Author's Note

This chapter involves people speaking a different language over the phone. 'I normally write like this to indicate it's not a live conversation.' 'But using this to indicate translation could cause people to mistake it for a thought.' 'So instead all phone conversations that need translating will be written like this.'

SR2: Laying the Foundation

Carlos had a meeting set up with Lin and Donnie after talking with them about helping against the Brotherhood. When Lin looked around the new hideout, she said, "Shit, and I thought the church was a fixer-upper." "Good to see you again, Lin," Starlight said as the two shared a hug. "It's been way too long," Lin replied, "I don't think you guys got to properly know Donnie yet." "Especially considering we only met twice," Boss noted, "Once when I was shooting at you, and once after we killed Sharp."

"Least I know you weren't really trying to kill me," Donnie said with a shrug, "Anyway, Speedy told me about your deal with Maero, and how bad it was." "That's an understatement," Carlos snarked, "It would've been one thing if he left it open to negotiation, or at least explained his reasons, but he just demanded we take the offer flat out." Donnie nodded. "No denying he embodies the best of both Price and Sharp, but that just means he comes with all new bad points. That's why we're planning to switch sides."

"So you're coming back to the Saints?," Starlight asked. "It's been way too long since I've been in this game," Lin admitted, "Fixing up cars kept us afloat, but working for the Brotherhood and their egos... It actually made me miss the Rollerz." "And you Donnie?," Boss asked. "Lin always thought I'd look good in purple," Donne replied, "That just leaves a way of sending in our resignation, but we came up with something that'll send the message in a big way."

Later, Maero was still steaming over the Saints storming out on him. Jessica looked worried at his attitude. "Babe, just let it go..." "Who the fuck do the Saints think they are turning me down?," he demanded. "Sweetie, it's not a big deal," Jessica assured him, "Just kill 'em." Just then, a Brotherhood lieutenant burst in. "Maero, we got a problem." "What happened?," Maero asked, worried. "It's Donnie and Lin," the lieutenant said, "They've been working for the Saints. Lin had been a member the whole time."

Maero stood up. "What did they do?" The lieutenant shook his head. "They rigged some bombs up to our boys' trucks. When we went to confront them at their garage, we only found this." He held out a piece of paper, the Saints' fleur-de-lis on it and the words, "Found a better gig." "To make matter worse," the lieutenants said, "The Saints took Cecil Park while we were trying to sort things out."

"They must be trying to get us to negotiate a better offer," Matt suggested. "We couldn't have given them a better offer," Maero asserted, "If they really want to step against us, they'd better bring more than cheap tricks. Have our boys move to take back the park." "Already tried," the lieutenant said, "The Saints just repelled the attack. Seems they've also gotten some resources moving against the Samedi and Ronin." Maero narrowed his eyes. Dealing with the Saints would harder than he thought.

Later, Boss met with a frat leader named Blake out in Sommerset. "What's up?," Blake said, "We of the brothers of Theta heard you might be getting problems from the Brotherhood in the near future. We'd like to help, if you can offer us a favor." "Sure," Boss agreed, "So long as you got cash as well." Blake nodded. "Not a problem, we'll just scratch one of our pub crawls. I knew Shaundi really well before she graduated, and she introduced me to Starlight. I owe them a few favors myself."

"What'd she leave you?," Boss asked. "Some sort of warding charm," Blake explained, "Useful for losing the Brotherhood if the heat gets too much. As for the favor, our rivals in Gamma beat our step team and now they think they're hot stuff. We need someone to remind them of their place." Boss nodded. "Easy enough. You got anything I can use so they know you sent the message?"

Blake thought for a moment, then got an idea. "We did buy a new item for pledge hazing this year, a flame suit. Think you could somehow work that in?" Boss nodded. "Oh yeah..." Boss had the flame suit and an ATV lit up and drove around the campus, lighting everything and everyone on fire while heading through marked checkpoints. Once he made enough noise, he collected the spell and started having it transferred to the rest of the crew.

Carlos had Boss and Starlight meet him at the apartments. "Shaundi already mentioned how the Samedi own the majority of the University area," he said, "But they could never get a complete lock on it because of the Brotherhood. They run the entire housing section in Sommerset, using third parties to distribute whatever the college kids want. Prostitution, gambling, drugs... If we want to control the entire campus we need to evict the lieutenants overseeing the business."

Taking out the lieutenants and a mobile drug lab got the Saints Sommerset, which they marked by painting over a tag from the Brotherhood. Later, Boss and Pierce met with Johnny and Starlight at Aisha's house. Pierce was a little surprised to learn his music idol was still alive, but Boss explained how they faked her death to get her out of her bad contract. Starlight was just finishing counting the money from their earlier casino heist, which Aisha wasn't too keen on keeping an eye on.

"Johnny, how do we know the Ronin won't just come barging in here?," she asked. "Cuz the Saints own the neighborhood now," Johnny explained, "Naturally they tried to take it back, but we made sure they understood we weren't giving it up." "Hey," Boss said, "We're on." There was a news report regarding the bank heist. Jane Valderamma was the one doing the report. 'It's the most daring casino heist ever recorded in history. Although the police didn't wish to commit on the possibility, evidence suggests the involvement of the Third Street Saints.'

A security video of the four of them was shown. 'This leaked security shows the Saints leader, recent fugitive Johnny Gat, his daughter Starlight Glimmer, and local street tough Pierce Washington assaulting the casino. In light of this and other events happening across Stilwater, it's become clear that the Saints' two year hiatus is finally at an end. Recent interviews suggest that Ultor has been putting pressure on Chief Bradshaw for a quick response to this incident.' "Alright guys," Boss said after the four of them celebrated being mentioned, "We've had our fifteen minutes. Now it's time to clean this money."

Cleaning the money was easy in concept. Buying up expensive cars, jewelry, and weapons, then selling them off to a reliable fence Pierce knew and trusted. The only complication came in when the Ronin started attacking. Fortunately they picked the worst possible time to attack, right when Boss and Pierce were buying some military-grade firepower. This proved the perfect time to field test it. This left enough room for the Saints to move in on Nob Hill, where they snuffed two tags and Starlight met another contact.

This didn't sit well with Shogo, who was currently on the phone with his father. 'Tell me, Shogo,' Kazuo said, 'Are you purposefully trying to cause shame to me or is it a natural talent of yours?' "Father, I'm not causing you shame...," Shogo assured him. Nearby, a Ronin lieutenant was talking with Jyunichi. "What's going on?" "Shogo is explaining our failure to his father," Jyunichi replied.

The lieutenant shook his head. "Mr. Akuji doesn't sound happy." "That's because his son has brought him much shame," Jyunichi agreed, "Akuji-san is coming to America to teach Shogo how to lead." The lieutenant looked at him, stunned. "Is that good or bad?" Jyunichi looked at the lieutenant, the concern evident. "That depends on who you are." 'I am tired of listening to your excuses, Shogo...,' Kazuo said, 'I'll come to America, and when I arrive I will teach you how to lead.'

Shogo sighed. "Yes, father..." He hung up the phone, and one could clearly see the range of emotions going through his mind, none of them positive. He turned to Jyunichi. "We need the Saints taken care of before my father arrives." Jyunichi nodded. "What would you have me do?" Shogo threw his cigarette at Jyunichi. "Whaddya think I want you to do!? Get some of our boys and kill them!"

Boss met with Pierce and Starlight later at Humbolt Park. "So what'd you need to meet me for?," Boss asked. Pierce indicated the nearby building. "Check this out, you're looking at the Ultor Institute for Science and Innovation. But there's more to this place then your average science fun fest. Turns out, the Ronin use specific servers in this place to run their web porn ring. We take those out, it'll really cut into the Ronin's profits, and leave us free to move in on them."

Getting to the servers and destroying them was simple, though complicated with the Ronin crawling around the place to protect their interests. Not mention, once the severs were destroyed the Ronin came in with an attack chopper. But once that was done, Humbolt Park was taken by the Saints. "Looks like the Ronin don't like us moving in on their turf," Pierce noted as he marked the territory with a new tag.

The next day Boss met with Starlight and Shaundi. "What's up?," he said, "You said you were having difficulty figuring out the loa dust?" Shaundi nodded. "Yeah, that stuff's surprisingly complicated. But I do know somehow who can work it out." "It's an old friend of our's too," Starlight chimed in, "The only catch is, she's still in prison since the last time we saw her." "Wonderful," Boss said sarcastically, "We got a plan for getting her out?"

Shaundi nodded. "Oh yeah. Hey Samson!" Boss turned and recognized the demolition expert the Saints often hired in the past. He started walking over with a C4 pack. "Got the bomb rigged up right here--" Samson wound up tripped on the gazebo steps. Thinking quickly, Starlight telekinetically grabbed the detonator out of his hands before he could accidentally hit it. "That was close," Shaundi said, "If that timer had been hit there's no way I'd have gone with you guys."

They carefully loaded the bomb onto a speedboat and headed for the penitentiary. "So what's the plan?," Boss asked. "The prison is powered by an old generator underneath the building," Shaundi explained, "We take out the generator and its lights out for the whole island. Sneaking in should be easy after that." Boss nodded. "So where's the generator? It's not like I got the guided tour while I was in that coma."

"There's a natural cave system at the back of the island," Starlight explained, "They had a dock built into it for maintenance work. We'll be using that to sneak in." The plan proved to be even easier than Shaundi thought. There was only one guard in the area with the generator, and once they blew it up it caused a prison riot that made sneaking past the guards all the simpler. Once they reached the cell Boss and Starlight got a surprise. "Laura?," Boss asked, "Is that you?"

Sure enough, Laura, the duo's old drug trafficking contact from two years ago, was standing inside the cell. "Why Playa, Starlight. What are you two doing here?" "You guys know her?," Shaundi asked. "We were there when she first got into drug dealing," Starlight explained. "We're here to bust you out," Boss explained. "Oh, how exciting," Laura said. She left behind a written apology note then followed the trio out to the prison's helipad.

As they flew off, Laura said, "Thanks for getting me out of prison. I was starting to miss my husband." "I thought you were single," Boss replied, surprised. "Oh I picked up a sponsor while you were in that coma and sparks started flying between us. Anyway, if you ever need a favor, just feel free to ask." "Funny you should mention that," Starlight said, "Shaundi said you could help us figure out how to make the Samedi's loa dust. We already have some samples for you."

"Sounds peachy," Laura said, "Can you drop me off at my house first? I want to let my husband know I'm all right." As the trio arrived, Boss learned that his crew was able to force the Samedi out of Pilsen. Once at Laura's house, she knocked on the door. "You think you can figure out what's in the dust?," Boss asked. "Don't worry sweetie," Laura assured him, "When it comes to drugs or snicker doodles I'm the best."

Boss and Starlight got another surprise when Tobias opened the door. "Ain't that the truth baby..." "Toby!," Laura said excitedly as she jumped into Tobias' arms. "Tobias?," Starlight asked, "You're Laura's husband?" "Yeah, we got together almost a year ago," Tobias explained, "We shared some drug routes but with different product, so I offered to share and share alike so we could both expand. Things only got better from there."

Boss nodded. "Well I'm happy for both of you. Listen, Laura offered to help us take the Samedi's drug market from them." "Well count me in too," Tobias offered, "You helped bring my pumpkin muffin, and the Samedi have really been cutting into the market, so that's double motivation. In the meantime, could you let us have some quality time? I'd like to have a have a belated conjugal before the PTA meeting..." "Absolutely," Boss said as the happy couple closed the door.

The next day, Boss met up with Jane at Bovagian Plaza. "Jane Valderamma," Boss said, "I've heard you a few times on TV and the radio, but this is the first time we're meeting in person." "Indeed," Jane replied, "I first got to know Starlight when she offered me an exclusive interview and we became fast friends. Since she told me you plan on buying up some real estate to house your gang, I figured this is an excellent time to offer you a spell capsule she left with me. It contains a charm that'll convince the renovators to offer a discount for upgrading your 'cribs'."

"This usually comes with a favor attached," Boss noted, "What did you want of me?" "There's this nut job lawyer named Zach Johnson who's been stealing airtime from me," Jane explained, "You've probably heard of him, he's notorious for getting a hard-on at the idea of a lawsuit." "Makes Legal Lee look like an actual saint in comparison," Boss agreed. Jane nodded. "No doubt. Lately he's been crusading against media he deems offensive. He doesn't really have much support but he makes such an ass out of himself people watch him anyway just for a chuckle or two."

Boss nodded in understanding. "Hence your dilemma. So where do I come in?" "I need something big to take back airtime from him," Jane explained, "You're notorious for some pretty major rampages across Stilwater. If I can get live coverage of one such rampage, it'll be the perfect tool for kicking Johnson off the air." "Get cash, a cash saver, and rob a dick of attention, all for destroying some local property?," Boss asked, "I think I understand why Starlight considers you a friend."

Boss met with Starlight and Shaundi the next day. "I've been thinking for a bit," Shaundi said, "You know our hideout is right beneath Samedi territory. I've been trying to come up with a way to rectify that, and the perfect excuse just fell into our laps. See, after we took out their street dealers The General, that's the leader of the Sons of Samedi, decided to be a little more discreet in how they move their product."

"Not too discreet if you managed to figure it out," Boss noted. "Maybe not," Shaundi admitted, "But it is pretty clever nonetheless. See, the Samedi have converted the second floor of a nearby sex shop into a dust lab. It's an efficient system, once they're done cooking up the new product they can go downstairs and sell to the lonely bastards buying dances. All we gotta do is take out the clientele and then destroy the labs, then Bavogian Plaza is ours for the taking."

After taking out the crackheads and the drug labs, the trio hit the roof and started clearing out the Samedi, including an attack chopper they tried bringing in. Once all that was done, the Saints moved in on Bavogian Plaza. This allowed the group to mark two more tags unimpeded. Laura called in to mention she was getting started analyzing the loa dust. "We have the groundwork ready to take back the city," Boss noted, "Let's make sure the momentum stays in our favor."