Hey Everyone! Hope the holidays were good to everybody! This is the longest chapter I've ever written, so please let me know what you think. I kept playing the Fall Out Boy song with the same name over and over while I wrote the second half of this chapter. As always, shoutout to LynGuerra who's support and suggests continue to make this story possible. If you're a fan of Saints Row fanfics, make sure you check out her story "Everybody wants to Rule the World". Some jackass (who's name I won't mention) has been ripping off her story, yet can't hold a candle to it. Anyway...back on topic! As always, please read and review. I own nothing with the expection of the original charcters. I also don't have any money so please don't sue me. Enjoy!
It was a cold and rainy morning as Mei and Carlos drove up in a black Bootlegger outside the Stilwater Caverns. For the purpose of the meeting, Mei suspended her "low profile" policy and wore black cargo pants with purple stripes and a purple and black basketball jersey. Carlos wore his purple sweatpants and long sleeve black sweater in order to keep warm. As always, he was his iconic purple beanie on his head. She wanted to make it clear that to the Brotherhood leader that he was dealing with the Leader of the Saints. While it felt great wearing purple out in the open again, she knew it could be just as dangerous as calling the Stilwater PD and telling them that the Saints were back in business. Mei was more than willing to welcome the possibility of an alliance, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Especially considering what happened to her the last time she had a 'sitdown' with someone to talk business. Becky and Monster were parked a block down the street in a van with four other Saints armed to the teeth, waiting on standby in case anything happened. She also had McCormick and Cassie get there a few hours earlier and setup on the roof of the warehouse overlooking the meeting point with sniper rifles. If Maero, another Brotherhood member, or anyone else decided to get an itchy trigger finger, Cassie and McCormick would open fire from the roof while the other Saints arrived as backup. But with the visitors to the cavern going in and out, she also felt secure in the sense that Maero wouldn't try something in such a public place.
Mei turned her attention to Carlos, who was blowing onto his hands to keep them warm "Yo Carlos! When's this Maero guy supposed to meet us here? If my nipples get any harder from the cold, I'm going to be able to cut fucking diamonds!"
"I'm supposed get a call from one of their guys when they're ready." Carlos explained "I guess they also wanted to make sure it's not some sort of trap. Once we get the go ahead that Maero's here, we'll head inside the caverns for the meeting."
Mei cocked an eyebrow at Carlos "Did you just say 'inside the caverns'? Seriously, we're going to meet this guy inside the caverns with no idea who's with him? Didn't you think it might be a good idea to let me know that the backup I setup wouldn't be able to help?"
Realizing his blunder, a pained expression came across Carlos' face "Sorry Boss, I didn't really think about it…I guess I really screwed things up, huh?"
"Don't get all weepy on me. It just means we both gotta be on our toes." Mei walked over and patted him on the shoulder "You better text the rest of the crew and tell them to fall back. Don't want this Maero dude getting cold feet."
"Sure thing Boss!" Carlos replied, with renewed enthusiasm as he began texting the other Saints new instructions. Mei made her way back over the Bootlegger and retrieved some extra pistol clips for her Vice-9. While Mei was stashing the clips in her cargo pants pockets, she felt her phone vibrate. She answered the phone only to hear Cassie's agitated voice.
"Boss, you can't seriously be thinking about doing this!" Cassie said franticly "Even a five year old would look at the current situation and say 'It's a trap!"
"I appreciate the concern Admiral Ackbar, but I'll be fine." Mei replied reassuringly "What's the worst that can possibly happen?"
"You could get blown the fuck up again" Cassie retorted "Or you could end up being grabbed by the cops."
"Look, if anything goes sideways, I'll just shoot my way out!" Mei insisted "Plus, I got Carlos watching my back in case this anything goes wrong."
"You're in the position because of Carlos, just remember that." Cassie pointed out "Gat's already mentioned that he's not sure Carlos is 'Saints Material'. Maybe we should cut him loose, Boss. It might ultimately save his life and the lives of everyone else in the long run."
Mei sighed "Look, we're not going to kick this guy out of the crew because he made some mistakes. If that were how the Saints operated, a lot of us would have been giving the boot by Julius back in the day. That holds true for not only Gat, but for you and me as well."
"Alight, I see your point." Cassie replied dejectedly "Just be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially now that we have a chance to rebuild the Saints and make them better than ever"
"Will do Cass. If anything goes down that we can't handle, I call right away." Mei replied as she hung up the phone
Mei turned her attention back to Carlos, who was also putting away his phone."Maero's inside the Caverns waiting, Boss"
"Good, Let do this!" Mei turned to face the entrance and walked in carrying a confidence she didn't know she had. The Saints had been the only real family that she had, which made finding out that most were either dead or locked up a very difficult thing to hear. But now she had a chance to save at least some of them. If possible she would even align with the Brotherhood if it meant freeing them from jail sooner than planned. As they walked further into the caverns, she spotted what looked like a large statue sitting on one of the benches. It was only until they got closer that she realized this must be Maero. He had a muscular physique that was almost twice the size of Johnny's , a red mullet and brown eyes with a soft brown complexion. Another thing that Mei noticed that his skin was almost completely covered the red tribal tattoos. Both his arms, some of his chest, and even half his face were covered with these tattoos.
"Maybe I should have brought some of the others with me backup." Mei thought to herself as she approached him
"You Maero?" Mei asked
"Yeah." He replied, slowly turning his head to look at Mei and Carlos "I guessing you're that Boss of the Saints?"
"Yeah." Mei replied, pointing her thumb over her shoulder "That's Carlos."
"Aren't any of your guys here for back up?" Carlos asked
"Don't need them." He replied
"Are you sure about?" Mei asked cockily, pulling out her Vice-9 and pointing it at the side of his head "I could kill right here and now and nobody would be able to stop me."
"No, you couldn't. I would be a very bad idea if you tried." Maero stood up from the bench and turned to face Mei and Carlos. Standing up, Maero was easily well over seven feet tall, which left Carlos feeling like ant before an elephant.
"I'm pretty sure someone's gonna think twice before picking a fight with me. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Alright." Mei stashed her pistol back into her waistband "Let's talk then."
"Listen, I'm not stupid. I know who you are and what you're capable of doing. The way how I see it, there's no reason for us to tear each other apart."
Mei nodded "I'm listening."
"Here's what I'm thinking. We divide Stil—"
"Boss!" Carlos interrupted, pointing behind them "We got company!"
Mei and Mareo both glanced over their shoulders to see several flashlight beams moving around in the dark.
"I heard voices. This way!" a voice yelled. Suddenly, eight officers came into view and starting shooting. Mei, Carlos, and Maero dove for cover behind the bench and returned fire. Mei downed three of the officers with headshots , with Carlos shooting one in the throat and Maero killed another with five shots to the chest. The remaining officers took cover against the cavern walls.
"Shots fired! I repeat, shots fired at the Stilwater Caverns! We have officers down and are requesting backup!" an officer yelled into his radio. While radioing for help, Mei managed to kill him with skillfully timed shot through his left temple and exiting the back of his skull.
"Shit! Let's get out of here before more of these fuckers show up!" Mei yelled over the gunfire
"Get out of here with Maero Boss!" Carlos yelled back "I'll cover you two and link up with you once I get outside."
"Ok. Just don't get killed!" she turned to Maero "where did you park?"
"On the entrance one the other side of the caverns." He replied "Follow me."
Mei and Maero made their escape while Carlos continued shooting it out with the cops, keeping them pinned down. Mei ran into more officers responding to the earlier call for backup. Her and Maero simply ran in between the regular park goers for cover and gunned them down with ease as they made their way to the exit. Just as they made it outside, they heard what sounded like a bomb going off from inside the caverns.
"What the fuck was that?" Maero asked out loud
"Carlos most likely." Mei replied nonchalantly "Where are you parked at?"
"Over here" he replied, leading her to a large Atlasbreaker painted in Brotherhood's signature black and red. Maero got into the driver's side door as Mei hopped into the passenger's seat.
"Where we heading?" she asked
"The docks. There's a warehouse on the docks that The Brotherhood operate from." He replied
Glancing in Maero's rear view mirror for any pursuing cops, she was greeted with the sight of a black bootlegger following close behind. Suddenly, Mei's phone started to vibrate. She answered instantly without even looking at the caller ID.
"Glad to see you made it out there in once piece, Carlos." Mei smirked "Didn't realize you brought a bomb with you."
"Not a bomb, just a hand grenade in case things got hairy." Carlos explained cheerfully "Gat's always saying you should always have backup weapons, so I packed a grenade just in case. Although I never thought there would ever be a situation where I would have to use it."
"That's one of the perks of preparing for the unexpected." Mei replied "Where heading to the docks. Make sure you stay close."
"Ok. Got it Boss" Carlos replied as she hung up
"That's quite a crew you got." Maero smirked "It's only you, Gat, and that kid. But still, I'm impressed."
Mei found Maero's choice of words very interesting. Either her safety measures to stay low profile had fooled even Maero, and possibly any other Stilwater gangs watching them. Or Maero was possibly being coy with her in order to find out more about the numbers the Saints really had, amongst other things. Mei decided to move on the side of caution in case this alliance didn't work out as expected.
"You make do with what you got and don't worry about the other bullshit." She replied "Especially when you been gone so long that motherfuckers have forgotten who you are."
"Maybe we can work something out that helps remind everyone. " Maero replied as he pulled into the docks.
Mei looked around at his operation, feeling both impressed and disappointed. The Brotherhood had taken over a large warehouse with a dry dock that they had turned into a makeshift clubhouse for the gang. There were men and women dressed in pale red and covered in tattoos much like Maero's . They were also all driving modified Atlasbreakers that were similar to Maero's with red paint job and black tribal tattoo designs. scattered out in the open where crates and shipping containers that she could only assume held stolen goods that either took for themselves or sold to in order to keep fueling their lifestyle. Carlos pulled in with the bootlegger just as Maero and Mei exited the Atlasbreaker.
"Hey Carlos." Mei smiled "Good to see you got out of there in one piece."
"Me too." He replied "I think the grenade I threw at the cops blew up a gas line. There was an the explosion from the grenade, and then few seconds later I see gas shooting out of some of the pipes followed by this loud boom that shook the whole place. I manage to slip out in all the confusion and then linked up you guys afterword."
"Good work." Mei giggled "We'll talk more about it later."
" ."
"So here we are…" Mareo said extending his arms outwards, turning to look at the reaction of the two Saints
"Wow. It's like a coked-up sideshow here." Carlos commented, looking around at all the monster trucks on display
"Impressive. Isn't it?" Mareo replied "Come on. Let's head to the office and talk terms."
"Aren't you worried about being out in the open?" Mei asked
"People know to stay away." Maero explained as he lead them inside "Hey Donnie! How's my truck coming?"
Mei's body froze as she saw Donnie crouched down working on what looked like the largest truck there. The mechanic Maero spoke to turned around to face Maero. He looked the same way he did several years ago with the only difference being he was wearing red instead of blue on his clothing and hair.
"It'll be ready for the competition. No worries" Donnie replied reassuringly
"Thanks Donnie" Maero continued on inside to his office as Mei stood there watching at Donnie work on Maero's truck.
Instantly, Mei's mind flashed back to the night that Lin was killed by William Sharp. She thought back to how the Rollerz had gotten the drop on her and tied both Lin and her up in the Trunk of Lin's Voxel. She remembered how Sharp popped the trunk of the Voxel and standing next to him was Donnie, with a confused expression on his face which turned to horror as Sharp shot both her and Lin. But what she remembered the most about that night is how Donnie whined about Sharp shot his 'girl', despite walking away as Sharp pushed the Voxel into the water with both of them still inside. If Donnie had helped them, or at the very least Lin, she might still be alive. Mei suddenly felt the urge to pull her pistol out and empty it into Donnie skull right then and there, regardless of the consequences. However, she knew she couldn't hope to kill Donnie and walk away with her life, much less an alliance with the Saints and the Brotherhood. In addition to losing the chance at an alliance, Carlos would most likely be killed trying to defend her from the Brotherhood.
"This cocksuker gonna die just like the motherfucker Sharp!" Mei told herself "You can find him later and take your time with killing the little prick who stood by while Lin was murdered!"
After taking a moment to calm herself, Mei followed Maero inside to his office. Carlos came up to her, clearly concerned by the way she was looking as Donnie.
"You know that guy?" He asked
"Later." Mei replied curtly. If she was going to do a deal with Maero and the Brotherhood, she needed a clear head in order to think rationally. As they walked into Maero's office, Mei couldn't help but notice it looked more like a tattoo shop than an actual office. Inside, there were two people who seemed to be waiting for Maero. One was man with torn, sleeveless t-shirt that showed off his tattooed arms with a face covered with several piecrings. He was sporting a slicked back blonde Mohawk, sitting in a tattoo chair playfully strumming a guitar. The other person waiting in the office was a woman with a pale skin tone and dyed red hair pulled into a ponytail. She had blue eyes and arched red eyebrows. The woman was the first to notice as Maero walked into the office.
"You're back!" she exclaimed excitedly as leapt into his arms, kissing him
"Come on, babe. Was there ever any doubt? You should know better than to expect anything less." Maero put the woman down and hands the woman a thick wad of cash. She then glances behind Maero and directs her attention to Mei and Carlos.
"Hi, I'm Jessica." She extended her hand to Mei
"Nice to meet you." Mei shakes her hand giving the woman a quick glance over. She found Jessica to be rather attractive, which surprised her since she had a preference for blondes. And from the way Maero seemed to dutifully handed that money over to her, she got the impression that Jessica wasn't the usual 'gangster's girlfriend', whose duties never went beyond sucking cock. Mei made a mental note to herself, in case the situation ever arose where she might need leverage on Maero.
"Hi, I'm Carlos" he shook Jessica's hand with the look almost akin to that of a love-struck puppy
She smiled "I'm still Jessica…ya know, you remind me of my old house cleaner…"
Instantly, Carlos' puppy-eyes expression disappeared from his face and he looked away clearly feeling annoyed. Mei could feel her trigger finger starting to itch again as she started to picture Jessica's corpse lying on the ground and riddled with bullet holes. As with her encounter with Donnie, she had to again remind herself that she and Carlos wouldn't stand a chance if a firefight broke out with Brotherhood in the middle of their warehouse. Instead, she simply gave Maero a stare that she hoped conveyed the violent things she wanted to inflict upon Jessica.
"I'm kidding. I was just kidding.." Jessica waved off the comment, clearly seeing the agitated looks on everyone's faces. Even Maero seemed rather pissed off at his girlfriend for making such a stupid remark.
"Come on babe. It was a joke." She insisted as he gently scooted her away from the Saints
"Babe, why don't you go and count the cash?" Maero suggested
"Sure thing sweetie." She took the hint and walked over to the counter and started sorting through the money. Maero then directed his attention to the man with the Mohawk who was still tinkering with the guitar.
"Yo Matt, you ready to work?" Maero asked
"Whatever you need Mareo, I aim to please. Let's get some new ink on you." Matt replied as Maero made took a seat in the tattoo chair. Matt made his way over to a small cart that containing tattoo needles, inks, and dozens of tattoo stencils.
"Hey! Aren't you the guitarist for the Feed Dog?" Carlos asked, seemingly recovered from Jessica's earlier comment "I heard your band play at Rec Center last year! You guys rock." Mei could help but be amused at how everything about the Brotherhood seemed to leave Carlos in complete awe.
"Right on!" Matt smiled "Always nice to meet fans of the greatest band ever to grace Stilwater!"
Jessica shook her head "Don't encourage him. He's got a big enough ego without it becoming more swollen."
"Listen lady, you two met and one my concerts so I don't wanna hear it…" Matt wheeled the cart next Maero and began putting on gloves "Without the supreme metal sounds of the Feed Dogs, you two don't get to be hot and nasty with each other!"
"First, I'm saving myself for me and wedding night." She retorted "Second, when we start banging it won't anyone's business, least of all yours!"
"Ok Jessica, whatever you say." Matt turned his attention back to Maero's left arm where he working on the outlines for a new tribal design.
"Don't you think you got enough tattoos dude?" Carlos asked
"Brother, I got whole lot of canvas left and I fully intend to use it." He replied "Now let's get down to business. The Brotherhood is about to come into something big and I think the Saints are gonna want to get in on the ground floor."
"So what's the offer?" Mei asked
"20-80 split" he replied
"I'm assuming the Saints are getting the 80?" she asked
"Sure you do." He replied sarcastically "Because I really have a reason to give you eighty percent of the take."
"Seriously?" Mei could feel her rage building "You expect me and my crew to take twenty percent and 'Thank you'? It would do you well to think of a better counter-offer"
"The idea that I'm even offering twenty percent to the Saints is more than generous." Maero sneered "So yeah, I expect you to say 'thank you' on your fucking hands and knees."
"You must be out of your fucking mind from all those damn ink fumes!" Mei took several steps closer to Maero "Me and the Saints used to own Stilwater…"
"That's right, the Saints 'used to' own it. Not anymore." Maero cut in "So if you expect me to run scared because you got a washed-up banger like Johnny Gat and this little cabana boy here, than you got a another thing coming."
"The Saints…" Mei started
"Are washed up and old news!" Jessica interrupted "We did some checking up on you clowns and we know for a fact that you're big and bad gang only seems to have three fucking members! The Brotherhood willing to cut you into our deal was done out of both respect and pity. Although, maybe we could put you to work for the Brotherhood turning tricks for us."
"The Boss wouldn't want to take away the one thing that makes you valuable to the Maero and his boys." Carlos retorted
Mei couldn't help but smile at the enraged expressions on the faces of Maero and Jessica. But she knew it would that provoking them in this situation would only make things dangerous for them.
"Carlos, we're leaving." Mei turned to leave with Carlos close behind "Just make sure you remember this moment Maero. You might come to regret your decision."
"Fuck you bitch!" Jessica yelled as they walked away "I see your ass on the street. I'm gonna have our boys raping your twat non-stop! You'll be begging for cock up the ass by the time they get through with you."
As they made their way back outside, Mei could she Donnie further down the pier working on another Brotherhood member's truck. She gave him one last venomous glare behind his back before getting in the bootlegger's passenger seat.
"Sorry about this Boss." Carlos said quietly as they drove onto the main highway "I thought they would have offered a better deal. I didn't think it would ever be an even split but still…"
Mei smiled "Don't sweat it Carlos. When it's all said and done, we actually walked away on top despite everything."
"Seriously? Are you sure about that?" Carlos glanced at her "Because unless I was in a different meeting, I'm pretty sure that Maero told you that the Saints would be taking an 80-20 split or we could go fuck ourselves."
"Don't forget offering me the opportunity to turn tricks for the Brotherhood." She remarked "But looking at the situation, Maero and his gang don't have a snowball's chance in hell against Saints. That blockhead Maero and that little cunt Jessica are just too stupid to realize it."
Carlos was still confused at Mei comments about the Brotherhood. He understood that all of this was still new to him and would need an explanation from Mei.
"So break it down for me then, Boss." Carlos requested looking intently at Mei "Just how exactly is the Brotherhood doomed?"
"First, Maero and his crew didn't takeover that warehouse the way he likes to pretend he did." She explained "They actually bought it! Shaundi looked the info up and his even paying taxes on it! Sure they might have smuggled some goods to buy it, but everything is legit and under Jessica's name. Yet, this jackass acts like him and the Brotherhood simply took the place over and the cops are too scared to come after him."
"Ok. That makes him something of a fraud." Carlos conceded "But it doesn't change the fact that he's a very dangerous dude."
Mei smirked at him "Sure, Maero might be a very cunning and dangerous person, but he's also very stupid. It seems that Maero does everything out of that one location. Meaning that all the money, weapons, and smuggled goods all go through their warehouse before they move it someplace else. For crying out loud, he even had Jessica counting money out in front of us. I'm not sure if Maero just wasn't thinking because of that stupid 'housecleaner' comment she made, or if counting their cash in front of us was supposed to some kind of power play to show off how good things are for the Brotherhood. No matter how you slice it, anyone who's got to prove how much paper they're pulling in usually isn't rockin' as much paper as they would have you believe."
"Maybe Maero and the Brotherhood reallyare doing that well with their smuggling operations that they can afford to show off their cash. Not everyone shows off their wealth in the same way." Carlos suggested
"That is true." She conceded "But I'm guessing that these idiots show off with their wealth via those horrible tattoos and gaudy monster trucks. Based on intel gathered Shaundi, Becky, and Pierce I've gathered, the Brotherhood pulls in the least amount of cash out of all the gangs in town and yet the carry on as though they're fucking untouchable. Trust me Carlos when I say that the Brotherhood is running on borrowed time, if the SPD doesn't wipe them out….the Saints will."
Carlos let the Boss's words sink in while contemplating everything that happened that past couple of hours. If everything she said was true, then Carlos had jeopardized both their lives for nothing. Seeing the disappointing look come over his face, Mei gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Don't get all dark and broody on me Carlos." She told him "While we didn't get any sort of alliance, we now know how tough these guys really are and how they pull in their cash. Best of all, we learned something else that extremely important. "
"And what was that?" Carlos asked
"Come on Carlos!" Mei replied annoyingly "A banger that can't use his head won't last very long in the streets! How else could crazy fuckers like me and Gat still be alive and kicking if we didn't think? Take a moment and think about it."
Carlos shifted uneasily in the driver's seat "I see your point. Although it's kind of hard to think of Johnny Gat thinking before he does anything."
Mei Laughed "True, Gat doesn't always think things all the way through, thus him taking a shot gun blast to the knee or getting busted by the cops and ending up on death row. But there's a reason why people feared him even before he joined the Saints. There are still some people that say if the Vice Kings had recruited Gat before we could, the VK would be running this whole town."
"Wow." Carlos awed "Never thought of Gat as a thinker."
"Statically speaking, most people don't and that usually results with Gat splattering their brains on the pavement." She explained "Also, NEVER let Gat overhear what you just told me, otherwise you might end up a statistic. Okay?"
"Understood Boss." Carlos replied
Mei gave him an encouraging smile "Good. Now think about everything Maero said earlier. What's the one thing that he mentioned that stuck out to the most to you?"
Carlos thought back to the earlier meeting with the Brotherhood leader. He remembered how Maero talked about how no one could touch their gang, but that was just the same kind of bullshit he heard from people in the Sons Samedi and the Ronin. His mind then flashed to the shipment he mentioned, but he gave no details about it and it didn't seem to be the 'extremely important' thing the Boss mentioned. His thoughts then drifted to the comments that Maero directed towards the Saints, and he came to a startling realization.
"Three of us. " Carlos replied quietly "He thinks the gang only has three members! That tattooed buffoon thinks that the Saints is just a gang with you, me, and Gat! No wonder we acting so damn superior! That asshole thinks that we're a bunch of pushovers clinging to past glory. He probably figured that with an 'alliance', he could use the Saints name to intimidate anyone looking to make a move against the Brotherhood."
"See, I knew you were smart enough to figure it out!" Mei smiled "Maero's a cunning guy, but he's someone who prefers to take the straight forward approach. Even when he knows that the straight forward approach will have a negative result. Think about it; if could tell people that the 'former' Boss of the Third Street Saints and Johnny Gat are working for the Brotherhood, people would take notice. Regardless of the fact that Johnny's more likely to put a fucking bullet through his empty skull than I am, he thinks that the Saints' time is over and that we're nothing but a name that he can manipulate for his own vanity and personal gain. He a fucking dead man…he just doesn't know it yet."
Carlos nodded "Okay, I get that. But it still doesn't explain why he thinks there are only three people in the whole gang."
"This was the reason behind the whole 'no purple for now' policy." She explained "Everyone knows that you and I escaped from Stilwater Penn and that hours later I busted Gat out of police custody at the courthouse. But there hasn't been a wave of crimes being committed by people flying purple flags. There haven't been a bunch of purple fleur de lis gang tags appearing around the city. Short of the three of us escaping from jail, there's been no real mention of the Saints. And that's fine with me until we bust the original members out of jail, then we can raise as much hell as we want. Because of the low profile, some people are wondering if the return of the Saints is even something to be worried about."
"I see where you coming from with that." He agreed "I've even overheard some people saying that maybe you and Gat are currently on the run. Especially since if there are now three new gangs in Stilwater that you would have to fight against on top of dealing with the SPD."
"We have done it before and we'll do it again." Mei said confidently "It's going to be even easier now that we have both the firepower and soon the numbers to take any gang head on."
"I guess you got a poi…" Carlos stopped mid-sentence once and glanced at something in his rear view mirror
"Carlos, what's wrong?" Mei asked
"We got company Boss." He replied tensely "There are four Brotherhood members tailing us."
Mei glanced up at the bootlegger's rear view to see four men covered in tattoos driving a black and red Zimos.
"I guess those idiots decided to tail us back to our hideout." Mei said nonchalantly "Most likely it was Jessica's idea. Maero seems to think too little of the Saints to send his guys to follow us."
"Maybe, but we should take them out while we have the chance." Carlos started to reach for his Vice-9 when Mei stopped him
"There only trying to figure out where the hideout is located." She reassured "Just take next left and pretend like where going to mission beach. These clowns will think we're leading them back to some secret hideout there."
"But how will we ditch them so that we can head towards our real hideout?" He asked
Mei giggled "Don't worry about it. That problem will work itself out and we won't even have to fire a single shot."
Carlos couldn't help but feel increasing nervous as they got closer to mission beach with the Brotherhood still tailing them. As they passed the old church once inhabited by the Saints, Carlos heard the familiar sound of police sirens. Once again his instinctively reached for his pistol only to be stopped by Mei once more.
"I like that your reflexes, but really gotta learn how to relax homie." Mei smiled at him "Check your rear view mirror and you'll see why I said not to worry."
Carlos glanced at the rear view mirror to see the SPD squad cars had pulled over the Brotherhood members in the Zimos and were placing all the occupants into handcuffs. Carlos looked at Mei and they both began laughing as they drove back to the mission house.
"Unbelievable. But how on earth did you know this would happen?" he asked
"Remember when you told me that the row had become a tourist attraction? Well, wherever you have a tourist attraction, you're going to have an increased police presence to make sure the tourist stay safe and keep spending their money. I figured if we drove around long enough with those brotherhood assholes following us in a car decked out in gang colors, if wouldn't take long for them to attract SPD's attention. "
Carlos was in awe. "Wow, that's pretty smart Boss!"
"Thanks." She replied "Also, I saw those guys in the Zimos following us about 20 minutes after we left the docks. You gotta be more aware of the shit that's going on around you. I'm glad you spotted them eventually, but you would have been dead if they were trying to kill you."
Carlos was dumbfounded "But if you spotted them sooner, why didn't you say anything?"
As they pulled into the parking lot outside the Mission house, Mei turned to face Carlos with a very grave expression.
"Carlos, you can't always count on someone else to notice everything on around you. And you can't always wait for someone giving you the heads up about someone getting ready to bust some shots in your direction. Hell, maybe if I had taken the time to scope out Alderman Hughes' yacht, I could've avoided becoming a vegetable for several years. If you're not careful, the same thing or worse might end up happening to you. " She said bluntly "Also, what if things went worse with the Brotherhood and I ended up being shot? You would have to help get me out of there, and make sure that no one was tailing us. I'll always have your back Carlos, that what makes the Saints such a strong crew. But if the day comes where I'm not around, I gotta know that you're smart enough to keep your ass alive, ya feel me?"
Carlos hung his head, contemplating everything the Boss had just told him. In hindsight, it was stupid to assume that the Brotherhood just let them walk away as though there weren't any problems. Maero and the Brotherhood would obviously see the Saints as a threat, regardless of how many people he thought were in the gang. He also felt stupid for not being more aware of his surroundings. If something horrible had happened to the Boss because of he wasn't paying attention, he would never forgive himself. After a moment of silence, Carlos raised his head and turned to face her, with a determined expression across his face.
"Boss, I sorry about how shit went down today with Maero and the fucking cops. I really fucked things up and there's no excuse for it." Carlos took a deep breath before continuing "I'm still trying to get the hang of all this since it's a lot harder than I expected. But I you have my word that I'll make you and the Saints proud Boss."
"Of that I have no doubt Carlos. And don't worry too much about what happened today. When it's all said and done, this isn't exactly a profession that comes with a fucking manual telling you the proper technique for doing driveby shooting or the correct method for paying off witnesses." Mei gave him an affectionate punch in the solider. "Honestly speaking homie, anytime you walk away alive and not in handcuffs is a motherfucking victory in more ways than one."
"I'll be sure to remember that."Carlos returned her smile "Thanks Boss."
"Anytime Carlos. Now l gotta go find McCormick and Cassie. In the meantime, go home and change out of that purple for the time being." As Mei exited the bootlegger, she caught Carlos checking out her ass "After we bust the other Saints out, I got a special task that only you can do."
"What is it?" he asked
"It's a secret." She teased seductively "Just do get killed before then, kay?"
"Got it Boss!" he replied as he pulled out of the parking lot
As she watched Carlos drive off into the distance, Mei thought back on just how far the young man see met in Stilwater Penn had come.
"Carlos has got a long ways to go before he's truly a Saints Lieutenant, but I can see him becoming really a real man someday. I'm also gonna have fun popping his cherry too!" Mei told herself as she entered the hideout.
Inside, renovations to the hideout were almost complete. Pierce had managed to get flat screen TVs and stripper poles, Shaundi contacted one of her ex-boyfriends and managed to get new carpeting, furniture, and lighting installed. Johnny and Cassie managed to reach out to some old contacts to get a stockpile of weapons and ammo for the hideout. Scanning the underground hotel, she quickly spotted Cassie, Becky, McCormick, and Lily off in a corner going over surveillance photos of that had been taken of the prison guard Morris Kotter and his family. Mei assigned the task of trailing Kotter's movements to Cassie in the hopes that they could find an opportunity to make contact. McCormick was the first to look up at notice Mei approach. He gave her a warm smile which she returned.
"Hey Boss Lady! How did the meeting with the Brotherhood go?" he asked
"Other than Carlos blowing up the Stilwater caverns, Maero's girlfriend being a racist cunt, and Maero taking us for bunch of chumps, it went rather well." She replied mock-cheerfulness
"So I guessing there's no alliance between the Saints and the Brotherhood?" Becky asked meekly
"I'm pretty sure Maero thought to little of us to ever really offer a true alliance. But that's enough about the Brotherhood for now; give me an update of Kotter's movements."
"Sure thing Boss." Cassie walked around the table and handed Mei a timetable of the Kotter family's movements "It seems like the SPD didn't simply pull this guy in for questioning. They seem to have figured out that you're going to be coming for this guy after bumping off his buddy. They don't seem to have any idea about our plans at Stilwater Penn, otherwise they would have done a bunch of out-of-state prison transfers for every former Saint they have in custody."
"That's true." Mei conceded
"From what we've gathered, the cops haven't stopped protecting the Kotters since they picked up your friend Morris for questioning. They've had plains-clothes officers shadowing their every move. Even when Morris is at work, both his wife and daughter seem to have individual police details protecting them." Cassie continued "In addition to the cops that are following them, the SPD have four S.W.A.T teams stationed at various points about half a block away from their house. My guess is that if anyone approaches that house without the SPD's approval, they're going to get swarmed by a bunch of cops."
"I still don't get it though." McCormick spoke up "Why are they going through so much trouble to protect this Kotter dude and his family? If there's so much concern about their safety, they could have put these people in witness protection."
"Not unless they're using they're using the Kotter family as bait." Lily pointed out, causing everyone to look at her "I mean think about it...they think the Boss took care of the other prison guard, so it only makes sense that his buddy would be next. They're probably hoping to get their hands on the Boss should she decide come and pay the family a visit."
"It's gotta be Troy's fucking idea to catch you." Cassie said darkly "You've kept out of sight since you busted Gat outta the courthouse. Most people probably figure you're in hiding or that you skipped town. But Troy's the only person outside the gang who truly knows how you think. He knows that we're planning something, even if he doesn't know what it is. Which leaves Morris Kotter as his best and only lead for finding you."
"Then that's it then. There's no way to grab Kotter." Becky said dejectedly
"No, all this means is that grabbing Kotter near his house is out of the question." Mei informed "All we have to do is snatch the family when their police detail least expects it. Do we have any details about his schedule outside of work?"
"It's pretty straight forward. Most of his schedule is pretty routine, or the SPD made it routine to make protecting him easier" McCormick explain "Kotter goes to work, then he comes home to his wife who apparently two-timing him and his daughter who seems to be a huge Aisha fan."
Mei raised an eyebrow "How do you know if wife's cheating on him?"
Lily smiled "Shaundi's hacking skills came in handing for this one, Boss. Apparently she's been cheating on him with an Ultor executive for the past four years. We got a whole bunch of gifts exchanged between the two of them along with some very freaking text messages and emails."
"As for Kotter's daughter, she's a member of the Aisha Memorial Fan Club. Almost all of her web surfing is around Aisha…..and Josh Birk from NyteBlade. But mostly she's trying to learn new things about Aisha."
"This is perfect. Good job on the surveillance." Mei praised "I think I just figured out how where going to grab Morris and his family. Also, I wanna get Pierce involved on this part of the plan. He's a bit more detail-oriented than the rest of the crew…..and this is right up his alley."
"Hey Boss! We got problems!" a voice called behind her
Mei turned around to see Shaundi coming up to her carrying a laptop and looking very nervous. It was almost impossible for anything to make Shaundi nervous, which only made Mei more concern as she approached.
"What's up?" Mei asked "Did your accidentally go through your supply of Loa dust?"
"Boss this more serious than that!" Shaundi replied "The Saints in Stilwater Penn are going to be killed!"
"WHAT!?" Mei roared, as the entire hideout went silent and everyone's attention was now focused on the hippie gangbanger "I haven't heard about anybody being on death row other than Gat, so what exactly are you talking about?"
Shaundi took a deep breath "I found this black market site called where people can pay to execute an incarcerated Saint. It's being advertised as a site that about 'providing justice to the victims of the Thrid Street Saints', so long as you've got the money for their services of course."
Shaundi slowly took another deep breath before setting her laptop down on a table an opening the web browser. She typed in a URL, which brought up a page with the incarcerated Saints. Mei walked over to the laptop and read what was on the page, and instantly was filled with nearly uncontrollable rage. The webpage had every incarcerated Saint, along with pictures, a list of their crimes and their 'execution prices'. She scrolled down and started reading some of the entries.
Name: Joseph Dmitri Austin
Street Name: Joey D
Crimes: Extortion, Arson, 1st Degree Murder
Execution Price: $35,000.00
Name: Charles Freeman
Street Name: Choo-Choo
Crimes: Theft, Petty Theft, Assault, Assault with a Deadly Weapon
Execution Price: $22,000.00
Name: Rodney Myers
Street Name: Rodney the Razor
Crimes: Grand Theft Auto, 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Murder, Assault, Assault with a deadly weapon
Execution Price: $60,000.00
Mei turned away from the laptop unable to read anymore. She caught sight of tears running down Becky's face as she read the posting for her brother. McCormick and Cassie came up from behind and warped their arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. Looking around, Mei could see that Becky wasn't the only one in shock of a website allowing for the execution of former Saints. Cassie also had tears running down her face, also feeling fearful of what would happen to the Saints if they didn't rescue them soon. Gat stood amongst them a look of venomous rage plastered across his face.
"Somone's going to fucking die for this shit!" Gat growled "I don't care how long it takes, but someone's going to atone for this with their blood."
"Boss…..we can't let them die." Becky said tearfully "We're going to save them all…right?"
"Yes Becky. And we're going to kill the fuckers who setup this page." Mei turned back towards Shaundi "Do we know who yet?"
Shaundi nodded "Yeah. It looks like the new Warden Richard O' Riley is behind it. It sounds like Hughes paid good money to both hire this guy and install the security upgrades to this prison. But the dude's a bit a greedy bastard and probably figures he can make some extra cash off people wanting to kill a member of the Saints. No sure why someone would pay that kind of moolah though just to kill us though."
"You have a lot of people out there who might get their jollies off at the idea of killing a gangbanger. Regardless of whether or not that person is even still in the gang, let alone gangbanging." Cassie explained "Not to mention the fact that the Saints took down the Vice Kings, Los Carnales, and the Westide Rollerz in order to lockdown Stilwater. There's bound to be a few members of those gangs who weren't locked or killed that want a chance at revenge, even if they have to pay for it. Same thing goes for any family members from the rival gangs or even the SPD who want to settle the score with one Saint in particular or just want to kill someone who used to run around wearing purple flags. Either way, this is really fucked up Boss."
"That explains why he moved all the Saints to one block of the prison" Lily said grimly "It keeps the Saints isolated, so there's no fear of witnesses coming forward from amongst the other prisoners or honest guards who aren't on the take. Doesn't explain how O' Riley intends to get away with having the Saints killed within the prison walls with all those new security upgrades that he's been installing."
"It's not that hard actually." Becky said quietly, drawing everyone's attention at once "Think about it; it's not like these people are going to hand the warden a sack of cash, shoot one of the Saints in their cells, and then walk out like nothing happened. Once O' Riley's…'customers' are only allowed to execute the Saints someplace with no cameras, then there's no worries about being caught. These people probably won't be allowed to use guns on any of the Saints, since you can't just explain away how someone who's in lockdown twenty-four hours a day ended up with their body full of bullet holes."
Cassie turned to Shaundi "Is there any way to figure out how long this site has been active?"
"From what I can tell, the site's been up less than twenty-four hours." Shaundi replied "Someone updated the webpage about an hour ago with an actual phone number, so most likely the dude is using burner phones. Every time he gets a call, he'll probably throw the phone away and then update the site with a new burner number." There is some good news to all this bad shit though Boss."
"And what's that exactly?" Mei asked "Because from where I'm standing, this seems like a pretty bad situation for any Saint locked up right now."
"I hacked the site." Shaundi turned to face Becky "So nobody's killing your big bro or anyone else for the time being."
"What did you do?" asked McCormick "Did you take the site down?"
Shaundi shook her head "If I did that, he might figure out that we were on to him. It also wouldn't stop him from simply setting up a new site from starch. I hacked his site URL, anyone who types in is going to be directed to instead. This should keep anyone with the nerve to kill a Saint and the cash to make it happen from ever finding O' Riley's website."
Cassie smiled "I knew there was a reason the Boss kept this stoner hippie around."
Shaundi Laughed "That's why you shouldn't a book by the cover."
"Good work Shaundi!" Mei praised "This should buy us the time we need to bust the other Saints out before this asshole start auctioning them of like cattle."
"We better double our efforts if we want to break them out soon." Lily looked around nervously at Gat "Before some of people decide to launch a direct assault of the prison."
"Fuck you bitch!" Gat sneered "Those are people who help make us the baddest motherfuckers around. You're just some back alley whore when the Boss saved"
"I told you I wasn't going to let that shit slide next time!" Lily growled as she pulled out her butterfly knife "You're dead."
"Funny….I was about to tell you the same fucking thing!" Gat retorted while drawing his switchblade "Let's see who's right!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH FROM BOTH OF YOU!" Mei shouted, stoping both of them in their tracks and bringing an eerie silence over everyone in the hideout "We are about to breakout a couple hundred Saints from a maximum-security prison! On top of the dangers associated with that…..we now know that the warden there plans to sell execution rights to our fellow Saints as though they're fucking cattle. Do you really think this is the best time to be fighting amongst ourselves?"
Lily looked down at the ground, her checks blushing from the sheer embarrassment of the situation. Slowly, she flipped her buttefly knife closed and slid it back into her boot. Gat hung his head slightly to the side as he starched the back of it nervously as her retracted his switchblade and placed it into his back pocket.
Mei knew she would need everyone's help to pull this off, and she couldn't afford to have Gat and Lily going at each other's throats. Mei walked over to Lily and placed her hands on her shoulders. She looked into Lily's pale, blue eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke again.
"Lily, you've proven yourself to be a reliable Saint who's more than ready to throw down if the need arises. But you also know when to bide your time and be methodical, which is just as important" Mei moved her hands from Lily's shoulders to her slender cheeks "But sometimes when you got your back against the wall, you got to be somewhat reckless. Obviously we're not going to make some suicide charge at the front gates of Stilwater Penn, but we might end up having to get our hands dirtier than we originally planned. You understand where I'm coming from with this?"
Lily nodded "Yeah, I understand Boss. You know I'll give my life for anyone here."
"Good to hear" Mei withdrew her hands from Lily's cheeks and made her towards Gat. Mei came up next to him and threw her arm around his shoulder "Gat, all of the Saints had to start from somewhere. But once we pick up the purple flags, none of the shit that happened in our pasts matter anymore. We're all Saints! Regardless of whether you joined the gang three years ago or you earned your colors three days ago. That's one of the things that made the Saints 'the baddest motherfuckers around'. It wasn't about making people feel like they were less than nothing because of where they came from. Those thing you say about Lily being nothing more than a 'back alley whore', do you think that same way about me? Afterall, when the Saints found me...wasn't I rescued in the same manner as Lily?"
"No, I would never that shit about you." Gat had a pained expression on his face "You did what you gotta do to survive."
"Then you should understand that's also the case with Lily." Mei replied, looking between the two of them "With that being said, can I trust the two of you to watch each other's backs when shit goes down?"
Lily walked over to Gat and extended her hand "Sorry about earlier. Didn't mean to draw on you."
Gat shrugged and shook her hand "Me too. We got too many mother fuckers who need to be popped without us fighting each other. So let's start by getting the old crew back!"
"Works for me!" Lily agreed
Feeling the tension start to ease, Mei turned her attention back to the other Saints in the hideout. She gave one last glance to the webpage displayed on Shaundi's laptop and resolved to make killing the warden her top priority after rescuing the former Saints.
"Alright, let's get this shit done!" Mei ordered "The sooner we get our people back, the sooner we can start reminding everyone who really runs this city!"
Morris drove his Keystone down the Stilwater Boardwalk feeling like he was on cloud nine. It had been two weeks since the SPD started shadowing him and his family. And in those two weeks Morris hadn't even seen anyone wearing purple following him, let alone the legendary 'Archangel of Saints Row' that had both his family and everyone else on edge. He was convinced that this woman and her fellow escapees were probably five cities away making someone else's life a living hell. He still felt horrible about what happened to Alan and his family, but he couldn't help feeling relieved that he dodged a bullet. With no sightings of the former gang leader, he couldn't help but feel like he was an important VIP with all the police protection he was receiving. But what made things even better was the text message he got from Nicole. Quickly, he pulled out his phone and reread this text message she sent him earlier in the day:
"Honey, I love you with all my heart, but I haven't always acted the way a loving wife should. Let's spend a nice evening alone with just the two of us? No Jessica blaring old Aisha songs and no SPD patrolmen watching us eat dinner from their cars with binoculars. I booked us a couple's suite at the Heron Hotel for the evening so we can talk. Come and meet me there after work. The room number is 6F."
Every time he read that message, he felt his heart do a somersault. The past couple of years had been difficult for them, and her not-so-secret affair didn't help the situation. But maybe an evening alone together would help them take a step in a positive direction. Once Morris clocked-out for the evening he rushed home to shower and get dressed in his suit for his evening Nicole, stopping only to pick up a bouquet of roses for her. Morris pulled up to the Keystone hotel and gave the bellhop his keys. Upon entering the hotel lobby, he approached the male receptionist behind the counter.
"Excuse me sir." Morris grinned "My name is Mor…"
"Oh! Mr. Kotter! I've been expecting you!" the receptionist beamed "I was given instructions from a very pretty lady to give you this." He handed Morris an electronic keycard for what he assumed was the hotel room that Nicole booked
"Thank you." He said, clearly taken aback by the preparations his wife had taken for his impending arrival.
"Happy to help sir!" the receptionist replied "The Room is 6F, which is the sixth room on your left after you get off the elevator"
"Thank you!" Morris repeated as he made his way to the elevator.
Morris couldn't help but feel like an anxious young man going on a date with a woman for the first time. After all the drama with Jane Doe prison break, he couldn't help but feel like he was receiving a second lease on life. As Morris got off the elevator and made his way to room 6F, he had to almost contain himself from running down the hallway out of pure excitement. Finally, as he got to the front door of the hotel room, he took a deep breath before using keycard the receptionist gave him.
"Honey! I'm here!" He announced upon entering the room "I'm so happy to have just an evening with the two of us!"
Upon entering the room, Morris noticed that the rooms light were turned off. Closing the door behind him, he fumbled along the walls looking for a light switch. After several steps into the room, Morris felt a light switch on the wall on his right. Morris flipped the switch into the on position, instantly illuminated room. Instantly, he felt his blood run cold at the sight that greeted his eyes. In the middle room, he saw Nicole and Jessica tied to chairs by duct tape with duct tape over mouths. Both women had horrified expressions on their faces as they saw Morris. Before he could even react, he felt something strike him in the back of the head before the entire room went black.
"Wakey wakey sleepy head! We got business to discuss!" a voice said
Morris groaned and his vision slowly came began to come into focus. He tried moving around; only to come to the realization that he too was being restrained with duct tape in a chair next to Nicole. As he glanced over at her and Jessica, he could see tears running down their faces.
"Finally I thought your bitch ass was going to sleep all night." the voice said again
Morris directed his attention to the direction of the voice. Standing in front of Morris was the Boss of the Third Street Saints wearing the same homicidal grin that he had only seen in his nightmares. She was sitting across from the Kotter family in chair similar to the ones they were restraining him and his family. In Morris' panic he had not noticed the two people flanking the gang leader. On her left stood the man he recognized as Johnny Gat, quite possibly the most ruthless member of the Third Street Saints. He remembered seeing Gat during his guard rotations in the death row housing unit, and always felt chills whenever he saw him. Most of the prisoners in the housing unit were either going out of their minds from the possibility of the electric chair. Others choose to cry themselves to sleep rather than think about the fate that awaited them. But he remember that every time he saw Johnny Gat, looked more like a bored child than had been sent to his room, rather than a convicted killer sitting on deathrow with over three hundred counts of first degree murder. On her right was a woman that Morris didn't recognize, but assumed was a member of the gang. She had a pale competition, pale blue eyes, and long blonde hair with bangs.
"No that you're awake we can begin." The Saint's Boss proclaimed "Please feel free to refer to me as 'Boss' or 'Mei' if you wish. Just understand that calling me else will result in someone getting stabbed. Understood?"
Afraid to say anything that might enrage this woman, Morris simply nodded his compliance.
"Good!" she replied "Let me introduce you to my associates. The gentleman on my left is Johnny Gat, but I assume you two have probably seen each other from across the prison yard." Gat smirked as he a two-finger salute
"This beautiful creature on my right is goes by the name Lily." She continued "Since Lily did such an amazing job entertaining the Whitmore family, I decided it was only fair to bring her along this time to extend the same hospitality to your family as well."
On pure instinct Morris tried futilely to break free from his restrains only to fail miserably. He knew that even if he could break free, there was no possibility that he could get past three notoriously violent gangbangers. Not the mention the fact that his wife and daughter were still tied up next to him.
"Mr. Kotter, please relax. If I had some intention of killing your family, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Mei reassured him "We're just going to have a little chat. You come around to my way of thinking, and maybe everyone walk outta here in one piece."
"I don't understand." Morris shook his head in disbelief "How did you even know I would be here?"
"You're wife didn't send that message earlier today…I did." Mei said simply
"Still can't believe this plan worked." Lily laughed "We hacked your phone and sent you that phony text about meeting tonight."
"As for your daughter….she came here thinking that the Aisha Fan Club was having a secret meeting for select members to hear unreleased tracks from her last album." Gat chimed in "It was so fucking easy grabbing her, we almost felt bad doing it."
"And your beautiful wife…" Mei nodded towards Nicole "…..came her thinking she going to have a romantic getaway with a Mr. Timothy Hartman, an Ultor executive she been seeing for the last four years according to my intel."
"Hey! I got an idea Boss." Gat said deviously "Why don't you have Lily show him the text message that made her show up?"
"I like the way you think Johnny." Mei turned to Lily "Do it."
Lily pulled out a cellphone from her skirt pocket and pulled up the text message. She walked over to Morris and held the phone up to his face so he could read the text:
"Hey Beautiful! Let's you and me get together tonight at the Heron Hotel! I've already booked us a couple's suite at the hotel, so just tell that loser husband of yours that you're working late tonight. When you get to the hotel, just tell the receptionist at the desk your name and they'll give you the key for room 6F. Also, I'm in the mood to fuck your pussy raw and make you swallow my cum, so you better make sure you wear that short black dress with no panties underneath. XOXOXO Tim!"
Morris glanced over at his wife, and sure enough she wearing a shoulderless black dress that just barely covered her ass. He noticed that Nicole deliberately avoiding eye contacting, which only made him assume the worse about the message he had just read. Before Morris had a moment to process the text message, his thoughts were interrupted by one of the gangbangers.
"In case you're wondering Morris, she doesn't have any panties on." Lily said deviously, putting the phone back into her pocket "And trust us when we tell you that fake text was extremely tame compared to some of the stuff they've actually done together."
"That's a story for another time." Mei interrupted "Let's get down to business with the Kotters. Now where going to remove the tape from your mouths. Anyone screams or tries to calling out for help, I'll make the fucked up shit that was done to the Whitmore family seem like a mercy by comparison. We clear on that?"
Morris turned to look at Jessica and Nicole. Jessica had nodded her compliance to her father, making it understood that they should cooperate. After what felt like an eternity, Nicole finally looked at him. Even in the restraints, he could see that she was petrified at the situation. With more tears running down her cheeks, she also gave a nod of approval to Morris. He turned his head to face the three gangsters in front of him and slowly nodded towards them as well.
"Finally" Gat exasperatedly "We might actually be able to make it to Freckle Bitches before they close."
Lily walked over and quickly ripped the duct tape off of their mouths. Afterword, she resumed he place beside the Saints' Boss
"Now as you can plainly see Mr. Kotter, I have the life of you and your family in my hands." Mei said as she gestured her hand towards Nicole and Jessica "I could have easily killed the three of you a thousand times over already if I wanted to. Especially, after the 'greeting' you and Alan gave me after I first woke up. However I am willing to allow you and your family the once in a lifetime opportunity of walking with your lives…granted that you do exactly as I say."
"Ok." Morris said timidly "I'm listening."
"Excellent!" Mei replied excited as she pulled out a cellphone "You're going to help us with a little job. Nothing to dangerous, I assure you. You're going to get a call on this phone. When you do, you answer it immediately and follow all the instructions you're given. I don't care if you're at your daughter's deathbed or having an orgy with the contestants from America's Next Top Model….You pick up the phone when we call and do exactly as we ask. Once you're done, you toss that phone and that's the end of it. Sound good?
Morris sat there for a moment completing her words. He knew that refusing would get his family killed, but he also knew that if the Saints went through the hassle of grabbing him and his family, there was a high possibility that this 'job' would end up being more dangerous that she let on. Worst case scenario, he could always call the police and get witness protection, which his family would more than qualify for after an incident like this.
"Fine. I'll do it" Morris agreed "I don't care if I end up in jail….hell….I don't even care if I end up dying….once no harm comes to my wife and daughter."
"Good to hear!" Mei gave a quick glance to Morris' wife and daughter "They're lucky to have someone willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for them. And just to show you how moved I am, I'm going to give the most important women in your life a little present. "
Mei reached into her pocket and pulled out beautiful diamond studded choker collars. She walked over to Jessica and proceed to place a diamond choker around her neck, she then walked over to Nicole and did the same thing.
"If this is some attempt at bribery…" Morris began
"Hold on now!" Mei interrupted with mock surprise "You already agreed to help me! I have no tactical purpose to bribing you after the fact. Also, I have no reason to bribe someone who currently pleading with me not to kill their family. No more Kotter…this isn't bribery…..its insurance." Suddenly, Mei pulled out a burner phone and pressed the "SEND" button. The choker collars made a beeping sound for five seconds, and then stopped.
"What was that noise?" Nicole asked
"What did you do to us?" Jessica pleaded
"Those beautiful chokers that are around your neck are explosive devices." Mei replied nonchalantly, smiling at the horrified looks on their faces "I watching the 'Battle Royale' movies again the other day when the idea came to me. This is just guarantees that you're not going to running to the cops after we leave here. Or did you really think we would just trust your word and allow you to walk out of here like nothing ever happened?"
Morris felt his blood run cold at the realization that his wife and daughter had explosive devices wrapped around their necks. He grief was quickly overcome rage towards the Saints for putting the devices on his family and his own stupidity for thinking a bunch of violent gangbangers would just let them leave without some sort of fallback plan to make sure he did what he agreed to.
"If someone has to have a bomb around a their neck, then let it be mine. There's no reason to involve my family" Morris begged
"Again, your devotion to your family is impressive." Mei complimented "Especially considered how unfaithful your wife seems to be….But I need make sure that you're not tempted into taking some moral high and sacrificing yourself for your family and the 'greater good'. The collars are explosive if you try and remove them by force. They're also waterproof so you ladies do have to worry about not being about to bathe. Once you've completed the job, we'll deactivate the collars on their necks."
"I don't understand." Jessica said tearfully "Why are you doing this?"
"You wouldn't get it." Gat said coldly "Let's just say your father not the only one with a family to protect."
"What family?" Nicole asked defiantly "What could a bunch of lowlife thugs know about family?"
"Mom….don't provoke them." Jessica warned
"You should listen to your daughter." Lily advised, as she pulled a switchblade out of her boot "After all, we only need one of you to alive keep Morris in line. Boss, maybe I should carve one of them up just to show that we mean business"
"Please the hurt them!" Morris pleaded "If anyone's going to be punished for my wife's words, then going to be me."
"Dude, your wife's running around letting some random guy use her as a personal cum dumpster." Lily commented "I understand protecting your daughter, how come you're willing to die for a woman who's fucking other men behind your back?"
Despite the situation, Morris somehow managed to smile "Because I love her. Always have and I always will, even with everything she's done….Nicole is still the same amazing woman I fell in love with."
Nicole's hung her head and quietly wept as the full effect of Morris' words set in. Even Mei found herself somewhat impressed the devoted father and husband, but still only viewed him as a means to achieving their ultimate goals.
"Don't worry Morris, no one's dying tonight." Mei replied "We're just going to start letting you go, starting with your daughter. After she's gone, we'll let the two of you go as well"
Lily walked over and began cutting her loose from the duct tape that bound her to the chair. Still trembling, Jessica got to her feet and gave a glance to her parents who were still bound to the chair.
"The sooner you leave, the sooner we can let the go." Mei said curtly "Remember, you try contacting the cops and all three of you are dead."
"It's ok Jessica, we'll be fine." Morris assured her
Finally, Jessica made left the apartment with a casual hurriedness; leaving Morris and Nicole alone with the three gangbangers. After a few minutes of silence, Mei phone received a text message from Pierce:
"We're all clear with the girl. You can release the two whenever you're ready."
"You've got a smart girl there Morris. She just got home." Mei informed him "Lily, go ahead and cut him loose."
Lily walked over and began cutting Morris' duct tape restraints while Gat and Mei stood ready with a suppressed Vice-9s in case Morris decided to do something reckless.
"Seems we're all set!" Mei said giddily "Be sure to keep that cellphone close."
"Ok." He mumbled
"Perfect!" Mei directed her attention to Nicole "Despite the fact that you a unfaithful whore, Morris was still prepared to die to protect you. I doubt that Timothy would offer his life in exchange for yours. I also doubt he would offer to be carved up like sushi over some dumb shit you said. Take that into account the next time your faithfulness get tested…..And with that 'Golden Girls ' moment out of the way, we're gonna go hit Freckle Bitches."
With their guns still trained on Morris and Nicole, the three gangbangers proceeded to cautiously back out of the room, and quietly cclosed the door behind them.
