Chapter 9: Kingly Welcome and Deathly Encounters
It was 9:00AM in Crystal City. Matt and Kristen had woken up to an alarm that was set up and they had quickly gotten on the road after a small breakfast and some coffee to get them a bit more aware. After checking the location of Benjamin King's property, they had discovered that he had resided outside of the city by fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes if they counted leaving the city, as it was pretty difficult to get around the city due to the excessive amount of traffic that always seemed to roam the city all the time.
Right now, the two were on the road in a distract known as Morganstrais, which was a busy point of the city and only one of many that was full of people doing their own tasks. Other districts similar and neighboring this point of the city had basically the same kind of setting as well. People roamed around the city, doing their daily trips that they normally did in their everyday lives. Besides the regular civilians of this city, there were many gang members that wore green and pink that controlled the area, with many of their own easy to spot, no matter where anyone looked.
Matt had continued to have his Attrazione in its disguised form, thus keeping his gang appearance isolated from discovery of those who would further cause trouble against their new rivals. However, hiding may not be something that lasts, especially since the rest of the Decker crew would be coming to the city in a few days at least. Until then, it was wise to make sure that they could be situated without a slight mishap.
As the two continued on their route to meet Benjamin King, they had a conversation about him and decide how they would go along with speaking to him. Since Benjamin King was a well respected author and ex-gang leader, they two would need to show their utmost respect and possibly show their admiration to his shared knowledge. Well… Kristen would. Matt however didn't do any research on the ex-Vice King and barely knew his story.
"I'm telling you Matt, you need to learn more about him. He's had a lot of experiences that both you and I could take in mind. It could make the Deckers improve with more knowledge of business and how to run things." Kristen says.
"I will learn more about him when we don't have to focus on keeping a low profile. From all the trouble that we have been in so far, it would seem as if we're only going to get in more conflicts before the rest of the gang arrives." Matt says.
"It's either we take an area while the gang isn't in any danger or we strike and give away our presence while taking an area. Personally I think that if we announce our presence loudly like that, the rivals in this city might be able to take quick action against us." Kristen retorts.
"That's true, but I don't like how we're going in like this." Matt says. "I mean, we're about to see a well known author, which means that we'll be more noticeable by the public as well."
"Geez Matt, it's not like we're going to be following him around everywhere. He offered us a place to stay, so I don't think he'll want us around as much. I'm sure he just feels obliged to do something nice. I stopped those robbers so simply, but they were easy to take down. Mr. King will surely be able to deal with anymore troubles on his own." Kristen says.
"I suppose so." Matt says.
They were five minutes outside of Crystal City and the two Goths had been sitting in silence since then. They were silently appreciating the peaceful ride that they were having at the moment. Being in a gang, it was rare to have silent moments like this. It was almost like living a normal life in a way, like a couple going on a normal ride, without the need of heading into a gang war. During the time of silence however, Matt was also thinking deeply about the condition of the gang and how easy it was just to lose all their territory in Steelport. Because of their failure to defend themselves from the Saints, it made him reconsider how the entire system should work with the Deckers. He had already decided to rely less on hacking and instead do some actual work without the need of computers, like investing as a normal gang. But now it seemed as if that mightn't be enough. Perhaps there as something else that the Deckers could do to make more money, instead of the basic crime syndicate based actions that they did in Steelport. Maybe they could be a little bit more civic minded.
"Hey, Kristen?"
"Yeah, Matt?" The Gothic girl responded.
"I think we should do something different with the Deckers." Matt responded.
"Different? Different, like how?" Kristen asked.
"Like… maybe we should seek assisting protection in businesses and not just control them. And maybe we could get more rights in them if we do our jobs properly." Matt says.
"Am I really hearing this coming from your mouth, Matt?" Kristen questioned with surprise.
"You heard it. Ever since being beaten in Steelport, I have been feeling very different about how stable the gang can be. The Saints were only a few people at first when they first came to Steelport, but they managed to get more of their crew and our controlled territories were taken with a snap of our fingers. Because Mr. Loren had his global contacts, it was what had made him effective in getting the Saints jailed in the first place. If he had managed to stop the gang easily like that, then I think we should do what he did and get into the business ourselves." Matt says pretty carefully.
"So… basically you want to make a new Syndicate under the Deckers, and the Deckers only?" Kristen questioned.
"That could be part of it, but I also want to possibly do a lot more for the city two, like do a particular wipeout a huge criminal and maybe get favor from the Police or something." Matt says. "Safety could also make us have unexpected allies from the civilians."
"Well, if we do make these huge changes within the Deckers, anything could happen to the crew. We don't know whether or not things will get easier or things will start to get harder." Kristen says.
"I know, but I feel as if doing the same things like we did in Steelport might just get us grounded again. A change could possibly be the correct approach." Matt says. "I just don't know what we should do though…"
"We'll think of something, Matt. This idea isn't half bad. I think we would need to rely on how we and the crew can do with this possible change." Kristen says.
"Maybe… we'll have to find out first." Matt says. "But if we do invest in businesses, we're going to have to find someone who is willing to invest."
In minutes, Matt had driven the Attrazione to the front gates of Benjamin King's property. From the front view, everything already looked amazing here and quite lovely. There were dozens of statues that could be seen on the paths around the area. The building however was very rich with its shape and size. It was clear that this was a high class place, as the building that was on the property was large than most mansions and certainly larger than any of the ones in Stilwater. The two Deckers just stared with impressed expressions, as they weren't expecting this particular kind of estate to be visiting.
The Attrazione continued to purr its engine as it remained still. The teens in the ride were just continuing to stare as they looked at the building. The features were a lot to take in.
Suddenly, a group of three security guards had arrived from a booth at the side of the gates. They were clearly hired to avoid letting in people who didn't have official business with the King. There was clearly a captain of the security guards, who worn a beige shirt with a black tie. The other underlings however wore blue shirts with black ties. The captain of the security guards then went to the vehicle's driver side door and went to speak to the leader of the Deckers.
"Good morning, sir." The lead security guard greeted. "If you have any business here, please so your identification, otherwise you must leave immediately."
Matt then looked to Kristen and saw her fiddle one of her pockets until the white card that she had been given was out. It was the one that she had been given by Benjamin King at the shopping mall yesterday. She then leaned over Matt and flashed it at the guard to get his attention of it. The security guard took easy notice of it and took it from the Elite Decker Specialist's hands. He then understood the reason why these two Gothic teens were here.
"Oh, I see." The security guard says. "So you two must be the ones were met Mr. King yesterday."
"That's correct." Kristen responded.
"Go on ahead; the right path will take you directly to the main door of the estate. There'll be a few spare spaces to park your vehicle. Please, enjoy your time here." The security guard says.
"Thank you, mister." Kristen says back.
The gates to the estate then opened up and the Attrazione had continued to move again. The ride up the path was quite smooth, with a perfect concrete foundation. There were no cracks or anything out of shape on the path, assuming that there was expense spared on the property area. The statues were all very thin and also acted as lanterns for a nice night time walk. They were shaped like women with their hands spreading out above them, with their heads held high, as if they were looking into the depths of heaven. The lanterns on the statues were located on each hand, which added to the appearance that they had.
"That foundation here is impressive." Kristen remarks.
"I know. It's like this property was built to be as impressive as possible. So far, it's doing well to show itself off." Matt said in agreement.
"It is. It sure is a welcoming site to see while entering this property." Kristen says.
The Attrazione had continued to move up the driveway where the vacant parks were located. There were at least eight that were free and two that were used by two limos, one with black paint and the other with white. It seemed as if Benjamin King had a few high class vehicles, either because he might need extra at times or possibly because he liked to have more options when riding in style.
Matt had decided to take a vacant park that was away from each vehicle, as he didn't want to be held responsible for hitting any of the other rides. He was an alright driver, but he didn't see that as an exception. Damaging a civilian's ride was one thing, but when it came to hitting a rich guy's vehicle, it was something else.
The two teens then exited the ride and made sure everything was locked up securely. While they were on a private property, it was always a good idea to make sure that your vehicle was secured, as it would be a big mistake, should someone try to rob from your vehicle.
Once everything was clearly secured, the two had turned away from the vehicle and walked side by side to the front doors of the mansion. The doors were at least seven feet tall and were painted with a rich white and shinned brightly. The metal parts however were covered in gold paint and also give off a rich feeling when looking at them.
"Wow, look at doors! Mr. King sure knows the best material and paint to use when it comes to choice." Kristen remarked while putting her hand on the handle. "I can only imagine what it looks like on the inside."
"Well, I'm sure it is something impressive to-" Matt stated, but stopped as Kristen had already opened the doors. What he saw on the other made him gasp and look in awe to everything he saw. Kristen's reaction wasn't anything different.
On the inside, there was a large fountain that stood roughly about thirty feet. The base area was about four feet while a very large statue was making up for the base of it. The statue appeared to be Benjamin King with his arms around each other and with him looking down towards the doorway, as if silently greeting those who entered the mansion. The fountain also seemed to flow water out of the sleeves of the statue, which spat down to the bottom, where the water landed. From there, the water would continue to cycle back inside the statue and spit out again, enacting as an eternal loop. Around the fountain, there were two different groups of stairs that twisted around it and showing less surprise from the two Deckers.
"No way! He has a big statue of himself too?!" Kristen cried in shock. "That's freaking awesome!"
"Yes…" Matt only responded.
Suddenly, a male dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie had come down with his arms at his side, walking strangely as if he was forcing himself to do so. From the expression that he had on his face, it would appear as though he was pledging himself to be as upstanding as possible when addressing people.
"Greetings. Welcome to the house of Benjamin King." The man greeted while walking down the stairs. A few steps before he had reached the ground level, he had missed half a step and started crashing down before his other stable foot had managed to correct his fault and he had regained his foothold, managing to avoid hitting the ground on his arms and knees.
The two Deckers looked at him strangely, as he had already intervened with a clumsy approach. So far, his current first encounter with the two had been going not so well. Their expressions carried something that was showing less than surprised… rather annoyed that he had taken their enjoyment of the view in here away.
He quickly straightened his outfitting, despite the fact that it was already in fair shape. He was overworking his appearance by a mile. He took the role of being a worker of the King too far.
"Mr. King has been expecting you two. I have been tasked with escorting you to his personal office, where he will acquaint you with your room." The man explained. "Follow me."
"Great…" Both Matt and Kristen respond, with no intention of sticking around this guy.
They followed him upstairs and then down a hall, which contained various famous bits of art from around the world that Benjamin King had clearly gotten over the past ten years. There were also expensive cabinets that were holding other bits of art that weren't based as a picture of history on the wall. Instead there were very old collections from time, like a very old telephone from the early ages. There was clearly a limit to how much history he could get from it, as there was a carved four digit number saying '1898' on it. The phone in that cabinet was clearly from that exact year. There were also other bits of history in other cabinets, which impressed the two Deckers, but avoided to urge to ask about them as this guy was already annoying the two long enough. Their footsteps were the only thing that infested these halls, barely keeping the silence from being dead.
Steelport Arapice Island:
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" The Boss' voice could clearly be heard shouting as he ran down an enormous amount of undead with his STAG tank.
The city of Steelport was no longer as normal as it once was. The area within Carver District known as Arapice Island was now completely taken over by the army of the undead. So far, everyone that was located within that part of the city was either dead or converted into the plague of the non-living. Well, everyone except The Boss that is…
Because of a certain 'accident' caused by The Boss when he had raided a shipment of STAG supplies, this part of the city was consumed by non-living people that demanded flesh and blood. In the Boss' case, he would've given the full blame to STAG who was delivering the 'supplies' into the city, but in reality, it could be considered a half blame between the two. The STAG forces had been responsible for the gas onboard their plane, but it was because of The Boss breaking and entering that the situation with the gas had been done. Despite the possible throw around with the blame, the damage was already done. The city was severely damaged and everyone was too worried to even pick who caused it.
Because of this dire threat, all bridges to that part of the city were raised to ensure none of the undead got through. Despite the bridges being raised, the highway above the island was still in use but many didn't dare to drive on it, fearing the worst that the zombies could do. This also crippled a quarter of the turf that the Luchadores once owned, making the gang less spread out and more into the wide area. Killbane had figured this out, but didn't rage about it, as he also found out that The Boss was in that area. The idea of the leader of the Saints being trapped on the island make him crackle about it and he just continued to sit in the Three Count Casino, waiting to hear the news that the Saints' lost their leader.
However, The Boss was still running down dozens of undead and his tank was still going… until…
"Wait! What the fuck is that?!" The Boss shouted as he noticed a lot of red flashing lights around the inside of the vehicle and a loud screeching noise from the computers.
He looked down to where an image of the tank on a computer screen was located and saw the bottom of it glowing orange, indicating that there was a problem. From what he could read off of it, it seemed as if he had handled that tank too much on the undead and it had both overheated and got jammed from the blood and guts that had been lodged in at the bottom. This tank was literally useless to drive now.
"Ah, are you fucking kidding me?!" The Boss cried out loud.
The Boss then got up from his seat and went to the top of the hatch to the tank and opened it right up to see the situation he was in. When he poked his head out he looked all around, but what he saw only made him see the situation a lot more disturbing. There were four zombies on top of the tank around the hatch that were looking into the head of the leader of the Saints. He looked back at all of them slowly and then…
"I'll… be right back…" The Boss says slowly as he went back down and slammed the hatch with a loud bang, resulting in the four zombies clearly scratching from the other side and growling.
The Boss then went back to the seat he was in and went back in it. He ignored the sounds from the outside and just sat back and let out a sigh. He the closed his eyes and started thinking a way out of this mess.
Benjamin King's Estate:
The man that was leading the two Deckers to Benjamin King's office had finally stopped at a set of doors that were made of a brown colored wood. Above the door was a plaque with the name 'Benjamin King' above it. This was their destination, which would mean that they would've be bothered by him again… they hoped.
"This is it: The office of our Mr. King. Please show him some respect and he'll do the same for you." The man says.
"Of course." Kristen responded sincerely, trying not to let out a clue of annoyance back. "I wouldn't want to offend."
"Excellent." The man responded.
The man opened the doors for the two Deckers and they went around him. He then closed the doors in front of him, keeping him from bugging the two teenagers again.
The Deckers were silently letting out relief that the guy didn't follow them and proceeded to walk forward to where Mr. King was located. He was currently writing down onto a piece of paper with some very neat jointed writing. He clearly was a very busy man. The pen that he was using was one of those expensive kinds that had a good grip and handled ink well. The writer looked up to see the two Deckers approaching him and he quickly put down his pen and moved his piece of paper out of the way.
"Kristen and Matt, it's good to see you two here so early." Benjamin says while gesturing his hand down to two chairs. "Please, take a seat."
The two Deckers nodded and took the seats offered to them. Once seated, they looked into Ben's eyes, showing that they were given the fullest of their attention. For a few short seconds, nothing had happened. Ben looked into the eyes of both Deckers and they looked back. Aside from there being a grandfather clock in the corner making a sound every second, the room would be deathly silent.
"I thank you both for arriving early. I really have been eager to speak to you. The both of you." Ben says.
"You've been eager?" Kristen questioned. "What do you mean?"
"I'll get down to that matter after we've settled our first arrangement that we had planned." Ben says. "Now, about your living arrangements."
"Yes?" Kristen questions.
"I have given you one of the guest rooms to the estate to use to your liking. Since you two are new to Crystal City, I think you would need a better place to stay instead of the suburbs for a bit." Ben says.
"Why would the suburbs would a bad place to stay?" Kristen asked.
"While it may not look like it, but the city is actually a very dangerous place. While it offers some of the most famous resorts and locations that world has yet to see, it also has an ugly face behind all the beauty." Ben says.
"What's behind this ugly face?" Kristen asks.
"Crime." Ben responded.
"Is that it?" Kristen asks.
"The word crime only answers a little bit of what is going on." Ben responded. "The city is controlled by some of the world's most violent gangs to have ever been formed. There are four major gangs that infest Crystal City and they're extremely powerful. If you were to have any ties with them, you would be in some serious trouble."
"It kind of reminds me of the Steelport Syndicate, Mr. King." Kristen says.
"The Syndicate of Steelport could never beat the rival gangs here in this part of America. These new gangs are the most cold blooded cats to have ever been started. It was because of this city that the gangs had even climbed up into power." Ben says. "That's why I live out the outskirts of it and not in it."
"What makes you say that these gangs are more powerful than the Syndicate?" Matt finally spoke up. "From what I could tell, it would seem as if the Syndicate had enough power worldwide to present itself as a great threat to anyone."
"But as far as I can tell Matt, the Syndicate didn't have ties within the Crystal City business." Ben says. "Here, there are many different resources that can make anyone rich, if they used the right methods."
"What kind of business are you talking about?" Matt asks.
"Drugs, prostitutes, black market dealerships, vehicle chop shops and of course, legitimate businesses." Ben answers. "Here, these business are very popular because of the gangs and people that get into those types of things. Here is where anyone can get rich just by getting involved. The gangs here however are the ones controlling them."
"Wow, it sounds like they're almost prepared to start a war." Matt says.
"Precisely." Ben responded. "But unlike the Syndicate, these gangs are not affiliated with one another. This means that constant warfare with one another is a prime thing that gets people killed a lot of the time."
"I see." Kristen responds. "So you're basically protecting us then."
"That's basically it. You helped me so I am helping you back." Ben answered.
"Well, thank you for the accommodations, Mr. King." Matt says. "You really are a nice bloke."
"No need to overdo it, Matt." Kristen says.
"It's quite alright. It is somehow a mighty big favor I have given you two." Ben says.
"I suppose. Thank you, Mr. King." Kristen says.
"No problem." Ben says back with a warm smile. "Now, there is one other thing I wish to bring up with you two."
The two Deckers watched closely as the writer of Regicide had opened up a draw on his left and pulled out a box with a speaker on the top. It was mostly colored in black and seemed to have been owned for quite some time as there was some dust on it that had settled over time. Ben pressed a button on the back of it and…
"I think we should do something different with the Deckers."
"Different? Different, like how?"
It was then that both Deckers had been cornered into something that they were trying to keep a secret. They had been doing so well to avoid getting found out by the gangs of the city, but now they had been discovered by the author of Regicide instead. As the audio track kept on going with the conversation Matt and Kristen had, the writer just started at the teens with an expressionless face. It was unclear to see what he was feeling about this.
"Oh shit…" Matt could only say.
Steelport Arapice Island:
The Boss continued to remain seated within the same spot he was within the STAG tank. He was still trying to think of a way to get out of this mess that he had gotten himself into. He had been sitting in the seat for ten whole minutes and yet he couldn't think of an idea.
"God damn it!" The Boss shouted loud and hit the controls right in front of him, only to get a response from the tank's cannon. The cannon had let out a shot and it hit a whole swarm of zombies roughly about thirty feet away directly down the road. Over ten of the undead were now burning corpses.
"Wait, what..?" The Boss questioned before realizing what he should've done that he normally does. Destroy some shit. "Fuck, I can't believe I didn't think this shit through earlier."
The Boss then took aim with the cannon and observed the enemies around it. From what he could tell, there were a lot of them, even as he rotated the cannon, all he saw was more of the undead gathering around to stop the only living person on the whole island.
"Alright, enough of this bullshit. You assholes aren't going to tear my ass apart." The Boss says.
The STAG tank let out another round and hit a second swarm of zombies infesting the area and continued to kill more of them. From the looks of things, there were hundreds of zombies after The Boss' hide and weren't going to let down so easily. He was in their territory and they didn't want anything living running around their territory, unless it was something to dine on.
The Boss kept of shooting off more rounds into the faces of the enemies but so far the threat that he had to deal with at this point was the zombies on top of the hatch trying to get to him. They were growling more aggressively and were scratching at the opening more harshly. They wouldn't be giving up, especially when their next meal was so close to them.
Finally, there was an opening made that The Boss could take, and he could see a raised bridge from the distance that seemed to be the less occupied by the living dead. He didn't know if he should take it, but fuck it, what other choice did he have? He could continue to run around this island looking for a safer path to choose, but he wasn't in the mood to be dealing with this crap.
"Damn it, should I take the chances?" The Boss asked himself, almost as if he could get a proper answer. But instead, all he got was the sounds of growling and scratching annoying his thoughts from above. Slowly, he was rising from the basic annoyance instinct he had and was beginning to get real mad. While he should be more panicked than pissed, he lost all traces of even giving a shit. He just wanted to get out of this armored STAG tank and go back to Saints HQ to rest. "Fuck this!"
Suddenly, the tank had started rotating it's top around in circles, get faster and faster by the second. The Boss was the cause for this, ignoring the dangers that it might cause. The zombies up top lost balance quickly and fell off, landing on the ground and dying quite easily. The cannon to the tank however was hitting the other surrounding zombies and caved their skulls in once the spinning metal pipe had impacted. It did well to push them away without the need of missiles, but it was only good from getting them close by and not by a far range.
"Alright, these freaks are down. Now I need to get the fuck outta here!" The Boss says to himself.
The Boss quickly got up from his seat and opened the hatch up. He looked around the area and noticed the zombies were a little bit further out than before. While they had still noticed him, it at least gave him time to run and possibly get to the bridge.
He jumped from the tank and landed on the gravel with both his arms and knees. Once he had made it back up, he had put his 45 Shepherd into his right hand and started sprinting, ignoring the sounds of growling around himself.
Along the way to the bridge, more zombies came around from the sides gates where the chemical plants were. Most of the zombies were construction workers who had been caught in the gas storm. By the looks of things however, it seemed as if they had moved away from the gas, but it was close to spreading around this area. The Boss fired many round from his pistol at the zombies and got all head shots with it. He was well skilled when it came to using the 45 Shepherd that it was a natural feeling for his wrist to tie itself around. He had used that pistol design for the last few years and it has never failed him. Now he was testing it upon the undead creatures of Steelport.
Despite the successful hits drawn onto the zombies, there was always a few more that took one zombie's place. The Boss saw this as a problem and pulled out a second 45 Shepherd. More zombies kept on dropping in twice the speed, but the amount of bullets that The Boss had was constantly going down. He was always on top when it came to firefights, but when it came to having empty clips; he was subjected to a higher disadvantage. All his other weapons have been completely empty due to the fact that the Stag Commandos onboard the plane had some really tough armor. Bullets seemed to be the better choice when it came to fighting huge swarms of enemies, but since these were enemies that could easily rip you apart by a scratch or a bite, it was highly recommended to use any gun you can to defend yourself.
So far, The Boss was currently trying to avoid getting bitten, but the more zombies that came; the more he had to avoid them. Right now he was at one of the bridges, but knew that even if he had managed to climb up to the top of it, he wouldn't even make it back to the other side into the safer area of Steelport. Aside from not being able to make it, he was also wondering whether or not zombies could swim. Failing the jump would've left him in the water and the zombies could've also followed behind him in seconds, in which case they might try biting him in water.
The Boss looked for an alternate route instead of the bridge and found a gate that went into the chemical plant. Without any other better choices to choose from, the leader of the Saints sighed and went for it. "Fuck me…"
The Boss slammed onto the gate with his left shoulder and it springs forward into the chemical plant area, letting any trespassers enter as they please. Because of the shortened amount of options left to choose from, The Boss couldn't really be blamed for that idea. He needed to avoid getting caught and this was the only place he could go.
Looking behind himself, The Boss aw that the zombies had been a bit further behind himself than he had anticipated and decided to try and come up with an escape plan. He returned his secondary pistol into a holster he had hidden bellow his clothing and brought his hand back up with his phone in it. He flicked through his contacts as he ran and found the person that he was looking for. He called the contact and held his phone to the side of his head, right at his ear.
"Hey Pierce, where the fuck are you?" The Boss questions.
Steelport The Grove:
As The Boss was currently running from the hoard of the undead, Pierce was currently washing a boat that he had recently paid for. Since his Bootlegger had been destroyed after he had been chased by STAG, he had figured that taking things to a less busy surface was the best idea. Since there was barely any activity that involved warfare on water in the city area, it made Pierce change what he decided to drive.
As Pierce washed his new boat, he saw two women walking across the pier that he was at and he stopped clean for a moment to use the 'Pierce charm' on them.
"Hey girls, what's happening?" Pierce starts while getting their attention.
"Hey, it's Pierce Washington!" One of the ladies, a brunette exclaims.
"Oh my god, really?" The other woman a blonde questioned in disbelief.
"Yep, that's me girls. You ladies like my new boat?" Pierce asks while giving the most generally positive smile he could.
"Oh god, you have a boat?" The brunette exclaims with interest.
"That's so cool!" The blonde says back with agreement.
"Well, maybe you might wanna take it out for a spin with me one day, you up for it ladies?" Pierce asks with a smug tone.
"Yeah!" Both the women responded loudly.
But before anyone could continue speaking, Pierce's phone had started going off, using the same ringtone as The Boss used. Pierce sighed out in annoyance and hesitated to answer. He looked at the screen of his phone and checked the caller ID that was shown. As usual since they had entered Steelport, it was The Boss calling the face of the Saints. Fearing that he'll get an earful later for not answering Pierce decided to answer.
"Hey Boss, can you call back later? I am kind of bu-"
"Shut up and listen Pierce!" The Boss' voice could be heard on the other heard. Behind his voice on the phone, the sounds of growling could be heard, but it was a lot quieter than he voice was. "I need to you take a boat over to Arapice Island and pick me up! There's fucking zombies trying to bite me!"
"Uh… come again?" Pierce asked, making sure he didn't hear what The Boss said incorrectly.
The women than Pierce was speaking to had decided to walk off instead of listening to him talking to his leader on the phone. They wanted Pierce's attention all to themselves, but instead of getting it, they had given up. It was well known that the leader of the Saints only called his crew when he needed something.
"Look, if you come to that fucking island right now, you'll see the place filled with walking corpses trying to get anything that lives on the fucking island." The Boss says. "Just look over to that place and see the damn gas above it!"
Pierce sighed, knowing that he had nothing better to do and looked back to the North, facing the island that no one living lived on. The gas was actually very noticeable, as it was very high in the air. But that wasn't what was surprising Pierce when he looked that way. Another thing that Pierce had noticed was The Boss in the distance running with his left hand up to his head and his pistol in his right hand. But the more noticeable part was the very large line of zombies behind him that stretched quite a long distance.
"Hey Boss, I can see you! Look to your left!" Pierce exclaimed.
From what Pierce could see from his location, he saw the African face of the Boss turning towards the celebrity. Pierce on instinct of seeing his Boss look at him waved back with a humorous look on his face. The first response The Boss gave back was a body expressed remark of 'what the fuck are you doing?' and then decided to respond to Pierce.
"For fuck sakes Pierce, what are you waiting for?! Pick me up!" The Boss shouts.
"Alright, alright, just chill, I'll be right there in a second." Pierce responds.
It was then that The Boss had hung up his phone and continued running without the celebrity's voice around him.
Steelport Arapice Island:
The Boss had decided to get down from the ground level of Arapice Island and went down one of the few rows of stairs that went down to where boats docked. Since the zombies already owned the entire area above, it was the best choice to go down without the possibility of running into more that were down there. The only problem was that they still had other ways to get down. Because of other rows of stairs that were nearby, it would give the zombies the chance to surround the leader of the Saints and end him here.
Some of the enemies had managed to fall down the stairs by tripping and getting rammed by other undead creatures. Since there were a lot more as well, it only made it harder for them to get up quickly as they were piled on each other.
Seeing this as an advantage, The Boss grabbed a single grenade that he had and threw it at the swarm of enemies that had messed up. In two seconds, the big group of undead had been blown into body parts that couldn't hold them together anymore, terminating their motions and lust for blood and flesh.
"At least I was able to blow apart a whole lot of you assholes. Now if only Pierce would hurry the fuck up and not take his sweet ass time to get here." The Boss complained.
The Boss turned to face Pierce and saw him halfway to Arapice Island and continued to drive slowly, which pissed him off for his carelessness. But before he could even think of another name to call Pierce, he heard another group of growls coming from behind and saw the other stair case filled with undead heading his way. The Boss sighed and brought his 45 Shepherd up again and spits out more rounds at the blood thirty enemies.
"I'm getting real tired of your slow ass, Pierce." The Boss complained, knowing that he was out of hearing range. But hanging shit out on Pierce was something that made him feel better. "Hurry the hell up."
More zombies were running down to face the leader of the Saints and weren't giving up on him, despite how many bodies had dropped by now. These things were very persistent, but then again they couldn't really think about giving up. They couldn't even think at all.
"Yo, Boss!" Pierce's voice rang from his boat.
The Boss turned back around and saw Pierce's boat five feet away from the pier. He looked somewhat pleased for some reason, despite being disturbed by The Boss when speaking to the ladies.
"Pierce, you took longer than I wanted you to take." The Boss complained.
"I was still faster than what you would've normally expected of me." Pierce retorted.
"If you were at the crib I would've understood you taking five minutes tops, but you just took your time getting here." The Boss says.
"Hey, at least I- shit, Boss look out behind you!" Pierce cried.
The Boss turned around and saw three zombies coming for him. Knowing that aiming and shooting at all of them would've taken too long; he took the risky approach and instead jumped for Pierce's boat. The zombies tried doing the same, but had bad luck managing to get there. The Boss however managed to succeed in the landed and slipped into the passenger side of the boat.
"Shit Boss, I didn't think you would be dealing with actual zombies! The fuck happened?" Pierce asked.
"The hell if I know. But I'm placing the blame on STAG for this one." The Boss responded.
"How would STAG be to blame for zombies? What would they have been doing to breed them?" Pierce asks.
"I don't have a clue, but I think that gas that they were transporting was definitely to blame." The Boss responded.
"Well, at least these things can't swim good." Pierce says with relief and point to the bodies a few feet away from the boat.
The Boss looked to where Pierce was pointing and sighed as he had realized that an easy solution to avoiding the zombies was to simply get into the water. While it would've been the simplest path however, it would've gotten The Boss wet and he could've gotten his important good damaged.
"Good. At least we know they can't leave this island then. I don't want to be coming here anytime soon." The Boss says. "I could really use a smoke right about now. Pierce, you got any on you?"
"Let me check, I should have a few left. After all, I've been spending more time cleaning this thing than smoking anyway." Pierce responds.
"You barely smoke anyway; of course you would have some left." The Boss says.
Pierce checked inside his inner pockets of his jacket and found a packet of cigarettes that felt really light to the touch. He opened top of the pack to count how many were accounted for. There wasn't actually that many left in it, as all he managed to count up to was two cigarettes.
"Damn, I'm running a bit short on these, Boss." Pierce says while holding his right hand out with two smokes in it and offering one of them to his leader.
The Boss took one of the cigarettes and placed it between his lips. He then pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit up the smoke and offered it to his Piece. Pierce took it and lit up his smoke. The two Saints then sat there in one spot for a few minutes, silently enjoying their cigarettes that they had, not giving a rat's ass about what happened in the world.
As the few minutes had passed, Pierce had started up his boat again and went for the city, knowing that The Boss would want to go back to the crib and rest for a while. Pierce didn't remember turning off the boat, but he thought that is was probably an instinct of his that he had decided to do it.
Pierce for one had been glad that his vehicle hadn't been destroyed, just by taking The Boss around again. He didn't want a repeat incident with what happened when STAG had damaged his car and inevitably destroyed it. At least on the water Pierce and The Boss wouldn't be easily spotted as members of the Saints.
But, even though Pierce thought that he wasn't being watched by anyone, the rivaling gang of the Luchadores was watching the island, watching how the Boss' progress was going. Because Killbane had discovered The Boss here earlier, he had made sure that he was watched by his gang so that if he had managed to leave the Island, they would try to finish him off. Every single bridge that had surrounded Arapice Island was blocked by the Luchadores but not STAG at the moment.
Three Count Casino:
Killbane was sitting on his desk chair with some of his associates checking the status of his income with the casino. Since STAG had entered Steelport, they have been losing a lot more business than usual. The Saints entering the city may have caused some of the income to drop before but STAG had taken the damage to a higher toll.
During this meeting with his workers, Killbane was trying to sound as calm as he could. Despite his cool attitude right now, he was actually more worked up within his own mind. But he couldn't really think about how he was worked up, as he had to pay attention to the assets that were being explained and he could now hear the phone on the desk ringing.
"Excuse me for a moment." Killbane says sounding polite, were it not so sarcastic. Killbane pressed a simple button on the phone and he commanded the caller to talk. "Speak. This had better be important."
"Killbane, the leader of the Saints has left the island with Pierce Washington on a boat." A Luchadore could be heard explaining. "Do we still pursue against them?"
"Kill those Saints!" Killbane suddenly shot out loud and losing his cool. "I don't care if they're almost gone. Don't let them escape back to hide at their little playhouse. I've had enough of their medaling in our matters."
"Uh y-yes sir!" The Luchadore on the other end responded sounding nervous before hanging up on the leader of their gang.
Killbane then stood up and used both his hands to hold himself on the table. He forced his eyes shut as he thought about everything that was happening. Before the Saints had arrived to this city, everything was climbing up pretty well. Now that the Saints were here however, everything he had in Steelport was falling apart like toy blocks. Killbane was the last kingpin of the Syndicate. The others had met unexpected demises, stepped too far and paid the price, betrayed the organization for the Saints or simply just got out of the game here in Steelport. The only prime target left of the Syndicate was Killbane, and he was in a dangerous point of the business.
Finally, the Walking Apocalypse had reopened his eyes and looked back to his associates. He was annoyed at how weak and average they looked. Compared to the DeWynter sisters and even Matt Miller, these associates were only background money hungry pricks with no real bones for a real fight in their bodies. If Killbane could, he'd have killed them all, were they not so important to help keeping his remaining businesses in check. But if nothing was going to change any time soon, then killing these associates wouldn't show any negative effects. But Killbane didn't feel the need to make any risks… yet.
"Now, where were we…" Killbane starts.
Right now, these associates were needed in the Syndicate. But sometime soon, Killbane would most likely kill them for only showing interest in the cash they can get. They only cared about results when it gave them a bigger check.
Benjamin King's Estate:
"Wait… so you aren't judging us for running?" Kristen asks.
"That's right." Ben responds.
After listening to the conversation being said in the Attrazione along the way here, it seemed as if Benjamin King hadn't gone completely against the idea of gangs. Instead it seemed as if he had a few ideas for one. Despite his book Regicide showing lessons about the gang life and how bad it can be, it seemed as if he was willing to take a risk to get back into that world here. From the sounds of it, it seemed like he wanted to make a proposition.
"You see, I have come to realize that the gang life of Stilwater ten years back was only a small portion of what really happens around the world. If you think the stories of Stilwater were bad, Crystal City has had a lot worse ones." Ben says.
"I couldn't imagine any worse ones than Stilwater to be honest." Matt says. "The same goes for the Syndicate."
"I thought the same at a time, but then I heard about the stories of Crystal City a year back I had realized that everything gang related in Stilwater was small compared to what had happened here." Ben says. "The Vice Kings, the West Side Rollerz, Los Carnales would've easily met their fates if they had set foot here. I'm just glad we didn't go beyond our city limits in the past."
"Wow. How could we have not heard of anything that happened around here?" Kristen asks.
"I know what you mean. Even hacking, we should've seen news of this city's crime organizations." Matt says.
"This city is able to keep a tight lid on its activities from anyone outside this city. However hacking should've been a doorway for you to discover the operations. It's funny how well hidden information can be, especially when thousands of people are aware." Ben says.
"That's true." Kristen says. "Sorry if I sound rude Mr. King, but are you going to be explaining what you wanted to tell us? Because it sounds like you have another offer to give."
Ben chuckled as he heard her Kristen speak. She had a fair amount of manners and she seemed to know when an offer was going to be made. He knew better than to keep her waiting. So he decided to explain his deal.
"I do have an offer to give. Because your gang definitely has a fair amount of power and some very interesting skills, I would like to incorporate my resources with yours to help eliminate the other opposing gangs here." Ben explains. "They've been doing too much damage for so long and I know it has to end, even if another gang takes its place, I know the city would be better under our control rather than the four gangs that currently control it."
"Now, when you say 'our control' what do you mean exactly?" Kristen asks.
"By that, I mean I would like to be a part of your crew, but mainly on the side lines." Ben explains. "I may not be much of a gang man myself anymore, but seeing you two for the first time made me think that something good might be able to re-forge this place."
"From the sounds of it, it seems as if your plan is to make this place safer for those who live here." Kristen says.
"That's right. I might seem foolish to ask to be a part of a crew like yours, but I have a lot of knowledge that could be useful and wouldn't go to waste." Ben says.
"No, that's entirely fine." Kristen says before turning to Matt. "Do you think he could join us, Matt?"
Matt looked between the two people in the room and silently thought out everything for a moment. The fact that a celebrity with a lot of knowledge and open heart was willing to join the Deckers had caught him off guard. But he couldn't hesitate as he needed to give an answer and having Benjamin King as an ally could be advantageous to the gang.
"I think he is worthy enough to be a part of it. However I hope he wouldn't regret joining us after a while." Matt says.
"I'm willing to make a few risks in order to help out your gang in this city." Ben says. 'After all, I think it is time for the current gangs here to finally meet their demise."
Matt and Kristen nodded and agreement, knowing that with Benjamin King's help, they'll be able to make lives for themselves and even their gang in this city. It was their particular intention in the first place to do it, but now that they knew how difficult it is to complete their goal, they needed all the help that they could get.
"Then I suppose we had a deal then." Matt says trying to welcome Ben into the Deckers.
Ben then leans forward with his right hand extended outward to Matt to shake on the new deal that they had made. Mat had decided to stand up from his spot and extended his own hand out too. The hands met above the desk and a firm handshake was done between the two.
Matt didn't know much about Benjamin King, but he had a good feeling about him. Just by looking at him, Matt could tell that this man was full of surprises. Since he once ran a crew that had lasted a few decades, his experience being shared with the Deckers could also mean their existence lasting for that long too.
"Thanks for letting me become a part of your crew. Now, follow me to your room I'll show you everything you might like."
Steelport Pierce's Boat:
Meanwhile, Pierce was still driving his boat and heading for Rondini's Boat Deck, which was the closest pier to the downtown district. His plan was to leave the boat there and go with The Boss back to Saints HQ. The Boss was currently keeping his eyes shut while hearing the waves pass by the boat so peacefully. But that peace didn't last for long, as gunfire was heard from behind the boat Pierce was driving.
"Oh hell no, man!" Pierce cried out as he noticed his boat had holes in it from the attackers firing.
The Boss shot his eyes open and turned back to look at the people chasing him and Pierce down. From the looks of it, there were three boats with Luchadores on them who were carrying crews of six on each. The Boss forced out a breath and stood up from his seat and went to the back of the boat, with his 45 Shepherd in hand.
"Pierce, you keep on steering, I'll clear out these assholes." The Boss commanded.
"Just don't let to do more damage. I already lost my sweet ass car; I am not going to lose this boat as well." Pierce shouts.
"Whatever, sailor…" The Boss responded sarcastically.
As the Luchadores kept on chasing the duo on the water, The Boss looked around the back of the boat and noticed ammunition that properly fits his weapons with empty clips. Most of the ammo in the back looked as if it fit well with automatic rifles so The Boss had grabbed his K-8 Krukov and started loading more clips into its belly. Once loaded in correctly, he took aim and fired at the approaching Luchadores on the boats.
The Luchadores were handing back more shells of bullets back to the Saint, using K-8 Krukovs to fight back at him. The amount of bullets that had gone for the Saints' was very high, but lacked proper aim from the senders. So far, none of the bullets had hit the two 3rd Street members and only a few dozen had left holes in the back of their boat. The Boss however had a lot more experience with weapons and had managed to get a few Luchadores off of one boat. Despite his superior aiming, it was actually hard to get kill shots. The boats that the wrestlers were using seemed to be difficult to take out and it provided them some cover when The Boss spat his load… of bullets at them.
"Man, how much armor is on them things?" The Boss complained while switching to a forth clip that was on the boat. "Pierce, do you have anything that might get these assholes of our backs?"
"I have an RPG right here. Would that help?" Pierce suggested.
"Why didn't you point me to that in the first place?" The Boss demanded while hiding a slight amount of anger that he just received.
"I was saving it for a rainy day, but I guess every day is a rainy day for you." Pierce says.
"That is an understatement. Now, can you throw me the goddamn RPG?" The Boss asked annoyed.
"Fine, but don't drop it." Pierce warned and picked up the RPG on his side and chucked it to his leader.
The Boss then quickly dropped his rifle and took aim with his explosive weapon. The first boat he was deciding to take out was the center one. He made sure that he had proper aim and fired at it. In seconds, the rocket that had launched from the RPG ha hit the front of the first Luchadore boat and it exploded. The six Luchadores aboard had been killed in the fiery explosion.
The next boat was the one on The Boss' left. Since it looked like they had a better aim than the one on his right, he wanted to make sure that they didn't get a chance to injure him. He was already tired of this day already and he didn't want to have stitches to make it any worse. The second shot had hit the next boat and the second group of Luchadores had been killed.
The final boat seemed to have been on their tails still and The Boss knew that they had sealed their fates. After a few seconds of inserting a new rocket into the RPG The Boss had fired it and went for the last boat filled with Luchadores.
The Luchadores on the boat watched in panic while the rocket was flying towards them. There was no way that any of them could avoid their inevitable deaths coming at them in a few seconds. But while the rocket was only a few seconds away from them, one of the Luchadores had decided to make a move and throw a grenade at the Saint's boat. After the grenade had been thrown into the air, the Luchadore boat had exploded, leaving the Saints with no competition to face off against.
On Pierce's boat, The Boss had dropped the RPG and walked to the face of the Saints, who was currently making a direct route to the boat dock.
"You know Pierce, you really-" The Boss says but stopped as he heard a metal sound coming from behind himself. "What the fu-"
The Boss looked back and saw a grenade without a pin in it and he automatically grabbed Pierce hard on his jacket and threw both the celebrity and himself off of the boat. They landed in the water a few feet away with heavy thuds, but it didn't stop there. The Boss had continued to have a hold on Pierce and moved even further away from the boat.
"What the fuck, man?" Pierce complains.
But Pierce couldn't complain anymore, as he saw his new boat go up in flames, because of the grenade that had been lunged inside the boat. The Boss looked back with his glasses still on, hiding the expression that he had felt, knowing that he had almost died… again. Pierce however…
"Oh, man! Are you fucking serious?! Again with this bullshit?! I lose my new fucking car and now I lose my goddamn boat!" Pierce complained.
"Beats losing your life." The Boss responded bluntly. "Now let's go. We'll get ourselves a car and head to Planet Saints to get some new clothes."
Pierce sighed and decided to swim after his Boss to get some new uniforms. Pierce's day had gone shit as well, now. Both he and The Boss were in bad moods.
Benjamin King's Estate:
"Alright, so this is your room. As you can see here, there is a queen sized bed which is perfect for a couple to sleep in." Ben was saying to Matt and Kristen.
After accepting Ben as a supporter to the Deckers, the two teens had been escorted by the writer of Regicide to their new room, which had a lot to offer. The bed that Ben had pointed out was definitely one that costs quite a lot of money to buy, and every other aspect inside the room wasn't cheap either.
As Ben was pointing out everything inside the room, Matt had received a text and decided to pardon himself from the room. Ben had decided to excuse Matt, respecting his own personal space and continued to explain everything to Kristen.
Once outside of the room, Matt had pulled out his phone and read the text that had followed.
'Mister Miller,
After scouting the area that we had been exploring on our way to Crystal City, we had found a barge where a large crew ship was located and decided to 'borrow' it from the locals. Because of this sudden change of transportation, we have figured that the timeline to the city is greatly reduced and we should be there in a day. Be ready for when we arrive, boss.
Angus'
After reading this, Matt had felt a slight amount of relief. While he couldn't admit it before, but he had been very scared of this new place without a gang behind him. Knowing that his crew was already on a faster path here meant that they could start their operations again much sooner. He had to tell Kristen.
Matt had reentered the room and saw that Ben and Kristen were only chatting about small things in their lives, which had made Ben a lot happier, knowing that he was relating well with the young of this generation. Both of them turned to Matt and saw that his facial expression carried some happiness, meaning that he had good news to share.
"Hey Matt, something tells me you have something you wish to share." Kristen says.
"Oh I do." Matt says. "Our crew has found an easier means of transportation to get here and they'll be joining us tomorrow!"
"Wow, the others are sure reliable when they try to find easier means of getting around." Kristen says. "That's great, Matt."
"I know, right?" Matt says. "And I do believe you might be able to befriend one of our members, mister King. He has a personality that actually reminds me of yours actually."
"Well then, we'll have to arrange it sometime then." Ben says. "Right now, I actually had to get back to work. I have some important business that I need to take care of. I trust you two will know what to do when you require help?"
"I do, mister King." Kristen responds. "I'll make sure to explain to Matt about it soon."
"That's good. Enjoy the setup. And feel free to look around the place. I know some things here have already impressed you, and I think you might have a bigger eye for what else I have here."
"Thanks for everything you have done, mister King." Kristen says.
"Yes, thank you, mister King." Matt says.
"No problem and you two can call me 'Ben' by the way." Ben says before he left.
The two Deckers had decided that they would explore the place, knowing that there was still a lot of the day left to do anything. And since they hadn't got anything else on their list to do, exploring seemed like a fun option to pick from.
End of Chapter: