Yet again, none of this is owned by me. Kane is owned by Alith Anar. Painted Face is mine.
Alith Anar and I will be playing a round of Saints Row 2, and will post a recording, showing Kane and Painted in action during the good ol' days. I will set a link in my profile of the videos if you guys are interested.
4. Screwing Around
By: DahkPanda
The beer burned lightly when going down the throat. Though for Painted Face, it always burned going down. Most believe that it's actually a mental issue that she needs to finally forget, though the more she forgets, the more it burns. It's like even after some medication to sooth the throat, it still burns. It wasn't a dry throat, just the fact that everything burns when going down.
But then again, it's been that way since Stilwater.
The Penthouse was very quick to clean up. The skylight was easily fixed and the many bodies were disposed. Painted Face never heard exactly where they put the bodies, though rumors about bodies floating in the bay area were clues enough.
It seemed like Shaundi hated the place, enough to where she left in a hurry. Meanwhile, her own little gang had taken the warehouse that she and Kane cleaned out while trying to hunt down how to stop the bombs.
This left her alone...sitting in the new crib of a gang that was no longer hers. Her enforcers nodded and respected the Saints Leader...but the same didn't come to the Saints respecting her. Granted, they thought she was a badass and didn't try to pick a fight with her, but she was still the original bad-news character. For all the shit she did back in Stillwater.
Still, most Saints were young and naïve, didn't realize that time can sometimes tend to old wounds...some, old wounds.
Granted, she's still pissed that Dex is alive somewhere, but fuck it...
Either way, it was no surprise when she sat down upon a chair, leaning sideways against the banister. Beyond the banister? Nothing. Just sky as she was resting next to the edge of the building. She sat ten feet from the hot-tub where two strippers are splashing each other, and away far enough to be ignoring the music in the background.
The Saints were dancing and making asses of themselves. There were also cameras but hell if she will go in there when there's fucking cameras.
As she finished her beer, she threw it off the edge, wondering if it was going to hit someone...or crack on the glass and some dumb ho would step on it. The thought amused her for a moment, but she continued to lay back and sigh.
A beer suddenly appeared in her vision, and she looked up to see a masculine hand. She turned to look over to see Kane on the other end. "Truce?"
Painted Face smirked. "I waved my flag yesterday, boyo..." She grabbed the beer and opened it. "So killing Loren is gonna take some money...no doubt with the camera crew here, you'll be getting some cash flow."
Kane shook his head. "Nope, actually the cameramen are here for a charity or something...Pierce's idea." He stated and found the chair that was across the table from hers. He twirled the chair and sat down on it backwards. Pierce has some ideas, but I want to make sure that the party dies some before we go out and do it..."
Painted nodded lightly, "Good, might be able to clear my head some before our next adventure. My boys are setting up in that warehouse and we'll make sure nobody sees us too often. We'll probably capture some vans and have them drive around to the basement of your building. Probably pay off a catering shop so any Syndicate tries to watch us, they'll think it's a constant party up here..."
Kane nodded. "...Thanks for the weapons, Painted..."
The woman nodded softly.
The man leaned lightly to get a better look at her. "...You going to be okay with this, are you able to fight without fucking things up?"
If they were having a calm moment, that killed it. Painted soon gave him a rather vicious glare. "Fuck off, Kane. You and I both know I'm capable..."
"Yeah, I know that...I know you before you became..." He moved a hand and nearly rubbed the side of her face with the back of his palm. "...and you were never a screw up...But after...that, you were never the same...you're more fucking violent, bloody. Fuck man...I understood some of things you did, but that fell on Carlos..."
Painted pushed his hand away and downed her beer, then tossed it to the ground, letting the bottle shatter on the new penthouse floor. "I can handle this, Kane. Let's just get back to work..."
"So..."
"Oh my god...it speaks!" Jackie cried out, looking over Johnny to Kane, who just made a face to her.
Johnny laughed lightly. They stole a decent Hammerhead convertible and now were resting on the hood of it, at Freckle Bitches of all places. "Go ahead Kane, she don't bite too hard..."
Kane let out a sigh and finally looked over. "So...what are you...?"
Jackie looked to Johnny for a moment before looking back, her long, black hair tied back into a ponytail. She gave him a strange look before responding. "What am I? Human bitch who likes to hit things..."
Kane blinked and rubbed his head lightly. "No...you're like...another lieutenant for the Saints?"
Jackie laughed a bit. "Oh...nah. To be honest I guess I just wasn't leadership material in Julius' eyes. That and I hang around Johnny so much that I might as well just be one of his underlings.
Johnny smirked. "Last time she said that I asked her to lick my boot, then she punched me..."
The girl laid back. "Yeah well...you like the kill, I like the violence. Only major difference between you and me…." Johnny shrugged and fist-bumps her.
Jackie sighed lightly. "...let's face it though...Kane, that's what Johnny called you?" Kane nodded softly, and Jackie soon continued. "Welcome to the Saints...chances are if Troy continues to step down, you might get his job..."
Johnny looks to Kane, then back to Jackie. "True, he does have the most level head amongst the Saints...though Dex may not like that..."
Jackie rolled his eyes. "Eh, let his ass stick to the hos. Julius wouldn't rank him up because he doesn't like the kid..."
Johnny shrugs. "True..." He states and rests back. "...man, can you see it? Use running this entire fucking city?"
The girl shrugged a bit. "...Won't be any more violence in the streets, just a battle in the ring. Granted, it would suck for you, Johnny...no more gangs to kill..."
"Fuck you say…?" Johnny stated and smirked. "Always gangs to fucking kill...hell, and police too...let the Saints build peace in the city, I'll just keep fucking kill anything they point me to...in my way, of course..."
The girl turned to Kane. "What do you think, Kane? You want the peace that the Saints will provide?"
Kane smirked a bit. "Hell, just give me the power to walk the streets with respect, and I don't care if its peace or war...just give me the respect..."
Johnny laughed softly. "Cool, bro..." He states, fist bumping Kane. "Let's stop the other gangs, and I'm sure as hell know you'll get the respect...get some rest man, because tomorrow I got an idea that will get the fucking Kings' blood to boil..."
"Yeah, this is a great idea..." Painted Face muttered over the com. She sat on the passenger side of an Infuego, with Pierce at the wheel. She slipped from the seat to sit on the door of the car, firing away with any weapon that she had. At this time it was a K-6 Krukov, though damn her own men for not getting her the Krukov with the grenade Launcher.
That really would have helped when you had two-to-three black and red cars chasing you. Painted sighed lightly, also wishing she had brought in the M2 Grenade Launcher, but really Pierce stupidly dragged them along without her getting her good weapons. So really, she just had a decent shotgun, the Krukov, a few pistols and a pair of SMGs.
Seriously, fuck Pierce.
Though to be honest, her job was to just protect Pierce and his car...
The giant explosion behind the car, that took out all three Syndicate cars revealed Kane's job, which was using the Annihilator while sitting on a helicopter above. Seriously, Kane was up there, laughing like a maniac while firing away and hitting just about anything, except for Pierce's car thankfully.
"You suck at shooting with that thing, you asshole!" Painted Face screamed through the calm. As another Syndicate car pulled out, Painted Face fired with her Krukov, taking the driver out.
Another Syndicate car pulled out, then exploded. "Yeah, well, haven't hit ya, did I?"
Painted let out a very long sigh in response, her body shifting on the door before firing at another car. "Not yet, but you mi..." The car she was firing at exploded. "Hey! Fucker! That was my kill!"
"You keeping points there?"
"Fuck off..." Painted managed, and slapped the top of the car. "Pierce, we there yet?"
She soon heard Pierce a few seconds later. "Almost there, another roadblock!"
She looked ahead to see the pair of giant APCs standing in front of them. She soon heard the helicopter stop above them and sighed, she knew what was coming next.
"...you want these or want me to take them?"
Painted glared up at the helicopter, "Fucking take them, you ass..."
The response was two rockets flying into the APCs, destroying them both. Pierce sighed and waved his hand out to the window, thanking the helicopter before driving off.
"You're shit with a Sniper rifle, you know that?" Painted Face stated as she ran from behind one car to another...the car she was behind suddenly exploded, due to the three bullets from Kane's McManus that lit it on fire.
"Hey, I'm good when I want to be..."
"So you're saying you need cigs to calm yourself down?" Painted Face retorted, leaning up and firing twice. That man died and rolled around with an SMG still firing, killing the guy that was running up next to him.
"What?"
The girl grinned as Pierce made a run around the corner, she soon fell after him. "Y'know, cigs calm down the nerves, gets the aim better..." A dead silence responded back as Painted rolled around the corner, pressing herself against the wall and looking back to make sure that another Morning Star Car didn't appear out of thin air. "...Seriously? You've never played the original Metal Gear Solid?"
Static responded for a sec, before Kane finally retorted. "Yeah, no. Too busy killing random idiots on the streets than to play a fucking game..."
Painted Face smirked, looking towards the roof where the Helicopter rested. "You're missing out! Lot's of fun, man, especially when you get to outsmart morons when dressed as a box."
"Oh, yeah, like that's enough to make me want to play now..."
Painted Face shrugged. Upon hearing something behind her, she tossed a grenade and booked it, following after Pierce, who was now dead set on making it to his destination.
-Wesley Cutter International Airport-
Kiki sighed lightly as she sat in the back of the Status Quo Limousine. This was a rare moment when she and Viola were apart, though in truth with the Saints running wild in the streets of Steelport, Phillipe needed one of them around at HQ while the other had to pick up Loren's son...
Kiki had to let a smirk finally show. Saying that Marko was Loren's son sounded more like Marko was only eight years old. Laughing at fart jokes and playing video games with his friends.
But that would be a lie. The Syndicate was, as Loren said once to the Saints, a multinational organization. There was a board under Phillipe, and Kiki and Viola were just blow the board. If Phillipe were to pass, Kiki and Viola would run Steelport, but not the entire Syndicate.
No, that would be Marko that would take the mantle. Still, people worried when the day would come when he would replace his father. Wild, flashy, he was everything that his father wasn't. Due to his erratic behavior, Phillipe sent Marko into a number of boarding schools, and afterwards to work under several of the other board members. Marko was given control of the Syndicate in Liberty City for years, and has been rather successful there.
Hell, the young man was smart, able to handle himself against several mafia families, and even taking control of much of the city's underground. Rumors said Marko used several knowledgeable guys there, including an Irish/American family, and a very famous thug named...berrick? Bellic? She couldn't remember, but the Syndicate in Liberty City was run lightly by this Irish clan, which was unorthodox and frowned upon by the board.
Still, profit was booming in Liberty City, so the board says nothing.
Marko was proving to be the Syndicate's wildcard, and if the Saints were becoming a nuisance and getting away with it, it's about time the Syndicate brought in somebody that could think like them.
The door to the jet opened, and Kiki herself stepped out of the Limo. Several Syndicate members were already lined up around the limo, protecting her most of all. Still, they awaited for the lone figure that was upon that plane.
The figure soon stepped down the stairs off the jet, and Kiki could just see the personality waver from the form.
If Phillipe looked thirty years younger right now, he would look like this. Marko's hair was slicked back, a dark shade of brown that were a few shades darker than his eyes. He wore the same outfit as Phillipe too, with the suit and the red scarf that hung loosely over his frame.
Still, there were just a few differences. Marko didn't have the air of superiority that Phillipe had, looking more like the type of boss that would get his hands dirty if his men couldn't do it. When walking slow, Marko often stepped with one foot nearly slipping in front of the other, giving him an unusual swagger in his steps.
Kiki also knew what was resting under the jacket of the man's suit. Especially when it came to Liberty City, he needed to be always equipped. This was one of the most dangerous men outside of Killbane within the Syndicate.
About a few feet from Kiki, Marko smiled softly towards her, looking at her for a quiet moment before pointing to her. "...DeWynter...Kiki, yes?"
Kiki smirked and simply nodded. Unlike Phillipe, Marko was born an American and raised in America. This meant his voice didn't carry the heavy accent that his father had.
Marko smirked a bit and moved in close, taking her hand and leaning down to kiss it. "It has been ages, my dear. I did hope that one day you could at least step away from my father's shadow and join me in my city..."
Kiki shook her head. "Too much work to do..." She stated simply, and opened the door. She was surprised when he waved her to slip in first. She slid all the way to the other side before he slid in after her. "...But you knew that. That and we need to keep the Deckers and the Luchadores in line..."
Marko chuckled. "Well, you needed to get the two main gangs in Steelport under control, why not have them join the Syndicate. Hell, bring some of them to the LC, and I could help unleash them against those who stand in my way..." Marko smirked softly.
The two went quiet for a few moments, until Marko continued on. "So, the Saints? Thought they were just selling some disgusting energy drink?"
"...We tried to set settle a deal with them as Phillipe is starting his invasion into Stilwater. We hoped we could get them and Ultor under control, though it seems that they are a bit harder to handle..."
Marko nodded a bit. "Yeah, Ultor is a legitimate business though, so it would be difficult for the invasion...but...somehow the Saints found themselves here? And creating chaos? From the boards info, Steelport was taken over two years ago, often the old man should have already moved on to the next city..."
"Ultor was his goal for the expansion, as for why he stuck here...new technology..."
"New technology?" Marko repeated...then made a rather amused look. "I'll have to look at what you guys are up to here...chances are I'm here to take on the Saints, right?"
Kiki nodded softly. "The Deckers aren't really fighting savy, and Killbane has that detested Murderbowl...thing..."
"Eh, fuck Killbane and Murderbowl." Marko stated, but nodded. "Still, what with CEO now having an attack dog busy, and his hacker, I guess I'll handle a few things here and there...So where's our first stop...?"
"The Tower. Phillipe wanted to talk to you..."
"You think that's going to stop me, little man?" Killbane stated, flexing his muscles through his suit.
Marko smirked softly, still holding his gold-plated 45 Shepard at the guy who was standing a good head over him. "No, just get your attention, dog..." He states, then aimed his gun towards Killbane's kneecap. "Just showing you that you're not all that scary...especially if you hit a man's soft spot...You can't crush human skulls if your wrist has a giant hole in it..."
Killbane arched a brow and frowned, but never got the chance to open his mouth.
"Enough, Marko..." Marko already knew that was Phillipe, and for a moment he kept his gaze to Killbane before grinning, and placing his gun in the holster under his jacket.
He twisted with his feet, swiveling over to face Phillipe. "Hey old man. I hear you have a bit of a problem wearing purple..." He grinned. "Any plans you want to tell me or am I just here to flirt with your 'visions'?" He states, holding his hands out, waving towards Kiki, who was next to him, and Viola, who was behind the old Man.
Phillipe let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette before looking to his son. "Marko, I hope that in the end, you are not needed. I am going to try and deal with some smalltime troublemakers."
As Loren got close to the table, Marko noticed that the old man hand a folder under his free arm. Soon, Loren placed the folder on the table and opened it. As Marko came in closer, he could see mostly small rap sheets, with pictures resting on the side.
"As a precaution, I had Matt Miller hack into the Stilwater Police Department to get personal rap sheets of all the Saints, as well as personal information..." Loren started setting each rap sheet on the table, spread out so one could see each sheet without moving them. "...They were merely young juveniles when they joined the Saints, and each one has a part in destroying Stillwater. Kane above all else, as he was noted for killing at least eight to ten different gang leaders. I made the mistake in believing they were prey that could be killed so quickly...I was wrong in that judgment..."
Marko looked down at one sheet, and tilted his head lightly as he picked it up. "...Who the hell is this?" He stated, eyeing a woman with face-paint over her face.
Matt was the first guy to respond. "Painted Face, it seems the chief of Police doesn't have any information of her real name or background, but it is suggested that she was the one that killed a very powerful soldier by the name of Mr Sunshine. Voodoo I hear..."
Marko looked for a quiet moment then blinked. "Wait, I remember her. She was in Liberty City four months ago, hunting down a 'Dex Jackson'. Some of my guys worked alongside her to hunt him down, but lost track of him at the airport..."
Matt nodded soon after. "The information provided made me believe that she left the Saints when the Saints joined Ultor. She's been freelancing until recently, when she was spotted working alongside the Saints..."
Marko looked about on the table. "...Johnny Gat isn't here..." He stated and looked up at the others. The look on Loren and the twin's faces...that gave him the information he needed. "...You guys took out Johnny Gat? No wonder they're pissed..." He states, placing the rap sheet down. "Still, I know a few people that hate the girl's guts, I'll give them a call, see if I can get them here in a few days..."
Phillipe nodded. "Do it...meanwhile, Ladies...let us continue business as usual..."
"Yeah, this is business as usual..." Painted Face muttered as she pulled her head out the window, firing once. The hit on the tire flipped the Justice over and into another Justice, taking out the occupants of the second car. The second car suddenly swerved, hitting a third car, which slammed it into a wall.
Kane was in the passenger's seat, while Painted sat behind the driver's seat. Painted huffed lightly and looked to the two. "Seriously? We used to do this with drugs and shit, now merchandise?"
Pierce looked back. "Hey, people love us. They'd love our shit here too..." He stated with a grin. "We get fans out here, Steelport will be ours all that much faster..."
Painted Face shrugged a bit. "Eh, guess I can live with that..." She eyed out the window as another Morning Star car rolled into view. "Still, to be chasing after us this much for fucking merchandise..."
Pierce shrugged. "They be hatin'"
Painted smirked. "Of course."
Pierce smirked and turned to Kane. "Hey! Watch the corners, that loses their value..."
Kane made a face. "…What?"
"It loses its value if it's damaged, their worth a lot as collectables..."
Kane looked to Painted, who merely shrugged in response. He turned to Pierce. "Seriously, who would collect this shit...?"
"His...Shades..." Jimmy muttered, finding a pair of sunglasses from the wreckage of the Morning Star Plane...