GOVERMENT HUNT ARC (CHAPTER 3.2 PT 2)

Before I know It, It’s the next day. I pick up my cot and some of my belongings and neatly stack them. I pick up my only possession, my Desert Eagle. As I make my way toward Ju’s office I greet some of the other members getting ready for the day. They all gave me ideas of things to do In the city on my day off, along with some cash. When I approach the door, I knock. It instantly opens, to my surprise It was Kate. “Good morning Kate!” She doesn’t respond, but I can hear Ju In the background laughing “Don’t mind her, she’s not really a morning person. Come, come!” I walk towards the desk, Ju then pulls out a bag and puts It on the table, and says “Good job the other day, not only did you come back alive but you pulled your weight. I threw a lil bit extra In there. Treat yourself, you deserve It!” I grab the bag and look Inside “GOD DAMN!” That was more than just lil bit extra, just before I could speak Ju cuts me off “Nope! Not a word, It’s yours!” I nod and throw the bag over my shoulder, we talk for a bit longer before Kate finally speaks up “You guys talk like you've been friends forever. Let’s go, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.” I wave goodbye to Ju as Kate and I exit his office. Not a word Is said until we exit through the front doors, I go to break the silence “So… Where do you want to eat?” Kate doesn’t respond but keeps walking down the street, I follow. We walk for about 20 minutes before we come to a shop. As she enters I stop to take a look “A watermelon shop? For breakfast? Weird.” I enter, and there's a decent line. I stand next to Kate, a few minutes go by and the line has barely moved. I start to look over the menu and It's nothing but watermelon dishes, from drinks to sandwiches, to full-course meals all pretty cheap too. I ask Kate a question “So… What's good here?” She finally speaks “I get the cereal, It's watermelon milk with dried watermelon chips.” I nod and respond “Sounds pretty good! I think I’ll try that.” A few more minutes go by and we come to the counter, a small boy no older than me comes and takes our order and to my surprise he recognizes Kate. He speaks “Welcome back Kate! The usually?” She responds with a smile “Yeah… Add another one too for this kid.” The kid looks at me and says “IS this your lil brother or something?” She laughs and shakes her head before responding “Hell Nah! Let’s just call him a friend of an acquaintance of the job I work for.” The kid shrugs his shoulders and goes back to make our order. Kate and find a table to sit at. I try to break the silence once again “So… Seems like you come here often.” No response, I go to ask a question “Well then what else do you have planned for today?” She answers “Not much. Don’t usually get days off like this. Ju probably did this for you.” Just before I could answer the kid that took our orders came to our table and sat our food down “Will this be together or separate?” Kate responds “Separate, please. Thank you.” He responds “Okay, pay when you're ready!” As he walks away I look down at the food. The watermelon crisp was cut In the shapes of guns, some of them I could recognize. I smiled, and Kate starts to talk “He does that every time, I always wondered how long It takes him to do that.” I try to keep the conversation going “He has real talent. Does he do this for every order?” As she takes a bite she responds “I don’t think so. If I’m going to be honest, I think I’m the only one who orders this.” I look back down at the cereal and think to myself “The only one? There’s no way this shit Is nasty right? No way…” I go for a bite… To my surprise It’s amazing. The cool taste of the milk with a hint of watermelon flavor alongside the crisp texture of the watermelon chips. I speak up “This Is amazing!” Kate shows a small smile and says “Yeah I know.” We continue to eat In silence enjoying the food and each other's company. As we finish Kate leaves a 10 on the table, I do the same but before I leave I go back to the front and wait for the kid that served us to come out from the back. As he comes closer to the counter he starts to talk “Is there something else I can get you?” I quickly respond “Nah I just wanted to say that you did a really good job on the food!” He smiles and answers “Thanks! I try my best!” I take a good look at him, he has straight black hair that falls to the tops of his ears. Along with light brown eyes. I can tell that he trains by his destroyed hands. I reply “I can tell. Anyway, the names K, you’ll probably see me around. What’s yours?” The kid's smile grows even more before answering “K, that's pretty cool. I also have one letter for a name. It’s X!” I go to shake his hand but before I could Kate opens the door and starts yelling “Come on! We don’t have all day!” X and I laugh as I leave I wave goodbye. When I step outside Kate talks again “Had me waiting out here, who the hell do you think you are?” I respond “I just wanted to get to know the kid. Do you even know his name?” She sighs before answering “No, and I don’t care. As long as the food Is good, there will be no problems.” I shake my head, we stand for a few minutes before I speak up “So… what's the move now?” We stand In an awkward silence for a few minutes before Kate speaks up “That’s all I really wanted to do today. I guess we can do what you want for a few hours.” I was surprised by her answer but I didn’t hesitate to take her up on the offer, I respond “Cool, well first I want to get some food and clothes.” She replies “Fine…” For the next 2 hours, we go around picking up clothes and food. She even helped pick some things out, sometimes she even looked like she was having fun. After we finished I looked at the time. To my surprise, the sun was beginning to set. Kate asked me a question “What’s all this stuff for anyway? We got food at the crib and most of these clothes are for girls… No… Don’t tell me…” Before she could even say anything else I stop her “NO! They're not for me, they're for some people I know. I want to go drop them off before the day Is over so let's hurry.” Kate sighs in relief before saying “So where are we going?” I reply “30 minutes south of the main crib.” She quickly cuts me off “We really shouldn’t go that far. That's really close to the South gang's territory. But If you insist.” I smile and answer “Thanks!” It takes about 45 minutes to get there, by that time the sun has set. As we continue to walk Kate speaks up “So where the hell are we going? There Isn’t much out here. Just a bunch of bums and shacks.” I reply “We're almost there just around this corner..” And just like that, back to where I started. I frantically look around for my 3 sisters, checking every shack. Some of the kids recognized me and pointed me in the right direction. As I approach the second to last shack I knock. I can hear some rustling to get to the door, but before It opened a shy voice started to talk “Who Is It?” I respond “Do I even have to say anything!” In an instant, the door flew open, and there stands one of my twin sisters. As she begins to cry, the other twin wakes up saying “What’s all that noise, geez! I’m trying to get some sle…” When she comes to the door she stops and rushes toward me. Both holding on to me for dear life. A few minutes pass before I speak up “Where’s big sis?” Someone taps me on the shoulder, and as I go to turn around I’m knocked to the ground. As I lay there, I reminisce about the past. Thinking about the good times we had. After a few minutes, they finally let go. We sit on the ground all smiling at each other. I finally break the silence “I got some food and some new clothes for you guys! I know this doesn’t fix much but…” Big sis cuts me off and says “It’s about time!” Too embarrassed to speak, I smile. “But, thank you! I knew you would come back!” the twins chime In “So what did you get us? Hopefully nothing ugly or nasty!” I laugh “Well this I had some help. O by the way this Is Kate.” I stand up and point toward her. My 3 sisters begin to circle her, almost analyzing her. Big sis asks the first question “Is this your girlfriend? If so, she’s kinda old!” I look at Kate, for a second she was finna rip them a new one but she stopped herself before speaking “No I’m not his girlfriend. Were just.. Uhh… Friends. Also, I’m not that old… Am I?” One of the twins laughs while the other speaks “I like you! You're pretty just like mom!” Kate couldn’t help but blush. Now that I get a good look at her Kate Is very pretty. She has a nice tan, along with a defined mature body. Her hair is straight and black falling just to her shoulders. Her eyes are a dark blue… As I start to get lost In thought, Kate snaps her fingers and says “Remember FRIENDS!” I laugh to play It off before switching the subject “How about we eat! I brought good food from around the city!” The four of them agree, and we enter the shack. As I prepare the food, Kate helps my sisters try on their new clothes and keep them busy. After about 30 minutes we start to eat, as I set the food down I explain the dish “Today I stopped by the docks and picked up some fresh shrimp. As we made our way through the city I picked up fresh fettuccine, alongside some spices and other things. Also no vegetables!” But just as I finish all 4 of them just finished the bowls, I laugh and say “Damn! Well, there's plenty more If you guys are still hungry!” As we eat, my sister tells stories of what happened while I was away, along with some of the past especially ones that make me look like a bitch. But as the night continued Kate didn’t seem to mind the pointless conversations and somewhat stupid stories. As a few hours pass my sisters eventually fall asleep next to Kate and so does she. I finish cleaning up and put everything away. I step outside, the moon is full. The nightlife can be heard In the distance. Violence, ignorance, and sadness are all I hear now. I take out a blunt and light it. As I take a hit, the smoke sits In my chest. I slowly let my problems fade and soon my mind Is filled with nothing but good memories from not only the past but the current as well. After a few minutes I open my eyes, I could feel the tears running down my face but I felt nothing. As I go to wipe them away, somebody starts to talk. Startled, I pull out my Desert Eagle and turn. To my surprise It was Kate, she rolls her eyes and says “A lil late for that don’t you think.” I quickly apologize as I put my gun away, she laughs and keeps talking “I see why Ju believes In you. You have a certain aura that others lack. Something special.” For the first time, something genuinely nice came out of Kate’s mouth, I was at a loss for words but she kept going “At first I didn’t like you and a lot of other members didn’t either. But after that first job, you earned a lot of respect from the others.” I respond “Thanks…” Kate sighs before talking again “You're so weird, but that's what makes you, you.” She stands and walks over to me and kisses me on the cheek before she steps inside she says “Don't change Kevin.” As she closed the door behind her, I look at the blunt and hit It a few more times. A few minutes pass, and as I go for the last hit of the blunt I think to myself “Are we still friends? Also how old Is she?” As I sit and get lost In thought I slowly fall asleep, holding onto my gun just In case.

I get up early, spark a blunt and watch the sunrise. As go to take the last hit big sis comes out of the shack and starts talking “So, you're going to leave?” As I toss the roach to the ground I answer “Yeah. Sorry…” As I turn to look at her, sadness enters my heart. All we’ve done Is leave each other and hope that we come back. I take a knee and place my hand on her head and say “This time I promise I’ll come back! I'll try and get some more time off. It might be next week or next month, It could be even longer than that. But I will come back!” She nods her head as I wipe away her tears. As I stand I change the subject “How about some breakfast? I learned something new while I was In the city, you might like it!” She nods and we got back Inside. Both the twins and Kate are still asleep. While they sleep big sis and I start to work on breakfast. After about an hour we finally finished, and we tried our best to recreate the watermelon cereal but It looks a lil different than the one that X made. I go to wake up the twins and Kate, but as I go to reach out Kate speaks up “Don’t touch me.” I sigh and reply “Whatever… Breakfast Is ready.” The twins yell In excitement. We all gather around the table and look at the bowls. The first to break the silence was Kate with her laughter “WOW! You really tried to remake the cereal. This shit ugly as hell!” I smack my lips but before I could answer her big sis spoke up “I told him the same thing!” I quickly respond “Just five minutes ago you were helping me and saying It looked good!” She shakes her head and grows a devious smile before saying “I only said that so I wouldn’t hurt your feelings bro.” Kate couldn’t help but laugh along with the twins. “Well next time make yall own food then!” As we finish our food Kate and I gather our things and get ready to leave, we said our goodbyes and start the walk back to the crib. While we were walking Kate broke the silence “Not a word about this to anyone, GOT IT!” I couldn’t help but laugh, but I reply “Yeah, Yeah. Softy.” She couldn’t help but laugh too after that, the rest of the walk was In silence. But I didn’t mind It. We eventually make our way back to the crib and report to Ju. As we enter his office, Mak was laying on the couch while Chop was sitting on the other. Ju jumps up from his chair and runs over to us, he hands me a blunt before saying anything. After I hit It I pass It to Kate, she takes a seat next to Chop. Ju then starts to talk “So, how was the break?” I answer “It was pretty good. I got to see the city, spent some of my cash, and saw my sisters.” Ju can’t help but smile, Mak chimes In “How old are your sisters? Asking for a friend of course.” I quickly answer “Not old enough creep.” Mak rolls his eyes and goes back to smoking. Ju picks up where he left off “Good now that the break Is over It’s time to get back to work! First up Kate!” She stands and passes the blunt to Chop, Ju continues “I need you to asses are current weapon and explosive supply. I need an inventory of everything we got, take Dee with you too.” Kate nods and heads out, Ju goes on “Alright now the important stuff.” Ju sits next to Chop and signals me to sit. Mak exhales some smoke and passes me the blunt. Ju takes a hit and starts talking, “So here's the deal. The North and South gangs seem to grow even more restless. Especially the North, I got intel that they're teaming with the government.” Mak quickly chimes In “What this sounds like to me Is war?” Ju nods and takes another hit before speaking “Correct! Now that the North Is backed by the government that puts the South In a tight spot. They're going to be looking for some help from outside sources.” Chop speaks up “Do we have anything on the South?” Ju shakes his head and continues “We can only go off the North. I give the South 5 months before they try and take on the North. But even If they triple their members and upgrade their firepower they won’t have enough to combat the North and the government.” Mak laughs and cuts Ju off “So that's where we come In, huh?” Ju claps his hands and responds “Exactly! In 5 months I’ll select 50 of our strongest members to take on this job.” I quickly speak up “Only 50? There’s bound to be even more ops than last time, and better equipped at that!” Ju laughs hysterically as he answers “That’s where these 5 months come into play, well specifically 4 of those months will be used to train up some key members of Central.” Chop laughs as Ju goes on “What we have Is quality, each member has joined Central for a reason. Some might seem petty while others joined for a good reason. At the end of the day, we kill for what we believe In. We kill to push our agenda, and never look back. The enemy Is doing the exact same thing.” At that moment we all locked eyes, I could feel that this mission could change the course of the city maybe even In our favor. It all came down to how we used these 4 months. Chop begins to talk “So, this could be our last job. What’s the catch?” Ju takes a hit and says “Good question. The catch Is… We could die and Central gang loses while the South slowly falls and the North takes over with the aid of the government. And at that point the city we love falls.” I look down and close my eyes. Images of my mother, my two brothers, my big sis, the twins, all the members of Central, even shop keep X. These are the memories that I want to remember and protect. As I open my eyes and look up, Ju stands and walks over to me and pats me on the head, and speaks “To make sure that we have the best chance we need K here to become the ultimate shooter.” I cut him off before he could go on “What do you mean? There’s no way I could! There are so many others that are stronger than me.” Ju takes another hit, the room falls silent. Chop nor Mak say a word. Ju releases the smoke and says “See how no one agreed. They believe In me, and I believe In you. So by extension, they also believe In you. The 3 of us here will help you go beyond your limits. You’ll succeed, where we have failed. You will become the master of all guns!” The doubt I once had was overtaken by the acknowledgment of someone I looked up to. I could feel a desire that I never felt before, prosper. I go to stand, Ju passes me the blunt. I hit It. As I let the smoke fill my lungs I release and speak “I joined Central for my sisters, to be able to provide for them. To give them a future that was taken from them. As I slowly lived for them, I realized what it meant to live for myself. To truly protect what you love, you must be willing to do everything and anything. I want to protect the memories of others so new ones can be made. Even If what we do Is deemed wrong, we know in our hearts what we're fighting for and that’s all that matters!” Mak and Chop both stand, as we look each other In the eyes I can tell that there fighting for the same thing, they always have been. I smile and pass the blunt back to Ju, as he takes It he says “Good, now that we're on the same page I think It’s time to get started!

For the next 4 months Ju, Chop, and Mak helpt with my training. Every day from sunrise to sunset. I had one job, becoming the ultimate shooter. I learned everything about guns from their mechanisms, to obscure facts. Chop helped me with my aiming and overall gun sense. Mak made me comfortable with any and all guns, along with cool shooting tricks and skills. Ju helped train my body and mind, putting everything that I’ve been taught together. As the months passed, I slowly become what they said. Master of all guns. At the end of the four months Ju, Chop, and Mak stand in front of me almost bursting into tears as If they were a proud father seeing their son's accomplishments. We had to win this, not just for us but for the people of the city! Halfway through the fifth month, Ju called us In for a meeting at his office. Chop and I was the first to show up followed by Dee, Kate, and Mak. We had a few minutes of downtime before Ju stood up from his desk. As he slowly walked to the center, the rest of us got quiet. He sparks a blunt, takes a hit, and slowly breathes out the smoke. Ju speaks “For the past 4 and a half months we’ve been training our bodies and mind. Sharpening our gun skills, and refining our purpose.” He takes another hit and continues “Now’s the time to show our dedication to the city. But It won't be easy, I’ll be lying If I say It was. A lot of our members will die maybe even one of us or all of us.” He lets the smoke out and smiles before continuing “But It looks like you guys already know that. So I’ll keep It short. The plan Is… To be the last gang standing.” As Ju goes for another hit Kate speaks up “What the fuck kind of plan Is that? You damn near had 5 months to make one, and this Is the best you got!” Mak laughs, while Dee panics. Chop sits by, this Is my opportunity to step up. I stand and walk over to Ju, he passes me the blunt and goes back to his desk, and sits. I hit the blunt, and as I let the smoke fill my lungs I’m reminded of the first time I meet Ju. As I release the smoke I speak “Ju doesn’t have a plan cause he knew that I’ll have one! So before I go on any problems?” Dee speaks up “I mean, I fuck with you K but… uh… You are still just a kid, what can you really have planned that can be better than Ju?” I smile and laugh, I go to take a hit before answering him “What I bring Is change. All I ask Is that you hear me out and decided If you want to follow.” Dee nods and sits up, Kate rolls her eyes but continues to listen. I go on “Cool. Let’s just get to the point. We have very little information about the situation. What we do know Is that the North and the Government are working together. We can assume that the North has acquired more members and weapons. Along with the ability to move freely throughout the city. For the past 4 and a half months, we've heard nothing about the South’s movements. So we can assume they have been doing the same thing.” Mak cuts me off “This gets us nowhere!” I take a hit and continue where I left off “With this, we can safely say the North Is waiting for a move from either us or the South. Now we can go In like a bunch of ignorant monkeys and die or we can instigate and have the fight start on our terms. We can slowly hit key facilities tied to the North and make It seem like the South hit them.” Kate chimes In “So far not bad, but why hit the North when the South Is easier?” I hit the blunt and reply “Good question Kate. If we hit the South, It’s obvious that It's us. While we fight the South the North can just slide In and kill both sides. But If we hit the North, maybe the South will be more inclined to attack as well. And with that, It’s a 2v1.” Chop cuts In “Not bad. But what’s the end goal?” I smile and answer “The goal Is to have the South make a full-on attack on the North’s main government building. We’ll hit random sites throughout the week and make a path for them. At that point, they should get the picture. While the North Is busy fighting the South, we can send some of our members to clean up the rest of the key facilities while our main squad pulls up and third parties.” The room Is silent, I’m a lil nervous. Ju asks, “What happens If the South doesn’t take the bait?” I pause for a second before replying “We’ll I thought about that. If the South doesn’t take the bait we have to send the majority of our members alongside our main force to apply pressure to the North and hopefully, at that point, the South tries to make a move. If they don’t we have a very slim chance of winning, almost zero at that point.” I take a hit, the room stays silent for a bit… Mak sighs before speaking “Well not like Ju’s plan Is better. I guess this works. Count me In K.” I nod, walk over to Dee, and pass him the blunt. As he takes a hit he closes his eyes and thinks. A few minutes pass before he opens his eyes and says “Well, It’s not a bad plan. For a potential final mission, I like It. Count me In too!” I look over at Chop, and with zero hesitation he speaks “I would have said yes to anything. You have my full support K!” Dee passes me the blunt, I take It and walk over to Kate. I take one more hit before passing It to her, she grabs It and takes a fat hit before saying “Shitty plan number 1 or shitty plan number 2?” She looks me In my eyes, as I look back I could tell she didn’t want to lose. I speak up “Well shitty plan number 2 might let me see your soft side again…” Kate couldn’t help but blush, at that moment Mak quickly stood up and said “AINT NO WAY! THAT’S YOU K?!” Kate swiftly replied “NO! NO! NO!” Dee and Chop couldn’t help but laugh, Kate looks back at me and gives me an answer “Well, whatever. I guess you can count me In K.” She passes me the blunt, and as I slowly walk up to the front of Ju’s desk I take my final hit before passing It back to Ju. As I do I say “What do you think? You In Ju?” Ju grabs the blunt and hits It until It becomes a roach, as he goes to put It out he answers “I started with nothing but a blunt and a gun. I still have both but now I have people to pass the blunt to and protect with the gun as well.” I couldn’t help but smile, I turn to the others and say “So everyone knows the plan, let's take one week to prepare and get the squads ready. After that, let’s show everyone that Central gang Is here to stay!”

ONE WEEK LATER

As the days count down, the excitement grows. The urge to fight and to kill grows stronger. Not only In myself but the other members as well. The main room of the crib Is filled with weapons of mass destruction, bags filled to the top with ammo, and explosives. Every member suited up, ready to give their life not only for each other but for the future of the city. Ju and I walk around the main room splitting up the members into groups of 50 each with a selected leader. Chop, Mak, Dee, and Kate each have their squad of 50. They all have very specific and important jobs. Chop’s squad Is reconnaissance, there are the eyes for the rest of the squads. Mak Is the first assault squad, his team Is the main push while Dee’s Is the second assault squad. His job Is to sweep and clear what’s left and to provide cover for Mak. And lastly, Kate’s squad is where the heavy hitters are. Their main goal Is to cause controlled chaos, for that 1 week of prep time they went out and planted explosives In key areas around Northside territory. Their squad will be split into roughly 12 people and then be attached to the 3 squads with the remaining member's help. That leaves Ju and Me, we’ll help where we're needed. The day before we head out Ju calls me to his office. After I finish helping the other members prepare I make my way over to his door and knock, as I enter smoke escapes. I quickly shut the door behind me and make my way over to his desk. Ju leans back In his chair and kicks his feet up on the desk while hitting a wood. As he takes a hit he passes it over to me and starts to talk “You ready?” As I grab the blunt I reply “A lil nervous but nothing I haven't trained for.” Ju smiles and continues “Good. Well, I can finish the last-minute details, go and see your sisters.” I cut him off “Nah, I got to see this through. I can’t just leave.” Ju laughs at my response and says “Aye, It’s ok. Go. Take this time and remember what brought you to this point. Cause It wasn’t me, Chop, or Kate. It wasn’t a single member here. It was the ones waiting for you at home.” I hit the wood a few times, as I cough I pass It back. Ju speaks up “Gas, right? This Is from my personal stash. Now, just make sure you are back before sunrise.” I smile and reply “Thanks, Ju. For everything.” Ju nods and says “Don’t thank me just yet, we still got a job to do!” We laugh, as I get to the doors and open them Ju quickly shoots his gun and hits the stereo system on the other side of the main room. Music starts to play loudly and the members start to turn up, I turn around to look back at Ju as he takes another hit he says “Leave the doors open.” I nod and continue to the front. Before I leave I let the lady at the front know I’m heading out and I’ll be back before sunrise. She nods and says “We’ll be up and ready!” As she blows me a kiss I head outside.