Hi everybody! I'm back! My laptop got KO'ed and got really swamped with wok. Sorry this chapter is short. Rest assured the following chapters with resume the usual length. Special Thanks as always to LynGuerra for all the support. As always, I own nothing so please don't sue me. Enjoy!
Troy walked down the hallway leading to the coroner's office to identify several recent victims. All of them officers that were under his command. As he entered the room, he was greeted the coroner. The small balding Hispanic man by the name of Roberto Chavez gave Troy a sympathetic look as he approached him.
"Thanks for coming down Chief Bradshaw. This is truly a grim day for the department." Chavez said solemnly as he led Troy inside "Please take all the time that you need. This was a major loss that we've suffered and I know we're all going to be feeling this for some time."
"What can you tell me about their injuries?" He asked gravely
Roberto took a deep breath "From what I can tell, they were killed by large caliber shotgun rounds. Definitely military grade or at least regular ammunition that was greatly modified. Due to the spread patterns and trajectory wounds on the bodies of the deceased, it seems that there was possibly killed by a lone assailant rather than a hit squad. Meaning the suspect was using a semi or full-auto shotgun. Tragically, since these officers were moving together as one group towards the parking lot, it probably made the attack that much easier for the suspected assailant.
"Like fish in a goddamn barrel." Troy nodded "Thanks Roberto. Just…give me a moment."
"Of course, sir." He acknowledged "I'll just be in my office finishing up a few things. If you require anything, just say the word."
As the coroner exited the room, Troy took a slow glance around the room at the bodies on the examination tables. Some of the officers had he knew only a passing while others he worked a few cases with before going undercover with the Saints. He felt himself overcome with rage that men and women he worked with were apparently being hunted. Suddenly, Troy's thoughts were interrupted by the of entryway doors opening once more. As the coroner's aides wheeled in four more bodies, they were accompanied by Detectives Erica Gates and Mark Harthorne. Gates was an was a Caucasian woman in her late twenties with black hair and hazel eyes, while Harthorne was an African American man in his early forties who was well-built with brown eyes and a small scar on his left check. They both walked over to the chief as Roberto came out of his office putting on a fresh pair of gloves.
"What do you have for me?" He asked
"More victims from the Nob Hill Shooting" Answered Harthone "Got a feeling there's going to be a lot of trouble soon from this one."
"The sons of bitches who did this have a lot of fucking nerve!" Gates growled "Who's stupid enough to try placing a hit on the Stilwater PD?"
"They didn't 'try' Erica, they succeeded." Harthone said quietly "And there's only one group violent enough to even contemplate doing something this grandiose in broad daylight."
Gates raised an eyebrow "The Third Street Saints?"
"Who else would have a reason to go after the SPD in such a manner?" He gestured towards the bodies "These are the same officers who put half their gang behind bars and put down the remaining half like the violent dogs there were."
Troy stay silent during this exchange, knowing that trying to offer his perspective might cause problems. There were still many officers who felt anger towards the Saints for eliminating the dirty cops that were working for the Vice Kings. Most officers on the force still didn't believe it despite the overwhelming evidence while others simply didn't care.
Harthone turned to face Troy "Come on Chief! We all know the Saints were behind this! Am I right?"
"We'll build this case on facts and evidence, not personal preferences in who we believe is guilty." Troy answered solemnly "With the prison break and then the controversy surrounding what O' Riley was planning, we need to make sure that everything we're doing is above board and to the letter of the law. While dealing with these escaped convicts isn't a pleasant thought, we don't need anyone saying that we're trying to pin every crime in Stilwater on them. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Gates nodded
Harthone didn't looked convinced but also nodded in agreement. "Sure thing Chief."
"Good. I'm glad that's settled." He looked at both officers "I got messages from you both about another crime scene. Something that was very important….and that I needed to see in person?"
For the first time, Troy noticed that both officers seemed nervous to answer him. After a tense glance was exchanged between the detectives, Gates spoke.
"We had another shooting take place at Piratez Tavern over in Ezpata. We have five confirmed fatalities." She took a deep breath before she continued "And while the body count is substantially lower than the Nob Hill shooting, there's definitely going to have even bigger repercussions than the Nob Hill shooting."
Troy kept his face expressionless and unreadable "What happened at Piratez Tavern that raising cause for concern Harthorne?"
"Bradshaw! You're desk receptionist said we could find you here."
Bradshaw turned around to see District Attorney Chang and with another gentleman in a suit with sun-tanned skin and blonde hair. Once again, he felt like he recognized her from someplace, but shook those thoughts from his might to address the situation at hand.
"District Attoney Chang. What brings you down here?" he asked "If you're here at the incident in Nob Hill…"
"We're actually here regarding the shooting in Ezpata." She explained "This Joseph Deeks with Internal Affiars. He's going to be working with Gates and Harthone to investigate this cas…"
"Now hold on just a minute! I haven't even been briefed regarding this case but District Attonery's office been informed ahead of the Chief of Police and already reach the determination that the Internal Affairs should be notified!" Troy made not attempts to hide his anger "Just so that I know, when was it decided that I was more trustworthy than O' Riley?"
"The situation isn't like that at all." Deeks approached Troy "Otherwise we simply would have filed charges against you. There are certain factors involved with this incident that resulted in the District Attorney's office to becoming involved."
Troy never took his eyes of Deeks "At what 'certain factors' were these that made you decided that your involvement was needed?"
"It would be easier if we allowed you to see for yourself sir." Gates explained as she and Harthone put on gloves and made their way further into the morgue with Bradshaw, Wang, and Deeks followings closely behind. Stilwater being the violent place it was always had new arrivals in the morgue, and those were just the poor bastards they actually found. From his time in New Orleans, the veteran officers would recall cases of bodies that had been dumped in the swamps and feed to alligators or dissolved in lye and turned to slush. As Troy continued following the corner, his curiosity was peeked even further when Hawthorne open a door leading to a smaller examination room that with five bodies still covered on the examination tables. He watched as Hawthorne uncovered the first three bodies. Troy noticed immediately that based on their clothing and tribal tattoos, the first two victims were members of the Brotherhood. The third victim didn't appear to have any gang tattoos and wasn't wearing any recognizable gang colors that might make him affiliated with any know gangs. It was obvious that these people had been on the wrong end of several shotgun blasts. Which made him wonder if the suspects in the Nob Hill shooting were involved here as well.
"These two are clearly members of the Brotherhood, but this gentleman looks like your average Joe." Troy remarked as her turned to Gates "Why don't you bring everyone up to speed."
"The gentleman with the shaved head was Percy Darkins and other victim with the red goatee Brian Folds. As you can tell from the clothing and from what we could determine from what's left of their tattoos, they were both members of the Brotherhood." Gates nervously motioned to the third victim "But this victim is an even bigger shock for us. This gentleman was none other than James Parish."
Troy frowned "I don't recognize that name. Does he have some sort of criminal history?"
"Nothing. Not even a juvenile record. He seems to have been a law-abiding citizen, sir." Gates explained "He was however a close friend of Maero, the leader of the Brotherhood. His sister Jessica is also romantically involved with Maero. Based on eye witness testimony and camera footage for both Piratez Tavern and a liquor store across the street. Mareo and his entourage which included these three victims were leaving the Tavern when they were approached by two assailants that pulled out shotguns and began opening fire. The Brotherhood returned fire and killed one of their attackers while the other fled on foot. The second shooter managed to get a few blocks away before ending up in a hit and run. The second shooter then ended up dying of their injuries theMay sustained from the crash."
Harthone shook his head "In this town, sometimes being guilty by association is enough to warrant being killed."
Troy nodded quietly "So Maero's having a night on the town with some friends when some would-be shooters try taking him out in front the bar. Do we now where he is now?"
"Gates and I have been searching his usual haunts but he hasn't turned up yet." Harthone shrugged apologetically "If the people gunning for Maero knew to stakeout has favorite bar, chances are that he'll avoid any of his usual haunts to avoid giving these nutjobs another opportunity to bump him off."
"And what are we looking to charge him with?" Troy asked "Anything that can hold up in court?"
"We're not currently looking to charge Maero with anything. He's only wanted as a person of interest." Gates explained "Based on eye-witness testimony of some camera footage, it would seem that Maero acted in self-defense against his would-be killers. We might be able to arrest him on weapons charges for the firearm he used, but any competent lawyer could have that charge thrown out."
The room was quiet for a moment as Troy processed the information he just received. From what he gathered, it seems like a rival gang simply tried taking out Maero while his guard was down. Since the Sons of Samedi and the Ronin hadn't tried to make a move before now, it seemed most likely that the Saints were involved.
Troy took a deep breath "I see…what do information do we have on the shooters? Any known gang affiliations?"
"They weren't gang bangers, Chief." Gates said solemnly "But their involvement raises more questions than answers."
"It's also the reason myself and the District Attorney are here in person Bradshaw." Deeks explained "We didn't come here because of some random gangland shooting."
Troy frowned "Then what did bring you here? If this is because you think the Saints had something do with…."
"Cheif….I don't know how best to explain this…" Harthone interrupted "….so it's probably much better if you see for yourself."
Harthone nodded to Gates who moved over to the two remaining corpses that were still covered up in the examination room. When Troy saw the two dead shooters laying on the examination tables, he recognized them instantly and felt a cold chill begin running down his spine.
"Officers Jamal Williams and Percy Douglas. But I'm sure you recognized them already, sir." Gates took a deep breath before continuing "They apparently were in uniform, but not wearing their service badges or registered sidearms. After killing the two Brotherhood members and the civilian, Williams apparently caught a bullet in the head during the crossfire and was killed instantly. It was around that time that Douglas made a break to their getaway vehicle….."
"…..where he made it only a few blocks before getting into a hit-and-run" Harthorne concluded "When we searched the vehicle, we found the shotgun he was using and documents in the glove-box."
"What kind of documents?" Troy asked
"Case-files on the leadership for all the major gangs in Stilwater with information on their movements. Everyone to the new-reformed Saints to the Brotherhood."
"Which circles back to the reason myself and Ms. Chang are here." Deeks explained "Some rookie cops going rouge is one thing. But they had access to case-files documents that only key detectives had access to. Needless to say this raises a lot of concerns for both the general public and the Mayor's office. It's also come to our attention that you met with these officers recently. Could you explain what the reason for that meeting?"
Everyone in the room was looking at Troy. He stole a quick glance at Chang, who was the only other person in the room aware of what these officers were doing. Since Hughes dispatched him without informing him of anything, Troy decided that he would be cautious about what information was given about the undercover operation.
"These officers were called into my office for a gang surveillance operation I was putting together." He explained "I wanted young and motivated officers who could conduct this surveillance without attracting attention to themselves. Of the candidates I reviewed, Douglass and Williams seemed to be the most promising. Both expressed interest in the operation, but then both suddenly took a leave of absence."
"So they go leave at the same time…. then the next thing you know, you're here identifying their bodies" Deeks summarized, scratching his chin "Any idea where they got those case-files from?"
Troy shook his head "They never should have had access to those files. They were identify any Saints from the recent jailbreak and report back their movements along with any information regarding potential new recruits to the gang. Their movements have still been limited, so the belief we currently have is that their holding up in one location or at the very least spread out within a particular neighborhood. The ultimate goal is was confirming the location of their hideout and rounding up their entire gang including Gat, Cassie, and "The Playa" a.k.a Archangel. At least that was the plan until the two officers on assignment turned up dead.
"And apparently when rouge and decided to form the own little death squad." Deeks' eyes narrowed "I was told you also called in an Detective Brooks for a meeting as weel. Was she also asked to join this special surveillance team?"
Troy kept his face expressionless "Yes. Due to her being recently transferred over from Steelport, I felt that blood and a fresh face that wouldn't be known to the gangs would make a huge difference. That and her being an experienced detective seemed to make for a perfect fit. Infuriately, Detective Brooks believed her skills could be better served investigating the recent prison break rather than sitting in a surveillance van."
"Interesting. I can't say I fault Detective Brooks reasoning." Deeks gave a deep sigh "Would it be possible to speak her? Given her expertise, we could probably use her skills right about now."
"She not in the station right now." Harthone interjected "Her partner, John Perkins mentioned she be in station less while trying to gather new leads."
"I guess speaking with Detective Brooks will have to wait." Deeks mumbled to himself "I'll have to settle for speaking only with Detective Perkins. Between himself and Brooks, maybe they have some insight into what the hell is going on."
"Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure they can assist with putting the pieces together." Troy gestured his outstretched hand to the door. "After you."
Deeks began exiting the room with Chang, Harthone, and Gates following closely behind him. She cast Troy a look of concern before leaving the autopsy room. Troy cast one last look towards the corpses of Douglas and Williams.
"Did you two decide to do this crap on your own….or are we missing something? Still…two rookie officers shouldn't have been sent into the hornet's nest. Now you're both dead and I have no idea what happened to Brooks." Troy thought to himself "But I'm going to make sure everyone involved in your deaths never sees the light of day again. Once way…or the other."
Troy knew that trying to send officers in again to infiltrate again would most likely bare no results, and despite this he still knuckled under Hughes demands. Not to mention his "Off the record" request to Perkins. He could only hope that Brooks had made out better and that Perkins had been updated with valuable information that would help with locating the Saints.
Mei knew that she couldn't take Brooks back to hideout in such a frantic state. The first thing she did after send a text to Carlos saying they had to make a detour and asked him to pick up the gang order from Freckle Bitches, while ensuring him that they would be back soon. After finding a secluded underpass near the water, Mei parked the car and proceed to reach over in a attempt to console her. Brooks suddenly raised one of her shaky hands and shook her head.
"Sorry I'm like this Boss. Could you give me a moment?" Brooks asked
Mei nodded "Take as much time as you need. I'll be right outside when you need me."
As she exited the vehicle, she gave one last look over to Brooks whose head was hung staring down at her knees with tears streaming down her face. Walking away from the vehicle she strolled over to river and began skipping rocks. After another fifteen minutes, she heard the car open and close. Brooks eyes were bloodshot from crying, but they seemed to be filled with determination. She stood next to Mei on riverbank and they both simply stood there staring out into the river in complete silence. Finally, Brooks interrupted the silence and finally spoke.
"How could he just betray me like that?" Brooks asked finally "We been partners for three years now. No matter the situation, I always had Perkins' back. Shootout with some back robbers ended with me take shotgun pellets in the arm. Covered for him whenever we had to perform community outreach and the fucker was conveniently sick. But the worst had to be when I was almost stabbed to death by some drug dealer because he didn't fasten his cuffs properly. And despite everything we been through as partners, he was going to kill me."
"Some people have no real honor at the end of the day," Mei replied "Look at everything our gang went through we Troy. He was supposed to be the friendlier big brother version of Johnny Gat you're should've been able to confide in. But it actuality, it just served as another means collect convictions on members of the gang. Most of the people who were assigned to his crew never held a gun… most likely never would have if Troy wasn't there giving them the big speech about taking back their neighborhood and making the city safer in process."
"I thought Julius Little came up with that speech." Brooks asked
Mei nodded "He did. However, Julius wasn't recruiting people to his gang, and then selling them out the police the same day. And for better or worse the this collection of murderous gangbangers will always have your back. I know that shit with your former partner is weighing on mind and causing a great deal of grief. Just remember he choose to kill you. Even when you pleaded with him, he was still going to pull the trigger if we weren't there. Having a badge or a flag doesn't determine loyalty. Your principles do."
Brooks smiled "Thanks Boss."
"Don't sweat it. That's what I'm here for." Mei chuckled "Let's get back to crew before they start worrying about us."
Mei drove back to the hideout with only the sounds of K-Rhyme radio preventing complete and utter silence. Upon arriving Mei turned to Brooks before letting her enter the building.
"We've got a long road ahead and retaking Stilwater is going to be more difficult than it was last time. Simply put, it going to become a lot worse before shit gets better." She explained "So you're really going to need to up your game even more since we're most likely going to have a lot of people gunning for us. Even if the other gangs still ignore us, Troy going coming after us harder than ever. Especially since he's p, robably been informed about Douglas and Williams by now."
Brooks nodded "I figured as much. I don't shy from a challenge and between betray fellow officers and being betrayed by Chief Bradshaw, I'm out for blood just as much as the rest of the crew."
As the entered the hideout, they saw Saints either checking weapons or pouring over different plans for taking over parts of Stilwater. As they made their way further in, they were approached by Alice. She arriving in the hideout and joining the gang, she had been placed in charge of overseeing medical needs of the gang. One of the ballrooms in the old hotel was being converted into sterile medical room. In the event that someone needed more than a few stiches, they could be treated at the hideout at not the hospital. Someone being rushed to the emergency room while wearing purple wasn't something pleasant that Mei even wanted to contemplate. Even more so should the injured Saint be one of the recent escapees. Mei tasked Alice with preparing a section of the hideout that could function as a full-fledged hospital.
"Hi Boss! Hi Ms. Brooks" Alice beamed "We made some progress on getting those medical supplies. Carlos apparently has a connection with someone who can get us everything we need."
"I thought Shaundi had someone who could get those supplies." Mei inquired "Not that I can where we get the stuff that keep our people alive. So long as everything is sterile, cleaned, and doesn't lead back to the hideout."
Alice blushed "Apparently they was some…..miscommunication between Shaundi and the gentleman she was negotiating with."
Brooks frowned "What type of 'miscommunication' are we talking about exactly?"
"The gentleman…..who was apparently an ex-boyfriend of hers wanted… 'physical compensation' for his efforts. And not just from Shaundi, but from…from yourself…..and any other female member of the gang whenever he wanted for himself and several of his…friends."
Mei and Brooks stood their wide-eyed as they both tried to process what had just been said.
"So that I understand this correctly," Mei began coyly "This idiot thought that in exchange for medical supplies and equipment, we were not only going to pay him, but allow him to whore out me and any other females in the crew."
"Correct." Alice replied flatly "And when she refused his offer he came up with a counter-proposal: The female members of the Saints become his whores or he'll inform the police of everything he knew. Which led to Mr. Gat taking his head off with a shotgun blast. It seemed a bit excessive…"
"… but necessary for our survival." Brooks interjected "Even this guy was bluffing, we don't need the adding worry that the next time we're making a deal for medical supplies, Troy and half the SPD is going to surround us."
"Fair point." Alice replied "But I think I'll take Pierce with me for the meeting with Carlos' connection."
"Smart" Mei nodded "Anything else going on around here?"
"Ms. Anderson was asking for Ms. Brooks" Alice turned to face her "While she has the training regime covered, she could use another skilled body to assist we combat training. Also, Mr. Gat's been waiting for you in your suite Boss."
Brooks shrugged "I guess that my que to exit stage right. I'll catch up with you both later.
"I also get back to it as well." Alice gave her another smile "Thanks for letting me join your crew."
"No problem." Mei smiled back "Better check on Gat before he starts using the things in my room for target practice."
Mei could hear Gat's feet pacing and his growling from the base of the stairs. She gently opened her door to the sight of her dearest friend wearing a look of worry and anger. As she closed the door, Gat finally stopped pacing and turned towards her wearing a sudden look of relief on his face.
"Thank God." Gat took a steady deep breath "I thought something might have happened to you."
"Me and Brooks with for a drive to get some fresh air." Mei raised an eyebrow at him "I relayed this to Carlos when I asked him to grab some food for the crew. Didn't he relay this info to you and the other lieutenants?"
"Yeah he did" Gat replied tensely "But seeing is how you're with a former cop….."
"…who joined the gang and proved her worth tenfold, I had nothing to worry." Mei finished "Besides, had the worst come to pass and she betrayed me after welcoming her into the Saints, I would have dealt with her accordingly. Our have you forgotten that I know how to fight?"
Gat crossed his arms defensively "Hey! I'm just trying to have your back. After the crap that went down at Stilwater Caverns, there's no telling what sort of shit you might end up getting into. When I tried to send some of the crew to look for….."
"Hold the fuck up!" Mei eyes narrowed angrily "Who do fuck told you that I was missing and that the crew needed to be sent to look for me? Explain how me deciding to take a leisure drive translates into 'Oh shit! Someone must have kidnapped the Boss! We better go find her before something bad happens'? Because right now on the surface…...it looks like you don't have faith in me….and that shit fucking hurts homie."
"Come on Mei. I'm just worried about you. Besides, I didn't send anyone out to look for you. Cassie told me I was being a paranoid fucking wreck that who would only end up infecting the rest of the crew with the same needless worried. She basically said I need to chill the fuck out relax a bit…so I did." Gat's stance softened after hearing the disappointed tone in her voice "It just feels like sometimes you're placing your life in danger needlessly."
Mei sighed "Gat. First, understand that I am always grateful for having you watching my back. But you wearing out the floor in my room with track marks from your pacing sounds like the exact opposite of what Cassie said to do. Also, I'm the leader of a street gang. Thus, my life will always be placed in some sort of danger whether it comes from rival gangs or the SPD."
"It wasn't usually that way for Julius." Gat retorted "He spent almost all his time at the church."
"And maybe if Julius had gotten out a bit more, he would have had a better pulse of the Stilwater. Hell, Julius might have been able to take the whole city sooner. Possibly at the bare minimum he would have figured out that Troy was a fucking cop."
"So you never what to take it easy?" Gat eyes narrowed "Thats not how the old gang leaders did things."
Mei tilted her head slightly "And that why none of them are around anymore. Julius is missing, Benjamin mother-fucking King is writing books, and rest are six feet under feeding the fucking worms. I'm going to be a smarter leader Johnny. Not because I want to be, not because I want to prove I'm better than Julius and King, but because you and the other Saints need me to be. So homie…you gonna trust me and have my back?"
"Do you really gotta ask me that? You know damn well I got your back. Always have and I always will." Gat smiled "Just remember you've got people to handle some of this shit. You ain't got to do everything yourself."
Mei nodded "I hear you loud and clear on that."
"Cool" Gat made his way to the door "I catch ya later. Going to go kick it with Aisha tonight."
Mei's door was only closed for a minute before Cassie entered her suite. She was wearing black yoga pants with a black turtleneck sweater and matching wool cap.
"What up Cass?" Mei eyed intently "I thought you and Brooks were training the new blood. Why do look like your about to go all Sam Fisher on me?"
"I was coming back from doing some recon in the area when I decided to check on the shooting range." She explained "Brooks is really going to become a valuable asset for training new Saints."
Mei nodded "That's good to hear. How did the recon go?"
"We've got ever Sons of Samedi drug courier tracked along with their routes. We found several of their stash houses as well, but not the main lab where they make this stuff." Cassie reported "And while we were able to track all their movements, we had to fall back from College Square. They've got too many lookouts their and even I wouldn't be able to get in without being spotted. Since it's one of their many locations for moving Loa Dust, they make it a point of clocking anyone they don't recognize. It's probably also the reason why the SPD hasn't be able to real crack down on them."
"Thanks for the report." Mei closed her eyes while letting out a soft sigh "I wish we knew where they were making the stuff since we don't know how to make it yet."
"Maybe we can hold off on attacking the Sons of Samedi." Cassie recommended "We've gone unnoticed by them this long."
"Yeah. But we both know that won't last forever." Mei pointed out "Even if the other gangs were willing to ignore us before, they can't afford to continue doing that…not after our little rescue mission. The Brotherhood are going to become more preoccupied with the SPD than coming after us. And the Ronin still have more money and influence, so attacking them directly is still out of the question. We need serious cash flowing into the gang if were going to take another property like this one."
"Didn't realize you had grown bored with this place." Cassie teased "I guess prison really changes some people."
"Ha ha ha smartass." Mei rolled her eyes "Our gang is eventually going to out-grow this place. I also want there to be other safe houses that hold large numbers of our gang. We're talking about converting apartment and office buildings. And that takes a cashflow we don't currently have. Besides, a secret base with so many people can't stay secret forever. So when the other gangs and the SPD come knocking, we need to have a place to fall back to."
"Alright. I start getting the crew ready." Cassie made her way to the door "I hope they're ready."
"We got everything we need to make this happen." She smiled "Get some rest Cass. It's going to be long day tomorrow."
As Cassie closed the door behind her, Mei crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling above. While she knew it wasn't going to be easy, she was determined to send a message to the City of Stilwater with the broken bodies of every person we're green flags on their turf.
Mei smiled to herself "Time to show these motherfuckers we still know how to fight."
