Kenzie was good at her and was well-known in the hacking community but today that seems to be more of a burden than anything ever since she had been rescued by the saints and set up shop she has had to fend off many cyber attacks from matt Miller and his deckers. She was holding her own for now but it was hard to defend against attacks and find information and people to help the saints at the same time she would need to get better gear soon and even more help. Continuing her work she was alerted to the monitor that watched over the front gate to her building. There stood the boss, Shaundi and Pierce all seemed to be talking with each other while they waited to be let in.

"Look I get that Loren is an asshole and should die but why can't we have a good time while we do it." Pierce had explained to the other two saints that they needed to throw a wild party to show the saints fans and enemies in Steelport that they were here to stay.

Marcus was unsure about the idea while Shaundi thought it would be insulting to Johnny's memory, that it would show they would rather party the night away then find Johnny's killer. But Marcus knew she was just having a hard time adjusting to not having Johnny around anymore. The conversation came to an end when the gate unlocked and they proceeded inside.

Marcus was surprised to see that the old run down warehouse Kenzie had claimed had undergone a lot of tidying up and general renovation. No doubt she had some of the crew help her organise.

A lot of the old machinery had been removed and in the main floor area past the doors they had just came in was a large sitting area with various couches and chairs the stairs near by lead up into another area where Kenzie was hold up. Here she had many stacks of computers piled up along the walls and many monitors that showed many different things everything from camera feeds to information databases and even a few government feeds that she probably hacked in order to help her find Loren and the others. But he was the last person to know as he understood very little when it came to tech.

Shaundi who was standing next to him had a surprised if not impressed look on her face as she looked around, Marcus knew Shaundi was good at hacking but something told him Kenzie was leagues ahead.

Pierce was busy nosing through boxes of stuff and playing with god knows what. To occupied to look around. Marcus wondered how he ever lasted this long. Shaundi just rolled her eyes at his childish antics and focused on what they had come for.

"So, Kenzie you got something for us." Shaundi asked the red-head hacker who was currently typing away on her laptop. She stopped suddenly and just looked at Shaundi.

"I like your hair its nice" She said before she continued to type. Shaundi was a bit surprised by the odd answer and looked to Marcus with a raised eyebrow seeing if he understood what she was doing. Marcus who had just finished silently chastising Peirce for playing around in Kenzie's stuff Came to join the conversation.

"Look Kenzie we don't have all day so just tell us whats so urgent that we had to come down here, the traffic is a real bitch today and I need a cold one so lets hurry it up eh." Kenzie just sighed and set aside her computer. "Fine, okay so i might have a good lead one someone who can help us with the syndicate his name is angel and he was Killbane's tag team partner until killbane betrayed him in a fight and took his mask during the fight not long after Killbane was taken in by the syndicate as Loren's enforcer. Angel has hunted him ever since and has sworn revenge." Kenzie finished as she pulled up a few pictures on the monitors.

Marcus studied the photos and turned to Shaundi "What do you think" Shaundi just shrugged. " If it helps us get closer to Loren then he's good in my books.

Marcus turned back to Kenzie "Alright, where can we find him"

Killbane had gotten word from some of his boys that the disgraced angel killbane's old friend now enemy had been found and cornered in his hideout. He was hiding out in an old abandoned casino right in the middle of luchadroa territory right under his nose this whole time. He found it amusing that Angel was still hunting him after all these years. Even though everyone saw first hand that it was him not Angel that won that last fight and rather than walk away he tried to fight so he took his honor by taking his mask with out it he was nothing, a nobody. And angel knew that.

"Tell the boys to gear up we got an old friend to see." Killbane said as one of his men went to tell the others.

Few hours later the men had assembled in an underground lot that the one count casino which served as killbanes base of operations. While talk with a few of his men three black suv's pulled up and unloaded a good dozen men in black tactical gear most hand on civilian clothing underneath the gear. They looked like mercenaries well-trained mercenaries. Most stood of to the side calmly waiting for the man in charge who was none other than Leon Fritz he had on a lighter kit only a bulletproof vest and holster approached Killbane with an emotionless calm barring. It seemed Killbane's intimidating statue had no effect on Fritz or his men.

"You Killbane, sent us to aid you as part of the agreement that now exists with the Syndicate." Fritz said calmly with a slight accent. Killbane looked the man over and then looked to his men taking a moment to try to get a read on just what their angle was.

"Well will see if you're any good then. We're after a ghost that doesn't know when he's beaten my former partner has caused problems for me so we're gonna deal with him once and for all. You can follow us." Killbane said as fritz nodded and returned to his men to load up and follow Killbane and his men. After everyone was loaded up six vehicles pulled out and headed for the site that Angel was seen hiding out.

Marcus and the others had gotten the details from Kenzie on where angel was and how best to get him out in one piece they headed back to their vehicle to go and gather the personnel and weapons to rescue angel. unknown to any of them across the docks on the opposite pier sat a grey colored car that looked older in side sat devon with a pair of binoculars he took note of the time and place as he has followed Marcus in his off time so as not to attract anymore suspicion from Decklan who already had doubts about his loyalty for not reporting on the saints immediately the last thing he needed was Fritz and his men busting down his door.

He looked a bit ragged as he had little sleep but was able to keep up appearances while doing work for Stroud and the others. He had grown a decent amount of stubble on his face but still looked healthy enough.

For a long time after his talk and subsequent second chance given to him by Stroud, he had thought of confronting Marcus and get him to leave town or warn him of the danger he was now in. Although he was still wasn't sure just how much of the stories about what caused Stroud to order the hit on Marcus true or not.

Only one way to know he would have to follow and find the right time to confront Marcus about it and then make his decision. Devon put his notes away and started the car and pulled out of his spot to head back to his apartment and get some sleep before he got a call for another job.

Back at the Penthouse Marcus and Pierce were picking which weapons they were gonna use and gearing up for the fight they had coming. Marcus settled for a assault rifle and his handgun also grabbed a few grenades just incase. Pierce took a shotgun for the close encounters they were bound to run into. Both men had found there desired loadouts and were heading to exit when Shaundi appeared with a bag of extra ammunition and looked to be carrying a smg and handgun tucked behind her back.

Peirce looked at Shaundi who just gave a serious stern look which caused Peirce not to crack the joke he had ready and instead just grabbed the bag and said he would meet them down in the garage.

Once the couple was alone Marcus looked to Shaundi who now crossed her arms daring him to say it was too dangerous. Marcus knew better than to fight her on this one.

"Alright, look just.. be careful alright the last thing I need is you getting hurt cause then a lot more people would have to die because of it." Marcus smirked as he squeezed her shoulder as he passed by.

Shaundi just smiled "Well I think you'll be the one that gets hurt, you always seem to dive into trouble" She followed him to the elevator and both entered Shaundi pressed the button to descend to the garage level where the others were waiting.

Marcus glanced at her briefly and then turned and spoke seriously for a moment before they arrived.

"Seriously, though be careful" they shared a quick lustful kiss breaking away just before the doors opened to reveal Pierce telling the other saints what they would be doing. Once Marcus and Shaundi arrived they all loaded up and headed to the casino where Angel was hold up.

Angel had spent the last hour and a half fighting off Killbanes thugs and it was starting to look grim. He had slipped up and got careless when he was walking back to his gym. He ended up going to far into Luchadora territory and a few of Killbanes men recognised him and followed him back to his hideout, Months of carefulness ruined just like that. Now he was preparing to make his last stand. Once Killbanes men had found the building they called in others near by to help. But after the first few attempts to breach the building failed they made a call to Killbane himself. Angel overheard the rather loud conversation outside telling the other Luchadores to hold tight and that Killbane was bring more men.

Angel knew this was it he was running low on ammo and had little left in the way of booby traps as the first few waves used them all. Time was running out it seemed but he had no fear of death he was ready for what may come.

XXX

According to Kenzie the front entrance of the casino Angel is hiding in is covered by Luchadora's. But she had found and old service entrance that has a security lock on it with some searching she managed to find the code required to open it. Marcus just hoped it still worked or else things would get a lot harder.

Pulling up out back behind the casino their was no sign of anyone. So the saints set out to quickly grab there gear and head for the service entrance Marcus gave a small prayer and punched in the code a few seconds later the door unlocked and all the saints quickly entered the building.

Inside the saints began to search for angel they all heard a few shots echo out from the main casino floor and went to investigate. They found many dead Luchadores and a few charred bodies clear by the sign of booby-trapped propane tanks that had been set off. The Carnage before them impressed Marcus.

"Oh, I like this guy already" Marcus said as they pushed on deeper into the building in the next room was what looked like what use to be an old wrestling ring probably used to host fighting events. Now it hosted a new kind of fight in the ring was a Luchadore fighting with a man wearing wrestling tights and a purple hoodie, quickly ending his opponent with a sickening crunch to neck as he dropped his elbow down on the mans neck killing him instantly.

Angel stood taking a moment to catch his breath before speaking already aware of the saints presence.

"Your not With the Syndicate. Who are you?" Angel grabbed the dead mans weapon and what little ammo he had and made ready incase this turned into another fight.

Marcus and the other saints were a bit taken off guard as the man before them was not what any of them had expected. He seemed very calm almost at ease with the situation.

"We're here to help mate. I could use someone like you to help us take down Loren and incase it's not clear we're no fans of the Syndicate either" Marcus said as he shot a surviving Luchadore as he walked towards Angel.

Angel who just studied The saints before replying "No, I have my path and I need to see it finished" Marcus was a little annoyed this guy was not gonna make it easy and time was running out. The Syndicate was sure to be sending back up.

"Alright how about we get out of here and then we can discuss your problem, maybe we can help each other." Marcus said he turned to the few crew members he had brought along

"You go check and see if the back way is still clear and hurry up huh we ain't got a lot of time." the two saints rushed off to check the back while Shaundi and Pierce went to check the front.

"Why are you helping me." Angel asked still unsure about the saints motives.

"That's a long story mate, tell you what we make it out of here and I'll tell you" Marcus said as he loaded a smg and handed it to Angel who took the offered weapon.

"Yo boss the back way is no good they got guy's outside." the two men sent came back to report.

"Hey, boss you might want to come take a look at this" Pierce said with slight panic in his voice.

"What is it pierce I'm...Oh" Marcus looked out the front to see six black suv's pull up and unload over a dozen and a half men. Some of the men looked better equipped than the Luchadores and none of them looked to be with killbane which made Marcus assume they were with someone else the way they carried themselves said mercenaries.

"what do we do now" Shaundi asked.

Marcus was running possible plans through his mind as he watched the men outside spread out and cover the building. When an idea came to him.

"Alright, there gonna be coming in but they don't know we're here there expecting just angel. So we spread out and set up traps and ambushes and try to thin out their numbers some. With luck they will pull back and regroup then we get the hell out of here." everyone nodded in agreement to the plan.

Angel approached the group "I have a few traps left that we can set up and prepare an ambush."

Marcus nodded and angel went to set up the traps. Shaundi came up next to Marcus to talk while the others set up positions and traps.

"So you think this is really gonna work" Shaundi asked as she looked to Marcus

"I hope so" he said as he gave a cocky smile

Shaundi looked to Marcus with unease in her voice "Is that suppose to make me feel better. Because it doesn't" Marcus laughed and reassured her "cheer up luv, have faith in the method" giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and running off to help the others.

Angel had finished setting up the last of his traps which consisted of carefully disguised explosives which were connected to trip wires. They covered the main routes which would hopefully force their attackers in to the open so the saints could drop them quickly if too many got to cover they would get pinned down and then they would be in trouble. Marcus approached Angel. "so you seem good with explosives" Angel took a moment to respond. "It's come in handy, and once we get out of the building I got a little surprise rigged up. I've got this entire building wired with c4 and can blow it to cover are tracks." Marcus was surprised he hadn't expected Angel to be this ready.

"That's good we can use that" Marcus was liking angel more and more

Pierce had set up good fighting positions on the upper and lower floors they had to hold the upper floors while those on the lower main floor pulled back to the door other wise the group on the lower floor could become trapped.

"All set Pierce" Marcus said as he approached from behind.

"ya we're all good here." Pierce said as he slung his shotgun over his shoulder.

"Alright let's get into place" Marcus said the saint's including Angel took positions behind the various cover they had created and waited.

Fritz and Killbane had arrived and began ordering their men to surround the building and find angel.

"Marks you and Jones head around back make sure it's clear." fritz ordered his men and both moved quickly around back the rest of his men formed up on the front to flush out there target. He wanted this job done quick .

Fritz Didn't like working with these juice junkies he watched a few of killbanes men as they stood around flaunting their strength and large weaponry trying to intimidate fritz's men but they just shook their heads and gave blank stare's as they took positions to get the job done.

His men were professionals most had military training and kept cool under pressure even when dealing with armatures like Killbanes men who thought loading themselves down with massive amounts of gear and using brute force made them good fighters.

It made him mentally laugh. Fritz was approached by killbane and he sighed at having to deal with him again.

"My boys tell me that Angel is hold up inside, we should go in now and end this." Fritz sighed

"Look, Mr...Killbane we here to help you but since I brought more men why don't you let us handle this that way your men can take the credit." Fritz said forcing a smile.

"If you want to deal with him fine, but I want him alive. But don't think i needed your help my boys are unstoppable." Killbane said proudly and with a slight edge that Fritz assumed was supposed to scare him.

"Right, if you'll excuse me I have an assault to oversee" Fritz said as he got on the radio as he walked away.

"Alright guys lets bag this asshole meet up at the Suv's to go over the plan.

Fritz arrived at the suv's and gave a quick run down to his men before they went in.

"Alright, here's the plan two teams go in the front watch yourselves this Angel guy is crafty and has held off Killbanes men the last while." Some of Fritz's men scoffed at that.

"Hell, a group of girl scouts could hold these guys off can't belive the old man-made a deal with these syndicate ass clowns" Fritz's and the others gave a small laugh

"Well, be that as it may we have to follow orders. So let's get this over with. I sent Jones and Marks around back to cover the exits two teams enter and flush him out the back and we grab him and then we can all call it a night."

Once everyone knew the plan the two teams formed up and made for the entrance. Fritz stayed with near the Suv's with Killbane and his men and listened to the assault unfold over the radio.

"Team one entering now"

"Team two hear nothing so far"

"This is team one, we may have found him moving to investigate.

The seconds passed by before there was an explosion and an eruption of gunfire over the comm.

"Contact, Stavro and Tupper are down. Shit, on the left"

Fritz put his hand to his earpiece trying to make sure what he heard.

"Say again, what the fuck is going on in there Miller"

"Miller here unsure we're pinned down multiple shooters, we need..agghh"

There was another explosion and more gunfire as the line went dead.

"Jesus, this is team two Miller and his team are down they have the place rigged with fucking IED's. Shit, sir not sure we can hold their dug in and have the high ground."

Fritz cursed before responding "Hold your positions do not advance keep them busy"

Fritz turned to Killbane "Just what the fuck is this shit, you said one guy !" Fritz yelled now very pissed.

"It was supposed to be just...The Saints" Killbane said in a cold voice as he clenched his fists.

"How the fuck did they find out about this" Fritz said as he tried to get a handle on the situation that was now spiraling out of control.

Fritz looked to killbanes men that were watching the conversation Fritz pointed to them

"you what are you waiting for get the fuck in there" the Luchadores looked at Fritz then turned to killbane

"Don't fucking look at him, move your asses and get in there now" Killbane gave a nod and the remaining Luchadora's went to assist Fritz's men.

"Team two Killbanes men are coming to help standby"

"Oh, great I feel much better already" came the reply from team two.

Fritz turned back to Killbane "You better get on the phone and get more of your men down here now we need more men."

"are you giving me orders" Killbane said harshly the two men stared each other down.

"look, we need more men to deal with this if you want this guy alive now make the CALL !" Fritz was itching to put a bullet in this asshole.

"Fine, I have just the thing to deal with this problem." Killbane said as he pulled out his phone and made the call.

The Saints waited for the eventual assault Marcus was positioned on the main floor while across from him on the other side of the room was Shaundi and one of the crew.

Marcus knew that Killbane and his men would out number them but the saints had surprise on their side. They only numbered about nine, ten if they included Angel.

But Marcus was confident they could pull this off.. he hoped.

On the upper levels was Pierce and Angel with the remaining crew members spread amongst the different positions to give greatest coverage of the killzone. All that was needed now was to draw them in and spring the trap.

A few minutes later they heard foot steps and soon two teams of men appeared from both sides of the entrance. They didn't look like syndicate they moved carefully and with experience. Marcus had seen there kind before they screamed mercenaries.

He did a quick calculation of the plan in his head and figured it could still work provided they could pin them down and get out before they re organised or called for back up.

There was silence in the building as all could be heard was the sound of cautious footsteps. Marcus overheard one of the men talk into a radio.

"This is team two nothing so far"

Marcus needed to get them come a bit closer he grabbed a bottle from the floor and threw it towards the back. All the gunmen snapped towards the sound and scanned the area for movement.

"This is team one we may have found him moving in to investigate"

Angel who had watched from above got ready to trigger the trap, as the men walked right passed carefully placed explosives he gave it a two second count and then hit the detonator.

The saints felt the rock of the explosion as two of the gunmen were hit by the blast and thrown back hard to the ground in shredded ruins.

In that moment the entire building erupted into gunfire one more of the gunmen were cut down by gunfire before the remaining attackers took cover and returned fire.

Marcus gave them credit they were good, instead of panicking they seeked out cover quickly and covered each other trying to keep the saints pinned down but had a hard time as the majority of the fire was coming from the second level.

So far the plan was going good now all they needed to do was get out while the attackers heads were down. But the flow of the fight began to turn against the Saints as two of the crew members had been hit including the saint watching Shaundi's back Marcus wanted to help her but supressed the urge he knew she could handle her self. Marcus primed a couple grenades and tossed them. Two loud thud rang out along with the scream of those caught in the blast. Some of the saints began to run low on ammo.

"Yo, boss we need to get outta here i'm running low on ammo" Peirce called out. The saint next to Marcus tossed his gun and pulled his back up gun. They needed to act quickly. Peaking over his cover he could only see a few men left but before he could tell the others about eight Luchadroes came charging in most likely sent in to assist what remained of the battered mercenaries.

"Shit, we can't keep this up" Marcus looked across to Shaundi who was on her last clip for her smg before she pulled her own secondary and began to fire back at the advancing Luchadroes.

A few of the attackers had broken off and took the stairs to the upper levels to try to gain some high ground but the others up top kept them at bay. The fight was at a stand still with both sides bogged down.

It was looking like they would be out of ammo before they could make a break for the rear. But just as quickly as it had turned down hill the attackers began to pull back there was hope yet Marcus thought.

The attackers pulled back to the main entrance but they would be back. The Saints had only moments to act.

"Alright, let's get out of here" Marcus said as he signaled to Pierce and Angel to join them on the main floor they retreated to the rear stairwells, they regrouped at the rear of the casino ready to make a break for it before they could there was a huge crash at the front of the building.

There was smoke building at the entrance the remaining crew members and saints made ready for what ever was coming. But what emerged from the the smoke was two hulking figures easy towering over the all of them. The saints were a bit shocked at what they were seeing.

"The Fuck..." Pierce said in shock

"uh.. I think we need bigger guns" Shaundi said as she took a step back

"Impressive" Angel said as the other three saints just looked at him.

The two Giants stood at either entrance to the casino one carried what looked like a mini-gun and the other looked to be carrying a flame thrower.

"Okay, time to leave" Marcus said as the two lumbering giants began to move twoards them All the saints took cover just before a hail of bullets from the mini-gun wielding behemoth flew over there heads the two of the crew member weren't fast enough and got shredded buy the incoming fire. Everyone began pouring all everything they had left at the beasts, but nothing seemed to stop them.

"Fuck me !... how do stop these things" one of the crew members yelled out but he was quickly engulfed in flame from the flamethrower Marcus and the others ducked as the flame licked at their cover and roared just above their heads Marcus and Shaundi huddled together while Peirce lay prone on the floor Angel was further away near the rear door. Once the fire had stopped and another sweeping barrage of bullets came their way Marcus called out to Angel.

"Angel got any C4 left" angel who had just emptied the last of his rounds into the quickly approaching death machines called back " yes, why"

Marcus pointed to the door " make a fucking exit now, we need to leave"

Angel primed the charge and threw it at the door. The two men guarding the rear exit were hit by the exploding door killing the instantly. Once an exit was made Marcus yelled for everyone to make a break for it. The remaining crew members stayed to cover their leaders escape looking back over his shoulder Marcus saw one of the men get hit by the flamethrower and the other be picked up one-handed by the Minigun giant it looked at the saint and laughed before crushing the man like toy doll and tossing him aside, both giants then proceeded to pursue the saints outside.

"Angel blow it NOW !" Marcus said as he increased his speed and ran straight towards the others.

Pierce and angel had taken cover behind the vehicles and angel wasted no time in blowing the building an enormous explosion burst from the skylight on the roof and engulfed the two pursuing giants in a fiery explosion.

Shaundi who had turned for only a moment was tackled to the ground by Marcus just before the rubble came flying their way.

Once it was over all four of them stood to see the aftermath of the ruined building

"That was fucking insane" Pierce said but was stopped as Marcus ushered them to leave at once

"No time Pierce let's go" They all jumped in a vehicle and sped away to return to the penthouse.

In the car everyone gave a sigh of relief that they had finally escaped.

"Fuck sakes, that was a tight spot" Marcus said as he gave a small laugh

"sure if you call almost getting riddled with bullets and then barbecued to death, you see those huge motherfucker's back there." Pierce said in panic.

"We were there Pierce we all saw what happened" shaundi said as she was wiping some of the grime from her face and checking for injuries.

"I mean the way they wer just shrugging off bullets" Pierce said still shocked at what they had just fought.

"I'd say the syndicate has a new weapon" Marcus said concerned "this could be a big problem."

Fritz stood before the flaming ruins of the casino as the fire department had arrived to deal with the inferno. He was struck silent with hot rage when he learned that the Saints had managed to escape with their target. Killbane expressed anger and told him that he better fix this. Fritz responded by telling him it was not his problem and that he didn't work for Loren. Killbane just snarled and got into his vehicle and returned to his casino.

Fritz had called Stroud to update him on the outcome. He was less than pleased at the loss of men but cared little for the escape of the saints saying that it would be delt with soon and that in the end this event would only serve to hasten Loren's downfall.

Fritz had protested and said he wanted blood for the men he lost, but Stroud ordered him back to the warehouse. He was going to meet with Loren again to question him about these heavily armed men that were called in by Killbane.

Fritz was shocked at the sight of such large freaks Killbane just smiled and said that there problems were now dealt with. But events would prove those words hollow.

Fritz pulled himself from his thoughts and turned to round-up what remained of his men.

"Alright boys, let's get outta here" He said as he climbed into the armored Suv and drove back to the warehouse.

Kenzie had watched the entire fight through nearby traffic cams and was a little ashamed she didn't foresee Killbane calling in back up, but she now had a new task she was trying to figure out just where the hell these giant men came from the Syndicate had never used such beasts before and if they intended to use more of them in the future it could unravel all the work the saints had done in steelport.

XXX

Marcus ,Shaundi and Pierce stumbled into the penthouse and found the first seat they could find. The adrenaline of the nights activities had worn off and all showed signs of the grim and dirt plus the cuts and scraps of being in a prolonged gunfight. Marcus was sure he was starting to feel the ache in his back from the explosion. Shaundi nursed her side a bit, while Pierce had collapsed on the near by couch.

"Hell, man I feel completely wrecked" Pierce said as he tried to get his body to move.

Marcus and Shaundi could only give a small moan in agreement, Marcus looked over to Angel who seemed perfectly fine.

"How about you Angel you feel like rolling with us ?" Angel who had looked around at the penthouse turned to the call of his name and took a moment to answer

"You saints fight well, I will help you if i can but in return for my services I want Killbane" Angel said coldly Marcus could tell there was more to this feud with Killbane than was said, but that would have to wait until his body stopped hurting.

"Alright well, Pierce will find you a place to stay I'm gonna go take a shitload of painkillers and try to stop feeling like I got hit by a fucking train."

Shaundi stood aswell "I'm gonna take a shower I feel like I have all of Steelport on me" with that she walked off to their bedroom and was soon followed slowly by Marcus.

Pierce just looked up at Angel who looked at him. "Ugh, shit man help me up and will get outta here.

AN: HOLY crap this took forever to get right in my head and I'm still not pleased with it. It was mostly complete some time ago but I kept rewriting the action scenes. This was my first attempt at a big action scene so let me know how I did. I may redo parts of it later but for now we must push onward. This was intended to be much longer but I had to stop it here since the next chapter will be the Oleg mission and something I have had planned since the start will take place so stay tuned folks.

Forgive any errors that may be present as I finished this late last night and had barely any sleep.

Comment or review and let me know what you think.