Climbing into the back of his ambulance, Ben tussled his copper brown hair and smiled at the beautiful young woman that lay there. Now came the moment for his decision. Kill her or let her be. He watched as a uniformed police officer rolled past with a colleague. "Found another kid a couple of blocks from here, must've caught a stray. Sam or something his name is. He's on his way to general now" The girl began to stir, Ben had given her a sedative just help her rest. “So you’ve had a bit of a day huh? Well don’t worry, I’m gonna get you cleaned up first and you can go. I’ll fiddle your paperwork so you don’t have to come back to the hospital but you will have to speak to the cops I guess. They’ll want a statement” As he spoke, Ben dressed her wound. “So how you feeling?”

Rose's eyes blurred as whatever the paramedic had given her began to wear off, a throb seeping throughout her sinuses. As she came to, her side burned a little due to the treatment it was getting, and she blinked out the groginess from her eyes. "I'm fine...How's my class, do you know? You got the guy, right? I can't remember" Her eyebrows creased in the middle, sighing softly as she tried to sit up a little, a soft groan hissing through her lips. "Ok, I lied. I feel like shit" Her hand came up, rubbing at her eyes a little, then her forehead. "What did you say your name was?"

"The cops got the guy, so you can relax. He's well and truly dead. Your class is fine from what I can tell, as it stands there are only two victims. A teacher and a student" He went quiet for a moment before looking back up to her pretty face with a chuckle. "You'll feel like shit for another hour or so until the drugs are out of your system. You're best just getting yourself home and sleeping it off" He pressed a hand to her forehead and checked her temperature. "Well you're cooling down, there's no fever so you should be good to go. My name's Ben and according to one of your colleagues your name is Rose Jenkins. Can you just stand up for me? I want to make sure there's no grogginess"

"Ok, good...well not good....but you know, that there was no one else" She sat up a little more, until she propped herself up on her hands. "Mhmm, Rose, nice to meet you, I think. But not under these circumstances." Rose shook her head gently, and looked over at him. "Does the drugs cause babbling?" She laughed softly, and winced as her side ached a little, but alot less than earlier. She swung her legs off the bed, and pressed them to the floor, pushing herself up onto them standing, albeit slower than normal.

"That's great" He watched her stand and take a few steps. "Alright, I don't want you driving home so...is there anyone you can call to pick you up? If not I can give you a ride" Ben knew that as soon as he was finished here he'd need to go and speak to Brian and that was a conversation he was not looking forward to having, His big brother would no doubt have flipped the switch when he heard Stevie was the killer. If giving this girl a ride would postpone the conversation any longer, he'd definitely take that chance,

She nodded gently. "I can get my dad to come home from work and pick me up, he's in the police department. But I'm gonna go in and check on my class first, please?" She rested her hand against her side that was now bandaged up, blinking slightly at the light that shone through the back of the ambulance. "Does anyone know who that guy was anyway?"

"Just some nut looking to go out in a blaze of glory, I guess" Ben nodded. "If you want to go see your class, I recommend going now then. Couple more minutes and the police will be interviewing them and then sending them home" Reaching into the glove compartment of his rig, the young Polack pulled out a scrap bit of paper and scribbled a number down on it. "Here's my number, just in case you need anything. Now go on and make sure you don't do any heavy lifting for a few days"

She took the note with a smile and nodded. "Maybe I'll leave it until tomorrow, they don't need to see me all banged up, they've been through enough." She rested her hand on her hip and stepped down out of the rig, smiling over her shoulder before she was greeted by another staff member, helping her over to the school.

Eddie was making great progress on Donny J's car. Luckily there was no damage to the engine which meant he was going to be ahead of schedule in terms when it would be ready, because he was already dreading have to finish up the bulletproofing on the Limo. Working with bulletproofing was always a bear but in the right hands the work usually went quickly, and Eddie and his crew had some of the best hands on the West Coast. As he was listening to a Van Halen CD he heard the door open and Eddie saw Patti with a look on her face as though she had just seen the end of the world.

Eddie asked, "What's wrong Patti?"

With tears in her eyes she replied, "I think you better come in here. Please Eddie."

Eddie followed her back into the shop and everyone was gathered around the radio with identical looks on their faces as Patti's face. Eddie heard the announcement be repeated about the school shooting and he almost fell to the ground. Eddie would be the first to admit that the work that he was involved with wasn't exactly the most ethical, and the people weren't of high moral standards either. However the one thing everyone agreed on was harming a child was an act not even to be thought of. Eddie gathered his thoughts for a moment and then turned off the radio once the station went back to music.

He looked at his crew and asked which each person was working on. Hernandez had a front end alignment for one of the allies that he just started on, Brown and Davis were working on an engine tune up for Brian's Ferrari, Pearson was about done with an exhaust job for a friend of Brian's, and Patti was in the middle of inventory.

Eddie nodded and said, "Okay finish what you got right away, help whoever you can, and then head for home. The goal is everyone out of here by noon at the latest. Don't come here back here until I call you which could at least be 24-48 hours. Keep your cell-phones with you at all times, no leaving town, and everyone will still get paid."

Eddie took a deep breath and said, "With what went down this morning who knows what may happen next. The cops maybe looking at Brian or one of our allies. Inspite of the fact that we don't touch kids you never know, or one of the rival families may get some idea and hit us in the confusion that this will create. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and Eddie turned to Patti and said, "Help Frankie with the Front End alignment. Inventory can wait."

Patti replied, "Got it Eddie."

He turned to Jack Pearson and asked, "How long you got left on the exhaust job?"

Jack said, "5 minutes max."

Eddie nodded and said, "The minute you get done with your job get moving on refitting Donnie Sr's limo. I'll join you in about 25 minutes."

Jack nodded and Eddie said to everyone, "We ain't takin' any new jobs, and not a word to anyone about what happened today. All-right everyone get to it."

With that everyone got back to work and Eddie went into overdrive trying to get Donnie Jr's car done. Eddie was deeply concerned about his crew getting caught in the middle of something and wanted them out of the way quickly. In 20 minutes he and Pearson were working on the limo. All the while Eddie was keeping one eye on the clock and the street out front of the shop.

Nikolay S. Gavrilov

As he was driving down the road Nikolay turns on the radio to listen to some music, but the music stops after about 10 seconds of playing as the host deivered the following message. "Hello ladies and gentlemen this is your host Sarah J. of Justice FM. I apologise for interrupting your music but we have some fresh news that just came in. Our news anchor will elaborate on that. Take it away Ted. Thank you Sarah. Apparently there were some shoot-out's that took place in Francis J. McKenna high school. Also 3 other shots in the imidieate vicinity of the high school were reported just before this event. Right now we have 3 reported dead and one wounded. The gunman was shot down by the police. He was identified as Steven Kowalcyzk of Tide Point..." After hearing this name Nikolay suddenly hit the brakes as he stared at the radio with the look of a shocked man. He knew Steven. After all they were both working for the same family. "You're such an idiot Stevie." Said Nikolay. "Brian is not gonna like this." He continued. "...It looks like Kowalcyzk caused the deaths of chemistry teacher Hartwell White and a student, nonother then the son of mayor Andrea Valens, Jesus, however the latter wasn't accounted for yet. Also a 2nd teacher was wounded. That's all the information we have for now. Back to you Sarah! Thanks Ted. Wow this is unbelieveable. Where is this world coming to. Apparently now they're shooting in high schools too. What's next? Anyway's back to the music folks. Speaking of dead people...Rihanna comes to us with her Man Down song. I think it fits the situation. Enjoy! And if you're out there hearing us, then send us a text message and tell us what you think.This is your host Sarah J. Stay with Justice FM. Your local music and information radio station." As the music started playing Nikolay, still in shock because of what he just heard didn't realise that he created one big line behind him. And they were all honking the horn and cursing him. Nikolay snapped out of it and quickly hit the gas pedal as he continued driving to Lauren's place. He should be there any minute now.

Reid followed quickly behind Tryner and though she talked a tough game there was no doubt in his mind that Tryner was more than capable of backing it up as well.

There were so many things that he wanted to say already about the current situation, and so many questions he wanted to ask. However at this point with everyone's nerves on edge and the dynamic of the Mayor's son unaccounted for now was not the time to play the role of obnoxious reporter. Although there were several points McBride was hoping that Tryner had already picked up on.

First where was the kid's security detail? In a city like this with as many enemies as the Mayor has in addition to organized crime lords this kid should've had some kind of detail nearby even out of the way. Second the child was the target the whole time. This is the place where no one else would even dream of attacking unless they knew what was going on. Third this was designed to send a message because otherwise why not just grab any kid unless you already knew who you were going for. Lastly yes the gunman was gunned down, but he could've been the diversion he goes in shooting up the place and someone else slips in and does the job.

Reid realized that his points and theories could be a million miles of base which was another reason why he kept his mouth shut. He was just basing his hypothesis off of his previous experience and he knew full well that every town had it's own norms and the way things work, but the Mayor's kid is a high profile target too high profile to just be chalked up to coincidence.

Just listening to Tryner Reid knew he was dealing with someone who knew the score. The JPD was probably screwing up everything without the forensics team getting there in a timely manner. However there was one thing Reid knew for sure; if this was done to send a message there would be one thing he always heard called "the odd sock" that would stand out to deliver the message. It's when one is looking in a sock drawer and there is one sock that stands out in a sea of others like a black sock in a sea of navy blue socks. If they found their odd sock on the scene that would mostly like give them a clue to work off of. It would have to be something that hopefully Tryner was looking for as well. However if Reid spotted it he wouldn't be above just pointing out an option to Tryner. Reid noted to himself to eventually get Tryner's cell number so he could text her if he saw anything.

As they moved along Reid swallowed his gum and said, "Yes Ma'am."

9:20am... was the time that Marco would of left for work because, it took fifteen minutes to get to his job and work. Marco already had said goodbye to his wife and son, who left the house before Marco. The traffic backed the freeway for miles on the highway to the station, he didn't know what was going on and he wanted to know. He turned the radio on and changed to his favorite radio station. It usually had a bit of the news in but mostly Jazz and the Blues songs came up, but it went to a breaking news as soon as he turned the station on. The breaking news caused Marco to get to the nearest exit and get to a hospital as soon as possible.

"Breaking News! Francis J McKenna High School was on lockdown as soon as Steven Kowalcyzk, the gunman, gunned down Mr Hartwell White and Jesus Valens, the Mayor's son. A teacher was wounded by him before he was shot by police officers. We will have more information as it co- Wait a minute... We have one more student hurt as well, Sam Columbo, the Commissioner's son. The wounded had been taken to the general for treatment and we hope that they get better. We'll never forget this day for happing."

Marco drove his Buick Regal as fast as it could go to get to the general. His Samsung Galaxy S4 rang and it was his wife on the line and he parked his car in the general and ran to the door as he answer the call.

"Baby, is our son alright?!" Alyssia cried out to his husband for an answer and Marco responded, "I don't know, honey. I am in the general and going to see if our son is there. You need to get over here soon." She walked to her car and said, "I'm in my car and going to the general as soon as I can! UGH!" but she dropped the line and cried. Marco ran to the counter, where a nurse was on the computer and chewing some gum. "Is Sam Columbo in here? He was near the high school when the shooting started." he said as soon as he got to the counter and the nurse looked up, then down to the computer and said, "He's here but he was losing a lot of blood when he got here. I don't know much, but he was shot in the chest. He has to get surgery in order to get the bullet remove and stop the bleeding, so all you can do is sit and wait. Sorry Commissioner.". Marco couldn't believe it, but his son was hurt and in need of surgery, he could die without seeing his mother and father for the last time. For the first time ever, his fear became reality.

Jason had decided that he didn't mind the city. It was different from London in more ways than one, but some things were more or less the same. The projects were the tower blocks for example, and both were shit holes filled with guns and drugs. At least back home though a couple of the towers he had lived in had lifts, the block his new made friend lived on didn't and thus he was pissed off at the prospect of climbing a bunch of stairs. He was hoping his mate had some good news for him otherwise he was gonna be in a right mood on the way back down the bitches.

Nevertheless he made his way into the projects and began climbing stairs, cursing every new stairwell. He had never been to Nathan's place before but had been told the floor and door number he was on. Finally reaching the correct door he knocked, first quietly, then a little too loudly when there was no reply.

“Who be that banging up my door!?” Came a woman's voice from inside, a thick Jamaican accent coming with it. Jason didn't do or say anything, just stood there until someone got off their ass and opened the door up.

“What you want boy?”

Jason assumed it was Nathan's mum, she was a big woman, tall and chubby looking.

“Nathan.” Jason said calmly, staring at the woman.

“What you want him for? What's ya name?”

“Socialization... Jason. Jay.” Jason grunted, starting to lose his patience.

“Hey Nathan! White boy at the door! Boy say his name Jason, you know the boy?” She shouted, not bothering to turn her head and covering Jay in spit.

“Yeah, let him up in here D, Jay be cool!”

“All right, he say you cool. Get in here my youth, sorry about that, can't be too careful, you know?”

“Yeah, it's cool. Don't worry about it.” Jason spoke, following the woman inside and being directed to a room. He went inside, finding Nathan grinding up green.

“Why you grinding it? Dudes can do that their own self.” Jason said, checking out the room.

“Nah, not everyone’s got a grinder, and this way it's ready to spiffy up, you know?”

“I don't know man, seems a little generous for shotting.”

“Maybe back in England, but out here it's a buyers market, you gotta do what you can to keep people coming back to you. There's a hundred other bitches they could go to to get a bit of ganja, you feel?”

“Fuck knows, I never sold green. Where do you get yours from?” Jason spoke, a possible idea coming to him.

“I buy it off some corner boys down the way, they too busy selling that H, but they give the green they get to me and I slip them a little something every time I need a re-up. Shit sells out quick at school.” Nathan explained, finishing grinding and bagging what looked like a ten bag.
“You buy it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why, you said it yourself, there's a hundred other bitches selling the same shit. Why don't you just wait for them to re-up then move in and take their shit? You could sell just as much and you wouldn't have to kick up nothing, the profit would be yours alone.” Jason smiled, liking his idea.

“That's not a bad idea, I know a dozen other dudes who sell plenty every week... But it's a little risky, not all of these dudes are pussies, we step to one with any heart at all and things are bound to get violent.” Nathan explained, looking like he was thinking.

“How much green we talking? Enough to warrant a little violence?”

“Considering you dropped Mike for $20, yeah, I'd say the few hundred we could make a week is enough to ease your conscious, right man?” Nathan laughed.

“Damn straight.” Jason chuckled. “So who's getting jacked?”

Ryan sat alone in his room at the Chateau de le Rhone, at Arles, southern France. In his hand was a shiny, nickel-plated snub nose revolver; a box of bullets lay open on the desk in front of him. Images flashed through his tired mind; he could feel the fine layer of sand on top of a hard concrete floor. He could hear his friends as they screamed in the next room over. All around him were bodies, bloody and beaten, it had been two weeks since the team’s capture, and no one was coming to help them. He could hear Jack’s voice, broken and defeated, but he couldn’t make out the words over all the screaming. He couldn’t hear a thing.

Slowly, he pulled back the hammer and raised the gun to his temple. Then, for just a moment, the whole world was silent. The trigger gave way to the pressure of Ryan’s finger, he closed his eyes, and it all went black.

Slowly, the pictures crept into his mind, this time he could feel himself being pulled up under the arms and dragged down the hallway. They pulled him into a room on the right hand side as Ryan regained his footing. “Get up!” shouted one of his escorts as he crossed the room towards the battered man laying face down on the floor. Ryan watched as Jack pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, just to get kicked in the gut and collapse once more. “You want to know what’s funny? This whole fucking thing… You know-this thing-is your real mission! Isn’t that funny, soldier man?” Said the man standing over Jack, laughing manically at his two captives. “You were sent here to die, you know? Your people, they say, ‘Mufeed, we pay you to do this.’ Did you know that? It is funny, no? Come on, soldier man, why will you not laugh with Mufeed?”

“My family, they say, Mufeed is crazy! You think me crazy too eh? To laugh at this, euh, this… Murder! Eh? This long, bloody killing… It is tragedy no? Certainly, it must be tragic for you, yes? You watch all these people die, and you think, maybe I am next? How awful this must be, no? So why do I laugh, you wondering, eh? This is not funny, you feel. But it is! You just can not see the joke yet!” The madman continued, circling around the tiny room. “All this, euh, brutality, shall we say, it is not really my doing you see, it is the work of your government!”

“Once we are done here, the military will find this place, and then there will be public outcry, demanding justice for you men. Then your superiors will have greater funding, you see? Maybe you think you die for your duty, huh? You think this is noble death, but now you see there is no honor in this world! You dress up like soldiers and you think maybe you are a part of something meaningful, but this is not the case. You think me crazy, but I know what you do not! All life is meaningless, it is lie, all a joke!” He kept laughing, as Ryan watched the disbelief growing in Jack’s eyes, and Ryan wondered if Jack could see the same in his. “But do not fear, my friends! Though all of the things you once believed in may have turned out to be a lie, this is not always bad, no? Surprise! You have certainly come to terms with your death by now? Have you not embraced it? Now I tell you that you shall not die here!”

Mufeed pulled his gun from its holster and shot Ryan in the kneecap. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his shattered leg. “Now, brave soldier,” Mufeed said, turning to Jack, who by now had risen to his hands and knees again. “It is time to decide. Shall you carry your friend across the desert, or will you leave him behind to die?” Ryan could only scream out on top of the ensuing conversation, trying unsuccessfully to muffle his cries.

Ryan watched the pain in Jack’s face take over, as the reality of the situation began to set in. He had always been such a strong man ever since he had joined the military, using its purpose to drive him forward. But now, it was gone. Tears ran down his face and the sound that haunted Ryan’s dreams emerged from Jack’s throat. It was not a scream, nor a cry, it could only be described as the sound of agony, as it violently erupted from the human soul. “Why?” Jack sobbed, “Why couldn’t you let us die with our honor! Why tell us this, now? Why let us free? WHY?”

“Because, little soldier man,” Mufeed laughed, “In this world, our lives are no more significant than our deaths. There is no reason! That is the very best part; can’t you see this? One more body on the pile means nothing, and one more broken soul wandering the desert means even less. Neither in life, nor in death, will you ever matter… Just like Mufeed…” He said, staring emptily into his victim’s eyes, “Just like Mufeed…”

“You’re lying!” Shouted Ryan, still crippled on the floor.

“Ah, well you only need to live long enough to see the headlines, then!” Laughed Mufeed, “But now as much as I have enjoyed our time together, dear friends, I am afraid we must leave, I wish you farewell…” Soon after, their captors had left the room and then the facility itself, leaving Ryan and Jack alone, sobbing together on the dirty floor.

Owen

After listening to Lauren’s instructions, Owen jumped from his seat and quickly hurried out to get the SUV as ordered. Already, the ex-soldier was mulling everything over in his head. Kowalcyzk, obviously a Polack so there was probably about a 80 to 90 percent chance he was born and raised in the Fields neighbourhood or Tide Point. If that was the case, then there was also about a 90 percent chance he was part of Jagielski’s gang. Could this be some sort of power play? The death of the Mayor’s son was eerily similar to the assassination of Alison McKenna five years earlier. When she was murdered, all the dirt secrets of the McKenna’s came to light and their hidden criminal empire was brought down, which then resulted in Justice essentially being transformed into a war zone due to the creation of a vacuum of power. Could it be happening all over again? Were the Jagielski’s making one hell of a move? Or was someone else pulling the strings? As Owen went over all of this in his head, he had already got the SUV pulled up outside and picked up his team to head to Francis J McKenna High School. When the MCU arrived on the scene, each member set off to do their respective duties as ordered my Captain Tryner. For Owen that meant heading off and making sure that forensics got everything they needed and that he could paint the picture of what happened.

Robert-Ross

She was still breathing, that was the main thing. Using the damp cloth, Robert Ross washed the blood from his hands and looked down at his unconscious lover with a cold dead stare. Libby liked it this way, almost as much as he did. Their vicious sex games often resulted in cuts and bruises on both sides. Lots of drugs and alcohol which both had developed an almost immunity to. Many times one or both of them had come so close to death that they needed to be resuscitated. Neither would have it any other way. Bending down, Robbie ran a finger down her spine before pressing a soft kiss to the back of her neck. He turned and made his way out of the bedroom and picked his glasses up off the bedside table as he did so. Entering the living room of the apartment, Rob picked his cell phone up from the counter and scanned the messages on it. It had all but blown up in the span of an hour. The most recent message being simply “NEWS”. Sitting down onto the couch, still in nothing but his boxers and glasses he turned on the tv. Emotionless as he watched the events of the day unfold, Robert Ross began to run the numbers in his head like the machine he was. Kowalcyzk was supposed to be dealing with some of Robbie’s guys that day. Obviously someone got greedy which resulted in a shootout, Stevie got nervous and ran into the school. If he was going to go out, he was going to go out in a blaze of glory. None of this mattered, Robert had is contingency plan already in place.

Olivia emerged from the bedroom and Rob turned to greet her. “I think it’s about time, Lib that we go see your sister”

Lauren

A million thoughts rushed through her mind as they walked quickly through the quiet corridors of their floor, the rest of the team not built yet and thanks to the events of the morning they would be working with a skeleton crew for a while longer. She felt Reid just behind her and turned to look over her shoulder, his own eyes filled with questions and concerns. She knew he was as capable as her of leading the team she'd been given and when it was just the two of them she planned to let him know that his advice, his questions and concerns, his expertise was welcomed and expected as a member of her team, even one so deep under cover that only a few of them knew it - her being the only one at the Justice PD. The reached the elevator and slipped in without the others, her team taking the stairs to get the car and grab a few things from the first floor weapons closet.

Lauren looked over to Reid and nodded, extending her hand, "I'm Lauren and when it's just us you can call me as such, but other wise, Tryner. I'm glad you're on the team and your secret is my secret, so understand that when you have real questions or thoughts - or if you catch something I don't, you're a member of my team and can pull me aside at any time to assist me with your thoughts. You've quite a resume and it could be me where you are in the blink of an eye, so I'm here to give you whatever I can, but remember I'm in charge."

The elevator opened and she walked out, head held high as most of the men and women in blue stopped to say good morning. She nodded mostly and slipped out the front door, a young female cop holding the door for her and Reid. As she expected, Owen had the car ready and within a few minutes she was seated next to him in the front and they were on their way.

"This is too much like the McKenna murder a few years back. Something isn't right here and honestly I think we're going to move fast before another agency sweeps this under the rug only to pull it out in private and crack a case that assuredly belongs to us." She looked in the back seat and then at Owen, continuing her thoughts until they pulled up to the school. She slipped out without another word, motioning for Reid to fall back for a moment. "No press allowed."

Tryner moved toward Jamison, the commissioners assistant with intent and purpose, her head turning in time to see one of the cops from the JPD holding a bag of bloody cloth in his hands as he looked for an evidence bag. "Good Lord... Who trained you to collect evidence?" She pointed to the truck where the forensics team was and warned the young man not to touch anything else. Jamison looked up and gave her a shake of the head.

"I'm not interested in your bullshit today, Jamison. Where is Marco? Who's got jurisdiction thus far and who's making a press release?" She looked around for the mayor and saw him nowhere in sight, her part of the deal getting more and more difficult.

Jamison touched her arm, "Marco's son was hurt in the shooting and he's inside. You're going to need to take over from the JPD, which will piss everyone off, but Marco is occupied."

"Fuck.. is the kid okay?" She touched her mouth and looked around the multitude of people before getting a quick shoulder shrug and locating Owen. "We're in control, the Comissioners son was hurt. Take charge of the scene and I'll go find Marco to see what our next steps are." She looked at Reid, "Stay with me and keep your eyes pealed.

The white room was the thing that Marco kept looking at while waiting for the news of his son. He sat on a chair for hours while his wife was sleeping, Marco was tired of waiting. He got up and then a doctor walked towards them and he woke his wife and said to the doctor, "How's our son, doctor?". The doctor said to them, "Your son did well in surgery, we removed the bullet and close the wound. But, he lost a lot of blood and he has an infection. It'll take awhile, but your son will do fine, commissioner. One more thing, Alyssia we need you to donate some blood.". Marco frowned at the news, but it was a little step towards getting better. He got up and walked towards the window, where his son was lying on a bed, and said, "I should of got there faster, son. This has to be my fault somehow or 'God' just hates me. But you'll get better. I'm going outside so I can have a smoke.". Marco never had smoked in his life either know his wife and his dad had, but he needed a cigarette now. When Alyssia was talking to the doctor, he went into an Alyssia's purse and grabbed a lighter and a cigarette box of Marlboro Lights and told his wife that he was going outside. He stepped out and got the lighter and aimed at the cigarette and lit it and put it at his mouth and breathe the smoke. It felt odd for Marco to smoke, but it felt so good. He put the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it and walked inside as he put the box and the lighter in his pocket.

After another fifteen or so minutes of grinding and bagging the drugs he was planning on selling at school the next day Nathan was finally ready to leave the projects and go snatch whatever they could off some other dick head. However, before leaving he seemed to have preparation on his mind, going into his cupboard and producing a hunting knife. It was a beautiful looking thing with a six inch blade and fine looking handle, Jason had owned a couple quite similar back in England over the years.

“It's beautiful mate, but I thought you yanks were all about straps... Robbing a prick with a blade is a tad bit British, ain't it?” Jason chuckled, standing up off the bed.

“That's why you're gonna be using this bitch. I look like a fucking butcher to you?” Nathan said back, laughing.

“You're gonna get me all nostalgic. I think I'm gonna name him Boris. Yeah, Boris the Blade.” Jason laughed, sliding the blade into it's sheathe and tucking it under his coat.

“Whatever man, let's move.”

“Hold on, who we robbing?”

“Charlie. That pussy should give it up pretty quick and his mom works all day at the hospital so he'll be home alone.”

“All right, we got a blade a plan. Let's go make some money.” Jason smiled, leaving the apartment and soon the projects.

It didn't take them long to get to the place Charlie lived, it was a short distance from the projects in some low rise buildings. The place was just as much a shit hole as the projects they had just came from, but fortunately for them there weren't as many people around. They soon reached the poor dudes door and stopped so Jason could take the blade out.

“All right, fuck it. Let's just knock, soon as the door opens a little we'll boot that shit and rush him. Cool?” Jason asked, hoping his new friend wasn't shook.

“Cool.” He said simply, banging on the door. Jason tightened his grip on the blade and waited. As soon as he saw the door handle coming down both teenagers brought their feet back, smashing them into the door and sending it flying open. Charlie collapsed to the floor, his nose broken and bleeding. Jason didn't take any chances though, rushing into the flat and stomping on the youths torso a few times.

“Aye, check his fucking room man, take any money, drugs and weapons he's got. Leave everything else though. You Charlie boy, move and I'll fucking gut you. This blades long enough that I could reach your spine, easy.” Jason threatened, holding the blade like a dagger, ready to stab down.

After a couple of minutes Nathan was done searching and came out of the room carrying what looked like a couple of ounces of weed, about a hundred dollars in cash and a small lock knife.

“This was worth the trouble man, definitely worth it.” Nathan grinned, looking at the items in his arms like he was a kid looking at sweets.

“We're not done yet mate. Find a bag to put that shit in.”

Nathan quickly returned into the room, coming back out with the kids school bag. Jason quickly chuckled at the harshness of it, taking his drugs and money was one thing, taking the dudes school bag was just insulting.

“Aye, hold this.” Jason spoke, handing the big blade to Nathan before leaning down and slapping Charlie.

“Oi pussy, you hear me? Come outta that daze.” Jason spoke, slapping him again. “Good, you're awake. Now, if you ever want to shot anything in school or on the streets again you're gonna have to kick up a little something to us. We want 50% of everything, you sell an ounce, half is ours, you sell a fucking ten bag, half is ours. You get the picture?” Jason spat, slapping the teens very red cheek again when no reply came.

“Yeah, I get it.” Charlie coughed, appeasing Jason. He got up panting, wiping the blood now on his hand on his jeans.

“Good, now clean yourself up. Your mom is gonna be home soon and you're a fucking mess.” Jason spoke, opening the door and leading Nathan out of it.

“I think that went well, don't you?” Jason smiled.

“Yeah, sure. Could have made a lot more if I could have taken anything I wanted though, the fuck man?” Nathan question, obviously annoyed at only being able to take what Jason had said.

“Yo, you think he's gonna tell his hard working nurse mum that a couple of motherfuckers broke in, beat him down and stole all the drugs he was gonna sell at school? Nah brother, he's gonna say he got jumped on the way back from school or some shit. That means no pigs, no pigs means no trouble, ya feel?”

“That makes sense.” Nathan spoke, handing Jason the hunting knife back. “Keep it man, you and... Boris were made for each other.”

Nikolai S. Gavrilov

It wasn't long before he reached Lauren's place. However, Nikolai's attention was caught by something else. As he passed a hotel he saw a very familiar person coming out of a taxi and heading inside. He abruptly hits the brakes and parks the F-150 at the left side of the road, behind a Charger. Nikolai then gets out of the car and heads towards the man. As he reaches him he grabs him by his left shoulder and turns him around. "Malanek Tropovski. Long time no see. I see your still fighting off that disease. Come, we need to talk." Said Nikolai as he put his right arm on the back of Malanek and took him for a walk. When he was sure there was no one around he punched Malanek in the face and covered his mouth with his hand preventing from screaming. Nikolay took advantage of the dissiness that Malanek felt after he punched him to drag him towards the back of his car, opening the door and throwing him inside the bed of his truck. He then covered his eyes with a piece of cloth that he had in the pocket of his leather coat and took some handcuffs that were lying on the bed of the truck and handcuffed his hands. "Were going to go for a little ride. And once we reach our destination you will tell me everything I need to know." Said Nikolay as he slammed shut the bed of the truck, got inside and drove away. Lauren can wait for the moment. Malanek's presence here meant bad news for Nikolay. He just hoped it wasn't what he thought it is.

Tryner, or Lauren as Jason was allowed to call her, was giving Jason a brief welcome as it were to the department. She had read his profile, and she was looking for help if he saw anything he was to let her know.

Reid had read her profile as well.Lauren was better than good at being a cop she was excellent, and woe be to the one mistook her youth for inexperience or being naive. She impressed McBride to the point that if he was looking for a partner back in DC she would be the first person McBride would call without a second thought. Lauren did a good job of trying to see the parallels to another case a few years back. It pained him when she spoke about another agency swooping, because there had been on more than one occasion he was the one swooping in and taking a case away from the DC-PD. He hated doing it but like them McBride was out to get the bad guys, and the fact that he had better resources and a bigger budget usually meant he got his way. McBride always made sure that the FBI's PR division always went out of their way in emphasizing the work between them and the DC-PD.

Just then she made the motion for Reid to fall back with "No press allowed." He nodded and said, "I'll get crowd reactions."

Reid milled about the crowd asking very general and safe questions in the crowd. The whole time he was holding his phone at an angle so as to video as much as possible. What exactly was he looking for Reid wasn't sure, but he had an idea on things to look for since the shooter was already dead. Something this big though no way this was the work of one lone gunman just on a shooting spree. This was something bigger than that McBride had seen enough cases to know that. Again what was he looking for? Maybe someone on their cell-phone looking in one area, someone off to the side looking at the chaos and taking it all in, or someone just looking around like they were expecting something else. Usually he would shoot this video back to his pal Eddie in tech at the Bureau and he'd have a working profile up and running within two hours. However this wasn't DC and Reid/McBride wasn't allowed to phone home as it were. Besides if anyone got his phone and saw lots of numbers to DC showing up it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who he was. The AP line wouldn't hold water for very long so in this case McBride had to do an impression of Eddie and come up with something. Very quickly Reid did some cut & paste & added other words from his smart phone which sent his story to the AP. If nothing else he knew Lamar would see it and know that McBride was already working the scene with the MCU.

Jason stopped playing the "good reporter" bit when he saw Lauren again and the look on her face said follow me. Reid caught up to her and she told him if he saw anything to let her know. Reid said in a very hushed voice, "I already sent you a video e-mail of the crowd outside. I figure at some point you and I might be able to break it down. Something this big and as slow as the police were to respond no way this was just a lone shooter. The mastermind whoever that is I'll bet a year's alimony is still here, or at least who knows who the big name behind all this is."

Lauren

The sound of her heels clicking along the sidewalk as she made her way into the silent school was enough to draw attention, but the look on her face was even more to shove it away. She was concerned for the commissioners son and yet knew that they would be ass deep in media questions before the hour was up. She nodded to Reid as he moved beside her. "That's perfect. We'll find a conference room back at the station that we can use to walk through everything you have there."

She almost growled as her thoughts turned back to the scene. She started to speak out loud, more to get a few things off her chest than anything else. "Why wasn't it in the initial report that we received that Marco's son was hurt in the aftermath of this even? I don't understand why he wasn't being covered with his usual body guard. I'm sure this is going to get blown way out of proportion and we'll be left to hang if we don't figure out what we're going to tell the press. I just pray Owen found something that will lead us to the end of this rope and not be left holding it."

She walked into the nurses office, her eyes catching the dark crimson rags that lay about as the older woman tried to talk with a younger police man, tears streaked down her face and her voice quite frantic. Tryner breathed in slowly and let it out before walking to the woman and touching the officer on the shoulder. "I'm Captain Tryner and I'll take over here, okay? Thanks for your help and if you want to join the rest of your squad I think they were finishing up outside."

He nodded and gave her a look of appreciation before moving out of the room, a nod toward Reid as well. Lauren touched the older woman's arm and motioned for her to sit down.

"I'm sure we've gathered your statement a few times now at this point, so I won't ask you the same questions, but I do need to know if the Commissioners son was in here and if so, is the Commissioner still here or headed to the hospital?" She paused and the woman sat up a little, swallowing her fear and trying to concentrate.

"H-he was just here, but he's headed to the hospital with his son now. They left, oh I don't know, twenty minutes ago." She touched her head and closed her eyes.

Lauren looked at Reid with a look of exasperation at missing Marco. "Okay, thank you for your time." She turned and walked from the room, motioning for Reid to come with her. "I'm going to need a ride to the hospital. Score us a car from somewhere and I'll find Owen to let him know he's in charge for the time being."

Reid was impressed with the way Tryner was managing the situation. Not only from a professional standpoint but an emotional one as well. He was at the scene when The Pentagon was hit on 9/11 and it was a good hour before things were at a manageable state from a professional standpoint. Emotionally? McBride doubted that it would ever be manageable from that point of view in this lifetime. This wasn't on the scale of 9/11 but for a small town like this one it could be argued that this was even bigger. Here there is no doubt that there would be escalations and it would be decades before they were able to look back on this and not feel a sense of pain and agony.

Tryner mentioned watching the video later on. Reid was hoping they could find anything that might be of use, and there was no way on this planet that anyone else would know about the video. He just got here and there was only one person Reid trusted and that was Tryner. Then she made the request of scoring a set of wheels, and in most cases he could flash his FBI badge and he could commandeer a bus. Which he did with his partner once. They had a good laugh over that one for years and if they ever watched the movie "Speed" his partner Victor Sanchez would always look at him and say, "How come she can do that you couldn't? You realize you almost took out a chunk of the Smithsonian with that move off of the curb." However this wasn't DC and he had no badge with him that said FBI.

He took a deep breath and said, "No problem." Reid looked around and saw the officer who was in with Tryner and approached him. This kid was shaken to his core and trying to do his job, but he was really shaken.

Reid said, "Excuse me..." he looked at his name plate and said, "Officer Davis. My name is Jason Reid I'm with the Associated Press and I was...."

Davis interrupted, "Mr. Reid I don't think I should be talking to the press at this time."

Reid shook his head and said, "No no no questions or anything that will be in print. I came here with Captain Tryner I'm doing a series of articles about the gang violence here in Justice. I'm staying with Captain Tryner for the time being and we're heading to the hospital. I noticed you have a set of keys on you and you must've showed up on scene by yourself otherwise you'd be with your partner right now."

Davis nodded and said, "Yes sir. My partner called in sick, so I figured I'd drive around and get used to things. The call came in and I was one block over. I've never seen anything like this."

Reid replied, "Okay I need the keys to your cruiser so we can get to the hospital. Can you get a ride back to the station?"

Davis nodded and said, "Sure that's not a problem. I'm parked over there by the swing set on the hill." He handed Reid the keys, but he was shaking so bad he dropped them.

Reid picked them as Davis said, "Sorry about that sir."

Reid asked, "How long you been on the force Davis?"

Davis looked down and said, "4 months sir."

Reid nodded and said, "Okay, take five minutes write down everything you're feeling and what you see and smell all of it. You got five minutes. Then put it away and do your job. When you get back to the station go see the Station Therapist or Chaplain. My guess you won't be alone, so no one will think less of you. Read back your list to them and go from there. Okay? And it's Jason."

Davis nodded and said, "Thank you si...I mean Jason. By the way how did you know what to do?".

Reid replied, "Been embedded with several military units overseas. You learn things."

Reid smiled and said, "Get writing."

Reid saw Tryner the two made eye contact, and Reid held up the keys and pointed to the cruiser on the hill and started to head to the cruiser.

Ryan Ginesburg

Ring… Ring…

The sound cut through the empty blackness, pulling awareness back from deep within the confines of Ryan’s troubled mind. The ringing grounded him in reality; the blissful nirvana that came from accepting death was suddenly gone. Opening his eyes, Ryan found himself still in his room at the Chateau de le Rhone, his gun fell from his limp hand and clattered onto the floor. He was still alive, and the damn phone kept ringing, who the fuck was calling him? It quickly dawned on Ryan that the ring wasn’t coming from his personal line, it was his line to Jack. After all of these years… Ryan ran to the desk and pulled out the phone from the top drawer, “Jack.” He answered.

“Ryan. It’s been a long time.” Came Jack’s voice from the other side

“I can’t believe it’s really you. It’s been almost three years now since you retired.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry we couldn’t keep in touch, but you know why we couldn’t. How have you been?” Jack asked, sensing something wrong in his old friend’s voice.

“Not long after you left the game I put my gun down too. To be honest, I don’t give a shit anyways, so I might as well tell you the truth, it’s been a long, hard fall to the bottom. I’m just not as strong as you always were, I just can’t do it anymore.” Ryan replied, to apathetic to even lie. He could have said everything was fine, but why pretend? None of it mattered.

“You pick up the needle again?” Jack replied, hard as a rock. Ryan’s words had hit him much deeper than he let on though, there was only one person he cared about in the whole world, and that was Ryan.

“No.” Ryan could hear a sigh of relief across the line as he uttered the syllable.

“Good. I need you, Ryan. I’m being hunted, and I don’t have anyone else in this whole goddamn world that I can trust, ‘cept you. I know your pain, and you know mine. There’s no one else who will ever really know me. Don’t you fucking dare die on me now, cause I didn’t drag your ass through the desert for you to piss it all away!”

“I’m so sorry Jack,” Ryan cried, tears running down his face “I’m just not strong enough…”

“Please, Ryan!” Jack interrupted, “Don’t let that son of a bitch take the only friend I’ve got left away from me. All I need is for you to go to Switzerland and take care of a few banking issues, then it’s up to you. Either join me in America, or forget that I ever existed. But please, I need your help. There’s no one else who I can turn to for this…”

“Okay, I’ll do it. Give me the details.”

-

Jackson Hallibern

“Alright, and one more thing. I need you to call up your old friend Brain Jagielski… I know you guys haven’t talked in years, but you told me he runs a gang in Justice, right? Well I’m going to need to start laying down connections. I need an employer who can protect me. Can you set up a meeting?” Jack asked

“I can try.” Ryan answered, “Communications silent until I’ve finished business in Switzerland though. If Brian accepts, he’ll call you, not me. Till then, just let me be. I won’t fail you.”

“Thank you Ryan, I really appreciate this.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Ryan finished, before hanging up the phone

Jack put his hands down and rest himself against the table. Ryan had been a mess. Jack knew it wasn’t his responsibility, but couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault for leaving. Either way, The Ferryman had more immediate problems than criticizing his past actions. It was almost time to head over to the Rosewood Café to meet with Mr. Chang.

Fast Eddie was bundle of nerves. On the outside he played it cool and calm, but on the inside he was not nearly as cool and calm. When stuff went down like this morning the cops had a habit of coming to question either him or his crew first. Figuring that they might've heard something or know something and by putting pressure on them they would be the first ones to crack. Problem with that theory was that one Eddie kept clear of the family business as much as possible. Brian made sure that everything Eddie knew was strictly a need to do situation. Secondly Eddie did everything in his power to keep his crew insulated from the dealings of Brian and his family in fact if he came by usually he had everyone clear out of the shop, or he would take Brian out back into the lot so they could talk. If there was one thing that could be said about Eddie it was that he could took care of his crew.

Eddie kept working on the bulletproofing of Donnie Sr's limo with Jack and everyone else was just about finished with their jobs. When Eddie told them to step on it so they could clear out this crew functioned like a well-oiled machine, and they had practiced for scenarios like this constantly. Eddie hated that his crew was in positions like this, but they knew full well that this was always a possibility considering who bank-rolled their shop. However they were well compensated and Eddie did everything he could to keep the tension in the shop to a minimum.

Eventually the crew was done with their jobs and everyone was pitching in on the limo refit. With everyone working on it the refitting was flying and before they knew it the job was done. Eddie called everyone together and said, "First off great work this morning under less than ideal circumstances you all are the best thank you. Secondly I'm calling an audible. You all have your safe houses get to them and lay low for the next week. I'll call you when it is clear, but for now don't plan on coming in until Monday of next week and yes everyone stays on salary your paychecks will not reflect our situation same with vacation time. Lastly do not call me or text me under any circumstance and do not discuss the current situation with one another or comeback here unless you hear from me directly on the phone. I'm guessing by this afternoon lines are gonna be tapped, and the place is gonna be watched. I'll keep things going here just watch your backs and keep quiet. Any questions?"

Everyone just looked at one another and Eddie said, "All-right then get going and stay safe."

With that the shop cleared out. Eddie had each crew member set up their own safe house for situations such as this. It was a place they only knew about no one knew where each other's safe house and Eddie didn't even know.

Eddie knew that there might a be a phone call in his future and that soon Donnie Sr's associates would be to get Donnie Jr's car, but he also called Donnie Sr to let him know the Limo was ready early. All this meant no leaving the shop as of right now, so Eddie started working on the inventory that Patti began. Before he did all the inventory though Eddie slipped a 9mm behind his back so he could draw it quickly if needed. It wasn't easy doing the inventory this way but after this morning Eddie began to doubt if anything would be easy for any of them ever again.

Collab with Fox

Her head was pounding, her body trembling with pain. It was a glorious sort of pain though, and her body had gotten used to it. She had pulled a silken robe around her body, making her way over to her lover. “Oh? Sounds like today's going to be more fun than I thought.” Her smile was cruel in nature as she moved and sat herself in Robbie's lap. “I've got a new shipment of OT coming in later tonight.” She let her fingers run through his hair, tugging at his locks gently. Her gaze was a bit absent, but that was mostly because she was high. On what? Who knew. These days she didn't really look at something before it went into her body.

"That's fine." Robbie traced his finger tip down Libby's long, silky leg. "I'll call Santiago and have him do the run for us." He pushed up his glasses as his other hand wrapped around his lover's small waist. "Things are going to be changing, real fast. We need to be ready when they do, so having Oliver and Keela with us needs to be a certainty. I know she's your sister but if she doesn't play ball then I'll have to go the other route with her. Are you gonna be ok with that?" He actually didn't really care. Robert Ross made his living by dong things the hard way, threatening Keela and Oliver to co-operate wasn't a difficult task in his mind.

“Darling, please. Oliver will say yes. So will Keela. Oliver needs little to no prodding, because the fact of the matter is that he has a child, a fiancee in college, a wedding in the Bahamas coming up, and a house to pay mortgage on. They aren't back in London living at the Hotel. Oliver's too proud to let Keela keep paying out of her bank to take care of the family and they both have shitty jobs in a shitty little town that's hardly a speck on the map.”, she purred as she leaned down and nipped his bottom lip before lifting herself from her perch and heading to the kitchen. “Besides, we both know that you could care less whether your actions bothered me or not. No need to play the courteous gentleman with me. You know I find it pointless.” A smirk flickered across her features as she made herself a screwdriver, whip cream being heavily laden on top of the drink that was mostly vodka. “I'm ready when you are.”

- - - -

“Aww, Liam. You've got your very first toothbrush!” Like all parents [or at least most of them] every single little milestone seemed to make Keela and Oliver fall in love with the boy all the much more, acting as though he had just won a Nobel prize. They filmed as he stood on the bathroom sink, brushing his teeth with a dry toothbrush, though completely happy about it. They had just gotten back from his first dental appointment as well as a doctor's appointment for a checkup. Keela was devastated to find out that he had asthma, but Oliver reminded her to be grateful that it was something so relatively minor as opposed to all the things it could have been.

“Knock, knock! Am I too late for the wedding?” Keela and Oliver both froze as Olivia's voice called out from within their home. They didn't hate her, really. She just really annoyed the hell out of them. She was like the high school prom queen who wanted to keep reliving her high school glory days and drag everyone along with her. “What do you w – ” Oliver had rounded the corner, Keela right behind him with Liam and the video camera. They both froze at the sight of Robert Ross. “Really? You couldn't give us a year?” Oliver wasn't a fool. He was a businessman, just like Robert. Though he was more familiar with the physicality. He knew why the man was there.

“Things have taken an unexpected turn” Robert Ross, as cool and calm as ever smiled. “We need to make some significant changes and you’re going to be the one that implements them Oliver…Libby?” On cue, Olivia ushered her little sister and nephew into the other room leaving Rob with Oliver. “You’re a gym trainer, right Ollie? Pity really. You’re not being a man. A man provides for his family. And he does it even when he's not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears up and he does it. Because he's a man. And he will do this by any means necessary. You are good at what you do Oliver and so am I. We can help each other. We’re practically family and it’s family above all. Let us provide for our family, because we are men and that is what we do”

Nikolay S. Gavrilov.

Malanek was strapped to a chair, with his mouth covered in duct tape. He was in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Nikolay was nowhere but his truck a couple of feet away. Malanek starts looking around for Nikolay with a scared look on his face. Then all of a sudden Nikolay pops up in front of him. Scared Malanek starts to struggle. Nikolay smiles at this sight and removes the duct tape from Malanek's mouth. "Help, heeeelp! Somebody!" Shouts Malanek. "You can scream all you want. Nobody is gonna hear you in here." Said Nikolay with a smile on his face.

"Now here's what were gonna do. Were gonna play a little game. You're gonna tell me everything I need to know. If you do that then you'll succeed in keeping yourself alive. If you don't...and this is where the fun part comes in...i'm gonna have to hurt you. Bad enough to makwe you talk." Said Nikolay. "I'm not gonna tell you anything." Said Malanek with a bold look on his face. "Oooh I think you will..." Said Nikolay as he headed to his truck, grabbed a tool box from the bed, opened it and took a hammer out of it. "...because if you don't..." Continued Nikolay as he held tight Malanek's left hand and swinged the hammer, smashing it against his hand.

After the impact between the hammer and Malanek's hand, the latter started screaming loud as Nikolay shouted. "Now tell me what I need to know damn it! What is my brother doing here? How did he got out of prison?" He awaited for an answer but Malanek was too busy breathing hard and shaking. "Okay! If that's how you wanna do it." Nikolay slammed the hammer in Malanek's already wounded and bloody hand as he released another scream. "Okay, okay! Just stop it please! The UFC insisted alot on having your brother in their roster. They were fascinated by him. In the end we thought it was a good idea to set him free and let him go to the States. We also told him that his freedom is conditioned by the fact that he has to hunt you down and bring you back to us. But we failed to see one major aspect. Yuri is a celebrity now. He won't be able to do much without beying noticed. So it was time to move to plan B. Somebody had to lure you out of your hole and then the rest should be easy." Said Malanek as he stopped to take a break.

Nikolay then realised what's going on. He lowered his head and nodded in dissaproval. "Well congratulations then. It looks like I fell for it." Nikolay then turns around and heads for his truck. He knew this day would come. Well, he hoped it won't. But it turns out fate is a cruel mistress. "Hey you can't just leave me here! I need medical assistance." Shouted Malanek. As he was getting inside his truck Nikolay shouts back. "Stick around. I'm not done with you yet." After leaving the area Nikolay grabs his cellphone and calls Lauren. "We need to talk. Now! See you at your apartment in one hour. Be there!" He said as he put away the cell phone and headed to his original destination, the one he was going to before he spotted Malanek in front of that hotel, Lauren's apartment.

He'd only been in town for a few days, but Santiago had already gotten far too used to the constant smell of marijuana and death.

They called this place Justice. A name so ironic that every single time Santiago thought about it, he had to smile. He'd lived in the jungles of Columbia and the war-torn streets of Bogota. He'd taken the lives of soldiers and civilians alike. The things he had done in the past would cause most people to vomit just hearing about it. But Justice was a new kind of Hell. It baffled Santiago to no end that innocent people still lived in a place like this. They had to either be incredibly stupid or completely insane to want their children to grow up in a hell hole like Justice. Santiago mentally shrugged. It wasn't his problem if these people wanted to get caught in the crossfire in the constant violence between crime syndicates and the police.

"Sir?" One of Santiago's subordinates spoke, and brought the man back to reality.

In front of Santiago were five teenagers, all bound by chains. They were all in various states of injury. The worst of them had one of his eyes jabbed out, while the only one of the five under eighteen was unscathed."Where were we? Ah, right." Santiago punched one of his prisoner's in the nose, sending them sprawling onto the ground. Two men wearing Woodland pattern Battle Dress Uniforms came up behind the boy and forced him back on his knees, despite his protests."You little vendejos were selling on my boss's turf!" Santiago shouted, tossing a bag filled with their less-than-legal wares right in front of them."This is the second time we caught you chuchas sneaking around here, too! What? Was killing two of you not enough?"

The five on the ground stayed quiet."Answer me when I ask you a question!" One of Santiago's goons slammed the butt of her assault rifle in the back of their leader, the oldest's, head."Suck my dick.." The man said, spitting on Santiago's boots."I'll take that as a no." Santiago kicked the man's stomach, before walking slowly down the line of intruders."I am not a heartless man." Santiago began, his accent easily noticeable as usual."So..So you'll let us go?" Santiago spun around the struck the youngest, who had been the one to speak."Don't interrupt me!" With a cough, he composed himself again."As I was saying..I am not a heartless man. I am not so cold as to leave no warning of what awaits anyone as stupid as you five to come into this part of town and start trying to take the boss's business." A small, vicious grin crossed Santiago's face."You five will be that warning." Santiago snapped his fingers, and his six identically dressed subordinates drew knives, and stabbed the boys to death.

The five bodies were dragged out of the alleyway. One of them was hung with a rope by the throat on a light post, while the other four were piled around it."Now, everyone get changed. We're going to Garfield's Bar." While Santiago didn't really enjoy drinking, his team did. Everyone returned to their various humble abodes to prepare themselves, and Santiago was given some time to himself as he walked home. The whole way, he was silently hoping that the bosses would have something else for him to do, so he could skip out on a boring night getting drunk.