Ferrum-Latus Gang Wars

((Hi folks, this is something that myself and CrystalRose have been working on for the past week and we're already over 5900 words. There'll probably a few mistakes that neither of us have picked up, but you know, that's expected right?))


Grova Street (Northern sector)
Ferrum-Latus

"Right, let's get this done. Move in, let's take them out. All of them. I don't want anyone left alive," came a shout from the leader of the gang, moving intowards the processing plant that had been cleanly covered up as a meat processing planet, not a drug processing plant which it really was like the police would come and check. He pulled his auto rifle from the back of his bike, glancing around. He moved forwards with the rest of the gang. His bionics made little noise, but it could still be enough. That's if the other gang had members still there.

The gang pushed forwards towards the factory, weapons slung low, watching everything. They kicked down the front door and slowly walked into the factory, the lights turning on. The leader, Graai pushed up towards a large table with plastic bags of a white powder, "Good, they have the stuff here already. Now, where are they?"

There was a sudden flash of light, a shout and rifle fire soon followed. Shots started the bounce off the metal tables, Graai stood up to return fire, a shot killing his left bionic arm. The second leader shouted over towards Graai and a burst of flame shot out of the lower barrel of his weapon, the flamer. The fire alrm quickly went off while the shots were being returned. There was an almighty scream from another member as he fell, a second shot popping his head clean off, leaving the blood gushing out of his neck, the blood that was in the head of the member was all over the floor and the walls. Graai grunted, killing the man who shot at them before pinning another three down, the second leader killing them with fire, "Push up!"


Northern Grova Street
Ferrum-Latus

"Sir, we have a fire down the road, about three miles down, do you want a couple of APCs and cruisers going down just in case? I have a feeling this could be gang after nothing yesterday," sighed the operator, rubbing her left eye before glancing up at her commander. After getting a nod she groaned, getting to her feet and walked off towards the second computer and typed into the computer.

Grola Police Station

"Report from command, there's a possible gang fight going on. We've to go with the APCs too." Shouted out the Station commander before running out towards the APCs, being closely followed by the rest of the fire teams and the APC crews. Once inside the APC, she pulled her shotgun from the rank on the side of the small compartment, "Go! Drive! Now!" She snapped, and the door went up the fire teams and the APCs quickly moving off down the street towards the factory.

Grova Street (Northern Sector) Ferrum-Latus
Toni stood behind a large bin looking down on the intruders from the second floor. A contact from the other side had called to give him heads up, however it had been too late to retrieve all of their product from the main floor. MIkael wasn't going to be too happy about this, but Toni only had a small group of men to work with. Less than ten other men were in the building, all ready to die for their money. They waited for Toni's signal. Guns fully loaded, Toni flicked his lighter and lite the cloth, throwing it behind him for the front man. It was a bomb of sorts, but more to draw attention then blow anything up. That was their signal, following in suit, his second started shooting from the eastern side of the building. Before their leader could resopnd, Toni aimed his .45. The plan was simple, circle around until they lay belly up.
The opposite men returned fire. He couldn't tell if the screams were from his own men, or theirs, as everyone was seperated. Shaking his head, he knew that he couldn't depend on them, he needed to relocate, hearing their leader call the order for to sweep the second floor. Feeling for his clips, he lifted slightly off the floor enough to move positions. He knew this buildings layout perfectly, having placed every piece of metal specifically for this purpose. Continuing around the corner, he squatted behind another bin that would give him perfect view and range of the stairwell top. He didn't trust them to be stupid enough to move forward after his first shot, but getting one would be success at any rate. A clank sounded down the walk way. He looked to find Robert, also ready for fire. Exchanging nods, they both aimed.

Graai had heard them as had flung a grenade up the stairs after they had killed a number of the gang members that stood in his way. He glanced over to Justin and they moved up the stairs slowly, hearing the bang go off followed by a second bang from outside the building. There was shouts from his own men that the police were here, and if one station was here the others would soon follow. As his men opened fire on the police, a larger weapon was heard blowing holes in the metal walls before there was another shout, screaming RPG.

Graai hit the deck along with Justin but they continued up the stairs as there was a whistle of the RPG then an explosion outside the building. He looked over at Justin, whispered something before they both got up and ran for the top of the stairs, the grenade should have at least sent the idiots back or stunned them, either way, they had to take the building. There was more shouting that followed while Justin took shots from the top of the stairs, quickly arming his flamethrower in the process, "Burn in hell!"

The Police had stormed out of the APCs but had taken a lot of losses. An APC was in flames, the crew having bailed out and ran while still on fire. There was a number of Police Sergeants shouting out for the rest of them to attack, firing their own Auto rifles. As they pushed into the building, they were met by both gangs firing at them. A common enemy now, one to slaughter.

Debris and metal flew about the area from the grenade. The bin that Toni had been hiding under pushed back, squeezing him between the wall and it. His companion closed the distance quickly, releasing him from behind the bin. "Come on, come on, they've brought the cops!" Toni's leg was broken. Sturggling to find his balance and swallow the pain, he lifted his gun to point in the general direction of the second floor entrance, emptying his clip. A third guy stood right in front of the elevator that traveled from the floor to the roof. He was pointing down, and across, firing at both police and rivals. The elevator required a key to operate. Seeing his his boss leader, he jumped back into the corner, out of view. Pulling out his radio, he spoke, "We need out! Now!" It was their only hope at this point. With the cops on the others' tail, and them on their own, the product was lost.
Toni fell to the ground, he couldn't hobble and shoot at the same time. This project had been his baby, and they just simply took it from them, came in and snatched it! "Just go!" He shoved at the man who was insisting on him continuing. He took from him his own gun, and the guy understood. Their only hope for retribution was to get out, and Toni was going to see they were able to do just that. He set his .45 down on his lap, and held the automatic rifle with both hands. Unafraid of death, and extremely pissed off, he shot directly at them, sitting in plain view. "Fuck you all!!!" Was barely audible over the shots.


Graai grunted, another shot hitting his bionic leg and he fell to the ground. The police were closing in and Justin wasn't so lucky, another shot hit Justin's chest and he collapsed, firing still as he dropped to his knees, groaning in pain. His bionics started to kick in, struggling to keep the blood within his body while another shot went straight through his head then bounced off the ceiling. Graai shot again, hopefully hitting Toni while his own gang started to force up the stairs, thinking about getting out the access from outside. He screamed in pain as another shot hit him but he pressed forwards towards Toni. Another ember picked him up and took his pistol, firing at Toni point black. They needed to get out of here.

There was already a police bird in the sky, watching everything as another RPG round took out another APC. The sergeants came under picked out firing, killing three out of four within the first few minutes, All the officers continued to press on until the Gang started to fight it's way back, out of the factory towards their bikes across the road.

Toni emptied the automatic. While changing weapons, he caught three bullets in his firing arm. Hissing through his screams, he tried to focus on his men and their escape. He couldn't see them, whether that was because his vision was messed up from the pain or because they were gone, he wasn't sure. Grabbing his shoulder where it hurt the most, he squeezed. This made it hurt more, offering relief when he let go. He looked again, they were gone. Grabbing the pistol with his left, he aimed again. 6 shots was all he had left to protect his life, things didn't look good. "You're going to regret this day!" He yelled directly to Graai, letting go his final shots.

Toni's two remaining men had successfully entered the elevator. There was no telling how much of the building's layout that the police or rival gang knew about, but the roof was out of the question. The elevator hummed down into the basement. With both men standing at the ready, the doors opened slowly. The first looked out, and confirmed that no one was waiting for them. Cautiously, they both darted. The area had a tunnel that led up to ground level one block over. They would come out in a parking garage. The heart of the older of the two thumped so loudly with anticipation, he didn't even notice the blood spurtting from his leg with every beat. "Johnny, your thigh." The younger wanted to stop, "Are you fucking crazy!? Come on!" Johnny ordered. Not until they were towards the end of the tunnel did he stop. With one hand supporting his weight against the wall, Johnny got sick all over his feet. "Check the door, kid." He choked out. The young guy jogged the 20 paces to the exit door, and opened it barely an inch. Closing it back, "It looks clear John, can you make it?" In response he shrugged and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Well we can't go back the way we came, now can we?!" Silently, yet slowly, they creeped from the exit to the emergency get a way car that had been parked for just such an occasion.

Graai and the others took off on their hover bikes, speeding down the road towards their hideout. The shot up at the Police bird forcing it to back off and got back to where it was based. They did a one eighty and started firing on the single police car that was chasing them, forcing that to head away. As they slowly moved into the gang house, they were greeted by a woman, Alexi. The woman smiled softly, watching as the bikers headed in but Graai looked at her and smiled softly, "You okay Babe? We forced them out of there."

Alexi was happy to see her men return, though she noted a few missing. "I'm great, now that you've returned!" Anxiously, she circled the hover bike. Though she was a woman, Alexi had a thirst for power like no other. The woman wanted to push the Aces completely back. Today was to be the first inital step towards that goal. Though she had a foothole and safety net with her food and weaponry plants, the other group had come in like a storm and stolen clientele right out from beneath her feet. Whether it was to be by force, or their own submittance, Alexi was determined to gain her control back of the area. "You did, huh? I don't suppose you brought any of their weight back with you, did you?" Alexi not only wanted to take back what was hers, but also everything they considered to be theirs.

"Never got the chance. The police appeared while we were fighting them. I'll go down tomorrow and see what I can find you you." Graai replied, rubbing his eyes, "There was extremely little there, I doubt they were making much there to be honest with you." He groaned, looking about. "We killed a number of them. And that one you wanted dead... Toni? I think he is dead, well. I shot at him along with Justin.

At that moment Justin walked out with an ice cold lager, grinding softly, "Yes. I'm sure we killed him. There's not a chance in hell he'll be starting anything anytime soon or ever. He has to be dead."

Alexi couldn't help but get excited with the thought of Toni dying. "Oh, you guys are the absolute fucking best. I didn't expect the bastard to be on the property, actually. I just wanted to blow the place up and steal their goods. But well, this changes everything!" The gang house appeared to be as any other house: a garage, kitchen, dining room, living room, and three bedrooms. The garage was set up with complete tool sets for the guys to fix and tinker with. In the kitchen they would find simple things such as food, drink, and dishes. The dining area was linked on with the living room, so Alexi had just set it up with different couches, chairs, and end tables. A big entertainment center covered the entire front wall, blocking the bay window. Not a single member of Alexi's group ever used the front door, or even knocked for that matter. Two of the three bedrooms were set up just as such, while the third was Alexi's office.
Making her way through the house, she motioned for Graai and Justin to follow her. Walking in, one would first see the 6 foot albinax python inside her repital aquarium. As everything was digital, she didn't have any filing cabinets or the such, simply a desk and chair, couch, and Silvia, the snake. Behind her desk, however, hung up on the wall was a map of the entire city. Alexi walked to it and pulled out her black marker. "I want it brought to the ground, Garaai. If the police responded to your bust that fast, then we have to bury ourselves in paperwork in order to take the property." She cirecled the block, and made three dashes to the weapon production facility that was close by. "Approximately 300 feet, I'd say."

Graai nodded, "But how are we meant to burn this to the ground if we don't have enough guys to defend the ones who are going it. I8 don't want to lose even more guys to this war. If you want it do you better get recuiting." He snapped before he understood what he had said and blowed his head, gulping. He knew about the whip in her office drawer. He rubbed his forehead before Justin piped up, "I agree with him. We lost at least ten men or more. We can't afford to keep losing them constantly. We've lost over fifty percent in this last year alone. How can you expect this to go on?" He put his hands in his pockets, watching her then the python with a gulp of his own.

Graai watched them before before shutting the door. "We all know what you want done love, but it ain't gonna happen without more people. Hell, the police might know where we are. I honestly don't know. They could be listening to what we are saying, have you though about that?"

"Are you insinuating that I would hire a snitch, Graai!? If you're so concerned about manpower and police, perhaps I should find another to take care of it!" Alexi had indeed considered that she was losing men to this war, but they knew what they were getting into before hand. "Casulities will be had, but maybe my leaders aren't doing their own jobs correctly in training? Have YOU thought about THAT?!" Alexi slammed her marker down on the desk, leaning atop of it with both hands. "Listen, and listen well. Don't under estimate the enemy, but don't let numbers intimidate you either. Simply find more men, how hard can it fucking be?" Reaching inside her shirt, she pulled out a half ounce of Cokay and dropped it on the table. "There's your key to manpower. Find a feen, put a fucking gun in his hand and an ounce of our finest. There's no more details that need to be had than that, you get a group, head them off and if they survive, keep them high and secluded. If they get killed along the way, well that's just more product in our pocket! Why is this so difficult for you to understand? I don't care who or how Graai!" She sat down and held her face with her hand, shaking her head. "Do you want to lose all that we've built? Do you want to just go belly up and hand it all over to them? Our livelihood, our dynasty?" She turned to Justin, "And you? Where the hell would you be if it wasn't for me? Surely I deserve more loyalty and effort from you than this, complaining about casualties when there's a war going on. Come on guys!" Closing her eyes, Alexi took in a long hard breath, trying to calm herself.

"Why the hell don't you find someone else then?! Hm?! I'm trying to run this like a military operation, but you aren't helping me in any way shape or form. I don't want to take a sixteen or seventeen year old and get them on drugs. It hard enough as it is!You don't actually give a flying deep space fuck now, do you?! It's all 'Oh, but the money.' Isn't it?!" He snapped before storming out the room.

Justin glanced at her then to him before sitting down. "Look, it's been a long day for everyone. Why don't you just go fuck him and let me get some sleep, saying you two already do that anyway?" He sighed, standing up and headed out of the office, going to his bedroom to get some rest and some sleep. He needed to think things over and think about what he was doing now. It didn't help when she didn't understand. She wasn't on the frontlines fighting everyone else. Hell, there could even be a raid on one of their places tonight for all they knew. Things were just getting so difficult for everyone now. All the stress, all the fighting with very little sex, drugs and drink. He sat down on his small bed, leaning back as he took his pistol out and took it apart to lean it. He would get one of the cleaners to clean the room tomorrow, it was covered in beer cans, cider bottles and plastic bags. Stuff he didnt want to have the police find.

Back near the factory


Johnny and Bruce saw the police chasing the hover bikes in one direction, and slowly so as not to draw attention, turned to go the other. By the time, Johnny's pant leg was soaked in blood, "Hurry up and get us the fuck outta here, Bruce. Call Mitch, tell him we were ambushed, and that the little prick he thought was intell isn't good for shit!" Johnny was referring to the three minute heads up they had received regarding the opposing gang. Bruce dialed the number on his cell, and spoke, "Mitch, it's Bruce. Johnny's been shot, we're going to Meg for some repair work, meet us there."

"Alright. I will do then. Meg's place, five minutes." He groaned before hanging up and disappeared from his office to head down to the small house that Meg lived in."

Meg's house

Mitch arrived in four minutes and thirty seconds. He groaned softly, rubbing his eyes as he was greeted by the young woman, Meg. She smiled gracefully and hugged him, pointing into the living room. She was wearing her white nurse dress made of latex, in order to keep the boys happy while still be able to do her work. Even though she worked in the local hospital, she would never ever wear latex there. It was just her thing for the boys. It did seem to make them happy.

She walked into the living room and took the pair of tweezers, pushing into the wound in order to get the bullet out of him. She looked up and bit her tongue as she pulled it out, glancing around. Mitch followed suit and watched from the doorway, unsure on what to focus on more, Meg or the wound.

Johnny hissed, and took a drink of the liquor that Bruce had brought him. Watching Meg from behind, he spoke to Mitch, "Man, my guy. They came out of fucking no where. And Toni..." He drew off the sentence, not wanting to actually say it. Johnny looked Mitch directly in the eye, "Toni sacrificed himself to get us out, Mitch. They came with grenades and all kinds of shit, with the police right on their asses too."

Mitch swallowed nodding slowly, "How did they know we had that place? I want you to go out recuiting Bruce. I don't care who. We need more people. If they want war, we'll give them fucking war. Understand?" He groaned, rubbing his face, going to the kitchen for the drink, "Meg, you have any drugs? I want some."

"Yes Love, top cupboard on the left, at the back behind the bowls. Babe." She smiled, grabbed a bandage and fixed Johnny up before standing up on her heels, clicking through into the kitchen and watched as Mitch took what he needed. "I'm sleepy. I've been at work all day then have to come home to Johnny being shot. What the hell are you doing Mitch? If your going to run this business, you have to run it right. Alexi will kill you if given the chance. I saw more dead bodies because of you two than I ever wanted to see. Please, just sort it out with her?"

"No!" Mitch snapped and threw a bowl at her. "I'm not joining with that whore."

Meg collapsed as the bowl hit her in the stomach. She wheezed, gasping for air. "Don't do that... It hurts me."

Johnny heard the clatter in the kitchen, and looked to Bruce, who in return shook his head. Pushing himself up on his good foot, he tapped Bruce on the shoulder, "Take a seat." He hobbled into the kitchen, and offered Meg a hand up. "Mitch, we're all upset about losing Toni, but lashing out at each other won't help."
Setting the bowl on the counter, he expressed his thanks to Meg for her stitching with small squeeze before taking place between her and Mitch. "There's some wisdom behind what she's saying, Mitch. I agree revenge should be had for Toni, but what if we went about it a different way?" He leaned against the counter and brushed a hand through his hair, "We can't trust our sources. We got what, a three minute heads up? My guess is both sides are being played here by the police. If I can be so bold, I think it'd be a good idea to make an alliance, temporairly. Deal with the police, then deal with Alexi, on a more personal level, if you know what I mean."

"I can't deal with the fucking police, not without more people! I'm not making an alliance with her, ever. Get that straight Johnny, I'm not having it, if anything, We should take them out first then deal with the police."

"That won't work though love." Meg sighed, rubbing her eyes before getting up on her heels again to get a drink of flavoured water. "Look, I just want the entire war to stop. I'm sure everyone does. Nobody likes it, why can't you just make friends with her and forget everything that happened." She groaned, smoothing down her dress and flicked her fringe out the road of her eyes. "Why can't people just get along? Hell, I'll be a fucking whore if it stops this war, everyone wants rid of it. This doesn't work... Please Mitch, stop all of this, stop the war for a year at least."

"I wouldn't say stopping the way is the answer, Meg. But to take on different tactics." He repositioned his leg, as it was starting to throb, "You got any pain killers around here?" He asked her, looking back to Mitch. "If we join up with her for now, we'll have the numbers to deal with the police. She's got plants all around the city Mitch, we can hide behind those, become familiar with them, and then after the Police are off the streets like they are right now, BAM! We take her out from the inside, her and her faggot friends." Johnny wanted to kill Alexi himself, to wrap his hands around her neck and feel the life leave her. Toni had been the closest thing to a brother he had ever had.

"Yeah babe, I'll get it for you." She groaned, going into a cupboard and threw him morphine, "One tablet. No more." She sighed, turning to look at Mitch then to Johnny. "Look why can't you just try love? You need to try, like Johnny said. This isn't all about drugs now, this seems like it's personal. Just try for me? Please?" She tried, sipping her glass of flavoured water.

Mitch shook his head slowly, "No. I'm not helping her, not after what she had done over the past few days. I want her dead, even if I have to do it myself. I really don't care anymore."

Johnny shook his head, "You're the boss ross." Opening the pill bottle he took out two pills, swallowing one now, and stuffing the other in his pocket. "Though, I think I'll need a few days off of my feet. During that time, I can make a few calls, to try and increase our numbers. Can't guarantee how swift and accurate their shot is, though. Do we still got that range membership over on the southside? Just to make sure any and all new guys know what and how." Johnny assumed either himself, or even Mitch would take over the organizing of the men, as it had been Toni's job before.

Meg swallowed, watching them all closely before heading off upstairs to go to bed. She groaned slowly, sitting down on her bed and leaned back, drifting off to sleep.

Mitch shook his head, "Yeah, do that. We still own the range under the company, and I want you, Bruce to organize the men for this. I'm gonna call it a night now, so I'm gonna go to bed."

Johnny nodded his head, "Don't take it too hard, Mitch. Toni wanted to do what he did, for you and Meg, and all of us."

Factory 512, the following day

Graai swallowed, glancing around as he stepped out the car, pistol in hand while his lighter was in his pocket. Justin was close behind, watching the area with a soft grin. The bodies had been cleaned up and the blood washed away with the rain that came down during the night. Yet, the smell of blood and burnt bodies hung in the air of the factory, Justin having used the flamerthrower yesterday. Looking back on it, Alexi did seem to be happy with the fact that Toni should now be out completely, but he wanted to double check that he had killed him. He would have died from blood loss by now surely. Unless he had bionics that nobody else knew about.

With a slow and proposeful movement, Graai opened the door to the factory stepping in. He covered his face in disgust of the smell, pistol raised just in case. He looked around, noticing there were still a few bags of the white gold, something he would take and give Alexi later.

This day that followed was overshadowed by eerie silence within the area, guilt and anger heavy in the air. Johnny and Bruce pulled up in their vehicle, directly in front of the factory. For over an hour now, they had sat in hiding observing and watching for activity. As the evening approached, Johnny told Bruce to go on, no one would be coming by. "Toni's merely a memory now." Just as Bruce went to turn the ignition and start to close in, Johnny stopped him. "Look!" They didn't see any other vehicle pull up, but sure enough there was Graai walking through the factory's front door, or at least, through the area where the front door had been. "What do we do, J?" Bruce asked. Johnny's wound was still fresh, but properly wrapped and tended to thanks to Meg, who had come along for the ride so as to avoid Mitch and his anger from losing Toni.

Meg swallowed, looking at Johnny then to Bruce, "Do you want me to act like I'm the police or something? Maybe make him think too long? You could kill him then. Just don't hit me if we do that."

Johnny almost laughed, "No, Meg. We've unestimated these fools for far too long already. They knew the area yesterday, all too well. No one else, save us, knew that we were weighing and bagging yesterday." He shared a long glance with Bruce, "Back up and find a spot to park for a quick leave. Meg, how do you feel about driving?"

Graai swallowed, starting to slowly back up towards the door, taking a couple of bags with him. He pulled the trigger once towards the far wall and backed out the factory. He glanced around, smoothing down his black jeans and his leather jacket. "Move, get out of here." He whispered towards Justin, whom climbed back into their vehicle and swallowed, waiting for Graai to get in.

Once Graai was in, he put the bags of the white gold down on the floor, reaching into the back of the vehicle, grabbing the RPG that was sat there, fully loaded. "Hold a second." Justin whispered, pointing up to the window on the second floor where a yellow glow was being produced. Graai rubbed his hands on the pistol hold of the weapon, "What now? Alexi wants this job done now so I want it down now. I don't want to get into shit over what we haven't done.

"I know, but still. If we shoot now we might do something worse. Why for a few minutes at least. If the police show up then they can't tell we exploded the factory if they find more bodies on the top floor, now can they?"

As no one had seen or noticed their exit the day prior, Bruce parked in the exact same spot." Locking the doors, Johnny handed Meg a smaller pistol, assuming she wasn't already armmed with something Mitch gave her. "Take this, and use it when the time comes." Johnny knew she didn't appreciate the violence, but her life would be at stake. As she insisted on following in suit, there wsn't much Johnny could do to convince her otherwise. Together, the three made their way back to the elevator, hoping the quiet hum would go unnoticed. The smell of powder and rubble dust grew stronger the further inside they went. The industrial elevator did not make a sound, save for the opening doors as they arrived on the second floor of what had been their own operation less than 24 hours before. Johnny, with only a slight limp, nodded his head for Meg and Bruce to folow. Johnny's stomach twistd as he passed the spot where he had last seen Toni, but stopped mid-stride. The body was gone, and though the area was trashed from bomb and fire, it's heavy duty structure had mostly held strong. Johnny pushed the wishful thought of Toni being live out of his head, the police must have sent in the coroners for clean up.

Making their way into the office, Johnny explained his thought process, "Meg, you stay here and light the lantern, move about the place, rummage, make noise. Me and Bruce will hide outside, and as soon as one enters, we'll back you up. I only sw Graai, no telling how many he's brought with him, but I wouldn't imagine more than one or two." Both members agreed, and they all took position.

Graai swallowed, slowly walking back into the factory, watching everywhere with his pistol raised. He had left the RPG back in the vehicle but continued to look around, trying to find explosives or more white gold. He sniffed, picking up a couple more bags, not watching his back. He glanced around before Justin walked into the factory behind him, "Find anything?"

"No, not yet. There was more powder around here but I can't find it, nor can I find the explosives that were in that corner." He swallowed, pointing over to the far corner. "Maybe it's upstairs?"

"Yeah, possibly. Follow me. I know where that office is." Justin replied with a soft grin, looking back over at the doorway before running up the stairs with Graai just behind. They slowly walked towards the door, weapons out, Graai kicked down the door and shouted as Justin went in and found Meg. He shot her in the leg before turning around at some other noise.

Meg screamed in pain, struggling to breath. This was the first time she had been shot, and by the looks of things, it wouldn't be her last. The bullet had went straight through her tights, splattering blood all over her summery dress and her face.

'Fuck!' Johnny thought jumping up immediately after hearing the shot. Through the screams, him and Bruce swiftly stepped up behind the two men, pressing the points of their guns high on their chests, the clicks of their guns sounded loud next to their ears of Graai and Justin. "Drop it," Bruce barked. Johnny looked over to Meg, she'd live, as long as this situation remained within their control. "Drop the fucking gun before I mix your brains with her blood, Graai. Now!" They pressed hard into their shoulder blades. Johnny reached up with his hand to wrap it around Graai's throat and pull him back, emphasising the severity of the situation.

Meg screamed, panicking as she tried to grab Graai. Graai elbowed Johnny in the groin. He shouted, elbowing him again, "Fuck you!" Justin spun around and shot towards Bruce, expecting a shot back. Graai pulled away from Johnny and spun around before Meg grabbed his leg and pulled from under him, still struggling to breath. The blood loss was getting worse.

Johnny fell against the closest wall with the groin shot, as the pain shot down to his previous injury, reviving it. Bruce caught a bullet in his shooting arm shoulder, reaching up to react, he thought quicker. He took from his right hand the gun, and grabbed it with left. Raising his arm high, he brought it down harder on Justin's head, trying his best to hit Justin's temple area and knock him out. A rogue shot sounded, however, from Bruce not having practice shooting with his left hand enough. Ceiling tiles fell down from the shot, covering Graai and Meg with dust. Johnny caught his breath, and pointed his gun down directly at Graai, also shooting for his right shoulder.

The shot hit successfully, and Graai grunted in pain, his bionics kicking in to stop the blood loss and the pain. He reached for Johnny's weapon with his right hand, pulling it away while Meg slammed at his head as hard as she could. That was when he passed out.

Justin watched him before firing at Bruce again, trying to kill him with one last shot. He needed to get out of here, and fast. It seemed to him like a free for all, everyone shooting everyone else. That was when the police arrived with their APCs and weapons. The pushed into the building shouting out to each other over the gun fire.

"Fucking bitches!" Johnny screamed, kicking past Graai's motionless body and grabbing hold of Meg's arm. Snatching her up and pulling her towards the door he spoke, "Bruce, get it done!" Referring to Justin. Hearing the police enter, Johnny dragged Meg behind him, "We gotta go, now! Come on, Meg, push through it!" He hoped her knowledge of medicine would give her the strength to do so. Johnny knew that he couldn't hold off the police force, he hadn't brought anything extra save the spare clip, loading it in before grabbing Meg. "Get down, and go!" He barked at Meg, standing against the outer wall of the office, and shooting down at the Police to detain them and gain time. Bruce struggled with Justin, having dropped his gun. Toni came to thought, he had sacrificed himself just yesterday for a similar situation. Would he have to do the same? "If I die, so do you!" He bellowed at the man, leaping on top of him and wrestling him for the weapon. Meg panicked unsure of what to do. Her leg was on fire, stuggling to ease the pain. It wasn't helping that they were still in the same place and nowhere near the hospital.

Justin continued to struggle against Bruce, punching him in the throat time after time. He shouted abuse as he did so, trying top get Graai to wake up. The police moved up the stairs and began firing. Justin groaned, "Stop. Let us deal with them then we can finish this."

Graai groaned as he started to come back around, grabbing his pistol at the sounds of the police and the fight that was going on. He needed help, and a lot of it. It was struggling to stand up and get a shot down towards the police when his Hover Bikers appeared, firing on the police. They had came after he had pressed a button back in the van to get more people down here as he didn't like the look of it.


Bruce took each punch with a gag, trying to relax his shoulders and not struggle against the impact of Justin's arm. Looking at the man as if he was crazy after he requested that they work together. "Yeah? Sure." He let go, and stepped to grab his gun. Graai was coming to, as Bruce made his way to the office door. He coughed, and spit blood everywhere. His toungue was throbbing, no doubt from having bit it while struggeling with Justin. "This isn't finished." He said, before darting after Johnny and Meg. Johnny waved him forward to help Meg, bringing in the rear as he had the most accurate aim after the tussle. Bruce caught up, and took Meg up in arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck, and lifting the weight off of her injured leg. "You didn't happen to grab up the lease papers, did you? It looks like we're going to have to settle this behind glass windows." Bruce noted, walking into the elevator and holding the door for Johnny. Luck was on their side, as the police struggled with Graai's men from the outside rather than the ones who had started it all inside.


Graai and Justin forced their way down and went to their van, disappearing after a couple of minutes, while the rest of the gang did the same.

Meg's House

Meg was fast asleep in the back of the van, trying to recover from the bullet wound. How was she meant to go to work tomorrow having been shot in the leg. Hell, not many people would want her now, nor would her addiction for the white gold help much. As they stopped, she was lifted inside by Mitch and the bullet tugged out. She had drugged herself up on morphine so she could sleep. Mitch cleaned out the wound carefully, looking up at Johnny and Bruce without a word. Standing up, he walked into the kitchen to get a drink of liquor, looking at all the pairs of heels she had lines up neatly in a row at the breakfast bar. How she had the money for this he would never know, yet she did. She had ran into deep debt a few months back, and had used some of Mitch's money to get her out of it. She wasn't a dumb woman, she knew what she was doing and why she was going it. He groaned, downing a shot glass before calling them both through to start asking his questions that needed answered.

Johnny didn't do or say much upon arriving at Meg's house. While Mitch tended to her wound, both Johnny and Bruce sat in the living room, on the couches. Bruce's wound to his shoulder hadn't been too deep. It didn't take long for him to remove inside the bathroom, Johnny helped with a wrap. It was makeshift compared to what Meg would have been able to do, but as she was out of service at the moment, it would work. Neither one spoke on why or what they were thinking allowing Meg to go inside the building with them. The silence that enveloped their presence would lead one to think that they were scraping for any orH good reason, save 'She wanted to.' Mitch had always been level headed ninety percent of the time, but the other ten? Well, it could get ugly. They hadn't even told Mitch that they were going back to the property, it had been a random act. So Johnny and Bruce sat, listening to their own pulse, angry at Graai for besting them again, and worried for Meg.

Mitch groaned, rubbing his forehead with a groan before he burst completely, "What the fucking fliddly fuck happened?!" He snapped, throwing two knives at each of them. "Why did you go back there?! I told you this morning that they would be there to burn the fucking place down! Oh my fucking Cybran Emperor. Why do you two do this to me. Johnny, get more people. Now! I don't care anymore. Get them from anywhere! Understand me?!" He turned to face Bruce and snapped at him for not killing Justin when he still had the chance, "Why didn't you fucking kill him when you could?! You could have killed both of them, but no. Bruce always knows best, doesn't he?!" He looked at Meg and groaned, picking her up and took her to the bedroom to set her down, she would have to sleep for the next few days and heal.


Johnny new better than to respond, looking down at the knife that had stuck into the wooden floor right next to his boot. Bruce, however, had a bit of a temper to match. "The cops swarmed in, Mitch. I left the fight to tend to Meg, and get out her! Johnny couldn't watch her back and carry her out at the same time, as the cops fired up at us!" Johnny spoke up, "I think what Bruce is getting at, Mitch, is that at the sight of cops, they didn't want to fight with us anymore. They're willing to work together where the cops are concerned, just as Meg suggested we do yesterday." He looked down, still avoiding his reasoning as to why they even went back to begin with."That in itself made the risk worth it, I feel. Now's our chance to join forces, and take out the single common enemy." Bargaining with Mitch was pointless when he was raging, but it was better than watching him beat Bruce to a pulp, which is exactly where it looked to be leading towards.

Mitch looked at them both, pulling his pistol out, "Tell me why I shouldn't just fucking kill you right now. Tell me! I'll do it. I'll blow your brains out. Now get the fuck out this house and don't come back until you have one hundred men willing to fight for my cause! You hear me ass holes?!" He snapped, pulling the top of the gun back to pull a round into the chamber. "Fucking idiots! Why must I even worry myself with the way you idiots act?! You were meant to be out getting people, not going back to that place! Not with her! She's precious! More than your fucking lives put together. She's done a lot for both of you and this is how you repay her?! Arse pieces!" He snapped, going back upstairs to tend to Meg who was making small noises.

"Heh," Johnny grumbled as he stood making his way towards the front door, "If she's so special to you, and you care so much, why didn't you listen to her in the first place?" Bruce followed in suit, both mumbling low enough to keep from being heard by Mitch, "No shit! We wouldn't even be fightin' with those dumb asses if he would have tried to go into business with them, instead of against. Fucking police gonna be locking everyone in the cage before this shit is done." The men might have slammed the door behind them a bit too hard, neither took well to their lives being threatened, regardless of who it was. True enough, Mitch was their leader, but here lately, he had seemed to be more focused on what he wanted for himself, as opposed to what the group wanted as a whole. That included Meg.

Alexi's House

Graai groaned, stepping into the house with his hand clamped on his head. He was dizzy, and felt like he was going to pass out again. He slumped down on the sofa, shutting his eyes with a grunt, "Fucking pieces of shit. I hate this job, "I'll happily go back to Graisfrask and work in an office again." He slammed his fist into the sofa, the room spinning as Justin walked in after shutting the door. He mumbled something before heading towards the kitchen for a drink. He knew that Graai would be upset as this had been the first time they had got into something like that. He looked towards the door as he poured a glass of Cybran Standard Vodka, sipping at it. He might just as well get drug now, it wouldn't really matter to anyone.

Alexi walked out from the office, looking at the two men through a straight face, "So. I heard the scanners, they were there too, huh?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the hall wall. True, they hadn't accomplished what she asked them to, but they also appeared to have taken fire. "How hurt are you?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"He was out cold during most of the fight." Justin sighed, walking through with the large glass of vodka, a bit too much for his bionics, "And well, things couldn't be much worse. But I can't remember who, but we shot that Mitch's bitch. Fucking whore." Graai groaned again, not saying a word.

"You got Meg?" Alexi wasn't sure how to react to that. The two women had met before, and though her boyfriend was a douche, Meg, surprisingly enough, seemed to be positioned on neutral ground. "Hmm." She thought allowed, "I've got to re-think all of this. We didn't get the building, and we haven't taken away any of their clientele. Instead, we've pissed him off with a death, and now a strike probably too close to home." She rubbed her face into both her hands, "I'm not even sure why or what I'm doing anymore." This was entirely out of character for Alexi. Something didn't settle well within her about Meg being caught in crossfire, whether it was the influence of the soft, or even perhaps she forming a conscience, either way, Alexi was acting strange.

"I don't know if we killed her. All I remember was her being shot in the leg. I honestly don't know. What's wrong with you? Hm?" Justin sighed, sipping at his vodka again then down at Graai. "You best get up to bed buddy, get some sleep. It'll help you." He tried looking at Alexi then back at Graai, swurling his vodka.

"I'll just got to sleep here. Just for a few days. That's all I need." Graai groaned, shutting his eyes again with a hand supporting his head on the sofa.

"Well besides the obvious and being disappointed in the failure here, nothing's wrong with me!" Alexi snapped, "You don't seem to be bothered enough by recent events, Justin! What's wrong with you!?" Shaking her head, she walked to the dining area and opened the liquor bottle that sat atop a silver tray with two shot glasses. This tray was Alexi's only, everyone knew and understood to leave all of it's contents be, save for Graai. She lifted the lid to the glass container, and poured the brandy. "Get some rest, then. I'm going to deal with this on my own." She said before lifting the glass to her lips.

Justin sighed and headed upstairs, clearly pissed off at Alexi and how she commanded everything. He sat down on his bed upstairs, picking up his phone. His ex was Meg, so he had everything to want her dead, especially after the way she treated him after the break up. He was tempted to call her and say sorry, but it didn't help she was going out with Mitch now. That would never help anything. With a large groan, he sent his family on Casgrax III a short simple text asking if everything was okay and if they would want to see him during the summer. It was normally a no because of what happened in the past, but nothing could stop him from trying to be nice.

Passing through to her office, Alexi noted Graai passed out on the couch. His bionics would heal his wound, and it had already stopped bleeding, so the woman would just let him rest. Even if he hadn't done exactly what she wanted, he had tried. That in itself, was why she put her trust in him.

Sitting down in her office, she decided it was time to look the horse in the eye. She picked up the phone, and dialed Johnny's direct line. Three rings, and he picked up. "Hello?"
"Johnny."
"Who's this?"
"Ah, I believe you know exactly who this is."
"What the hell do you want?"
"I have a business proposition for you."
"You ain't got nothin' that I want."
"Are you sure about that? I've got it on good authority that I'm quite a better cook than you friend Mitch. How'd you like to put some extra money in your pocket?"
A long pause followed her offer, then the dial-tone rang out. Alexi knew that meant he was around others where as he couldn't talk at the moment. That was all she needed to know, for now, that he had something to say but couldn't. If she couldn't take Mitch out of the game by force, she'd simply switch to politics.

Justin swallowed, leaning back on his bed, pulling a knife out from under it to sharpen. He looked up at the door as he did so.

Meg's House
Meg swallowed, slowly getting to the bath before she heard thumping on the door. "What now." She snapped, getting out of the bath and went to the door, wrapping a towel around her. She sighed, looking at Mitch whom seemed like he was about to explode. "What? I don't want to be with you after what you did to Johnny and Bruce. Leave me alone... I just want to get on with my fucking job! Is that too much to ask?!"
Mitch grunted and started throwing bags of the white gold at her, "I don't want you to go. Nobody else will help you with your money, or with your need for this stuff. Stay with me baby, please. Don't do this to me. What do you want? A ring? A new computer? A new TV?"
"No! I don't want anything that you've touched anymore. Just leave. Get on with your life, get someone else. Someone else you can fucking abuse! I dont want it anymore! I don't! Get out my house!"
"Fine, but you're coming with me." Mitch snapped, grabbing her. He dragged her downstairs, throwing her onto the floor in the kitchen and started to throw things onto the floor, smashing plates, bowls, glasses and jugs alike. He reached down and took a large shard of glass, grabbing her hair and pulled her towards him, the towel ripping with the glass, causing further wounds. He slid the shard of glass across her face, creating a wound about three to four centimetres deep, before turned and ran off out the house.


Meg's House, a few days later

Meg groaned softly, listening to her new taste in music. It had come from her old days before Justin, before Mitch, before any of this. She was fully dressed to match, a long black shirt with a pair of black leggings, covered in red eight pointed stars of chaos. She had dyed her hair a deep blue along with painting her nails black and putting in white contacts. She had forced Mitch and the boys out following what had happened and needed the support of someone. She had tried calling Alexi but that had been at 4 AM, not a good time. It was around mid day now so she was going to try again. She stood up in her black platformed boots, at least 5'' with a slightly taller heel, the buckles and straps all done up along with the laces underneath.

As she picked up the phone, she dialled Alexi's number, hoping for someone to pick up.

Alexi wasn't surprised when she looked at the caller ID of her cellular, "Hello, Megan." She said into the receiver.
"Alexia?" She tried, looking at the ground, unsure of what to do.
"Live and in person, so to speak." Alexia shut her office door, locking the handle.
"Can you come and see me? Help me? I know that I've made big mistakes in the past, but I might be able to help you if you help me. I know where Mitch's mega Factory is..." She groaned, thumping into the kitchen and put the phone on loud speaker in order to clean up the mess that Mitch had made. She had very little left, hence why she was dressing the way she used to before a boyfriend, before anything nice had happened to her. Her parents had been the same while they were alive, but that was a long time ago, before the New Order rose up to fight the Old.
"Help you?" Alexi asked, considering carefully an answer. She had trusted Meg a long time ago, and hadn't yet even begun to rebuild what had broken between the two. "What is it that you need help with?" Before she accepted any kind offer, Alexi wanted to know all of the ins and outs involved, gaining such a prize as his weapon supplying plant.
"I need off the drugs... I can't afford it anymore. It's making me ill. I can't take anymore now. Mitch is out. He left me. I don't want to see him ever again... Does Justin still hate me?" She whined, sitting down on the floor, picking up pieces of glass with her bare hands. "I don't want to be on the drugs anymore. Help me get off it."
"I see. Well, I hate to be the one that says I told you so, but, I told you so." Alexi said dryly, "Are you serious about it this time, Meg? I don't want to help you clean up, just to have you turn back around as soon as you've got some money in your pocket to just relapse all over again. I don't have the time or energy for it, Tallern or no Tallern."
"What do you know about Tallern? How do you know about it?" She groaned, glancing around the room.
"I make it my business to know the opposition's stand point, Meg. Surely you haven't thought me so naieve as to simply just send out a gunman here and there."
"But how would you know about Tallern? You're not meant to know. How did you find out? I could have told you that for help." She whined, rubbing her face, the gash covered with plasters and makeup.
"I'm not saying that you can't still help me. Wow, you are out of it aren't you?" Alexi looked down at her watch, "Where are you? How soon can you be ready?"
"I am ready, I'm home. He cut my face open. I can't go to work. I want to go to work Alexi and forget about it all."
"Alright. I'm going to send a car for you, a black hover. Watch for it in about 20 minutes." Alexi didn't offer any thing else, and simply hung up the phone.
Meg swallowed, rubbing the top her face, going towards the front door to sit and wait. She knew that Bruce, Johnny or one of the other men would be watching her everymove.
Graai went out top the car and started to drive off towards the house. He picked Meg up and came back to Alexi's place.


Alexi's House
Meg was lead in the house, holding a small sports bag full of her clothes and make up. Alexi would know her as soon as she seen her. Meg was still completely gothic again, glancing around. She looked around, looking at Justin then to Graai; who pushed her up the stairs towards Alexi's office. She was pushed in and Graai stood at the door. She gulped, looking at the floor, now completely scarred out her wits. She put her hand to the plaster, "Alexis?"

Alexi opened the door to her office, and saw Meg standing with Graai, looked terrified. No doubt, Graai had been a bit rough, as was in his nature. "She isn't a hostage, Graai." She looked to Meg, "Sorry about that, but you know, your boyfriend isn't exactly popular around these parts." She stood back, and ushered Meg into the office, "Sit." She ordered. Looking back at Graai she spoke, "Girl talk. Close the door behind you." She sat back down behind her desk, and arched her fingers together analysing Meg's appearance. "So, you've decided to go back to wearing clothes that actually fit, I see."

Graai went out and shut the door.

"Hey. The latex was for the boys to make them feel good, arsehole's idea. He's not my boyfriend anymore. She swallowed, pulling the plasters away to show the wound that she had tried to stitch up herself. "Look what he done to me... Help me, please Alexi. I don't want it any more. I just want to do my job and forget about all the drugs, forget about Mitch, Justin. Please." She tried, glancing around.

Alexi nodded her head, "Well by the looks of it, you should definitely forget about Mitch." Alexi pulled a pamphlet from the drawer in her desk, and held it, "How hard are you hooked to the drugs? Honestly." Alexia asked.

"Four bags a day so about fifty lines a day..." She whined, looking at the ground, surprise that Alexi didn't seem bothered about the massive wound that went from her left ear to her chin. It would scar without a doubt, and Meg knew that, she would just have to plaster herself with enough makeup to cover it.

Alexi shook her head. "If you hadn't fell for his line of shit, you wouldn't have ever even gotten this bad. What kind of shit is he serving, anyways? Four bags? Mine would have lasted a lot longer, but you had to let your bullshit with Justin get in the way of our friendship. Why should I help you, Meg? You just turned your back on me for the next dick that came along the way, what makes this situation different?" She leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms. For two years now, she had been wanting this very opportunity. The girl turned her back on a child hood friend just for a man, and Alexi half expected that Mitch persued Meg just because of the two women's relationship. And like a fool, Meg fell for it. Now here she was, broken, and asking for help. "Tell me why, Meg." Her frustration was growing, just by thinking of the situation.

"The bags He gave me are like carrier bags, filled to the rim. My lines are a metre long... Not just simple little shit. He was a ton cheaper, and I mean a lot cheaper... I'm sorry. I needed to save money.... But I spent it all on drugs... I can't afford it anymore. Help me... Please..." She sniffed, starting to break down. "I didn't mean it. I'm stupid when it comes to boyfriends. I know. I'm sorry!!" She whimpered, starting to hit her head with her fists in anger. She didn't want this to happen. She needed her next fix, and due to the amount she normally got, mixed in with salt and sugar to make up for the amount, she thought she needed more than she actually did. "I want off it... I need off it. Please!"

Alexi rose to the mini fridge, and grabbed her bottle of gin. Pouring Meg a shot, she sat the bottle down next to the glass, and left the top off. "Drink some of this, it'll help curb the withdrawals. Though it won't solve the issue. You're going to have to get medical help, Meg. If your body is that dependant on it, your choices are to either seek out medical attention for it, or literally tie yourself down to a bed for about two weeks and struggle through it." She tilted her head, and shrugged her shoulder. "Sometimes, in order to save a dollar, you lose your quality." Turning her back to Meg, and taking a few steps, she continued, "I'm not hooked to it, myself. But I've seen it happen, in every different kind of person. At some point, there comes a time where you have to simply be happy with the feeling that it gives, not pushing for it to get stronger and stronger." She turned back to Meg, "But I agree, you just need to leave it all alone. So, what will it be? Rehab or D.I.Y?"

"I don't have the money for anything..." She whined, taking the bottle and started gulp down the gin, letting it burn her throat. She placed it down after ten seconds and looked at her. "Can't you just do want you used to do? Look after me in that dominatrix form you always seemed to do?" She whined, looking at her. "Just help me get out of it. I don't have the money to get my face repaired. I'll need to plaster it in makeup. I'll tell you whatever you want, just please help me."

Alexi looked doubtful, "I don't think you should even be considering plastic surgeory, but instead, wear the scar every day. Let it be a reminder of exactly what brought you to where you are today, and what it would mean if you were to go back." She fiddled with the rehab pamphlet, "I've retired from playing doctor, Meg. And I also don't want you thinking that I'm going to swing in and be your savior every time you make a mistake. I'd be willing to fit the bill for your rehab, though." She tossed the paper at the girl, "It's a one month stay. First week is detox, second is self-analysis, third is orientation, and fourth is supervised freedom. If you make it through this, all will be forgiven between us, and second chances offered." She arched a brow, and began thumbing through papers of her own, giving Meg a moment to read the information.

She looked at her then to the ground. "I can't. You know what I'm like. I'll just go back to Mitch then and like him kill me. That's what you want, isn't it?! That's what you fucking want." She snapped, throwing the bottle of gin and her and got up, going to the door. She thumbled with the lock, unable to unlock it. She slammed on the door repeatedly, "Let me go home! She doesn't want me!" She whined before she dropped to the ground, sobbing softly, "Why can't you just help me properly, like you used to. Just tie me to a bed and fucking whip me if that helps you. I know I'm stupid."


Alexi looked down at the mess, then over to Meg as she threw her fit. "Do you know how much I paid for that!?" She asked before rising. Quickly, she was standing over Meg. She grabbed her by the throat, lifted her off the ground, and walked her back to her chair, stepping on and crushing the glass of the broken bottle on the floor. "Sit the fuck down, and shut up." She bent down, and pointed a finger in her face, now speaking in a low but serious tone, "Things are different now than they were. You think I've got time to sit around and babysit you like a child!? It's time for you to fucking grow up!" She smacked the woman on the back of her head, as if to knock sense into her. "Like the old times! you say. This isn't like the old times my dear. I gave up on you a long fucking time ago. It's time you choose sobriety for yourself. I can't waste my time with it anymore, just to have you relapse again and again as you've done." Alexi became so frustrated at the memories of having helped Meg time and time again, just to end up in the same place.

Meg swallowed, looking up at Alexi and whimpered, bring her legs to her chest. She whined, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry... Please... I won't bother you again. I'll just go back to Mitch then. Let me go. I thought you might still care. I didn't mean for what happened to happen. I'm sorry." She whimpered, unknownly buttdialling Bruce. "I didn't mean it! I swear! I don't want to be on the drugs. I'll tell you anything! Anything!" With a small groan, she shut her eyes, her face starting to bleed again. The blood leaked down her face, ruining her makeup. She didn't notice at first, too busy trying to say sorry. The crying wasn't helping her either, it was just making it worse.

"By sending you here, I am helping you!" She picked up the pamphlet again, and stuffed in between Meg's chin and knees. "Daft, bitch." She mumbled going back to her chair. "As I said, you have to do this on your own, Meg, in order for it to stick. If someone else does it for you, you'll just keep going back again and again. Because I DO care for you, I'm not going to do it for you." She sighed and bent her head to make direct eye contact, "Please tell me that makes sense to you."

Meg looked away from her, "If you cared you would help me do it. Even just tying me to the fucking bed for a month and just feed me. That's all I need. I don't need all this money to be put into make just for me to fuck up again. You say a month of Rehab would do it, why don't you do the fucking rehab. I've heard stories about those places. People being raped by the men. I don't need that. I just need someone to help me." That was all she wanted, was someone to stop her without having to worry about rape or anything, even if it meant tying her to the bed for a month or two.

Tallern

Mitch groaned, leaning back into his office chair, watching the people below do his deeds. He continued to throw a small ball at the wall and let it come back to him. He looked around, "Bruce! Get your flithly arse in here." He snapped, pressing something into the computer, putting his hand down his trousers, not touching anything though, it was just to keep it warm. He groaned again, pulling his hand out and stood up, rubbing his left eye. He wanted Meg back. Her in her sluttly latex just to watch for a while, but he didn't think that would happen for a while.

Bruce walked into the office, just in time to see Mitch remove his hands from his pants and rub his eye with it. His face squinched up in disgust, "Uh, what's up?" He asked. They hadn't exactly been on good terms since the incident with Meg's injury. Then she left him, and of course, Mitch rationalized that to be Bruce and Johnny's own fault. Together, the men were growing tired of Mitch's antics, but at the moment didn't have any kind of better gig to turn to. Drugs cost money, and as Mitch spent most of his own time focused on himself, Bruce had plenty of time to go about collecting, and keeping a cut for his own fun.


Mitch sighed softly, "Right, so I want to up production, I want it to cost more and I want more men. I'm sick of having pussy fights with the other gangs. I want to slaughter them all. I want to go one to one with Alexis and kill her. I'll fucking choke her to death. I don't care. Right, how are you? Sleep any better after last night?" He smirked, looking at Bruce. This was totally out of character for him, especially with the way things had been. This meant he had done something to the one that had caused him the most pain; Meg.

Bruce looked at the man sitting before him, confused. He was tired of playing games with Mitch, it was time to be real. "Oh, I'm good, yeah. Sleep? No, not hardly. I'm concerned for Meg, and where she's gone off to, it's not like her to not leave word." He shook the thought from his mind, whatever had happened between her and Mitch, he wanted no part of it. "More men, and money?" He shook his head, "Wait a minute, exactly how do you see this going down? Your product isn't exactly best quality anymore, Mitch. You're not going to get a single penny out of any of the clients than what you are already. Hell, they barely want to pay what they are." He sarcastically chuckled, "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

"No. I have a new list of clients, and for them, I want the best quality. We rise our prices and make more money, then we can pay for hired guns from the military. Military training, military skill. We can win this war. Where's Johnny these days? I haven't seen him since that night out." He sighed, looking around, hearing a cell phone go off.

Bruce sighed heavily, the time had come. He had been putting it off as long as he could, mostly with drugs. "He's left, Mitch." He didn't elaborate, he didn't offer anything else. Of course, Johnny had offered for Bruce to come with him, but Bruce had been with Mitch since childhood. Change was hard for Bruce, even if it was for the better. "He's gone."

"Why in the fucking hell?!" He snapped, throwing the computer screen off the desk. "Why?!" He grunted, storming out towards the entrance to the entire factory and collasped, breaking down completely. nHe wiped his tears from his face, banging his head off the side of the building, shutting over his eyes, "This is just more and more fucking bullshit. For fuck's sake. WHY?!"

Bruce shrugged his shoulders at first, then kind of slumped them as Mitch throwing stuff and himself around the room. "He told me that he had found better work, through a more reliable source." He paused, finding his courage, "You've got to admit, Mitch, things have fell through. Nothing turned out the way we wanted it to be. We've lost money, product, and clientele. Instead of a slow uprise, we've been on a downgrade, Mitch. Then there's Toni, and his death. With him being going, I think Johnny just kind of lost all faith in us, in this." He lifted his arms, gesturing to the entire situation, "And well, I have to say I feel the same. It all just seems, hopeless, Mitch."

Mitch groaned, "You might just as well go with him then. I'll run what I can. If you can get paid better else where, you should go. I feel useless now. First Meg then Johnny..." He sighed, "If you want to go to them, you might just as well, I hear it's better pay. That's what the people keep saying. I've got three people and myself if you go. Just enough to make enough for a living." He swallowed before getting to his feet looking at Bruce, "You should just go to them Bruce."

Bruce shrugged, "Meh, I've been with you for as long as I can remember. No sense in changing it up now, I'm just telling you why they might have left." He sat down in a chair, now that Mitch seemed to have gained some control over hiself, "I'm not saying that we couldn't change things up a bit, I'm just saying I'm not a turn coat, is all." He thought for a moment, "Toni gave his life up so that we could see this through, I'd like to think his death won't be such a waste." Though in reality, Bruce had a strong feeling that things wouldn't be turning up anytime soon.

"But it's a waste if Johnny has left and we have hardly anyone to run the company. Hell, I might just have to phone that whore and get an agreement or something. I don't want to live here. I want to live on one of those nice resort planets." Mitch sighed, looking at Bruce. "I'll phone her later. Have you spoken to Megan?" He tried, not that he wanted contact, but that he wanted her dead of all people. She had almost teared his heart into tiny little pieces.

Bruce shrugged, "It's worth a try, though in my opinion, I'd say that opportunity has passed. If she's successfully taken employees from us with her, then she probably feels like she has us by the balls, in which case..." He shook the thought from his head, "I'd rather not think about the groveling or ass kissing that would be expected of us should we join up." He looked to Mitch as if to say, 'Think about it.' When he asked about Meg, Bruce shook his head, "Nope, haven't heard a word from her." Bruce's pocket began to vibrate, he pulled his phone out and saw that he had missed a call from, "Well, speak of the devil. About five minutes ago she tried to call me." He handed his phone to Mitche, "Want to call her back from my phone?'

"Not really I point. I bet you she has changed sides as well. I'll phone Alexi, see if I can come up with a deal. I'm sick of lossing everything to fucking women." He turned and took his phone, going outside the officer to call Alexi to see what he could do, possibly come up with a deal. She could have Tallern and he could get on a resort planet. He dialled her number into the phone and called her.

Alexi's House

Alexi had grew tired of arguing with Meg regarding whether or not it would be best to send her to an actual rehab, or to keep her home for detox. She eventually gave in, and agreed to keep her local, instead of sending her away.

Johnny had come to terms with Alexi's offer of employment, and the four members: Alexi, Johnny, Justin, and Graai were all grouped up within her office for an introductory meeting.

"And so boys, we're starting a new world, a new front. I'm sure we'll be receiving a white flag here soon from our good friend Mitch, however." She twidled her thumbs, and looked directly at Johnny, "We won't be accepting any more surrendors. I will be respected, and with respect comes fear." She turned to Graai, and shook her head, "It's finished. It's all to be ours, thanks to our new alliance here. I want him cut off, completely. It's time for our friend Mitch to retire." She grinned, as the thoughts of how she would finish Mitch off danced throughout her head, "I'll be doing the honors myself, and all of you will accompany me." Turning back to Johnny, "Just to ensure you're loyalty is to who you say it is." She stood up, "Any questions?"

Graai and Justin both shook their heads before Graai spoke up, "What about Megan? What is to be done with her? We can't just leave her here, not with Bruce still of their side." He sighed, looking at Justin whom just simply nodded in agreement, nothing else. He didn't really want anything to do with Meg, as he just valued her like Grox shit; yet, he didn't want her to die.

"Meg is of no threat to us, and while she's out of service, we'll be taking care of the situation, and aligning all properties to my name. When she comes to, it'll all be finished already." Johnny kind of squirmmed before speaking up, "Are you sure death is the only option? I mean, sure, put him out of business, God knows he can't run it properly anyways, but is killing him really neccessary?" Alexi turned to look at him, "Hmm. I expected you'd reaction in such a way, which is why I've prepared for you a seperate option." She reached within her desk drawer, and pulled out a folder. Opening it, she revealed three contracts, "Sign your percentage of ownership over to me now, take this money," She threw two thick envelopes at him, "And leave before it's done. You'll have no blood on your own hands, and if you ever decide to come back at me, well, let's just say I've already taken care of that as well." Johnny opened the envelope, which was estimated to be about 5,000 Cybran Credits. Alexi was entirely serious when it came to business, and was willing to pay to receive the same in return.

Justin looked at them and sighed, going down towards the kitchens, hungry. Graai sighed, rubbed his head, "I'll go clean Megan, or have you done that already?" He asked Alexi, knowing that they had to look after her, even though most them didn't want much to do with her, "Johnny, you seen what Mitch done to her over some shit? Massive scar down her fcae. It's not fair on her, that's why he should be dead. He abuses women like they are worth nothing."

"But she is worth nothing." Justin shouted up from downstairs before Meg burst out with, "All what did you do for me Justin?! Yeah, nothing! I did shit loads for you!"

Alexi yelled at Justin and Meg, "That's neither here nor there. Keep your dramatics private!' She turned to Graai, "She was clean an hour ago, though you might check." Johnny closed the enveloped money and said, "I'm on board for it all. As long as Meg is seen safe, and I get paid, I'm down. Though I will say," He was interupted with Alexi's phone ringing. She recognized the number, "Well my friend, you couldn't have chosen your fate any sooner." She answered the call, "Hello Mitchell."

"Right. I want to make a deal with you. I'm sick of these wars, I'll give you everything and you send me alway to one of those resort planets, away from this shit hole. I'm sure that Megan has already told you where Tallern is, so I'll let you have it and the workers here, mind you, there's not that many." Came down the phone from Mitch as Graai headed over to check on Megan. Justin reappeared, a glass of vodka.

"A resort, you say? Hmm. I'll consider your offer." Alexi said.
"Well, you better hurry up."
"Heh, it doesn't seem to me that you're in any kind of position to make demands, my friend."
"Oh, but I am. I take it you don't know then. I have one of the Military's weapons."
"Oh, I know. I know quite a bit about your organization, Mitch. I made it my own business to know yours. Now the question is, do you know anything about my work?"
"I know more than you think I know. Yet you still don't seem to understand what weapon I hold. You wanted to save the world when you were younger, didn't you. Well, could could if you give me my deal or come and kill me before I arm this."
"Hmm. Good enough, then. I'll be there, say around four?"
"Well, make up your mind. You want me dead, or am I going to a resort planet?"
"We'll discuss your retirement when I get there. Oh, and Mitch?"
"What?"
"It's not world peace I'm after anymore, it's world domination now." She clicked the phone off, and turned to Justin, "Go tell Graai, it's time to get ready."

Justin swallowed, glancing around. He turned and walked out into his old rooms, Megan's room. "Let's go, grab your Auto rifle. I think we're killing him now." Graai nodded then looked at Megan.

"I want to kill him. Let me kill him! Please! I hate him!" She screamed, trying to break the bonds that held her down to stop her from getting the drugs.


Alexi walked past the room which Meg was in, "Shut up and go to sleep." She said, before shutting the door and locking it. She hung the key on a hook next to the door, and led the way out of the house.

Graai swallowed, following closely, "Alex, there's a virus bomb. That's what Meg says." He sighed, grabbing her arm. "If this is true, it'll kill everyone. I think we best take this one carefully."

Alexi shoved Graai off, "How conveinant, to threaten existance upon your death hour." She adjusted her jacket, "If it's true, so be it. I'm not afraid of my fate, are you?!" She looked at all the guys standing before her: Graai, Justin, and Johnny.

Justin looked at Graai and sighed. "If he holds a bomb or something, we'll all be fucked. This entire world will die. Do you know about this Johnny?"

Graai looked at them both, "We best take Meg."

Alexi laughed and shook her head, "And here I didn't realize you all cared so much about life. You do realize the business we're in, right? How many over doses and suicides that have been led back to our front men? But yet, someone all of a sudden mentions a bomb, and you all tuck your tails." She turned and opened the front door, "Do whatever you feel necessary, it's not going to stop anything." She walked away without giving opportunity for a response and loaded herself unto a hover bike. Starting it, she positioned her helmet, and pulled out of the driveway.

Graai looked at her then grabbed Johnny, "Does he have a virus bomb? Is what she says true? I swear... I've seen them things. They eat worlds alive." He glared at him, forcing him against the wall, Justin taking his auto rifle, cocking it. "I'll blow your head out."

Johnny shrugged his shoulders, and held his hands up. "Look man, Meg's your best bet. She spent more private time with Mitch than I did. I answered to Toni, but you guys took him out, didn't you?" Johnny shifted a hand into his wasitline, "Virus bomb or not, this shit was fucked to begin with!" He pulled from his waistline a pistol, and quickly aimed it at Justin, "How about we do each other a favor then?"

"Graai, you go with her. I'll get the information out of her. If this is true, you best dearm the bomb. You have the experience with those things." Justin nodded and Graai disappeared. Justin headed upstairs to the bedroom and unlocked the door, looking at Meg. "Does he have a virus bomb?"

"Yes... Bottom floor, left handside under the table." She whined, looking at him, trying to curl up. She couldn't cope with seeing him, "Go away Justin... Please... I don't want you to see my face. I don't want to be on drugs that you got me hooked on." She whined, banging her head off her pillow.

Justin went over and held her head down, "Do you promise that what you are saying is the truth?"

"Yes, Justin please! Don't touch me!" She screamed, trying to attack him. She was sweating heavily, looking at the wall, making sure he couldn't see her scar.

"Right. Good. If I find out you're lying to me. I will blow your brains out. Understand?" He snapped, pulling her hair.

"Yes." She snapped, trying to pull away.

Tallern
Alexis pulled into a parking spot, and removed her helmet. She looked around the property, half expecting her host to greet her upon arrival. She glanced down at her watch, and saw that she was right on time. She wouldn't wait for Graai, as they had shown hesitation, she no longer cared about the outcome of this situation. S

Graai appeared moments later, Justin arriving just behind him. They parked next to her and swallowed, "He had a virus bomb." And at that moment Mitch appeared with a group of workers, all loaded with rifles and one with a heavy Machine gun on the top floor, watching them. But it was the look of a tank appearing from down the street that confused them all.

"Well, well." She looked to Graai and smiled. Her sanity could now be questioned. "What is it that you imagine yourself doing with all of these toys?" Apparently she had indeed underestimated Mitch. However, she wasn't one to show or anticipate defeat so easily. The tank she saw coming down the street towards them confirmed that either Mitch had more ammo than she thought, or the police had been notified, and someone's a snitch.

He smirked, looking at her then to Graai and Justin, "Yes, you are right Justin, I do have a virus bomb. Dead man's switch." He laughed, showing the trigger. "But I see the military have came to stop us." He looked around, then to the tank, a Panzer VI Ausf A3. With a sigh, he looked at them and smiled, "Looks like you're not the only ones here to try and stop me."

Graai swallowed, cocking his rifle then looked at Justin. They had both spotted the tank as it rolled down the street with it's squeaking tracks like all tanks hand. They looked at Alexis so she could decide what she wanted done.

Alexi looked to Graai, and shook her head. "We're going to play this one off. If the virus is ready to be set off, we'll let the big boys over there confront him." She turned to Mitch, "Did you invite them?" She asked, entertained.

Mitch shook his head as a convoy of tanks, trucks and APCs arrived. Not with police markings through, full military markings. The soldiers climbed out their vehicles and opened fire at them, one shooting Mitch in the hand, meaning the virus bomb could not be set off. The started killing the factory personnel. It was highly illegal to produce drugs on any scale, or have weapons in the Casgrax system, which was why the police had stopped and the military kicked in.

Hauptmann Stephen Ritter swallowed, marching over in his large boots and walked towards Mitch, killing him instantly with a firm thump of his boot into Mitch's face, snapping his neck. He spat on the ground next to him before looking at the bikers riding off into the distance. He grunted, turning around to look at his men who were clearing the factory, doing room to room sweeps, killing people with bullets to the head until they reached the virus bomb. He turned and marched towards the Basilisk APC and climbed inside, sitting down. They had a drug for the virus bomb and a tank would send the roof of the building sky high.

Graai and Justin had gotten onto their bikes and had drove off when the military had got close to them. This was no gang was now. This was a war against the military.

Alexi had jumped on her own bike, with Graai and Justin.

Bruce sat behind a a dumpster, with his hands over his head. Having heard the shots disappear further into the facotry, and away from him, he decided to peak around the corner. He saw Mitch, motionless on the ground. A soldier stood by Mitch's body. As Bruce had dropped his gun before ducking for cover, he lost all sense of hope. Even if he had it, killing the man would only constitute life in prison. He wasn't prison material.

Bruce rose to his feet slowly, and positioned his hands high above his head. "I'm surrendering. I'm willing to tell you all I know, in exchange for my freedom." He knew he wasn't in any kind of position to make deals, but anything was possible.

The soldiers ran over and grabbed him, forcing him to the ground and used metal cable ties to put his hands behind his back. They blindfolded him before dragging him to a truck. There was a number of them filled with produce. The soldiers made sure the area was theirs before the pulled the virus bomb out and put it in a truck carefully. As the truck drove away, the tank's turret turned, the large plasma cannon firing up and completely blow the factory apart. It then turned and drove off, special soldiers taking over to make sure it burned to the ground. There were a number of camera crews already, watching it all. They knew it was procedure to kill everyone in a building producing drugs. But in matter of fact Mitch and let them aware that he had the virus bomb long ago.

Bruce didn't fight back.