Chapter 3: Down to Business

A/N: So...yeah, it's been a while. However, this story has not, and will not, be abandoned. I refuse to do that anymore, unless it is absolutely unavoidable for some inane reason. So don't worry about updates stopping altogether. Now, as to the actual story, this chapter marks the start of the story starting to pick up steam. Well, the end of it does, at least. From Chapter 4 onwards, the action will start to develop much faster than it has been. Hopefully you guys like what I'm doing here. If not, feel free to mention it. Reviews do keep me appraised of what works and doesn't, so consider leaving one after reading. I will try to respond to any reviews I get, but it may take a little while, so please don't be miffed if you don't hear from me immediately. Now, enough of my rambling. Let's get on with the story!

"You must find yourself hilarious," Leon told Kai sourly as they walked around the Monoglobe in Meadows Park. Kai wanted to see it again for some unknown reason, and Leon decided he'd like to see it too. Violet chose to remain at the motel, citing the need to finalize some plans she had in the works. Leon wanted to know what those plans were, but she refused to give him any information.

"Damn straight, buddy. I'm the funniest guy you know," Kai responded with a smirk. The young man had found his joke about cupcake crumbs highly amusing and had teased Leon about his reaction all the way to the park. Leon didn't see it as amusing as his friend did.

"I thought something serious had happened, with the way you were looking at me."

"You love that car like a mother loves her children. I thought it was a serious issue."

"Vacuum cleaners render it a non-issue, Kai. Don't be stupid. By the way, why exactly are we here?"

"Looking for something I left around a here a few months back."

"What makes you think it's still here?"

"It's only been like four months since I last visited. I'm sure I'll find it sooner or later."

Leon frowned slightly, wondering exactly where Kai would hide something and what he felt the need to hide. Knowing him, it'd be either something stupid, dangerous, or both. Besides that, there wasn't exactly an abundance of hiding places around the park. In fact, short of tossing something into one of the pools within the park, one really couldn't hide a thing around here, and Leon wasn't keen on wandering around without a clue for too long.

"Fuck, where is it? I could've sworn it was around here somewhere," Kai said in frustration. "Maybe I shouldn't have used a green one…"

"Where exactly is it supposed to be?" Leon asked.

"In a tree. Where the hell else would I put it?"

The two continued to look around the area surrounding the Monoglobe for another twenty minutes before Leon asked Kai to give it up. Kai talked him into spending another ten minutes searching, during which they still found nothing. Just as Kai was finally ready to call it quits, he absentmindedly looked up into a nearby tree and yelled in triumph.

"Ah, there it is! Knew it was in one of these trees somewhere."

With impressive skill, Kai scrambled up the tree to retrieve what appeared to be a forest green backpack. Leon couldn't help but think that his friend resembled a monkey with the way he moved, but kept that thought to himself. When Kai leaped down from the tree, he had a wide grin on his face.

"You couldn't pay for a better hiding spot," he said happily.

"Somehow I doubt that. So what's in it anyway?"

For an answer, Kai opened the backpack and pulled out a sub-machine gun.

"You hid a gun in there? Really?" Leon questioned with incredulity.

"Not a gun, but two guns and four grenades," Kai said, showing Leon the contents.

"Kai, what the hell? What if someone found your stash?"

"Then they'd get some free self-defense equipment. I have plenty of other stashes in the city, so it wouldn't be a big issue."

"Sure, aside from the fact that somebody would find themselves in possession of a few fucking grenades! Where'd you manage to get those anyway?"

"You really need to ask? You haven't gone and forgotten who my father is, have you? I've got plenty of connections through him."

Leon couldn't deny the truth of that. Kai was the son of Hidehiko Yamato, the second-in-command of the Yakuza, otherwise known as the waka-gashira. This made Kai a very powerful figure, or at least someone one wouldn't wish to mess with due to the possible repercussions. It also put Kai into contact with several powerful people within the criminal underworld, making the eighteen year old a formidable person for his young age.

The interesting thing about Kai was that, even though he easily could've, he chose not to abuse his status as the kid of a prominent member of the Yakuza. When problems arose, he handled them himself instead of calling on his dad. It made him stronger, and gave him an advantage when facing down those who took him for a pampered daddy's boy. Leon highly respected this strength and independence.

"Okay, so that explains the grenades. That doesn't explain why you felt the need to go hiding them in such a public place!" Leon exclaimed as they walked back to the car.

"I'm not stupid, man. I used a green backpack. Unless someone was really looking for it, they wouldn't see it."

"Once summer ended and the leaves changed color, that thing would be easily spotted."

"Leon, I planned for that. Do you really think so low of me?"

"No, but you don't always make the best of decisions."

Kai was thoughtful for a moment, his gaze turned upward.

"Alright, I'll give you that one," he said after a while. "My track record isn't spotless, but at least I try."

"Like that time you attempted to burn down that house and caused it, and the one next to it, to explode instead?" Leon asked as they approached his Jester.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know there was explosives in both those houses?"

"How about that time you punched that clown, making his whole posse of clowns come after us?"

"Nobody would've guessed that they were gangster clowns. That was just bad luck."

The two climbed into the car and Leon quickly sped off, heading back to the motel. He thought about changing the course of the conversation, but he was having too much fun pointing out some of Kai's more foolish actions.

"Let us also not forget that incident in San Fierro, when you had that dude chasing after us with a damn shotgun because you just had to go try and fuck his wife."

"The bitch didn't bother to point out she was married, did she? And don't give me no bullshit about looking for a ring on her finger because I checked and I didn't see one."

"You know what the funniest part about that was? Neither the guy or his wife seemed to notice you were only sixteen." Kai laughed at that one.

"Oh she knew. She had a taste for younger men, man."

"Moving on," Leon said quickly, "I hope you remember that time you tried to fight with a katana."

"I agree that I could've gone better."

"And there's also the trip we took to Brightcrest Falls, when you…"

"Okay, enough! You swore you'd never bring that up ever again!"

Leon finally shut his mouth, pleased with himself. It was always hard to get Kai to admit to his mistakes, so this was a rare victory.

After returning to the motel, with a quick stop for a pizza along the way, the three friends ate and chatted about whatever came to mind. Kai was as ridiculous as Leon knew him to be; he told some outrageous story about him rescuing a bunch of people from a bank robbery that no one believed. It kept the laughter going, so no one called him on his obviously fake tale.

"Kai, I've been wondering something for a little while now. What is up with your red hair?" Violet asked after his story was done.

"You're just now asking? I've had it for like two months now!"

"We haven't actually seen each other in about three," Violet pointed out. "You're always busy."

"Ah, I guess that's true. Sorry 'bout that," he murmured, tugging at a lock of his hair. It was a shade of red that was in no way naturally found on people. "Well, I felt the need to shake it up a bit, you know? I mean, when the three of us got together, there was no pizazz. Our little group needed some color."

"Is that your way of telling Violet and me that we're racist?" Leon asked with a smirk. Kai backpedaled instantly.

"No, no, no, no. Not what I meant and you know it. I was talking about the fact that we all have black hair, you dunce. I just thought I'd change up a little, make myself pop."

"I think it works pretty well," Leon said, still smirking. "You pop so much that all our enemies aim straight for you when we're on jobs together. Probably saved my life a couple of times last month."

"Don't laugh, buddy. If that's true, you owe me big time. Now, I've given you a story, so I want one in return. What exactly did you do to piss of Jerome so much?"

Leon quickly explained the situation to Kai, surprised his friend didn't demand an explanation when he first arrived. When Leon was finished with his short tale, Kai grinned appreciatively.

"You're a regular badass, Leon! Totally fucking awesome!" His tone became more somber as he addressed Violet. "Sorry you had to deal with that, though."

"It's fine," Violet said coolly. "I stopped him before he got anywhere."

"Come to think of it, you're a virgin too, aren't you?"

"Kai, who just busts out a question like that?" Leon inquired. "You can't really say that's any of your business."

"Doesn't bother me if he wants to ask," Violet said. "For the record, I am. I have no plans to give it up until I find the right guy. Wait, I take that back. I already know who the right guy is, but I have to convince him that he's right for me."

"I assume you're talking about that guy you were dreaming about last night?" Leon asked.

"Whoa, you were dreaming about somebody?" Kai, who had been leaning on the wall, took a seat next to Violet on the bed and switched over to the most feminine voice he could muster. "Ohmigosh, you have to tell me everything! Like, spill!"

"Thanks, but no thanks. Some things a girl's gotta keep to herself."

"I'm a little curious myself," Leon said. "As your big brother, I should take an interest in guys you like."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you when the time is right. For now, I'm still working on things."

"Fine, I can understand the need for secrecy. I do have my theories, so I'm not entirely in the dark. Besides, you should ask Leon about this girl named Scarlett; see how much he tells you."

"Don't bring that up, please. I have no desire to even think about her."

"Of course you don't." Kai looked at his watch to check the time, frowning. "It's been fun, but I gotta jet. There are some things that need taking care of."

"Oh? What's up?" Leon was curious as to what Kai had to do. He had only just got into the city.

"I'm putting that stash we went to collect to some good use for a friend. Shit's gonna get wild, baby!"

"You want some help?" Leon offered.

"Nah, this job won't take long to complete. I can use your help with something I gotta do in a couple of days though. It'll be a hell of a job, with good money to boot. Would you be interested?"

"Of course. Just give me a call when you're ready."

"Gotcha. Alright then, I'm outta here. Later." Kai stood up and prepared to leave, stretching out before heading over to the door.

"Oh, what are you gonna do about a car?" Leon asked Kai before he could exit, remembering that Kai brought no car of his own. "You wanna take the Tailgater?"

"Thanks, but I've got it covered. I already called Stevie and he's got something lined up for me."

With that, the young man made his exit, leaving the two siblings to their own devices. The room was quiet for a moment as Leon wondered what to do with the rest of the day, but Violet decided to speak first.

"So, about this Scarlett girl…."

Leon just groaned loudly, cursing Kai for bringing her up.

The next week passed by in relative quiet, with Leon doing little more than sitting around the motel room and watching TV, though he did pay Rhys two more visits in which he was given easy drug running jobs that he wasn't paid very well for. Kai hadn't got in contact with him since initially arriving in Liberty, which made Leon worry somewhat. He didn't give it too much thought though, as Kai was known to go off the grid suddenly, usually for no other reason than to annoy those who might be looking for him.

Leon was really getting tired of his current situation, as working for Rhys didn't seem like it would yield much profit. He needed to find another employer, and fast. Not just because he needed the money, but because Violet was getting progressively harder to be around. It wasn't due to her becoming moody or anything, but rather because she was becoming too clingy. Leon chalked it up to her being trapped in the same room with him for too long a period, and eventually decided that she needed to get out for some fresh air.

"Vi, I'm not gonna say it again. Take the Tailgater, and go do something fun," he told her on the fifth day of their stay. "You're going crazy in here, and you need to clear your head."

"Sure, if you come along with me. It'll be boring without you," she pleaded, not too keen on going out on her own.

"What kind of girl wants to keep hanging out with her brother? I think you need some alone time; get reacquainted with yourself."

"You're making it sound sexual."

"No, I'm not. If I wanted to make it sexual, I'd tell you to go touch yourself."

"And telling me to get reacquainted with myself isn't close enough?"

Leon glared at her.

"Okay, I have a question for you. Why does everything somehow manage to be turned into a sexual thing for you? Is your mind just always in the gutter?"

"No, not at all," Violet replied with a grin. "I just like making you all unsettled. Highlight of my day, really."

"Take these keys and go already," Leon said with a sigh. Violet just stared at him for a few moments, looking as if she'd continue to protest. To his relief, she finally took the keys he dangled in front of her.

"Fine, I'll go and amuse myself somewhere, but only on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"You have to take me to see a movie."

"Fair enough," Leon said, though there was some suspicion in his voice. Something about the glint in Violet's eye made him think there was more to her request.

"And I want to see that new Penny Carmichael movie when we go."

Ah, there it was. She would choose the one thing he didn't want to see.

"Can't we negotiate this? You know I hate those sappy-ass romance flicks."

"No Penny, no cooperative Violet."

"Alright, you got a deal." Leon sighed once more. He gave in easily, but he had to if he wanted Violet to actually leave. Maybe he could talk her into seeing something better later. "You suck, you know that?"

"Yes, you've let me know that many times before," she said before waltzing out of the room with a ridiculously happy look on her face.

"Weirdo…" Leon murmured, moving to sit down and watch TV. Unfortunately, a quiet morning alone wasn't in the cards, as no sooner as he took his seat his phone chirped, announcing the arrival of a text message. Leon took a look at it, smiling when he read it:

Leon, you said you wanted in on this. Meet me in front of Perestroika in fifteen minutes. Big ass payday with this one!

Kai's text was more than welcome, as a big payday was certainly needed. Money didn't grow on trees, and Leon's supply was slowly running out. In addition, the shitty pay he received from Rhys made doing jobs for the man nearly worthless, so getting a new contact would be great. Leon quickly readied himself to venture outside, taking care to check his pistol before leaving. All of his heavier weaponry was still stashed in the Tailgater's trunk, but Leon figured that Kai would take care of any additional weapons that would be needed.

A quiet morning alone was no longer possible, but this was a much more lucrative way to spend it.

Thirty minutes later, Leon awaited Kai at the burlesque club, growing more and more impatient with the red headed young man. It wasn't exactly unusual for Kai to be late to a meeting he arranged himself, but it was still annoying. Was it too much to ask for Kai to be on time for something? Leon hoped that this job wasn't time sensitive, as they could already be screwed.

After another ten minutes passed, Kai finally made his appearance, coming into view from around the corner and holding a black garbage bag. Leon initially chose to keep his question about Kai's tardiness to himself, but upon seeing the disheveled look his friend sported, decided to find out just what had kept him.

"You're twenty-five minutes late. What the hell were you doing?"

Kai let out an angry growl. "Let's just say that if I get the chance, I will personally end the Angels of Death will extreme prejudice."

"Aren't the Angels of Death a motorcycle club?" Leon couldn't fathom what Kai would be doing clashing with them.

"Yeah, they are. I've been systematically eliminating the fuckers ever since they targeted me some time last year," Kai said.

"Why the hell would they target you? You're not a biker, unless you've made some life changes recently."

"I rode alongside a buddy of mine once, just to help him out. We got attacked by the Angels, and a new rivalry was born. Those assholes like taking shots at me whenever they get the chance."

Leon couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of his friend being a biker, even unofficially. The whole motorcycle scene didn't suit him.

"Matter of fact, I should introduce you to my friend," Kai said thoughtfully, getting into Leon's car. "He could use some help in wrapping up his business here and he pays well enough. We can worry about that later, though. Right now, we got a job to do."

"What exactly is our job anyway?" Leon asked as he entered the car.

"We're stealing a small cache of weapons from some Russian bastards. Shouldn't be too hard, provided we move quickly. Take us over to Wappinger Ave., and get ready for a firefight."

Leon took off, slightly nervous about this mission. He wasn't looking forward to antagonizing the Russian Mafia, especially when he already had one criminal organization after him. Of course, this was probably unavoidable given his line of work, unless he ended up working for the Russians. Since he didn't know anyone in the Russian Mafia, that was an unlikely prospect. At any rate, it wasn't fear that made him nervous, but the idea of possibly getting on the bad side of another large group. Small, unimportant gangs were of little issue, as they didn't usually possess enough muscle to be overly threatening to anyone other than inexperienced civilians. This was different.

"Don't sweat this so much, Leon," Kai said as they pulled up in front of a nondescript apartment building. "This'll be as smooth as a baby's ass."

"You say that now, but I'm sure shit will go horribly wrong and we'll have to deal with some fucked up odds."

"I won't deny that there is a distinct possibility of that. It's exactly why we're going in armed and motherfucking dangerous."

Kai opened up the garbage bag he held and pulled out a classic pump shotgun and an Assault SMG. He held them both out to Leon. "Take your pick."

Leon took the sub-machine gun, preferring not to leave the automatic weapon in Kai's hands. He was a good shot, to be sure, but if he got overexcited he'd often start firing wildly with whatever weapon he held. Leon actually thought that Kai knew exactly what he was doing and just liked to go crazy. Nevertheless, it was best to let him hold the shotgun, as he wasn't dumb enough to fire that recklessly, especially in a tight space.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is," Leon said, spotting Kai grabbing something else out of his bag that looked suspiciously grenade-like.

"Might prove useful up there. You never know when you need to quickly clear out a room," Kai responded, confirming that what he held was a grenade. "I promise not to blow us up with it."

Leon chose to say nothing else on the matter, trusting Kai to use the thing wisely. "You know where we're headed. Lead the way."

Kai led Leon into the building, the two managing to attract no attention from people on the street despite being armed. Inside, they made their way up the staircase to the fourth floor, where Kai guided him over to a door marked with the number 409. They stood outside of the door, gathering their wits.

"Alright, here's how we're gonna do this," Leon started, taking charge. "You bust down the door and hit 'em hard. I'll come in behind you and finish off anyone who survives your shotgun assault. Sound good?"

"Fine by me, though I'd personally just lob this grenade in there and let it do the work," Kai said, holding the small explosive up.

"Have you just gotten all bomb happy since the last job we did together or something? Normally you're all for shooting some shit up."

"I'm still keen on putting holes in fools, but I have this intense urge to blow something up, that's all."

"Save it for the next job. For now, just stick to that shotgun."

"Sorry baby, looks like you'll be waiting a bit longer to have that pin pulled," Kai said to the grenade as he put it away. "Oh, and the next time we gotta go through a door, you're the one busting it down, alright Leon?"

Without waiting for an answer, Kai stood in front of the door and mustered his strength, kicking it open with one forceful kick and immediately unloading with his gun. Of the five people in the room, two fell to Kai's blasts right off the bat. One managed to toss himself behind a couch, while the two that were left standing aimed their weapons to take Kai down. They didn't have a chance to do anything else other than aim as Leon rolled in and ended their lives with two short bursts of his SMG. Kai then inched over to the couch the last guy had hidden behind, suddenly performing a dramatic dive around the side of it that caught the guy off guard and allowing Kai to dispatch him with little effort.

"That was too easy. Way too easy," Leon said, searching the apartment for any hidden foes.

"And you're complaining about that?" Kai asked with disbelief. "We never get lucky like that, so don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"The fact that we've never been this lucky is what worries me," Leon countered. "It seems too good to be true that we'd actually have one mission that didn't go sour on us after all the shit we've been through."

"You're being extremely paranoid, man. There's a first time for everything, and this is the first time we have an easy job all the way to the finish. Now, let's take a look at this cache."

Kai plopped down on the couch and regarded the small wooden crate sitting on the coffee table for a moment before gingerly opening lifting up the lid in order to see its contents. Upon getting a good view, he whistled loudly.

"What'd you find?" Leon asked. "Damn thing doesn't look like it's holding much."

"Not if you're looking to find the usual shit you'd expect from a weapons cache. This, however, is less a cache of weapons and more a cache of serious fucking explosive power. There's nothing but Sticky Bombs in this crate."

"Damn," Leon said, walking over to take a look. "I'm not sure whether to be more worried about what the Russians planned on doing with these, or what your employer wants to do with them."

"I wouldn't sweat it too much," Kai advised. "The less we know, the easier it is to claim ignorance if the police get ahold of our fair employer."

"That's assuming we aren't the ones to end up using this shit in some other job down the line, which you know is exactly what's gonna happen."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Sometimes this kind of thing seems like something right out of a video game. Nevertheless, we should probably get moving before someone gathers the balls to call the cops."

Leon opened his mouth to agree when he heard voices coming from the hallway. Neither he nor Kai had seen it important to close the door, so the voices were loud and clear and getting very close.

"Shit, hide somewhere!" Leon hurriedly whispered, scurrying into the bathroom and closing the door just enough to see the living room without being seen.

"Element of surprise and all that, eh? Alright then," Kai said to himself, choosing to hide behind the couch. Leon just shook his head at his friend's choice of hiding spot.

The approaching entities were just about outside of the door now, and they were sounding slightly nervous.

"Why's that door open?" one voice asked aloud. "Are those Ruskies that stupid?"

"No one's that fucking dumb," said another voice. "This don't look right. Watch yourselves, boys."

The sound of guns being cocked was heard as three men entered the apartment. Kai tensed slightly, looking ready to pop up and shoot, but he maintained his position for the moment. Leon watched the three as best he could from his hiding place in the bathroom. Something about the three men alarmed him immensely, but he was unsure of exactly why that was at the moment.

"Holy shit! What the fuck happened here?" one of the men yelled in shock.

"I'd say that's pretty clear, if you aren't an idiot," another said. "Obviously, someone raided this deal before we arrived. Whoever it was made quick work of the Russians and scampered off."

"But they left the goods," the third man said. "Why shoot up the place and not take the prize?"

"And we didn't pass anyone on the way up here," the first man added. "They didn't leave the normal way, that's for sure."

"Perhaps they took to the roof," the second man ventured. "Or…perhaps they heard our approach and are still here."

Leon was worried for Kai, as he was basically right in front of them and would easily be seen the moment they moved past the couch. Kai was aware of this as well, and decided to reveal himself first, though that idea was close to suicidal.

"Don't shoot, okay guys?" he called out. "I'm not here to cause trouble…for you three, at least. Didn't even know anyone else was coming." Kai rose from his position slowly, leaving his shotgun on the floor. Leon realized that Kai was being a distraction and creating a chance for an ambush.

"Didn't know we were coming, eh? Now why don't I believe you?" the second man, obviously the leader, asked?

"How should I know? I don't do your thinking for you. That's what you have a brain for."

"A smart-ass, huh? You're either very brave, or very stupid."

"I've been called both over the years."

Leon had to stifle a laugh at that. It was certainly the truth.

"I'll bet. So, what exactly brought you here today, my friend? You would've caused us quite a problem had you got away with these explosives, to say nothing of the way it would look to our Russian friends."

Kai stared him down without flinching. "I heard these guys were packing some heavy duty equipment, and I wanted it for myself. I had no idea they'd already set a deal up when I came to claim the goods. My bad, dude."

"I see. Well, I guess you just had some unfortunate timing today. Normally, I'd let you walk away since you haven't done anything to me personally, but this," the man indicated the bodies around him, "would be difficult to explain without proof of things. You, I'm sorry to say, will have to be that proof."

"Can I just write a statement?" Kai asked with fake hopefulness. "I really don't fancy meeting the Russian Mob face to face."

"Afraid not. I will do you a favor though." The man pointed his gun directly at Kai's heart. "I'll drop you here and now. Trust me when I say it's better to die at my hand than to be tortured by the Ruskies for killing their own."

Leon chose that moment to reveal himself, bursting out of the bathroom with his gun blazing. Kai had the sense to hit the ground as soon as he heard the door hit the wall, but the other guys weren't as quick. Leon dropped one instantly, taking a second down while the guy was struggling to fire his gun, which had chosen that moment to jam. That left only the leader still alive, who had managed to avoid any serious wounds by diving out of the doorway. He raised his gun to put a bullet in Leon, but neglected to remember Kai, who picked up his shotgun and ended things decisively.

"Knew you'd be on top of shit," Kai said confidently. "Now we can get these stickies out of here without issue."

"Kai, we may have a major problem," Leon said worriedly, staring at the three newly lifeless bodies.

"Why's that?"

"Because I know these guys. They're Ravens."

"Ravens? As in the Raven Syndicate Ravens?"

"Yeah. Looks like they're in Liberty City."