Chapter Summary: Spot gets into even more trouble as he struggles to officially recruit his first member.

The Past III: Bam or How Spot Received Loyal Followers

Sean: Age 13
Slingshot: Age 14
Stealth: Age 15

"I heard he was impressive. Took down the old leader at the Bronx without any problems at all," Slingshot bragged as he walked down the street with Sean and Stealth. "He sounds a lot like you, Spot: ruthless and quick."

"I'm not ruthless," Sean muttered, hands in his pockets as he sported a bruise over his left eye: a look that was becoming all too common. He shot a look over at Stealth when he heard the snort. "Shut up, you," he demanded with a scowl before looking in front of him again.

"Stealth doesn't do anything but shut up," Slingshot replied back, hands laced behind his head as he smirked at his boss. "And just yesterday you broke a kid's nose for calling you short. Is there something you would call that other than ruthless?"

"You can shut the fuck up, too," Sean snapped at him.

Slingshot's smile widened as he laughed. "Just because you haven't grown an inch since you've been eleven is no reason to be taking it out on your members. You're going to completely stomp on everyone's loyalty if you keep acting like this."

Sean rolled his eyes. "They're fucking worthless anyway," he grumbled.

Slingshot sighed. "You need to go out of your way to learn who they are. You can utilize their talents, but you've gotta know what those talents are first."

"Sounds fucking boring," Sean replied back, kicking a dented can that was in front of him on the sidewalk. "You can do that part."

"So, what? I'm just fucking running things now, am I?" Slingshot asked, his arms crossed as he stopped walking.

"Fuck no," Sean returned, stopping as well and turning around to face him. "It's my fucking gang. You can be my second."

"Second-in-Command?" he asked, eyes wide as he looked towards Stealth.

Stealth just shrugged at him.

A grunt from the alleyway interrupted whatever else there was to be said.

Sean immediately perked up, recognizing the sounds of a possible fight and happy to put himself in the middle of it.

"Oh, c'mon!" Slingshot called after him as Sean sprinted toward the sound. "One black eye isn't enough anymore?" he turned to ask Stealth.

Stealth just shrugged again before jogging to follow his boss.

Slingshot looked up. "How the fuck did I get mixed up in this?" he groaned at the sky before following after them.

Sean was hardly a gang leader. He barely gave thought to the people that supposedly followed him. Anytime Slingshot would mention a new recruit he would get pissy, complaining about having no room and having more worthless mouths to feed. His fights for territory seemed sporadic at best, and as of yet he had never guarded against any or his territory being over run by another gang. As far as the other gangs in town were concerned, Sean was a joke; the only thing worth fearing were his fighting skills. Fortunately, the other gangs stopped asking him to join up with them after he had broken the last messenger's leg.

Slingshot sighed as he stepped into the alley, quickly assessing the damage. Two men on the ground and a shirtless little boy, quickly buttoning his pants. He quirked his eyebrow up, looking at Sean, who was still busy kicking one of the men in the ribs. "Preventing rape, now, huh?"

"It wasn't fucking rape," the little boy bit out, shoving Stealth away who was trying to help him up. "It was fucking business. That you interrupted."

At this point Sean was going through the pockets of both unconscious men, which was not an unusual thing. It did require a bit of money to feed everyone, after all, not that Sean worked that hard to get money, nor did it seem like he let it concern him. Slingshot was pretty sure the whole gang thing was just an excuse to go running around town beating other people up.

"Jesus," Slingshot muttered, finally turning away from Sean and crouching by the kid. "You're way too young for that kind of talk. Where are your parents? Surely they must be wondering where you are?"

When Slingshot leaned forward to brush some hair off of his forehead the kid spit on him. "I'm not a fucking little kid," he snapped. "I'm almost thirteen, and I know what I'm fucking doing, so you fucktards can leave me alone."

Sean walked up and looked down on them, his smirk widening as he looked at Slingshot wiping off the spit. "I like him. Who you working for, whore?"

"I'm not a fucking whore either!" the kid snapped, jerking and standing up. "I'm just doing this before I get my promotion. I'm in the biggest gang in New York City." He crossed his arms. "And I've heard of you," he continued, looking towards Sean. "Spot," he growled. "You're a fucking menace. Worse than cops when it comes to fucking up the gangs around here. We're looking for you, jackass. And we're going to put an end to you. You can't terrify everyone, you know."

"Oh?" Sean asked, shooting a dark look at Slingshot before turning to the boy and picking up his smirk again. "I look forward to meeting with them." He took a step forward, pushing the other boy into the wall. "Should I make an example out of you? Speed up the progress?"

The boy didn't waiver, instead clenching his teeth and shooting the two men on the ground a quick look. "You've already got two examples," he explained.

"So those fucktards are your brothers, huh?" Sean replied. "So you aren't in this for the money, you just like getting fucked in alleyways," Sean guessed, knowing services passing between members in the same gang very rarely ever involved money.

The boy crossed his arms and tilted his chin up. "There are other things than just money," he spit out. "Shit you wouldn't know anything about."

"You don't think I know about crack?" Sean asked, taking a bag of white clumps out of his pocket and holding it out. He snorted as the boy's eyes grew wide. "This shit all it take to turn you into a whore? Let's see it then."

The boy forcibly calmed his features, but his eyes didn't leave the bag in Sean's hand. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Sean's smirk finally dropped, and he stuffed the bag into his pocket and made a step towards the boy so they were chest to chest with each other. "I'm talking about getting back on your fucking knees and sucking my dick, you slut."

The boy visibly twitched as he bared his teeth.

"Sean!" Slingshot burst out, about to surge forward before Stealth grabbed his shoulder and shook his head at him.

"That's the business I interrupted, right? Or were you going to let them fuck you?" Sean crossed his arms but didn't back away. "If you wanna spread your legs I'll take that too." He looked the other boy up and down. "As long as you aren't too loose anyway."

"You fucking bastard," the boy snapped. He tried to spit at Sean, but it was easily dodged. The slap across the boy's face easily echoed in the alleyway.

"Think you're hot shit?" Sean asked. "You should be glad you're just a bitch, otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to make you worse off than your brothers over there." He shot a look to the other men, still not moving. "I was just offering what you wanted." Sean finally took a few steps back before turning around. "Tell your boss I'll be looking forward to meeting him," he said before walking off, Slingshot and Stealth not hesitating to follow.

"Wait!" the boy called out. He bowed his head as all three turned to look at him. "P-p-please," he stuttered before clenching both fists and breathing out a sigh. "You can't leave with that," he said, looking Sean in the eyes as he furrowed his brows.

Sean snorted before advancing a few steps towards him. "You gonna try to fight me, kid? If you've heard of me then you should know what I can do to you." He shrugged as he dropped his arms. "But, sure, if you wanna fight I can give you a fight."

"Not a fight," the boy replied, shaking his head and cocking out a hip. He smoothed his face over and smiled at Sean. "You want my body, right? It's all yours." His face darkened slightly as he looked towards Sean's pocket. "But I want all of that. No skimping. Boss knows exactly how much is there."

Sean shrugged. "Whether you take it back to your boss or do it all yourself it's all the same to me." He smirked as he walked back up to the boy. "All I want is your mouth, after all."

The boy nodded before sighing and kneeling on the cement beneath him. He glared up at Sean as he put his hands behind his back.

Sean looked down on him for a few seconds before taking some steps backward. "Nah, you're not that pretty up close. Definitely not worth the money I can get for this," he said, patting his pocket.

"You-you fucking bastard!" the boy yelled, jerking straight up

"Sorry, whore, no deal," Sean replied back, wasting no time in walking down the alley and back onto the main road. Slingshot and Stealth hurried to catch up.

"Jesus, Spot, what the fuck was that?" Slingshot asked quietly. He heard the kid's cursing and shot a look behind his back to see him landing some punches into the building.

"I can't believe your stupid nickname for me has already gotten around," Sean growled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets before pulling out the crack. "How much money you think we can make off this shit?"

"I think we've got a lot more to worry about than just money right now, Spot," Slingshot snapped as he grabbed the bag and stuffed it into his own pocket. "Not only did you steal this from a pretty well known gang leader, you also managed to fuck up two of his guys and ridicule one of his prostitutes. Please tell me there was a fucking reason for that besides just getting your rocks off."

"I didn't get my rocks off, if you'll remember," Sean retorted with a smirk.

Slingshot smacked him in the back of the head. "This is no time for stupid jokes. You don't think someone's going to shoot you again? Eventually we're going to run into something we can't handle. And going around fucking people up is a surefire way to make sure you aren't around very long."

"Who the fuck cares about how long I'm around?" Sean muttered. Stealth frowned at him, but Slingshot continued as if he hadn't heard.

"And you don't mess with people's prostitutes like that, Spot! It's just not done. That's as big of an insult as what you did to his boys. You aren't supposed to fuck a leader's prostitute without making arrangements with the pimp first. Fuck."

"I wasn't trying to fuck," Sean replied. "I was trying to get head. Huge difference."

Slingshot grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around and look at him. "Just what the fuck is wrong with you, huh? What is it you're trying to do? Because it looks like all you're doing is running around and fucking shit up for other people."

Sean cocked his head, not bothering to break Slingshot's hold on him. "What's your point?"

"What's my point?" Slingshot yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "What the fuck do you mean 'what's my point'?" He started pacing. "What happened to all this 'King of Brooklyn' crap then? This isn't how you build a fucking gang! You two idiots don't know what the fuck you're doing!"

Sean crossed his arms and frowned. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Sling. I'm causing anarchy."

Slingshot smacked the front of his head as he sighed. "Jesus, I hope your kidding. And what the fuck good is anarchy going to do you, Spot?"

"Anarchy is the end of an old structure and the beginning of a new one," Stealth replied calmly, Sean nodding along with him.

Slingshot just sighed and shook his head, finally deciding to start moving again as he walked up the street, confident Stealth and Spot were following him. "You guys have private talks while I'm sleeping or something? Next time fill me in on your stupid plans. If you're trying to create anarchy then I'll stop trying to recruit people."

"I wanna recruit the prostitute," Sean replied by Slingshot's right elbow.

"Thought you might," Stealth replied from Slingshot's left side.

Slingshot smacked himself in the forehead again. "You've gotta fill me in on these fucking silent conversations of yours. What the fuck are we going to do with a prostitute?"

"I like him," Sean replied, walking past Slingshot to jump onto a dumpster, which gave him access to a fire escape. "And I want him."

"Well, you certainly did a wonderful job of getting him to like you back," Slingshot growled, following up the fire escape after Stealth. "He'll be sure to drop his gang any minute after the warm welcome you gave him."

"Tests," Stealth said before swinging himself up to the roof.

"Gotta know what the little whore's made of," Sean replied with a smirk.

"How the fuck did I even get roped into this crazy fucking shit?"

Slingshot sighed as he came home to only Stealth for the fifth time in as many days. He threw the loaf of bread he had gotten onto their scratched up kitchen table before sinking onto their moldy couch. He rubbed his eyes with one hand. "I take it Sean's bothering that prostitute again?"

Stealth shrugged before nodding, crossing the room to steal some of the bread.

"I wish you'd get him to be more careful. He's going to fucking die," Slingshot sighed. "All it takes is for that prostitute to tell his boss Spot keeps bothering him, and then Sean'll be sniped before he knows what hit him." He got up, walking over to the table to get some bread for himself. "These gangs aren't jokes. You guys know that, right?"

"They are," Stealth replied. "You just need to know their weak points." He took a bite of bread and swallowed before continuing. "Spot's always been good at finding weak points."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Slingshot replied, stuffing some bread into his mouth as well. He didn't bother swallowing before he replied. "Seems to me Spot's just developing an infatuation with this kid. He's been out with him every night this week. The kid's cute enough, I guess, but gay gang leaders stick around even less than hooligans."

Stealth gave a small smile as he looked down. "Hooligans, huh? King would like that." He wrapped the bread back up and stuffed it in his pocket as he started heading to the door.

"Both of you suck at listening," Slingshot complained as he followed. "No hooligans have a chance of leading anything. And gay hooligans have even less of a chance."

"That's why we're rewriting things," Stealth explained, quickly hopping on the dumpster by their front door and swinging himself onto the above rooftop.

Slingshot sighed before copying his moves, albeit a lot more slowly. "You can't just change things that easily. People need time. You're not going to suddenly start turning gangs compassionate about fags."

"Violence trumps compassion," Stealth replied, looking around him for a few seconds before shooting off towards his right.

Slingshot groaned before running after him. "Well, we both know Spot has fucking plenty of that, don't we?"

He had a stitch in his side and was gasping for breath by the time that he finally caught up to Stealth. He quirked up an eyebrow at his hunched figure leaning over the rooftop before walking over and assuming the same position.

He heard Sean's laughter before the scene below him started to make some sort of sense. Sean was easily dodging all the prostitute's furious punches, a smile on his face as he danced around.

"You're going to have a hell of a time killing me if this is all you can do," Sean told him as he jumped to his right to avoid an upper cut. "You're predictable and slow."

"Shut the fuck up, you sick fuck," the prostitute shouted between gasps of breath. "It's your fault I look like this. It's your fault I don't have a gang to protect me. And it's your fucking fault I won't be able to get any business for weeks. You fucked me."

Slingshot finally took his eyes off the unbelievable image of a laughing Spot to look at the other boy. His face was definitely fucked up. Both eyes were black, one of his cheeks were swollen, and he had hand prints on his neck. "You think fucking Spot did all that?" he asked quietly and with wide eyes as he glanced over at a smiling Stealth.

"I didn't fuck you," Sean answered as he dodged another punch. "I didn't think you were pretty enough, remember?"

Stealth had yet to acknowledge his question, and looking at a smiling Stealth might have been creeping him out even more than a smiling Spot, so Slingshot was content to turn back to whatever the fuck it was that was happening below them.

Their boss had moved in close, both of the other boy's fists enclosed in Sean's hands. "You are prettier now though. If you looked like this before it would have been well worth all that crack. I wonder if I can track it back down." His head snapped back as the boy tried to bite his nose. "Watch it, Whore," Sean laughed, kicking the boy's leg and letting go of his hands, letting him fall on his back.

"My name's fucking Andrew, for the millionth fucking time!" he yelled, leaping back up. "And don't fucking call me pretty!"

Sean just laughed louder this time, leaping backwards to avoid the boy's fist.

"Alright, playtime's over, kiddies," Slingshot announced, dropping down from the roof. He turned to look at Sean, crossing his arms. "It might be wise to start thinking about what you're going to do when this gang leader finds you. I've been looking into it; he's not exactly looking to fight fair."

Sean crossed his arms right back, his smile had fallen as soon as he realized they had an audience. "I already know what I'm planning to do, Sling: kick his fucking ass. I don't need more of a plan than that."

"If you're trying to recruit," Stealth interrupted, suddenly behind Slingshot. He shot a look to Andrew before throwing him the bread Slingshot had brought home. "It might be better to start thinking in more than just anarchy," he finished quietly.

Andrew frowned at him before ripping the packaging off the bread and taking a big bite into it. "If you're fucking talking about recruiting me too, you can fuck off right now. You assholes ain't got no perks."

Sean looked towards him and quirked an eyebrow. "Crack's better than bread, then?"

"Just 'cause I took your fucking bread don't mean anything," Andrew bit out, taking another large bite out of the bread. "You guys can all just go fuck off," he demanded before taking off out of the alley, hoping to get lost before they went after him.

Sean stayed quiet, his arms crossed as his eyes followed the other boy as he left. Stealth held the same stance, except he was looking at Sean. It was Slingshot who broke the silence.

"Alright, he said no. You tried; he declined. Can we get back to fucking work now?" he asked, looking between both Stealth and Spot, neither acknowledging him. "This leader isn't a fucking joke, you guys," he yelled. "He's vicious and out for Spot's blood. If we don't get the jump on him we're not going to be around much longer."

Sean finally looked over at him, arms still crossed. "You're fucking dramatic," he said before climbing up the building Stealth and Slingshot had recently jumped down from.

"That's what the kid's for," Stealth answered before following Sean.

Slingshot sighed as he joined them on the roof. "I don't know what the fuck that means." He looked between them both. "So who's fucking explaining this shit to me?"

Sean rolled his eyes. "I'm using the kid to get to the leader. Keep up, why don't you?"

Slingshot squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That doesn't even make fucking sense, Sean. Kid's done. I don't know what he told you, but he's fucking out. The boss doesn't care about him anymore."

Sean snorted. "That doesn't explain all the fucking idiot goons I've been having to beat down that keep coming for him." He smirked. "I'm betting Mr. Boss just wants to knock Whore out onto the streets until he comes begging to repay for that crack with his body."

"More likely he was supposed to come crawling back for more crack," Stealth repeated with a deadpan voice. "Glad you know exactly what to do about that."

"Tch," Sean answered, looking down as he bared his teeth. "I'm weening him off."

"You're giving the kid fucking crack?" Slingshot burst out quietly. "What the fuck, Sean? Th-that's the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard."

"I never asked you for your fucking help," Sean snapped back. "Either of you," he added, looking towards Stealth. "So you can both fuck off. I've got no problem doing this on my own." Without another word he hopped off the roof and ran in the direction Andrew had taken off in earlier.

Slingshot turned to Stealth. "He's going to get fucking shot again, isn't he?"

Stealth just shrugged before letting out a silent sigh.

"You need to stop following me," Andrew grit out as he looked at the tops of the building's around him. "And I know you're fucking here because I can hear you fucking breathing."

"Can not," Sean answered back, popping up from around the corner. He leaned against the wall he was nearest to. "If you could hear me you would know not to be looking up like a dumbass."

"Can you please fucking stop?" Andrew snapped. "I'm not getting any business with you fucking hovering around all the time."

Sean rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "If you want someone's dick to suck mine's right here, Whore."

Andrew growled at him before throwing the small bit of bread left at his head. Sean easily caught it and popped the rest into his mouth.

"I fucking hate you!" Andrew screamed. "What the fuck part of 'leave me alone' do you not understand!? I don't want anything from you! I certainly don't want to suck your fucking dick! And I can't wait until someone finally offs your god damn stupid fucking ass!"

Sean's mouth twitched into a smirk. "Now, see, it's that kind of talk that makes me want you." He pushed off the wall, arms still crossed as he walked towards the other boy. "You're scrawny and have absolutely no idea how to fight."

"What the fuck's your point?" Andrew snarled, clenching his fists as he leaned forward. "That should make you want to leave me alone; you have no use for me."

Sean just shrugged back, dropping his smirk and stopping his stride a foot from Andrew. "I have no use for anybody. What do I care about other people's opinions?" He picked back up his smirk. "At least you provide some amusement."

The other boy drew back, the snarl on his face falling. "What the fuck is even wrong with you?" he snapped. I'm not here to be your fucking monkey, and you'll be a crap leader if you don't give a fuck about anything. You hope to inspire loyalty by either not giving a crap or laughing at everyone? That's supposed to be what gets me to sign on? You're a fucking joke." Andrew turned his back on Sean and began to walk away. "You think it's funny when I'm pissed as shit? Fine, I'll stop then. Leave me the fuck alone. Or don't, I don't give a fuck. I'm done being your fucking joke."

"You're definitely prettier from this angle," Sean called at his back.

"I, for one, am glad it's over," Slingshot announced after Spot's third straight day of being back at their place before the sun went down.

"Shut the fuck up, Sling," Spot replied as Stealth simply shrugged at them both.

All three boys were stooped over a pot of plain pasta, eating with their hands since they had no forks. Slingshot was just happy he had successfully convinced them both to wash their hands.

"I'm just saying, the whole pining thing is a bit pathetic," Slingshot replied. He shot a look over at Sean. "Not to mention extremely disturbing, since it was you doing the pining."

Sean smirked back. "Jealous it wasn't you?" he asked before blowing a kiss towards him.

"You-you aren't funny, Spot," Slingshot replied, focusing on the spaghetti in the pot.

"You are though," Spot replied back before diving his hand into the pasta and scooping some into his mouth. "Who the fuck even says 'pining'? You're a fucking middle aged man."

"I am not," Slingshot snapped back. "You and Stealth just don't have an ounce of common sense between the two of you."

Sean rolled his eyes. "I've got plenty. It just doesn't involve stupid shit like washing my fucking hands every time I god damn eat."

"Yes, because washing your hands is clearly for idiots," Slingshot replied, rolling his eyes right back. "Dirt and disease are clearly things made up by the government in order to incite mass panic among the people."

Stealth joined in the eye rolling, but opted not to say anything as he took a handful of spaghetti himself.

Sean snorted. "If germs were my problem I wouldn't be eating stolen fucking pasta with my hands," he pointed out.

"I'm keeping germs from becoming a problem," Slingshot replied, scooping up more spaghetti with his hands. "For you of course, but, mostly for me." He shot Spot a pointed look. "I don't know what the fuck you get into when you go out alone, and I certainly don't want to taste it in my food."

A slow grin spread across Sean's face. "I'll give you something to taste."

"C-cut that shit out, Spot!" Slingshot demanded, quickly cutting eye contact and, instead, staring down at the almost empty pot. "That shit isn't funny. And you're disgusting."

"There's someone at the door," Stealth broke in "He's friendly," he assured the others as he stood up. "I'll leave you be." He grabbed the pot and walked out of the room right before there was a knock on the door.

"I'm never going to get used to that creepy ass shit," Slingshot muttered to himself.

"I think he's slipping; I don't know anyone who's fucking friendly," Sean muttered back before shouting towards the door. "What the fuck do you want?"

The door slowly pushed open to reveal a boy close to Spot's height and build. "Hiya, Boss," he greeted with a wave. "We've got some message from some guys from the gang around Cypress Hills. Thought you might want to open it yourself."

"Who the fuck are you?" Sean asked, pushing himself away from the table and standing up. "And why the fuck do you think I would care about some dumbass message from some pissants?"

Slingshot rolled his eyes.

"And if you keep rolling your fucking eyes at me I'm going to steal some god damn fucking forks just so I can rip your god damn fucking eyes out of your god damn fucking head," Sean snapped, rounding onto his second-in-command.

"This is Stevie," Slingshot announced, not even showing a wince at Sean's yelled threat. He stood up from his own chair and walked over to place his hand on Sean's shoulder. "Spot, Stevie, and vice versa," he introduced, nodding to both of them. "Stevie volunteered to join up a couple of weeks ago. I've got him patrolling the south border."

"The south border of what? And why the fuck do I care," Sean answered back with a frown before shrugging Slingshot's hand off of him. "And why the fuck would we even want someone like this?" he asked Slingshot, jerking his head to the other boy. "He's fucking scrawny."

Slingshot tipped his head and frowned, crossing his arms as he looked between the two boys that looked almost identical aside from their faces. "If you didn't just threaten me with a fork I'd be rolling my eyes at you right now."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? And what the fuck is the southern border?"

"It's around Georgetown," Slingshot replied, continuing when all he got in return was a blank look from Sean. "You secured it last week."

Sean just cocked his eyebrow at him..

"Jesus," Slingshot sighed. "Remember that guy you let drown in his own blood last week?"

Sean shrugged and nodded.

"That guy was a gang leader. His gang split off as soon as he was down and we moved in on the territory. It is secured and being patrolled as we speak."

"Mm," Sean replied back before rounding on the other boy. "And what the fuck is with this message then? Death threat?"

"I-I … I don't know, Boss," Stevie replied, no longing smiling as he held the envelope out. "W-we thought you'd want to read it first."

Sean narrowed his eyes as Slingshot. "Now he's fucking sniveling, Sling. Why the fuck did you get this guy? And why the fuck do you think he would be useful at all? He's going to fucking wet his pants before anything even fucking happens."

Slingshot sighed after forcing himself not to roll his eyes. "He's doing his job, Spot. I'll deal with it if he's not." He shot a quick look to Stevie who immediately twitched under his gaze, his eyes wide as he bit the inside of his cheek. "Or if he decides to wet himself," he conceded.

"When, you mean," Sean grunted out as he crossed his arms.

"I'm ignoring you now," Slingshot replied before striding towards the other boy. He looked down at him with a smile. "I'll take the message, Stevie," he said before taking the envelope out of his hand. "Thank you. You can return to your post now. I've got it from here."

The boy nodded jerkily before walking backwards towards the door, his eyes not leaving Spot. "O-okay, sir. Th-thank you, Boss," he replied, fiddling with the door knob before quickly slipping out the door.

"So … we making bets on how long it takes for him to wet his pants?" Sean asked, still looking towards the door.

Slingshot couldn't resist the eye roll this time. "Do you not want a fucking gang? We need recruits to monitor our territory, so you aren't just going around dethroning all these gang leaders for no reason. Recruits like Stevie are the only ones we're going to get, because no sensible person is going to work for a scrawny kid who wants to cause anarchy. Do you not understand how this works?"

"I'd rather have no recruits than Pisspants," Sean replied, gesturing towards the door with his head as he crossed his arms.

"Maybe if you showed your face every once in awhile in a nonthreatening way I could find more people willing to work for you," Slingshot said, tearing open the envelope. "As it stands now no one wants anything to do with you. You aren't goal-oriented, and you leave the recruits to fend for themselves more often than not. There's no benefits here."

"Why the fuck should I give benefits to people that haven't even done anything for me yet?" Sean asked before shooting a look to the paper Slingshot was reading. "What's it say?"

"It's a ransom note," Stealth answered, suddenly behind Slingshot and making him jump. "Spot in exchange for Whore. Signed by Whore's ex-boss."

Slingshot scoffed. "What the fuck kind of demands are those?" he asked as Sean took the message away from him. "A prostitute for a gang boss? What idiot came up with that? Not to mention he's not even our prostitute. What kind of idiots would we be to accept that?"

"Nice," Sean said with a huge grin, still looking down at the paper. "I'm game." He finally looked at his two commanders. He flashed them the note. "Sounds fun, eh?"

Stealth nodded, his face still blank.

Slingshot crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "If we ever get forks I'm going to go fucking blind," he mumbled to himself.

"I don't understand why you're doing this," Andrew grunted out as his arm was twisted behind his back. His bruises from Spot had started to fade, just to be replaced by new bruises from this bunch of strangers. "Tell me: what'd I do to you?" He asked, looking up at the man in front of him.

The other man behind him just twisted his arm back farther.

Andrew grated his teeth, determined not to show them he was in pain. That was something that always seemed to crack Spot up, and these guys seemed just as sadistic. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

"We're trading you for someone who's useful," the man in front of him replied before lacing his hands behind his back and turning around. "The person in question should be receiving my message shortly. And, thanks to his odd fascination with you, I expect his full cooperation."

Andrew narrowed his eyes as he quickly connected the dots. Spot had been his last contact. He had hoped that with Spot gone he could finally start picking up some business, but it'd been three days and still everyone on the street was avoiding him. Honestly, he had been expecting something like this eventually. With no customers to buy him bodyguards and no gang to back him up he was a sitting duck on the streets.

"If you're talking about who I think you're talking about you're delusional," Andrew grunted out. "Spot's just as sadistic as you bastards. He doesn't give a fuck about me."

"Now, now, Andrew, is that anyway to talk about my men?" a calm voice asked from behind him.

Andrew froze immediately and tried to turn around to see the man behind the voice. Unfortunately, the man who had his arm in a submission hold just held on stronger. "B-boss!" he grunted, knowing the voice without having to see the face. "W-what are you doing? I-I thought …"

"You thought what?" the man asked, walking around so Andrew could finally see him. He cocked one of his eyebrows and stared down at the boy, arms behind his back. "You thought that just because you were my whore that you had some sort of pass? You thought I wouldn't take offense to you deserting and joining forces with a menace?"

"I-I didn't desert, Boss, I swear," Andrew interrupted, his eyes wide. He'd seen what was left of deserters after they received their punishment; it wasn't pretty. "And I certainly never deserted for him."

"You certainly haven't learned any manners," the man replied back, his eyes narrowed. "What have I said about interrupting me? Especially to give me lies." He slapped Andrew across his bruised face before starting to pace the room. "The nerve of your insolence. He beats up my men and what do you do? You offer to suck his fucking cock!"

Andrew's eyes widened even more, not realizing that his boss had found out about his first meeting with Spot. "B-boss, it wasn't like that. It wasn't like I wanted to, but he'd stolen-"

"You think I care about that measly amount of crack?" he growled out, punching the wall in front of him. "You think I can't replace it just like I replaced you? What I can't get over is the absolute disrespect that was shown to me and my organization the second you let him win!"

Andrew's eyes shot to the floor, no longer able to look at his boss. He had liked the man. He had taught him how to take care of himself and had introduced him to his new family. And while he was no stranger to his angry outbursts this was the very time they had ever been directed towards him.

"And, believe me, if he doesn't come," he said, turning back around to look at Andrew, visibly more in control of his rage than he was just a second ago."If he doesn't come," he repeated, "I will make sure you know just how displeased I am. And then when I'm done showing you just how much displeasure I have for you …" He pointed straight at Andrew's head, his thumb straight up. "... it's bam: you're dead," he finished before making the motion of a gun going off.

"You know we're walking into a trap, right?" Slingshot asked as he followed Stealth and Sean over the rooftops. "This guy is vicious, and I can only imagine that he didn't take you messing around with his whore lightly."

"You worry too much," Sean replied back as he leapt over the roof's edge to land on a fire escape. "Obviously it's a trap." He shrugged. "I wanna see what he's made out of."

"You want to fucking die is what you want to do," Slingshot bit back, swinging his feet over the rooftop and then sliding down before joining his boss on the fire escape. "And, you," he said, turning to Stealth who had yet to leave the rooftop. "You condone this? You're going to let him walk into a death trap?"

Stealth nodded. "I'll stay here."

"Yep," Sean replied immediately, swinging down to the next level of the fire escape. "See you on the other side."

"You're okay with him going but you aren't fucking going with him?" Slingshot shouted, his arms spread wide in disbelief. "What the fuck sort of sense does that make?"

Stealth shrugged at him.

Slingshot dropped his arms, his anger quickly being replaced with confusion. "Well … what the fuck am I supposed to do then?" he asked.

Stealth just shrugged again.

"Keep up or get left behind, Sling," Sean's voice called out from below them.

Slingshot looked at the ground before shooting a look at a despondent Stealth and then turning back once again to the ground. He groaned. "What the fuck am I even fucking doing?" he muttered to himself before leaping over the fire escape railing and following after his boss.

Stealth smiled as he looked at them both from above. "Looks like you have your first loyal follower, King."

"You know you're fucking stupid, right?" Slingshot asked, his voice floating up so Stealth could hear it from the rooftop. "You're going to get me killed right before you get yourself tortured and killed. Have I not told you how vicious this guy is?"

"And you're going to get us caught before we're supposed to be," Sean snapped back. "You worry too god damn much, Sling."

"Well, holy hell, one of us has to at least worry," Slingshot replied. "You sure as hell don't. Do you even have a plan aside from strolling in, taking the boy, and leaving? Because that's not going to fucking happen, Spot. This guy is good. His guys are loyal and terrified of being on his bad side, especially the people he has guarding him. This isn't about to be a walk in the park."

"Any gang leader that needs people to guard him is pathetic," Sean said before he suddenly fell forward with a grunt.

Slingshot's eyes widened and he immediately ran forward to crouch by him. "Spot?" he asked, shaking his shoulder. "Spot? What the fuck? What happened?"

"Tranquilizer dart," a voice said from behind him.

Slingshot spun around to find a pistol pointed at his head and a smiling man on the other end. He looked around to find five men in all surrounding them: two blocking their only exits, two on the rooftops above them, and the one right in front of him. He held up his hands in surrender and rolled his eyes. "Told the fucking bastard this was going to be a trap."

"I told you this was a fucking trap," Slingshot growled out as Sean finally began to gain some consciousness. "Lover boy's here too," he said, nodding his head to the other wall where Andrew was glaring at them both. "So, clearly more of a kidnapping and less of a ransom." He looked up. "Now, why does that sound so familiar? Oh, yeah, maybe because I fucking told you this would happen as soon as we got that fucking letter!"

Sean shook his head slightly, trying to clear the grogginess he was feeling. "Can you be fucking quiet? You're giving me a fucking headache." He blinked his eyes, finally looking around the room. Slingshot was on his right and the whore was about four feet away on the opposite wall. Four walls surrounded them with no windows and only one door. His hands were tied with rope behind his back and his feet were bound in front of him. Slingshot and Whore were in identical situations. "Report?"

"What am I? A fucking army grunt now?" Slingshot asked, rolling his eyes. "Five guys brought us in, all armed. We met another four when we got here, also all armed. Plus their boss, who may or may not be armed. I haven't seen Stealth since we left him all the rooftop, so it's just me, you, and Mr. GrouchyPants over there," he answered, dipping his head towards Andrew. "So if you could tell me that you have a plan to get us out of this mess that'd be great."

"I've got a plan," Sean replied.

"Oh, thank fuck," Slingshot sighed out, letting his head rest on the wall for a second. He turned towards Spot. "Alright, so what's this master plan of yours?"

Sean shrugged. "I haven't thought of it yet."

"Jesus fuck," Slingshot answered slamming his head against the wall. "I'm going to fucking die, aren't I? How the fuck did I let myself get dragged into all this fucking shit?"

Andrew snorted from across the room. "I don't believe this is what everyone's so worked up about. You willingly walk into a trap, providing them with no resistance whatsoever and having absolutely no plan to escape. And you do this for someone who hates your fucking guts."

Sean snorted right back as he tried to loosen the ropes around his wrists. "Don't give yourself a big head, Whore. I didn't do this for you. I did it because I was bored." He turned towards his Second-in-Command. "Slingshot, move your back towards me and come here. These idiots didn't even bother tying us up to anything."

Slingshot nodded before scooting on the floor towards Sean. "Think you can get us untied? You've been out for awhile; I've been trying, but so far I haven't even been able to loosen the damn things."

"Who the fuck uses rope anymore?" Sean asked, ignoring Slingshot's question as he turned his back to him. "This asshole never hear of zip ties? This his first fucking kidnapping? Move a little to your left," Sean commanded as Slingshot's back matched with his.

"Only you would complain about not being kidnapped well enough," Slingshot complained. "Knot's up at the top, towards my back," he explained as Sean tried to find it.

"There's no way you assholes are getting out of here," Andrew said as he watched them trying to untie the ropes. "Even if you do manage to undo the ropes and break through the door there's at least ten armed men out there, plus the Boss's guard is here. Anyone of those guys could take us all out before you even blink."

"What about your boss?" Sean asked, still fiddling with the ropes.

Andrew narrowed his eyes. "What about him?"

"Could he take me out before I even blink? Or does he let all his cronies do the work for him?"

Andrew drew back towards the wall and blinked. "I … boss doesn't fight," he finally said. He tilted his chin up. "It's undignified."

Sean snorted. "Right because 'gang leader' is such a dignified position. Ya hear this shit, Sling?" he asked as the ropes tying Slingshot's hands together finally fell away. "Can't believe the asshole can't even fight."

Slingshot scratched his chin before quickly untying the ropes around his ankles. "Please tell me this wasn't all because you wanted to fight this dude," he demanded before turning around and working to untie Sean's hands.

Sean shrugged before crossing his arms and kicking at the floor. "I don't want to anymore."

"You're seriously deranged," Andrew said, looking between the two of them.

Slingshot just nodded as Sean's hands came free. "I've been telling him that since I've met the asshole."

"You're the one following him," Andrew pointed out as he watched Sean untie his legs. "As far as I'm concerned that makes you just as deranged as he is."

Sean smirked as he stood up. "I've been a good influence," he said, looking at Slingshot. "He was a sniveling little worm when I met him the first time. Now he can at least throw a punch." He turned to look down at Andrew, still tied up on the floor. "That's a lot more than I can say for you."

"You're a fucking asshole," Andrew snapped back, struggling to get out of his ropes.

Sean cocked his eyebrow up at him. "Not the best way to be talking to someone who could potentially be your savior, is it?" he asked with a smirk.

Andrew tried to spit at him, but he wasn't close enough. "You fucking bastard. It's your fault I'm tied up in the first place. I wouldn't be here at all if you would have just left me the fuck alone like I asked you to."

"Ah, yes," Sean replied, nodding as he crossed his arms. "Now that you mention it, I do remember tying you up and throwing you into this room. Can't believe I forgot."

"My boss wouldn't have ever done this if you hadn't-"

"Your boss is a fucking pussy," Sean snapped back. "And I'm going to destroy him and everyone like him. A leader that doesn't even have the confidence to fight beside his people doesn't deserve fucking people. So, the question becomes: do you want to stay in this little room until someone else eventually finds you or do you want to come and watch me kill your boss?"

"Boss is going to kill you before you ever get the chance," Andrew replied, looking up at Sean with clenched teeth.

Sean roundhouse kicked him in the head, making the boy topple onto his side. "That wasn't one of the options."

"You fucking bastard," Andrew grunted out from the ground. "Untie me."

"Two options, Whore," Sean replied back, striding over and and putting his boot on the side of Andrew's head. "Do you want to stay tied up in this room until someone eventually finds your scrawny ass?" He cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the other boy for a few seconds, continuing when he got no response. "Or do you want to come and watch me kill your boss?"

"Say it!" Sean hissed when all Andrew did was nod. He pressed his boot on the side of his face. "I wanna hear you fucking tell me."

"I wanna watch you kill my boss!" Andrew screamed as his eyes teared up from the pain.

"Fantastic," Sean replied, immediately taking his foot off the boy and turning his back to him. "Slingshot, let's go."

"Yes, Boss," Slingshot replied, striding over to Andrew to untie his limbs and help him up.

Andrew shot him a dirty look before his eyes darted over at Spot and then to the floor.

"I got ya, kid," Slingshot said quietly in the silence. He gently helped Andrew stand up after undoing the ropes, taking note of the bruises on him that he was confident were not put there by Sean.

"You done coddling him now?" Spot asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Boss," Slingshot replied with a nod, putting his arm around Andrew's shoulders.

Spot grinned wide as he turned back towards the door. "Great. I'll go first. You two pussies can bring up the rear," he commanded before kicking open the door and charging ahead, not caring enough to wait for a response.

Andrew glared at the doorway. "I can't believe you work for that fucking psycho," he said, gently touching part of the shoe print that was now on his face.

"Yeah, but at least you know he'll never ask you to do something he wouldn't do." He shrugged and looked towards the door with a smile on his face. "Beats working for a pussy any day of the week."

Before Andrew could reply a crash came from the hallway.

"Sounds like he's found somebody," Slingshot announced. "Come on," he demanded, slipping his arm off the kid's shoulder and striding towards the door. "Keep up or get left behind."

"Don't I want to be left behind?" Andrew muttered to himself before following behind.

Spot brought down another gunman with a kick to the head before he was no longer able to contain his laughter. There was a certain rush that violence brought him that nothing else could. A certain wildness that came about him that he couldn't and didn't want to stop.

He ducked down as the sound of a gun went off, quickly looking around to determine where the next wave was going to come from. He smirked as he saw Slingshot and Whore rounding the corner.

"Late to the party, aren't cha?" he asked before smashing his fist into the face of the man heading up the next wave. "You guys going to stand around or you getting in on the fun?" Sean ducked the butt of a gun before surging forward and slamming his boot into the man's stomach.

Slingshot nodded before turning to Andrew, who was looking at the scene with wide eyes and an open mouth. "If you can't fight, stay back. Spot doesn't give a fuck what happens to anybody when he's in combat mode, so keep out of the way if you don't want to end up dead," he advised before running into the fray of the fight himself.

Andrew instead pressed himself up against the wall, watching the chaos swirling around him. He didn't do good in these types of environments, trying to take in all the details and instead failing at taking in a single one. Everything was moving too fast.

Spot seemed to be putting everything he had into his every movement, taking on two or three guys at once with no hesitation. He brought one man down just to go straight to another, not waiting for them to come to him. It looked effortless and the maniacal smile he had spoke volumes about just how much he was enjoying himself.

And Slingshot was keeping up with him beautifully. Not at all as impressive, but just as driven, jumping right to the next man as soon as one fell. Though, it was clear from the frown on his face that Slingshot wasn't enjoying himself like his boss was enjoying himself; there was still nothing to indicate that he would mourn anyone's death.

And then everything froze as Slingshot was hit in the head with the back of a pistol and went down, a gunman quickly picking him up and shoving another pistol into his mouth.

Spot's reaction was immediately, his face quickly turning from deranged madman to calm negotiator as he stood up straight and put his hands up. "Whoa now, no need to be pointing guns at people," he told the man, the hard rise and fall of his chest the only sign he had been exerting himself earlier. "I just wanted an appointment with your boss."

"Well, you've got it," a voice said from behind Andrew.

The boy froze for a second before spinning around and staring at his boss looking as unruffled as ever.

The boss smiled at him before putting an arm around his shoulders and forcing him away from the wall, striding towards Slingshot and Spot. "Though I must admit this meeting came a bit faster than expected."

Spot shrugged, looking around him. "Never been much good at time," he admitted. Both he and Slingshot had a gunman on him, and the pussy ass boss had one on each side of him. There was another gunman who looked untouched a few feet away and another two that looked wounded. Everyone else was either unconscious or dead. "Never been much good at patience, either."

The man just smiled wider. "Yes, well, that is to be expected from children," he allowed. "Not to worry, however," he continued with a smile. "I can teach you plenty of patience while I'm torturing you."

Spot smirked back, dropping his arms from their surrender position and crossing them across his chest. "You wouldn't believe how many people have made the same threat. I do hope you don't pride yourself on originality." He began to take a step forward before the gun set to the back of his head was pressed in, making sure he remembered it was there. He stepped back, but just smiled wider. "So far no one's been successful, so what makes you think you're special?"

The man gave an exaggerated look towards Slingshot and Andrew, matching Spot's smile. "Yes, well, I'm willing to bet no one else had hostages."

"You don't have shit," Spot replied. "You think I care about a whore and a guy who can't even kick above his head? Shoot 'em if you want. Makes no difference to me."

The man's face dropped as his hold Andrew loosened, then everything sped up again.

Spot immediately elbowed the man behind in the gut before jumping over Slingshot to kick the man in front of him in the head.

Slingshot quickly rolled away before going straight to the wounded gunman, making short work of them before going for the third.

Meanwhile, Andrew had rolled away from his boss, crouching along the wall and quickly picking up a pistol he found on the ground. By the time he got his grounding all the guards were knocked out and Spot was standing over his boss.

"Slingshot's fucking mine, you son of a bitch," Spot growled, slamming the man's head into the ground. "I should scrape your fucking eyes out of your head for even looking at him. Lucky for you you aren't worth my time. A piece of shit gang leader who can't even fight is worthless to the new regiment."

For the first time Andrew could remember his boss looked terrified. Whereas Spot had stared down a pistol without even flinching this man, who Andrew had looked up to for so long, looked desperate.

Slingshot walked up to be on Spot's right side, staring down at the man who had kidnapped them.

"Your men are slow and sloppy," Spot explained. "They have no guidance beyond your orders, and no loyalty to you besides fear and money. You inspire no greater way to be, and you can't understand them. And that means, between me and you, I will always win."

That was when Andrew's eyes met his boss's, and his boss's eyes fell to the gun.

"A-Andrew!" he shouted, his voice strained and desperate. "Shoot them! Shoot them now!"

And Andrew lifted up the pistol, but he didn't aim it at Spot or Slingshot. "He's right, you know. You don't inspire any real loyalty," he said before pulling the trigger at his ex boss's head. "Bam. You're dead," he said, his face blank as the body dropped.

Spot stood up then, not even sparing Andrew a glance as he walked down the hallway the men had been appearing. "Well, that was fun, eh?"

"I think you're definition of fun is a little screwed up," Slingshot replied with a sigh. "How early is too early to start getting grey hairs?"

"I take it the training went well then?" Steath asked as they rounded the corner and found him sitting around five motionless bodies.

"Training?" Slingshot asked, turning towards Sean with his eyebrows raised.

Sean shrugged, finally turning to look at Andrew. "Hey, Bam, you wet yourself?"

Andrew blinked in surprise when he realized the question was directed at him. "What? No. Why would I?"

"See, Sling?" Sean asked, turning back to his Second-in-Command. "He's already better than the recruits you got me." He nodded towards Andrew. "Training passed. Let's go the fuck home," he demanded before walking off, not waiting for any of them to follow.

Stealth immediately went to Sean's side, but Slingshot hung back with Bam, putting a hand on his shoulder. "In my experience, he just gets easier to follow around, so if you don't want to follow a deranged psychopath you should probably get out while you can."

Bam shrugged. "I'm starting to see the appeal."

TBC

Hopefully you guys like these chapters. This entire story has been loosely outlined since 2008 (which I found just recently :D ), and it occurred to me that the ending would make a lot more sense if you guys got some history on how the Brooklyn boys came to be. (That, and writing old, deranged Spot is a lot of fun.) But I'm getting the important characters out of the way, so if you guys don't like these chapters I can leave out the more minor characters that I had planned on doing. Just let me know.

Also, as of last chapter I'm over 200K words on this story. That's pretty huge for me. When I had first started this story I had absolutely no plans of it going past 50K. Guess that really shows just how out of control I've let these boys get.

And, as always, please review. Your reviews really do give me great motivation to keep moving on this story! :)

Next chapter you get to see Skittery and Spot interacting, which was a complete joy to write; I love how these two get along.