets towards the complex filled with members of Sunbelt Police Department, NOOSE, and even the ATF.
The song For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica was playing loudly on the radio of the first vehicle as the members of Sunbelts Multi-Gang Task Force found themselves leading the charge on what they hoped would be their biggest raid in the state.
The target a local store music shop in the neighborhood that was being operated by members of the Marabunta Grande. Nicknamed "The Destroyer" by people on the streets the building was said to be where the gang conducted many of their illegal operations and a noticeable tip placed it as being a local armory for the gang with weapons as heavy as High Powered Machine Guns and Hand Grenades being on sight.
That made it todays prime target.
After another few minutes of driving the officers quickly surrounded the building on all sides with a couple of the NOOSE members taking up Sniper Positions on the rooftops across from the building.
"Chalmers you in place?" asked a bald Caucasian man with a stern look on his face as he stepped out one of the SUV's and eyed the building closely.
"Yes sir I have eyes on!" replied another man who was looking through the scope of a Sniper Rifle at a window through the building.
"You're all set Leland." The bald man let over his Walkie Talkie who gave a low growl at his response.
"Yeah and I told you to stop calling me that Delgado." He replied with a hint of venom in his tone.
The group that watched as a NOOSE Officer of Salvadoran descent moved to stand in front of one of the SUV's with a megaphone in hand and let those inside that they had the building surrounded and to put down any weapons they had before stepping out of the building with their hands up in Spanish.
It was a few seconds before they got a response and the response came in the form of speakers being turned up loud enough for everyone outside to hear as the song Vatos and Barrios by Brownside started to blare loudly.
"The fuck are they doing?" Chalmers asked while looking to the other NOOSE officers with a raised brow.
He and everyone else then watched in horror as the blinds of the second floor window were pulled back to reveal a heavyset muscular man of Salvadoran descent standing in the window way with an RPG-7 in his hands and aimed directly at them.
"SHIT!" Delgado screamed out with fear in his tone as the Rocket was fired and struck one of the SUV's blocking the main street and causing an explosion that was deafening to everyone around while four NOOSE officers were blown apart in the resulting explosion.
By this point the chatter on the radio was squawking almost nonstop as gunfire soon started to ring out from the building as the Marabunta members opened fire on the local police with Assault Rifles and Submachine Guns.
"Damn!" Delgado yelled out as he ducked for cover behind an SUV.
"NO NO NO!" Chalmers did the same before yelling out to a NOOSE Officer who was about to return fire before being ultimately hit in the forehead and falling back with a loud bang as his helmet collided with the ground.
"Hold this position." Chalmers screamed out to the men beside him before crouching down and proceeding to run off the rooftops.
"Leland can you hold your position?" Delgado screamed out over his radio just as Chalmers came downstairs and noticed the man with his back against the side of a police car.
"Fuck no, we need to fall back." The Southern man yelled back with anger evident in his tone.
"I said, maintain your positions." Delgado continued to scream out while Chalmers moved past Leland and attempted to flank the building.
"Shit!" Leland yelled out as he watched the man sitting next to him get shot in the head before falling back with his brains oozing out his head wound.
"Hold your positions-." Delgado continued to scream out just as another police car was blown to piece courtesy of the man on the RPG who moved to load up another Grenade only to taken by surprise as a series as a black Buffalo came speeding through the blockade of Police Officers and crashing into the front of the building knocking back at least four men before the driver stepped out with a Pistol drawn and firing several shots.
"Hold your fire!" Delgado ordered earning confused looks from everyone who did as they were told while a series of gunshots continued to go off inside of the building before a wave of silence soon washed over everyone.
That wave of silence then soon faded as everyone noticed a rather tall man African American man start to walk out of the building carrying a young girl in one hand and his Pistol in the other while a group of people followed behind.
"Goddamn it Soldier!" Delgado whispered out in anger as the man kept his right hand raised and motioned for the officers to go inside while he approached an angry Delgado. "Next time you want to improvise you let us know." Delgado yelled out while watching the man set the girl down.
"Sorry sir, but there were still Civvies inside and I knew if we dragged it out longer we'd risk them getting hurt." He replied while eyeing the man closely.
"What the status in there soldier?" he asked while the man shook his head. "Twelve wounded Mara's shot them in the legs and arms, two of which surrendered with no problems, and a number of people upstairs. It looks like they were having themselves a party." He replied while Delgado nodded his head before being approached by Leland and Chalmers.
"Tardy to the party as always bro." Chalmers greeted while slapping hands with the man.
"Yeah traffic was brutal." he replied.
"I thought you were still on vacation?" Leland asked with a raised brow.
"I was, but I came home early." He replied with a smile.
"Only to get shot." Chalmers pointed out while looking to the man's arm and revealing blood leaking from a scratch.
"It's just a flesh wound." He pointed out.
"For you it maybe but get it checked out anyway me, Chalmers, and Leland can handle things here." Delgado pointed out.
"Leland?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Sawyer, I mean I just like calling him Leland it's not common." Delgado retorted.
"My name is common?" he asked with a raised brow.
"Marcus Roman, I know about a hundred Marcus's and twelve Roman's so yeah it's common." He replied earning a chuckle from the man.
Hours Later
After getting the gang members loaded up and processed the return back to the Sunbelt Police Station was a thunderous one for Officer Roman and the rest of the Gang Task Force as they received as standing ovation upon walking through the door from everyone inside who greeted them all with hugs and pats on the back.
That was becoming too common for Marcus, this was the groups seventh major bust this year and it was only June. They produced high number of major arrest and because of so was recognized throughout the city. It was the appreciation and love from the city that Marcus liked most about being here.
After leaving the military he decided to put his skills to use by becoming a police officer back in his hometown of New Arcadia. A place he hadn't returned to since he and his grandmother took refuge in Sunbelt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katherine.
He enjoyed growing up in Sunbelt more so then he enjoyed New Arcadia. It wasn't by choice more so by birth. He came from one of the roughest families in the city and that followed him everywhere he went. It was hard for him finding a job even when he became a cop it was hard for him to work. He was always under the eyes of his superiors, many people didn't trust him because of who his family was, and no matter what he did or how hard he worked nobody would know about it because nobody wanted to paint a Roman as a hero in a city where they were considered a cancer.
It was this reason that he left the mean violent streets of New Arcadia for Sunbelt. A place where he felt more at home and along with it he'd brought his old partner and close friend Sawyer along with him. The duo spent time working in two separate divisions but four years ago they were approached by Delgado who was putting together a Gang Task Force and asked to join.
Needless to say they both did so with open arms.
In that time the group had become of the city's most elite anticrime units and he didn't want to toot his own horn but he and most of the police force knew why. He was an Ex-Marine with Special Forces Training, he was a hot commodity that anyone would love in a firefight and most police forces would love to have. He'd gotten offers to go other places not only in the state but the country, but he enjoyed his Sunbelt lifestyle.
As he spent his time at his desk doing paperwork, he couldn't help but to notice smile as Sawyer came up approaching him from behind singing happy birthday and clapping.
"Pussy in Ecuador as good as they say it is Marine?" Sawyer asked while smiling at the man.
"Didn't get any, it was mostly young kale drinking white women and that one fat guy who didn't read that we would be hiking a mountain from top to bottom." He replied earning a chuckle from Sawyer.
"Sounds right up your alley." He shot back earning a laugh from Marcus before the man noticed Sawyer's features soon shift from cheerful to anger as he looked behind the head of the man who couldn't help but to raise his brow at the man's expression before turning his head and noticing something that immediately caused his eyes to widen.
The color red.
It wasn't a bright shade of red but more of a darkish almost auburn shade tied into a rather long ponytail that Mark had become quite accustomed to. Along with the dark reddish hair there was also a pair of bright blue eyes and creamy vanilla skin that had become somewhat withered after years of stress and many sleepless nights. This person was also wearing a blue pants suit that seemed to match the figure and career choice.
"Ali!" Mark whispered out with a hint of shock in his tone.
As the two men watched the woman walked by them, without making eye contact ion the process, Mark couldn't help but to watch her walk by while Sawyer looked down at him closely.
"Don't get any ideas like last time man." Sawyer spoke out while looking to Mark angrily. "We got a good thing here so don't go fucking it up by taking your dick out of your pants." He added while Mark gave a low growl.
"What is she doing here?" Mark asked while not taking his eyes off the woman.
"Same thing she was doing in New Arcadia…destroying lives and you might be back at the top of the list." Sawyer retorted earning a low growl from Marcus who watched the woman closely before the duo was interrupted by the sound of a stack of papers hitting the man's desk.
"The hell are you still doing here Roman?" came the voice of a rather overweight Caucasian man with a handlebar mustache standing over the two men a serious expression on his face.
"My job last time I checked Chief Steele." Marcus retorted.
"Your job description doesn't include property damage." He retorted while eyeing the man closely. "In the meantime your services with the Gang Task Force have been relieved." He added to the man's shock.
"Why because of today?" he asked with anger clearly evident in his tone.
"No because of today you're on a two week paid suspension that is non-negotiable. The decision to pull you off the GTF is because Detective Warren needs help with the Missing Kids Case." He stated to the anger of the man.
"You're putting me on a dead end?" he asked.
"So these missing kids aren't a top priority to you Marcus?" the Chief asked earning a shake of the head from the Roman.
"It is a top priority, but it's a priority that needs more resources to solve and just my inclusion isn't going to make a damn difference." He replied.
"You're one of the best detectives here Roman. I know you'll figure it out…after your suspension is up." He replied before walking away and leaving the duo to themselves to which Mark responded by giving a low growl before rising to his feet and making his way out of the building past a woman of Iranian American with curly brown hair who couldn't help but to turn her head and watched him leave with a half-smile.
Hours Later
As the sun started to set on this day Mark quickly found himself sitting in a bar in Central Sunbelt drowning his newly found anger in a glass of hard liquor when he was interrupted by the voice of a familiar man.
"Glad to see you're back from your vacation." The man spoke out prompting Mark to turn his way and notice the familiar man of Chinese descent standing behind him with a bowl cut and wearing a black button up shirt that was tucked into a pair of slacks with a white collar.
"Reverend Shen…didn't expect to see you in a bar." He replied earning a chuckle from the man as he moved to take a seat next to him.
"I didn't plan on being in one, but your friend Sawyer called me and told me you may need some…spiritual council." He replied earning a chuckle from Mark.
"I haven't been back to your church in years." He interjected while Lee chuckled.
"You haven't been back to my church in years but me and you are still as thick as thieves just like high school." He replied earning a chuckle from Mark.
"So how was the vacation…or did you really go on a vacation." He asked earning a few seconds of silence from the youngest Roman before he finally spoke up.
"The definition of a vacation is a trip or leave of absence from one's regular occupation for recreational purposes and recreational purposes is an activity of leisure, pleasure, enjoyment, and amusement with the idea of having fun." Mark retorted while Lee chuckled.
"Yeah well I know your idea of fun involves high explosives, high caliber bullets, and Gun Fights with trained soldiers. Needed to make sure you didn't have any of that kind of fun while you were away." He replied while Mark took another sip of his drink.
"I had fun…just know that man." He replied earning a nod from the preacher before the sound of Mark's cellphone ringing quickly caught him off-guard and caused him to down his drink.
"Hate to be quick I gotta attend to something." Mark stated while Lee nodded his head.
"You're on a suspension we got enough time to see each other." He replied before watching Mark walk out the front door of the bar with anger clearly evident on his face.
After a rather long drive to a gas station just a few miles out of the city Mark found himself inwardly cursing as he noticed three red wearing Mexican Gangsters placed on their knees with their hands behind their back while three County Sheriff's stood over them with their weapons drawn.
"You Detective Roman?" the lead man asked watching as Mark stepped out of his car with a smil;e before presenting his badge to him.
"Last time I checked, what seems to be the problem?" he asked while eyeing the man closely.
"We pulled this bunch over with well over five Kilos of Cocaine in the trunk of their car." The lead officer started before pointing his finger to a woman of Argentinean Descent with a red bandanna tied around her forehead, red tank top, and tight blue jean pants. "This woman claims that they and these drugs are gonna be used by you and the Gang Task Force for a sting operation." He added while Mark nodded his head. "We wanted to know if there is truth in their claims."
"What she's saying is true, I left for vacation before filling out the report with your department and I guess they went along with it without me or the rest of the GTF knowing." Mark pointed out while the Sheriff's nodded their heads.
"I need to talk to your commanding officer about this operation." He added earning a shake of the head from Marcus.
"No need to involve him this late at night we'll chalk this us as me owing you all favors and trust me…I'm the guy you want to have owe you a favor." Mark replied while eyeing the men closely.
"We saw your stunt on the news this morning and they maybe making you out to be a hero but you're just another cop like the rest of us." The lead man pointed out earning a chuckle from Mark.
"Are you gonna let them go or not?" he asked earning silence from the man before he gave the order for his officers to remove their handcuffs and allow them to stand alright.
"Alright Shitheads proceed to the drop off point and wait for further instructions." Mark ordered before moving to walk back to his car while watching the group of Rifa's make their way back to their car with the drugs still in the trunk.
As the two separate sides drove off the Sheriff's watched them leave closely with mixed expressions on each of their faces.
Hours Later
After dealing with the Rifa situation Mark now found himself sitting on his couch drinking a bottle of beer while watching a 1950's Japanese Monster movie. The voice actors didn't match the body motion or the actors but he didn't mind he loved these types of old fashioned movies.
It was something he'd gotten from his grandmother, she loved old black and white Westerns and by extension loved old black and white monster movies. He was enjoying the movie but it was nothing more then a past time for his main action for the night.
The sound of knocking on his front door quickly brought a smile to his face as he rose to his feet and walked over to the door before swinging it open and noticing a familiar red wearing woman of Argentinian descent standing on the otherside of the door with a serious look on her face.
"Fancy seeing you here." He let out earning a roll of the eyes from the woman.
"Are you gonna let me in?" she asked prompting Mark to step to the side and allow her to enter his home before taking a seat on the couch.
"Five Kilos, that's a lot of weight Cheta even for you." He spoke out while eyeing her closely.
"A girl needs money!" she replied while watching Mark moved to lean against the wall while eyeing her closely.
"Come on with all the favors I've done for you including saving you tonight I deserve something." He shot back while Cheta eyed him closely.
"Word from the Pinta is the AV is selling some heavy weapons to the Vagos." She replied earning a confused look from the man.
"What kinda weapons?" Mark asked with a raised brow.
"Heavy weapons I'm talking AK-47's, Glock's, and even Hand Grenades." She stated to Mark's shock.
"Jesus, where did the Aryans get their hands on all that from?" he asked.
"I don't know only that they're selling them off to the Vagos sometime next month and they're planning to use them to wipe out all their enemies so us, the Ballas, Families, and even those local Sunbelt Gangs are trying to get enough cash to buy our own weapons." She shot back while Mark eyed her closely. "The BGF are willing to sell us weapons but we're gonna have to back up the Ballas and Families so we talked to our Cartel contact, got some Coca, and brought it back to be sold by the Ballas and Families so we can buy the weapons." She finished while Mark nodded his head.
"So all the gangs in the city are currently going through an arms race…that makes me feel good." He pointed out while Cheta shook her head.
"We wouldn't be going through one right now if you'd listened to me and taken out Miguel when I told you to." She yelled out while Mark gave a low growl.
"I can't just openly kill a man." He replied.
"You did so to his father." She shot back while Mark gave a low growl.
"He took a judge hostage and drew a gun on me so I didn't have much of a choice." He replied while the woman merely chuckled.
"Right keep telling me that, I still find it ironic that he turns up dead a few days after my cousin is gunned down." she replied while Mark looked away from her.
"Now we're reaping the effects of it from his son." Mark retorted while giving a low growl.
"Look I don't like what we're about to go through but I understand why we're doing it and you should as well." She shot back while Mark chuckled.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." He replied before standing straight up. "As soon as my suspension is up." He interjected to her confusion.
"You got suspended?" she asked while eyeing him closely.
"For that shit that happened today." He replied while Cheta chuckled.
"You took out some of our rivals so I should be thanking you." She shot back while Mark gave a low chuckle before looking away from her only for the Chola to approach him and wrap her arms around his shoulder and bring him in close.
"That's more Sewer Rats off the street who can put a bullet in me. You're protecting me like you did in high school." She stated while Mark gave a loud chuckle.
"You ran with the Rifa's even in high school and you were with that big guy with all the tattoos back then as well…what was his name?" Mark asked earning a chuckle from Cheta.
"Raul…you know he got killed the same week you left." She spoke out while Mark gave a low chuckle.
"You want me to be upset?" he asked earning a laugh from the woman.
"I hope not he was an asshole who cheated on me." She replied earning a laugh from Mark.
"He cheated on you without knowing you were cheating on him with me almost every time I came over to tutor you." He interjected earning a laugh from the woman.
"I miss those days." She replied while bringing Mark in closer and forcing his gaze into her own so that they could both lock eyes. "And I miss you!" she whispered out before moving to plant a kiss on the cops lips causing him to wrap his arms around her and deepen the kiss.
Just as Mark moved to remove her shirt though he was quickly interrupted by a loud knock at his front door causing him to look back in anger before looking to Cheta who rushed to the back room while he moved for the front door. The duo had been doing things like this with each other since they were in high school so right now was no different.
After quickly opening the door though Mark immediately regretted it as he noticed a familiar redheaded woman standing on the otherside of the door with a rather serious look on her face and a stern gaze set into her blue eyes.
"The fuck are you doing here?" he asked while eyeing the woman closely.
"I came to clear the air between us." Alison shot back prompting Mark to look away from her before walking back inside of his house.
"There is no air between us." He retorted while walking away from the woman who quickly followed him inside.
"There once was though." She interjected while watching Mark take a seat on his couch and hang his head.
"I'm working a case here." She let out earning a chuckle from Mark.
"Of course you're working a case there is no other reason you'd be here right now." He replied while turning to her angrily. "You're working a case, just remember to leave me out of your shit."
"What we did in New Arcadia together was a necessity. The crime in the city has dropped, the murders have dropped-." She started only to be cut off by the youngest Roman.
"AT THE COST OF MY FAMILY!" he shouted standing up in the process and eyeing the woman angrily. "My father, my mother, my cousins, and even my innocent brother and sister are now all in jail because of you…and me. You made me go undercover to investigate them you forced my hand and made me do it to prove I wasn't with them when both you and I knew I'd never been with them." He added in anger with venom in his tone.
"You did that of your own accord you did that because you wanted something better for the people in New Arcadia and you wanted to change your family name." she added earning a laugh from the youngest Roman.
"Right my family name is forever gonna be stained by the one asshole who gave them all up because he was in love." He let out to the Alison's surprise. "Don't stand there and look all surprised you knew what you were doing. You played on my need to feel loved after I got back from the war, you turned everyone against me, and when I had nothing you came into the picture and made me do anything for you." He yelled out while Alison looked away from him.
"You can't look me in the eyes right now because you know what I'm saying is the truth and you've been living in a lie so long you don't know how to handle it." He added.
"Can you?" she yelled out earning a confused look from the youngest Roman who eyed her closely. "Before you go off on me about being a liar maybe you should take a look at yourself and answer the same question." She retorted before moving to walk out the front door only to look back at Mark and yell goodnight to him then walking out of the house and slamming the door behind her.
"FUCK!" Mark yelled out with venom in his tone before falling back onto the couch and putting his head in his hands.
As he sat in silence for a few moments he was quickly interrupted as Cheta walked back into the living room and puled him into her arms before planting several kisses along his face and the side of his neck until he finally returned the kisses and pulled her into his lap.
Days Later
The birds were chirping, the trees were rustling, and the sun was barely out on this new day in New Austin as Mark found himself in his backyard looking out the scope of a .50 Caliber Barret Sniper Rifle at five watermelons that were placed on five tree stumps about a hundred yards away from.
It was this distance that was the main reason he chose to live in a house on the outskirts of Sunbelt instead of directly in the city like most other officers. It wasn't because he was paranoid it was because he wanted to be alone and have the space for all his weird hobbies such as the one, he was doing now.
With his encounter with Alison a few days ago and his suspension, he needed to some downtime. He needed to relax, but this was the only way he knew how to do it. He was comfortable and relaxed with a gun in his hands. The Marine Corp was to blame for that they made him only comfortable with a gun in his hands.
It was this reason he became a cop he needed to do something similar to what his old life had him doing and this was the closest he would return to it.
As he moved to pull the trigger on the Sniper the snap of a twig immiedately caught his attention and caused him to whip his head around and notice a familiar boy standing him with a somewhat startled look on his face.
"Christ Brandon!" he let out moving to rise to his feet.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to sneak up on you." The child let out while backing away from the youngest Roman.
"Good…how'd you get here?" he asked while looking around for the boy's mother who was often at his hip.
"Phubber!" he replied to Mark's shock.
"You got into a car with a stranger who took you out of the city?" he asked while eyeing the boy closely.
"I have my dad's knife." He replied earning a roll of the eye from the youngest Roman.
"Impressive, but what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Today's parents' day and my mom can't make it and my dad is-." He started only to be cutoff by the youngest Roman.
"I get it, you need a proxy but I don't think your teachers will allow-." Mark started only to be cutoff by the little boy who held up a piece of paper to him and merely smiled.
"Already spoke to her and she signed in writing." He replied earning a chuckle from the soldier.
"You are your father's child." Mark retorted while smiling at the boy before putting his hand on his head and leading him away.
Sunbelt Police Station
While Mark was busy taking Brandon to school, a meeting was being held in the back office of the Sunbelt Police Station between Delgado, Sawyer, Alison, and Chief Steele on an operation that had everyone in arms.
"Chief-!" Sawyer started only to be cutoff by the man.
"That's enough Sawyer." The man replied.
"It's not enough!" Delgado shot back with venom in his tone. "I'm with Sawyer on this one sir, FIB here's camping in our house on some secret operation and stirring up shit with my guys. We deserve answers to what the hell is going on here for that and why Mark is on a bullshit suspension." he added earning silence from the Police Chief before he sent a look to Alison who merely nodded her head in anger.
"Does the name Dallas Waters ring a bell?" Alison asked earning confused look from the men.
"Dallas Waters is one of the highest-ranking members of the Aryan Vanguard in the state of New Austin and for the last four years he's been he's been running the gang's activities inside and outside of the prison in almost five Southern States." Alison spoke out earning mixed looks from the group before handing them a picture of the man in question.
"He's due for release at the end of the month and we got word that he's setting up a major gun deal between the Vanguard, Onda, and even Zero's Cartel in play." Chief Steele spoke out earning mixed looks from the entire group.
"What's he moving?" Delgado asked.
"We're not sure, we got an information from an AV Snitch who turned up dead a few days later, but he was close enough to Dallas to get a few details." Stated Alison while eyeing the group closely. "Dallas is an Ex-Navy Seal and word on the street is these guns are coming straight from a Jihadi Weapons Cache in the Middle East." She added while Delgado and Sawyer looked at the pictures.
"Jesus Christ if they're guns coming outta a warzone then that's gonna be a lot of heat on our streets." Delgado spoke out while sending a look to Sawyer.
"I don't get it if this guy is military and bringing that kinda firepower here why did you put Mark on the fence. He's our best gun and our point of contact for shit like this, this is his world?" Sawyer asked while eyeing the man closely.
"Because he's under investigation in another case." Came a new voice that caught the attention of everyone in the room causing them to turn their heads and notice an Iraqi woman with curly brown hair walk into the room with a rather serious stern look on her face.
"Who the hell is this?" Sawyer asked while eyeing the woman closely.
"She's Special Agent Dina Revah with NOOSE Homeland Division." Chief Steele let out to Sawyer's shock.
"And I hoped you would have remembered that before you spouted off a classified case to two petty street level cops." She spoke out with anger in her tone.
"Lady let's get one thing clear we're far from just petty cops." Delgado spoke out with anger in his tone as he eyed the woman closely.
"The more people who know what we're doing can be of use to us in the long run." Alison spoke out earning the same stern look from the woman before she turned her attention back to the two officers, reached into her desk, pulled out a file, and handed it to Delgado.
"Does the name Torri Waters ring any bells to you?" the FIB Agent asked prompting the man to open the file and notice a picture of a rather pretty Caucasian woman with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail dressed in overalls with a smile on her face.
"No it doesn't!" Delgado spoke out in anger.
"Torri is the wife of Dallas and for the past few years she's been smuggling Cocaine and Oxy for her husband in the prison and she's been acting as his go between on the streets. She's a been setting up meetings and sitting at the table of some of the scariest white boys in the state." Steele spoke out with anger in his tone.
"So what your bringing in the wife to get to him?" Delgado asked with a raised brow.
"Those guns are gonna come in with or without him present, so we need him on the street. We have enough evidence to put him away already but keeping those guns from falling into the wrong hands." Steele spoke out with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Plus…we doubt Mark will allow us to bring in and prosecute the wife." Alison added to the confusion of the two men before Alison handed them a picture of the woman and the youngest Roman together smiling at each other.
"What is this?" Delgado asked with confusion clear on his face.
"Mark and Dallas served together and when Dallas was arrested Mark promised to take care of his wife and son and while doing so they've become rather close?" Alison spoke out to the duo's confusion.
"How close?" Sawyer asked.
"Sexual…and giving I love you's, at least the wife is Mark is constantly trying to shut her out because of his relationship to her husband but he keeps-." Alison started only to be cutoff by Sawyer.
"So he's screwing her that doesn't mean he'll risk his career screwing up his entire case just to protect her." Sawyer yelled out with venom in his tone causing Alison to give a low grunt before speaking out.
"Mark gave up his entire family for love once before, you really think he wouldn't do the same wit his career?" she asked earning silence from the man who knew exactly what she meant by her statement.
"So you're keeping him away from this case so he doesn't screw anything up?" Delgado asked while looking to the group closely.
"No the wife is just a key to a bigger investigation into Operation Cry Havoc." The NOOSE Officer spoke out with venom in her tone and earning the attention of the other two men as they turned to face her with confused expressions before watching her pull out a file from one of the cabinets and dropping it down in front of them.
"Cry Havoc and let slip the Dogs of War, it's a colorful way of saying take the collars off the animals and let them unleash chaos and Marcus is one of those dogs." She spoke out while setting her laptop down on the desk in front of the duo and playing a video for the group to see.
The video was a rather disturbing sight to the group. The main focus was on a man of Iraqi descent who was tied to a chair being viciously beaten by a man in a black ski mask wearing dress clothes while nine other men in black ski masks and military fatigues stood around him watching as the man was brutally beaten and laughing.
"Please I'm not a terrorist. I have a family, children I am a good man !" the man pleaded out only to be met again with more blows before finally the man in the suit ordered one of the masked soldiers to finish him off to which the soldier complied by drawing a Pistol and shooting the man execution style in the side of the head.
"Jesus…what is this shit?" Delgado asked with a scared look on his face.
"That was Operation Cry Havoc and that man they were torturing was Special Agent Hamid Ehson. He was with the agency investigating the smuggling of Afghan Heroin out Kandahar and had discovered some criminal activity that a number of American Soldiers were involved in." she added while eyeing the group closely.
"Little did we know those weren't just soldiers but they belonged to a covert military operation aimed at discovering and eliminating terrorist in Afghanistan and smuggling heroin into the United States to fund their operation and during a three year period they are believed to have been involved in over two thousand murders/disappearances and was as well as funneling millions of dollars of Heroin int the United States." she stated while eyeing the group closely.
"What does any of this have to do with Mark?" Sawyer asked in anger only to look to Delgado who pulled a picture out of the file, dropped it on the table, and revealed it to the man.
"Those are the members of Operation Cry Havoc without their masks and is one of the only picture in circulation but all the players should be familiar to all of you." She spoke out earning silence from the two men as they looked over the picture.
Mark was amongst them, he was on the far end and somewhat out of sight but he was there, and so was Dallas, along with some of Mark's old war buddies. There was the Afro-Dominican man they met once before Marco, the pasty redhead Jimmy, the Haitian Brian, Poindexter, and couple of other guys they'd never met before.
"We've been investigating them for a while now but we didn't get anything until one of them, nicknamed Doom, got arrested in a RICO Case aimed at toppling the Gangster Apostles and instead of taking a twenty year sentence he gave up the identities of each members of Operation Cry Havoc as well as gave us detailed information about the group, and this video." She added while Delgado nodded his head.
"And where is he now." He asked while eyeing the woman closely.
"A few weeks ago while he was being transported, in a convoy going well over seventy miles per hour, to a more secure facility in Liberty City a well-placed heavy caliber Sniper Bullet broke through the armor of his transport truck and blew his head completely off his shoulders." She spoke out to the shock of the group. "Do you two know anyone who could do that?"
"Mark was in Ecuador a few weeks ago on vacation at some resort." Sawyer spoke out.
"On paper he was, but physically he wasn't." Revah spoke out to the group's confusion. "Mark bought the ticket, booked his room, and did show up but he's not in any of the photos taken during the trip. He sent a proxy and instead of being there we have him on video entering a leaving Carcer City within two days then coming back here, getting on a bus for Mexico, and then just dropping off the map shortly after." She stated to the groups shock.
"Then where the hell did he actually go?" Delgado asked with a raised brow.
"A few places come to mind but the one that jumps off to me the most is a small town on the border between Columbia and Brazil." She started earning the groups confusion. "One of the biggest drug lords in all of South America resided there along with his millions of dollars in drug profits. Gunmen came in while his wife, mother, and children were at church and killed him, all his guards, took all the money, and got away completely undetected. If that doesn't sound like a covert military operation, I don't know what is?" she stated while looking the group over closely.
"We can't prove he was involved just yet but we'll find out once all of this comes crashing down." She added while Sawyer chuckled.
"So what you take away his badge and parade him around just to give him deal for rolling on everyone?" Sawyer asked.
"There will be no deal!" she replied to the groups confusion. "Or there will be a deal where Marcus can keep miss Blake out of prison with her son, but there is no deal where he doesn't go to prison for the rest of his life. There's too much blood on his hands to just let him go." She added.
"If that's your plan for him you better pray all the cards are in your favor." Sawyer spoke out earning a chuckle from the woman.
"They're stacking up well so far." She replied while eyeing the two men closely.
Hours Later
As the sun started to set on this day Mark found himself back in his backyard standing over his barbecue grill watching closely a number of burgers closely to make sure they didn't burn. Speaking for Brandon's parents day wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be.
A lot of the kids and the parents recognized him as being the cop who saved all those people and arrested all those gang members a few days ago. They news called him a hero and that's what those kids praised him as.
In truth he didn't see himself as a hero instead he saw himself as just a Marine trying to find a battle.
"MOMMY!" the sound of Brandon's voice quickly caught the attention of the man who turned his head and noticed a familiar blonde-haired woman open her arms for the young boy and bring him in for a big hug.
"Brandon, what did I tell you about leaving school without telling me?" the woman asked while pulling the boy back and looking him in the eye.
"Sorry!" he let out while Mark stood back and watched the duo closely.
"You really had me worried." She added while eyeing the boy closely.
"I was with Uncle Marcus I got him to speak for my class." He spoke out causing the woman to look up at Mark who merely looked back with a smile.
"You should have told me about this I could have seen if Marcus wasn't busy instead of you getting in the car with a stranger and coming all the way out here." She scowled causing the boy to lower his head and go silent before walking away from her while she continued to call out to him.
"Things are getting a lot harder with him." She let out while Mark merely gave a low chuckle.
"Don't worry it's only just starting, and you really only have another ten years of puberty." He stated earning a roll of the eyes from the woman. "Lucky for you his father is getting out real soon so you won't be alone in dealing with him." he added.
"Yeah!" she muttered out before looking away from the man who quickly took the burgers off the grill and set them on a pan.
"Brandon really wanted me to grill and I got extras." He added out earning a smile from the woman.
After dinner the trio now found themselves resting on Mark's couch watching one of Brandon's favorite movies which was an old black and white classic of giant scorpions attacking people down in Mexico after a volcanic eruption.
It was the boys favorite and one of his own personal favorites, but he could tell that the aftermath of their long day was getting to Brandon as he could see him slowly dosing off on the arm of the couch.
This drew a smile to the face of the youngest Roman who slowly rose to his feet, in order to not disturb the boy, before making his way into the kitchen where he quickly moved to clear the table and set the dishes into the sink.
As he moved to turn on the water though he was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around his torso from behind and pulling him in for a rather big hug and a kiss on the back of his neck.
"I missed you!" Torri whispered out earning a low growl from Mark.
"We talked about this." Mark started earning roll of the eyes from the woman.
"And I don't want to talk about it anymore." She shot back while Mark gave a slight chuckle before feeling her run her hands down the front of his pants and into his trousers causing him to moan out with his eyes closed in the process.
"You left on vacation without telling me was it because of my Conjugal Visit with Dallas?" She asked earning silence from the youngest Roman. "I'd understand if you couldn't look at me afterwards." She added causing Mark to cut her off.
"You're his wife and I'm one of his closest friends…we shouldn't be doing this with each other." He replied while Torri spinned him around in her arms and looked up at him with a saddened expression on her face while continuing to massage his member.
"You're friend to a man you just don't know has changed and I'm wife to man whose not the same." She started before giving the youngest Roman a quick kiss on the lips before moving to drop down onto her knees and moving her hands for his belt buckle. "He's not in either of our lives so lets enjoy each other while we can." She finished before pulling his pants completely down then taking him into her mouth.
Weeks Later
The weeks of Mark's suspension almost flew by unnoticed to Mark who'd spent his off time with Torri and Brandon and almost seemed to forget about the world around him. It was a peaceful time up until he had to go back to work.
He didn't have the family but he did have his work to return to now and his work is where he found himself now. The group had gotten a tip
about a gangster for the Undertakers from Dockington City who was fleeing arrest and laying low in Sunbelt.
It made sense with some of their members being sent to the prisons down here to serve their time. It was also weird to a degree since the Undertakers here were afflicted with the Aryan Vanguard while the guys in Dockington were with the BGA.
This split in loyalty would probably make for a difficult situation within the gang for some of its members, but that wasn't his problem to deal with only for him to fill out on paper later.
"Alright you know how this goes." Delgado started turning around to look at Marcus, Sawyer, and the other men who made up the Gang Task Force. "This is a high value criminal who more than likely isn't gonna be taken alive. We want him brought in alive, but remember if it's him or us…always choose us." He finished before motioning to the men with his hands and then watching them walk over to their respective positions with Mark and Sawyer heading for the back of the house while Delgado and his men went for the front.
"Who is this guy again?" Sawyer asked while looking to Mark who peeked inside the window trying to catch sight of the man inside.
"Some kinda high ranking Undertaker whose been in the game since he was a kid. Rumor has it he's got connects with the BGA as well." Mark started earning a chuckle from Sawyer.
"Got us a White Boy Billy." Sawyer let out with a chuckle.
"More like White Boy Lincoln!" Mark shot back just as a series of shouts then gunshots went off inside of the house prompting Mark and Sawyer to rush in side where they noticed Delgado and three other men standing over the body of a tattooed Caucasian man with short blonde hair and glowing bright blue eyes looking up at the group with five bullet holes in his chest.
"He shot first!" Delgado claimed with nobody denying is words as they started to call in the incident while they did so though Mark found himself standing over the body of the man and looking down into his eyes.
He'd seen hundreds of dead bodies before some men, women, children, friend, and a lot of foes, but this man lying before him was different. Mark couldn't put his name on it but something about him was off…yet oddly familiar despite the duo not knowing each other.
"Step away from the corpse Soldier." Sawyer called out earning Mark's attention as he turned back to face the man with a serious expression on his face. "We don't need you having war flashbacks and snapping on us." He stated earning a loud scoff from the youngest Roman.
"You don't have anything to worry about!" Mark retorted before looking back to the corpse before walking away from the man just as his cellphone started to vibrate prompting him to answer it and notice he had a text message from Tori telling informing him that she was waiting for him at his home when he got off from work.
The sight of the message left him somewhat puzzled though, normally whenever they met it was at her own home instead of his because he never knew when Cheta or any other person would stop by. The duo both knew about the relationship the other shared with him and didn't seem to mind only with one often trying to one up the other in bed.
"That another hot date?" Sawyer asked sending a look to Mark who merely chuckled while stuffing his phone in his back pocket while Delgado sent him a look.
"Not as hot as you might think." Mark retorted before taking a look back to the dead man then walking out of the home.
Hours Later
The drive back to his home wasn't long and as Mark pulled up in his driveway he was completely taken off-guard as he noticed Torri standing in his doorway with a rather emotionless look on her face as she watched him step out of the car and walk up to her with a raised brow.
"What's wrong?" he asked while eyeing her closely as she started to tear up while looking up at him.
"I'm sorry!" she whispered out earning a confused look from the youngest Roman who felt something rather hard slam against the back of his head with enough force to completely knock him out and leave him unconscious while Torri stood over him screaming.
After a few hours of being unconscious things soon started to return to Mark who now found himself tied up on his knees with his face in the grass of his backyard while noticing a pair of military combat boots just in his the corner of his eyes.
"You've changed a lot in the years I've been away…but you still cut your snore whenever you wake up." Came a familiar voice that caused the youngest Roman to lift his head and notice a familiar Caucasian man with long black hair, a handlebar mustache, and number of white power tattoos covering his arms standing over him with a serious look on his face.
"Dallas!" Mark let out while eyeing the man closely.
"I got out three months early for overcrowding." He said with a smile while eyeing Mark closely and noticing the man looking around and noticing several other tattooed Caucasian men standing around him with serious looks on their own faces.
"I'm guessing a lot changed about you while you were inside." Mark retorted while eyeing the man closely.
"Yeah I got some new friends, found a new purpose, and heard stories about the fucking Nigger my wife was bedding, and my son was calling Daddy while I was away." He spoke out earning an angry look from the youngest Roman. "You can imagine how all of that makes me feel." He added while eyeing Mark closely who merely lowered his head before noticing Dallas snap his fingers to one of the men who walked away for a few minutes before returning with a familiar bloody, beaten, blonde haired woman who cried as she was thrown in front of Mark who immediately moved to cover her up.
"You motherfucker!" Mark screamed out while looking up at Dallas angrily. "This is your wife, the mother of your child."
"She was but that was before you got over to her." Dallas spoke out with anger in his tone. "Tell me Mark did she suck your dick before bed every night?" he asked while Mark eyed Dallas angrily before noticing Torri look up at the man angrily.
"Yeah I did and every sick shit you had me do I did to him but I enjoyed it." She yelled out while eyeing Dallas angrily. "I sucked his dick, took it up the ass, swallowed his cum, even licked his asshole same as you made me do but I made sure to give him it all." She screamed out earning a punch across the face from Dallas prompting Mark to jump up and move to strike him only to be kicked in the gut and knocked back down to the ground.
"Guess I can't keep either of you around." Dallas spoke out while drawing his pistol from his waist band eyeing Mark closely.
"If you want to hurt me Dallas do it, but leave-." Mark spoke out only to be interrupted by the loud blast of a gunshot as Dallas shot Torri in the center of her forehead and caused her to fall back into the lap of the youngest Roman who seemed stunned by what he'd just noticed.
Before Mark could even react though he was caught off guard as the seven men swarmed and started to merciless beat him while Dallas stood over them watching with a smile on his face as they smeared his face in the blood of Torri before tying a rope around his neck and throwing the other end around the large tree in his backyard.
"Sorry it has to be this way Marcus but, you know best how shit like this goes." Dallas spoke out while eyeing Mark closely before the youngest Roman soon felt a sharp tightening sensation around his neck and immediately let out a loud wheeze of terror as he was lifted off the ground and could only stare down at Dallas who looked up at him with a smile.
Before long he soon found himself closing his eyes but almost immediately snapping them open after hearing a new familiar voice.
"That's one of my favorites."
Upon hearing that Mark immediately opened his eyes and noticed that he was now lying on his back with Dallas standing before him but not in the form who'd just hung him but instead in the form as he last remembered him.
When Mark killed him.
He didn't bare the scars and wounds that Mark had inflicted on him but his clothing was covered in blood and there were the tears where Mark had shot and stabbed him.
"I don't like that you got to fuck my wife but I did enjoy seeing you hang." He spoke out while watching Mark slowly rise to his feet with a confused expression written on his face.
"What is this…I killed you." Mark let out while eyeing the man angrily.
"You me to." Came a new voice that caused Mark to whip his head to the side and notice a familiar man of Haitian descent walking towards him dressed in a purple blazer and black jeans with white shoes.
"Me to!" came another voice that Mark immediately recognized as he noticed a familiar Carcer City gangster walk up to him with an angry expression on his face.
"You killed all of us." The mixed number of voices came in almost at once as Mark whipped his head around and noticed a sea of familiar faces looking back at him either covered in blood, with bullet holes lining their bodies, burns covering their bodies, or just missing body parts.
"I'm guessing this is hell?" Mark asked while eyeing the group angrily.
"You're about to find out." Dallas retorted with a slight smile before Mark felt a hand being placed on his shoulder and slowly turning his head to notice a familiar African American woman standing behind him with a rather stern look on her face.
Authors Note: Sorry for the late update guys I've been rather busy these last couple of months with school starting back up. I know this chapter really seems outta place but its something both me and Onkewenwe have talked about making but never actually making it until now.
I know this seems short for what it was but originally it was supposed to be a lot longer, but because of how long I've been working on this chapter that really doesn't tie into the actual story I decided to just end it here.
I know you've all probably got a lot of questions about how Mark ended up a cop but it comes from his grandmother surviving and dying around the time when he leaves high school and eventually found himself in the military where he was able to meet other characters in this story with military backgrounds.
Yes that was Link who got killed by Delgado, the reason Link is a criminal was something that couldn't be stopped but only with the inclusion of Mark, Lee, and Jimmy in his life did he become more then what he was.
Lee being a priest comes from what Lee mentioned in a previous chapter about being adopted by a white family who would have brought him up in a strict Christian upbringing if Lee hadn't chose to stay with Mark.
I didn't get to show what happened to the other BSU members such as Buck, Davey, Eddy, or any of the others like I wanted to but I can live without it.
Stick around for next chapter as Mark finds himself talking the ghost of his past and Ana, Lee, and fight to try and get him back.
Thank you all for reading have a nice night Zilla 2000 out.
