Chapter 3: Welcome To Crystal City
The people of the city were loud and sounded aggressive. Everyone was pushing and shunting to get moving to where they needed to go. And Matt was just standing with an awe struck Goth chick who realized their location.
Suddenly, the impressed look of the Goth Specialist started to sink and then turned into a sad frown. Matt noticing this, decided to speak about it with her. He would assume that she would be happy in a place like this, apart from the constant chatter and crowds people infested were in.
"Kristen? Babe? Is something wrong?" Matt asked concerned for his love.
"Matt…" Kristen started in a whisper before getting closer to her man. "This is where my parents were buried. The place where I said my final goodbyes."
Matt then looked startled and worried about her reaction. He was worried about how she was going to react. This place stored the memories of where she had finally known where her parents were and it was sadly the closet she has ever had when it came to family. This was a fact about her orphaned life.
"Kristen, I… I didn't mean to bring you here…" Matt started while really regretting his choices. Out of all the cities that the hacker had decided to go to, he had chosen the one with his girlfriend's dead parents buried in. He really should've asked a bit more about her past instead of picking a location.
"Matt, it's fine." Kristen states before letting a few tears drop out of her eyes. "This just means that finding those two killers will be my top goal."
"Finding those killers?" Matt questioned. "Surely you can't be saying that-"
"I am, Matt." Kristen says. "When I had looked at my parents final burial, I had vowed to never, ever let those two get away with that. I may not know where they are specifically, but I know I will find them."
"How can you even be sure that they are even still alive? I'm sure that if they pissed other people off in the same way, they would've been killed years ago." Matt explained.
"Because I know, Matt." Kristen says. "I know that they are still alive, because I can feel it. The two of them are somewhere, and I will find them." The final line Kristen used was in an American accent.
"I see…" Matt says not actually getting it. Perhaps it was woman's intuition that was handing her those thoughts and demanding her some clues or perhaps the pain of losing her parents and being forced to rethink her past was clouding her judgment. But Matt wasn't going to ruin this for her. If she wanted to find the closure for avenging her parents, he was at least going to give her the chance.
"I actually come here once every year and leave a flower on each of my parents graves, always vowing to get the revenge that they deserve their daughter to get them, so I know that they can rest in peace knowing that two more people like those two are no longer on this earth." Kristen says.
"Is that so?" Matt asks. "I haven't even seen you leave Deckers HQ before for long periods of time."
"That's because you've always been too busy with your technology that you've never even paid attention to what I do when I have a lot of spare time." Kristen says.
"Oh… I'm sorry, Kristen." Matt says while rubbing the top of his head and gawking awkwardly at a different direction.
"I know, Matt. Thank you." Kristen says.
The two of them watched as the city continued to have people moving about. Some coming and going and others just standing around, waiting for transportation or selling things on the street corner.
"So what are we doing first?" Kristen asked curious for Matt's next stage of plans.
"I'm not quite sure yet myself." Matt admits.
"Really?" Kristen asked giving a smirk. "The leader of the Deckers not knowing what to do? That's a first."
"In my shoes, everything is a lot different than your position." Matt says. "We've still got a week, maybe more before our gang arrives into Crystal City."
"Well shouldn't we be exploring the city so we know where we should set up? Perhaps get to know the street life of the city?" Kristen suggests.
"That might be a good idea. I don't suppose there is anything more or less useful at this point." Matt admits.
"Well, which way should we go?" Kristen asked not hearing a suggestion from Matt.
"We'll be heading more to the north. That's where the hotels are located and I wouldn't fancy dealing with full lofts while other people can take them too." Matt replied.
"Agreed." Kristen says.
"Shall we?" Matt asked while putting his hand out to reach to hers. She gave a small smile and took his too. Both hands with Goth nail polish on their nails intertwined with each other's, refusing to let go for anything that distracted them along the way.
As the teen couple continued to trek down the city streets, everything just seemed more crowded than before. If the airport was bad, this was worse by a lot. Matt was annoyed at everyone there because he knew that their path to the lofts was going to be a difficult to go across. Many of the people walking by were heading to work or other locations of interest that would help their needs. There were a few groups of thugs here that Matt had observed walking by, but decided to ignore them as they weren't directly interested in the Miller or his girl. Instead they were walking towards the south of the crowded street and waving their weapons at people who dared come within two feet of them, which explained why Matt and Kristen were having a hard time getting through the crowds.
In the distance behind the crowds, a man was following the couple and took a great interest in Matt. His back was clearly showing a logo. This man had apparently seen the same one before, because his mouth distinctively whispered 'Decker' when he saw it. He was wearing a mixture of a green suit and red modified gangster SWAT armor. It was kind of similar to the Luchadore appearances of some members that Matt would have seen before. Too bad he was the one being watched and not the other way around.
He was watching Matt easily with a pair of goggles that kept his vision clear and had his target locked. The pair he was wearing was equipped with a mini visual computer terminal that could be accessed by voice, vision and every thought, as this guy was clearly showing. Behind his eyewear, he had a full face mask that looked like it belonged to a pilot of STAG, which was a big surprise because STAG technology wasn't shared with the public as it wasn't Cyrus Temple's plan to share his advanced weapons and tools with immature minds. Armor would've been accounted for in that perspective, but apparently it wasn't hard to gather for these guys.
Around the area of the city Matt was in, a lot of guys with green and red were walking around. It was as if they owned the area. It was clear that they did by the evidence of the appearance of it, but it would have to be clarified later when Matt can hack the city news and zoning network. One step at a time, which means setting up shop in Crystal City first and then gather the information on the enemy gangs second.
While Matt didn't see any evidence of anyone watching him and Kristen, he still felt as if he was a prime target out in the open like this, even among the crowds of people around here. Chasing after someone was like trying to run in a dark tunnel to flee; you were too blind and yet your enemy was too.
The masked thug just continued to watch in the distance and assumed their next move heading for the lofts in the area, because of the places they were walking through. This area mainly contained residential apartments and a few high class stores that the rich would have a field day for a whole bunch of good items or useless junk in general.
Every building was at least twenty or more stories high in the area, indicating the reason were explained by the people who continued to infest the area like flies on a dead animal. This crowd would be good to get out of for a bit.
Before Matt was going to rent a room for Kristen and himself, he had taken out his phone and started mashing down on the screen buttons of his mobile device. Kristen took some interest in Matt's action and decided to question about it.
"Who are you texting?" Kristen asked.
"The one person who I still consider a friend, despite their way of leaving crime from the Syndicate's side." Matt says before sending off a text to that one person.
Zimos' Pad:
The Bootlegger that Pierce was driving stopped at the edge of a curb. They had managed to get away from STAG and lose their attention. They two remained unharmed and it would stay that way… for now.
The Bootlegger Pierce was driving had badly shattered or smashed windows and the amount of laser or bullet holes was left uncounted. The lights on the car had all been damaged because of weapon projectiles flying from both sides and Pierce crashing into street lights that were standing beside the roadways.
The Boss didn't give any facial expression to indicate whether he was or want annoyed by Pierce's driving, but it sure seemed like an acceptable relief for the driver.
Suddenly the tires to the car all fell off one by one. Pierce was left with a dumbstruck expression that made him feel like idiot to be in this situation. He only went on one driving spree with The Boss to get to Zimos' place. Only ONE. And the vehicle was completely totaled. Now if The Boss was to drive the car, it would seem as if it had grown some steel balls of its own. That was one thing the face of the Saints never understood.
"Alright, let's go see what Z is up to." The Boss says before pulling the handle to his passenger door, only to see it fall off onto the ground with the remains of the window smashing along with it.
The driver's side door then proceeded to follow suit and then both back doors, leaving the car immobile and unable to lockup. Pierce just kept his face with an expression that read 'Are you fucking kidding me?' on it.
"Sorry about your ride, Pierce." The Boss says.
"Man, I just bought that thing, man." Pierce says saddened by his car's condition. "This motherfucker's not drivable anymore."
"Relax, Pierce." The Boss says. "It isn't irreparable. All it needs is new parts. And not the shitty kind."
"Alright." Pierce simply replied as the two got away from the vehicle and went for the front door to the Pad. As the two were at the door, a loud 'BOOM!' came from behind them.
The Boss and Pierce both turned their heads back slowly to where the car was ground… only to find it in a pile of melted wreckage and heavy flames. Pierce's jaw was dropped so slow that you could almost swear he dislocated his jaw. The Boss' face however had his mouth a lot less dropped, but remained lower since he almost got cooked by flames… again.
"Sorry, Pierce. But I think it isn't going to be drivable anymore." The Boss says before opening the door and leaving Pierce there to watch the wreckage burn in the morning daylight. If it was night time, it could've lit the whole neighborhood, even with the street lights off.
Meanwhile, The Boss was walking up the second row of stairs to get higher up the building to get to Zimos' floor. He was one the floor when he finally went up the stairs and twisted around counter clockwise to see Zimos' doors on the right side of the walls many feet ahead. So The Boss decided to go up to it and knock.
"Hold on, baby. I'll be there in a minute." A voice called from inside, assuming that Zimos wasn't at the door directly and was currently 'busy'.
After about a minute of waiting, the door had some clicking from the inside and then the door swung open to reveal the purple clothed Pimp. His cane was held at his neck and his mouth contained a smoke that was lit. It had appeared that Zimos was in his relaxing state at the moment.
"Sup, Boss? You should've called beforehand." Zimos says.
"Sorry, Z. But I had to leave the penthouse. Kinzie is acting paranoid again and keeps watching the remains Deckers that have left town. Shit with her is crazy."
"Why couldn't you tell her stop?" Zimos questioned.
"Oh, I did. But knowing her, she's probably doing it again. I'm actually pretty close to giving up on that girl…" The Boss says while sighing.
"Well, I'm finished with what I was doin' before, so come on in." Zimos says and stepped out of the doorway to let the leader of the Saints in.
The Boss walked in instantly and looked around the room with ease, noticing the sleeping hos that infested the room. They were either sleeping on the couches inside or were laying on the floor. The Boss counted up to five of them in total. The Boss knew that Zimos was an expert when it came to his babies.
"I see you've been busy." The Boss says.
"Yeah, baby. When you've gotten up early, tapping some ass first is a good wake up call." Zimos says with a smirk appearing on his lips.
"Ain't that the truth." The leader of Third Street says.
"So, how's fighting STAG and the Luchadores going?" Zimos questioned while cracking open a beer and holding another one out to The Boss, who rejected the drink, considering the hazy visions that he already had from drinking hours ago.
"Man, with all the Ultor shit we're dealing with, I can barely manage to care about a gang of wrestlers or a high-tech military asshole with a fucked up attitude picking fights with me. We're gonna need a plan soon to wipe out all the motherfuckers we're getting hitched by." The Boss says before leaning on a couch one ho was lying on.
"Maybe you should get some action. My bitches are the finest in all of Steelport." Zimos says.
"Nah, I don't need to get laid, Z. And the sign outdoors saying 'best handjobs in town' proves you must have some potential running with these girls." The Boss says.
"That's right, Boss." Zimos says taking a long drag from his smoke before starting up a different subject. "By the way, I heard an explosion outside and it almost ruined the mood. What was that?"
"Oh, well Pierce's car had a little 'reconstruction' from STAG on the way here and the result wasn't as please as Pierce had wanted and well… you know, thing exploded after we parked it here." The Boss explained.
Suddenly as The Boss had finished his sentence, the door had a few knocks heard on it and Zimos walked to it. Before Zimos opened the door, he looked back to the leader of the Saints who carried a tired expression and a look of no care in the world.
"That's your boy, right?" The pimp asked.
"I wouldn't think of anyone else, Z." The Boss replied.
"Just checking with you, baby." Zimos says.
Zimos opened the door and the celebrity of the Saints walked in with a sad expression on his face and some grease on his expensive clothes. Apparently Pierce had actually gone through his wreckage of a Bootlegger and wanted something. He wouldn't normally go through wreckage wearing his good clothes.
"Hey, don't let that shit drop on the rug!" Zimos called panicked by the amount of grease dripping from Pierce's suit.
"Oh, shit man. I'm sorry; I didn't realize it was all over me. This shit takes forever to get off white clothes." Pierce says.
Zimos quickly rushed to his mini-kitchen and got a dry towel and quickly zoomed back to Pierce who held his arms to his messy grease area and as a result, it made his sleeves dirty too. Zimos then forced his towel in Pierce's arms and the celebrity watched the pimp as he stood back. Clearly Zimos didn't want grease crap on his pimp outfit.
"Thanks, Z." Pierce says.
"Don't EVER drag that shit in here again. This place is a bitch to keep clean." Zimos says.
"Hey, chill man. I promise not to do that ever again." Pierce says defensively.
"You have best remember that, playa." Zimos says back.
"Enough talking about small bullshit, we need to make a plan to shorten the Luchadore resources and slow down STAG." The Boss says cutting in loud enough to make a few of the hos rollover in their rest.
"You sure you're up for that? I mean you're still barely able to walk smoothly as it is." Pierce says.
"That's why I'll use my head now, and move on with the footwork later." The Boss says.
"Right, I get ya." Pierce says.
"Zimos, do you know anything about the Luchadores other than being masked soldiers of assholes like Killbane? I would think someone having connections like you would know what they get up to." The Boss says.
"Sorry, Boss." Zimos says with a small frown at the statement. "The shit I know was against Morningstar, not classless fighters with short tempers."
"Damn. I always thought you were the knowledge base of Steelport, Zimos." Pierce says.
"Give me a break. I've been in the pony show for a loooong time, and you expect me to have the right information just like that? Baby, please." Zimos says.
The Boss sighs in frustration for this attempt and almost felt like giving up before he realized that he might know someone who has enough knowledge about the Luchadores than any of the Saints members.
"Hold up, I've got an idea." The Boss says and pulled his phone from his high class pants pocket and searched his contacts more carefully until he saw what he wanted and pressed the call button next to the name. The three heard the phone dial for a whole ten seconds before it stopped and the sounds of someone on the other end were heard and a mumbled insult was said.
"Hey, Viola…"
STAG Base Loren Square:
The STAG leader, Cyrus Temple stood at his desk while watching out the windows to the building he was in. It wasn't the tallest building in all of Steelport, but it served as a relatively highly structured tower. On the other side of the desk, Kia stood there watching her leader look out the window in thought, as if questioning unreadable questions.
The suspense that made the Saints stay outside of metal bars and remain living made Cyrus very eager every second. Knowing that STAG soldiers were falling to a gangbanger was an outrage. How the leader of the Saints managed to pull that off always made them STAG leader puzzled. The situation with the Saints was even more severe that the Killbane issue that he knew well about. He knew that taking down Killbane wouldn't be a hard task. All he'd have to do is surround the Three Count Casino and storm in with the soldiers of his and gun down any Luchadore seen on the inside. Eventually they would encounter Killbane and kill him along with his gang. But a hostile takeover of the Syndicate attack dog was not the best move to pull. People actually viewed killers like him as popular heroes in Steelport with the reputation that people get honored to see. Taking him down with the power of STAG would cause more problems that it is worth settling one of their own. The public support would be crippled and STAG soldiers would no doubt also quit the organization.
"Sir, the soldiers claim that they lost the Saints somewhere in the southeast of the city. Currently we've found no evidence of their whereabouts but we will not give up." Kia stated.
Cyrus glared daggers inside of his own heart. His own STAG soldiers were doing their best against the Saints, yet their strategies continued to backfire and leave devastating results that were bad for people looking into STAG's eyes. Already they had encountered a family who sued the organization because apparently a STAG soldier had taken a shot at a civilian with his McManus 2015 which had pierced the victim's head. Cyrus hadn't seen proof of this, but was forced to give a sum of $100,000 away due to this case. While he didn't agree about the way the situation was handled, no one would sue an organization for no reason. Considering the amount that believed the story, it was pretty generous that STAG only had to leave $100,000 instead of more or losing their organization completely.
"Thank you, Kia."
Kia looked at the back of the military leader as he watched the outdoors, waiting for the next act to begin. No doubt the Saints would be involved in that violence and STAG would do their best to take action against all gangs in the city.
"Sir, if it is not too much trouble, but I would like to start my own investigation to disclose the Saints from their hiding spots, if it is not too much trouble." Kia requested.
"I can't allow that, Kia. We don't have complete authorization for that yet and if we dare pull a foolish stunt to lure the Saints out, we might just get kicked out of the city and lose all our privileges for fighting gang violence." Cyrus says.
"But sir-" Kia started.
"Kia, follow my orders. The only reason you're still here and not chasing the Saints is because they would take you down easily in their fight. We don't need to lose high ranking soldiers like you to a gang of terrorists. You're one of the best we've got Kia, and I don't think that would work well if you get taken down." Cyrus says.
"Thank you, sir. I don't know what else to say." Kia says.
"This isn't a love-in. We're in this to stop all violence and end terror once and for all." Cyrus says raising his voice louder to bring Kia into her military self.
"Yes, sir."
Cyrus then watched Kia exit the office of his quickly and proceeded to her duties that were assigned to her personally. The leader of the STAG Initiative then turned back into the city, deep in his mind again. Wherever the Saints were, he demanded to find them, even without his ultimate weapon he wanted to use against them. He was certain that he would have the chance to use it soon. All that needed to be done was to see evidence that the Saints could push too far and present to Monica Hughes that fact.
Viola's Place:
The ex-leader of the prostitution business in east Morningstar turf was rudely awoken when she had heard her phone begin to ring. Knowing the sound of the ringtone, she already knew who it was calling her. She picked it up and listened.
"Hey, Viola…"
"What do you want? I was sleeping!" Viola complained.
"Yeah, well don't get all crabby about it. I'm just calling to ask if you know anything about the business the Luchadores do, other than the open ones we know about." The Boss says.
Viola gave a small hum as if gathering thoughts to herself. While she didn't appreciate getting awakened at the sound of a phone call, knowing that Killbane's profit could start decreasing made that call seem even sweeter to her.
"If you say so." Viola says before starting. "That asshole happens to have a share in the factories point in the city. He owns some of the mills in the area and sells the goods for a fair price. That really does depend on how the transaction goes however."
"Really, that's all you have to offer?" The Boss asked on the other end.
"I'm sure there is more than that. Why are you complaining anyway? Knowing that source of one of his businesses is enough right now, isn't it?"
"I guess…" The Boss replied, knowing she was right. "Thank you, Viola."
Suddenly the phone connection was cut between the two and the DeWynter was left sitting in her own bed in silence. She sighed and then decided to get up, knowing that the morning was the best time to get up for her. While leaving her own personal money making businesses, she still maintained some that would generate a substantial cash flow for her, depending on what she needed it all for. Her main point was to make the plans for those businesses and find ways to get out of debts that they brought themselves into. This was a secret thing she had been running behind the Syndicate, even before their plans for Stilwater had come. Not even Kiki had known of this and the two were close.
Suddenly, the phone beeped with a message and her thoughts were dropped from her mind and she looked at the screen, revealing that one new message had come inside of her inbox list. Expecting it to be The Boss with a question she sighed and navigated through the contents of phone. But when she saw the message, she noted something different, yet familiar about the image on it. It carried the Decker logo. Indicating that the message was from…
"Matt!" Viola shouted, almost in happiness to him sending her a text. He had only been outlawed from town a day ago and he was already sending a text to her. She had wondered where Matt had gone and didn't expect him to send a text this soon. Even though she had joined the Saints it had seemed Matt wanted to reestablish contact with her and not remove her as a contact. She had already done that to him because of her affiliation with the Saints. Now that she thought about it, maybe she shouldn't read the message. He was an immature ass at times and he sometimes got a kick out of seeing her fail at times. But despite that, she felt as if Matt was like… like a brother she never had. All she had ever had was a sister that cared about business and took it more serious than Viola did. If she had found out about Viola's businesses, the two would probably carry the same reputation for running successful jobs and networks of trade.
When she opened the message, she didn't expect to see what was written inside. Her mouth had dropped open a bit to seeing this. She read it with her thoughts, and they generated Matt's voice along with it.
Viola… I know I have been an arrogant brat to you a lot of the time we've served in the Syndicate together. I criticized your plans, and even laughed at you at annoying moments and when your plans didn't go according to plan.
More recently, when the leader of the Saints had started to take my territory, I had assumed that he was playing me for a fool. But in the end, I was the foolish one. He had shown me what it was like to lose and my life had almost ended that day. He was more than generous, despite the deal I had to give him for a bargaining posture. Losing is just not my cut of tea.
I've decided to move away to a new place. Meet new challenges, meet new people and most of all make Kristen my girl happy. We don't know what we're going to face in this new city, but I'm sure we're in for big changes. Cheers… Decker Logo
P.S. I'm so sorry for the loss of your sister. Kiki was a strong and brave woman, even in the end. I only wish Killbane had fallen instead of our true leader. Things would've no doubt run much more smoothly. I hope you give Killbane what he deserves. Kiki would like that.
Hope we can meet again.
~Matt Miller
After Viola had finished reading the text message sent by Matt, she was left sitting in her bed, heart racing and mind doing the same as well. What the hell did she just see? Would Matt suddenly change after an incident like that, or did someone hack the hacker?
"Matt…" Viola says finally accepting what the hacker was saying to her. The hacker was somewhere else, attempting to make changes to his own life. She both felt happy for him and guilty for him. She also remembered the times she would bully Matt. In fact, she actually started the whole mess with the two insulting each other.
She then quickly decided to write up something to say to Matt. She wasn't always good with words, but she wanted to even things out between the two of them a bit. After at least ten minutes of coming up with the words, she selected send and hoped that she would meet Matt again. A small smile went onto her face at the thought of Matt being OK and at a new place for a fresh start. She hoped that he would make some big improvements.
Viola then got up from her bed and went for the shower. She really wanted to wash herself up, since her hair easily got messy in her bed. It was long enough to get tangled with itself and it lacked its shape of being tied into a pony tail. The clothes that she wore weren't pajamas, but she wore something that was similar to her skirt that was also black. She didn't have any leggings or anything that covered her feet, so she had fully revealed legs. Her upper chest area had a black tank top that was undersized and revealed her bellybutton.
As she went inside the bathroom of hers, she stripped down quickly. She removed her tank top first and then stood in her bra, which slid off easy as she had worn it for a while. Now her breasts were revealed in the room. Due to it being cold in there, they had gotten hard in the cold air.
The skirt was removed and so was her underwear in quick seconds. There she stood completely naked in the bathroom. She entered the shower and then let the water flow carefully. It was very cold at first and it made her pull away from the head in discomfort for the cold. The water started to heat up and soon got really hot, which she discovered hitting her bare ass like a towel smacking it with a flick.
As she had adjusted the handles a bit more, she had found that one good warmth that made her moan in pleasure. She smiled to herself as she felt the water go down her cold body and warm it up. This was what she needed the most right now.
Matt And Kristen (Crystal City):
The Goth couple had stridden up stairs after renting out a room inside the building. The room number was 106 inside the building Westley Residential Complex. It carried an unusual name, but had potential despite the interesting name. At the door, Matt had turned the key that he had been supplied with inside the lock under the door handle and a small click sound indicated that it had been unlocked. The Goth male then twisted the nob and then pushed the door open, revealing a rather fairly sized room.
The room contained a lounging area that actually had a large plasma TV on a wall. There was also some clearly expensive furniture to be used around the room too. The lighting inside the room was actually quite decent and could be considered expensive to run, especially with the entire building running this much energy in each room. It was a wonder what the power bill might be. Matt dreaded the thought of that. Him paying large bills for short usage of things he never used often. That was the reason why he made the power plant in Steelport under his gang's control first. It eliminated the need for paying for electricity. Now that it wasn't his anymore, he was forced down this rough slope of his.
Kristen took the first steps inside the apartment and observed around the inside of it with curious glances, expecting to see something considered average and not so classy. Yet the entire building seemed to grab her interest with all the expensive products that were everywhere. Furniture was probably the cheapest thing here if not any more expensive. Further into the apartment had revealed that the kitchen area was also full of expensive silverware and cooking devices that were most likely made recently.
"Wow, this is all…" Kristen started, not being able to give any thought to how everything was in here.
Matt however was still at the door and looked around much more slowly than Kristen did. He took in all the texture features that were notable. The floors were waxed and looked as if it was only worked on a minute ago. There was a pair of stairs that were heading up directly in front of the doorway fifteen feet ahead. It looked as if it went up to a few more areas. Assuming that they were where the bedroom and bathroom points were located. Yep, this place had what they would need for their stay in Crystal City.
"My word, this place is quite magnificent." Matt says to himself in awe while taking all this in.
Kristen continued to look over the kitchen and noted the lack of food around. It seemed as if they had to supply their own resources when it came to human consumption products.
Kristen then heard her tummy growl in displeasure for the thought of food cursing at her on the inside. She really needed to cure her feelings of hunger soon. Too bad this place didn't have any food areas, which made less sense considering the way it was designed. The entire place could only be afforded by the rich and it didn't contain a restaurant inside it. That would've made a lot more cash for the owner of this place, which was Kristen's opinion.
"Kristen?" Matt questioned from the distance in a different room.
"Yes, Matt?"
"Would you still like to go to a place to eat?" Matt questioned.
"As long as it isn't a Freckle Bitch's." Kristen replied.
"Oh, don't worry. That was only a Stilwater based food point at the airport. I doubt we'd be running into anyone like that girl in the previous fast food place." Matt called.
A small smile had begun to appear on Kristen's face as she heard Matt say that. She didn't want anyone taking him away from her, and she'd probably kill anyone who tried to.
"Alright, where should we go?"
"I was thinking about this place I spotted just across the road to the east. I believe it will have a fair decent amount of food." Matt says. "If not, then we can hack into their funds and take some cash."
"I like your thinking, Matt." Kristen said while changing to an American accent again.
"Yeah, so get ready and we'll go now." Matt says back.
In mere minutes, Kristen and Matt were walking outside of the apartments and were heading east to get to where they needed to go. The way Matt had explained it, the restaurant wasn't going to be hard to reach. When they had gotten to the road, Kristen read the sign and noted that the restaurant's title was imported from a different country.
"'Deja Vu Parlor?'" Kristen questioned while giving Matt a funny look, not expecting him to choose this kind of place to much down some eatables.
"Yeah, this is the place. I sure hope the quality of food here is well. I expect nothing less." Matt says.
"Same. But hacking the place is always a secondary benefit." Kristen says with a smirk. "Let's see how this place is like on the inside."
"Of course."
But before the Goths got inside, Matt's phone beeped, indicating that he had received a message from one of his contacts. He looked to his phone and got to his message bank. He saw a message from Viola that was a reply to him, mostly indicating that the message was seen, read and got a reply to it. Matt closed his eyes and sighed assuming that Viola would've just said 'Fuck off.' to him. He wouldn't mind if that was the case. He knew he had deserved after the shit he gave her and to her sister.
But when Matt looked at the message sent from Viola, he had read something he didn't expect to see from her. Ever. This wasn't something he expected one of the DeWynter sisters to say to him. Unless of course they were going to die. But he doubted Viola was in that harm. She was fine… for now.
Matt. I know how it was like to feel regrets. Both you and I are full of them. We're just waiting to let it all out when the time is right, and sadly we can never choose when it is at adequate moments. For us both, it took almost dying to feel what real pain can take from us. We learn to do fewer acts of selfishness and greed, and we do what we can to devote more actions into generous choices and selflessness. Life has that ability to change you with just a blink of an eye.
The fact that both you and I remain means that we have a chance to redeem ourselves from the Syndicate's syndication and start up anew with different interests. The Saints may be just another organization, but I've learned something from spending nothing more than days with them. No matter how much of an immediate threat they can be to society, they are capable for one emotion: Compassion.
The leader of the Saints may carry the title of 'Butcher Of Stilwater' but he does carry a bigger war on his shoulders than any we could've thrown at him. Even with the combination of the Morningstar, the Deckers and the Luchadores. He has been through a lot of betrayal over the past ten years, and five which remained with him being in a coma. But he still cares for his crew, even after the shit he has seen. I really appreciate what he has done for me when we had met. No matter how much of a menace he has been noted as, it was always the world which started this turmoil of events that sparked his daring rage.
But this isn't about him. Our lives will always remember this change, Matt. It doesn't matter if we run into the same lifestyle again. We're always going to feel this presence of close to death moments for the rest of our lives. Despite my old dislike of you, you were always the brother I never had. I wish we could've spoken a lot more since when we were in our own roles of the Syndicate. I hope we can meet again someday, Matt. Take care of your girlfriend Kristen.
~ With love, Viola.
Once Matt had finished reading the message, he stood there with his eyes widened in disbelief. The same woman who would've told him to shut up had actually replied, and with a more professional manner than he had used. The fact that she said that he was like a brother to her made him feel good. Despite his immature attitude, he still managed to keep his place as that one brotherly figure that kept on acting like a child.
Kristen also viewed the message and looked with a lot of emotions going through her head just like Matt's. However, she did expect something like this to happen. After all, stressful situations and sudden life changes can bring out the confessions that aren't usually noticeable or wanted to be explained. In Viola's case, it was the first one. She just didn't know what to make of it until Matt had sent her a message.
"Havin' a little bonding experience through messages from Viola, Matt?" Kristen asked cheekily and put her arm around Matt's waist.
"Just trying to clear up certain roadblocks and blocked gutters from the past, love." Replied Matt before he planted a kiss onto his lips, which both members of the couple enjoyed, grinning while their eyes were closed and lips sewed together.
As the two split up, Matt looked to his phone and typed in one last short message to send to the last DeWynter sister.
I hope we can meet again too, Viola. In time I'll reveal my location. Cheers.
~ Love Matt
On the inside of the restaurant, there were at least forty round tables with reflective shining surfaces on them. They were completely brown and didn't appear to have spared any expense on the sweat and blood they had to get all this. This place was clearly made for rich people, as the men and women around all appeared to be rich and old timely fashioned.
Matt and Kristen walked into the restaurant further and noticed one waiter just standing near the doorway, waiting for more costumers to show up. Seeing the Goth couple arrive inside made a feeling of joy appear on his face. He kindly strode up to them and made sure their attention was drawn to him.
"Welcome to Deja Vu Parlor. How may I be of assistance tonight?" The waiter asked.
Matt gave a short frown to this man. While the place consisted of mostly imported taste and culture around, it had appeared that they were high strung for employees at the moment and this one appeared to be full blood American. Matt could read what this man's life was like just by reading his body and emotions he omitted. He had apparently activated a new sense.
"Pardon me, but I thought this place was supposed to have French workers. I'm surprised that would've allowed someone without any French nationality to work here." Matt was right. It made the imagination of this place seem so vivid.
"Well this place has recently gotten taken under new management after a few… incidences left the owners unable to control things and they had to leave… for good." The waiter explained.
Both Matt and Kristen looked to each other, eying suspicion against this waiter. He looked at them with fear of sorts. Apparently someone must've been doing some violent exploitation to make this man act like so.
"Did, something happen to the owners of this place? Did they get killed?" Kristen asked.
"N-no! It's nothing like that all!" The waiter replied quickly. "We've just had to be pretty busy lately to keep, uh…." The waiter said before he paused, leaving the Goths watching him with curious eyes. "…keep the business running. That's it, and we've been forced to take their jobs."
Matt and Kristen gave evident looks. Apparently the couple wasn't falling for it and leaned in closer to the waiter. Main Kristen did it, but Matt only followed what see did, curious to see what she would be doing.
"Is this place being run by some criminals?" Kristen whispered.
The waiter looked at the two carefully, considering either to tell them something, or just play dumb and pretend the one in charge here was good. He then looked at Matt and Kristen, noticing the two of them having Decker signs on them. Apparently he wasn't up for giving them any answers.
"Look, I'm trying to keep my job, so I don't want trouble. Is there anything you want me to do today? Do you want a table, is that it?" The waiter questioned.
"Actually yes, sir. But can we get one as far away from people as possible? I'm still trying to adapt to the Crystal City life and these people that we've seen. I hope you do understand." Matt explained almost awkwardly.
"Oh, I understand. Follow me, I'll take you to the best one right now." The waiter says.
"Come on, Kristen." Matt says putting his arm around her shoulders and moving her along forward.
The name of the build made it sound like a bar, but really it was a food place which had French addings for it. While the group of three was walking through and around the tables, Matt had noted the groups of rich old people giving dirty looks to the British Goth. It was as if they were being watchful against someone who they hadn't seen people wearing their Decker clothes before. It was that, or the fact that they weren't wearing anything to back up their amount of wealth. The one look Matt gave to one man was priceless. Apparently Matt had noticed a man in his fifties sitting in a spot, looking dead in the eyes of the Decker leader. Whatever the look from the old man had implied, it wasn't something to take lightly.
The old man seemed to look at Matt with anticipated interest and didn't seem to reveal why that was the case. It just kept on bugging Matt, because no matter how far he had turned away from the old man, he could still feel the eyes of that old man burning on his back.
The one thing Matt had noted about the man was his familiarity with someone else he knew. It stung at his mind pretty deep and his thoughts pretty hard. He wore a black suit and had some red in many areas, including a tie and smoked a cigar. 'Wow, that man. That man sure looks familiar. He almost looks like he is the younger version of…'
"Mister Loren?"
Both Kristen and the waiter looked at Matt with confused glares. He had randomly said his ex-boss's name and there wasn't a conversation going on. This was worrying Kristen, because she remembered him acting as her adopted father until the Deckers came.
"Matt, are you alright?" Kristen asked worried.
The Decker leader then shook his head and looked between the two people who watched the male Goth with confusion and a bit of concern. The concern was completely from Kristen since she cared for Matt a lot. His worried thoughts were hers too. Or at least that is what she thought.
"Uh, it was nothing. I just… have a thought about some things. That's all." Matt replied.
Kristen continued to glare at Matt with worry still. Thinking about her adoptive father was something they shouldn't be speaking about. Matt probably didn't understand it, but Kristen did. The Syndicate had been a large company with many worldly contacts and had a strong influence with companies all over the world. Mentioning their leader would make it a lot more dangerous for the Deckers if they are discovered to be one of the three gangs that were in the Syndicate.
The three then made it to a table a bit of a distance away from the rich snobby people. It wasn't too far, but it was decent enough to speak there without being in earshot range. Matt understood this part and remained pleased to be able to get this far away.
"Alright, here is your table. When you want it, I'll take your orders straight away." The waiter says before pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil.
Both Matt and Kristen looked into their menus and read everything carefully. Well actually Matt was, but Kristen seemed to be fast at making choices. Much faster than he was. She had sat down the menu and then proceeded to answer the waiter.
"Waiter, I'll have the Le blanc de poulet to eat, and a La biére to drink." Kristen commanded.
Both the waiter and Matt looked speechless at her for answering so quickly. It wasn't even ten seconds into reading, and she got it perfectly sorted. As stated before, she is good at making the first and best choices in great session. The looks that both the waiter and Matt gave her made her feel disturbed and made her have to ask about it.
"What is with those looks you're both giving me? Don't tell me I have something on my face." Kristen says.
"No… it's just that…" Matt started before taking a breath and skipping past the issue. "Never mind, it isn't important."
Kristen just started at Matt with eyes of annoyance and sat in silence until the waiter would leave after he took his order too. The waiter and Matt then proceeded to speak among themselves as well.
"And… what about you?" The waiter asked.
"I think I'll take…" Matt started before scanning the menu again. Apparently he needed to reread it again to get what he exactly wanted to try. As he looked over the menu, he gave a frown.
"I'm sorry; I really don't know what to try…" Matt says sheepishly and rubbing his head.
Kristen sighed and put her elbows on the table and put her hands in front of her head. Matt wouldn't be able to choose without her guidance and she saw that.
"He'll have the same things I'm having." Kristen cut in.
"Of course, thank you, miss." The waiter said before marking another of the first order on it too. "Your food should be ready in twenty minutes. Hope you can wait a bit."
"It's fine." Matt replied and the waiter walked off.
Matt then looked to Kristen who started back with serious eyes. It was as if she wanted to ask something she really wanted to know. Right now he could guess why that is and assume that he was correct about it too.
"Why did you mention my adoptive father?"
"Kristen…"
"Matt, please. Why?"
Matt looked to his hands and back to where the man he was staring at was sitting. His back was turned away from the couple and it seemed as if he had drawn his attention somewhere else. Matt sighed with gladness to this discovery and went back to the conversation.
"That man over there…" Matt started while pointing to the back of the old man. "…he looks just like Loren. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that he is somehow related to our old boss."
"Matt, I think you're starting to speak some bullshit. That man couldn't be related to Loren. After all, if he had family members, we would've already been aware of his family and who they are." Kristen said before kicking her case again and remembered his discovery at the Morningstar tower again. That cursed box made her curse silently. Whatever it was, it made her act and feel worried.
"Maybe…" Matt says. "But I'm still going to hold my suspicions to him. He just feels like someone I've met before."
Kristen didn't fully agree with Matt, but constantly kicking that case of her kept on making her think Matt wasn't incorrect about his feelings. She then slowly raised her hands away from her head area and looked at her boyfriend.
"Matt..?" Kristen started awkwardly.
"Yeah..?" Matt questioned back, curious by her tone.
"When we return back to the apartment, I wish to show you something." Kristen said before raising the case from the bottom of her feet up onto the table. "It is something in this case that I wish for you to see, and I suggest we do it when we return back to the loft."
"What is it that is making you unconfinable?" Matt questioned. Apparently Kristen didn't notice it, but Matt had been able to see her worried expression for quite a bit of time. "Don't think I didn't see it. It's written all over your body. The attachment to the case is too noticeable."
"I-it is?" Kristen asked.
"Yes. Now, what is inside of it?" Matt asked.
"I… I can't mention it here. Any businesses or people we mention about might get us killed." Kristen replied.
"Baby, does it look like someone is watching us here?" Matt asked before he looked around. Everyone had gone back to their food eating and ignored the Deckers that sat off in the distance. The sight made Matt relieved, because he knew that he wasn't going to be easy to remember if people could ignore them. "I don't see anyone taking in any unusual interest in us, so I have to guess that these guys and ladies don't want to have a go."
Kristen watched Matt as he looked at her with pleading eyes. The comforting warmth she felt right now as something she couldn't express. Matt's listen seemed to make her feel at peace about this case. It was something that felt irrelevant to the importance of their lives. Hell, she felt a lot better about that idea now. 'Maybe I can show Matt right here. He is right about no one watching us, so what could be the harm? Even if everyone else was to look this way, they wouldn't understand what we're speaking about.'
"No Matt."
"But Kristen." Matt pleaded.
"No, please don't make me do it here, Matt." Kristen replied back in the American accent. "It is still too dangerous to reveal in the open. If anyone does see this, we might end up fighting for our lives or get arrested."
Matt looked as if he was about to protest, but decided to let it go. She would show him soon… right?
Kristen sighed and then looked deep into Matt's eyes with her ocean dark blue ones. She gave this look of calm with them that made it seem peaceful for the watcher of those eyes. Matt even didn't know what to call this beauty he saw in them.
"Matt… I know you can tell I am worried about the contents of this metal case, but I cannot reveal it out here. If anyone sees all this, it might just make our problems a lot worse." I'm trying to avoid that from happening."
"If the contents are so valuable, then why are you carrying them along with you out in public? Wouldn't that just make things a lot worse instead of keeping it hidden?" Matt asked.
"No, keeping them in an unguarded room means that if anyone was to walk into the room and discover this, they could take it without any of us there to stop them. I promise you Matt, these files and plans are very important to us." Kristen then moved a bit forward and put her left hand out to Matt, which he moved closer to her as well and gave her his right hand. Both of them looked at each other with locked vision to one another. She then whispered something that Matt would understand. "This is the Syndicate plans that involved the Deckers. I wanted to show you before, but I didn't feel like it was the right moment. I hope you understand."
"If they are plans for our gang then shouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, if Loren had plans for us, they must've been good to involve us into them." Matt says.
"You really need to see this soon, Matt." Kristen said while rubbing her head with her hands, disconnected from Matt's. "I promise you that. Now can you promise to trust me?"
Matt looked into her eyes and sighed. She would win this. "I promise, you will not hear a peep about it from me until we are back at the loft."
Kristen then smiled and thanked Matt for his respect. It wasn't every day that you could force Matt to submit to anything. Now, it just seemed to her that she was in a different relationship with Matt. It was as if it was a… a true relationship?
Kristen shook her head lightly after thinking for a bit. Was her relationship really like that before? She wanted Matt's compassion for a while and she finally had it. Now Matt was adapting, she needed to know if he was happy. Like truly happy to be living by rules of life again. She would understand whether or not that he wanted something else to change. But this bugged her too much. It felt too perfect to believe. Never the less, she was happy with the result and Matt seemed acceptable about it himself. Mostly.
"By the way, what did you order for the both of us?" Matt asked.
"Chicken breast and beer." Kristen replied.
"In the morning? Good thing about the fake IDs then, hey?" Matt said while growing his grin on his face. Kristen looked back and giggled a bit. The two felt like two kids about to break the rules. Technically in age terms they really were, but it didn't matter to them.
Behind Kristen's smile, she continued to speak with her every thought. 'Yeah, I think this is only the beginning for Matt and I.'
Zimos' Pad:
The three African males were reading up stolen plans from the Luchadore businesses that Viola explained about. Somehow, The Boss had gotten information about the businesses at a quick moment of time. It was a wonder whether or not it was reality making sense or it was actually Kinzie who got the drop of the factories. It was assumed that Kinzie had brought it up.
The Boss had badly marked some locations in Luchadore turf with a red marker and got each position for the businesses quickly. The areas that were marked were either on small buildings or on mills in particular. They were the targets of interest.
"Man, these guys are making more money than why my bitches can make a day." Zimos whined.
"Alright, so what is the plan?" Pierce questioned.
"Good question. My idea to deal with all this is to hit em' all up really fast." The Boss answered.
And cap the motherfuckers out, right?" Pierce asked.
"That's the general idea, isn't it?" The Boss asked.
"To be honest, it isn't very original. Hell, I bet I could come up with a better idea right now." Pierce says.
"Fuck you saying, Pierce? I doubt you can live up to your words." The Boss says.
Zimos just watched as the two men. Never had he seen any debates about plans like this and all that nonsense. Rolling with the Saints quickly gave you the understanding to deal with personal matters like the leader of the Saints and the whiner of them, Pierce Washington. If you were lucky, this could turn out into one of those debates that could make you laugh, because Pierce's reputation made him the funny man of the two. Zimos takes a long puff from his blunt and just looked at the black and white map of the city Steelport.
Hopefully The Boss would be able to deal with this matter quickly. Otherwise it would all be for nothing. The Luchadores would carry a lot more dough than they would need. It was discovered when the information of the mills and businesses that they gave more money than expected. Destroying on controlling those places would be a certain win-win for Third Street.
"I was thinking that doing regular drive-bys onto targets like that means that they would be heavily guarded. The enemy still has their hands on badass guns. Do we really want to face that shit?"
"Shit, I guess not." The Boss admits. "Well Pierce, what do you have in mind?"
"Cool, so I've checked these targets over and over and found out that they have RPGs and shit like that stored all around their businesses. Since the ground fire is about even in strength, it is safe to assume that only one type of attack would lead to your death. So what I'm thinking about doing is attacking each location with both Saints of the ground and you with an attack chopper in the air.
"Alright, I like the plan so far…" The Boss says. "But what about the possible alert of STAG?"
"That, we'll deal with first. We're going to take down a certain number of the fuckers until they decided to avoid us. Then when STAG is gone, we're going for the Luchadore turf to fuck their business up. Once we've succeeded, we should be able to cut off their supplies for good." Pierce explained.
"Alright, I'm game. When do you suggest we actually pull this off? I doubt letting it go like this is something that'll suddenly just stop them." The Boss says.
"Don't be so negative about it. Just meet me tomorrow at the crib and I we can start my plan." Pierce says.
"Fine. But this better be a damn good plane." The Boss says.
"Trust me. I'd never let you down." Pierce says.
"Alright then. Fill me in if you have any other ideas. I'm going to go outside for a bit." The Boss says.
"Will do." Pierce replied with a positive look of acceptance. On occasions, he was glad that his leader let him take the role as mission maker. This always felt so good to him when he was able to take charge. "Fuck yeah, I'm running shit now."
To Be Continued. . .
Sorry for the long wait. I don't have Internet back home and I can barely reply to any of you quick enough. My phone can access , but it is really annoying. Hope you all can understand.
If anyone is curious for the next term of events, feel free to ask me. :)
Also, a few old characters will be appearing within the near future. Just you wait. Until next time.
~SaintsOfAllSaints01