AN: thank you to all that have reviewed, or even just favorited or followed this story. It really keeps me going knowing that people appreciate what I'm doing. =) So, without further ado...

Chapter 3 - Starting In on the Kings

The church was dimly lit by light filtering in through broken windows, the air smelling musty, dusty. But I was being able to be seeing how grand it must have been back in the old days. I was being atheist, finding it hard to be believing in some all powerful being, but I was always being respectful of others in their belief, something my aunt had instilled in me from early age. Julius and Troy were sitting in corner, discussing plans or something, and I approached them quietly, waiting until they were being finished. Julius was looking up at me after a moment.

"Lookin' for someone, playa?" Julius asked.

I nodded, smiling.

"Me? Troy?"

I shook my head no.

"Dex?" he asked, cocking his head. "Look, you gotta speak up, girl!"

"Johnny," I said quietly, being a little nervous. Him sounding annoyed and looking pissed was not helping. I was closing my eyes once, quickly breathing out, to be clearing my head.

"He in the back, playa, so you ready to start in on the Kings?"

I nodded.

"The Vice Kings won't be easy," Julius told me, waving me off. "But I think you'll do all right."

I entered the room, and Johnny was there at a large table, having his feet up and looking comfortable. The walls were being plastered with posters of scantily clad women, including several of Aisha, and Dex was standing in the corner.

"Take a seat, Ivana," Johnny told me, and I spun a chair around backwards, sitting on it and resting my arms on the seat back. "So you're Julius' new girl, huh?"

I grinned back at him.

"You don't look like much," he went on, cocky smirk etching itself onto his features. "Then again, I don't look like I have an eight inch cock, either, so I guess we're both full of surprises."

Now I was rolling my eyes. But he was not wasting time, his tone having suggested he is giving that speech to anyone, and he moving on with what was needing to be done.

"The Vice Kings are named after one guy," Johnny explained, undeterred. "Benjamin King. That shit don't happen unless you're a professional or a bad ass, and in King's case, he's both.

Johnny was being interrupted by his cell phone. "Hold up, I gotta take this.

"Aisha," Johnny practically sang. "What a pleasant fuckin' surprise."

Then Johnny was looking worried. "Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down!"

Pulling the phone away from his ear, I could make out a woman screaming into the other end of the line. "O-okay that's not slower, that's louder!" He chided, putting the phone back to his ear. "Shit! Where's she headed? Don't worry, I got this."

"What's up?" Dex asked as Johnny was putting his phone away.

"Some motherfucker's grabbed Aisha's sister right off the street," Johnny growled.

I was feeling my lip curling in snarl, rage welling up inside me. I was having ideas of what this was being about.

"Shit man," Dex breathed harshly. "That's the sixth girl this month, we know who's doin' this?"

"Yeah," Johnny shot back, coming to his feet, body language screaming that death was coming for someone. "The Vice Kings."

My hands were hurting they were gripping the chair so tightly.

"No way man," Dex insisted, glancing at me. "Kidnappin' ain't King's style."

"Maybe that slut Tanya's goin' behind King's back!" Johnny retorted. "Don't know, don't fuckin' care." He turned to me, pointing harshly. "Now Aisha said they were drivin' a yellow sedan. Tail those bitches back to wherever they go and get those girls back!"

I nodded, feeling my eyes going cold, pitiless. "I will be bringing them back safe, you are having my word, comrade."

#

It was being by some stroke of luck I did not kill anyone following them to this warehouse. My driving was improving all the time, apparently. We were being at a warehouse near a Rusty's Needle tattoo parlor, and I stayed hidden, watching a bald, african american VK with a yellow bandana bandit mask pulling a young girl from the car, pushing her inside. The resemblance to the famous singer was being obvious. Who the fuck were these assholes thinking they were, selling girls like property? Darko's betrayal rushed to my mind, and I was suddenly remembering my time spent in that war camp a world away, gritting my teeth. As I was jogging to the entrance of warehouse, I racked the slide on my VICE 9, jacking round into the chamber.

Taking a deep breath, I kicked open the door, rushing inside. It was being a dim and dank warehouse, piles of boxes and crates everywhere, and I heard a man yelling "The King's ain't ever gonna bow down!"

I shot the first man in yellow I was seeing before he could be reacting, three shots from my weapon sending him tumbling to the ground. Sexual slavery is being pet peeve of mine, and I ran forward heedless of anyone shooting at me. I took down another one, and another, blindly shooting and reloading whenever my pistol went empty. I am not remembering much of the gunfight, just that when it was being over, I was alive, and they were all being dead.

Panting, I looked around at the bodies, slide locked back on my empty pistol. The air was smelling of cordite and blood, hazy, being mixed with musty warehouse. I kicked the man at my feet, noticing he was having many wounds in his chest. I apparently had emptied my last magazine into his dead body.

Shaking myself, I searched the warehouse for signs of the girls. They were needing me, this is why I was being here. I realized I was hearing screaming, and was finding an office in the back, locked, of course.

"I am here to be rescuing you, Johnny Gat is sending me!" I called through the door, pounding on it, hoping they could be hearing me. "Aisha's sister, are you being here?"

"The guy with the key went to Tee'N'Ay!" someone shouted back, fear in her voice.

I set my jaw, reloading my pistol and running for the exit.

Two King's were in the parking lot, greeting my with gunfire form their hand cannons. I ducked back behind door frame, waiting for a lull, and I popped out from my cover, shooting one of them in the head. I dove for cover behind the yellow sedan's front, grunting as I was landing. Suddenly grinning, I slithered under the car and waited for his feet to rush past. As soon as they were passing I crawled out from under the car and shot him in the back two times.

"Mešok der'ma!" I spat as I was getting up. Is basically how you are saying 'bag of shit.'

I jerked open the door to the Vice King's car as it was being closer and probably faster than the grubby Cavallaro I had stolen earlier. The keys were being in the ignition still, thankfully. Lin has not been having time to be teaching me to hot wire, yet.

It was being short drive to Tee'N'Ay, and I slid to a stop amidst squealing of tires. Too much brakes, but I was caring little as I rushed the rear entrance of the strip club, weapon already drawn. Growling, I kicked open the door and went inside.

It was being hazy with smoke, dimly lit, the center being dominated by a large wooden stage with poles on either side. I opened fire on the first man in yellow I saw, blood blossoming across his chest as he was falling. People started screaming, strippers and patrons alike cowering on the ground or fleeing.

"Where is asshole with key!" I shouted, shooting another VK repeatedly until he crumpled.

"Ain't you a sweet lil thang," someone sneered from behind, and I turned, pulling the trigger. It was being a man in a yellow pimp suit, garishly decorated with jewelry.

Click!

"Čert voz'mi v ad!" I snarled, angrily throwing my empty weapon to the ground. I was having no time to be reloading it. So I ran at him, time slowing as I went to my happy place. Is being that place where nothing can be hurting me, and I was having all time in the world as he was raising a pistol to be shooting me. I ducked and pulled my knife, feeling my face twisting in dark triumph, and I was suddenly being inside his weapon as I stabbed him once, twice, three times, and we fell together to the ground, his weapon clattering away. I lost count of how many times I was stabbing this bag of shit, but his chest was being a mess of gore and blood when I finally stopped, breathing haggardly.

Closing my eyes and taking deep breath, I searched his pockets quickly, finding key that was having to be the one, separate as it was being from rest on his keyring. Snatching up my VICE 9, I ran back to parking lot as sirens were being heard in distance.

#

I opened the door to the office, trying my best to be smiling at the cowering girls inside. One of them, having to be Aisha's sister, the one I saw being taken into the warehouse, she looked to me and was nodding.

"She's a Saint, girls, we're all right. See the purple she wearin'? That means she's our guardian angel come to rescue us."

I was grinning at that. "Come on, let us be getting you girls out of here."

As we were leaving the room, gunfire was greeting us. Something hot and heavy was slamming into my leg, and I grit my teeth against the pain of being fucking shot, staggering against stack of boxes.

"Girls, behind me!" I shouted, taking down the King that had shot me. It was being my last magazine, so I was making the shots count. The back of his head was exploding onto a stack of boxes behind him.

I cut off a swath from my hoody, exposing my stomach to the cold air, wrapping the wound the best I could be doing. I heard I was making a small, pained sound as I was pulling the makeshift bandage tight before hobbling quickly for the exit, and as we were getting to the sedan, I decided it would be bad for me to be driving.

"Which of you is good driver?" I asked, and one girl, hispanic, shyly raised her hand. I tossed her the keys. "What is being your name?"

"Mariella," she said quietly as we piled into the car.

"I will be telling you where we are going, Mariella, now be driving very fast!"

We raced out of the parking lot, narrowly avoiding a maroon pickup that was blaring his horn. "Left!" I called, and she turned, tires squealing in protest.

Looking back over my shoulder, I saw a Vice King car chasing us, two men hanging out of the windows and shooting at us with submachine guns. The rear window shattered, and the girls in the back screamed. Mariella cringed, ducking down for a moment, and I leaned out the window, shooting at our attackers. One of them slumped over as my bullets tore into him, body hanging out of window and flopping as the driver cut through traffic. I looked over to see where we were heading.

"Right!" I shouted, turning back and firing again at our tail, emptying the magazine into the driver's side of windshield. It spiderwebbed, blocking my vision, but as the car swerved and was running into fire hydrant, I was knowing I had killed him. I ducked back into the car just in time to avoid being splattered by a Stilwater Municipal, heart pounding in my chest. I was feeling very faint and dizzy, sagging against the seat.

"A little warning if you are going to be skirting alongside trash truck," I murmured dryly.

"Sorry!" Mariella whined.

I chuckled. "I am alive, is all that is mattering."

We arrived at the church, and it was being sudden. Too sudden. I vaguely was realizing we had even stopped and was not remembering the trip itself. Was not good.

"You okay, miss?" the girl in back said quietly.

"Da, I am just needing re-… rest," I told her, back of my hand on my forehead. I was still clutching my now-cooled gun.

Suddenly I was being pulled from the car, another blank moment being in my memory. Aisha's sister was helping me walk, and we entered the sanctuary.

"Somebody call a doctor!" Aisha's sister called.

"I am being fine," I grumbled, pushing at her weakly.

"The fuck you are, playa," I was hearing Julius say, and suddenly I was being carried through the air, lifted in his arms.

"Nyet, be putting me down," I whimpered, struggling, fighting the blackness at the edges of my vision. I was growing afraid, mind screaming at me, men were only carrying you away for one thing, but I was being too weak to be fighting him.

"Shhh, girl," Julius urged gently, and as I was feeling that I was being laid onto a table, I kicked at the closest blurry figure, crying out. "You'll be all right, y'hear me? Don't go to sleep just yet, all right? Don't fall asleep!"

I am thinking I murmured something, probably Russian, which would be doing me little good, but my English was not wanting to be working and I was shaken roughly, head rolling to the side as the world was blurring into dark smear.

"Somebody call Doc again and tell him to get his ass down here!" I was hearing Julius yell, but it was being faint and my eyes were closing, and soon the darkness won.

#

Groaning, I opened my eyes. I was in a strange loft and not remembering how I was getting here. It was dirty, and was smelling of sweat and grime, and stale cigarettes, and was being full of debris and clutter. I was remembering being shot, a car chase, and the girls…

The girls! I shot up, wincing as my head was pounding hard, feeling my heart beating inside my skull like trapped thing wanting to be free. A small pained sound was escaping me as I was putting a hand to my forehead.

"Easy sweetie," Lin urged from my side, cool fingers on my shoulder, urging me to lay back down. I shrugged her off and she was making a call on her phone. "She's awake," was all she was saying before hanging up.

"I'm really proud of you," Lin said gently. "Pissed at Johnny for letting you go in alone like that, but proud that you handled it. Aisha thinks you can do no wrong."

I smiled at her, opening my mouth to be speaking, but the door opened, and so I was closing it. Julius came into the room then, and Johnny was following him.

"How you feelin' playa?" Julius asked.

I shrugged. I was feeling as if I was going to be throwing up and had horrible headache, but nothing was to be done about it, so why bother worrying him?

"You did good by those girls," Johnny said, clapping me on the shoulder and dropping a wad of cash in my lap. I grimaced at how the sharp spike that was jamming into my brain when he was smacking me. "I think the little hispanic one has a case of hero worship."

"And Doc says the bullet went through and didn't hit nothin' major," Julius added, and I was seeing concern on his face, eyes being soft and kind. "You got lucky, playa. You damned near bled out on us."

I nodded to them quietly, closing my eyes against the harsh light.

"You'll be sore for a few days, but nothin' Crazy Ivana can't handle, right?" Johnny said with a grin. "Look, no rush, take a few days and get back with me and Dex when you're ready, all right?" he added, and was leaving with Julius.

Troy was coming in shortly after they were being gone.

"How you holdin' up?"

"She's fine," Lin answered for me, voice hot, protective. Maybe even being jealous? "She needs rest, now go away."

"She can answer her own questions, Lin," Troy told her, glaring. "It's cool for you to stay, though, right? Aren't you supposed to be, I dunno, with the Rollerz right now or somethin'? Not tryin' to get into the new girl's pants."

"I am being fine," I said simply, interrupting them and putting hand on Lin's, hoping she would be staying quiet. I was not a fan of being argued over, and was knowing Lin would not be backing down. "Thank you for coming to see me, Troy."

"No problem," he replied, cooling off a bit. "Look, I gotta get back to Julius, come see when you're up and about?"

I nodded, smiling at him a little, and he left.

"Asshole," Lin swore, with feeling, pulling out her cigarettes. She pulled one free, lighting it with a heavy silver lighter, and tucked both away, breathing out a stream of smoke. I noticed it was smelling different than Troy's though they were having the same brand. Troy's was acrid, harsh, but from Lin it seemed smoother. Odd. I wondered briefly how my smoke was smelling to others but then shrugged, looking around.

"Where am I being at anyway?" I asked, then added, "And where are my cigarettes?"

I was definitely needing a cancer stick after all this shit. Lin offered me one of hers, flicking her lighter and holding it out to me. I inhaled gratefully, blowing the smoke out in a thin stream as I looked around. "Thanks. Is being kind of dump."

"It's a safe house Julius got recently," Lin explained. "Saints are welcome to crash here any time, though it's off-limits until you recover."

I nodded, getting out of bed, and the blanket fell away, and I was realizing I was only wearing my black bra and boy shorts, bandage being wrapped around my left thigh. My leg was protesting as I was putting weight on it, and I was grimacing in pain, but I could be handling it. As it subsided, or I was getting used to it, I was feeling goosebumps prickling across my skin from the cold. Apparently we were not having heat in this place. Behind me, Lin's breath hissed inward very sharply.

"Fuck," she whispered harshly, taking in what was surely being the many thin, long-healed scars on my back. "What the fuck happened to you? You lose a fight with a knife factory?"

"I am not wanting to be talking about it," I was telling her immediately.

"You can't be more than eighteen, tops, but those look… old, pretty well-healed."

I nodded, feeling my cheeks coloring at being appraised, and was then finding myself frowning. "But I am not going to be telling you, so do not be asking."

Lin shrugged. "I wont ask again," she promised, but there was being a thread of bitterness. "It's not like you owe me shit anyway."

I pulled on my purple hoody, it had been cleaned or was being new one, and was looking around for pants. I was seeing jeans in a shredded pile, and Lin tossed me a pair of black sweats.

"Thanks," I said, catching the comfortable clothing and pulling them on. I was tucking my pistol into the hoody's front pocket before counting the money and tucking it away into a pocket of the pants, then finding my old sneakers and putting those on next. One thousand dollars, just like that. It was amazing to be receiving so much cash for one little operation, even if I was being injured. A girl could be getting used to this.

"Priorities," Lin chuckled. "You sure you're good to go, honey?"

"There is being too much to be doing to be lying around like lazy bum," I retorted, running brush through my long hair, smoothing it and pulling it into pony tail with purple tie before limping towards the door.

As I was touching doorknob, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was glancing behind me to be seeing Lin looking kindly at me.

"If you ever wanna talk, Ivana, I'll listen."

"Thank you for watching over me, Lin," I replied softly, not answering her directly, and reaching up, touching her fingers. It was comfort knowing I was having someone keeping me safe when I was being unable to do so myself, unconscious as I had been. As our skin brushed, I was feeling a delightful tingle running through my fingertips and down to my stomach. I bit my lower lip, glad she could not be seeing me blushing, and then went outside into the chilly fall morning.

I could not bear to be telling anyone of my past, even her, but it was being nice to be having someone that seemed to be caring all the same.