Author's Note

This chapter officially starts the Carnales arc. Expect exasperation from Dex when people start calling them "the Los Carnales", which really is redundant... Also, "Any line written like this is translated to English".

Saints Row: Capping the Carnales

After grabbing some tags and CDs in Sunnyvale Gardens and Shivington, Playa and Starlight decided to meet with Dex to see what he had on the Carnales. The main brain of the Saints was pouring over a map of the city, circles drawn around the Carnales' territory. Starlight cleared her throat, causing Dex to turn around. "Oh sorry, didn't hear your come in." "What's with all this?," Starlight asked, "Starting with some research?" "Definitely," Dex replied with a nod, "The Carnales are the first organized gang in Stilwater. Julius tells me they used to own the whole city before he and Benjamin King stepped against them, taking out the previous leader, Alejandro Lopez, in the process."

"But now they're under new management," Starlight noted. Dex nodded. "Alejandro's sons, Hector and Angelo. The two brothers run the Carnales with a ruthless efficiency. And both of them are crazy. Angelo is probably the crazier of them, but they both have their own brand of crazy. There's also their enforcer, Victor Rodriguez. He's been reported to have survived at least a dozen VK drive-bys. Making matters worse is the fact that the Carnales are backed by the largest drug cartel in the world."

"So hitting them won't be as straightforward as the Rollerz," Starlight realized. "No doubt," Dex agreed, "But luckily, we do have a starting point. Julius was right when he said we can't compete with their drug money, but in order to earn that they need drugs to sell. So we start by cutting into the Carnales' profit margin. Troy's identified two of their labs in both The Mills and Southern Cross. They're small labs, but it'll be easy to shut them down. And we'll be able to grab two territories from the Carnales at once."

Taking down the labs proved a simple affair. There was some light resistance, but getting by them was just a matter of ammo, and taking out the labs proved just as easy due to the flammable and explosive chemicals being used. Once the territories were in Saints' hands, the duo headed to pick up the last hit list Julius had for them. They were to meet a man named Marcel in Shivington. The man was in a bar enjoying a beer while he waited. "Hey, glad to meet you," he said when he saw Starlight and Playa, "Have a seat. Julius tells me you're used to taking out targets requested by people."

"What's the deal this time?," Starlight asked, "Our last clients didn't give any details, but they didn't seem the sort who would give answers." "It would be fair to explain why I need these people dead," Marcel agreed, "See, one of my niggas in is real trouble with the law. The prosecution has a bunch of witnesses that can put him away, and I just can't let that happen. Luckily, I was able to get a list of the witnesses. I'll pay you well per head, cool?" "Got it," Starlight said, taking the list.

They started with two of the targets. There was a businessman named Richard who could be found in the High End Retail district, and required the .44 Shepherd. There was also a guy named Dick somewhere in Downtown. He was requested to be taken out with a knife. They also knocked off a couple of chop shop requests, a Cavallaro, a Quota, a Keystone, and a Nordberg.

The next day Starlight and Playa joined Dex and Troy at a gas station near Carnales turf. They were going over a map and discussing something. "What if we come in from here and here?," Troy asked, pointing out a few points on the map. Dex shook his head. "Nah, they'd see it coming. Cops try that shit all the time and it never works." Troy rubbed his chin and sighed. "Yeah, you're right. So what do we do instead?" "What's going on here?," Starlight asked.

"Just in time," Troy replied, "I got a lead on where the Los Carnales cut all their shit." "It's not 'the Los Carnles'," Dex pointed, "It's just the Carnales." "What?," Troy asked, confused. "Los is the Spanish word for 'the'," Starlight explained, "Saying 'the Los Carnales' is like saying 'the the Carnales'. So it's either Los Carnales or the Carnales, never both." Dex nodded. "It's like saying Rio Grande River. Rio is Spanish for river, so it comes off as redundant. But this is beside the point. The point is we can't hit the factory just yet."

"Why not?," Troy asked. "Because I'm not a gun-toting psycho named Johnny Gat," Dex explained, "No offense, Starlight." "To be fair, you're not wrong," Starlight admitted, "So what do we do instead?" "One of my boys spotted an LC truck leaving the factory district," Dex explained, "It's probably loaded with drugs, but that's just a bonus. The truck is what we really want, so we need to jack it and get it to the Row in one piece." "What do you need the truck for?," Troy asked. "Let's just get the truck first," Dex replied, "Then I'll tell you the rest."

"I'm just saying, it'd be nice to know," Troy retorted. Starlight glared at him. "Can we just trust Dex knows what he's doing? He's probably the smartest out of all of us, and this is coming from a girl who's skipped several grades going through school. And need I remind you, we're out in the open not far from enemy territory. Which means there could be ears listening in on our plans. Granted this means they probably know we want the truck so they'll try to protect it, but so long as they don't know what we want it for, they'll be flying blind once we grab it. Easy, right?" "Nice to see someone's on the ball," Dex said to Troy smugly. Troy just sighed in defeat.

Meanwhile, the Lopez brothers were meeting a Colombian cartel leader, Manuel Orejuela. WIth them was Victor, as well as Angelo's girlfriend Luz, who was sunning herself near the table. "Angelo," Hector said, "I need you to go to the lab tonight. One of our shipments didn't arrive, and I want to make sure no one's skimming off the top." Angelo nodded. "No problem." Luz got herself up when she heard this. "Angelo, you promised we'd go shopping tonight." Angelo sighed. "Ah shit. Hector, I told Luz I'd take her downtown. Can Victor take care of--"

"Is Victor sitting at the table, Angelo?," Hector cut in. "Yes," Angelo admitted. Hector nodded. "So if I wanted Victor to handle it, I could have asked him, right?" Angelo frowned and said, "Luz, we'll go out tomorrow." Luz didn't seem happy to hear that. "But Angelo--" "Fuck, Luz, Shut up your mouth, okay? Didn't you hear me?," Angelo called out, cutting her off. Hector nodded. "Gracias."

Manuel seemed more dismissive of the scene. "You should be nicer to the lady..." "Oh yeah Angelo, put your dick in her mouth, that will shut her up!," Victor said, laughing. Hector couldn't help but laugh as well, but Luz wasn't as amused. "Go to hell!" "Luz," Angelo assured her, "Come on mama, don't be so sensitive." Luz started to walk off. "I'll be inside." "Senorita, a moment," Manuel said, "If Angelo is busy, I can take you out tonight." Luz seemed to like the idea. "Mr. Orejuela, I couldn't--"

"Nonsense," Manuel assured her, "It would be my pleasure." He turned to Angelo. "Unless you have a problem with me entertaining the lady." Angelo got up to voice his displeasure, but caught his brother shaking his head in warning. Angelo sighed and sat back down. "No, of course not." Manuel nodded, pleased. "Good. I'll see you at eight." Luz smiled and walked inside the mansion. Manuel grinned as he watched her leave. "That's a lotta woman you got there, Angelo." "I know," Angelo replied in an angry tone.

"Eh," Hector chimed in, "I always thought she was a bitch." Victor started laughing again while Angelo and Manuel stared each other down. The tension was broken as Hector's phone went off. "Hold on. Yes, what's up? What? But what happened?" Angelo looked worried. "What is it?" Hector suddenly became angry. "That asshole son of a bitch!" "That didn't sound encouraging," Manuel noted. "Everything's fine," Hector assured him as he hung up.

"Of course it is," Manuel said, though he didn't sound convinced, "If you would excuse me, I'm going to check on the senorita..." He got up and headed for the mansion, while Angelo watched in anger. "That faggot dirty old man, I'll kill him if he touches Luz!" "Angelo...," Hector told him, "You are my brother and I love you, but if you let your dick fuck things up with the Colombians I'm gonna cut it off." Angelo nodded. "Forgive me Hector." "Don't let it happen again," Hector warned him.

"And what was that?," Victor asked, curious about the earlier call. "Those pendejos in Saint's Row are the ones who took the shipment," Hector explained, "With the Colombians arriving, we can't show any weakness." "The Colombians are already here," Angelo pointed out. "All the more reason to settle this now," Hector replied, "Victor, Angelo... Gather your men together. It's time to tear Saint's Row apart."

While the Carnales were plotting, Playa and Starlight were checking off a few more tasks. Starlight managed to grab a couple more CDs at Wardill Airport, while Playa grabbed a Nightingale for the chop shops. That night they went to the arena district to meet a pimp named Helmers, a heavy-set trailer dweller who seemed to be a bit lazy. As they approached, Playa accidentally knocked over a pyramid of beer cans that was set up nearby. "What the hell is wrong with you?," Helmers called out as he threw another beer can, which Starlight caught with her magic.

Playa grabbed Helmers by the straps of his wife-beater. "Wait, wait, I'm sorry," Helmers said, and Playa let go, "I thought you was one of my kids for a second. Here's the thing, I may not look it but I've been part of the pimping business for a while. Been looking after my girls ever since they grew titties. But recently they got lured away by some fancy-pants in a hat and cane. It turned out to be sheer bamboozling though, cause those other pimps have been abusing my girls and I'm stuck here unable to do anything. Julius said you could help, so can you please get my girls back for me?" The duo nodded. Since the pimps lacked the protection of the Rollerz, getting the hos back proved easier than before.

The next morning, Dex gave Playa a call. 'Seems with the Carnales' drug business hurting, they're starting to move on to gun running to recoup losses. They already have a weapons plant in an old steel mill on Fox Drive. Starlight will be picking you up along with some explosives you'll need to plant at strategic locations around the facility, then get out of there before it blows.' Sure enough, Starlight soon arrived with the shipment.

The first part involved removing a few defenders from the front of the steel mill. Once they got all four bombs placed, they made their way down from the upper part of the mill via some nearby covered ramps, then hurried out. Explosions were heard from inside the mill shortly thereafter. "I think it's safe to say the Carnales won't be getting into gun running," Starlight noted, "And with this, we can take over Fox Drive. We're getting a good foothold on them." They capped off their day with a few more tags and CDs in Prawn Court, Rebadeaux, and the Bavogian Plaza.

Playa and Starlight spent part of the next day tracking down a few more hit list targets. There was Marty in the suburbs, with a baseball bat, Henry at Downtown, with a T3K, and Billy Bob in the same location, with a 12 gauge shotgun. Afterward they met Dex in his office back at the church. "Thanks," he said into his phone, "I'll be by to pick that up later." "Who was that?," Starlight asked. "Sampson," Dex explained, "He patched up the truck you stole. Now we're to move in on our--"

"Dex, we got a problem!," another Saint said as he came in. "What's wrong?," Dex asked, worried. "It's the Carnales," the Saint explained, "They all over the Row. Angelo and his boys started fucking us up. After a while we were able to push him back, and it seemed like we had him on the ropes... 'Til that Spanish gorilla Victor popped out and bailed Angelo out! I tell ya the stories about him are more than just hype. I saw him take a bullet right in his lung and he didn't so much as flinch. Then they proceeded to drop some of our boys, then laughed it off while they drove to Freckle Bitch's."

"Just drove of to get fast food after taking a bullet?," Starlight asked. The Saint shrugged. "I don't speak Spanish, but Victor definitely named the restaurant in English. Angelo even offered to pay for both of them. But that's neither here nor there. The point is they left at least a dozen other Carnales on the Row as they left." Dex nodded. "Alright, let's grab some hardware. It's time to do a little homeland security." The four of them grabbed some guns and split up to search the Row. Without Angelo and Victor, the other Carnales proved easy to take down. "Looks like Hector wanted us dealt with for stealing the shipment," Dex noted, "But he'll be real steamed once he learns what we're really after."

There was one final task to complete before turning in. Playa and Starlight headed for the airport where they met their contact, a shipping owner named Ralph. "Let's just cut to the chase," he said as they arrived, "My shipping business is in trouble and I need help to get it back up. I got a list of my competitors' shipments and I want you to steal. Keep whatever you make from the hijacking, I just want those bastards hurting." "Short and sweet," Starlight noted, "I like it." They finished off the last hijacking task before turning in, knowing Dex would be ready for their big surprise tomorrow.