"17 people killed...". It's all Lincoln could think about. It was 1:50 am, and he couldn't sleep. Not just because he had a phone call meeting with Ronney, Mickey, and Taylor coming up, but because the fear and guilt didn't allow him to sleep. Come to think of it, he hasn't slept for two days. It was hard to believe that he and Taylor got involved in all of this last night. Everything that has been happening has been occurring in only one day. It was the longest day Lincoln had ever had. He was currently in his bed, laying down in his underwear and staring at the ceiling, waiting as the time ticked by. He could hear the snores of all his family echoing throughout the house. It was a wonder how anyone could sleep through it. Although his body yearned for sleep, his mind wouldn't allow it. He was tired, and he could only imagine when the next time he would be able to get a decent night's rest. As he was lost in his thoughts, he felt the buzzing of his burner phone from under his pillow. It was an incoming call from a group with Ronney, Mickey, and Taylor. Lincoln jumped out of his bed, peeking through his door one last time to ensure that his family was still sleeping. After a few seconds of listening to the sound of snoring, he closed his door and made his way to the window, popping it open and sitting down on the frame as if it were a hammock. From there he took a deep breath of fresh air, staring out into the night sky that embodied Royal Woods. He could see police cruisers roaming the streets, shining the car's spotlight around the neighborhood. He took one more deep breath, and answered the phone, still sitting outside the window.
"Fuck, there he is", Ronney said through the phone.
"What's up Linc", said Taylor. Lincoln was now in a group call with Ronney, Mickey, and Taylor. He put the phone on speaker, and set it down on his stomach, relaxing as he watched the police cars stroll by.
"Hey guys, sorry I picked up the phone late, won't happen again", he responded. Mickey then spoke, ignoring what he said.
"Alright you assholes, unfortunately, we couldn't hold a meeting in person since, as you can tell, the fucking pigs are everywhere. It's a real fucking shit show y'all started. They got fucking cops from Sterling Heights and fucking Detroit surrounding Royal Woods as if it's a fucking warzone. Thankfully, we don't have the fucking FBI on us. Apparently, this shit isn't fucking big enough for them to get their asses involved. Which is good, we don't need those motherfuckers snooping around in our shit anyways. Obviously, this isn't your fault, but let's just say that Ronney's fucking boss tended to leave out a few fucking details of whose fucking car y'all were repo-ing. Unfortunately for his fuck up, he won't be around anymore and now Ronney has taken his place if you know what I mean". Lincoln and Taylor both gulped, understanding what he was insinuating. He continued. "So, Ronney, care to explain to these two shitheads what the fuck we just caused"? Mickey concluded. With that, Ronney cleared his throat and began talking.
"Aight, so unfortunately ya big uncle Ronney may have just sent y'all to the knee-deep shit frontlines of a pretty fuckin' violent gang war. To top it all off, we may have just had fuckin' escalated it. So, I didn't know this, but the bastard whose car ya stole back for us belonged to a Mr. Jamal White, otherwise known as Mr. fuckin' Puff. Now, unlucky for us, Puff here ain't as much of a fuckin' nobody as we may have thought. You see, what my previous employer's dumbass failed to mention, is that this cock sucker is the third fuckin' highest leader of the South Side Ballin Heights gang, one of the largest fuckin' branches of the Ballin Heights Street Gang. Now, these motherfuckas' ain't no fuckin' joke, they control a large fuckin' portion of Michigan, especially Sterling Heights and Detroit. Motherfucka's traffic and sale more fuckin' drugs than the fuckin' number of kids ya fuckin' neighborhood pastor fucks. In other words, a fuckin' lot. Now, this shit isn't good, especially since they've been at a steady fuckin' war with the 3 West Side Amigos, who just so happen to be a major fuckin' asset for the 54th Mafia. Now for the past four fuckin' months, the two gangs have been in a ceasefire, but since y'all just fuckin killed one of their fuckin' leaders outside of his own fuckin' crib, they immediately pointed the fuckin' blame to the 3 west side amigos. Now they're going back to war, which will be a major fuckin' problem for us", Ronney explained
"Question, who the fuck are the 3 West Side Aimogs, and why are they so important"? Taylor asked. Mickey answered her question.
"Excellent question, the 3 west side Amigos are the largest Hispanic street gang in the United States. They not only traffic drugs for us, but also numerous fucking Mexican cartels from our fucking friends from across the border. Now, before them, we had the fucking Devil Riders biker MC traffic our drugs all over the fucking country. But after some...recent falling outs, they've been doing fucking business primarily with the Russians and Irish mafias, the assholes. And we honestly don't want any fucking trouble with them. I hate to admit it, but they're far fucking beyond our fucking capabilities. Anyways, we talked with some of the higher cartels they work for and came to an agreement that we could use the Amigos to traffic drugs, arms, human trafficking, and whatever else shady shit we need to be trafficked and sold. Of course, in exchange, we give the West side Amigos guns, protection, and other shit. Our resources, along with the cartels, make the little bastards quite the fucking army. However, the Ballin Heights gang is another fucking problem. They're an African American street gang, and one of, if not the biggest in America. They don't need protection or resources from any Mafia or cartel, they do their own shit. They supply a quarter of the US' crack and Heroin, mainly because we don't fucking manufacture that shit. But they do. They've been at war with the 3 West Side Amigos for quite a long fucking time over route disputes but had a ceasefire since the violence got so fucking bad. Now, we along with the cartels have primarily stood out of it. For them, they're too fucking big and too far to fucking care, especially with the DEA hovering over their fucking necks, and for us, well we don't want the fucking Feds on us. So we just agreed to let the little shitbags duke it out with one another. However, with the shit that just happened yesterday, the war is going to spark again, and we may now be at risk of losing one of our largest fucking traffickers, which isn't ideal of course".
Lincoln was trying to process all the information he was hearing. It was like learning a whole new language, opening his mind to a side of reality that he could never dream of. Crime to him was like what he would see in his comic books or cartoons. A bunch of robbers stealing large bags of money from banks. He would never have guessed at just how ugly and complicated the world of crime really was. Unfortunately for him, he was now a part of it whether he wanted to be or not. After processing everything he had just heard from Mickey and Ronney, he cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Okay, so the situation is now bad as if it couldn't be bad enough. I guess the only question left to ask now is, what do you need from us"? he asked.
"As of now"? Mickey began, "nothing. We really just wanted to fill you two in on what the fuck is happening since... well you almost fucking died and also just killed any sense of having a normal healthy functioning life, both physically and especially fucking mentally. So, at the very least, I guess y'all should know what the fuck the current situation is... plus...we may fucking send y'all to do some jobs on this shit. Ronney and someone else y'all will meet later has some ideas on how we can profit off of this shit", but for now, let's relax, until the police fuck off". Mickey explained. Ronney spoke at the mention of the other person.
"Actually, Blue is available right now. If ya want, we can send the fuckin' kids over to them and Blue can talk to them about their idea", Ronney added.
"Really? well I don't see why the fuck not, you two shit heads down for a little trip back to Sterling Heights"? Mickey asked. Taylor and Lincoln hesitated for a moment. But they both knew they didn't have much of a choice. Plus, they weren't going to be able to fall asleep anyways.
"Sure...I guess", Taylor nervously replied. Lincoln just sighed defeatedly.
"Yea...I'm good to go too", he answered.
"Excellent. Now listen, you two are going to have to head to the east end of Royal Woods a little outside the border of the town. There will be a car waiting for y'all. Obviously, we can't just fucking pick you turds up from your houses since fucking pigs are everywhere, and the fucking mandatory curfew will get y'all arrested. So y'all are going to have to fucking sneak past all the cops. I recommend y'all go through the sewer. It's shit I know, but, these fuckers are eyeing this town down like a fucking hawk. Fucking Police cruisers are on every street, shining lights on every fucking corner of every fucking house and building on every fucking block. Fucking Bell UH-1 Huey Helicopters are swarming the skies up the ass, laying down spotlights like fucking UFOs. I know Royal Woods doesn't get crime like this, so it's no wonder they're not fucking around. You definitely wouldn't see shit like this in Sterling Heights or Detroit. So fuck trying to sneak around these pigs, that shit ain't fucking happening. Just go through the sewers, and they'll be a car waiting for you by the fucking manhole out of sight from all the pigs. I'll send you an address. Oh, wear something low-key, and keep your fucking guns on y'all. I'll keep in touch later", Mickey concluded before hanging up. Shortly after, Ronney hung up as well. A text message with an address popped up soon after. Lincoln and Taylor stayed on the call, a moment of silence was present between them. Taylor broke the silence.
"Aw shit, guess we can't just get one fucking night, huh dude"? she said tiredly. Lincoln just chuckled.
"Yea, whatever let's just get this over with. Hopefully, we can be back before school starts", he said.
"Yea...anyways, just try to get into the sewers. I live right in front of a tunnel that leads directly into it. Are you able to get down there"? Taylor asked. Lincoln glanced outside, seeing a manhole in front of his house on the sidewalk.
"Yea I'm good, I'll be down there".
"Great, I'll try to meet you down there, but if not just follow the GPS to the address. I know it's like a fucking maze down there. If you can't get any service, just head east. I'll be waiting by the ladder until you get there. If you get there before just do the same...and Lincoln...please be careful", said Taylor.
Lincoln smiled, taking one last glance at the moon. "Yea, you too. I'll see you in a bit Taylor", he said before hanging up. He got down from his window and closed it, before making his way to his desk. He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a flashlight that his sister Lana gave to him, along with an extra pair of batteries. He slid on pair of grey sweatpants, sneakers, and an orange sweater. He then reached under his bed, pulling out a small wooden box with a keyhole. He grabbed a small silver key that was tapped behind his Ace Savvy poster and used it to unlock the small box. Once he opened it, he examined the contents inside of it. It was the Snub Nose .38 revolver, along with 4 boxes full of bullets. He took the gun out of the box, opened up the cylinder, and began loading 7 bullets into each of the chambers, before closing it back up. He closed the box and shoved it back under the bed along with the key. Looking up at the Ace Savvy card poster that hung on his wall, he sighed. "I know Ace Savvy...I'm not the good guy". His voice croaked as he said that, and he could feel his heartbreak at the idea of his new life. Regardless, he stood up, tucking the gun behind his pants and grabbing the flashlight, before exiting his room.
"This day just never ends".
