Chapter 8: Marriage Counseling
Stephanie didn't go home that night, she bought a room at the Billingsgate Motel in East LS. She spent the night there smoking some of the kush her contact Tyler gad given her, she crashed out at 2 in the morning. Stephanie woke up later on at 9 am, she stood up and yawned. She grabbed her stuff and her car keys and walked outside, she got in the car and started it up. She drove to Michael's house and pulled up outside the gate, Stephanie got out of the car and walked in the gate. A green Western Bagger motorcycle was sitting in the driveway, and Franklin was walking towards the door. As she approached them they heard a noise upstairs, they looked up to see a skinny man in a leopard thong jump out the window. Stephanie recognized him as her aunt's tennis coach, she ran up to Franklin at the door. Michael walked to the door from the stairs, Franklin and Steph blocked his route. "Outta my way." He told them. "What's going on?" Stephanie asked. "Nothing's going on it was a misunderstanding!" Amanda shouted holding a white towel around her naked body. "She fucked a prick in my bed." Michael replied. "It wasn't like that." Amanda told Michael. "You in?" Michael asked Franklin. "Fuck it, I'm in." Franklin replied. "Let's get this motherfucker." Stephanie added on following them. "Just don't kill him!" Amanda shouted before shutting the door.
The three got in the Bravado Bison sitting in the driveway and Michael took off, he followed the tennis coach down the street. "Hey is this your ride?" Franklin asked. "Guy's doing some work for me, he'll get it back. It might have a dead body in the back of it. "So we're gonna kill this guy?" Steph asked cocking her pistol. "He'll wish he was dead." Michael replied. "You got a problem with that?" He asked looking at Franklin. "Shit, dog shouldn't shit in another dog's kennel." Franklin replied. "People have been shitting in my kennel for too long." Michael told Franklin. They continued on through Vinewood Hills, the car passed a hippie van that pulled in Michael's way. "Go smoke some grass you hippie fuck!" Michael shouted. The van moved out of his way and Michael continued on, they drove up the hill. "Hey I think we lost his ass." Franklin told Michael. "He lives up in the canyon, we'll find him. "Michael replied. They drove up the hill and made a right. "If I have to go to a motel, she has to go to a motel. I'm not trying to give her crabs." Michael said angrily. "You got crabs Uncle M?" Steph asked. "No, just making a point." Michael replied. They found the coach's car parked under a deck of a huge house on the hill, Michael rolled down the window and looked out the window. "Hey pal, you left before we could settle our business." Michael told him. "Mr. De Santa, you got the wrong idea man." The coach shouted.
Michael parked a few feet away from the pillars under the deck, he looked at Franklin. "There's a winch in the back of the truck, wrap it around one of the supports." Michael told him. "You fitting to pull his deck down?" Franklin asked in response. "Hey, that prick pulled my marriage down," Michael replied. Franklin did as he was instructed and grabbed the winch, Michael got out and yelled at the coach. "Michael, I said I'll comp the session bud!" Kyle told Michael. "Well, there were a lot of freaking sessions bud, makes me think you were working on more than just her backhand!" Michael replied. "Mandy's backhand has come a long way bro." Kyle told Michael. "Yeah well maybe I oughta come up there and work on my backhand, on your face!" Michael shouted. "Whoa Michael man your negative energy is seriously bringing me down." Kyle said to Michael. "Oh I hope it is bud." Michael replied catching the irony in his statement and knowing what he had planned. "You come into my house, take my money, and nail my wife! Are you fucking kidding me!?" Michael shouted. "I'm gonna stick up my hand and say that was uncool bud." Kyle replied holding his right hand up. "Oh how fucking magnanimous, let me offer you my applause." Michael said clapping. "You fucking motherfucker!" He shouted angrily. "Well we'll see how you like it when someone fucks with your shit!" Michael shouted walking to the truck.
Michael got in the truck and put it in drive, he went a few feet and the truck pulled the deck a little bit. He hit the gas again, it took the truck a minute to get the RPMs to move, once it did it pulled more of the support out of place. He hit the has again and drove forward, the truck pulled the support completely out of place. The whole house fell off the hill, rubble and lumber lay across the dirt road on the hill. "Damn!" Stephanie shouted. "Fuck him and fuck his deck!" Michael shouted. "I think you pulled more than his deck down." Franklin exclaimed. "It's a foolish man who builds his house on sand baby." Michael said in excitement. "I don't think my boy Mathew was thinking trucks when he wrote that shit." Franklin replied. Michael drove off the canyon down the hill, his phone rang and he answered it. "Mr. De Santa, what the hell? That's not my house!" Kyle yelled. "Bullshit." Michael replied. "Dude I'm a tennis coach, I hit balls for a living I can never afford a place like that." Kyle told Michael. "Give me phone!" A Russian woman's voice yelled on the other end. "You you're a dead man. Green light. Green light. Martin Madrazo give you green light!" She shouted. "I'm really scared lady, fucking terrified." Michael replied before hanging up the phone.
Michael continued driving before mocking the Russian woman. "Green light, Martin Madrazo. Fuck you." Michael said. Stephanie's eyes widened at his remark, Franklin was shocked too. "Martin, Martin Madrazo?" He asked. "That's what she said." Michael replied. "Dude's a kingpin man, you better hope…" Franklin said before being cut off. "I'm not hoping anything, don't worry about it. No use second guessing." Michael replied. "Dead man, dead man." Franklin said in the Russian woman's voice. "Dead man!" Michael added in. Stephanie heard the sound of metal hitting the back of the truck, she turned around to spot two black SUV's with gunmen inside shooting at them. "Uncle M, we got company." Stephanie told Michael. "You two take em out." Michael ordered Franklin and Steph. They aimed out the window and shot at the gunmen, Franklin wasn't hitting anything while Steph got a perfect headshot. Michael sped down the street hoping to lose them, Franklin finally got a shot taking out the driver of one of the cars. Steph took out the other driver and gunmen, killing the rest. "Are you ok guys?" Michael asked Franklin and Steph. "Yeah, we're cool." Franklin replied. "Wow Steph, you did good. Franklin your aim was all over the place but you were a help." Michael told the two. "Thanks I guess." Franklin replied. "Don't get defensive, go to a shooting range work on your aim. You should do fine." Michael told Franklin.
They drove through Rockford Hills, the radio was tuned into Radio Los Santos with "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" by Elton John. "Are you alright?" Franklin askes. "I'm good." Michael replied. "I mean like mentally." Franklin said. "I'm good kid, I feel great." Michael replied. "You just got green lit by the Mexican ambassador of Los Santos." Franklin told Michael. "We'll be alright, whoever Martin Madrazo is. I've known worse, besides, we handled it didn't we?" Michael replied. "We just handled a few low ranking clowns, there'll be more." Franklin explained. "We'll be fine." Michael assured him. "It felt good, whoo! Doing something for a change!" Michael shouted in excitement. "Are sure you're alright?" Stephanie asked. "I'm good, my heart hasn't pumped like that in years." Michael replied excitedly. "You are wasted sitting by the pool dog." Franklin told Michael. "You're right, scotch, sunshine, and sitting on my ass. I'm better than that." Michael replied. "All that knowledge up there is withering and dying dog, if you don't pass that on it'll die with you. I bet you know some shit." Franklin told Michael. "You wouldn't believe the shit I know." Michael replied. "Oh yeah, taken some scores?" Stephanie asked. "There was a time, that was all I did." Michael replied. "Well I can teach you some shit too." Franklin told Michael. "Oh yeah, like what?" Michael asked in response. "Like this city I was born and raised in." Franklin replied. "I'll think about it." Michael told Franklin. "Yeah do that man, this could be cool. Franklin replied.
Michael pulled into his driveway, he parked the truck and they got out. "Thanks for today, I had no idea it was gonna get that hot." Michael told Franklin. "Yeah, well pulling houses off hillsides sure has a way of fucking with people." Franklin replied. "Yeah, we'll sit on it and see what happens. I don't know what'll happen next." Michael told Franklin. Two SUVs pulled into the driveway, Stephanie looked at the small convoy. "I think we're about to find out." She told Michael. Several gunmen, along with the Russian woman, a man with a baseball bat, and an older Hispanic looking man approached Michael. "Do you know who I am?" He asked Michael. "No." Michael replied. "Do you know who I am!?" He asked Franklin angrily. "I know who you are, I know where you live." He said pointing at Michael. "Who are you?" He asked Franklin. "I'm Franklin." Franklin replied. "License, both of you." He told Franklin and Steph. They handed Martin their license, and he looked at them. "Now Franklin." He said putting the license in his pocket. "Tell Mr. De Santa here who I am." The man told Franklin. "I think Martin Madrazo." Franklin replied. "Good, now give him a little more background." Martin told Franklin. "Mr. Madrazo…Mr. Madrazo is a legitimate businessman, who was wrongfully accused of running a firearms and narcotics ring. But the charges were dropped because the witnesses came up missing. "Franklin explained to Michael. "Smart kid." Martin replied.
He looked at Stephanie, he pulled out her license. "My boy tells me you can handle yourself, I'll be in touch with you but my problem is with your uncle." He told her. Martin took the baseball bat from his goon. "Now Michael." He said before swinging the bat. He hit Michael with the bat knocking him down, the breath was knocked out of Michael. "Why did you pull an architecturally significant wonder home off the hill in Vinewood Hills?" He asked Michael angrily. "I thought the owner was banging my wife." Michael gasped out. "That's a strange place for a tennis coach to live in." Martin replied. "I wasn't thinking." Michael told him. "Clearly, well Natalia will need a hotel while you finance the rebuild won't she?" Martin asked. "Of course." Michael replied. "And the rebuild will be somewhere in the 2.5 million range." Martin told him. "Sure." Michael replied. Martin and his men turned around, Natalia spit on Michael before walking back to the car. "That's nice." Michael said wiping the spit off his face. Franklin helped Michael up, "That's great, I'm already mortgaged up to my eyeballs. Look I only know one way to make money. I'm gonna have to give an old friend a call, Lester. You two just go on while I set something up." Michael told Franklin and Steph. "Ok." Steph replied. "Fo sho man, come on Let's go babe." Franklin told Steph. They walked off as Michael went in the house, they walked to Stephanie's car. "Damn where'd you get this motherfucker?" Franklin asked Stephanie. "Did a job, this was my payment. This and a pound of weed.." Stephanie replied. "Let's go back to my place and toke up." Franklin told Steph getting behind the wheel of her Comet. "Sounds like a plan." She replied excitedly. Franklin started the car and drove down the street.