Chapter 68: Celebration on the Bluff
The Concrete Soldier Vs Santa Muerte: The Final Battle
17th Ward, New Arcadia (Hours Later)
Knock
Knock
Knock
The sound of the low pounding at the door was the first thing to break Ren from her concentration in both fear and surprise as she found herself resting in lounge office of the BSU club trying to unwind from everything that had happened to her recently.
Mark had warned her that being BSU in New Arcadia would be a lot different than Los Santos for both good and bad reasons. She stuck through it though knowing this, but she'd never imagined that she could find herself kidnapped by some Psycho Nazi Rapist. Even more she never thought that someone would cause so much death and destruction just to get her back safe.
The news was calling it one of the bloodiest days in Arcadia Parish History and she was at the center of all that blood.
Once the door came creaking open she watched with intent eyes as one of the said men who was responsible for so much death slowly made his way into the room carrying with him a glass a water that he presented to her.
"Drink up, you need to regain your strength," Lee spoke out earning a small smile from the woman who quickly took the glass and downed the water.
"You say that like I was captured as long as Ali was," Ren replied while looking down into the water.
"You with everything you went through and how long you were with those pricks, I'd say you spent enough time with them." He added earning a small chuckle from the woman.
"I should be happy though, you guys were putting so much pressure on him that he didn't have the chance to touch me because of how much we had to move around," She stated while Lee chuckled.
"Considering what these assclowns did to Davey and only a few months after what happened to Link, Courtney, and the rest…I'm surprised Mark didn't just gut Eddie himself," Lee retorted with a chuckle. "On top of that it seems he managed to kidnap Ali and-," he started before Ren completely cut him off.
"He got Ali?" she asked with fear filling her voice.
"He did, but Mark got her back just in time. She's fine, he's fine, and now they're…just taking their pound of flesh." He let out while the woman lowered her head.
"Eddie…he was a monster," she let out while Lee nodded his head.
"Exactly so don't go thinking that it's your fault he's dead," Lee stated while eyeing the woman closely before watching her give a low scoff.
"I get the feeling with what he did to all those LS gangs he would have been dead even if he didn't kidnap me," Ren pointed out with a smile. "You make enough enemies they'll come for you no matter how untouchable you may think you are."
"Good girl!" he let out before moving to walk away from the woman only to be stopped by her grabbing his hand and looking up at him with wide tearful eyes.
"Lee, we're friends right?" she asked earning a raised brow from the man before he responded with a nod. "And you're willing to do anything for me despite not wanting to do it?"
"What's this about?" he asked with a raised brow of confusion.
While Lee was talking with the woman, Buck and Manfred found themselves sitting in the VIP section of the club with serious expression written on their faces while the song Murder Melody by Cult of Murder filled the air as they awaited the return of Mark and the rest.
Just as the song finished and switched to Beat the Devils Tattoos by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club almost everyone in the club be they BSU, Balla, Families, Vago, Azteca, Da Nang, or BOP watched in awe as the doors of the club came swinging open with a loud creak as the Warriors of the 'KILL EDDIE VINKE ALLIANCE' came walking into the club with serious looks on each of their faces, blood on their hands, and tired exhausted eyes.
Mark was in the lead of the group, and to their surprise Alison was right beside him draped in his jacket, Neto was also there along with Marrick, Jimmy, Task, Mai, Gina, Joaquin, Gata, Chela, Jose, Trista, H-Bomb, Sway, and the rest.
It was truly a rainbow coalition, or a Children of the World video.
After making their way in the club, the group quickly split off and started making their way to their own respective groups with Mark placing his hand on the shoulder of Alison and telling her to get cleaned up while he mingled with the gangsters.
The woman originally wanted to go back to the office with Sawyer, but she knew he was probably doing a lot of canvasing with their other officers on this wild night. Upon separating from the man, Mark quickly watched as Manfred, Buck, Thire, and Tup approached him with open hands for slapping and a drink of water that Mark quickly used to douse his face and blood covered hands.
"We got him?" Buck asked before watching a half-smile spread across the face of the youngest Roman.
"As always, but right now I need a shower I stink like the sewer." Mark let out with a half-smile while looking back to Neto and the rest. "You're free to use the restrooms to clean yourselves up. Clog my toilets you'll be paying for them." The Creole let out earning a series of mixed looks from the group before they watched him walk into the crowd of BSU members who eyed the LS gangsters before making their way back to the VIP section of the club.
"Fucking Buster!" Sway let out with venom in his tone before watching a H-Bomb make his way to one of the men's restroom with Neto and Joaquin making their way to another.
"Come on!" Lee let out while tapping Mai and Gina on the shoulder before escorting the two women to one of the many backrooms of the club that quickly caught them both by surprise as they noticed the inside of the room was a fully furnished bedroom with dark colored walls and expensive décor.
"This club has bedrooms." Gina let out while looking around the room before turning to Lee with a raised brow.
"From what Mark told me this used to be a pretty big Brothel back in the day." The Chinese man let out with a half-smile. "We renovated the dance floors and flipped the rooms so that this place isn't just a money maker but also a crash spot." He let out while leaning against the doorway.
"You weren't kidding when you said he was a different breed." Gina let out while beginning to make her way to the bathroom and giving Lee and Mai some privacy.
"What's she talking about?" the Shotgun Mary let out while looking to the IAA Agent with a raised brow.
"How I told them you're a different type of gangster," She let out while Lee gave her a raised brow. "Come on Lee, when it comes down to the Da-Nang's they're street level criminals and guys like you are what many of them strive to be," she added with a smile.
"You act like my name is on the deed to this place." He let out with a half-smile.
"You're names not on the deed to this place, but it is on the deeds to four other businesses in the city and you do have a share of this place." She added while Lee merely rolled his eyes before feeling the woman touch his cheek and bring his gaze up to her. "You're not just the loyal second…you're a part of something larger." She finished earning a smile from Lee who moved to close the distance between the woman only for her to put her hand to his chest to keep him back.
"No touching until I get cleaned up." She let out earning a half-smile from Lee who watched her walk off swaying her hips as she walked off.
After washing up Culebra soon found himself sitting at the bar with three other Vagos before watching as a clear glass was placed in front of him by a familiar Ginger who stood before him with a bottle of Tequila in his hands.
"Consider this a thank you for earlier." Jimmy let out while pouring the man the clear drink to which Culebra replied with a half-smile while the other Vagos eyed the BSU member angrily.
"Free drinks all around?" he asked while eyeing the man closely. "We all fought out there today." He added while looking to the other Vagos members.
"Our medics are patching up your wounded as we speak, which is probably more than any of you'd give us if this situation was reversed…so consider this your drinks all around." Jimmy stated while Culebra eyed him closely.
"Then I refuse your offer." He let out while Jimmy merely rolled his eyes.
"Suit yourself, I was hoping to make our conversation more tolerable." He spoke out while Joaquin gave him a raised brow. "I know you've got questions…like why we're being so hospitable."
"Maybe because we helped you get your friend back." Culebra let out while Jimmy merely chuckled at him.
"Make no mistake, we would have gotten her back without you." Jimmy let out with a chuckle. "Those pricks weren't Merryweather we're more than equipped to take down a few dropouts."
"Yet you still let them operate for so long in your own backyard." Joaquin let out with a chuckle. "Speaking of Merryweather you want to tell me why your Private Military took shots at us?" he asked with a hint of anger in his tone.
"It seems Eddie payed for some extra protection back in Los Santos. Guess he knew he couldn't escape fate." Jimmy answered while Joaquin chuckled. "Not that it would have made much of a difference." He finished while eyeing the man closely.
"At least there's one thing we can agree on." Culebra finished while looking away from Jimmy who looked up and watched as Mark stood across the edge of the balcony of the VIP section with a rather serious look on his face as he looked down at the group before seeing something that quickly caught his attention.
"You gonna step out the way white boy?" Sway asked with venom in his tone while looking at the two large BSU members that blocked his and H-Bomb's path to the youngest Roman.
"By the way. Your Axis-Allies argument about us and you is bullshit..." Culebra stated. He paid for the drinks for the rest of the Vagos but abstained for himself. "Neto's more of a tequila man than me. I keep it clean."
"Then what the fuck was all that about?" Jimmy asked.
"You don't understand the concept of all for one one for all? I'm surprised seeing as you have a military background and you're in a gang that not only rat packs people the same as street gangs but you also make it a point to never square up one on one."
"First of all..plenty of us have gone one on one. You and me have. Mark gives Neto a fair fight. Well..as fair a fight as those two are actually capable of..." Mark flipped the redhead the finger and Neto just sneered.
"Second...what the hell do you mean by Axis and Allies?"
"You studied history. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. A lot of Americans like to point out that the Japanese shot medics and that Americans treated teh Japanese prisoners better than Americans were treated by Japanese prisoners. They like to say that not even the Germans shot medics. I personally don't think that part is true but what you're doing is elevating yourselves as would be morally superior soldiers."
"Isn't it a historical fact that we did treat them better than they treated us? That being said the way this country had internment camps is a disgrace and i'm not gonna deny that. What does any of that have to do with you here?"
"You say it's more consideration than we'd give you if the situations were reversed and you're right. But you forgot one thing. You've only ever been in Los Santos as enemies. There was that business in Rancho. Then Mark attacked some OCB at a gas station..." Jimmy tried to hide his surprise that the Vago had figured that out. "We've been here though. Well...not me not on friendly terms but Neto helped get your FIB and IAA agent out of captivity. He didn't have to call any of you at all. It was a courtesy."
"It wouldn't haver gone well if he hadn't. You might have just ended up takjing more losses from us and have Eddie get away."
"Or..." Joaquin started. "He'd get in our way on;ly to have us all be in a threeway shootout. The point is none of you have ever done anything for us that benefits us in our city to warrant us ever giving you any treatment different. And you didn't have to show us any hospitality either. You could have stuck to being dishonorable."
"Well we're not you..." Jimmy said with a condescending smirk. "When we kill enemies usually they stay dead. So far you're the only ones that are still alive to tell about it. And we're grouping you in with Ernesto and that asshole Syke O. I wonder how long he'll be Syke O in a jail full of people loyal to us?"
Joaquin smiled. "So be it. You know speaking of them...if Mark was really smart he'd have one of the guards of a few of the guards finish them off. You know he could arrange to have that happen. But he's either procrastinating cause he's afraid of what will happen if he kills an Ondero. You fools think you got ALL the Vagos and Aztecas in Sunbelt? Not even close. And yeah you might have folded his hood. But there's still a lot of comaradas willing to kill and die. Mark might have Merryweather but if he starts droning more neighborhoods even Devlin won't be able to cover his ass. And guess what happens to your boy Manfred? He's at Gitmo with a sterilized needle up his dick hole."
"Well that's a nice fantasy. Too bad it's bullshit."
"Oh it's not bullshit. I still keep in contact with some of the Seals I know..."
"How? You have a dishonorable discharge. That's the equivilent of a felony on an application. What Seal would be caught dead near you?"
"That's how I know you never really served. I saved lives over there. Frogmen we watch out for each other. Some don't talk to me anymore some do cause they know they wouldn't be breathing still. And yeah I know...sometimes being in the military is almost like a religion. Or a cult. You violate the rules you're persona non grata but sabes que? Not everyone hates somebody with a DD just like not every law abiding citizen is against felons. Some people know there are circumstances that are beyond anybody's control."
"Is any of this building up to a point?"
"Yeah..." Culebra replied. "The Seals that I do know...they know who Mark is. They consider him a domestic terrorist. There's no orders to take him out obviously and Seals are deployed overseas so that would be the better option but if it needs to happen, they will not hesitate to put a bullet in his forehead and call it a day. And if you think Manfred or anybody else is gonna go to war with the Seals? Well that...IAA help or not..fuck it even Merryweather help...is suicide."
"Merryweather has former Seals..."
"Yeah but not all of them are Seals. That's like comparing Spartans to Athenians. We're the Spartans in this metaphor."
"You know..I tried to extend an olive branch. I'm not even sure Mark would to you personally all though he already has just by patchingup your friends..."
Joaquin whistled and abruptly interupted him and turned to the other Vagos. This earned the attention of the other BSU in the club.
"Nadie más que haya recibido un disparo es reparado por ellos. ¿Entender? Tenemos más que yo aquí que tiene experiencia militar. El resto de ustedes no está tan mal como para necesitarlos. Yo llegaré a ti. Dame un segundo aquí."
(Nobody else who's been shot gets patched up by them. Understand? We have more than just me here who has military experience. The rest of you aren't that bad off that you need them. I'll get to you. Just give me a second here."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow. Joaquin told him, "I was the medic in my team. I'll patch up the rest of them. Some might want to get a drink. i'll pay for it. I got money to spend. Maybe Neto will take the free tequila. But I won't. I got principals. Neto has a kid to think about. I don't. I know you BSU like to say that it's just collateral damage in war and that Neto is to blame. Well Neto was backing up Ernesto and Mark killed some Aztecas in a frenzy.A temporary state but the damage was done. So no...we didn't strike the first blow."
"It doesn't matter how you got involved. Neto hit us on our turf. And he killed Miller and Vic."
"After Mark killed some Aztecas, Jimmy boy. You're not paying attention. In hind sight we should have probably not gotten involved. But La Raza is outnumbered in this city and I don't know if you notice this but when a city even in the south starts to have more of us and a gang has to be formed to protect when it's just Mexicans alone or even Salvadorans it tends to be Marabunta or some other kind of southsider."
"A gang that rapes and murders their own people..." Jimmy sneered.
"And yet the BSU shakes down this community. You think Mark is gonna say it's all good if one of the businesses around here didn't pay for protection?"
Joaquin walked to the Vagos that were wounded and began to dig rounds out. He started with a Vaga from Rancho getting a round out of her shoulder. He had a medical kit in his car. He had the non wounded members from his hood bring up more. "You don't know what you're talking about. It's not like that...for a man who knows about Manfred, what happened to our BROTHERS and about Ernesto and Syke O being locked up you didn't do your research. Mark doesn't shake down innocent businesses. Drug dealers, sure."
"Then that makes the BSU like the mafia in just one way. You claim to be against drugs but you'll tax the drug dealers..." Joaquin chuckled with a sneer.
As he dug the slug out he said, "There's no benefit to pretending we're friends. We know this truce was only for the time being...and even if it wasn't we're gonna have to deal with Dillinger eventually at some point. You don't see that many Aryan Vanguard members outside of prison. Eddie was evil. He killed for the sake of killing. He had no belief in any color other than green. He's your typical AV member in that way. But Dillinger is all about the propaganda and what Eddie had for brutality he makes up in being organized. He wants to bring the AV to be more like the Kindred. He'd rather see it that direction."
"What's your point?" Asked Jimmy with his arms folded as he watched the 49th Street gang member work on another after patching up the first.
"So you say you don't need our help. I beg to differ but it doesn't matter. We're gonna have to deal with Dillinger sooner or later and somebody like him has the money to get Merryweather mercs on his payroll too. If he hasn't already that little demonstration we saw will get him to want to do that."
"How much money are we talking about?" Asked Jimmy. "Since you brought it up..."
"If I had to take a guess he's at least a high hundred thousandaire. Probably has at least 600 grand he can get his hands on right away but his own meth empire on the streets of Blaine County and extending into the Wood controlled areas of Los Santos he's probably a millionaire but you know how it is. You got a lot of money but if you're a criminal you gotta launder it. Can't spend it. Not for years if you're smart. I'd say the Vanguard's members can make at least as much Onda depending on how business savvy somebody is. But that's the crazy thing. It's all down to chance just like any organization. Some people are better businessmen than others. Kinda like the BSU. Your New Arcadian crew does a lot of heavy lifting. Really all the lifting. If I were from Waston I would hate you. Not because you didn't make the organization look good. You do."
"That almost sounds like a compliment coming from an enemy..." Jimmy cheesed.
"Well, I have to be truthful about it. For the kind of crew you are you've lasted a lot longer. Maybe it's just cause you're all homeless. Then again most homeless aint even that cut for this. But if I was Waston I'd want to ex communicate BSU mostly because you upstaged Waston. Not only that, even if you're virtually untouchable by law enforcement in New Arcadia, that doesn't mean outside branches on a national level won't notice. FIB is still federal and they can always bring the hammer down on all of you. And unless Mark plans on fucking one fed in each branch then he's not gonna be able to stop what's coming. So if Waston was smart they'd ex communicate you all. Or distance themselves. They're more comfortable beating skinheads and drug dealers up. They should stick to that rather than killing them. Your chapter has become a monster of its own. If anything you're like the La Onda of BSU."
"That's a hell of a comparison."
"Well, it's the truth. So go ahead now and ask me what I know you been wanting to ask. What's my dishonorable discharge for right?"
"I wasn't gonna ask but it may have crossed my mind once or twice..." The ginger said. "You probably what...got into some racial incident with a black Seal? Vago roots run too deep? Or maybe you beat up one of us gringos. Maybe a commanding officer? Or maybe you executed a civilian. Nah...that's probably too heavy you'd be at Leavenworth if you'd done that and you wouldn't have been out that quick to be as young as you are."
"One of the times I got shot...pretty bad battle. It was a shit show. I had to patch up other people and I needed to be patched up. I ended up getting the slugs outta me but I had one of those situations where I was dependent on the pain killers I was taking when I was resting up. I ended up sneaking meds from the hospital. I wasn't slick enough. I got caught. Even after I healed I'd become dependent. Now I know the BSU's philosophy. No drugs alcohol, smoking and no fornication. We all know that last one is more of a suggestion with you."
This earned a chuckle from the redhead. Joaquin continued, "It's real easy for people like you to judge drug addicts and I get it. I never respected any of the junkies I sold dime bags to. They didn't bathe, they had missing teeth I had both men and women offering to blow me. They trade dignity for a hit. But when I got injured...even though I ended up healing with no permenant damage, it was a serious opioid. You already know that people who turn to heroin especially in your city do it because they get cut off from the prescription drugs."
Jimmy just sat there listening. "When you think about heroin it comes from opium. Opium comes from poppy. At its root in Asia it was intended for curing pain. Both westerners and easteners did it. Wild west gunfights, railroad and factory injuries you name it. Cocaine, same thing but that comes from this hemisphere. i know you know that. But did you know people used to just chew the leaves when in pain? Or they would do it to stave off hunger when food supplies were low. So people like you may not be big on the drugs part even if you do like the sex and rock and roll but trust me...you'll al get injured if you don't die. It doesn't have to be from us either. You're making more enemies than you can kill. And if you survive you'll be in pain and it'll be pills you turn to. But all pills come from plants. And when you get down to the root of things that's all any drugs are. So then it becomes a question of whether you're really an addict or not. Because more than likely some of you have taken pills for something. And if you haven't you will. And then there won't be any difference between you and the next person you judge."
"What so you're saying all that long winded bullshit to say we aint no better than the rest of you? Or that you're better than us? Maybe that's true or maybe we don't even see it that way. We don't think we're better than a moderate drinker. What this is is a libertarian's value system. Libertarian's like to say it's their personal choice that they should be able to do drugs if they want since it's their body. The same thing's true for us. We have that right too. And just because we love rock and people associate that with drugs it doesn't have to be. I'm not so sure I want that stigma attached to our music. Can't you understand that?" Jimmy asked.
"Sure. But what you call Straight Edge is what somebody like Task...Task's people coined it actually. Walking the Red Road. It's a Lakota term but other tribes do it too. We come from a lot of addicts due to historical trauma. But that aint part of who we really are."
"I know there's historical reasons. Being friends with Task..well you guys can look down on us but we have more friends from backgrounds like yours than the average BSU member would. We're not against learning but it's a matter of other people's prejudice against our group. And obviously it's not just a Native American tradition to want to be sober. I know most didn't have alcohol before Columbus and that we did have it but that doesn't mean everybody does it. Plus doesn't it mean that much more if you can be clean without religion?"
"Maybe but a lot of us don't have the strength to do it without the old ways and if that's what it takes then that's what it takes. Still gotta be weird to you though. you all refuse drugs but you listen to bands that probably don't turn them down. And I wasn't saying that it WAS just us in our culture that promotes sobriety cause a lot of us nowadays have become addicts. But my point is...being sober is the default state for anybody. Nobody came out of the womb with a cerveza barracho or a crack pipe in their hand."
"I agree but I don't see how that's relevant. You still got addicted too. Even if you got clean that doesn't change the fact. Even if you had a good reason for it. You got a dishonorable discharge. I might not have served but I can still get a military job."
"That's not the point. It aint about excusing it. It's because..." He dug out another round this one from an Uzi. "That's why I don't drink alcohol. I never struggled with it when I did used to drink back in mt days in the hood before the military. But when I got clean from opioids, I decided it was better to not do any of that shit. Not take a chance."
As the two men discussed things, Joaquin got a sense from Jimmy with regards to his injury that even though Joaquin had recovered fro mthe wound he'd received in war, he hadn't specified which wound it was and he was giving no indication. He knew if he ever had to fight him again even if it was just a scar he'd try and target that area. On the other hand, Jimmy could sense some deception on Joaquin's part and it had to do with the discussion of opioids themselves. Hed mentioned the possibility of them having to use it if they got injured and he knew that Joaquin was trying to get him to say something along the lines of it being okay to use them if they got wounded in battle but only as long as it took to heal but he had the suspicion that Joaquin was probing to see if he would admit to having a cache of pills either for their wounded or for personal use in selling them.
He was careful to not disclose this one way or another just as Joaquin was careful to not say where his injury had been. Just then, Neto took the tequila bottle and stated, "You wanna play a real drinking game? How about we do a shot for every time each one of us has been arrested by the NAPD and it's been our ruca in the FIB who either arrests us or is with the people arresting us only for it to go nowhere and have us beback out on the street again?"
Joaquin chuckled. "He does got you there. Watch. The next time you get arrested even I'd bet money that you get arrested by her or with her being there. And I doing even know you and I know that's what'll happen."
"Even if the taxpayers aren't losing plata from you being in prison living off the state, you'd think the NAPD would expect you to reimburse them for gas money hauling you back and forth between wherever they arrest you from and the station..." Chuckled Neto.
"They cool brothers!" Mark spoke out earning the attention of the two BSU members and the two Ballas who watched as the BSU enforcers stepped aside to allow the OG's towards their leader who looked at them both more like they were prey now that their alliance was over.
"Your boy almost got done something dawg." Sway spoke out earning a roll of the eyes from the Creole.
"Excuse my brothers for doing their job." Mark pointed out with sarcasm filling his voice. "Today was a one-time thing for us so don't expect my guys to just start shaking hands with purple and green." He stated earning a half-smile from H-Bomb.
"No shaking hands with purple and green…hard to believe you were once a leader in the BGA and at such a young age at that." He retorted earning a laugh from Mark. "Explain to me that, how does a leader in a militant black prison gang become the leader of these white boys." He added with a raised brow while Mark chuckled at him.
"The Army in Dockington isn't like the Army you know in San Andreas. They're more gangsters and if you can bring in a sizeable income then you're on their radar if you play your cards right just about anyone can join." The Concrete Soldier interjected while both men nodded their heads.
"If the Army is different out in Dockington what makes you think us and the Families are the same?" the Balla OG asked causing Mark to give him a wide smile.
"Because you're all nameless gray faces." The Creole pointed out to both men's anger. "Ballas, Families, Azteca's, Vagos, Lost, Angels of Death all of you are the same. The organization comes before the individual so you're all the same." he stated earning a look from Sway.
"You telling me you Bullshitters are any different than us?" he asked while eyeing Mark closely.
"As a whole probably not, but the men you see here are some of my closest brothers and only my closest brothers reap the benefits that come with fighting and dying beside us." Said the Creole with a smile. "You'll always be taken care of, your family will be taken care of, and you'll feel power like no other." He added before giving the two men a smile.
"I will admit though, I'm more tolerant of Ballas then Families, Grove Street can suck on a fat one." Mark finished with a half-smile.
"Don't know what you heard homie, but Grove Street Families is gone homie." Sway pointed out while Mark gave a scoff.
"They say that about a lot of gangs in Los Santos." Mark pointed out with a half-smile. "They still got guys locked down on the yards and they got OG's who walked away from the life, but maybe one day they decide to come back and take what's there's…I mean I did." He finished while giving the two men a smile.
"And we'll handle it if they do." Sway stated while Mark merely chuckled before turning to H-Bomb who looked as though he had something to say.
"If you don't have a problem with us, why not just form your own shit instead of rolling with these white boys." He started while giving Mark a raised brow. "I mean with your skillset you can obviously start your own crew so why roll with them?" he asked earning a smile from Mark who leaned into both him and H-Bomb.
"You gotta start somewhere." He replied to the confusion of both men. "When I joined BSU these guys were getting their asses handed to them by the Nazi gangs in Sunbelt. So I turned them around and gave them the ability to stand on their own two feet. I made them rely on me…so when I left, they left with me." He finished earning slight nods from the two men.
"Any other crew wouldn't do that, gangs come before the individual, but if you take away the only thing that's keeping your gang afloat-." Mark started before H-Bomb cut him off.
"They leave the gang and follow the defector." He finished while Mark moved to point his finger at the group.
"We're BSU, but when you look at my guys there are some punk rock influence but if you really look at them…these guys are more like my Militia then anything." Mark continued while H-Bomb and Sway looked around the room of BSU members.
Sure there were some members dressed in the overall punk rock attire, but amongst the group there were some dressed more similar to Mark, Lee, Thire, and Jimmy. Sporting mostly all-black clothing, leather jackets, some with chain wallets, spiked necklaces and wrist bands, with studded belt.
And they all carried themselves like they were ready for anything to popoff.
"Do you know how many rats I've ever had in my organization?" Mark asked with a smile. "None, because that's what loyalty is and that's what I see when I look at these guys not white faces…just loyal soldiers following their Warlord." He finished with a smile.
"Don't you see that with the non-black members of your gang?" he asked earning a chuckle from H-Bomb and Sway.
"Man ain't no white boys in our clique." Sway pointed out with a half-smile.
"I've heard of some Asians, Polynesians, and a few Mexicans in Balla sets but I ain't never seen it up close…or on the yard." H-Bomb added.
"You've never seen it up close but how do you feel about the idea of it?" Mark asked while eyeing the two men closely.
"I mean…the idea of it is weird to me, but anything is better than white to me." H-bomb answered with little emotion in his tone.
"To me it's a mentality thing." Sway added to H-Bomb's confusion. "The way I see it, a homie is a homie. He stands by his homies, he's solid, and puts in work…then I'm down for it. I ain't never seen it but I'm open to it." He finished while Mark nodded his head at the man.
"See that, not all loyalty is between those the same shade." Mark pointed out while raising his hand up for the men to see his skin tone.
"Then where do we stand?" H-Bomb asked earning a confused look from the youngest Roman. "You don't like Families and you don't like Ballas so what are we enemies now?" he asked earning a smile from Mark.
"Before today I had no idea who either of you were." The Creole pointed out with a smile. "I don't any beef with your hood, and frankly I wished I could have had you on my side when Lee and the rest invaded Rancho. It may have made a difference for us." He added earning mixed looks from the duo. "We're cool!" Mark pointed out while extending his right hand out for both men to shake that H-Bomb took a few seconds to take before finally shaking the hand of Mark and immediately catching the attention of the Families and Azteca gang members who looked up a the duo with mixed expressions.
"What you think that about?" Stone spoke out causing everyone to lift their heads and watch the two OG's shake hands with the youngest Roman.
"Depends on how you look at it." Janae stated while watching the group closely.
"You want some advice kid?" H-Bomb asked earning the attention of Mark who looked at the man with a raised brow. "From an OG to a youngster." He added earning a look from Mark.
"Well, my grandmother always told me to listen, because from the wisest man to the dumbest, they always know something you don't." he stated earning looks from the duo before H-Bomb continued.
"We see your crew and we see how organized it is, but you can't be a mafia type nigga while having your foot in the streets at the same time." He pointed out while Mark merely chuckled at him. "Trust me Mark, you stay in the streets you either gonna end up dead or in prison." He continued before the Concrete Soldier cut him off.
"I'd rather take prison." Mark pointed out while Sway merely chuckled at the man.
"You say that now, but I can tell you now prison ain't nothing like you think it is." The man replied to which Mark merely gave him a smile.
"You know when I was five my dad had me attend the trial of my cousin, Curtis Roman." Mark started earning raised brows from the group. "Then about a year later just before Katrina he "You know when I was seven my father took me to the prison Curtis was at to visit, old place got shut down a few years ago, Curtis wasn't the cousin I once knew. He didn't get raped, but prison had effectively broken him and you know there's some benefits to joining a Prison gang on the streets." He continued with a smile.
"Everyone except you has been to prison, they've got stories, and they all can teach you a thing or two." He stated with a smile. "I've been mentally and physically preparing myself for prison since I was fourteen…I'm more than ready for it." He stated while the two men eyed him closely.
"As for having one-foot in one foot out, that's something I just can't help." Mark let out to both men's confusion. "You saw what I did back there, I love the action of the streets and I've got the skilled to handle myself in almost any engagement. I don't drink nor do I smoke, but when I got a gun in my hand, a full magazine, and my back against the wall…it's almost orgasmic."
"You sound like a real deal psychopath son." H-Bomb pointed out earning a small chuckle from Mark.
"Prison, Death, or fates worse than death…those the things we signed up for when we got in this life. You really think any of us are sane?" he asked while giving the duo a smile.
While Mark talked with the two OG's, T-Mart found himself sitting at a separate part of the club with an emotionless look on his face before looking up and watching as Gina approached him with Lee and Mai in tow.
He'd known the duo had something going on between them and he could tell that Lee was going to stick close to Mai while both the Vagos and Azteca's were under the roof.
"You handled yourself well out their man." Lee spoke out while approaching T-Mart and handing him a silver flask that he slowly took before drinking out the contents of what was inside. "She'd be proud." He added earning a look from the Hmong gang member.
"She'd still be here if I dropped that bitch when I had the chance." T-Mart replied while Lee merely shrugged his shoulders at his response.
"I told you already there was nothing you could have done." Mai stated to the man while Lee gave a loud scoff to the trio's surprise.
"You want some, man to man advice?" Lee asked earning a raised brow from the man. "Think of this as a teaching moment. When you take someone on and you don't manage to put them down they often come back and hurt those you love." He stated before sending a look over to Neto who sat beside Nata and Chela with an emotionless look on his face.
"That something you always need to keep in your head when you engage assholes like that. So take your loss and use it for the next time you find yourself going against someone." The Chinese man finished before looking back over to Neto. "Less you'll lose more than just Cherry."
"That's dark!" Gina pointed out while looking to Lee with an unamused expression.
"He needed to hear it…you both needed to hear it." he responded with little emotion in his tone.
"You ever thought about dropping the white boys and riding with your own people?" T-Mart asked only to earn a slight smile from the Chinese man.
"Why is everyone always trying to flip me over to their side?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Come on homie, at the end of the day you have to know none of these white guys look at you like you're one of them. They see you no different than someone running a corner store." He stated to which Lee replied with a chuckle.
"You of all people really want to preach to me about Asian pride?" Lee asked with a smile.
"What's that supposed to mean dawg?" T-Mart asked with an anger filled expression on his face.
"Well dawg." Lee let out in a mocking tone. "You talk and dress like you're black, I bet you listen to rap and can't name me a single Asian rapper, I can guess you fucked a white girl or two in your days, and I bet you can't name me any political leaders from your country-." Lee pointed out earning an angry look from both T-Mart and Gina.
"Lee-!" Mai spoke lout only to be cut off by the man.
"I ain't gonna cap and say I'm in any different. Most of my friends are white, my brothers fucking black, my last relationship was Cuban, and I can only name five cities in China and they're all obvious." Lee pointed out with a smile. "I can't even speak Chinese, I'm getting better, but it's not at the top of my list of things to do."
"Sounds to me like you may need to be around more Asians." Gina retorted while Lee chuckled.
"True, but who wants to make friends in this life because they're often here today and gone tomorrow." He stated earning a slow nod from T-Mart.
While the BSU members mingled with their guest Alison found herself standing in the bathroom of one of the back bedrooms cleaning herself off when the sound of the door opening quickly caught her attention and caused her to turn her head and notice a familiar Japanese woman standing in the doorway with a saddened yet happy look on her face.
"Ren!" Alison spoke out before rushing the woman and bringing her in a for a warm hug that the Japanese woman didn't refuse.
"I'm okay, what about you?" she asked while looking the woman over.
"Shaken up mostly, but what about you…he had you?" the FIB agent retorted to which Ren responded by nodding her head.
"He did…but Mark saved me." She pointed out while Ren gave the woman a smile.
"He's been doing that a lot as of late." The Japanese woman replied while Alison gave her a slight smile. "You I've always saw myself as being just as tough as any of the guys, but today…it's the first day I can say I felt vulnerable." She added while taking a seat on the bed.
"That guy was a monster…it's okay to feel like that." Alison replied while moving to sit down beside Ren while moving to rest the BSU females head on her shoulder. "It's okay to let those feelings out." She whispered out while Ren nestled up next to the woman.
While the two women were talking amongst each other, Mark found himself breaking the invisible barrier that had formed between the Vagos and the other gangs as he found himself approaching Neto as he sat with Gata and Chela with emotionless expressions on each of their faces that soon shifted once they watched Pavo, Triste, Jose, and Carmello move to step in front of the youngest Roman in order to block his path.
"You on the wrong side Mayate." Trouble spoke out earning a half smile from the youngest Roman who merely moved to put his hands in his jacket pockets while eyeing the group closely.
"Nah I pay the bills here so all sides are my own." The youngest Roman spoke out while looking up at the VIP section of the club and immediately catching sight of Thire, Tup, Task, Jill, and Buck looking down at him with mixed expressions on their faces while the other BSU members did the same.
"So are you gonna step aside so I can talk to Santa Muerte or are we just gonna forget how me and my guys helped saved your friends asses today." He stated while looking to the two women in question who eyed him angrily.
"Please your girlfriend was snatched up along with them." Pavo pointed out while Mark gave him a chuckle.
"True, but let's not at like we didn't point you and your people in the right direction." Mark finished with a smile before finally earning the attention of Neto.
"Well I guess we would have had to snatch up one of your guys to get him to talk wouldn't we." The Ondero pointed out while Mark merely chuckled.
"Let's not threaten each other amigo, today was a good day in our relationship let's not be toxic in front of everyone." He stated while giving Neto an angry smile.
"Let's not reverse roles either." Neto interjected earning a chuckle from Mark who replied with a question that took everyone by surprise.
"How's your boy, he settling in well with his meth addicted father?" he asked earning a chuckle from the Azteca.
"He's settling in fine how's the dead wife?" he asked hoping to get a negative reaction from Mark but only resulting in a smile and laugh.
"You know still dead; I've been thinking of getting a turtle." The Concrete Soldier chuckled earning a half-smile from Neto.
"Oh, the ultimate lonely persons pet, you never have to worry about it running away or dying on you." He spat out while Mark chuckled with the man in a manner that caused everyone to look at them both with raised brows at how they spoke with each other in manner like they were old friends from college.
"Say what you will about us I do miss these conversations." Mark pointed out while Neto gave him a half-smile.
"We should do standup." The Azteca added.
"Improv?" Mark asked with a raised brow.
"More like skits, I got a parody for the death of Caesar." He added with a smile. "Instead of me stabbing you in the back I'll do it from the front so you can see me coming." He stated earning a smile from the youngest Roman.
"Many men wish death on me Neto, you know where they are?" Mark asked while giving Neto a twisted smile. "I will admit that you're a superior warrior to the lot of them, but one of us must fall…and I don't intend for it to be me." He added earning a smile from Neto.
"You can tell yourself whatever you want to make yourself feel better and assure yourself and your friends at night Marcus…I will kill you Marcus Roman." Neto stated earning a serious look from the youngest Roman. "And I'll do it in front of all your hermanos, all your rucas, and what remains of your Familia so they can all see their king fall." He finished before giving Mark a twisted smile and moving to walk past the man with Gata, Chela, Pavo, and the rest following behind him as he moved to make his way for the door.
BANG
The loud blast of the gun shot was deafening to everyone who found themselves each whipping their heads around in the direction of the blast with wide eyes before being completely taken off as they caught sight of Mark standing in the middle of the dance floor with his smoking M1911 raised to the sky.
"What the fuck?" Sway yelled out as both he, H-Bomb, Stone, and the rest of the Los Santos gang members moved over to look to the young Creole who stood with a smile on his face.
"All your criteria's are met here and now Neto, so why don't we settle this right here and now." Mark called out earning surprised looks from all the Aztecas and Vagos who watched Mark toss his Pistol to the side before throwing his head up and look to the VIP section of the club where he could notice all the BSU members standing on the guardrails with mixed looks on each of their faces.
"BROTHERS WHO THE FUCK ARE WE?" Mark yelled out at the top of his lungs.
"B.S.U. BUST SHIT UP INCORPORATED!" the voice of everyone BSU member in the club radiated through the halls catching all the Los Santos gang members by surprise as they noticed them standing and sitting on the railing while the music in the background soon skipped before changing to a loud punk rock song that seemed to leave everyone jumping back while the BSU Members started chanting the name of Marcus who stood in the middle of the club with a smile on his face.
"Let's!" Neto spoke out before the feeling of Gata hands on his chest stopped him in his tracks and caused him to look back at the smiling Mark who seemed more than ready for the challenge.
"This might be interesting." Dime spoke out while looking down at Mark while Jill sent a look to Lee and Jimmy who stood on the dance floor with Mark in separate positions with their hands tucked in their jackets in case anything serious popped off.
"You think he's gonna accept the challenge?" Buck asked while looking to Thire and Tup.
"Doubt it Neto's not the type to just give in to pressure." The Maori spoke out while looking down at Neto who merely responded by giving the youngest Roman a smile before watching as everything seemed to go in slow motion as a metal chair came speeding towards the head of the youngest Roman who barely had enough time to jump back in order to avoid the object.
"Who threw that piece of metal at me?" Mark asked with venom in his tone before watching as a rather skinny Balla member with a comb over perm approached him with a serious look on his face.
"I did motherfucker you remember me?" the Balla asked earning a raised brow from the youngest Roman.
"No so elaborate for me." Mark replied with little emotion in his tone.
"Your bitch as snuck me at that gas station at the Grove, and you got me fucked up if you think I'm gonna let that shit slide." The man let out earning a slight chuckle from the youngest Roman who eyed the man closely.
"Rick gonna get himself fucked up." H-Bomb pointed out while eyeing the man closely.
"Nah let's see what he got." Sway pointed out before watching the Balla member charge Mark who only responded by punching him across the face and knocking him to the floor not to the shock of everyone.
"Well I guess that takes care of-." The Creole started only to be taken off-guard as the Balla jumped across his back and started to pound into the back of Mark's head with his right while choking him out with his left.
"I ain't going out like that." Twitchy Rick yelled out while Mark elbowed him in the side.
"Alright Deep South Vs West Coast take that bitch out Mark." Buck called out while cheering on the youngest Roman.
"He ain't representing us, this is more black vs black then anything." Troubles pointed out with venom in her tone.
"FUCK OFF ME!" Mark yelled out while slamming the man on his back and watching as he quickly tried to stand up only to be taken out by a hard knee strike across the head courtesy of the youngest Roman.
After finally taking down the Balla member, the fully enraged Mark soon found himself turning back at Neto and the Vagos who seemed to be looking at him with smiles on their faces while Alison stood behind with a concerned look upon her own.
"Still hiding behind a skirt?" Neto asked earning a slight smile from the youngest Roman.
"You should be thanking her because she just saved your life." Mark spoke out before moving to whisper something to Mark who nodded his head before watching her make her way out the club while he made his way over to the bar with a smile on his face.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I enjoyed fighting beside you today…but let's not pretend we're all friends here." He started earning a series of looks from the group. "With that being said, you have until the day after tomorrow to Get the Fuck Outta New Arcadia." He stated with a smile while Lee, Jimmy, Thire, Tup, and Buck moved to stand beside him.
"Any violation of this without my notification will be deemed an act of aggression and invasion…and trust me when I tell you that you don't want that. They can confirm just how dangerous of an enemy I am to have." Mark finished while smiling at the group.
"And what if decide we don't listen to you?" Janea asked earning a series of chuckles from the BSU members who watched as Mark reached into his back pocket and pulled out the mostly dry tattooed piece of flesh that belonged Eddie VInke and held it up to the group.
"Take this as an example of what happens to people who invade my territory." Mark pointed out before moving behind the bar and quickly grabbing hold of a hidden latch that left many of the group confused then watching as Mark pulled the booze shelf apart from the hidden latch and reveal a compartment that drew more confusion from the group before their eyes finally widened in surprise.
Trophies
Mark had mentioned to them when he took Eddie's tattoo that he had a trophy case filled with things belonging to those who challenged or tried to war with Mark. For some of those that were new to Mark they could only guess just who the pieces of skin and clothing belonged to but there was no doubt on who they belonged to.
On the left side were the items from black street gangs. The first thing that caught the groups attention was the leather vest of an Uptown Riders MC member, along with a green bandanna that left many of the family gang members anger, and the purple Ballas bandanna that belonged to Brian Rose or the Haitian Hitman who almost five years ago went blow for blow against the barely nineteen-year-old Roman but ultimately lost.
The next thing to catch the eye of the group was a series of black and blue bandannas that belonged Doom and his Gangster Apostles who took Mark and BSU to the limit in their war with each other.
There was also a dirt white towel that was pinned against the wall that Neto could easily make out as belonging to Mookie. Despite Neto being the direct cause of the man's death, he and Mark did work together to take him down. There were also tattoos that belonged to BGA members.
The items seemed small and meniscal compared to the much larger haul of items that came next.
The middle items seemed to be the largest and most gruesome haul of them all. These items belonged to the white/skinhead gangs who'd crossed him. The first thing that caught the groups attention was the tattered leather vest of an Angels of Death whose bottom rocker pointed out that he belonged to the Stab City Chapter.
It came from him doing jobs for the Lost MC, but the next items were divided between bandannas and severed tattoos, and even locks of hair. The Vanguard refused to let Mark take Eddie's Shamrock and Thunderbolts, but it seemed that Mark had more than enough of these symbols.
The number one thing that caught the attention out of many of them, Joaquin the most, was the pair of silver dog tags that hung from the wood. These dog tags belonged to Dallas, the Aryan Vanguard member who'd escaped death once but eventually found his demise on the edge of Mark's knife.
As well as the dog tags of Poindexter the Merryweather Agent who'd kidnapped both Alison and Ana.
The last section of items especially angered the Vago and Azteca members who looked on with anger in their eyes. The items were more familiar to Neto then anyone. He was able to spot the bandanna of Cheetah, once Cruz's second in command, Cruz's own tattoos, and Miguel's bandanna along with the man's Aztec Shield that signified his allegiance to Onda, Pajaro's bandanna, and a series of tattoos, rings, and even a cowboy boot that belonged to Onda members and Cartel Hitmen.
"There's room for more." Mark pointed out while Lee and the other members of BSU found themselves turning back to look at the various Los Santos gangsters who seemed more than ready to throw down with the angry gang members who sent their leader hateful gazes before slowly making their way out of the club with Neto staring at Mark as he went out the door.
After the club was empty excluding members of the Da Nang Boyz and Boyz of Polynesia who were given some asylum from Mark's threat because of their relationship with Lee, Thire, Tup, and Mai.
In truth it had been a while since Mark had killed any person of Asian descent that he could remember. Most of their businesses was something Lee handled personally, and he often tried to unify the Asian gangs more so than create more conflicts.
Not that Mark cared, right now he needed to check on his Asian from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Once he entered the back office, he quickly caught sight of the woman resting soundly on the couch before Mark approached her, quickly wrapped her into his arms, and layed her flat on the bed then pulling the covers over her just as she started to open her eyes.
"Hey!" Ren spoke out with a half-smile that Mark quickly returned.
"Hey yourself." He let out while moving to rub her arm. "You had yourself one heck of day." He pointed out while Ren merely smiled at him.
"Told you all the boys like to fight over me." She replied with a half-smile.
"After what I saw today, you can see why I didn't lose." He added while moving to rub her side.
At first glance when one would look at the former roller derby one would think that she was mostly muscles because of how buff her arms and legs were but after seeing her without most of her clothing Mark was able to see more of her.
She was rather fit, but she was also curvy in all the right places.
"Can we skip the small talk and just get to the part where you come cuddle with me…I'd like that?" She declared earning a small smile from Mark before he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Sure!" He answered before moving to crawl beside the woman and wrap her into his arms in a manner that Ren didn't protest but instead accepted with a smile.
The Next Day
The sun was slowly starting to rise on this new day, but it wasn't noticeable for Mark who found himself sitting at the bar in silence when the sound of the chair beside him being pulled out quickly caught his attention and caused him to turn his head and notice a familiar Chinese man moving to sit beside him.
"Still drinking yourself into submission?" Lee asked while sitting down next to Mark who merely chuckled at him.
"Nah just remembering the good ole' days." Mark replied to which Lee merely smiled at. "Back when our table was full, and everyone was here." he let out while Lee looked away from him and faced the bar.
"Back when everyone was alive…I know what you mean." He stated. "We've lost more people these last few weeks then we had in our entire time in Sunbelt." he added.
"We have more enemies but we also have more skill and more power in this city, yet here we are…burying another brother." Mark said with venom in his tone.
"Just the life we chose." The Chinese man pointed out while continuing to look away from Mark who quickly caught on to his silence before asking if there was anything else on his mind.
"I talked to Ren." He started causing Mark to look at him with a raised brow. "She wants to me to come to peace with Neto." He retorted to Mark's confusion. "She wants me to forget about everything that prick did to me, Luna, and the rest and just…let it go." He added with a hint of venom in his tone.
"Can you?" Mark asked finally earning Lee's eye contact as he found himself looking to his brother from another mother with a raised brow of confusion. "Neto has taken more from you then he has me, and if you're okay with just letting everything go than I can as well." He added before looking back at his drink. "We've lost more brothers in our war with Neto then anyone else, if we can completely take him off the board without killing him…I'm alright with that. That way we can focus on our real threat." He added.
"Ernesto?" Lee asked with a raised brow.
"And whoever killed Courtney." Mark added to Lee's confusion.
"You believe the IAA when they said Cruz wasn't responsible for it?" the Chinese man asked with a raised brow.
"Oh I knew from the beginning he didn't have anything to do with it or Miguel for that matter." Mark stated in a nonchalant tone to the Chinese's man shock.
"So we really just air holed two different families and folded five hoods for false reason?" he asked while giving Mark wide eyes.
"You alright with that?" the youngest Roman asked to which the Chinese man responded by slowly nodding his head in acceptance.
Just before Mark could say anything else the sound of his cellphone ringing quickly caught his attention and caused him to look at his cellphone that was ringing from a somewhat familiar number.
Elsewhere
While Mark and Lee listened in on their phone call Alison and Sawyer found themselves standing outside of a shipping container near the familiar Bait and Tackle shop in the 17th Ward with a series of mixed looks as they watched Thire and two more BSU members open the doors of the container before watching with mixed looks as a familiar redheaded man came stumbling out before collapsing hard on the ground.
"Motherfuckers!" he spoke out with venom in his tone before noticing a pair of black dress shoes planting themselves at his eye level.
"Hell Duchamp!" Sawyer spoke out causing the man to look up with wide eyes before being kicked in the face courtesy of Buck who stood beside him.
"As our boss promised." Thire pointed out while looking down to the now barely conscious Skinhead at Sawyers feet. "A little concussed but no bruises, scratches, or missing limbs for your case." He added.
"Thanks Thire!" Alison let out earning a nod from the man.
"You should know that most of us aren't happy about giving this prick over to the NAPD-." He started before Sawyer quickly cut him off.
"But you'll do it because your boss says so won't you?" he asked earning a growl from the man.
"That and we can always get him on the inside." The Maori man pointed out before watching Sawyer slap a set of handcuffs on the man.
"You really want to say that in front of a cop?" Sawyer asked while lifting Duchamp's unconscious body off the ground.
"Just saying what you're thinking." Thire added before turning back to Alison and giving her a look. "He says that he'll call you later." he finished earning a nod and a smile from Alison before she followed Sawyer back to the police car just as Thire's cellphone started to ring out.
"Yeah boss?" he asked quickly earning the attention of the FIB Agent.
Elsewhere
Paul saw the Afro Dominican ahead of him. Paul had on a disquise that made him look more like an Arab man with a thick beard. He wore an ugly brown polo sweater and black jeans. He even had a beer in hand despite not drinking. He was on the second floor balcony of the bar and he spotted Oscar. He wore a dark blue and white varsity jacket and blue jeans plus a Swingers Cap. He had his burner cell out. "The fuck do you mean, Mahmood? You said you would have a brand new Greenwood for me!" He put on a thick Arabic accent, one he was able to mimic well having lived in both Liberty City and in Canada for years those the accent carried a Lebanese touch.
He "accidentally" bumped into Marco. "Cono...watch where you're going..." He had spilled beer on him. Paul already had the silenced 9mm drawn and he fired three shots to the chest and a fourth to the head. He went down with a grunt. He stood over him and looked to see if anybody down below had noticed. Nobody had. Just then, Marco got up and pulled his right leg and pulled him to the ground.
Paul went to shoot him when he realized he had a vest and even the headshot hadn't been a deterrent since he had a bulletproof hat on. "Mirate loco you think they don't make Swingers caps like this?!" Marco asked as he had kicked the gun from his hands and he kicked him in the face. Paul got to his feet. He still maintained the disguise.
Marco came at him with a right blow but Paul caught it this time and was ready countering with a left jab to the jaw. Marco came at him with a rick kick and Paul parried blocking with his right arm. Marco then threw a right punch and Paul caught it with his left hand before striking him back with a right to the solar plexus and he bent his right knee and leaned in for momentum. He could tell that unlike other vests, Marco's was chest only protected.
Paul threw another punch but Marco blocked the strike with a basic inside forearm block and stepped forward and to the left with his left foot. His foot was next to Paul's right used a ridgehand strike to Paul's main artery in his neck. Paul fell nearly passed out but Marco grabbed him pushing his left shoulder to throw him off balance and put his right leg behind Paul's right swept his leg.
Paul's beard partly came off just as Marco was about to do a finishing strike. "Let's see who the fuck you really are..." He withdrew his combat knife and with his free left hand,grabbed at the curly wig as well. Paul drove a knee into his groin as hard as he could. All the training in the world wasn't enough to keep the IAA asset from rolling off him in agony and Paul gave him a hard kick to the face.
He rolled trying to not pass out. He went for his silencer. He was not here to fight Marco. He was there to take him out. Marco got onto him with a pounce plunging the knife into his back. Paul growled, "I got a vest too, asshole..." He drove a hard right elbow into his face.
Paul looked to see Neto had a silenced pistol of his own. He was about to pull the trigger but he was tackled from behind. Paul tackled Marco again and threw a hard right then a left and then another right. Paul whispered, "I know you're proud of killing Maria.Sé que piensas que eso me molesta pero esa era otra vida. Otro mundo..." He punched him again and grabbed Marco's combat knife and was trying to plunge it into his throat. "Pero esto es para ella."
(I know you think that bothers me but that was another life. Another world...but this is for her.)
Marco kicked him back and tried to reverse the blade on him but he lost the grip too. Paul looked to see who it was that was after Neto. It was a Chinese American. "I GUESS I'M GONNA HAVE TO EAT YOUR OTHER FUCKIN EYE!" He growled. He threw a barrage of punches at Neto'ss face and Neto did his best to block and parry them. Neto followed up with a headbutt and drove a knee into his chest. "Seriously, bitch?! Even with one eye you got nothing on me!"
He followed up with a hard right to the nose drawing blood. "How did Felix have trouble with you?!" He drove a hard right knee into his ribcage. "I don't even need to use my Army skills on you. I can just beat you brawling. Or boxing."
Lee roared, "SHUT UP!" He threw a hard left to just below the bad eye followed by a right to the mouth and he kicked Neto in the stomach. Neto hit the rail hard and grunted with agony. Lee was not waiting for recovery. He came at him again but neto threw one failed punch but he did manage to scratch Lee's right eye causing it to bleed a bit. "FUCK!" Lee growled as he flailed at him. "Now we're even!" Neto growled before punching Lee in the jaw with a hard left. "You know...Ana liked fucking with my eyes too. Is that a thing chinos do?"
Lee didn't respond. He just tried a left high kick which Neto ducked under catching his leg and slammed him to the ground. Neto head butted him again and Lee staggered back crying out. Paul, meanwhile, retreated. Marco went fis own firearm and started firing at paul as he got to the first floor and was on the ground level. "Where the fuck you going?!" He knew something that even Neto and Marco didn't seem to. He got to the ground floor ducking and grabbing a Caucasian lady with curly blonde hair and threw her into Marco's line of fire.
Paul spotted him finally. The Creole gunman had arrived to bail out Lee who was being pumbled by Neto. Paul fired a warning shot that narrowly missed the nose of the New Arcadian local. But the man felt the wind from it. He couldn't see Paul's face from the angle he was but he knew it was him. Paul sneered and Mark withdrew his M1911. Paul made a gesture to follow him before firing two shots Mark's way as an incentive.
He retreated and as he ran, he asked, "How am i looking? is he following?"
"Yeah. He's right behind you."
The crowd of people screamed and panicked running due to Marco's firing. Paul found a parked van in a back alley and he ran up the side of it and jumped onto a balcony of an adjacent building. Mark scanned it. He made his way into it. It was another two story bar and he made his way up the stairs. The bouncer, a beefy six foot six white male tried to stop him putting a hand on his shoulder. "Balcony's closed for the ni..." Mark broke his wrist and let him fall to the ground and he shoved him down the stairs behind him as he made his way. He checked the men's room and the ladies room upstairs.
He threw a throwing star at Mark's gun knocking it from his hand. He cut his hand a bit on the ring finger of his left hand. "Ninja stars...really?"
Finally, Mark got a look at him and he, Mark in person. "Had a good teacher."
"That's that same teacher you're supposed to be killing, right? Rather than fucking with us? I liked you better when you stayed out of this bullshit. You and the McReary brother. Though I did hear you'rea McReary now too, eh BROTHER?"
"Yeah but this war with Neto's getting old. It needs to end one way or another."
"Why aren't you after that Dead Beat, guy. He's the one that killed your girl...or maybe you're glad she's dead. I heard what happened ya'll had a falling out cause she got with all kinds of flavors."
"Yeah. A lot of rez girls like that. They also like meth and booze and huffing. Doesn't make it good for em. But you know what? You're right. I DON'T give a fuck about her. She's gone. The only real reason to kill Lucifer now is he's a loose end but I'm burning down his empire first."
Mark's smile faded. If it had been worded another way, it might not have been as much of a burn and he wasn't the type that normally would let an insult bother him but he had to admit he expected rage and an instant attack rather than a burn comparing sex with non Indigenous men to drug and alcohol abuse. He also knew that Paul's father who had been with a Caucasian lady, had drug and alcohol problems before Paul killed him. "Well maybe you did love her and forgive her but not enough. You had one job. To hold a damn detonator and you dropped the ball. Oops. I mean detonator."
Mark saw him tense up. It was just a twitch of his lip but he caught it. "You got green eyes. Never seen a Native American with green eyes before. But your girl had blue eyes. One blue this way one blew that way."
He saw a flash of rage in Paul's lighter eyes but he smirked. "You're right I wish it was as easy as don't get my wife shot on her wedding day. I mean I thought I was a terrible boyfriend before I found out what happened. Really I can't even say it was official...we were on and off more off than on cause I'd be outta town."
"Really? Cause that's not what I hear. I hear she proposed to you. How many women do you think even do that?"
Paul shook his head. "Out of all the people you shot that day you didn't think once to get your sorry ass in front of those bullets? You were more concerned about your Irish butt buddy getting shot so you weren't there to back her up."
Mark stepped forward. "You don't know what you're talking about..."
"Hmmm...let's see...hold onto a detonator with already injured arms. Or have functioning arms and legs and an ability to get to your wife. I can tell you right now if that had been me in those exact same circumstances at the very least the shooters wouldn't have escaped. Maybe your reaction was delayed though. Mr Straight Edge let his brother get him drunk at a bachelorette party."
"Don't you mean bachelor party? Your bitch ass never been to a wedding before has you?"
"No I meant bachelorette party, Marcia. I learned a bit about you here and there from my own research. Since when do you let your brother tell you what to do? You can tell yourself it's your fault cause you're a gangster or she shouldn't have been around you, all that. Your stripper was no saint herself so no she didn't deserve some square doctor you're exactly the kind of man she was meant to be with."
"What the fuck do you know about it you don't know me..." Sneered Mark.
"I know ENOUGH. And I know that out of all the things you probably tell yourself you did wrong, you didn't even think about that."
"It's not like I went straight from the party to the wedding..."
"You don't understand what alcohol does to the body. Sure, your parents may have drank and like me you don't because of it but you don't understand how deep it goes. Even if your dad drank and your mom didn't or your mom drank before she was pregnant with you and did drugs but didn't when she was pregnant even the stuff your parents did before getting pregnant can impact you. And if THAT can impact you all that more then you bet your ass you as a non drinker were slowed down from the effects. There's a reason fighters and athletes don't womanize and do excessive partying when they got a fight coming up. See I understand alcohol for exactly what it is. Better than you ever could. And I've never touched a drop. Fuck, I'm better qualified to run that piss poor group than you are."
Paul saw only a flash of a twitch in Mark's face and he knew it had angered him but Mark kept his composure. "If it was you' in my place you'd be dead. You haven't found Tanaka or Lucifer. The motherfucker that killed your mama the same person you killed your pops for. See you may not like my ways of doing things but you have to admit it gets results."
"I'll bet I have one or both of them dead before you get any of the people that killed your family. You probably wish you had the balls to kill your dad though. Concrete soldier. What a fuckin joke. I deserve that title more than you. You're in love with a cop. See rez girls, I knew what I was getting into and they're hit and miss but a fed? You've violated the rules."
"I rewrite the rules. You got down with Onda so you're a bit of a sheep but not everybody likes to play by the rules. You almost fucked a woman that was a Loc. You think I don't know about that? Then you hit the pen and you get all militant. How convenient. Even if your mind is like Neto now as a man that should bother you what Eddie did to her. On a fundemental level the man to woman dynamic that should bother you."
"Not every rule is to make you miserable. Like not touching a hot stove. It's for your own good..." He suddenly held up a picture on his phone. "You know...these got leaked after the bitch died. Now maybe I'm a bit of a simp for having a relationship with a rez chick who wasn't as solid as me but you...? You 're with a cop, a spy and you were with a stripper..." He held up a picture of Courtney in her stripping days as she was at the strip club. "Not to mention you're getting cucked by a white guy. Another cop. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around?"
"Where did you get that?!" Demanded Mark. Paul went through his phone again. "Same place I got this..." He held up pictures of Courtney at the morgue. "Nice tits. And I didn't have to marry her or go to a strip club or pay money to see them!"
Mark knew he was trying to get under his skin and in that moment he didn't care. He saw red. He flew towards him but Paul smiled, "Catch!" He threw the phone at his face beaming him in the forehead and it clattered to the floor. Mark blinded momentarily, staggered but grabbed him with a howl of rage. He punched him in the face and Paul shoved him back with a smirk. Mark's head had some blood from the cracked screen glass of the phone. He charged at Paul with five blows of which three, Paul was able to block.
Paul drove a knee into his gut. Paul then threw him over to the ground. Mark grunted trying to catch his breath and he rolled to cade in case Paul came after him but he didn't Paul took his shirt off and then removed his vest before putting it back on. "What are you doing?!" Mark demanded. "Let's lay all our cards on the table. Unless you're too much of a bitch. Need Merryweather and hackers to win a fight. Can't do shit on your own."
Mark sneered and did the same for his vest and with a turn of his head and a shrug put his dukes up "All on the table, right? Let's go."
He threw a hard right at Paul's left cheek followed by an attempted knee in the groin but Paul's knee blocked it. Paul ducked Mark's next punch and threw a left jab but Mark grabbed Paul slamming him against the wall. A picture fell shattering and a few pieces of glass cut the top of Paul's head. Paul was a bit dazed and Mark tried a jab just like Marco had done to the artery in his neck but Paul caught it. Mark shot his cut hand to try and do the same and Paul blocked that. Paul threw a left hook which Mark intercepted and he threw Paul at a table and Paul hit the small of his back hard.
Mark threw a chair at him and hit him in thee side winding him. Mark then pounced on him and proceeded to punch him again and again. Paul started seeing stars after the fourth blow. Paul grabbed a few shards of the glass from the framed picture of BJ Smith. He jammed it into Mark's chest. He bought himself enough time to kick the man off of him.
Mark roared grabbing another chair but not before pulling the glass shards from his chest. Paul came with a hard right uppercut which beamed Mark in the nose. As he fell Paul gave a kicking stomp into the side of Mark's right ribcage but backed up to not be swept up by Mark. Mark noticed a black backpack hanging on a coat rack. Paul withdrew two more throwing stars. He threw one and mark ducked under it but as he did he grabbed a shot glass. Paul bunted it with his left hand in mid air but it exploded against the wooden beam that went from the floor to the ceiling.
Paul threw his star aiming for Mark's throat but the glass threw his aim off and it hit Mark in the right shoulder. He ripped it out, content that it had him him there and not just a few inches away where it could have been fatal. Mark saw a bottle by the bar and he ran for it. Paul threw a chair of his own at him and beamed him in the chest and face with it but Mark managed to get the bottle.
Mark hit the beer tab and spilled it on the floor and Paul slipped. He pounced on Paul opening a bottle of hot sauce. "Can't welcome you to the south without a bit of Cajun style flavor!" He dumped it in Paul's eyes and he cried out, "SHIT!" Before Paul cried out trying to see and Mark began to pummel him again. Paul kicked him in the chest after his second punch but this didn't deter him for long.'
Paul's vision was blurry and Mark side stepped him socking him in the left side of the face with his good hand. "How'd you know I liked hot food?!" Paul cackled.
"I knew you would..." Mark sneered. Paul could still partly see him and that was enough. Mark threw a high right and Paul caught it. He put his right foot behind Mark's right ankle pointing his toes back to himself and he faked a fall which was a breakfall keeping his right foot behind Mark's ankle. He then placed his left foot just below Mark's right knee and pulled with his right foot and pushed with his left and before he knew it the Creole was on the ground with him thrown backwards.
He came up with both feet resulting in a stomp to Mark's groin. The Creole cried out in pain and he was all teeth as he did. Paul grabbed him by the collar punching him as hard as he could in the face and then followed with two quick lefts. He threw him headfirst against the bar swinging two rights into the back of his head. He then took the arm that Mark had once had a compound fracture from and he slammed it repeatedly against the bar. He was going to try and break it but Mark kicked his own foot against the bar and forced them both back and Paul hit his back again screaming but he was ready for Mark's counter attack.
He slammed his head under the beer tap. He poured beer directly in Mark's eyes and let it pour for as long as Mark had with the hot sauce. He let him sputter and howl and rushed to the sink flushing his eyes out. He tried to do it quickly and he did get most of it but he got more in his left eye than right. Mark was trying to stagger bloody and face covered in foam to get to him. Paul punched him as he let the beer foam soak him and he hit him again in the chin and a third time in the jaw. A fourth blow rocked the side of his nose.
Mark tried to get up and he flailed against him but Paul growled, "NO! You're not done drinking yet!" He hit him at half strength in the stomach to wind him hoping to cause him to lose his wind and drown from the beer.
Paul let him get to the sink and he retrieved his 9mm. As Mark rinsed his bloody face out trying to get the suds from his eyes and had undoubtedly ingested some of the beer, he noticed Paul had the iron on him.
"Thought you wanted an honorable fight?" Mark demanded.
"And you believed me?! You of all people should know better. I anticipated your own tendency to fight dirty and I did too and I also knew that you would eventually try and make your way for this. I saw you eyeing it. It was quick but i saw it."
Mark grabbed the hose that was used for alcohol and sprayed Paul in the eye and then in the gun hand. "Too bad you couldn't have come for Mardi Gras! Would be more fun!" He grabbed Paul's gun and went to put it to his temple when he noticed Paul had his own M1911 at his stomach. "Always keep track of your weapons."
Paul went to shoot him in the head and sidestep his own shot as Mark fired and Paul anticipated it and he jerked his gun hand forward. He then fired himself and Mark moved his head but the gunshot caused both of their ears to ring though Mark's far more. Mark tackled him still and they went through the balcony door shattering glass. "Thanks for breaking my fall..." Mark growled with a bloody grin as he pulled the dazed Paul to his feet.
Paul had a few more cuts on his face and his left and right arm was also covered in cuts and he had a few glass shards in his back. Mark took some glass damage to the arm that he had once had broken by the NAPD and he was feeling it but his adrenaline kept him going.
"You'd do the same for me..." Paul shot back...he wiped the blood from the top of his head and his face and he threw it into Mark's eyes and grabbed him and pulled himself and Mark over the side. Mark fell and Paul landed on top of him and Mark hit the top of a moving Admiral, red in color and the windshield caved in. Paul rolled off the car after Mark broke his fall and he hit the street hard.
Paul managed to see the dropped pistol belonging to Mark. He picked it up but Mark rolled off the side of the car. Mark grabbed the lady who got out of the car to see if they were all right, a red haired woman with brown eyes standing at 5'5 with C cup breasts weighing about 135 lbs. She wore a black designer sweater and gray jeans. "Are you okay?!" She asked.
By her accent, she was a local. Mark grabbed her and seemingly used her as a human shield. "You think I give a fuck about some white bitch?!" Paul was about to shoot as Mark backed up with her and Mark said, "No. It was just long enough for me to get this,.." He threw her and he rolled to the ground and Paul side stepped her and let her hit the ground and Mark had the silenced pistol in his hand.
Marco grabbed Paul from behind, however and grabbed him and he held his backup up. "Shouldn't have left this behind..." He had his combat knife drawn and Paul saw him try and stab him so he backed up firing and the round only grazed Marco but it made him drop the knife. Still, the Dominican had not taken as much of a beating as Paul had. Paul collapsed from his injuries and Mark fell down into the street too.
Paul managed to grab only one thing from the backpack as he grappled for it throwing one punch to Marco's stomach while Marco disarmed him and took the spare .45 Handgun he had inside. "You're about to go to hell, cono...and it was all for nada..."
He had the younger man in a headlock and his own .45 against his head and he took the pistol Paul took from Mark. Mark stood up in the street again trying to follow thee two but he fell over, dizzy from bloodloss and the damage he had taken from falling. Paul pulled the pin on the flashbang and let it go off. Marco staggered blinded and Paul grabbed him and threw him into the street and he was hit by a Bobcat speeding to a stop and sent flying about fifteen feet. He wasn't as banged p as Paul or Mark but it had fucked him up. He was unsconscious for now.
Paul retrieved the .45 and the M1911 and aimed at Mark who just glared as he dropped to one knee. "Drop the gun now..." A female voice ordered. Paul knew it was Ana. "Can't two boys roughouse without his mommy saving his ass?!" Growled Paul as he dropped to his knees. He saw Lee fall over in the street as he was thrown and Neto was behind him chasing him. He then saw the two running each for their respective comrades.
"Looks like a good old Mexican standoff." Mark pointed out before giving a loud whistle causing both Neto and Paul to lift their heads and notice a familiar ginger haired man aiming down at them with Mark's CM901 aimed directly at them.
Before he could fire though they heard the screech of tires as a dark blue Stallion was speeding directly at them. Ana saw it and she fired five rounds at the windshield along with Jimmy who peppered the top of the vehicle but they didn't do anything. She moved out of the way and the car swerved at the last second and the door was thrown open. Paul dove in on instinct. Neto then began to look for a way out of the area using the distraction to haul ass as he had lost his weapons as well.
Owl Child looked at Ana who looked back at him realizing the windows and windshield was bulletproof. He had never intended on hitting her and knew she would get out of the way but she also knew that if she hadn't, somebody like Owl Child would not hesitate to run anybody down. "You got bigger problems to worry about. Quit worrying about gang shit!" He sped off and yelled, "We still got national security threats!"
Charlie arrived and collected his unconscious friend. "Fuck, Ana...I hate to admit it...but that bitch hits like a brick..."
"He can do a lot more damage when he's really trying to kill. I've seen his handiwork in Los Santos, Bohan and Teranto."
"That was him holding back...?!" Mark coughed. "I guess that makes the two of us." He added while spitting out a small loggie of blood.
"You would think you'd have learned by now..." She said in a stern tone with a glare.
"Yeah yeah..kick my ass later when I'm not on death's door...I had Marco's back...that's YOUR boy..."
"We gotta go after that fuckin prick..." Charlie stated.
"No. I'm gonna talk to Owl Child if that doesn't work I'll go over his head. He's right that we do have better things to worry about but I don't know why Paul showed up here now."
"We'll deal with him later, the real battle is still here." Mark pointed out while lifting up his phone to the confusion of the group.
"Where is he Manny?" Mark asked with a fire in his tone.
While Mark spoke on his phone, Neto quickly found himself two blocks away from the scene and using the butt of his Pistol to break the driver side window of a gray Sentinel that was parked on the side of the road and quickly starting to hotwire it without noticing the toy hover drone flying over his head.
"Hijacking a car just a few blocks away, looks like he's about to make his way Courtesy Road." The Indian man replied while watching the man drive off from his laptop.
"Good he's going near Burke's territory, order him and his team to intercept and isolate, then get me some transportation." Mark ordered earning surprised looks from Marco, Charlie, and Lee.
"Mark I told-." Ana started before the man quickly cut her off.
"I know what you've told me, but I gave them a warning about what would happen should they stay in my city and I'd be weak not to prove my words." Mark let out extending his hand to Jimmy who quickly tossed the man his CM901 Assault Rifle with a smile.
"Time to put that animal in the ground." The Ginger let out while Mark gave a low growl.
New Arcadia Police Station
The police stations motor pool was a bustle of activity as officer after officer poured out of the building just to watch as Alison and Sawyer brought in Kenneth Duchamp, the man behind the shooting of Police Chief Locke.
As the duo made their way to the front of the building, they quickly found themselves being approached by Superintendent Hayes who stood standing with a serious look on his face.
"How'd you both manage to track him down?" he asked while looking at the duo.
"He was the only one left from the boat shootout a few nights ago, we got a tip on his location from one of…Agent Trueblood's CI's." Sawyer pointed out while looking at Alison who gave him a raised brow before turning back to the Superintendent.
"Then let me be one of the first people to give you my thanks for what you accomplished here Agent Trueblood." Hayes spoke out before extending his hand to Alison who shook it with a smile before a series of claps resonated throughout the motor pool as the officers stood by smiling and cheering for the duo who could only return their smiles.
Before either of them could speak though, the sound of all their radios activating at once quickly caught the attention of all of them.
SHOOTOUT COURTESY ROAD
It was on this long thoroughfare that connected Frenchtown with the Lower Ninth Ward, Neto found himself in a shootout with four black painted Buffalo's filled with BSU members taking shots at him with one vehicle moving to come up on his right side.
"Afraid to do your own dirty work Roman?" Neto whispered under his breath before firing his Pistol out passenger side window and narrowly missing the driver who managed to duck in time but completely blew the side of the man in the passenger's seat head completely off as he fell back in the seat with a loud thud.
"POKE!" screamed out a BSU member with short blonde hair with concern in his tone.
"Poke got poked now get off my ass." Neto called out before slamming the Sentinel into the side of the Buffalo and watching as it veered off road before colliding front first into a light post while two of the vehicles gave chase while one stopped to check on their crashed comrades.
"Fucking Ass-Taker!" yelled out the BSU driver in the second Buffalo before he looked to the backseat of the vehicle and noticed a familiar man of Afro-Argentinian descent load a fresh magazine into his AK-47 Assault Rifle with a serious look on his face.
"Drop the top brother!" he ordered earning a nod from the driver who quickly released the top latch over his head opening the top of the old school Buffalo and allowing Neto to take in the sight of the gang member armed with the heavy Assault Rifle before ducking down as the man fired off ten shots that blew out the back windshield of the vehicle and tore through the chassis so bad that the trunk was forced open on its own.
"Fucking bullshitter!" Neto yelled out before slamming on brakes taking both drivers by surprise and causing the man with the drop top to slam into the back of Neto's vehicle with enough force to send the man with the AK flying out headfirst before hitting the ground headfirst and creating a loud cracking sound in the process.
"Shit!" the driver of the last vehicle before watching Neto slam on the gas petal once again before speeding off down the road while they merely gave chase.
"Thought you bitches would have learned by now-." Neto started before the sound catching a bright light out the corner of his eyes that quickly caused his eyes to widen and his body to lock up as he watched an all-black Sandking slam into the side of his Sentinel with enough force to send it flying through the barricade of the adjacent parking garage with ease before flipping over and crashing into a nearby car.
"That'll teach him!" spoke out a New Arcadia BSU member of white and Vietnamese descent wearing a pair of round framed glasses as he jumped from the back of the Sandking with five other BSU members armed with Assault Rifles as they made their way into the parking garage and quickly spotted the wreckage of the Sentinel.
"FIRE!" the BSU member yelled out before he and the others quickly fired a barrage of rounds into wrecked vehicle before stopping on the order of their leader who quickly moved to approach the vehicle and look inside where he quickly noticed that the body of Neto nowhere to be seen.
"Shit!" one BSU member spoke out before watching the bi-racial man pull out his Walkie Talkie before placing it on his ear.
"Boss we've got him cornered at the Still Market Parking Garage." He spoke out with little emotion in his tone.
"Good, I'm on my way setup a perimeter around the parking garage do not engage and don't let him escape." Mark ordered over his own Walkie Talkie before dropping it on the floor while Lee stood over him injecting with shots of Cortisone to numb his injured bones from his duel with Paul.
It was the same injection athlete's often took to numb joint pains in their battered bodies just before a game. They would help, but they wouldn't entirely solve Mark's injuries.
"You don't have to do this!" came the familiar voice of Ana who sat in the front seat of Mark's duke with a rather serious expression written on her face as she looked back at him through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah I do…for all of us." Mark retorted before slapping a fresh magazine into his M1911 and grabbing at his recently returned combat knife with a serious expression on his face as Ana stopped her vehicle in front of the parking garage.
"Jim you remember Mark's orders were not to engage this asshole." Stated a Caucasian BSU member following behind the man of Vietnamese descent as he stalked around the fifth floor of the garage like a Predator in search of his prey.
"Mark ordered us not to engage him, but we don't have all day to wait…we need to take him out now while he's injured and unarmed." He replied in anger.
THUD
It was the first thing that caught Jim's attention as he turned around and looked on with wide eyes as the man following behind him fell to the ground after the back of his skull caved in courtesy of the blunt end of the onsite Fire Axe Neto had taken near one of the fire escapes.
"You should have listened to him!" Neto spoke out before charging the man with the Axe just as he moved to lift up his Rifle only to have the weapon slam down in the center of his skull with enough force to actually hit his brain and leave him completely frozen on the end of the weapon before Neto finally kicked him off.
"Good help that follows instructions is so hard to find these days." Came a familiar voice that had Neto whipping his head around to notice a familiar Creole standing behind him with a rather serious look on his face.
"You knew better then to send the blancas after me to begin with." The Zapatista spoke out earning a chuckle from the youngest Roman.
"Seemed fair seeing as how I had to fight your sidekick so I sent you Lee's stunt double to soften you up." Mark pointed out while looking at the fallen body of Jim.
"Knew better then to send your bitch?" Neto asked with venom in his tone.
"Nah, I wanted you all to myself." The Creole declared before charging Neto who quickly tossed the axe at Mark who quickly sidestepped to avoid the weapon only to be met with a hard right hook from the Ondero who then followed up with a kick to Mark's already injured ribs causing the man to wince out in pain before responding with a punch of his own that seemed to merely bounce off the head of Neto thanks to the metal plate in his skull.
As Neto went to throw a fake punch at Mark's head, expecting Mark to block it and follow up with a right hook like in their previous fights, he was taken by surprise as Mark parried the punch before following up with an unexpected palm strike to the center of his chest then adding to it with a spinning straight kick that completely pushed Neto back.
After letting out a low growl, Neto sent a look to Mark and to his surprise instead of seeing the Concrete Soldier in his normal boxing stance standing with his right side facing him, his right facing downward, and his left free just near his chin and in a manner that Neto immediately recognized.
He was using the same fighting stance as Ana.
When it came down to fighting Mark was a scrapper he was fast with his hands and wasn't afraid to slam someone. This style wasn't hard for Neto to beat at first, the second time they fought Mark used the same hand to hand combat training taught by the Marines. It was a tough battle and Mark did win but only with the help of an alligator.
Now he seemed to be using the same stance and fighting style of his longtime lover…Wing Chun.
"Your puta teach you that stance?" Neto asked while smiling at Mark who still and motionless. "It didn't save her the last time we squared off.' The Mayan rushed and prepared to deliver another fake punch that Mark again parried before looking down and noticing Neto's knee coming up at his abdomen causing him to catch the top of his knee with his left hand then responding with a quick headbutt to Neto's nose that the man only responded with by punching Mark in the mouth and sending him taking two steps back before running at Neto and jumping up with his knee extended for a flying knee strike.
Neto managed to avoid it and quickly spun around behind Mark before grabbing hold of his waist and moving to try and slam him backwards only for the Concrete Soldier to jump upward and come down with both feet on the right foot of the Azteca before slamming his head backwards and catching Neto in the center of the nose.
"Madre de Puta!" Neto called out while putting Mark in the abdomen.
"Mere de Pute!" Mark spat back wth venom in his tone as he returned Neto's punch with an elbow strike to the side of the man's head that had Neto screeching out before kneeing Mark in the groin and causing him to double over before he felt his full weight being taken off the ground as Neto slammed him back first on the hard concrete.
"Just like last time." Neto exclaimed before jumping on top of the youngest Roman and quickly pinning his arms down under his knees then following up with three punches clean to the face of Mark that left him shrieking in pain.
As Neto moved to go for another punch Mark snaked his head away just in time for Neto's knuckles to connect with the hard concrete and create a loud popping sound as two of the man's knuckles were completely snapped from the force of the hit.
Seeing his opening Mark quickly moved his head back and bit down on the injured hand of Neto with enough force to draw more blood and leave Neto jumping back with enough room to allow the much larger Mark to break free from under him and respond with three hard punches to the nose and cheek of the former Cartel Gunman before reaching out and grabbing Neto by his jaw then slamming him back first onto the ground.
Just as Mark moved to ground and pound him again, Neto countered with a kick to Mark's abdomen that sent him staggering back before watching Neto get back on his feet and run at Mark before latching onto his right arm and moving to force it into a triangle hold that Mark quickly countered by grabbing hold of Neto and throwing him up on his shoulders.
"What goes up-." Mark spoke out completely lifting Neto off the ground completely taking him off guard causing his eyes to widen as he realized just how high he was.
"MUST GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Mark screamed out before running forward and slamming Neto back first onto the windshield of a dark green Dominator with enough force to shatter the glass, dent the hood, and leave the car alarm ringing out while the lights flashed across Mark's face.
"FUCK YOU!" Mark screamed out before throwing several punches to Neto's already injured midsection causing blood to spew from the man's mouth before he reached out and drove his fingers across the eyes of Mark who quickly backed away in pain before looking up and immediately catching a hard left hook from Neto who followed by charging Mark shoulder first and hitting him in the abdomen with enough force to actually lift the larger man off the ground.
"Like you said get the fuck off me." Neto called out while slamming Mark back first against the doors of the elevator with enough force to actually break down the door and send the youngest Roman down the elevator shaft with a loud scream followed by a violent crash.
"Lookout below cabron!" Neto yelled out with a sickening shout before collapsing on the ground and taking several deep breaths.
"Damn!" Mark groaned out with pain filling his voice as he slowly picked himself up.
The drop was hard, but luckily for mark it wasn't too high. The duo was fighting on the fifth floor of the parking garage while the elevator was on the fourth floor. Still, he managed to break through the top of the elevator and land on the dirty tile floor inside.
"Good thing we came prepared." The youngest Roman let out before a violent explosion shook the building and quickly caught the attention of Neto who lifted his head and noticed a large open up in the center of the floor that quickly created several much smaller explosions across the concrete that left Neto shaking and his eyes widening.
"Mayate took out the support beams to this floor." He yelled out under his breath just as the ground below him started to give way causing him to run for the elevator and quickly grab hold of the cable as much of the concrete floor of the fifth floor went down to the fourth.
"He had another card to play." Neto whispered out while taking several deep breaths.
"And another one two if you didn't know." Came a familiar voice that caused the Azteca member to look down with wide eyes as Mark stood inside the remains of the destroyed elevator with his CM901 Assault Rifle raised and his hands holding tightly to the M203 Grenade Launcher attachment.
"OH SHIT!" Neto started before Mark squeezed the trigger and sent a White Phosphorus Round rocketing towards Neto who could only jump for the 4th floor in order to avoid the massive explosion that shook the entire elevator shaft and blanketed the area in a thick white smoke that immediately left Neto's nose and throat burning while his eyes watered.
"Damn!" he choked out before giving off several violent coughs from the utter lack of oxygen around him.
Mark's plan was clear as day, he was still injured from his battle with Paul and despite his new training, size, and weapons he didn't have the overall strength to take him out in a hand-to-hand combat. So he would now rely on small light attacks meant to impair and disorient him, it was an old trick that Neto knew he could beat.
Upon making his way over to the ramp before looking down to the next floor for any signs of the youngest Roman.
He knew Mark was setting another trap all he needed to do was wait for him to try and spring it.
"Hey Asshole!" came a familiar voice that left Neto whipping his head around in shock but upon doing so being immediately taken off-guard courtesy of a familiar Chinese Punk Rocker who struck him with a kick straight to the chest that sent Neto flying over the edge of the ramp before crashing down back first.
"Figured you'd be a little cautious about coming down so I had Lee escort you down hope he wasn't too rough." Mark pointed out while approaching Neto who slowly rose to his feet while looking back up at the top of the ramp where he noticed Lee standing with a smile on his face.
"I thought this was just gonna be you and me, then I again I should have expected this from you." Neto pointed out while eyeing Mark angrily.
"It was, but fighting your friend made me realize something." Mark started to Neto's confusion. "There's honor amongst thieves, but we're warriors and this is life and death so fuck honor. You're the one who used a Cyanide Bullet, so this only seems fair." He finished while Neto eyed him angrily before looking back to Lee who approached him with a smile on his face.
In that moment though, Mark had taken his chance and quickly ran at Neto who turned to block a punch from the Creole before following up with a punch of his own that Mark quickly blocked before quickly following up with a palm strike to Neto's arm that left him screaming out in pain before punching Mark across the face.
The duo then proceeded to trade shots with one another while Lee looked on with a smile spread across his face as he noticed blood starting to leak from the face of Neto to match Mark's own.
As Mark moved to connect with another punch across Neto's skull he was taken off-guard as Neto ducked under his arm and proceeded to punch him in the side before falling back as Mark swung backwards and caught the man in the top of the head with a kick that left the Azteca reeling for a few seconds before he responded with a kick to the face of Mark that left the design of his shoe etched on the man's forehead.
"Didn't think I'd just sit this out, did you?" the BSU member asked while cracking his knuckles.
"No but you'll lay in the same grave as your last bitch." Neto yelled out while Lee merely chuckled.
"And I'll dig yours up so you can see her." Lee replied before charging the man and throwing a hard right hook that Neto easily dodged before kicking him in the chest then turning his gaze to Mark as the youngest Roman charged him and prepared to throw a punch that Neto easily blocked with his right arm before punching Mark square in the face with his left.
Just as he was about to follow up the attack Lee grabbed him from behind and attempted to slam him down only for Neto to hit him once in the groin before turning around, grabbing him by the neck, and slamming him back first against the ground where he then moved to ground and pound the Shotgun Mary before being grabbed from behind and tossed across the room courtesy of Mark.
"Let's finish this." Mark yelled out before Neto charged him with incredible speed that took the Concrete Soldier by surprise as the Saint of Death connected with a hard right hook that Mark immediately countered with a cross punch.
As Neto moved to follow up with another punch, Mark rolled out of the way before wrapping his arm around Neto's neck and immediately starting to choke him. The man of Mayan descent wasn't in the hold long though as he jumped upward and came down back first on the chest of the injured Roman. He then rolled over to throw two punches to the head of Mark.
"GET OFF!" Lee yelled out before charging Neto from behind and striking him across the back with the sideview mirror of a car that had been destroyed in the collapse of the fifth floor.
"Fucking Chino!" Neto called out while wincing in pain and eyeing Lee with daggers.
As the Ondero moved to throw a right hook, Lee ducked under the blow leaving Neto spinning around until he was soon met with a left jab to the face and a straight kick to the abdomen courtesy of the Shotgun Mary that left him staggering back and only watching as Mark entered the melee and struck him in the face with a hard right hook.
The double team was on and Neto soon found himself unable to keep up with the duo, he lifted his hand to block a strike from Mark, Lee came after with a punch to the face, he turned to face Lee Mark kneed him in the abdomen, and once he looked back to Mark Lee caught him with a quick kick to his right knee that took his leg directly from under him and gave Mark's uppercut more damage from the low angle of the man's head.
Neto wasn't beaten yet though, as Mark moved to throw another punch the man snaked his arm around the youngest Roman and struck him in the abdomen with a headbutt before hitting him again with a palm strike to Mark's already injured ribs with enough force to crack three.
He then turned his full focus on Lee who threw another punch that the Cartel Gunman easily blocked before following up with three straight punches directly for the Chinese man's head that left him staggering back with blood leaking from his mouth and lips.
As Lee moved to throw another punch, Neto quickly countered by ducking under the man's arm and coming behind him with murderous intentions as he jumped up and moved to grab hold of the man's neck.
"Say goodnight puta-." Neto started before he felt something stab into his back and a sudden surge of electricity flow through his entire body from a violent poke in the center of his back that had him dropping Lee and immediately dropping down to one knee in pain.
"YOU!" Neto called out with anger filling his voice as he found himself completely turning around and coming face to face with a familiar BSU member with a serious expression written on his face.
"You dying today dawg." Buck spoke out with fear evident in his tone as he held up the electric Cattle Prod to the face of Neto who seemed unfazed by the young adults threats.
Just as the Azteca leader moved to ring him by the neck he was quickly taken off-guard by another sharp pulse of electricity hitting him in his right side courtesy of Tup before finally a fist was slammed against his head followed by a kick to the back from the duo of Lee and Thire that had him landing on his hands and knees.
Then to Neto's shock a series of yells then filled the parking garage as seven other BSU members charged out from behind cars and the stairs with hate in their eyes and various melee weapons in their hands that soon found themselves connecting across the abdomen of the former Cartel Gunmen who despite his many injuries continued to fight.
The sight left everyone in a sense of amazement as they watched Neto after being struck in the back by a BSU member with a chain jump up, grab the man by his neck, and slam him down on the ground where he proceeded to punch him in the face three times before gouging out the man's eye with his fingernail.
"SHIT!" yelled a BSU member as the sound of his injured comrades screams filled the room and intimidate the young BSU members who seemed frozen in fear for a few seconds before one of them armed with a switch blade ran at Neto who pounced on the man like a madmen and bit into his neck with enough force to rip it open and leave his blood spewing on the face of Neto who again found himself being hit with another bolt of electricity courtesy of both Tup and Buck who were both taken off-guard as Neto dropped down off the Cattle Prods and kicked the feet out from both men who hit the concrete with a thud.
"Son of a-!" Buck started before immediately taking a kick to the face courtesy of Neto who immediately moved to roll out of the way before being grabbed behind by Thire who tried to slam him back down back first to the earth only for Neto to jump up and come down with his right foot on the man's right knee successfully bringing him down and leaving him open for a punch to the throat that left him wheezing out in pain.
"You're next ginger!" Neto called out as two more BSU members charged him only to be taken down a by a series of punches to the face of one man before the last was kicked in the gut and tossed across the room with ease as he continued his approach towards Jimmy who merely gave Neto a smile before rolling out of the way to the surprise of Neto who quickly noticed Lee taking the place of the Ginger and charging at him off his left foot.
And with his right, Lee struck like a cobra and hit Neto with a kick that caught almost the entirety of his chin and sent a glob of spit flying from the mouth of the man who soon found himself staggering backwards barely conscious with blood filling his eyes and covering his face from the force of the hit.
The one thing he could make out through his blurry vision though was the familiar six foot three two hundred and sixty-five pounds of pure south muscle charging at him at full speed before jumping up and connecting with a Superman Punch against the face of his longtime rival with enough force to send them both falling to the floor taking deep breaths as blood flowed from both of their faces and eyes that were snapping shut as pain and fatigue had finally overcome them both.
Two Days Later
The sound of guns cocking filled the dark New Arcadia skies as Joaquin, Cheta, Nata, Pavo, Troubles, Jose, and Triste each found themselves slowly approaching the BSU controlled Bait and Tackle with weapons drawn on the building.
It wasn't long after Mark's battle with Neto, did Mark and the BSU members send a picture to the bloody, beaten, and barely conscious Neto to the phones of not only most Azteca and Vago members but also members of the Ballas, Families, Da Nang's, and other gangs across Los Santos.
It was a message to all, New Arcadia's Concrete Soldier had beaten one of the most dangerous Gunmen not only on the West Coast but also all of Mexico.
The Concrete Soldier had bested Santa Muerte!
It should be no surprise to see the Azteca/Vago members back in New Arcadia looking to get revenge for their comrade. They knew Mark would have more than likely expected their arrival, which was probably why it was so hard for them to find any BSU member or even Alison on the streets of New Arcadia.
Mark had gotten them out of harm's way.
They'd still managed to get word that he and his crew were having a meeting here without the knowledge that this would be their last meeting ever.
"Alright then let's-." Culebra started before a loud racking sound soon caught his attention along with everyone else before a blinding light came out of nowhere and quickly covered the group.
"What the-?' Trouble asked as she and the rest each lifted their heads and quickly noticed that they were surrounded by three dozen Merryweather Soldiers who were standing across the rooftop with their weapons aimed at the group.
"Put your weapons down, the boss wants an audience with you but if you refuse…we can put you down now." Yelled out a Merryweather Agent standing behind a Machine Gun Turret as he looked down at the group who started to why their options before dropping their guns and was quickly approached by several Merryweather Agents who grabbed them by their arms before escorting them into the warehouse of the Bait and Tackle shop.
Upon entering the building the group was immediately brought into the gaze of the familiar group of BSU members but also the eyes of Alison, Ana, and three more unknown figures who stood beside a mostly bandaged Neto who was sitting in a wheelchair alongside Marcus.
"What is this?" Joaquin asked with venom in his tone.
"This is us coming to a truce." Mark spoke out from his own seat in a wheelchair.
Authors Note: Long violent chapter everyone I hope you all enjoyed it because I did promise these next couple were action packed.
A lot went on in this chapter so I'm just gonna keep this short so stick around for next chapter Zilla 2000 out.
