GOVERMENT HUNT ARC (CHAPTER 3.2)

Narrator- As Drew finds his new purpose to continue alongside Dravity through this new challenge. Xifier moves on to further his own mission for his people. Some might say there journey is just getting started, but with that let’s take a look at how far Zack’s training has come. He now enters week 3, let’s see what he’s come up with.

Captain K makes his way to the dining hall, as he enters he lets out a cloud of smoke. He’s swiftly greeted by the lower-ranking members and makes his way through the line to grab a bite to eat for himself and Zack. Just before he can leave though Captain H calls him to the Captain's table. As he approaches he can tell H had a little too much to drink, but nonetheless, he speaks up “What’s going on H? Did your mission go well?” H stares off into the distance before answering “Yeah, It was cool. Just an influx of Materia nothing too crazy. Sit, Sit have a drink with me Captain N Is on his way too!” K hesitates but decides to sit so he can talk to N about next week. K lets out a cloud of smoke before speaking “Pour me one!” Captain H H's smile grows even more, as he pours K a drink he begins to talk “So how’s the training going with, umm… uhh… What’s his name!” K can’t help but laugh, he answers “It’s going better than I thought. As each week passes, he picks up on what Is being taught and applies his own spin on it.” He let’s out a large cloud of smoke as H passes him his drink, H responds “I see! Keep an eye on that kid. Some people don’t show their true colors until the time Is right…” An awkward silence falls between them as they sip their drinks and begin to think to himself “Man, talking to H when he’s sober Is already boring but when he’s drunk It’s even worst.” He lets out another cloud of smoke and just as he went for another sip the door fly open “Alright someone promised drinks and bitches! Where they at!” The whole dinner hall just continues to eat as If this happens every night. Captain H stands and starts to wave, saying “Over here, Captain N!” K shakes his head and kills his glass, N makes his way over and says “Alright I see you got the drinks… But where the bitches at? Don’t tell K scared them away with his ugly ass! HAHAHAHA” H laughs with him, K quickly responds “Nah, you got me fucked up! Bitch you built like a 4 foot 2 monkey off crack!” H continues to laugh even harder while N just stands there, K speaks again “Yeah that’s what I thought, shut the fuck up. Anyway, sit ya ass down.” N “Shut up! H pour me a drink!” H answers while pouring both H and K a drink “Gladly!” As they all take a drink in sync, N breaks the silence “Shit, just finished my mission for today. Ain’t got shit to do tomorrow what’s the move?” H agrees and looks at K, he lets out a cloud of smoke and passes It to N before speaking “I would love to do some hoodrat shit with ya’ll, but I got to finish this training with Zack…” But before he could continue N cuts him off “Bruh! When have you ever cared about that shit! Come on, It’s been a minute since we all went out and fuck shit up.” he begins to cough but tries to continue speaking “Damn…This shit… Strong as fuck K!” N tries to pass It to H but he says no, K speaks up “Still a square I see. But anyway back on topic, I need to focus on this not only for Zack but also to beat J in the bet.” N laughs before saying “I don’t know why you worried, you always win these bets!” H nods in agreement, K lets out a cloud of smoke before talking “Yeah, Yeah. I know. But something feels different about this one. I don’t think J Is going to make this easy. He said he only went 10%, but according to Materia readings In the training room he went about 20% towards the end of the fight.” N downs his drink while H responds “20%? Hmm… For J to use that much he must have felt pressured.” N shakes his cup in front of H, K replies “Yeah, he even started the match with Excalibur Skills too. After these 3 weeks, I would put Zack at… 16%. That’s only through training exercises.” N downs another glass before speaking “Seems like he needs some battle experience! Shit, let me at 'em, that little shit rubs me the wrong way. Got to put him In his place early!” H and K both laugh. As they calm down K lets out a cloud of smoke before saying “Well, glad to see we're on the same page N. For his final week of training, I would like to test his strength against you.” N slides his cup over to H for another drink, as he waits he responds “So, you already had this planned out huh?” K “Yeah, yeah. For the final week, he will have 7 days to try and beat you.” He lets out some more smoke before passing It to N. There Is a long silence before anyone speaks. N lets out a large cloud of smoke, then finishes his drink. As he starts to stand he says “Fine. I’ll help you out! But I still want to go out tonight!” He turns and looks at Captain H. He stands as well and speaks “Same. Well then K, I hope that the training continues going smoothly. I’ll stop by next week and see how he fares against N.” K nods and exits the dining hall with them. As they each go their separate ways, K looks at the time “Fuck! It’s been 5 hours! I better hurry, Zack’s probably hungry.”

As Captain K makes his way back to the training room, he stops by his room to pick up a special box to bring back to Zack. As he approaches the training room door he listens to see If Zack Is still at work, but to his surprise nothing. He looks down at his watch for the time “It’s 2 in the morning he probably fell asleep…” As K enters the room he can see Zack sitting in the middle, with no movement, and no sound. As K approaches Zack he pulls up a chair and sits, he puts the box and food on the ground next to him. A few minutes pass, and he sparks another blunt. After a few hits, K finally speaks “Yo! You sleep?” to his surprise, Zack answers “No Captain! Just clearing my mind so I can focus on my training!” As soon as he finished speaking his stomach began to growl. Captain K can’t help but laugh before saying “Man If you were hungry say something! Here.” K passes Zack the plate of food he brought from the dining hall. Zack begins to eat, and once again silence. K continues to smoke while Zack eats eventually, Zack finally asked a question “Captain! May I ask you something?” K nods and lets out a cloud of smoke, Zack goes on “What made you Join the C.U.G?” K begins to laugh hysterically before answering “Man, I haven’t been asked that In YeaRs.” As he calms down he lets out another cloud of smoke before looking Zack in his eyes. A long period of silence falls before them until K speaks “I usually give a shitty speech talking about the opportunities that C.U.G has to offer along with the benefits and that’s usually enough. But you're looking for something greater. So how about a story to go along with food?” Zack eagerly sits up and continues to eat, K “Still just a kid… Well, to tell you why I joined C.U.G you must know where I came from. I was born in West City, specifically the City of Smoke. Top 5 most dangerous cities in Kansai. I was born in the YeaR 181, month 8 during late spring. I had 2 older brothers, one of them was 12 and the other was 7. I had an older sister as well, she was 5. I lived in a single-parent household, my mother took care of us 4. She did everything to make sure we had the things we needed to survive. She worked In a really popular whore house, she made decent money but at the cost of her humanity. All 4 of us were accidents and eventually, 2 more came 5 YeaRs after I was born. Twin sisters. The money she was making became so trivially that she started to multiply shifts just to keep the shitty apartment and feed us at least one meal.” Zack looks down at his food and thinks to himself “The smallest things, we take for granted. I never once had to think where my next meal came from. Let alone worry about the roof over my head.” Captain K continues “As we say mother less and less, my 2 older brothers stepped up and tried to help support the family. Around YeaR 186 the local gangs were at their all-time peak. There was a war brewing between the 3. North gang, South gang, and Central gang. North and South gangs were the 2 main ones, with seemingly eternal conflict. Both sides had 100’’s if not 1000’s of members of varying strengths and utility.” Zack cuts him off and says “What about Central gang?” K hits the blunt and lets out a cloud of smoke before speaking “Aye, let me get there. Damn… Appreciate a free story.” Zack becomes too embarrassed to speak and just nods his head and continues to eat, K “Now where was I… Oh yes, Central gang. The weakest out of the 3, but somehow they managed to survive every war and conflict between the other 2 gangs. They lacked members but made up for It in the quality of the people they possess. The oldest brother went to join the Central gang to make a name for himself and bring home some major money. At the time he was 17, and he left the crib when I was 5. For a YeaR straight he sent money to the house. At first, It was small amounts but It helped out a lot in conjunction with mother’s money as well. But after a while, It stopped. Nothing came for months, the second oldest went out to look for him. He was 13, he was gone for months. Only big sis, me, and my 2 Lil sisters were left. Mother never returned, but she still sent money to us for about a YeaR. Just enough to keep the apartment. At the age of 7 I, along with my 3 sisters were kicked out of the apartment. We lacked the money to afford the room. At this point, I had to choose me or my family. We found a small group of kids that were also In the same boat as us, we joined them. We all pitched in to survive, It didn’t matter how small or how big. Help was help. After we settled down, I sat down with my sisters and told them I’m leaving to join Central gang. They begged me not to leave but in the end, they understood that was the only option. I left the next day, early in the morning. I made my way to the center of the city, and as I got closer and closer It slowly started to get more and more peaceful. No gunshots, screaming, ops, north or south gang member to be seen. I approached what seemed to be a generic government building. As I entered, the place was trashed covered in liquor, drugs, blood, and the smell was unbearable. I walked towards the front desk, damn near gasping for air. A female dressed in designer clothes notices me and speaks “Hello and welcome to Central gang headquarters! Do you have an appointment?” Confused as hell, I somehow managed to answer without sounding dumb “No, but I’m here to apply tho…” The lady just looks at me for a few seconds, and eventually says “Alright then, please take a seat and I’ll let the recruiters know.” I nod, she stands and walks towards a set of double doors. As she opens them, music and yelling are heard. But as soon as the door closes behind her the sounds of partying are gone. I step over decaying dead bodies covered in the stench of hard liquor just to find a place to sit. I wait for a few minutes which turn into hours, and at this point days. As I slowly lose track of time, I think to myself Is this what both my brothers did, and Is it even worth It? After what seems like days of thinking about or not whether I should leave, the double doors open music comes blaring out, along with a man. I take a good look at him, he has dull red hair set in a high twist ponytail. He’s fairly tall with a light-skinned complexion and looks decently young, he has a figure of someone who hasn’t missed gym day once in YeaR’s. He was wearing a white T with the word GUNS printed on It, with baggy black cargo pants. He wore white combat boots, but they were splattered with red stains. As he walked away from the door he went to the front and stepped outside. I follow him, as I stepped outside a cloud of smoke hits my face. The man laughs before speaking “What you doin here? This Is no place for a kid.” Still coughing from the smoke I try to form words “I came to join Central gang. I spoke to the lady at the front desk, and she said she’ll go and inform the recruiters and told me to wait.” The man shakes his head and says “Did you make an appointment?” I shake my head, the man scoffs at my response and lets out another cloud of smoke before saying “She wasn’t going to come back. You didn’t make an appointment.” I look him In his eyes and respond “Deadass?” He nods and lets out another cloud of smoke… A brief period of silence falls between us, we both watch the night sky while the nightlife of the city surrounds us. He eventually speaks up “You smoke?” I think for a few seconds and remember Big bro used to smoke around us, I've always wanted to try It. I nod and the man passes me the blunt. I hit It… I let the smoke sit In my lungs, thinking about the events that lead me here today, and what I must do. As I release the smoke the man asks me a few questions “So what’s your name kid?” I answer him “Kevin.” He laughs and says “Bruh, Kevin?” I nod and take another hit before passing It back. As he grabs the blunt he asks his next question “Where you from?” I reply “About 30 minutes south, I stay with a group of kids along with my 3 sisters. We all pitch in to help and protect each other.” The man nods and lets out another cloud of smoke before asking another question “So, why do you want to join Central gang?” He takes another hit and passes me the blunt, as I hit It I think about my answer. At first, It was for my sisters and the other kids back home. But should I say that, or say something a Lil edgier? I exhale the smoke and respond “The only reason I have right now Is to provide for my sisters and help show the other kids that there’s a way to move forward no matter the situation.” the man nods again before replying “There were 2 kids a while back that had a similar answer. 1 of them had potential but greed got to him. The other was soft and got killed within weeks of joining.” At that point, I knew instantly who they were. Both my brothers have died. The man continues “It’s not bad that you want to provide for the lesser but you have to keep in mind that others are trying to do the same thing by any means necessary.” As he takes the last hit, he flicks the roach to the center of the road. As cars pass by, we sit in silence before I spoke up “What’s your name sir?” The man chuckles a Lil bit before answering “Sir? Thanks for the respect but It’s not needed. But I go by Ju.” I ask some more questions “Why did you join Central gang?” His didn’t change but I could tell this question meant a lot to him, he answered after a few seconds “I had no choice, I was born into Central gang and have been a part of It ever since. Eventually, I became the leader of Central gang and here I am!” He stands straight up and smiles.” I can’t help but smile too. He continues talking “A reason beyond that would just be fake. Kevin, I like your energy. You have respect but you keep It real. I can tell you grew up in a good home but It was plagued by unfortunate events.” Ju begins to yawn, as he stretches he says “Well, I don’t care If you join. We can start the process of your application tomorrow, for now, let’s get some sleep.” I nod and follow him back inside. He stops in front of the double doors and speaks “Sorry, but since you aren’t an actual member yet you got to sleep in the lobby. Those are the rules kid.” I nod and ask him one more question before he left “You guys got some water at least?” He thinks for second and answers “Yeah, but uhh… Member-only!” He laughs while entering the next room. I smack my lips and went back to the chair I was sitting In, a few minutes pass and I fall asleep.

As the morning light shined through the front doors and windows, the sounds of violence and chaos were vaguely heard from the inside of the building. I woke up and walked towards the front desk again. The same lady from last night Is there, she speaks “Sleep well? Sorry about the mess we just moved In not too long ago.” As she smiles, I take a look around now that there’s more light I can see. Nothing but lifeless bodies of all shapes and sizes some beyond recognition. I answer her “Yeah, I slept pretty well. Anyway, I’m here to join Central gang. I tried to last night but you never came back.” The lady laughs and says “Sorry, got caught up In the party. We were breaking In our new headquarters. But this time I won't forget, have you made an appointment?” I roll my eyes and reply “Yeah, I spoke with Ju last night.” Before I could go on she cut me off “You spoke with Ju? You better not be lying to me, little boy.” I shake my head, but she just stares at me. After a few seconds she stands up and starts to talk “Alright then, I guess since you spoke to Ju. Follow me.” I walk behind her, she goes to the double doors and opens them. As I walk behind her I finally see what’s in the other room. It’s nothing but empty bottles, drunk people, druggies, trash, guns, and money. I start to think to myself “Is this really what my brothers went through just to join? They seem so unorganized.” I sigh, and the lady starts to talk as we make our way to the other end of the room “Once again sorry for the mess, some of the lower rank members should have started to clean this morning but I guess there still fucked up. Well, this Is as far as I can go. Good luck!” She blows me a kiss and walks away, as I open the door smoke starts to escape, and a lot of It too. I start to cough “God damn! Is there a fire?” As I continue to cough, I can hear laughter coming from inside the room. Eventually, a voice can be heard “Aye come In and shut the door behind you.” I enter and shut the door behind me, most of the smoke has left the room but there’s still a thin layer of smoke that floats throughout the room. As my eyes adjust, I can make out a desk a few feet in front of me along with couches on both sides. Not much else, unless you count the females that are sleeping on the couches and on the floor. I hear a familiar voice “So your still interested? Step up to the table kid.” I slowly make my way around the sleeping females until I stand in front of the desk, It’s Ju. He leans back In his chair and kicks his feet up on the desk and lets out a cloud of smoke before speaking “You kinda killed the hot box. But I’ll let that slide.” I apologize, but before I could finish he cut me off “Aye none of that soft shit. You saw the lobby, we don’t care who or what you are If you stand In our way, you as good as dead. Now let’s start the application. I’m going to ask you 5 questions, answer them how you want to. After that… well let us see If you even make It that far.” I stand up ready to answer, I’ve been waiting for this very moment. Ju asks the first question “If you had a million cash now, what would you do with It?” I answer without hesitating “I would use It to support my family and help others that are in the same situation that we are In.” Ju nods and moves on to the second question “If you had to kill someone to obtain your goal or become closer to It. Would you?” I took a few seconds before responding “Probably, but what you guys do that would only get me killed… So at this point yes.” Ju nods his head once again letting out a cloud of smoke. The room becomes silent, he then asks the third question “You want to take a hit?” I slowly walk forward and grab the blunt and give my response “Does that answer your question.” He laughs a Lil as I let out a cloud of smoke “I like your humor, Kevin. But that alone won’t get you In. So here’s your fourth question, If someone you loved died because of your actions what would you do?” This one stumped me for a few minutes. I hit the blunt a few more times before passing It back to Ju. After a few more minutes I finally answer “I would feel angry at first, but soon realize that my actions have consequences. If I choose to hurt others why should I be exempt? So the anger that I feel at first will then turn into hope. Now there Is nothing holding me back from obtaining my goals, they already hit me where It hurts most and I’ve accepted It. Now the only thing I have to do Is move forward and not disappoint.” Ju claps his hands a few times while letting out a cloud of smoke “Good answer. Kinda fucked but that’s reality. Well then, the final question.” Ju stands and walks over to me, now that I’m closer I can see why he’s the leader, he’s more than just physical strength. His mind Is sharp, his Materia refined. Ju speaks up “Now look me In my eyes, Kevin.” I look Ju In the eyes. Emptiness, loss of hope, death, he almost seemed lifeless. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Desert Eagle Mark XIX and pointed It at my head and asked his final question “Now, what will you do?” This time I had my answer “I accept my fate, and pass my goals and hope to the people that followed and believed In me. I have faith that one of them will achieve It or pass It down once again.” He takes the gun off safe, and racks It. After a few seconds, he pulls the trigger… Nothing happens. At that moment I’ve never felt more at ease. Ju laughs and pats me on the head “You have a strong mind and heart. Not too many people have what you got, especially as a kid. Here take It.” He hands me Desert Eagle Mark XIX, It's heavy In my hands but feels right somehow. Ju speaks “Go ahead shoot It! Just not at me!” As he laughs I turn towards the wall and aim down the sites and pull the trigger. In an instant the gun flys out of my hands. All of the females that were sleeping in the room woke up and start yelling at me all while Ju stands and laughs. After a few minutes pass, Ju finally calms down and starts to corral the females toward the door, as I follow I can hear people In the other room. As Ju opens the door and the rest of the smoke started to funnel out, I got a good look at some of the people. Most of them are on the older side, maybe mid 20’s to late 50’s. A mixture of males and females. Ju starts to make his way toward the center of the room, as he passes the other members he greets them and has some small talk almost like their family. As Ju reached the center he began to clap his hands, the room focused on him. Ju spoke “Alright, good morning killas! Here’s the schedule for today, I got some intel that North gang Is going to hit one of South gang supply houses. I’m going to take a small team, let's say 5 total.” The members rejoice and scream in excitement. Ju quiets them down before trying to continue to speak “Alright we’ll go over the plan when the other 4 members are selected, cause one of them besides me has already been chosen.” He turns and points at me, the entire room fell silent. Everyone became fixated on me, I told myself I got to say something and I did “Yo! Names Kevin.” As soon as I finished speaking a random member In the back spoke up “Who the fuck Is this?” The room erupts, each member says some dumb bullshit. I look at Ju and he waves me over, he bends down and whispers in my ear “Well how will you get their attention?” As leans back up he smiles. I take out the Desert Eagle Mark XIX that he gave me and pointed It at the ground, I put a round In the chamber and pulled the trigger. This time holding the gun with everything I got. As the shot went off the room fell silent, I cleared my throat and said “I guess you guys didn’t hear me. I’m the new recruit and I’m here to get shit done. At this point just call me K, apparently Kevin Is too soft.” Ju slaps me on the back and speaks “Alright you heard him! Everyone give K a nice warm welcome!” At that moment everyone brought out their guns and emptied their clips. I couldn’t help but smile and neither could Ju. Once everyone was done Ju spoke for a few more minutes “Now K here, he’s special. He may be a recruit but I don’t want to see any of that fuck shit. Treat him like family! Alright get this place cleaned up, that means you too K.” I nod and start helping the others clean. After a few hours go by we finished cleaning the main room along with the front lobby. We got rid of the dead ops and bottles, along with all the trash and blood stains. For a bunch of so-called thugs and killers, they sure know how to clean. As I talk to some of the other members, I soon realize that each one of them is unique and provide different utility to the gang. Mark Is the cook, he takes a small squad and goes out to get ingredients to prepare meals for the other members. Dee Is the local weaponsmith anything gun-related he's got you. Marie… I can’t think of a nice way to put It, basically, she’s a hoe for central to get intel on the other gang members and their movements by going to various whore houses and working. There are plenty of other members and they contribute just as much as the last one. I almost feel at peace. After a few more hours of talking with the other member Ju comes out of his office and starts to make his way toward the center of the room while talking “I see yall! Got this place all cleaned up and you got rid of the smell too.” The members agree with him, Ju continues “Alright, I’ve selected the other 4 members.” The room falls silent, waiting for Ju to speak again. Ju “K go ahead and come to the center, along with Dee, Chop, Kate, and finally Mak.” A loud scream can be heard from the back “FINALLY! HAVE YOU RECOGNIZED MY SKILLS?” Ju laughs as he speaks “Mak just step up to the front before I change my mind.” As the 5 of us come to the center, Ju gives some last-minute orders to the others “I want food to be done before we come back, along with next week's budget put together. We need to fix up the ole crib. As for you 5 follow me.” The remaining members get started while the 5 of us follow Ju. We make our way to a set of stairs in the back of the main room. We go up to floor 3, but before he opened the door he turns around and calls me to the front. Ju “Alright K, this here Is the weapons vault. We have everything from pistols, SMGs, ARs, snipers, LMGs, grenade launchers, and explosives, you get the point. Very few people have access to this room, for obvious reasons. The 5 of you are free to take what Is needed for any mission, just know If I deem you unfit don’t take a single step into this room.” We all respond In sync “YES!” Ju “Alright then, let's get ready!” As Ju opens the door, the smell of gunpowder fills my nose. Dee on the other hand begins to spazz “Oh my god! We’ve got guns I’ve only dreamed about!” As Dee makes his way around the room, the others start to wonder as well. I can remember the layout of that room to this very day. Weapons of mass destruction lined up from one end of the wall to the other, in varying sizes. Dee “Not only do we have classics like AK-47s, Uzis, to AR-15s. We also have access to high-caliber weapons like Barret-M107, HK416 AR, and a shit ton of MG3s! Don’t even get me started on some of the rarer weapons in here!” Ju can’t help but laugh “Aye what can I say, I like guns.” Kate scoffs at that remark and speaks “Bitch we robbed the government, these ain't even yours.” Ju shakes his head “I wouldn’t say we robbed them, we just uh… You know… Yeah, you're right. Fuck it, they have plenty.” Kate smiles along with Chop. I continue to look around the room trying to figure out what I should grab, but not a second passes before Mak approaches me and starts talking “Well then K, what you thinkin about gettin?” I respond “Something that doesn’t fall out of my hands when I shoot, along with something I can carry.” Mak begins to walk around the room grabbing things off the wall and shelves. After a few minutes, he calls me over to an empty table and says “So, I pulled some weapons that you might like and you could use at your current level. Take a look at these and tell me what you think.” I nod and start to look at the table, there was a decent selection. As I went to pick up one of them, Dee comes from behind and started to talk “That one there Is an uzi, It has an open-bolt design and Is one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design to allow for a more compact gun. That's a good choice but It does lack range, Its max distance Is about 200m.” I mess around with It for a few minutes before putting It down, as I set It down a gun catches my eye as I go to pick It up Dee starts to ramble once more “That one Is a personal favorite out of the SMGs for me. Skorpion EVO 3, is lightweight, and compact for easy conceal and carry. Along with a switch for semi, 3round burst, and full auto.” I bring It up to my shoulders and aim down sites, It was light, and my movement didn’t feel restricted. I place this one off to the side. As I look at the table some more Ju starts to talk “Alright, we can do this later hurry up. We still got a job to do!” We respond In sync once again “YES!” Dee and Mak quickly start grabbing things off the shelf. While Kate was filling a bag full of explosives and ammo. I quickly grabbed 2 Uzis and the EVO, along with a bag of ammo. As we finish up Ju starts to give us a rundown of the plan “Alright, Chop your our eyes. Find a good spot to post up and scout the area, here's the address we’ll meet you there.” Chop nods. Grabs his guns and heads out. Ju continues “Next up Is Kate, once Chop gets into position, we need you to blow a hole In that bitch and start the chaos!” Kate smiles and responds “Did you even need to tell me that!” Ju “You right! Dee and Mak will take orders from Chop, he’s your eyes so make sure you listen. I’m looking at you Mak.” Mak smacks his lips before speaking “What you mean by that? I’m the best listener In this room!” I couldn’t help but laugh, Mak “So you find that funny huh, well then let’s just hope you can make It back.” I quickly reply “Put a 100 on It!” Mak laughs but answers “Man I’ll put 1000 that you won't make It back!” Ju butts In “Alright then how about I double It then, I like a Lil rivalry.” We both respond In sync “YES!” Ju “Alight, that just leaves me and K. Well enter from the back, better not slow me down or make me look like a fool!” “Come on now Ju, I got you!” Ju “I hope so, I just 2 bands on you. But anyways we ready?” Once again we answer In sync “YES!” Ju “Alright then, lets good get this party started!”

As we approach the South’s supply house, we stop. Kate splits off from us along with Dee and Mak. Ju brings out a flip phone and makes a call “Aye Chop you in position?” A few seconds pass “Bet well then, help Kate get close to the front so she can blow a hole in that bitch. And have Dee and Mak make the push. Me and K will come through the back.” A few more seconds pass “Sounds good, stay up!” He hangs up and turns toward me “You ready K?” I froze up, but not even a second goes by before Ju smacks the back of my head and says “Aye don’t ever do that, especially now! Not only Is your life on the line but mine, Kate, Dee, Mak, and Chop.” I respond “Got It, won't happen again. I just got a lil nervous don’t want to disappoint ya know.” Ju smacks the back of my head again this time way harder than before and says “Don’t lie to me, but most importantly yourself. It’s ok to be scared, everyone Is. No matter how strong you are, fear is always there. The difference Is the weak let the fear control them while the strong control fear. Remember that.” I take a deep breath and answer “YES!” We wait for a few minutes. More and more South members show up and enter the building, eventually Ju’s phone rings and he answers “Yurrr… Bet. You say 300 North members… Cool, I counted 500 South members entering the building… Bet, I’ll call you If plans change.” He hangs up and says “Well, there's more people than I planned for on both sides. But the plan should still work. Now In 5 minutes, Kate will approach the front and take out the guards while Chop supports. After that, she’ll plant the explosives on the front. In about another 5 minutes the North members should be there. At that point, the explosives will go off hopefully taking some of the North members out while also alarming the South members. That’s our cue to head towards the back to catch the important figures trying to escape and push In from there, while Dee and Mak hit the front while Chop supports. Also don’t worry about Kate, If the explosions stop either we did our job or she’s dead.” I reply “How much time we got?” Ju smiles and answers “That’s better, and 3 minutes.” For those 3 minutes, I try to clear my mind thinking of nothing but what I want to achieve and protect. Once those 3 minutes were up the plan was In motion. Kate slowly made her way towards the front, but she never once attacked. The South members just fell like flies. As she reached the door, she started to plant the explosives. Once that was done she collected the bodies and went back into hiding. Ju speaks “Smooth, we got another 5 minutes. Check your ammo and ready your guns. It’s time to show you what Central gang Is all about K!” I respond “YES!” As I ready my weapons, the 5 minutes fly by and I can start to see the North members approach. I start to worry, 6 of us versus 300 North and 500 south members. Even If they take each other out, the sheer numbers they have Is frightening. As they got closer, Ju’s smile grew. Then out of nowhere, the explosives go off. Ju jumps up and starts to run to the back of the building, as I stand up I get one last look and all I see are body parts and guns falling from the sky. I couldn’t help but smile. While me and Ju head towards the back he speaks up “Alright, you don’t have to do anything crazy just give me some cover fire and take a few people out I can do the heavy lifting!” I laugh but still answer “I got you!” As we get closer Ju stopped and waited outside the back doors. While gunfire and explosions can be heard we stood there and waited, and waited. Finally, the door opened, In an instant, Ju shot and killed 2 of them. I readied my weapon but in the time It took to do that Ju has already killed 8 more until what looked like one of the leaders finally walked through the doors. The man looked terrified, but that didn’t stop Ju. He slowly approached the man saying “As one who has sinned by the gun, death by the gun Is his atonement. I learned this the day I stepped Into power, yet every leader I've killed across both gangs seems to share one thing In common. Do you know what that Is?” The man fell to his knees pleading for his life, begging for mercy, crying like a child. As I stand and watch I almost feel happy like I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life… Justice. The continues to cry, begging, but Ju doesn’t bat an eye. All he does Is let out a sigh and say “Man at least do something different, I’ve killed at least 30 leaders on both sides since I’ve been leading and they all beg the same way. At least tell me your name.” Just as the man started to speak Ju shoots his head off. He then calls me forward, as I get closer he starts to talk “K, don’t be like them. Stay true, and accept your actions.” I nod and look down at the lifeless bodies killed in front of my very eyes. It’s different seeing old bodies that have been dead for days. Seeing live people just fall becoming stagnant never moving again. Ju pats me on the head and says “The fun just started. Don’t get caught up now, It’s time to show your true colors K.” I let out a deep breath and answer “YES!” He smiles and walks through the back doors, I follow. As we enter the noise matched the chaos, bullets flying everywhere, explosions still going off. Ju starts to yell “KATE! KATE!” off In the distance a voice can be heard “I’m good, stop slacking and get to work!” Ju laughs and says “You heard her, now you're the front man. I’ll cover you, got It!” I smile and laugh “Ju, just sit back and watch. I think I get It!” Ju becomes surprised and gives a thumbs up. I ready both Uzis and start spraying without a care in the world. I counted each person I killed as they fell. “1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…” Ju heard me and spoke up “I’ll count, you just focus.” As I continue to push forward, I slowly become more in tune with my guns. Each shot I took was more accurate than the last, as I reload not a single moment Is wasted. We continued to push further into the building clearing room after room. Until we finally caught up to Kate. Ju asks her a question “So how’s It going?” Kate scoffs and replies with an attitude “Fuck off, you know exactly how It’s going!” Ju can’t help but laugh, as he stands there and continues to hold a conversation with Kate. I keep covering them, killing one person after another. As I reload, I speak up “So… are you two like a thing or something?” Ju answers immediately “Yeah, we’ve been seeing each other for some time now…” But before he could continue further Kate cuts him off “Hell no. He’s nothing but a self-centered, dirty, ugly, ignorant ho!” I could help but laugh and neither could Ju. But At that moment, I slacked. A handful of South members pushed us…My heart stopped, this Is where It ends. In an instant, their bodies fall. Ju keeps laughing but speaks “Come on K, I thought you said I could sit back?” Kate, on the other hand, was surprised and also dumbfounded “You put your life on a kid, I don’t care how good he Is that's just stupid. See this Is what I’m talking about…” As she rambles on, Ju walks over to me and says “See, she does like me. But you got to stay focused, the job isn’t done yet.” He stands and goes back over to Kate, she quickly stopped talking and Ju gave her some orders. She smacked her lips but replied “YES!” And went out the back, Ju gave me a thumbs up and pointed towards the front, and said “Let's make out way outside and see what Dee and Mak are up to.” I nod, as I continue to clear the rest of the rooms I run out of ammo for my Uzis and switch to the Skorpion EVO 3. We approached what seemed like the front or what was left of the front. To my surprise, I see both Dee and Mak fighting side by side. I can’t tell what gun Mak Is using but he never once stopped to reload, on the other hand, Dee seemed like he was out of ammo and just picking up guns off the hundreds of dead bodies. I couldn’t help myself and ran to support them. As I got In range Mak noticed me “Aye! The new recruit made It out, welcome to the front lines. Post up and get to work!” I reply “YES!” We continue the fighting for about an hour. At that point, the North member's numbers started to thin, as they tried to make a retreat a loud boom can be heard from far away, and like before the bodies just dropped. Dee makes his way to me and Mak and says “Don't worry K, that’s just Chop. Best sniper I’ve ever seen, now that I think about It he’s one of the only few too. Snipers can be hard to get for your average gang…” Mak cuts him off and says “Aye! We got a job to finish!” Dee nods and goes back to killing. A few more minutes pass and eventually, no one stands but us. Ju walks towards us clapping. Dee and Mak stand proud, and so do I. Ju speaks “Good job, collect anything of use and let’s head back. I already told Kate to get what we came for, so she’ll meet us back at the crib.” We reply In sync “YES!”

About an hour later we all meet up at the crib. But this time we go around back. We had a few vehicles and some turrets for whatever reason. Dee and Mak talked about their fight on the outside while me, Ju, and Chop listened. We were waiting on Kate to show up. Another hour passes before Kate arrives. She pulls up in a truck with a few big crates in the back. As she parks and steps out Mak speaks up “Damn what took you so long?” Kate angrily responds “I don’t know maybe I was the only one getting these damn crates full of who knows what. And had to drive here and not be seen by the other gangs!” Mak laughs and says “shit, could have asked for some help… Not saying I would have but maybe the recruit here could have!” He continues to laugh, but Kate’s had enough she pulls out an Fn Five-seven and points It at his head, and says “Go ahead and say some more bullshit again, I’ve been waiting for ass to die. Might as well do It myself.” Mak puts his hands In the air and continues to laugh “Please don’t shoot!” Just before Kate could do anything Ju comes out and claps his hands “Alright, good to see everyone's safe! Now K and Mak get those crates off the truck.” Mak sighs, while Kate chuckles a lil. While Mak and I start to move the crates, Ju keeps talking “That was a great performance. Excellent teamwork too! This will be the new squad for the more important jobs, so get used to each other.” Kate slams her foot into the ground and says “There’s no way I’m working with a bunch of fuck boys like yall, I rather clean and do maintenance all day than deal with yall bullshit…” Just before she could continue Ju cuts her off “Remember what I told you earlier Kate?” At that moment Kate not only stopped talking but looked embarrassed, but she still responded “Yes Ju…” Just as Mak and I finished removing the crates of the truck Dee speaks up “So what’s in the crates? New guns, materials, MONEY?” Ju responds “Close, something even greater!” We only get excited to see what It Is. Mak “Come on, the suspense Is killing me!” Ju rubs his hands and dawns an evil smile “Alright, let me show you.” We all gather around one of the crates, waiting for Ju to open It… As he opens It, It smelt familiar. Like… But just before I could finish my thought Kate beats me to It “There’s no way you had us fight South and North gang for hours just so you can have some crates full of dope!” We all stop and look at her like she’s crazy, she quickly changed her statement “I mean… I guess that’s cool…” Ju clears his throat and says “Now that I can talk, yea we did. Not only for our personal use but to sell as well. We need some more cash to better equip ourselves. There’s going to be a war soon and we must win this one If we want to help the city. This Is only the beginning and the key to our success Is right here.” To my surprise, he didn’t point at the crates, but instead at me. Everyone quickly started to yell and talk over one another, but for the first time Chop spoke “Shut up and let him finish!” Ju “Thanks Chop.” He nods and Ju continues “Like I said K here Is the key. For his first mission, and probably his first time even carrying a gun he killed 426 South members and 63 North members. He left himself open once. Not one time did he hesitate to kill any of those people.” I couldn’t help but smile, and I picked up where Ju left off “Also I think a few people here lost a bet and owe me about…. 3 bands!” Mak sighs and Ju can’t help but laugh. He pats me on the back and says, “See, this right here. A true killa. Someone like this only comes around every few years. We must train him and make sure he goes down the right path.” Chop smiles and talks once again “I say It with my own eyes. He didn’t waste time on any action. He was the first to help Dee and Mak, he covered their blind spots before I could. And from the sound of It, Ju barely did anything.” Dee claps his hands, Mak slowly follows. Kate speaks up “Yeah, he’s pretty good. But don’t let that get to your head like the fool next to you.” I respond “I won’t, I know exactly what I’m fighting for and the consequences that come from It. I just hope you stand by me the same way you do each other, 'cause I know I will no matter what!” The others all agree. We talk for a lil bit longer before we head inside to tell the other members about our plan. But before we do Ju stops us and begins to talk “Alright, we're going to be busy for the next few months so I’ll give you guys a small break.” The 5 of us get excited, but Ju continues “But I want our teamwork to get better so I’m going to put yall In groups…” The excitement slowly fades, Ju “Don’t lose that enthusiasm now! Anyway, Mak and Chop, you’ll be in one group. Dee and I will be the next group, and finally, Kate and K will be the last group!” Kate scoffs but doesn’t say anything. Ju smiles and says “Good! No complaints, that's what I like to hear. Report to the weapons room 2 days from now. Also, K come get your money tomorrow morning.” I nod, and we continue to head inside. As we talk about our mission and plan with the other members I slowly feel more and more at home. Like the family I always wanted. As the night progressed we eventually ate, cleaned up the crib, and did some last-minute chores before going to sleep.