Chapter 2
„Cesar Vialpando & Tagging the turf."
[September 13, 1992, Beverly Johnson house]
CJ groaned after waking up. He turned his head to see it was 9:23 in the morning. Rubbing his eyes, he got up and walked up to the bathroom. He decided to take a quick shower to wake up fully. Once he was done, he returned to his room and looked at his clothes from yesterday. Picking them up, he sniffed them and let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, they didn't stink.
„Man, those are my only clothes." -CJ muttered. He glanced at his closet and walked up to it. All his old clothes were too small for him now."Gotta go to a shop and get some new clothes…"
He remembered that there was Binco shop nearby. They had some cheap clothes there and with his budget, it was an obvious choice. After putting on his clothes, CJ walked down the stairs and noticed that Kendl was nowhere to be seen.
'Seems like she went out.' -He thought as he walked to the kitchen. He noticed a note on the counter. He read it and smiled.
'….Hey, Carl. I left you a meal in the microwave. Just heat it up. Remember about meeting me and Cesar at Unity Station!...'
Once he was done with his breakfast, CJ decided to watch some TV before going to Unity Station. He suddenly heard his phone ringing. He pick it up and answered it.
„Hello." -He said.
[…Thought I'd explain some shit…]
It was Sweet.
„Sweet, hey, wassup?" -CJ greeted with a smile.
[…Since you been away, shit has changed 'round here. Grove Street Families ain't big no more. Seville Boulevard Families and Temple Drive Families are beefing and split with the Grove. Now We're so busy set tripping, Ballas and Vagos have taken over, so watch yo'self out there…]
„Yeah, I hear ya. Thanks for the heads up." -CJ replied.' Shit's really fucked up. What the hell happened since I was away?'
[…Don't mention. Also, get yourself some colors!...]
„Will do, bro." -CJ said and ended the call. Letting out a sigh, he looked at the clock. It's 11:04 right now."Might as well go to Binco now. After that: Unity Station."
Once he left his mother's house, CJ noticed the car he stole yesterday. He thought about taking it but decided to go on foot this time.
As he made his way to Binco, CJ noticed a few guys in hoodies standing around as if waiting for something.
„Looks like some pushers to me." -CJ muttered while shaking his head.
Once he reached the clothing shop, he went inside and smiled. It was still the same crappy shop where his mom bought him and his sibling's cheap clothes. It took some time to find the right clothes at a good price. He only bought a green jacket, two plain white shirts, and a few pairs of underwear. It all cost him about 60 dollars.
„Alright, then." -He said after leaving Binco."Time to see this lowrider competition."
In the next few minutes, CJ reached the Unity Station. It was full of Varrios Los Aztecas Gang members who looked at him in confusion. His danger sense was buzzing like crazy.
'Great… Let's just hope they don't start some shit.' -CJ thought and saw one Aztecas coming his way.' Shit…'
„You lost homeboy, eh?" -He asked calmly. His hand was creeping down to his pistol."This is our turf, you know."
„Hey I ain't looking for trouble." -CJ said smoothly."I'm looking for my sister. She's dating your guys. Cesar, was it?"
„You must be Kendl's bro." -He nodded and looked to this right."They're over there, hombre."
„Thanks." -CJ said and walked away. He saw his sister with a guy who was wearing a white t-shirt and light grey trousers. CJ that he had a few tattoos as well.'Must be this Cesar guy…'
„I almost thought you wouldn't show up." -Kendl said as soon as he saw CJ.
„I said I'd come, so here I am." -CJ chuckled."And you must be Cesar."
„Cesar Vialpando. Nice, you meet you, holmes." -Cesar said and shook CJ's hand."I'm glad that I can finally meet Kendls family. I heard about your Moms. Sorry to hear, eh." -CJ simply nodded, not wanting to talk any further about it.
„Oi, Cesar, who's this pendejo?" -Asked one of the gang members. CJ didn't like the look he was getting from the guy.
„Dickhead? This dickhead is my brother!" -Kendl snapped.
„Easy holmes. He's cool." -Cesar said, trying to calm his friend down.
„Well, I say he ain't cool." -He scoffed and looked CJ in the eyes."You ain't welcome here, Puto!"
„You're not the one making calls, holmes." -Cesar said seriously."If I say he stays, he stays!"
„Whatever..." -His friend told him. He then turned away and left them.
„Asshole…" -CJ muttered.
„Don't pay attention to him, holmes." -Cesar said, smiling."He's a little edgy, that's all."
„I think everyone's edgy" -He said facetiously as he looked around.
„They know you from Grove Street. We're still beefing, thought I'm trying to maintain peace between our gangs." -Cesar explained."I'm doing that for Kendl, but your brother Sweet doesn't even wanna talk to me."
„Yeah, he's hard." -CJ nodded."With how things are right now, I don't think We'll be having any peace talks."
„I'm glad that at least you're not hostile towards me." -Cesar said with a smile."It gives me hope, holmes."
„Now c'mon boys, aren't We forgetting something?" -Kendl asked and they looked at her."Today is the competition! Stop talking about that gang shit and let's have some fun!"
„You're right, baby." -Cesar agreed."This is your time here, CJ?"
„Yeah, never been to a lowrider competition before." -He said, and Cesar chuckled.
„You gonna love this, man. Beautiful cars, women, and bombastic music!" -Cesar said enthusiastically."There is something here for everyone. I and Kendl are about start round one. Come and take a look."
As Cesar said that, he and Kendl went inside the red lowrider that was parked behind them. They drove to the middle of Unity station where another lowrider was waiting for them. CJ watched both lowriders 'dance' to the beat of the music. He had to admit that it looked like a lot of fun.
'Maybe I should ask Cesar to show me some moves!' -CJ thought as everyone around him cheered.
It wasn't long before the first round ended. Cesar won and everyone cheered for him. CJ watched as his little sister had a lot of fun with her boyfriend.
„That shit was tight, homie." -CJ said, giving Cesar a high five.
„Thanks, holmes! You gotta try it someday." -Cesar said with a laugh.
„F'sho, man." -CJ agreed.
„Are you gonna stay for round two?" -Kendl asked her brother.
„Nah, Imma head back to Grove Street." -He said as he showed his bag."Gotta wash these otherwise I won't have anything to wear."
„Right, you said you lost your stuff because of C.R.A.S.H." -Kendl said."You should try to call the Taxi company. Maybe they didn't throw it."
„Maybe… Well, have fun you two." -He told them as he turned away.
„Drop on in anytime, holmes!" -Cesar said with a grin. As CJ vanished behind the corner, He looked at Kendl."That went well. Your brother is pretty chill."
„Yeah… At least he's supporting me. Unlike Sweet." -Kendl said sadly.
„Don't worry, baby. I'm sure he'll come around as well." -Cesar said and kissed her.
[Sometime later. Grove Street.]
After dropping off his clothes, CJ went down to check on Sweet. He saw him and Big Smoke playing basketball together.
„C'mon, fat boy. C'mon, fat boy. Fat boy - look at you!" -Sweet was trying to get under Smoke's skin, but it wasn't working.
„Yeah, yeah, watch out. Fool… Watch this!" -With a swift move, Smoke turned to the right, threw his ball, and scored a point.
„Look who's here, it's running man." Sweet said after noticing CJ."What, you think you back on the set?"
„I told you that, bro." -He told his brother. CJ didn't let his words get to him."
„Your word doesn't mean shit 'round here." -Sweet scoffed.
„C'mon, man, gimme a break." -CJ said tiredly.
„Hey, CJ." -Smoke greeted his friend after picking up his ball. CJ simply nodded in response.
„We gotta go hit the hood." -Sweet informed."Let them know you're back on the set. The Johnson's brother is rolling again." -CJ nodded in agreement. Sweet took out the spray paint and handed it to his brother."Take this and go hit shit up. Star with our own set first."
„Later on, we'll spread out and take the whole hood back." -Big Smoke chimed in.
„You already spreading out, fat man." -Sweet added, taking basketball from Big Smoke."Now let's play!"
With a sigh, CJ left his homies to continue their game. Before reaching the sidewalk, he heard Sweet's voice.
„Hey, wait up." -Sweet called. CJ turned around with a smile.
„Thought you'd hang out with your brother, huh?" -He said smoothly, causing Sweet to chuckle.
„Aw, ease up little man, c'mon, it's been difficult." -Sweet said to his brother."So, what you been up to in Liberty City."
„It's a kinda long story, bro." -CJ said hesitantly. He was sure if this was the right moment to tell his brother his secret.
„Well… We have all the time We need. I'll drive." -Sweet and CJ let out a sigh. They both entered Sweet's car and slowly made their way to Idlewood."Go on, I wanna know what my little brother was up to."
„Alright, then." -CJ said with a sigh."As you probably can guess, I had nothing when I run off to Liberty City. I was aimlessly walking around until I met a guy by the name of Joey. He helped out and in return, I worked for him for about three years. You know carjacking and all that." -Sweet nodded, so CJ continued."I made myself a little reputation and so I was offered to work for the biggest crime lord in Liberty City - the Kingpin." -Sweet looked surprised.
„I heard about him. He always gets Scott free, right?" -Sweet asked his brother.
„Yeah, always." -CJ said and continued with his story."I worked for a year to prove myself and then I became a part of a group that was going to steal some shit from Oscorp Industries. It's a multinational Corporation that does about anything."
„And how did it end?" -Sweet asked curiously. It seems as CJ's life in Liberty City was quite eventful.
„Not good I tell you." -CJ said with a sigh."My group was supposed to load anything We could get our hands on. I took one small container… and sort of broke it."
„Aw, man, were they mad at you?" -Sweet chuckled. He remembers that his little brother was a bit clumsy in the past.
„Nah, I was lucky nobody was around to see it." -CJ replied."I picked it up and tried to fix it. Before I knew it, something bit my hand. It was a giant red and black spider!"
„Don't tell me you screamed like a little girl." -Sweet laugh, causing CJ to roll his eyes.
„Fuck no! I obviously smacked the shit out of it." -CJ countered as his brother laughed some more."Back then I didn't realize that the spider came from the container. So, I fixed the container as much as I could and pretended as nothing happened." -He paused, thinking if he should continue. His heart was beating like crazy.
„That's good. And then what happened?" -Sweet was persistent. He knew his little brother was hiding something from him.
„Wel…I…" -CJ was still very hesitant. He was scared that Sweet would think of him as a freak.
„Speak up, Nigga!" -Sweet snapped.
„Everything went smoothly from there." -CJ continued."We got the stuff, delivered it, and then got the green. But on my way to my crib, I suddenly got sick. I barely went inside and immediately passed out on a floor."
„Shit, what happened?" -Sweet asked with a worried tone.
„I really didn't know, but everything changed on the next day." -CJ said and the car stopped. They were by a bridge in Idlewood.
„How so? C'mon, get to the point, bro." -Sweet pressured his brother. CJ let out a sigh of defeat.
„This…" -He said and suddenly CJ was gone. Sweet jumped in shock and looked around.
„CJ?! What the fuck, bro?!" -Sweet exclaimed."Aw, man, I knew I shouldn't be around Ryder when he's smoking!"
„I'm still here, bro!" -CJ said as he reappeared."Stop shouting, will ya?!"
„Nigga, what was that?! How did you do that?" -Sweet demanded.
„As I said, shit's changed. Now I can do all sort of shit." -He showed his hand that had orange electricity dancing around it. Sweet stared at him, dumbfounded."I also can crawl on walls, and my strength is off the roof too."
„Wait, wait, wait! Time out!" -Sweet told his brother while using his hands to make a 't' shape."This way too much at once, bro! Give a second, damn!"
CJ complied and didn't say anything. Instead, he waited for Sweet to process what he just heard while listening to N.W.A. - "Express Yourself" on the radio. He found it ironic that this song was now playing. But he felt better after finally telling somebody about his secret. Now he was just hoping that Sweet wouldn't look at him in a different light.
„Look, little bro…" -Sweet began."You just dropped a massive bomb on my head, right now." -He paused, glancing at CJ who looked away."But let me ask you this. Did you go to a hospital? This isn't normal, you know."
„So that I could end up as a guinea pig for some mad scientist? Hell Nah!" -CJ deadpanned.
„I'm serious, Carl. If it's because of that spider, then you gotta go and check yourself!" -Sweet said seriously."You sure you're good, little bro?"
„Yeah, I'm sure! Nothing happened for the past year." -CJ countered. He let out a sigh and looked at his hands. He knew Sweet would try to make him go to the hospital.
„So what happened last year?" -Sweet asked, looking at his little brother with worry. This shit wasn't normal. Hell, maybe CJ was dying as they speak.
„Shits was fucked." -CJ admitted bitterly."It wasn't long before Kingpin's group began looking for me. It turned out that the spider that bit me was the most important part of our little heist. But, they didn't tell us about it. They capped everyone who was part of that group, Sweet. It was only a matter of time before they'd get to me." -He paused, clenching his fist at the memory."If it wasn't for Joey I'd have probably not made it out alive." -Sweet was quiet through his brother's story."I had no choice, but to get low. With Joey's help, I got out of Liberty City safely. I got as far as I could and ended up in Philadelphia. I with nothing again, but I managed to get a job as a janitor in a local school. They were desperate enough that they were allowed to sleep in there." -He looked at his brother."I barely went outside, I lost contact with Joey, and I had nobody to talk to. I felt like an animal in a cage, bro."
„I'm sorry, bro. I don't know what to say…" -Sweet said truthfully. He thought that CJ was having an easy life in Liberty City.
„But that's not the worst part." -CJ said as he choked on his words."Since I was alone, I had a lot of time to think about everything. I fucked up, Sweet. I let Brian die and left you all when you needed me the most. I ran away like a Coward. I guess Ryder was right…I'm a Busta." -CJ was breaking down emotionally, and Sweet had no idea how to react. He never saw his little brother being so down."I was….I was thinking about ending it, bro. I really didn't want to continue with this shit… But then you called me about Moms…"
Without a warning, Sweet pulled CJ into a hug. CJ blinked in surprise.
„I'm sorry, baby bro. I didn't know." -Sweet said calmly."I'm so sorry for giving you a hard time. It's really been difficult. I honestly feel like everything's been falling apart in the last 5 years. And now our Moms…I really don't know why all of this shit is happening, bro."
„Must be karma for me leaving my home." -CJ said weakly."If I was here, maybe Moms would still be here…"
„Don't talk like, bro. I ain't your fault." -Sweet assured him. CJ closed his eyes. He remembered how Brian died in his arms. The image of the little brother dying in his arms broke his heart. Maybe he wasn't responsible for what happened to his Mom, but it was 100% his fault that Brian was dead."Ballas was gunning for me, not our Moms. If anything, that's on me."
„It's their fault… Ballas made that hit, regardless of who were they aiming for." -CJ said as he pulled back from Sweet."One of them motherfuckers did this. We gotta find the person who's responsible!"
„Hell yeah! We'll find the nigga who pulled the trigger and cap his ass." -Sweet declared and CJ nodded.
„For Moms and for the Grove!" -CJ said, causing his brother to smile. With that, the two brothers got out and walked up to the bridge. They saw Ballas graffiti tilted "Front Yard Ballas" in Purple colors.
„Watch for those rollers as I tag this up." -Sweet said, so CJ kept an eye out. Being quick, Sweet wrote over Ballas tag with "Grove Street 4 life". Proud of his work he turned to his brother." There are another two ballas tags in the hood." -Sweet informed." You go get'em and I'll keep the engine running."
CJ nodded and darted away. Sweet looked on as disappeared behind the houses next to them. He got in his car and waited for his brother to come back.
'Man, it was good to let it all out.' -CJ thought as he tagged Ballas graffiti. He was thankful his brother was supportive.'Still gotta make it up for running away five years ago though.'
As soon as he was done, CJ turned back and went inside Sweet's car.
„Now let's cruise into Ballas territory." -Sweet with a smirk as he stomped on a gas pedal.
After a while, the two brothers reached East Los Santos and stopped by a mural with half naked girl holding a pistol.
„You hit this up here, and I'll go up and do another hood." -Sweet said, and CJ hopped out of the car.
CJ watched as Sweet disappeared behind a corner. He glanced at the mural and noticed the Ballas tag. As he walked up to it, he shook his spray can and smiled. Just like his brother Sweet, CJ wrote 'Grove Street 4 live!'. With a satisfied smile, he turned to the corner to his left and saw two Ballas standing by a wall with a tag."This will be easy!"
As soon as the Ballas noticed CJ they went after him.
„Who do you think you are, cocksucker?!" -One of them snapped."Let's teach this asshole a lesson!"
„This our territory, nigga!" -Another barked and charged at CJ.
CJ's danger sense blared and he knew what the punk in front of him wanted to do. He easily dodge an incoming from and punched the Balla in the head. He didn't really want to kill the guy so he had to apply only a small portion of his strength. The Balla was knocked out cold, causing the other Balla to take a step back.
„C'mon! Thought you wanted to teach me a lesson!" -CJ scoffed, causing the Balla to boil with anger. His danger sense flared yet again.
„Eat lead, motherfucker!" -Balla said as he took out his pistol. Unfortunately, CJ was much faster now and before Balla knew it, he was on the ground."What the fuck?!"
„Man, you're slow." -CJ said while cocking his new gun."Now! How about you get your bitch ass out of here before I cap you!" -He added as he pointed at Ballas's head.
Without any comeback, The Balla picked himself up and ran away. CJ snorted at how cowardly the Balla was. Shaking his head, CJ looked around trying to spot another tag to cover. There was one more on the rooftop of a small building across the street.
After crossing the street, Cj went behind the building so that nobody would see him. Once he was sure nobody was watching, CJ jumped up high and landed on the rooftop. Once he was done, he heard Sweet's coming from below.
„Carl! Quick, get in!" -Sweet yelled. He watched how his brother jumped down and landed while doing a backflip."That was tight, but quit showing off!" -They both heard sirens in a distance.
CJ quickly got inside the car and the two brothers squealed away back to Grove Street. As they parked beside Sweet's house, they both got out and looked at each other with smiles.
„Like riding a bike, ain't it, boy?" -Sweet asked with a chuckle.
„Yeah, it all comes back." -CJ agreed with his brother.
„How are you doin' on a feddy?" -Sweet asked causing CJ to sigh.
„I'm kinda short, you know." -He replied."C.R.A.S.H took all my paper, left with nothing but a small change."
„Here, get yourself a beer or something." -Sweet handed CJ 200$ and gave him a bro hug."I have a question, little bro. When will you tell the rest of the homies about your secret?"
„I don't know yet." -CJ admitted."You're the only person who knows right now. I had to keep it to himself for a bit of time, you know."
„Hey, I ain't gonna pressure you, but you can't keep something like that from your homies. Especially your sister." -Sweet said and CJ nodded in agreement.
„I will… I promise." -CJ said truthfully.
„Good…I have another question before you go." -Sweet began, not sure how to ask this question.
„Yeah? What is it, Sweet?" -CJ asked.
„Do you… You know, shoot webs from…" -He trailed, making CJ cringe.
„Aww, Nah man! That gross! I dot shit web out of my asshole!" -CJ snapped and Sweet laughed his ass off."Hey, quit it! It ain't funny, bro!"
„It kinda is!" -Sweet wheezed."I can imagine you swing around in Liberty City, shooting a web from your ass! Hahaha ah!"
„Aw, Nigga fuck you!" -CJ waved him off and went back to his Moms house.
„See you later, Webhead!" -Sweet called back, but CJ didn't bother turning back. He was just happy that he was closer to his brother again.