SR1, and a chance to go over just how ridiculous the Freckle Bitch's commercials are. Still early on, though, in the middle of the first chunk of the Carnales missions.

"Is that a bus?" V put her tray down at the table Dex and Troy were sitting at outside, and lo and behold, a schoolbus was parked right in the Freckle Bitch's drive-thru lane. "What the fuck? We never got to do that."

"I, uh, don't think that's supposed to be a common thing," Troy said, watching the scene with horrified interest. The window asked for their order and yells started coming at it from every angle. "Fuck. That's going to take a while."

Dex took a bite of his burger and shook his head. "And the line behind them's going to give the girl hell too. Fucking shame."

"I'm so glad to be done with that crap. That would've ruined my week, easy." V picked up her burger and pulled the pickles out, only noticing their curious expressions after the second one hit her tray. "Really. It sucked."

"You worked here?" Troy asked, pointing right at the front doors. "At Freckle Bitch's? Behind the counter, in the window, all that?"

V leaned forward on her elbows. "Hell, I did time in the truck. Drove the fucking thing around and nearly flipped it. Could've crushed a few kids with the hamburger bun in the back too, but they dodged it. Fun times."

The shock on Dex's face lingered for a bit then faded into pure amusement. "That is fucking priceless. Never would've pegged you for one of their girls."

"I'm a redhead with freckles. They didn't want to pass that up, and I was desperate for cash, so..."

"Freckles? I know you've got a few, but I don't know if we're talking mascot-grade." Dex said, checking her over.

"She's covered in them. Not that hard to miss, man." Troy popped a fry into his mouth and almost missed the incredulous look that Dex was aiming at him. "What?"

"Can we switch topics?" V asked, half tempted to pull her hat down. "Or just go back to freckle bitches that aren't me?"

Dex rubbed his temples and sighed. "Yeah, sure. It's just crazy to be talking about this shit, you know?"

"This is kinda the Saints' stomping ground, isn't it? Maybe it was just meant to be. You're all lucky I can still stomach the food after finding out what goes into it, but every time I hear one of the damn commercials I want to rip my radio out."

She reached over to steal a few of Troy's fries and he didn't bother to slap her hand away. "Can't imagine why you wouldn't be a fan."

"You've heard this shit. Just imagine having to say it day in and day out for a whole damn year. We had it down to the point where I was reciting it in my sleep. My first words for the day would be about the Big Swallow, or the Twins. I'd get drunk and go on about the specials to the first person who'd walk up to me, and I know they wondered if I was trying to come on to them."

"Couldn't have been that bad." Dex said, dismissing it.

You just had to do that didn't you? Damn. After that there was no way they weren't getting a demonstration.

V cleared her throat and jumped right in. "Welcome to Freckle Bitch's, where you can't beat our meat! What's been on your mind today? Do you have the need to grip two sizable pieces of our bazooms in your hands, or is that not enough? Are you thinking of something larger? Leaner? Fuller? I know I have been, and boy do I have something in mind for you."

Troy rolled his eyes and V amped up her breathy tone just for him.

"It's something we save for our special customers. A hot beef injection the likes you've never seen." Dex was trying not to laugh, and V just kept on going. "The way it just slides down your throat, you'll relish the finish. The way the flavor just explodes in your mouth."

She moaned loud enough that anyone within earshot could hear her and Troy nearly choked on his soda. Dex lost it at that point, and she stood up to give both a polite bow as they struggled to compose themselves. The family sitting nearby wasn't as gracious as they shooed their children away into their minivan, but she didn't care. They heard worse on network TV every day, or at least she did when she was a kid. Who knew what they hell they were listening to now.

"You're kidding. You did not actually say any of that shit to people," Dex asked, wiping his eyes.

"Oh yeah. I did, and if I wanted to rake in the cash I did it with a smile." She sat down and winked at Troy who'd just recovered from his coughing fit, but he didn't play along. Instead his lips were drawn into a thin line, and she wasn't sure what to do with that. "Customer satisfaction guaranteed after all."

Dex laughed again and she moved her attention back to him. "For real? I know the girls at the O-Rings got creative whenever a mike was nearby, but not like that."

"There was a script, but some days it was more entertaining to put your own spin on things. When you're bored and no one's buying you let your mind wander, and it can come up with some wild stuff. Didn't always go well though, because even with the script it always seemed like I was trying to proposition someone." She sipped more of her milkshake and sighed. "God, I felt like a phone sex operator."

"Saying shit like that? I'm not surprised," Troy replied, still avoiding her eyes.

"I did exaggerate some parts, but you've all heard the commercials. It's a little fucked up, and we haven't even gone over the products." Her hand checked her funbag, and she pulled out the toy waiting for her. "Ooh, lucky me. A pearl necklace."

Troy stood up and grabbed the tray in front of him, shoving most of their trash onto it. "Lucky you. Don't we have business to go over?"

"Yeah, yeah. No need to rush," Dex said to his back as he went towards the trash cans. "Ruffled him good there."

V fiddled with the plastic wrapped around the necklace and shrugged. "How would you feel if you almost choked to death at a Freckle Bitch's? I think I'd be a little pissed."

"Especially after hearing that? It'd be a hell of a way to go." Dex pulled out a small map and V put the toy aside to examine the notes scratched onto it. "But he does have a point. Can't mix business with too much pleasure."

She'd seen this map before, or one like it hung back at the church. This one was rougher around the edges, and she could see that Dex had changed a few things since the last time she had seen it. The gangs had the city pretty evenly split, but things were changing. Purple had weaved its way in, and V hoped to see a lot more of it before their work was done.

"I've been hearing rumors that there's a factory that the Carnales have been staking out for their weapons. Got quite the operation going, and they're churning out shit left and right. The thing about this place is that we have no idea what kind of resistance we're talking about. There's heavy, and then there's metric fucktons of heavy. That's where you come in. We need someone to get close and clear things up. Give us more of an idea of what we're working with."

"Sounds like fun. You want me to slip in and be all stealthy? I can try that-"

"No, none of that ninja shit," Troy interrupted, not bothering to sit back down. "I'm sending a few of my crew with you, and all you're going to do is drive by, get a closer look, and leave. Nothing else."

"You're sending some babysitters with me? Why the fuck for?" she asked, getting irritated.

"To keep you covered while you do. Check your pride at the door, kid, because a factory like that is going to be packed full of shit ready to kill you. Anyone that goes near it is going to have a crew with them."

"Anyone's right. Even Johnny." Dex circled the spot with his finger and tapped it. "You've got to be careful with this. Right now we can handle what they're throwing at us, but we don't need any extra heat from them if we can avoid it. Got it?"

V tried to keep the scowl off of her face, but knew it was slipping through. "Got it."

"He really knows how to piss me off some days," V muttered to herself as she checked her pistol. "Pushes my buttons and drives me up a wall in no time flat."

"Who?" Dee asked, peeking over the side of the passenger seat. "Stu do something stupid again?"

"No, it's...it's nothing. Just silly shit. I'm surprised you two aren't complaining much."

"About what?"

Luis took the next turn calmly, and V perched herself between both of their seats. "Taking me out here."

Dee grinned. "Ah, that's what's up. You know if you want to bitch him out now I won't stop you, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It just makes me mad that he doesn't trust me to handle this by myself." All the protective older guardian bullshit bothered her too, but only because Troy would push it on her then top it all off by calling her kid. "I'm not five and about to hit my first tilt-a-whirl."

"But you really can't sneak worth shit. Sorry to break it to you, sweets," Dee said. "That's why we're all here wearing blue and keeping our damn fingers crossed. You've got to have an escape plan. Though he sure knows how to pick 'em, because if he really wanted you to behave responsibly he wouldn't have sent us."

Luis laughed, and even V had to smile. "She makes a great point, eh?"

"Why do you think I avoid arguing with her? I lose that fight before I begin it." V checked her gun for the last time and slipped it into her usual hiding place as Luis dimmed the lights. He pulled the car off of the road into the brush down the way from the factory and she felt ready to jump out of the seat. "We are so getting blasted after this."

"Promise?" Dee asked, staring ahead at what waited for them.

V nodded. "Only if you remember the limes."

Once the car was about as hidden as it could get, all three made their way across the road, and jumped the fence leading to the factory's scrapyard. Frames of old trucks and other assorted crap littered the area, and they moved quickly and quietly through cover as they listened for any voices.

Luis held up a hand and pointed to one man hanging by the scrapyard's only building. It appeared to be an office, but no lights were on, and from here it was hard to tell if he was even flying Carnales colors.

"Hey," Dee whispered. "I think he's that bum that hangs by the church on Tuesdays. See the bottle? That's his hooch."

V couldn't make out the type of bottle, but he did look familiar. She also did the mental math and realized that today was a Thursday. "Wonder if he makes the rounds with the others too."

"It'll remain a mystery," Luis replied, urging them to move forward.

The man didn't even bother to acknowledge them as they passed him, and when Luis motioned for them to get down V fell flat on her face. She turned to the side when she was sure that she wasn't being shot at and felt her breath burn in her lungs. The large pile of dirt loomed before them, and off to their left there was a small flash of light that flickered then disappeared.

A lighter? V waited for it to come back and it did, in another person's hand. Two of them. Shit.

She didn't want to move, but Dee crawled forward up towards the hill and Luis nudged her in the shoulder until she did so as well. The men were too caught up in their conversation to glance their way, and the black, starless sky above gave them just enough cover to be brave. ...And stupid, but hell, no one ever got a plan done by thinking about it.

The amount of noise they were making should've been enough to set someone off, but no one said a thing as they kept on going, and when they reached the top V almost didn't know what to do with the opportunity.

"V," Luis hissed. "Want to make with the photos now, or later when we're bleeding out?"

"Screw you, man." She started digging for her phone and eased it across the dirt beneath them until it was in front of her. "Wait. This thing isn't fucking silent."

"You serious?" Dee let out a good string of things V hadn't heard in a while and pushed her phone her way. "Hurry up, okay?"

Time slowed to a stop as each photo was set up and taken, and V felt the damn thing begin to quake in her hands. Luis touched her forearm, then held it, and she took three more before calling it done. When the phone was safely back with Dee, V took the chance to stare at the pipes stretching up towards the sky. Strange how she'd driven by this spot so many times, but only now really had a chance to look at it.

"Can we get the fuck out of here now?"

Dee's words brought her back and V realized they'd been up here for a long time. Much longer than what was probably healthy. "Yeah. Sounds good. Now to see if we can we can make this work without me choking on the last step. What do you think?"

"Best two out of three."

"Shut up."

Turns out she only needed one. That never happened, and the minute they crawled back into their getaway car she highfived both of them and tried not to faint in the backseat.

The radio crackled to life as they merged back into traffic, and V knew the voice before it was able to finish a sentence. "-and I'm all grown-up now. So, why don't you stop on by-"

"You know what?" she asked no one in particular. "Why don't we?"

Luis checked his mirror. "We what?"

"Stop on by and see what's really in the sauce they call special. You think you've got an idea, but I know what gives it its zip. Zip and pizazz."

"We don't want to know, do we?" Dee asked, too tired to keep from yawning.

"No, but what's the fun of keeping that a secret anyway?" V teased, staring up at the ceiling as she stretched along the seats. "Half the fun of insider secrets is spilling them."

"Wait, you worked there?" Luis did a double-take and V groaned.

In the meantime, the commercial had looped back to its very start, and V hated the way she knew every word by heart.