I've split the first chapter into two parts at the suggestion of someone whose writing I very much admire, and I think it'll help a bit with the pacing. Hopefully this doesn't confuse too many people who've already started reading this.

Ch 2 - 3rd Street Saints Pt II

I was shopping at Sloppy Seconds the next day when my cell phone rang. Class was not being until later this morning, but seeing as how someone was calling, apparently I was having things to do anyway. I fished it out of my pocket and seeing Troy's name, answered.

"Troy, hi, what is being up?"

"Rumor is an old liquor store is being used as a Carnales hideout," his voice said. "Why'onch you go over there and check it out?"

"I am being little busy right now," I told him. "Can it be waiting for bit?"

"Look, you're a fuckin' Saint, right?" he was asking hotly. "So get your cute little ass down to that liquor store and smear those Carnales!"

And then he was hanging up.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a purple hoody off the rack and headed for the register. God damned right I am being a Saint.

#

The bus dropped me off down the street. As I was approaching, the old liquor store was being a run down shithole, windows and door being boarded up. I kicked the door once, and was hearing something crack, so I kicked it again and it flung open.

I pulled my pistol as I crept into the dimly lit store, letting my eyes adjust to the low light.

"You don't get out of here alive, understand!?" I heard a hispanic voice call.

I racked the slide of my VICE 9, putting a round into the chamber.

Carefully, I peered around the first doorway I was coming to, stepping into the hallway when it was clear. The lights overhead were flickering, buzzing, and graffiti was covering the walls.

A latin man in red turn the corner, shooting at me with a pistol. I ducked, firing twice into his chest, heart racing as adrenalin was pouring into my systems.

I grinned as he fell. Is being like old times. I went through his pockets and took his cash.

I crept along the wall, peering around the corner, and saw a man behind an overturned table down another hall. Ducking behind some barrels for cover, I was shooting him twice before was even seeing me.

Making my way down the hall, I searched his pockets for cash, too, and pocketed it, turning to go deeper into the abandoned building. I came to a room with out a door. Peering inside, I jerked my head back as bullets ripped into the doorframe.

"Fuck and shit," I breathed.

"We're gonna take you down fast!" someone shouted from the room.

Smirking, I stepped into the doorway and fired quickly, two bullets punching holes in a man's chest. I sighted down the barrel at another man with a shotgun, firing three times into his body before he was having a chance to shoot back. I am guessing he was new at this.

I moved into the room, and a long-haired latina in a red dress shrieked, shooting at me with a sub machine gun on full auto fire.

I looked down at myself as her weapon clicked empty, I was not being hit even once.

"You are having no control," I told her simply. "Now go on, be getting out of here."

The woman just glared out me defiantly, moving to be blocking my path.

I hit her across the face with my VICE 9, and she fell to the ground with a cry. Smirking, I went out the back down and saw a man in a red suit and hat running for a car.

I shot him several times, my gun clicking empty after the third bullet was slamming into his back, and he crumpled against the side of the car before sliding to the ground, dead.

I pulled out my phone, dialing Troy. He picked up on the third ring.

"It done?" he asked.

"It is being finished, Athos Bay is being owned by Saints, now," I was telling him.

"Great job, girl. I'll let Julius know, and pay ya the next time we see each other."

While waiting for the bus, my phone was ringing again, and it was being Julius. I answered almost immediately.

"Swoop by the church and meet us," he was saying. "It's time to finish this shit."

"I am being on my way," I said, hanging up.

#

I was waiting outside the church for a few minutes before Troy and Julius were showing up. Julius looked at me with proud eyes, handing me a small wad of cash.

"You did good, playa," he was telling me. "Troy here speaks real highly of you. And his loan is already taken out, that's all for you."

I stared at the money in my hands, it was being more than I made in an entire paycheck.

"Thank you!" I gushed.

"I got a tip that there's a turf war goin' on right now," Troy told us, looking to us both. "If we crash their party, we can take all those sons of bitches out at once."

I grinned.

"All right, let's find us a ride," Troy said, looking around the street. There was being a blue Aqua down the street, and we jogged over to it.

Troy smashed the window and got into the driver's seat, busying himself with hot wiring it.

"Shotgun!" I called, grinning, but Julius just looked at me, smirking, then was getting into the front passenger seat with out a word.

I went into the back seat, rolling my eyes. "Mudak."

Asshole.

"Hope your strapped, playa," Julius was saying, looking over his shoulder as Troy was pulling away from the curb. "'Cuz we 'bout to go in hard."

I showed him my VICE 9, racking the slide and grinning.

"Fuck right," Julius shot back, turning to face the front again. I dropped the magazine and fished a round out of my pocket to top it up.

"I ain't gonna lie to you," Troy was saying, turning the corner. "When we go in there it's gonna be rough. Julius, you sure it's cool we take this girl with us instead of Johnny?"

"Troy, you worry too much," Julius was telling him. "She'll be fine. She took out those Carnales all by herself, remember?"

"I'm just sayin'…" Troy retorted. "Nevermind, we're here."

"You stick with us, playa, and you'll be fine," Julius was saying, opening the door and getting out.

I hopped down out of the SUV, looking around. The docks were chaos, bangers in yellow, blue, and red shooting it out. I took aim and shot a Roller dead.

"Fuck right," Julius called, shooting two VKs himself. "3rd Street runs the Row, not'choo bitches!"

Troy was gunning down a group of Carnales, their attention being on the other gangs. The Rollerz and Vice Kings now turned to us, bullets whistling past my head. I was quickly ducking behind a crate, being separate from Troy and Julius who were behind others.

Saints began showing up, piling out of cars and giving it to the enemy, and I stood up, shooting at the first non-purple I was seeing. I was firing three times into a large Asian Roller, and he crumpled to the ground with a cry.

Troy, Julius, and I ran around the back side of the docks, and we were meeting little resistance until a red La Fuerza roared around the corner and was crashing into some crates. We shot the driver and passenger to death before they were even getting out of the car.

Rounding corner, we were being met by several Carnales. I was firing first, dropping one with a shot to the chest. Blood was spurting from the wound, a heart shot, and Julius was shooting two of them in quick succession.

"Focus on the Saints!" a Carnales shouted, gesturing towards us with his pistol at us.

I shot him three times, blood blossoming from the wounds being in his chest, and he fell to the ground.

I changed magazines for a fresh one, ramming it home and jacking the slide.

"Atta girl!" Troy called. "Johnny's gonna love you."

I grinned brightly, feeling my eyes being lit up with the smile.

Making our way around another warehouse, a black man in yellow was barking orders to some VKs nearby. Julius shot him several times before he was swapping his magazine, too, and Troy and I were making quick work of the rest of the Kings.

"We still gotta take out the Rollerz in the area," Troy said.

The three of us were continuing running around the docks, challenged by men and women in blue. I gunned down a man with three bullets to his chest, and he stumbled back before collapsing to the ground. Troy and Julius killed a woman each, and then it suddenly was being over.

"What'd I tell you, Troy?" Julius asked. "The girl's a natural!"

Everything had gone quiet, but then we were hearing police sirens in the distance.

"Fuckin' A," Troy growled. "Can't it ever be easy? The cops are comin' man, we gotta lose 'em!"

A Stilwater PD Five-O screeched to a stop in front of us, two cops getting out of it. I shot one of them twice, and Julius took out the others. I was thinking I was seeing something pass on Troy's face at their dying, but he suddenly sat into the driver's seat, and Julius again was taking shotgun. Grumbling, I got into the back as Troy sped off into the night.

I looked over my shoulder to be seeing two cop cars chasing us. I ducked behind the seat when they were starting to shoot, rear window shattering.

"Don't just lay there, playa!" Julius barked, leaning out the window and opening fire. "Help me get these bitches off of us!"

"Aim for their tires!" Troy called over his shoulder. "They'll spin outta control."

I nodded, but it was difficult to be hitting such a small target while Troy was swerving all over the road. Julius finally hit one, and the Five-O was spinning as it was hitting a pole.

I switched to my last magazine, racking the slide and shooting again at the last cop car. After several shots, I was finally hitting it's front tire, and it went sliding into the front of a store.

Troy cut the wheel, screeching around a corner and the back end was sliding out. He corrected and drove down the road, slowing to normal speeds.

"All right, we lost 'em," Troy said, glancing over his shoulder. "I'll drop you guys off at the church and then ditch this thing."

Troy parked for a moment so we could be getting out, and then backed away, driving down the street and turning a corner.

"We did it playa," Julius told me, clapping a hand to my shoulder. I surprised myself my not flinching and was not feeling squeamish. "Saints Row is ours again. Don't think I'm finished with you yet, though. I'm holdin' a meetin' at the church, swing by the sanctuary when you can."

I nodded, grinning. "I will be there, Julius."

#

It had been crazy few days. We'd pushed the gangs out of Saints Row, and I was feeling good for the first time since coming to this country. I was having a family again, and a home. Julius was treating me like almost a daughter, and was kind to me. Johnny was treating me like an equal, someone to be competing with at least. Troy was seeming to be liking me, as a Saint and perhaps romantically, but I could be dealing with it.

I entered the sanctuary not long after we were returning to find Julius standing tall and proud at the altar, he was addressing the Saints and I hurried to find an empty space, shouldering my way to the front. His voice echoed from the walls.

"Listen up, people, I got some serious shit to discuss," he was saying, and I was listening with all ears. "Yeah, we cleared out the Row. You think for a second that's gonna stop 'em?"

Julius didn't wait for a response, forging onwards. "Unless we wipe all these mutha fuckas out they gonna keep comin' and they ain't gonna be happy. It ain't gonna be settled until the Carnales, the Rollerz, and the Vice Kings ain't nuthin' but a memory."

"Dex," Julius said, gesturing to the man with the purple golf hat. "You got the Carnales. Ever since they hooked up with the Columbians, it's like they own this town. Now, with that drug money rollin' in, we can't compete. Be smart how you move against 'em. The Lopez family been runnin' that gang for thirty years; there's a reason they still around."

"Got it," Dex said simply.

After a brief pause, Julius went on with his orders.

"Troy, you dealin' with the Vice Kings," Julius told him.

"Not a chance," Tory said, breathing out smoke form his ever-present cigarette.

"Fuck you say?" Julius shot back, angry.

"Anyone but them," Troy was telling him.

"You scared of goin' against Benjamin King?" Julius accused.

Johnny strode forward, cocky and arrogant. "Man, fuck that. I'll take King out."

"Johnny, it's not that simple," Julius told him.

"Bullets still kill mother fuckers, right?" Johnny asked. "Doesn't get much simpler than that."

I was liking this Johnny Gat more and more.

"Keep an eye on your boy," Julius ordered.

"I don't need a fuckin' babysitter, Julius!" Johnny growled, defiant.

"Keep an eye on your boy," Julius said again, to Dex.

Dex nodded. "Who's got the Rollerz?" he asked.

"I do," a woman's voice said, slightly smoky and confident.

An asian woman, maybe fair-skinned chinese, sauntered up to the altar wearing blue track pants and a black halter, dark hair pulled up in a bun and being held in place by hair sticks. She had a single gold band coiled around her left upper arm. I stared at her, breath catching in my throat. She was being beautiful, and oozing confidence.

A voice stirred me from my thoughts, and I was pulling my gaze away from her.

"Lin?" Dex asked, shocked.

"The fuck you wearin' blue for?" Johnny added.

"I asked Lin to hook up with the Rollerz," Julius explained. "We don't know much about these fuckas, so I wanted one of us on the inside."

A chunky redheaded Saint, hair cropped close and wearing a purple hoody, approached Lin.

"I didn't think the Rollerz pimped hos!" he jeered, laughing.

I heard Johnny laugh, too, and I was rolling my eyes. I was knowing what it was like to be the only girl. Assholes.

Lin hit the guy with a right cross, laying him out to the raucous laughter of the rest of the gang.

She was definitely being my kind of woman.

"Any other comments?" Lin asked arrogantly, looking around, daring someone to mouth off again.

"Yeah, when you punch," Johnny said snidely. "Don't throw your shoulder so much."

"Shut up, Johnny," Lin fired back. I could already be telling these two went at it. A lot.

"Hey, I'm just sayin'" Johnny said with a shrug.

Suddenly Julius was addressing me.

"Once we're done here, go talk to one of these guys."

I nodded, eager to really be showing him how good I was.

"They'll have somethin' for you to do," he went on. "It's our time, now. Let's get this shit started."