4Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership of anything from the Saints Row universe. The only thing I own is this story based on the series and my own original characters that appear throughout.
Chapter 3 - Role Call
Previously...
She waved him off. She couldn't afford to show any sign of weakness after she had literally blown them away with a performance like that. "I'm fine... Just never killed a man before. Especially not like that anyways" she said, standing up straight once more.
"The way you pulled it off, I could've sworn you'd have done this before..." replied Julius as he began to follow Troy back to the car. She followed him without question. "But we did it, playa. Saints Row's ours again! But don't think I'm finished with you yet though. I'm holding a meeting at the church. Swing by when you can" he said, glancing at her sideways.
Vi nodded in response. Of course. There was always more to be done and this was only the beginning.
XxX
Vi pulled up to the church with Sean Paul blasting through the speakers of the stolen purple aqua. She shut the car off and stepped out of the car and stretched. A yawn escaped her lips as much as she tried to reel it in.
"Someone looks tired."
Vi turned her head sharply only to notice Troy leaning against the stone wall of the church. He was grinning sideways at her and she couldn't stop herself from grinning right back at him. He wore his usual purple shirt and his casual blue jeans. She walked towards him and leaned beside him as he continued smoking.
"And how is my favorite guy with a stick up his ass doing?" she said, smiling at him. He bumped her shoulder playfully as he took a drag from his cigarette. His hands shook slightly as he gripped the cig in between his fingers. "Wonder what's got you so stressed out, chico" she said, looking up at him curiously.
"You realize most people have no idea how to speak Spanish, right?" Troy said, looking at her with the side of his lip quirked. She didn't respond and only looked at him with a persistent look and her hip cocked to one side.
"S'nothing" he replied, with a sigh. He didn't meet her gaze, just stared straight ahead as he blew smoke out from between his teeth. His eyes were slightly glazed over. She smelt the nicotine all around them. His clothes probably smelt of it too. She could see why the man enjoyed smoking so much. It brought back vague memories of the girl she used to be not so long ago and she felt comforted in a familiar way.
Troy held the cigarette away from his mouth as he relaxed against the wall beside him. His arms were crossed as he took her in beside him. He recognized the relaxed stance and took comfort in her presence.
"You smoke?" came his low voice.
She took a moment to respond. His question brought back memories from her past. "I used to... Back when I was a messed up kid who just messed everything else for everybody else. It's been a while" she replied, sobering up quickly. "Shit, I'm still messing up things for people now I guess."
She let out a short laugh that didn't really reach her eyes. His hand waved in front of her as he offered her a drag. She stared at his hand for a moment before meeting his gaze. He had one eyebrow raised as he waited for her response.
Her fingers shook as she accepted the cig and took a short drag. The familiar feeling filled her lungs as she let out the smoke slowly. Vi went to return it to him but hesitated slightly. She took a longer inhale this time as she watched the end of the cigarette light up with her long inhale. Exhaling, she watched the smoke dissipate into the air as she passed him back his cigarette.
"How long have you smoked?"
Troy grinned softly. "Just a bad habit that I've had for a while. Needing it more these days" he responded.
Vi grunted in response. She remembered what it was like.
"Here" said Troy, as he reached down beside him and picked up a coffee cup. "I think you need this more than I do" he said, grinning and handing it to her.
"Coffee and smokes? You sure you ain't gonna drink this?" she asked, incredulous with her mouth hanging open. He smiled genuinely and shook his head. "You're on a roll today, Troy" she grinned as he took a sip. Coughing at how dark the coffee was, her face scrunched up. "So bitter" she gasped as she stuck her tongue out in distaste.
Her words caused Troy to start laughing lightly. He coughed up some of the smoke he recently inhaled as he shook with laughter. She smiled at his response. It was strange to see Troy smiling and laughing like that. The boy always looked like he had a stick up his ass or that he was nervous as hell. Troy soon calmed his laughter as he met her gaze again and watched her take another tentative sip from the cup.
"We better head on inside" he said, bumping her again and stepped away from the wall. He tapped the ashes off his cigarette as she moved to follow him. The pair made their way to the front of the church and through the doors.
There was a group of Saints that were gathered in front of the broken pews. She waved gently at Kitty who was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement next to Big Max and Jack. Big Max simply nodded in her general direction while Jack smirked at her. Troy met Vi's eyes and gave her a gentle pat on the back as he walked towards the other lieutenants. Vi watched him go with a small sense of sadness but made her way confidently towards her new friends.
"V!" called Kitty as she approached. The girl was soon mauling her with a hug that was way too tight for Vi's liking. "I missed you. That raid at the dock's yesterday was so fun! You should've seen your face when I handed you that molotov cocktail!" laughed Kitty as her pixie cut bounced with her excitement.
"Yeah... Don't think I've forgotten about that just yet" ground out Vi at the memory. Kitty didn't pay mind to her anger as she just grinned in response. Big Max and Jack soon came to stand beside the two. Max's hand went around Kitty's waist, much to Vi's surprise as he nodded at her in acknowledgement. Kitty began to blabber on about something to him but not before Julius' booming voice interrupted the group.
"Listen up people! We got some serious shit to discuss!" shouted Julius as the murmurs in the room died out. Out of the corner of her eye, Vi watched Kitty frown in disappointment and couldn't help but smile at her antics. She was such a strange girl but Vi was kind of glad to have her around. "Yeah, we cleared out the Row" came Julius' voice again as many of the people in the crowd cheered. "But do you think for a second that that's gonna stop em'? Unless we wipe all these motherfuckers out, they gonna keep coming and they ain't gonna be happy."
The cheers of happiness died out as a more solemn air fell over the crowd. Vi watched the determined looks cross the faces of many as the reality of their situation hit home. There was still much to do and they would have to keep pushing to the top to make a name for the Saints.
"It ain't gonna be settled until the Carnales, Rollerz and the Vice Kings ain't nothing but a memory" said Julius as he watched the sea of purple shout words of agreement.
"Dex you got the Carnales" said Julius as he looked right at Dex. Dex's eyebrows raised in surprise but he made no move to speak. "Ever since they hooked up with the Columbians, it's like they own this town. Be smart how you move against them. The Lopez family been running that gang for thirty years. There's a reason they still around."
"Got it" confirmed Dex.
He seemed like a smart man to Vi so it seemed obvious that out of the three, Julius would have chosen him. But a gang that had survived for thirty years in a place as fucked up as the Row? She looked forward to seeing what he could do.
"Troy" called Julius as he turned to the man that still had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "You're dealing with the Vice Kings."
Julius made to move onto the next person but Troy cut in quickly.
"Not a chance" stated Troy as he shook his head in denial. Vi watched the smoke billow from his lips as he let out a sigh.
"The fuck you say?" came Julius' angry response. His eyebrow furrowed as he stared at his second in command. Even Vi was surprised with Troy's attitude. Sure he was a nervous guy but to turn down a job straight from the boss? The boy must've been out of his damn mind.
"Anyone but them" replied Troy, as he shrugged his shoulders.
"You scared of going up against Benjamin King" taunted Julius as he grinned in amusement.
Murmurs spread through the crowd as the comment riled up the Saints. Irritation clouded Vi's mind as she scowled at Julius. The man was blatantly putting down his second in command in front of his own gang. Troy quickly made to defend himself before a cocky voice broke the silence.
"Maaaan, fuck that! I'll take King out!" called Johnny as he swaggered to the front of the crowd. He passed Vi and she couldn't help the unimpressed look that crossed her face.
Damn this Four Eyes and his ability to show up every time I don't expect it!
"Johnny it's not that simple" chided Julius as he went to ignore Johnny.
"Bullets still kill motherfuckers right?" asked Johnny persistently with a shit-eating grin on his face. He slowly cocked his head to the side as he stepped closer to the front. "It doesn't get much simpler than that."
Silence overtook the crowd as all eyes turned to see how Julius would respond. In a way, Johnny was right. Bullets did kill people very easily and Johnny was apparently the toughest guy around here. But there must be some reason why Troy wasn't willing to take on the Vice Kings and to let a psychopath like Johnny take them on may not be the smartest thing.
"Keep an eye on your boy" said Julius as he once more went to ignore Johnny. He made direct contact with Troy and Dex. The duo looked at Johnny as Johnny clenched his teeth in response. She couldn't see past his dark shades but if she could, she was sure his eyes would be burning holes into Julius.
"I don't need a fucking babysitter Julius!" he called out.
Vi almost laughed at his response. Honey, you need something.
"Keep an eye on your boy" repeated Julius sternly as he stared directly at Dex now. Dex made eye contact and nodded firmly.
"Then who's got the Rollerz?" asked Dex as only silence met his question.
"I do" came a feminine voice as the sound of footsteps entering the church filled the silence. Vi turned her head to see a slim Asian girl making her way past the crowd and to the front of it. She wore blue sweatpants and a black crop top that showed off a nice view of her cleavage. Her hair was tied up with some chopsticks and gold bands adorned her arms. All in all, Vi thought she was quite the sight to behold.
"Lin... The fuck you wearing blue for?" called Johnny as he looked up at the girl with a smile. The very fact that he was smiling astonished Vi and she could only watch the interaction with intrigue.
"I asked Lin to hook up with the Rollerz. We don't know much about these fuckers so it'd be good to have one of us on the inside" cut in Julius as Vi continued to observe Lin. She stood proudly with her hands on her hips as the Saints subtly sized her up.
"I didn't think the Rollerz pimped hoes" came the voice of a random Saint that Vi didn't know. The man seemed to laugh at his own joke as he looked to the crowd to see their reaction. Before anyone could respond, Lin turned and threw her fist out to knock him square in the jaw. The man dropped to the ground as Vi couldn't help but grin in response. The girl had a hell of a right hook.
"Any other comments?" came Lin's smooth voice as she took a look around at the Saints in the crowd. Her eyes briefly ghosted over Vi's and a shiver ran up Vi's spine.
If looks could kill...
"Yeah!" cut in Johnny as Lin turned around with an unimpressed expression on her face. "When you punch, don't throw your shoulder so much."
Johnny grinned at Lin's sour look as she waved him off. "Shut up, Johnny" said Lin, shaking her head at his nonsense.
"Hey, I'm just saying" chuckled Johnny as Vi looked on in surprise. Johnny was smiling!
He actually has an expression other then his resting Four Eyes bitch face and gun-toting psychopath...? I didn't know.
All eyes turned to look at Julius as the Saints waited for further instructions.
"Once we're done here, go talk to one of these guys. They'll have something for you to do" said Julius as his eyes roved over the crowd. He looked at each person in turn but his eyes seemed to linger on Vi. "It's our time now. Let's get this shit started."
Well here you have it folks. A bit of a filler chapter but roles needed to be hashed out, introductions needed to be made and bonding needed to happen! It was a long wait but I finally got it out! Hope you all enjoy it and feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think!
- HLF
