(Almost a year updating, wild times. We are in Super Covid 64, and I graduated and gain a full job so updates are when I can. Enjoy.)
Getting Sasha upstairs to her apartment was difficult as he didn't want to cause attention to himself. For one, she was asleep and couldn't be awoken. Two, the giant concussion and bruises she had will surely cause some suspicion.
He rummaged in the car, finding an old black hat and a light blanket he wrap around her body. Troy managed to find a pair of glasses to give off the appearance of a 'late night out' instead of 'taking advantage of girlfriend' vibes. Once he felt she was decent enough to pick up, he lifted Sasha into his arms as if they were newlyweds.
The automatic door was a godsend to Troy as he steadily walked towards the elevator, which was empty around this time. He didn't want any nosy neighbors to ask questions or even worse, call the cops.
Troy snorted in irony if her neighbors called the cops. His Chief would have a field day about this recent 'development'. Then again, Chief would be elated to know the home of this mysterious 'Playa' of the Saints. Which would lead to more evidence and arrest of the Saints as well, which made Troy frown at that thought.
Finally, they reached Sasha's apartment safety, Troy trying to wrangle the keys while keeping Sasha in place. 'Jesus, how many locks can a person have? I get Siltwater ain't the safest place, but two locks should suffice!', Troy thought, wiggling the last lock to freedom.
Letting out a silent cheer, Troy opened the door and then gently picked up Sasha, where she was leaning awkwardly on the wall, into her home. Kicking the door behind him, Troy placed Sasha gently on her plush sofa, putting a random blanket on the next couch on her.
Trying not to look down at her, he searched through the kitchen cabinets for some medicine. Finding some strong painkillers, a bottle of water, some WarmIcytm, and a small trashcan just in case she had to throw up.
Troy signed, wishing to take her to a hospital but in the state, she's in someone might ask questions. Or try to arrest her due to her injuries which would be another downward spiral for Troy and the Saints. 'When did I start gettin sentimental about the crew? I've been with them for two years now and still feel guilt having to bring them down, especially Julius. And now the new kid comes along and fucks even more shit up, this really cannot go worse.', He thought, rubbing his calloused hands on his face.
He debated on crashing on the next couch or going home to his bed. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to leave the 'Playa' alone with a concussion. Moreso, he was worried about her waking up death and looking at the photos on the wall, there would be some questions and concerns.
At last, he took off his shoes and slept on the couch next to Sasha, grabbing another throw blanket and shuffling a pillow under his head. Sleep came to Troy easy, unlike the last few months.
A few hours later, Sasha woke up with a giant headache and a very sore body. Her dimmed kitchen light guided her eyes to the bottle of meds and water next to her on her coffee table. She didn't remember getting home, only the depressed face of Julius and the slight feel of someone's arms carrying her.
For a moment she thought of her dad, who she hasn't talked to in almost a year, but knew better. She glanced at the figure on the couch next to her, slightly relaxed as it wasn't a bugler or random man. Sasha found it almost touching he stayed, maybe he was tired or wanted to make sure she was okay?
After swallowing the pills and making a quick trip to the bathroom, she changed into a giant green shirt and loose pajama pants and went back to sleep, noting the time was at least 11 pm.
Still sore, Sasha slept easily as soon as her head hit her plush pillow.
Around 10 am, Sasha's phone blasted with Xas "Rule the World" ringtone, signaling its Dex. It woke both Saints out of their sleep much to their dismay. Sasha groaned before answering the resident smart guy.
"Yes, Dex?" Sasha yawned into the phone. Troy padded off to the bathroom, whispering to Sasha about freshening up which she shooed him with a hand.
"Well kid glad ya not dead. Get to the church now so we can go over our plan for the Carnales." Dex ordered the Saint.
"Can't drive with a concussion Dex, but I'll be there." She responded back, walking into her room to change into something more decent.
"If you can walk and talk, you can drive. Have Troy drop you off at the church in the next hour. Take something light so you can keep up. Julius may have gone easy on you, but I won't." And with that, he hung up to the pissed off mostly awake Saint.
'Such an asshole, I see why some of the Saints call him the Devil.' Sasha thought to herself, putting on her fitted purple tee to complete the dark black jeans and skate shoes she wore.
She looked in the mirror, grimacing at her injuries. A purple mark around her eye formed along with colored bruises on her body. Not too noticeable as long as she wears layers. Sasha put a bit of makeup on her face and neck, blending to make her unmarked skin. A dark brown lipstick was put on as well, just to lift her spirits.
Her hair was tangled and mostly likely had blood in it, so she opted for a low pony puff style instead. Happy with her look, she went to the living room where Troy was in his clothes from yesterday but appears to have showered.
Sasha noticed and went back to her guest room, grabbing an oversize black shirt and black basketball shorts to give to the older man. She went out to the living room to hand them to him.
"Hey Troy, here, you can change and wash your old clothes here. I'll give them back when they're done." She said, giving a small smile at the lieutenant. He nodded back at her and went to the guest room to change, giving her to straighten up a bit.
Troy appeared after a few minutes, clothes in the combined washer dryer. Shoes on, both went out the door towards her car, with Troy instructing her to sit in the passenger seat due to her concussion. Sasha had no complaints as long as she got a coffee before facing the 'dragon'. Troy tried not to laugh at the new Saint as they drove in comfortable silence as they couldn't agree on a radio station. Troy likes talk radio and Sasha likes throwbacks which both argued which one was worse.
Finally, they arrived at the Mission, a few Saints hanging out early or doing maintenance on the church. Both got out of the car, heading over to Dex's side of the church. His side of the church looked like it was remodeled as the ceiling nor walls weren't falling apart. A bookcase filled and most likely read was on one wall white a whiteboard with pictures on the other. A giant fan was above the room, in a makeshift hole to give some air to the office along with a desk and chair.
Sasha took in the office in awe as she got to look around, especially noticing a few books on the wall. Some of those she read for class and others for fun. Dex came in, quickly talking to Troy while looking at her with disdain.
He began moving towards his desk, gesturing for them to come over. On the desk was a photo of a Hispanic man in a tacky orange shirt with info scribbled on it.
Dex spoke, "So this guy's the mouthpiece for the Colombians huh?" As he eyed the photo critically.
Troy replied with a "Yep."
Dex spoke again, "And he's in town."
"Yep." As Troy replied again, with disinterested as his colleague.
Dex muttered to himself, "Interesting."
Troy looked at both of them, "We've taken out one of the Carnales' legs. We smoke this guy and they're crippled for good." Sasha nodded in agreement, Hector Lopez was dead and gone.
Dex sighed at the brash lieutenant answer, "Yeah, and so are we. We kill Orejuela, and the Colombians'll be all up to our ass. Let's figure out what his game is first, then we'll decide what to do. You know where he is?" Sasha looked back and forth between the men, not having a verbal input as she didn't know too much about this guy.
"Yeah, well, I'd start with the strip clubs," Troy said, glancing at Sasha's choice of wear. A little more college-ready than strip club but hopefully it wouldn't go noticed.
"Cool. Alright man, let's go buy this drug lord a lap dance." Dex laughed as Sasha looked surprised at his demeanor. She's been to a club or two but the thought of going to a strip club excited her than anything.
Sasha wished she dressed a bit cuter than looking like a college kid instead. Dex looked at her with the same thought as they made their way towards his car. He made her drive, much to her chagrin as he climbed in the passenger seat.
"Maybe I shoulda told you to wear something more uh sluttier?" Dex spoke after a few minutes of silence.
Sasha side-eyed the man, the thought of crashing comes to mind. "I'm not a hoe Dex, it's only a strip club. Maybe you shoulda dressed like a pimp if that's what you were going for." She said coolly, the shocked look on Dex's face appeared.
"Aight, let's go and swing by the strip club and wait to see who shows up." He said as a change of subject, and they were back to the awkward silence followed by a couple of directions.
"When we get to Manuel just let me do all the talkin' 'aight? I'd hate for us to fuck things up with the Columbians because you said some crazy shit that pisses him off." Dex spat as they were closer to the strip club. Sasha rolled her eyes at him and focused on driving and not killing the smart Saint.
As they stopped at a light, he spoke again, "With Hector taken out, his brother Angelo is probably callin' the shots... lucky for us he doesn't have his shit together... it'll probably take him a while before he's got the crew organized enough to make a move on us..."
Looking at Sasha, "If and when Angelo finally steps, he's gonna send Victor to do the job... now I know you think you're all badass and everything but trust me Victor ain't no joke... you run into that asshole you make sure you got some serious backup." She gave him a confused looked but continued to drive until they reached the parking lot of the club.
She stopped the engine, but Dex grabbed her harshly as he told her to wait for the man to come. Sasha yanked her arm back and was going to reply before seeing a Carnales car in the corner.
Sasha drove as Dex shot down the following Carnales, bullets flying over both heads. She also shot back while driving as these assholes were pissing her off majorly.
Four big cars chased after them for three hours which had them driving all over town to dodge them. If one came, 4 more came with them which made it harder to drive and dodge. Shooting the last car made it feel like heaven to Sasha, as they drove back to the church.
Once back, both hopped out of the car, unaware of the danger coming ahead towards them. They met Troy and Julius in his office, but the mood wasn't a good one.
Julius had a look of a disappointed principal and Troy was the assistant principal standing beside him. Sasha sensed this as she sat on top of an unused desk that was by Troy, who looked at Dex with uncertainty. Julius stared down his lieutenant while Dex stared back, face full of determination.
"What the hell was that Dex? We already down two and you decide to call shots without me?" He roared at the young man. Both Sasha and Troy tensed but Dex stood his ground.
Dex began to speak, "Julius, I don't see what the big deal is." Sasha knew that was the bad thing to say as she saw the anger in Julius's eye.
"The deal is that you went to talk to the Colombians without me." Julius countered back, angrily throws his hands up. Julius paced back and forth angrily at this discussion.
Dex did the same, "We didn't even get to meet him, Jules!" And just like that, he snapped his head Dex.
"And don't call me Jules, you haven't earned it." Julius snapped at the young man, eyes ablaze. Troy winced at his 'friend' getting yelled at in front of people.
Dex slightly wavered but sighed, "Fine. Julius, you put me in charge of the Los Carnales. Shit, now you got me sayin' it." He tried to make a joke of the misusage of the prefix, but it fell on quiet ears. Julius gave him one last glare.
"Dex, do your job, but don't think you're bigger than you are. When it comes to the Colombians, you call me, understand?" He ordered the lieutenant, who replied with a weak "Yes".
Before he walked off, Troy quickly turned his head as he heard shooting noises from outside. The group of Saints quickly whipped out their weapons, taking positions as the enemy entered the church.
Troy and Dex took the front while Julius and Sasha took the back, giving protection to the men out front. Julius turned to Sasha who was crouched behind a beam and said, "Heads up playa, I don't think these bitches stopped by for confession."
'Ain't that the truth.', Sasha thought to herself, dodging another bullet from the enemy gang. The group made their way to the front entrance of the church, bodies of both sides scattered on the ground.
Sasha gripped her Platinum T3K Urban SMG tightly, preparing for the slightest movement. Julius stayed next to her as they came outside to see the damage, cars, and body damaged with blood and bullets. All four joined the remaining Saints on the east side of the building to get rid of the remaining Carnales.
"They're comin' from the side entrance!" Julius yelled out. The remaining Saints stayed while the group of four went to the side entrance.
They were greeted with more Carnales in cars, which force them to take cover. Dex and Sasha went to one side while Troy and Julius went to the other. A redhead Carnale yelled something in Spanish which caused more of them to pick up the pace.
Sasha knew Spanish but couldn't place the words she said, only having time to shoot back instead of pondering. Dex managed to shoot a few cars before they came to the church while Julius and Troy took on different areas of the north and east entrances.
BOOM!
Sasha recoiled from the sound, looking from the smoke trail of the Grenade Launcher. She saw it came from their side, one of the Saints must have gotten their hands on the last batch of guns from the shipment they intercepted. The blast hit the remaining cars, which killed Los Carnales on impact. Before they had time to get up from the impact, Julius yelled out: "Victor and his crew are stormin' the church!".
Already on the move, they went out to the streets with bodies and rubble littered around them. Stepping over bodies and debris, they could see the Carnales enforcer on his was, racing towards them with a crew behind him. More Saints have come to help kill the rest of the Carnales, especially with their new weapons it made it easier from 8 Saints to 30.
"You gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me, what's this muthafucka made of.." Julius yelled as they shot Victor's Bulldog. It almost seemed as the car was bulletproof as it took all of them to have the car smoking, which took another hour in itself.
The car exploded as Victor rolled out, badly burned and injured, still shooting at the Saints. Some Saints were trying to either get the injuries or still fighting off Carnales while Sasha and co tried to kill the Hispanic man.
Still, on fire, Victor let off one more shaky shot before collapsing of his injuries and burns. Burnt flesh filled the smoke-ridden air as the four surrounded him, to make sure he was properly dead.
Troy took out a hidden cigarette, using the fire on Victor's body as a light. Dex looked disgusted while Sasha looked in awe. Julius looked around at the damaged of the area; bodies and debris with the smell of smoke and flesh all around him.
"Well, that coulda went worse..." He muttered to himself.
"Police should be here soon, tell everyone to scatter until next week. Heat should die down til then. Don't do anything stupid and tell your crews that either." He said looking at the two men in front, then to Sasha.
"Good job again Playa, soon you might become a Lieutenant with this work ethic of yours." And with that, he walked off towards the church to tell the rest of them the plan.
"Alright next week we'll get back to the sit-down and hopefully shit doesn't blow up in our face," Dex grunted, lightly limping towards his car.
Troy shook his head at him while Sasha made her way towards her car. She rushed him in the car as they rode together and went back to her apartment to get his clothes.
After a long day of events, the sound of silence sounded heavenly as Sasha took the long routine to avoid police detection. More exhaustion began to hit her body as she parked her car and headed upstairs with Troy behind her. She could see the tiredness radiating off him just like her.
Opening the door, she turned on the light in the dimmed apartment while taking her shoes off. Troy followed suit and sat down on the kitchen stool, not wanting to get her couch dirty with blood and dirt.
"At this point, you might have to start leaving clothes here." Sasha joked as she pulled out the meds from earlier and their respective waters. He chuckled, seeing this is now maybe the third or fourth time he's been at her apartment.
Only a few Saints have been here but not the way Troy has. Sasha didn't mind as long as he didn't ask any questions. She moved more personal photos of family and herself out and replaced them with more artsy paintings found from the Universities' art sales.
He changed into his now fresh clothes, replacing the borrowed ones in the washer. Sasha went to shower thoroughly, washing the blood, sweat, and dirt out of her hair. While she did her bathroom routine, Troy straightens up the living room and washed the remaining dishes in the sick.
Satisfied with his work, he relaxes on the couch while turning on the evening news just to make sure he was up to date. The last few months have been chaos, and his weekly meet-ins with the Chief while doing Saint business has taken a toll on the man but he knew the risk.
"In other news, The Saints and The Los Carnales fought today in Mission Beach which was a bloodbath!" Jack Armstrong's voice rung out of the TV. Slides began to show what happen and a few Saints were shown defending their turf. Troy prayed to God that he wasn't in those photos.
"Yes Jack, police have been around the area and avoid others not to come near. Many casualties have been accounted for and property damage has raised to an all-new high." Jane, Jack's co-star spoke as more slides of today's event showed on the screen. Victor's burnt body was briefly shown before they went back to more events throughout the town than national news.
Troy heard the bathroom door open, seeing Sasha cleaner in the last few days. Her skin was clear, almost glowing in a way. With an old grey band shirt, blue pajama pants, and thick socks, Troy could see a regular college student instead of a hardened gang banger.
Her hair was almost slick back, probably with product in a low ponytail that would become a puff soon. She padded across the room to the next spot beside him. He could smell the scent of jasmine and lavender on her.
Sasha grabbed the remote, putting it on mute, and turn to the man, a troubling emotion across her face.
"What are we gonna do about Johnny?" She softly said to the undercover cop, guilt written on her face.