LI Crime(IC/CLOSED)

[North Timeria]

February 12th, 2069
Leo Island, North Timeria

Justan was walking to his car when his friend Patrick pulled up in front of his house. Patrick and Justan had been friends since high school and were founding members of Lighting Gang. As the two met in the yard they exchanged their signature handshake.

“What’s up bruh...Where you headed?”

“Going to pick up Ari for a while. Her mom not getting off work till 7.” Justan had a 3 year old daughter named Arianna he had when he was 17. She lived with her mom but Justan remained in Arianna’s life even after the breakup. Patrick was like an uncle to Arianna.

“I’ll ride with you, I need to talk to you about something.” Patrick locked his doors and jumped into the car with Justan.

“Alright, what’s the deal?”

“I got us a real opportunity… No Titans or sedans, I mean some real nice whips.” Patrick went on to explain. “I was downtown and I saw like 3 high-end cars pull into a garage… There were more in there to. I mean this place has to be packed with cars.”

“Yo… That might be some kind of government employees lot or something. We still trying to come up and the last thing we need is for the feds to be on us.”

Patrick laughed “Man cmon you know I do my research. It’s privately owned and the police gone be concentrated around the boardwalk. We can get in there and sell the cars to Lew.”

Justan thought about it for a minute but needed to only ask one question. “How much?”

“I think like a mil 750 at the least!” Patrick said with a heavy smile on his face. Justan turned down his music. “Bro don’t play around.”

“No joke… This garage is legit and I’m telling you right now we can call Savage, Roy, and a few from Plaza and we split the profits even. Everybody eats.”

As Justan drove through downtown Patrick told him to make a different turn.

“That’s it right there…” Patrick pointed over to a private garage sitting on the outskirts of downtown.

“We go in fully suited through the back and handle anybody inside… We can go in through the back and have somebody take out the security in the front.”

Justan drove past and got a good look. “Fuck it!”


Justan arrived just in time to pick up his daughter and put her in the back seat. She said a few words to Patrick and sung along to the music in the car.

Later that Night

“Everybody good?” Patrick took everyone through the plan.

“We don’t plan on spending a lot of time in here so we move in and get out, once we hit the streets we’ll be good. Me and Justan gone kick in the back door while Savage and Roy pull up through the front. Once we in Tim, Will, and Zach gone come in and everybody gotta get a car… If everybody gets something good we looking at one mil before cuts.”

The crew was fully geared up with mask, gloves, shoe covers, and double barrel shotguns.

The crew went around the building and lined up. The crew in the back were the first to go in, breaching the door with the shotgun. As they moved in Savage and Roy broke in through the front and shot a security guard that had been distracted by Justan and Patrick. The alarm had gone off and the crew needed to get out fast.

The crew moved into the garage and found lines of cars.
“Everybody grab access keys and get out!”

Patrick was grabbing a hand full and another guard was sitting in the security room. He shouldered his gun and aimed it at the glass. He fired a shot but the bullet proof glass absorbed the shot with ease.

“Aye… Savage watch bruh right here and make sure he don’t get out.”

Savage made his way over and stood guard near the door. As they went through the cars Roy came across a Klarity I47.
“Take that… No phones or anything that can be traced! Let’s go drop the cars in the back of Lew’s and grab your cut..." Justan jumped in a car and pulled off.

After delivering the cars everybody took their cuts. They had no idea the chain of events they had setup.

[North Timeria]

The next day Justan had plenty of money and he decided to take his family out somewhere. Jordyn was his baby momma but they had a very special relationship. They were together throughout high school and basically grew up together. Although they were no longer together they both still loved each other and raised their daughter together.

Justan went to pick them up and Jordyn stepped out the house.
“Justan I know what you do and you’ve been doing a long time but now things are different. We have a daughter and I want her to come up in the right environment. I gave you time and it’s time now.”

Justan thought about it for a moment and everything ran through his mind. He had just come across a large amount of cash and it was about time he settled down for his daughter.

“You right..."

“That’s all?”

“Yea… That’s all.”

“Whatever Justan… I try-” Justan cut her off.

“I’m serious right now… I just came across a lot of cash and I think this is a chance for us. When I picked up Arianna yesterday I was just thinking about that and I want to thank you for giving me time to get it together.”

Jordyn seemed to be shocked and she opened the door. “Well then… Go get Arianna and let’s go.”

“But I can’t forget about my bros.” Justan said laughing.

“Yea! Yea! Yo brothers… Patrick family to me to you know.” Patrick and Jordyn were cousins and grew up with their grandmother.

[United States of Conner]

February 12th, 2069
Leo Island, North Timeria

Leo Hotels CEO Leia Finch and a man by the name of Christopher Neeves had just shaken hands inside the penthouse of the same Leo Hotel Downtown. Smiling a disarming smile, Neeves nodded to the informal contract they had signed.

"Mrs. Finch. Excellent doing business with you. I trust if a package marked as we described arrives at your hotel, you won't open it, but do with it as we described?"

Finch, whose pale, sweaty face was a stark contrast to Neeves' collected calm, nodded back. "O-o-of course, Mr. Neeves."

"Excellent doing business with you. Anything else I can help-"

Neeves was cut short as one of the men in dark suits standing by the door approached him. Turning around with a look of confusion, he asked in a sharp, biting voice that was a polar opposite of the gentle tone that he had addressed Finch with, "What is it?"

The man, who had just put his phone back in his pocket, looked worried. "Sir, the garage we parked in is under attack."

Neeves swore under his breath. Turning back to Finch and remaining composed, he continued. "I'm sorry we have to wrap up so soon, but there is another matter that requires our attention. Pleasure doing business with you."

Neeves and his delegation of suits left the room. Finch exhaled heavily as the bodyguard who had been standing behind her left.

Meanwhile, Neeves and his posse were already on the ground floor. As they sprinted out into the street, they saw their cars tearing away. Klarity I47s - the luxury cars preferred by high-ranking members of FALCON. Neeves swore and entered the garage. As he did, he spoke to one of his bodyguards. "No witnesses unless they're paid off."

The bodyguards nodded and left as Neeves and two men moved to secure the video feed. Before long, as the bodyguards realized that the man who they had paid off to park their vehicles without being registered was the one who was dead, they went to have a little talk with the other guard. That guard left with 10,000 Beans and a photo of his daughter sleeping in their apartment, taken a week prior.

The next day

"This kind of incursion is unacceptable, Neeves. Do you have any leads? I hope you're prepared to either get these cars back or get revenge."

Neeves gulped. Even he was afraid of the man in front of him - Jackson Webb, former assassin and now leader of FALCON in North Timeria. The man was nothing if not imposing. He didn't raise his voice, show any anger, and yet Neeves felt all the worse for it. Taking a deep breath, Neeves spoke.

"The cars themselves are nice, but can be replaced. That being said, we have to send a message, you're right. Their last known location is a known chop shop owned by a guy we could only pin down as one Lewsen Pryce. I'm going to send a team there soon."

Webb raised an eyebrow. "Good progress, but you make it sound as though the cars are no longer operational."

"They aren't. We have confirmation they've been chopped and sold."

Webb was quiet for a few moments. Neeves sat and squirmed, praying for Webb to speak again. He did.

"You'll be accompanying this team, will you not?"

"I'll be heading the mission, yes."

"Good. Do not fail me."

"I won't."

The next day

From different directions, six men and three women approached Pryce Metal. They looked fairly different, but they all shared a few traits. Their hair was plain but well-done, spiked up in the front or curled and cut to the shoulders. Their clothes were nice but unassuming - jackets, dark jeans, boots, and plain t-shirts. What's more, they were all armed.

As they all converged on the chop shop at different times, they waited. One sat on a bench and browsed the news on their tablet. Another spoke on the phone, talking about a fictitious birthday party for a fake daughter. When they had all arrived, seven of them entered while another two stayed outside, sitting casually on benches nearby. As they did, one of the men changed the sign on the door from OPEN to CLOSED.

The men and women stepped inside, all surveying the scene. A couple mechanics, three hired musclemen, and a couple civilians there on normal business. The group fanned out, their movements coordinated by HUD contacts in their eyes. When they had moved to their spots, they moved.

Three of the newcomers pulled out knives, grabbed the hired bodyguards, and slid the knives into their necks. Another two corralled the civilians into a corner, ordering them to be quiet under the threat of death. Christopher Neeves, the leader of the team, stepped up to the front desk, pulled out a silenced pistol in unison with two others, and leveled them at the heads of the mechanics. Neeves spoke in a sharp, commanding tone. "Lewsyn Pryce. Now."

Within a couple minutes, another FALCON operative had gone into the back, found Lew, and dragged him to the front at gunpoint. The civilians had already been tied up, as had been the mechanics. The bodies of the hired muscle had been shoved roughly into a waiting car that had pulled into the garage to obscure itself from the public. Neeves sat Lew down in a chair, sat down in another chair across from him, and leveled the pistol at Lew's head.

"Lewsyn Pryce. On February 12th, some individuals - we believe seven, but we aren't sure - came through here with some stolen vehicles. One of them was a Klarity I47. I'm sure you remember it, must be a pretty rare sight. Nice car, and we know you helped sell it. All we want is help located the thieves."

For drama's sake, Neeves cocked the hammer. "Now."

Two hours later

Neeves looked down at a handwritten list that he had made from what he had deciphered from Lew's comments. Justan Ill, it read. Patrick, Savage, Roy, Will, Tim, Zach, all last names unknown. Lew had, however, been so kind as to provide addresses. Neeves clapped his gloved hands, and the team began to clean up. Lew, who was bruised and battered from the "talk" he had had, was left on the floor. Neeves took care to erase all security camera footage, both inside the building and remotely to any other camera that might have seen them. When he was satisfied the job was done, the FALCON operatives stepped into a waiting car and drove away.

The next day

"Team one, are you good?"

"Affirmative. You?"

"Good. Alpha targets are inbound. Standby."

The FALCON grab team loitered around, blending into the crowd of people. Two men sat at a coffee shop, reading a newspaper and talking. Another two were leaning against a wall down the street from the grab point. A third set of two were waiting on the next block, biding their time. A seventh man sat in an unmarked van further down the street.

As the men waited, Savage and Roy approached. After tailing the two, they had been determined to be on their way to buy drugs from a local dealer, whose name remained unknown. As Savage and Roy entered a dark alley to buy their stuff, the grab teams moved. Four men came down the alley from the opposite side, while the other two followed Savage and Roy in. They moved quietly, such that in the twilight and the darkness of the alley, the three didn't notice their unwelcome guests until they were right on top of them.

One man punched Roy in the throat, and while he was off-guard, hit him again in the face. The other hit Savage from behind, clocking him over the head with his gun. The dealer moved for his weapon, but was stopped by a third FALCON man, who had already leveled a silenced pistol to his head. The man shook his head and fired once. The shot did not make enough noise to attract the attention of people outside the alley, but the dealer collapsed to the ground, instantly dead.

The dealer quickly nodded as the unmarked van back into the alleyway. Savage and Roy had their arms and legs bound, their mouths gagged, and had black canvas covers placed on their heads before they were roughly thrown into the back of the van. The FALCON men got in beside them, with one getting in the driver's seat and the others in the back with their captives. The van drove away at a normal pace. Savage and Roy would be taken to a FALCON safe house, where they would not have a good time. Though the tracking abilities of their phones were disabled, the grab team kept them in case someone wanted to contact their hostages.

If Savage and Roy had any plans, they would be missing. It was time for revenge to begin.

[Les Etats Connuriste]

February 14th, 2069
Leo Island, North Timeria

Valentine's day used to be Alexander Mason's favorite time of the year, back in his old life. He pondered whether it still might be, in the driver's seat of an luxurious Klarity I47 and an Anglo-Swedish goddess on his lap. Business was smooth sailing and he had several reasons to think that this was one of the pinnacles of his criminal career thus far. Firstly, he'd never been as confident behind the wheel, a month or two ago he would never have had the audacity to suggest racing for pink slips instead of cold hard cash. Now, the squeal of tires straining for grip, the streets of Leo Island, and engine notes were all things he felt almost at one with, like they were second nature. It had been a little mad to take up the offer proposed by the smug looking cocky asian man last night, to race for the highest stakes, and even with a lot of modifications under the hood of his own car, the Klarity, even in showroom specifications, was truthfully a class above when it came down to statistics round a track. But Mason knew the limit of how far you could push around most corners in the city by now, and being an officer of the speed enforcement department of the traffic police hadn't been a random assignment after he graduated the academy.

Secondly, he had his petite bombshell Tallulah, or Lulah for short, with him. Her shirt was partially unbuttoned, exposing her soft skin to the warm hands of her quite literal partner in crime, which ran across it smoothly until it encountered resistance in the form of her pierced stomach, the teenager's warm green eyes being the view he was choosing over the pleasant sunrise happening now this morning. It was an odd story to how they had met and perhaps odder that they had stuck together. It had been in the earlier and much poorer days of Alex being a far pettier criminal, struggling to simply live. It was one of the first hits he ever did, some kind of wannabe drug dealer who thought he was something special, with a real spruced up flat and an SUV of several tonnes. Alex certainly felt a lot better about dispatching him almost immediately when he learned that it had bought the young lady in the flat some new-found freedom from the awful world of sex trafficking. It had been those eyes that he had been unable to pull himself away from and ignore that had began any interactions between them in the first place. And when she didn't want to be left alone on the streets and explained that she came from a home so broken she didn't want to go back, he didn't have the strength to refuse her request to go with him at least temporarily. Why she trusted a man that she'd just seen kill another was a question he hadn't known the answer to for a short while, but it had been the first person to talk to her and have an actual conversation with in weeks. She hadn't left since, and things had developed, for lack of a more specific word.

Thirdly and finally, he had plans, and not that much to worry about in the present moment, or so he believed. He'd had the table reserved in advance for this evening for a long time, as one had to do for special days on the calendar at any of the classier establishments in town, and before then, no pressing matters at hand. He was free to be as lazy as he desired. Maybe they would spend some time at the beach, that did sound really nice. Just to lie about and relax, have conversations about anything and everything and get to enjoy an ice cream or swim a little bit, there were few better things on a nice day that the forecast was shaping it up to be later. By God, it wasn't often anyone got to say they weren't stressed in the present moment, let alone a professional criminal. It heightened his mood further. As his lips locked with those of his girl, it felt magical, and maybe that was why. However, it probably ultimately had something to do with the remnants of white powder still left on the dashboard...

[North Timeria]

February 14th, 2069
Leo Island, North Timeria

Justan pulled up to the restaurant with Jordyn. Just yesterday the 2 had spent the day together with their daughter but this time is was just the two of them.

"Don't think you coming back to my house after this." Jordyn looked over at Justan as he laughed.

The two were seated and processed to discuss the many things that were going on. They had been separated for almost a year now but still talked on a daily basis. They talked about life, the future, and of course their daughter. Jordyn never brought up what Justan did; although she was more than aware. When they were in high school Jordyn use to make runs across town to make money.

"Justan you now I never give you a hard time but things are different now... I mean you have a daughter and she's not a baby anymore. If something happens to you she'll remember." Justan sat back and listened.
"How long do you think you can go on doing this before you get-" just then Justan's phone rang.

"It's pat" he said as he picked up the phone.

"Yo, what's up!"

"Nothing bro...It's just I haven't heard from Savage or Roy in a few days. After we got paid I know they were talking about buying some heavy weight and trying to flip they money but that was a couple. Haven't heard from them since." Patrick sounded concerned.

"What the hell! Where did they go to-"

"Downtown."

"Downtown?" Justan was in shock and couldn't believe Savage and Roy would do something so foolish

"Yea...I told them not to go around there for a while but I guess they got a price they couldn't turn down. I checked to see if they got booked and nothing. If the police don't have them then we might need to go check shit out."

"Yea tell Ty to get some names of people who carry heavy weight downtown... We can go check in on them later, right now I'm with Jordyn."

"Yea alright I'ma go down to Ty's now and see what he know. I think he got a few men downtown."

Justan hung up the phone and looked over at Jordyn.

"What?"

"Nothing..." she said as she turned her head and looked out of the window.

---

Across Town

Roy and Savage were both tied up and had no idea what was going on. They could tell they were being held hostage in a building. Outside they could hear people, who were most likely the ones that kidnapped them. Savage jumped to his feet and immediately started to look for a way out. He quickly fell back down and hit his head. The last things he remembered was looking at the ties on his legs and swearing to never snitch.

Roy wouldn't crack easy but he defiantly wasn't as hard as Savage. If either on of them was to actually crack it would be Roy by a long shot.

[United States of Conner]

February 14th, 2069
Ship Row, Leo Island, North Timeria

As Roy and Savage began to wonder where they were, the door opened and three men entered.

They all dressed the same - button-down shirts, open at the top, kakhis, and understated shoes. They looked like they could have come a country club party if it weren't for their rolled up sleeves, the guns in their waistbands, and the cart between them. The cart held various instruments, including a battery and jumper cables, a rag, a bucket of water, and a hammer. Taking in the situation, one of the men set about waking up Savage while the other two made sure Roy was restrained. As they did, another man entered the room.

This one was dressed differently. He wore a suit, sharp and sleek, and looked more like a banker than anything else. His shoes were shined, his suit had been ironed, and his red tie was fine silk. The newcomer walked in and slid a chair over to where one of the others was trying to wake up Savage. The FALCON man propped Savage up in the chair and restrained him similarly to Roy. Savage was still unconscious, but a black canvas bag was slid over his head while the suit and squatted to bring himself to eye level with the seated Roy. The man glanced down at a piece of paper before speaking.

"Roy West. I'd shake your hand, but ... anyways, my name is Christopher Neeves. You and your friends stole some cars that belong to me. I'm just going to ask you a few questions about what happened, that's all."

Roy struggled against his restraints. "Fuck you, I ain't snitching." Nodding to the other three men, Roy continued, "What, you they leader? Four-man band?"

Neeves chuckled. "Me, leader? I'm afraid not. You fucked with something far beyond what you can understand. You're going to talk, whether you want to or not."

Roy sneered. "Watchu gonna do, hit me? Think I can't take a punch?"

Neeves, who had been walking away, turned around. His face showed genuine confusion. "Who do you think we are?" He nodded to the three others. At once, they moved. One grabbed the back of Roy's chair and threw it to the ground, so that Roy's back was flat on the ground. A second placed a tight black bag over his head, while the third grabbed a bucket of water and began to drizzle it over Roy's mouth. Within seconds, Roy was convulsing, and Neeves raised a fist to order them to stop. They took their time, reducing the water to a drizzle before stopping and propping Roy back up.

Neeves crouched in front of Roy, and simply stared when Roy spat out water. After a minute, he spoke again.

"You aren't dealing with everyday thugs, Roy. Now, answer my questions or there's more for you. First, who did you go with?"

Roy shook before answering. "We hired a few guys... we don't know them that well." Neeves nodded.

"Okay. Who planned it?" Roy shook his head and refused to answer. Neeves again stood and nodded.

The three men returned again. This time, they pushed Roy back into his chair and pulled his pants down. Roy barely had time to register his complaints before his balls fell onto the table. One of the men grabbed a hammer from the tool cart and placed the cold steel to Roy's exposed privates. As he made to swing back, Roy shook his head. "No, no, please, no! It was Savage! Savage, him! He said we should do it!" Neeves raised an eyebrow.

"Him? Alright let's go with it. Just one more question, I promise, Roy. Then you'll be done."

Roy, who had had his pants raised and clearly was feeling a bit braver, tried to spit in the direction of Neeves. "Fuck you, motherfucker. I ain;t answering no more questions."

In one lighting-fast, smooth motion, Neeves drew a handgun from his jacket and shot Roy twice, once in each foot. Stowing his gun again, he barked to be heard over the echos of the gunshots and Roy's crying. "Do you think this is a fucking game, Roy? Listen up! I want to know about a guy named Patrick, he was with you. Where can I find him?"

Roy was still gritting his teeth and sobbing, so Neeves pulled his gun back out and barked again, "Where?"

Roy managed to say, "I don't know his last name ... he hangs around the flight club. He's a main event. Find him there, I don't know where else, man-" Neeves turned and grabbed a hot iron from the cart. The iron was in the shape of a Falcon. As one of the men raised Roy's shirt, Neeves moved the iron closer.

"Are you telling me everything you know?"

"Yes, yes, man, please, just stop, just stop!" Neeves nodded and briefly stuck the iron to Roy's exposed chest. The resulting falcon mark wouldn't be there permanently, but it would linger for a while. As Roy begged and pleaded for Neeves to make it stop, Neeves obliged and nodded to the man standing behind Roy. The man pulled out a gun and hit Roy in a specific fashion in the neck. Roy's head dropped, unconscious. The men set to bandaging Roy's feet while Neeves left the room and pulled out his phone. He quickly made an encrypted call to Jackson Webb.

"Webb, Neeves. Line is encrypted. I'm going to check in on a guy named Patrick at some flight club. Could lead me to the top of this."

"Neeves, I don't give a damn about the cars, honestly. They can be replaced. That being said, people can't think they can get away with this. I want everyone who did this to be begging with a FALCON foot on their neck, and soon."

Neeves stepped outside the old shack in Port Row, having ascended from the subterranean torture facility. He glanced at one of the boats and pondered, just for a moment, what it would be like to not have a darkness over him. "I understand. Also -"

The line was already dead.

[North Timeria]

After finishing the couple left and Justan took Jordyn back home. Before leaving Jordyn told Justan to be safe and avoid trouble. Justan was just about to do the opposite.

Justan drove to Ty's house where he was waiting with Patrick. Ty wasn't involved in the Lighting gang but supplied them with drugs and had connections higher up. Justan had met Ty while they were in jail for possession of hard narcotics. The two got acquainted quickly and Ty became the largest supplier for the gang.

Inside Ty and Patrick were talking and had come to one conclusion, someone else had attacked the deal. Roy and Savage didn't take the drugs and someone had killed their dealer. Both Roy and Savage had been missing since that night and their first thought was that someone had killed them and tried to hide the bodies.

Justan sat down across from Patrick. "Have you tried to call them?"

Patrick and Ty looked over at Justan with a blank stare. "Duh dummy! That's like the first thing we did and the phone didn't ring."

Justan pulled out his phone to call Savage. "Yea...Whatever."
As Justan called the phone started to ring and both Ty and Savage moved closer to listen. Eventually, someone picked up but Justan immediately knew that the person talking was not savage.

"Who tf is this!?"

[United States of Conner]

Neeves and a couple men were outside Roy and Savage's holding cell, making small talk.

"You got a new gun, I like it. Makes your hands look bigger."

"Aw, shut up, Neeves. At least I don't have to wear a suit all the time."

"You would look better if you did ... is that a phone ringing?"

"Affirmative. Phone two."

"Adams, toss me the phone. Napier, get set up on the terminal." Both men complied as the one called Adams tossed Savage's phone to Neeves. Napier was already at the computer. "Napier, run a trace. I don't plan on going after them yet, but it can't hurt." Collecting himself, Neeves answered the call and held the phone to his ear. The first thing he heard was an unfamiliar voice.

"Who the fuck is this?"

Neeves glanced at Napier, who had already run the voice through a recognition program. Napier mouthed back, Justan Ill. Neeves nodded and continued.

"Mr ... Ill, isn't it? You and your friends took from me, Mr. Ill, and it wasn't appreciated. I assume you're calling about your friends. Let me assure you they're fine - well, they're alive." Neeves paused to mouth to Napier, Drop off location?

Napier mouthed back an address and Neeves continued. "Want to see your friends again? 435 14th Street, Westside, two hours. Come armed and they'll regret it."

As Neeves ended the call, Savage and Roy were already being carried out. As Neeves and company were a level below ground, some of the men's captors had gone down another two levels, placed bags over the heads of Savage and Roy, and dragged them to an underground parking garage. They were thrown in the back of an unmarked van and quickly transported to the drop off point. There, in the center of the warehouse, they were placed back to back in simple chairs, bound and gagged, and kept the canvas bags over their heads. Within half an hour, the FALCON men were out. There were already cameras in the warehouse. The question now was to see how Justan reacted - both to the freed hostages and to the typed note that had been left at Savage's feet. The note read:

I kept this one's phone. Call that same number if you want to talk. I look forward to seeing you in person, Justan. My best to Jordyn and Arianna.

[North Timeria]

Justan tossed the phone across the room in anger. "Let's go! We gotta get out now!" Everyone who was in the house rushed out and ran into their cars. Patrick jumped in with Justan. As they were about to pull of Ty came up to Justan's car.

"What the hell happened?" Ty was confused and alert looking around as he talked.

"Yo...They knew who I was...Bro that had to have tracked the phone by now. They got Savage and Roy want us to meet them at 435 14th Street, Westside."

Ty looked shocked and handed Patrick a gun.

'I gotta trap house not far from there... I make some calls and get a few boys over there. Don't go without a strap, I don't care what they said."

"I got something for em." Justan replied with confidence knowing he had a gun in the trunk and one under his seat.

The two sped off towards the house while Patrick called some troops up.

"Yo... We need everybody on the Westside right now! Major shit about to go down!"

The car was the same one Justan used when he raced. He made his way over to the Westside and went past the warehouse a few times. Justan let Patrick out near the front and instead of parking Justan drove straight through the entrance. Patrick walked in behind him with his gun ready. In the middle of the warehouse was Savage and Roy, tied up and gagged.

"Yo hurry up and get em in the back!" Justan jumped out and helped Patrick put them in the back seat. Patrick sat in the back and helped them get loose. Justan swerved and pulled off quickly.

"Yo they know Arianna and Jordyn." was the first words that came out of Savage's mouth. Patrick looked at the note and handed it to Justan.

Justan pulled out his actual phone and called Jordyn.The one he tossed was his trap phone that he used for his illegal activity. "Princess... If you can't get out call Che and Hector. I'm tossing this one call Pat of you need me. Love y'all." Justan hung up the phone and tossed that one out of the window.

---

Princess was their code word when things went bad, which all started when they were in high school and needed to tell each other when the police were around. Jordyn grabbed Arianna and her bag, holding her tight while she looked out the window. She opened the door to the garage and called Che.

"Che! Justan told me to call you... He said thing had gone south."

"Yea... Savage and Roy got kidnapped after Ty dealer was killed. We on the lookout right now but if he wants you to get out do it now." Che and Hector stayed across the street and watched from their living room. As they Hector covered the two trying to leave Che stepped outside and initiated the call. He let out a "Who ti ho!" and the call started to spread. This was the call they used to let people know police were in the area or that something was about to go down.

[United States of Conner]

"Were they armed, Neeves?" The first words out of Jackson Webb's mouth were an interrogation of Neeves.

Neeves, who was facing the hologram of the former assassin and criminal leader, nodded. "Of course, as we expected them to be. I said they would regret it, and they will."

"How so? They're away."

"We embedded trackers into the captive's bodies. Untraceable. We'll have their location for a couple weeks. From there, we can continue to make links. We'll find this Justan Ill and whoever else was responsible. From there, we'll make sure they won't do it again."

"Good. Webb out."

Neeves took a deep breath as Webb disconnected. Walking over to a technician sitting in the FALCON computer room, he asked the woman, "What are the location of our two friends?"

The tech did some typing, and they showed up on the screen. "I'll have them sent to your phones. We also have a location on those targets you requested. They're under heavy guard."

Neeves frowned and looked at the details. Multiple armed hostiles guarding Justan's family. "Well. That won't do at all. Go with the second option we discussed and let the asset know to execute that. Get a man ready for delivery and do it fast." The tech nodded and did as she was instructed. Neeves, meanwhile, massaged his temples. He had to end this, fast.

Arianna's home

As the Lightning members that were guarding Jordyn's home sat, trying to be subtle while protecting their leader's family, Jorge Dowell was watching. He was situated in a four-story building, half a mile away. He had chosen that building solely because it provided the line of sight he needed.

Setting up his sniper rifle, he positioned it so that it aimed towards the home and zoomed in. Flicking on his infrared sights, he swept the sightline of the rifle across the house a couple times, until he had found Jordyn. Dowell lined up the shot, his finger over the trigger. Instead of pulling it, he blinked three times, paused, and then twice again. This caused his contact to take a picture of the sights aimed over Justan's significant other. After a few minutes of searching, Dowell did the same with their daughter, Arrianna. He then quickly packed up the rifle before glancing at an unconscious man, tied and bound in the corner. Dowell was sure he had hit the man hard and fast enough that he didn't have any memory of his face, and thus spared his life. Shrugging, Dowell lifted the man into a sitting position before exiting, his gloves masking any fingerprints he might have left.

Dowell quickly headed back to the FALCON center where Neeves was to have the photos printed. The pictures were then placed in a manilla envelope, all handled by gloved technicians. When the pictures were all printed and the envelope was sealed, they were handed over to Dowell, who left again in his black sports car. His destination now was an underground fight club.

This was the place where Dowell had been assured he would be able to find Patrick, Justan's right-hand man. Dowell, however, couldn't seem to find him at first. So he waited, in the grimy conditions that would of course house an illegal fight club. After a while, though, Dowell spotted him. In the ring.

Patrick was putting up a good fight. The guy he had been matched up against was bigger and stronger than he was, but Patrick was clearly tougher. He would take a few punches until the other guy had let his guard down, and then sneak in a blow. The strategy was effective, because his opponent soon collapsed, and Patrick was declared the winner. As cheers and boos filled the air and money changed hands, Dowell made his way to a spot where he could get close to Patrick.

He didn't have to wait long. Patrick was now approaching the spot where Dowell knew he kept his belongings. Dowell quickly moved into Patrick's personal room - apparently he was a celebrity here, which warranted this large closet to keep one's stuff in and prepare - and left the envelope in a prominent place. He got out of there and disappeared just as the room came into Patrick's view. The first thing he would see would be the envelope.

The manilla envelope had a simple label on the front, a basic TO/FROM stamp. The TO area had been filled with Justan Ill and the Lightning Gang, while the FROM area was blank. Inside the envelope were high-definition pictures of Jordyn and Arianna taken through the scope of a sniper rifle. Alongside the two pictures was a typed note which read:

Nice try, Justan, but you'll have to do better. If you want this to end, you'll have to prove yourselves stronger than this. Feel free to call me. I'd love to meet in person.

[North Timeria]

Sitting there was an envelope and the first thing Patrick thought was money. He opened it and was disappointed at the lack of money. As he pulled out the contents he looked in horror. "Shit."

Patrick gathered his things quickly and collected his payout. As he went outside about to get into his car he thought for a moment and made his way to the nearest bus stop. He covered up his face with his hood and sat alongside the crowd.

Before going to their temporary setup Patrick took different buses and switched multiple times. He got off a few stops early and took the scenic route, cutting corners and ensuring no one would be following him. As he arrived he rushed in to show Justan.

"Bad news bro... They got pictures of Jordyn and Arianna." he handed the pictures to Justan.

Justan looked over them and swore multiple times. 'We gotta end this. We been on the defensive for too long. It's time we pop shit off." Justan folded up the pictures and placed them in his wallet. Patrick looked confused "Bruh, don't you want to go-" Justan cut Patrick off.

"Don't worry they somewhere safe right now... I got them out while Savage and Roy was strung up." Justan had already arranged for Jordyn and Arianna and the battlefield was now open. "Everybody suite up. We going back to the car lot."

---

"Man who is this !" Savage didn't trust new faces and at a time like this, he was extra cautious.

"Savage this is Jeff... We went to school together and he owes me a favor."

As they pulled up to the car lot they came up with a different plan. They needed to get in clean and without extra commotion. Sam and Joseph both worked for Ty and they were going to help the team get in. The pulled up to the entrance of the car lot and banged on the garage door.

Hey! We need some help! Our tire is flat!" Sam knocked on the garage entrance while Joseph laid up against the car.

[United States of Conner]

Neeves had been following the progress of Justan, Patrick, and their attempts to form a force strong enough to breach a FALCON site through his network of contacts on Leo Island. As the amount of people in their group massed, Neeves began planning a showdown area. Only one place stuck out in his mind as the right location. It was the only FALCON site Justan knew, it was a good tactical area, and it had some dramatic effect. Perfect.

Neeves immediately made some phone calls and began setting the garage up. He knew what was likely going to happen - Lightning and a bunch of guys would show up, wielding hammers, brass knuckles, and maybe some chain. A real good street fight to settle their differences, until one side was lying in the dirt. Neeves knew Timerian gang customs, so he knew that Justan and his crew would find bullets too quick for someone who had threatened and offended him so. That was a knowledge Neeves would play off of.

By the time Sam and Joseph had pulled up to the door of the parking garage, FALCON was waiting. Armed teams were waiting out of sight, prepared to jump out if things went south. They hid in closets, elevators, the next floor up, and in cars themselves. They were completely out of sight. Neeves and a couple dozen of his men were waiting on the first floor of the subterranean garage, seemingly unarmed. They stood casually and talked, whether about sports, crime, the weather, whatever. Until Lightning arrived, they didn't have much of a part to play.

As Sam and Joseph banged on the garage door, a FALCON man masquerading as a mechanic walked to the door. To play the part, he was carrying a tire jack, as well as a pump. The man's name was Jason Caine, and he knew the part he was likely going to have in all this. Go out, get knocked out, wait for everything inside to go down, and then be woken up. He was fine with that - less risk for him, the better.

Caine opened up the mechanical garage door, the glass and reinforced steel door opening to reveal a ramp going down to the first floor below ground. That was where the FALCON crew was waiting. Caine nodded and smiled softly to the two men, before nodding to their car.

"No worries, fellas. I'll get this fixed quickly. Which tire's gone flat?"

[North Timeria]

As the door opened up Sam toke a step back. Once the FALCON crew was revealed Sam stumbled backward towards the car. Sam reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled a chain out. He wrapped it around his fist and started to laugh.

"Actually I don't think its the tire that's gone flat."

Sam signaled for the rest of the guys and stared down every member of FALCON. "You know you really fucked up." as he said this, guys jumped out of cars and came seemingly appeared out of the blue. With them was both Justan and Patrick, armed with lexan knuckles and a metal snake.

"We've been having a lot of trouble recently and I think it's time that you repent for your sins."

[United States of Conner]

Neeves wasn't chuckling now. His face was harsh, showing the changes that the stress that FALCON brought had made to his features. His expression was stone-cold, as were the other FALCON men. Neeves brushed some dust off his suit and glanced around quickly. Five other FALCON members remained in the center of the garage, the rest out of sight along with the armed teams. The other five were all wearing dark jackets, jeans, and black boots. They all looked fairly similar - nondescript clothing, plain hair, fair complexion, and muscular. Most importantly, they all appeared unarmed.

Neeves was clearly outnumbered. It wouldn't matter. He took a second before responding to Lightning.

"I could tell you the same thing. Do you realize who you're dealing with? I see some chain, some brass knuckles. That all?"

Justan spoke with clear hatred as he spat on the ground before responding. "It's all we need." This solicited a few chuckles from the Lightning crowd, who clearly were ready to beat some FALCON heads. "We'll show some mercy and let you live."

Neeves responded with bite. "Your mistake. I'm not here to play games, Ill. You and me? We live in different worlds. Trust me, I've seen and done a lot worse than what you're used to."

[North Timeria]

Justan lowered his head. "You don't know anything about me... If you want I can show you." Justan looked at his crew standing beside him ready to fight as soon as he said the word.

"Listen here...This is my city and where you come from they do things differently. I could care less of who I'm dealing with because I know whoever it is they shall fall before me.
Look it's like this, F^%# you
F^%# the plane you flew in on
F^%# them shoes
F^%# those socks with the belt on it
F^%# yo stupid a$$ fairy accent
F^%# them cheap ass suits
F^%# yo yuk-mouth teeth
F^%# yo hair piece
F^%# yo chocolate
F^%# Psyco
F^%# yo boss
F^%# yo President
This is Leo Island
I run this city and you just a peasant
Now get on yo knees and take this beating
And if I see you in the street I’m slappin’ the $h!t out of you"


Justan laughed and gave his boys dap. He was very nonchalant and acted as though there was nothing going on. He was the opposite of Neeves. He showed himself as confident and carefree. He didn't wear a fancy suit and was dressed just like the rest of his crew.

[United States of Conner]

Neeves just smoothed down his suit and chuckled. "Yuk-mouth teeth and a fairy accent? That's good, Ill, really good ..."

Neeves was laughing a little louder now as he turned and paced away from Ill and the Lightning gang. He looked to his men and gave a brief nod while continuing to laugh, not sarcastically, but as if he found what Justan had said truly funny. "You're a funny guy, Justan, you truly are."

In one lightning motion, Neeves turned, drew a handgun from his jacket, and leveled it at Justan's head. The click of the safety disengaging, the silencer on the tip of the pistol, and the deep black of the firearm all brought an instant gravity to the situation. The temperature in the garage seemed to drop a few degrees. Neeves's five men had also drawn their pistols, and had all aimed them at the Lightning gang, albeit from a safe distance.

With a confused look, Neeves glared down the sights of his gun at Justan. "What did you think this was going to be? A street fight?"

[North Timeria]

Justan stared down Neeves with no fear at all. He stared him down hard looking into eyes, not blinking and barely breathing. Justan didn't answer, he just stared at Neeves for a minute. Justan broke out in laughter. "That was a good line... Like something from one of your Hollywood movies... but this ain't Hollywood b!tch!" As he said this Ty's men came from around the block. They were armed and ready to fight with anyone that stood in their way, Justan turned around and gave them the thumbs up.

Justan took a few steps forward towards Neeves. "Taking that picture of my daughter...You're gonna have to pay for that. I wasn't joking when I said this was my city."

Justan then stepped closer. "If you really want a gun fight, we can do that. Look at my hip." On Justan's hip was what seemed to be a cellphone at first glance but if you looked closer it was far from it. Justan was in possession of a pistol that looked to be a handgun. The gun had 2 shots which would be more than enough to take down a man. The flower petal ammo would break off inside and cause major internal damage.

[United States of Conner]

Neeves just looked more confused. "What the hell is Hollywood?"

Then, he got it. Justan thought he had outwitted FALCON. Neeves just laughed back. "Oh, you think you outsmarted me. You thought we didn't know about Ty over there? You think we didn't have everything within a mile under our watch?"

Two black SUVs pulled into the garage, the doors closing behind them. Out jumped a dozen men in FALCON uniforms - which is to say, no uniforms. Another two dozen emerged from their hiding place around the garage. All of them were carrying automatic weapons with long suppressors on the end. This was military-grade hardware.

Neeves just shook his head as the FALCON men surrounded Lightning. "That's all? I'm insulted. You're in over your head, Ill. We aren't like your usual street gangs. We aren't like you." The FALCON leader paused to brush a speck of dust off his suit. "You're right about one thing, sort of. This was your city. Now, it deserves a better kind of criminal. That's where we come in." The forty or so FALCON members, all ex-military or similar, kept their weapons at the ready.

"See, Justan, you don't understand this world, and that's why you fear it. We didn't come to have a rap battle. We didn't come to slap the shit out of anyone. Your buddies who came in armed? Tactically, poor movement." Neeves laughed again. "You think I care how you feel about your family? What'll you do when I get someone in the police force to arrest Jordyn, hmm? We have cops, we have lawyers, and we have judges. How would you feel about Arianna going into protective custody, huh? You stole from us first, Justan - you started this. You dishonored us in our town. Which is fine, but now you have to pay the price.

[North Timeria]

Justan shook his head and looked over to the FALCON crew. "I've been through more than you can imagine." Justan didn't care about FALCON or their professionalism, Justan didn't work in an office downtown and he didn't act like it either.

"The problem here is I know who I am...You don't. You walk around like you guys are entrepreneurs and legitimate businessmen...I think I know why."

Justan chuckled and started his explanation "You do this because you weren't good enough to do something else...So you walk around and put on a facade but everyone knows you're no different from me, or so they think!" Justan continued on pacing in front of the tense situation.
"Me...I choose to be here. You see those boys back there." he pointed over to his crew and Ty's thugs. "They choose to be here also. Most of you are what? Ex-military with dishonorable discharges, businessmen who couldn't quite make it big, struggling to make it into what they really want to do...So what do you do? You join this shit and they help you get to where you want to be... Look at him over there. I can look into his eyes and tell he was in the military. Mostly likely visioning this situation as something important like he on a special operations mission....but is he? No! He right here in the same place as me and you!"

Justan laughed as Neeves went on about what he could do to Justan and how important he was. Justan found it most funny when Neeves called it his town

Justan stopped and looked into Neeves eyes. "I mean I know I'm gone get got...." he took a long pause "But I'm gone get mine more then I get got though."

Justan raised his hands "You can hurt my family but believe me when I say it won't end well for you. So we're all here waiting...What are we gonna do?"

[United States of Conner]

Neeves shook his head. "Funny, because I know who you are as well. In fact, I know every single one of you here. We have files on all of you, your loved ones, places you live, everything. All you know is my name."

As Justan wrapped up his long-winded explanation, Neeves laughed. "I'm not good at what I do? You know, the first time I came to North Timeria was with SWORD. I was an assassin, and that's something I was good at. I killed one of Infinity's major crime lords. His name is --, maybe you've heard of him. All of us, as a matter of fact, are here because we had wrong done to us by the government and society. Why do you think our muscle is ex-military, not street thugs like you?"

As Neeves's forces subtly moved around, preparing to engage, he continued. "We don't train to fight people like you. We fight SWAT, we fight the Army. You're a bad joke. Who are you to say we didn't choose to be here? I was wronged, we all were. The system failed, so we moved outside the system. You think you're hard because you were born on the streets. It doesn't matter. You know your boys, Savage and Roy? Yeah, they broke easily. Begged for me to stop."

As he chuckled about how self-righteous Justan was, Neeves just sighed. "I'm quite sure this will turn out well for me. You know, if you took this as a special operations mission, you might understand why. If you had our experience, you wouldn't have locked your forces in a room where you're outnumbered and outgunned, you might not have let yourselves get surrounded, and you might have noticed the sniper rifles aimed at your heads. Sights on."

At his command, the snipers who had their guns aimed at the heads of the Lightning Gang, turned on their laser sights. Red dots appeared on heads. The sniper aimed at Justan let the dot settle on his neck. Neeves grinned and glanced at the forces surrounding Lightning before turning back. "Those are some nice tatoos there, Ill. Wouldn't want to mess them up."

[North Timeria]

"Okay....Kill me! What does that do?" Justan laughed and pointed over to his crew. "If you kill me a lot of people gone die here today so I suggest we get this over with real quick."

Justan stepped to the side to see if the laser would follow him. "If you were gonna kill me you could have done it by now... What the fuck do you want? I'm sure you didn't call me here for no reason."

Justan was really getting tired of playing a game with him and things weren't looking bright. He sighed under his breath as things dragged on for too long in his opinion. Justan knew wasn't scared to die but if he was he didn't want to waste his last minute's bickering with this punk. He tossed his gun on the ground and threw his arms up.

"What are you gonna do?"

The gun slid across the ground and slowly came to a stop not too far from Justan.

Behind him, his men were getting antsy over the situation. They were ready to fight and put this all behind them once and for all. They had made enough money off the cars and they had already made plans for their next big come up.

[United States of Conner]

Neeves chuckled. "You're a bold one, Justan. That takes balls, I'll give you that. You don't have much else though, sadly. If you want to die, we'll gladly oblige."

As the FALCON team was about to open fire, the garage door opened. In came four Klarity I47s, the same kind of car that had started this whole crisis. Following them were several black SUVs, armored and armed. Neeves didn't need to see who was in the car to turn to one of his men. "Why is she here? I'm done with her interfering with my work. This had better be important."

Indeed it would be.

The SUVs and sports cars squealed to a stop, forming a barrier between FALCON and Lightning. One of the first people out of the car was a tall, stunning woman. Her face hid countless killings. Her coat hid multiple firearms. The woman walked up to Neeves and extended her hand. "Chris Neeves. It's been a while."

Neeves grimaced for a second before shaking the hand and nodding. "Margaret Hewitt. It has, hasn't it? I'm kind of in the middle of something, what do you need?"

Hewitt dropped any friendly persona she might have been wearing. "You remember the cars your people lost the other day to these idiots?" Before Neeves could interject, she continued. "Yeah, and you also remember Project Overwatch? How we had those plans down hard because you didn't want them hacked by our 'competition', whoever that might be? How there was a copy of those plans in one of those cars?"

Neeves was visibly confused at this point. "Those cars were cut for scrap. No way the drive survived."

Hewitt shook her head. "Nope. One of them was bought, by who we don't know. We need to move ASAP. Let's go."

Neeves had gone somewhat pale. Wordlessly, he made a series of hand gestures, and the FALCON forces quickly packed up into the waiting SUVs. Within ten seconds, they were all in. Neeves briefly glanced at Justan. "Later, Justan. Later."

The FALCON convoy peeled off, and sped out of the garage and into the street, off to one of their safehouses.

[North Timeria]

Justan was shocked at the abrupt leave but let out a sigh of relief. He walked away and jumped into a car with Ty.

"This is getting out of control." Ty said as the car pulled off.

Justan laughed and turned on the music. "We still got the money...I think everything's going just fine."

Justan was playing his first mixtape, a collection of songs he put together. Justan didn't plan to finish his life like this and had an actual plan for his future.

For now, the city was quite and things seemed to be cooling down.

[United States of Conner]

As Justan and Ty left the garage, Neeves and his men were in much more of a hurry.

Neeves, who was still steaming internally over Hewitt's interruption of his theatrics, was desperately trying to get details out of the female ex-assassin. "Overwatch - the file is still live? What the hell do you mean, still live? It's encrypted to high standards." Hewitt just shook her head.

"No, Neeves, it isn't. You were rushing the Overwatch team so much that they had to get the info onto a drive in hours. High encryption takes days. I believe our tech guys told you that, but you wouldn't listen, would you?"

Neeves just sighed. Jackson Webb would have his head for this, he really would. "Where is the drive now?"

A man in the back seat of their car looked up from his laptop. "We tracked it and the car from Pryce Metal. From there, it fell into the possession of one Chin Law, an auto racer - as far as we know. According to our people in the racing circuit, however, the car has already changed hands. The guy in possession of it is one Alexander Mason, of The Crew. Decently-well-known racing crew, also into some higher level stuff. 25 guys or so. We have a general location on the car now, but we haven't yet been able to pin down where exactly it is."

Neeves nodded and thanked the man. "Get me back to my place. I have a plan to get it back, but it involves using Justan Ill. Two birds with one stone, and tie up all our loose ends."

Hewitt nodded as the car pulled into the alleyway behind Neeve's apartment building, a glass and steel skyscraper in the middle of downtown. "Get it done, Neeves. Good luck."

He would not fail.

[Les Etats Connuriste]

Alex was a glass of wine down, but that wasn't going to put him off or stop him hearing about the rather impromptu race organized for tonight. He was confident enough in his own abilities to speed even slightly under the influence, and to his partial credit, he had some justification behind that belief. Another night, he may not have bothered, but the prize was just substantial enough to warrant his attention for a quick and easy opportunity, enough to casually blow on the night he would have left after crossing the finish line. The Casino (or the Cassissi as Tallulah liked to call it) seemed a likely option if they chose not to retire to bed.

He began to apply the accelerator slightly more liberally, the newly-acquired high-end vehicle picking up the pace with minimal effort, let alone struggle at all. He was as of yet undecided whether he would keep it or not. Obviously, it came free, and he could make a pure and tidy profit if he was so inclined to sell it on. Not to mention, the entire ownership history of this car wasn't known to him either. But whilst it wasn't the nicest car he'd ever called his own, it still was very nice. He supposed he would give it a trial period of a few days, put a new set of plates on it at the earliest convenience, and should he eventually consider it his, he'd certainly end up tweaking it underneath the hood.

Lulah, in her earlier days, would not have approved of this kind of behaviour, but recently had gotten a taste for thrill-seeking and risk-taking. The fear had subsided once she had found herself safe after a couple of times and the adrenaline kicked in, and particular regard for one's own life had never been her forte. She enjoyed it, the reckless driving, and wasn't that bad at it herself, albeit not quite on her partner's level. To be the girl on the champion's arm, it was a pleasant feeling. A unique one she had never felt before, one of importance, and it was this that had in part facilitated her descent into criminal activities. Status, power, respect, friendship - these were things that were new to her and of incredible value. She just wanted to get to the start and size up the competition, both driver and their machine.