Disclaimer: I am relying on online translators to have characters speak in their native languages but I do my best to make sure I am correct. Also, there will be violence, some gore with detail, and depictions of illegal activities
July 23, 2015: The Saints Row Church
In the Saints Row Church, the air was heavy. Lucius while usually serious as is, seemed to be in a more tense mood than the usual which for him was saying a lot, but, to survive as long as he did he had to be a professional even for his crew to notice his stressed demeanor. He grew up in Sunnyvale which wasn't an easy place to grow up in. When Los Carnales took over he fought against them to defend his home along with Julius Little and Benjamin King. His eyebrows were furrowed and his expression was pretty glum but he knew what he had to do, he wasn't thrilled about meeting with The leader of the Samedi was bad enough he wasn't just going to give away the location of their hideout too, he always kept his cards close to his chest. Alejandro Lopez the youngest Lopez brother who by that time was on the third cigarette in the last 20 minutes wasn't a fan of working with the Sons of Samedi after he worked with the Stilwater Police Department years ago before the city descended into chaos. The Sons of Samedi smuggled Loa Dust into Stilwater after the Cartel cut all dealings in Stilwater post the fall of Los Carnales fell. The things they did to anyone who got in their way were beyond gruesome. The only person who was calm was Maya Reyes she was sitting on a desk polishing her Tombstone shotgun. Maya was also ex-Los Carnales like Alejandro but she joined to avenge her father after he was killed in a drive-by alongside her twin sister so when she had the chance for revenge working with The Projects Militia she joined up during when The Projects Militia began their war on the Vice Kings Alejandro looked over and asked, "¿Cómo carajo estás tan tranquila?"
Maya shrugs slightly before replying "Dios mío you act like you didn't take on Hector and Victor at the same time in a gunfight. I'd be more scared of them than some leader of some ridiculous gang of witches, mages, or whatever else they are." in an indifferent tone while reloading her shotgun the click of it echoed throughout the church. Victor and Hector were ruthless and not some whacked-out Loa Dust addicts that believe they are invincible. If the Vice Kings could be killed off so could the Sons of Samedi. Bullets still kill people including the ones with a reputation for being killing machines it just takes more bullets worst-case. The lesson is always to have a full clip and more reserve ammo yet.
Tanisha Jackson who was the second in command of the Projects Militia facepalmed slightly while looking at her computer "They are a Vodou gang, not witches. Witches would be Wicca. And Mages? What the fuck are you smoking? Quit being a Philistine, Reyes." in a playful manner. As much as she hated to admit she found a family with The Projects Militia. After losing her brother along with The original Third Street Saints because of the Vice Kings she didn't have much but she has a new family here. Saints Row was home to both of them and Dex and herself both believed in Julius Little's ideas before joining The Projects Militia. The only reason she survived was she was away from the church along with Troy and Lin and a few others. When she got back it was a blood bath bodies everywhere but this place had symbolic meaning to her. More than any other place. If a meeting was going to determine the fate of Stilwater this was the place for it to happen. Most of the Third Street Saints died and their history as a gang may have been over but the ideals of Julius played a major role in the formation of The Projects Militia and even to this day inspire people to join up with them to fight against the other gangs.
Maya shrugs again and says" And? What are they gonna do? Curse us?" she didn't see what the big deal is about some zealots who named a drug after their gods. Anywhere else that'd be considered crazy. Only in Stilwater." with a slight smirk. She didn't see why people were so scared. Last she heard of them their leader and his number two got capped by Victor Rodriguez and some pissed-off Brotherhood. Not that she really cared too much about the death of two lunatics as is but The Brotherhood wasn't any better. Los Carnales pushed coke and sold weapons for The Orejuela Cartel but The Brotherhood filled that role but their methods are more brutal. Before the government abandoned Stilwater The Brotherhood found an undercover cop within their ranks they chained him to a truck and left him out front rumor had it they were scraping him off the roads for weeks.
Alejandro replies "If we are lucky. Reyes back when I was with the Stilwater Police department I heard about what these bastardos did. They worked with the Vice Kings and both are muerto para mí." before grabbing a glass and pouring himself a some aged Tequila one of the last things he had from his father beside his father's own personal custom golden GHDC .50 cal pistol. Alejandro, Angelo, Luz, and Angelo and Luz's daughter Lena hardly escaped once the Brotherhood claimed Cecil Park and Ezpata which was something they'd worried about once the Brotherhood started pushing their way out of the docks killing anyone who got in their way. The fighting between them and the Sons of Samedi had been bloodier yet. It seemed like a battle to one-up each other brutality one day a Samedi will be found with every single bone broken the day after some poor Brotherhood guy was found dismembered with every organ removed that wasn't vital with the guy hardly alive. Alejandro had a problem with the methods but he also knows it takes brutality to win against brutality sometimes his fight with Victor and Hector proved that sometimes you need to leave morals out of a fight but he still wasn't a fan of what Lucius planned but the truth is Alejandro thought the Sons of Samedi were the best bet they had to kick The Brotherhood out of Stilwater.
Maya sighs slightly before going back to watch out the front of the church. After a few minutes which felt like hours a green Churchill slowly rolled up to the hideout. Maya whistled to signal that the Samedi arrived. Alejandro put out his cigarette and turned off the safety on his GDHC .50 in case things went downhill. He wasn't taking chances one wrong move and he'd do what he needs to if it means weakening one of the most brutal gangs in Stilwater. Either way, this meeting goes good riddance to one of the most brutal gangs who killed endless people.
The front doors to the church swung open and three Samedi Lieutenants walked in alongside who is presumed to be the leader of the Sons of Samedi, A woman in her mid-thirties to early-forties with her hair in an afro wearing a suit that is white with a green button-up shirt. Her brown eyes seemed cold almost calculating with a glare that pierced through everyone there.
The woman looks around the main area before heading over to Lucius "I assume you are the lidè of the Projects Militia?" her tone indifferent towards him. She had dealt with other gang leaders before. For the Sons of Samedi she was the one who'd handle keeping other gangs in check including meetings along with her duties to maintain the exportation of Loa Dust. Having to have discussions with other gang leaders had been second nature to her.
Lucius stands up from his chair before replying " I am. And you must be the leader of the Samedi. I've heard a lot about your reputation Vera Cazi. I can say I do respect how you took to your seat as head of the Samedi." in a tone that had a slight edge. Perhaps it was distrust of someone who came to power so suddenly after the only two people ahead of her in leadership happened to be killed by one of the people in The Brotherhood who only is seen during hit jobs that no sane man would take or shaking down people who didn't pay their dues. Lucius found it odd how she was the one person who wasn't there. Even DJ Veteran Child was there and from what he had gathered from what everyone said Veteran Child was a joke among his peers if he was there Vera should have easily been there.
Vera replies" Epi ou Lucius Robinson are resorting to cheap scare tactics. I'm not here to play games. If I wanted that I'd have had your precious little police station in Sunnyvale taken over while you waited here. I'm here with an offer. We both know the brotherhood need to be wiped off the face of this earth. So unless this is a zozo measuring contest I'd prefer to just get to business." her tone with a bit of anger that slipt through. These accusations were nothing new but that didn't make them less obnoxious to her. To her Lucius seemed like he was the type to hold his cards close which in the business of leading a gang is the best way to live unless you want to either be found dead or be in prison than end up the former.
Lucius took off his glasses and wiped them back off before putting them back on looking over to Tanisha who wasn't too shocked she knew the Sons of Samedi had been snooping around before saying" You had a better hand than me, I admit. The least I can do is hear you out." before walking over to the room that was used for meetings when planning out defensive positions typically. Lucius sat at a desk chair at one end of the desk while Vera sat at the other, both not saying a word for a minute. Alejandro and one of the Lieutenants stood guard both keeping a close eye on each other while Tanisha and Maya sat across from the remaining two lieutenants at the same desk all unwavering.
Vera finally speaks up in a cool tone and began saying" The Brotherhood is getting more agresif towards everyone. It's not just my people being attacked they are hunting civilians down!" with her voice with a bit of a lower tone to her voice when mentioning the last part in a betrayed the lack of emotion she'd like to portray. Lucius took note of it in his head but kept his expression as as it was. Worst case it was another thing that he could use to their advantage if Vera decided to betray them in any way.
Lucius taps his index figure on the desk before replying "We'd be glad to help but in return, we require something too. In return, we get the rest of the Saints Row district plus the factories, so my crew can manufacture weapons, and we form a group to end these constant fights between each other. As a fair trade, you can sell Loa Dust, but you need to maintain the quality of your product. We don't need it killing the people. We can rebuild this city if we work together and end this constant fighting in this part of Stilwater. After that, we can figure out how to get a hold in the downtown area and the suburbs."
Vera looks Lucius in the eyes and waits a minute before saying " We can share the territory we get from The Brotherhood, men natirèlman we need to work together to run the import and export of this city in an efisyans manner. Your crew can handle the negotiations while my crew handles exporting. We divide up profits after taking out expenses of transportation and manufacturing the goods 20% goes to who didn't manufacture the goods and 40% goes to the one who manufactured the goods and the remaining 40% heads to helping the city rebuild." not having many cues to what she was thinking Lucius decided to make a bit of a push. From the read he could get on Vera she was more desperate than she'd had like to admit.
Lucius takes off his glasses before replying with" That sounds fair enough other than I expect a 10% cut of what you sell in my territory of course I'll do the same with what we make in profit in your territory." his tone neutral but his eyes said otherwise he slightly glanced towards the Lieutenants and Vera watching for any signs of a potential attack.
Vera walks over to Lucius and holds out her hand "So we have a deal I presume? Or do you not trust me enough?"Lucius gets up from his chair and looks Vera in the eyes. He watched for any sign of dishonesty. He'd heard enough rumors about her to make anyone ready for a betrayal. Some claimed she set the whole thing up by having The General and killed. She's the person who benefited most so to Lucius it made sense to keep his guard up. He knew if he let his guard down that's when people get the best chance to kill you. The only reason he'd survived is he was ready once before. Out of everyone who rose from Sunnyvale in the end he was the last one standing.
Lucius shakes her hand and says" We do. Gather some information on The Brotherhood, and I'll have my people do the same once we get something worthwhile we can plan from there. Maya and Alejandro you two see what you can find out. You both know more about how Los Carnales were ran than any of us here, and I suspect the brotherhood is run the same way. There are enough connections there to figure out it isn't just a few small coincidences. Tanisha, you rally the crew and make as many calls as you can we are going to need to set up our businesses, and we have people who owe us. Vera, we need access to the old weapons plant to start manufacturing weapons for this fight first. We can produce for profit once we have this part of the city locked down. The only issue we'll have after this is negotiations with The Ronin and if they don't want to play ball with us we can outnumber them. The other gangs will work with us if they don't then we wipe them off the map."
