Starlight Saint

After the Vice Kings were toppled, Julius had Paul and Starlight take a day off to rest and prepare themselves for the final phase of the war to take Stilwater. With the Rollerz and the Vice Kings no more, only Los Carnales remained. Chances were that they would be the toughest gang they would face.

Knowing this, Starlight decided to scout around the southern parts of Stilwater held by their remaining enemies. Before she headed out, Paul called her to ask if they could scout the Carnales territory together. Starlight smirked as she realized that both of them had the same idea.

Since this was a scouting mission and being that there was a potential risk that the Carnales might recognize Starlight’s car, Paul hijacked a car for the impromptu mission.

The southern parts of Stilwater was where the Latino community was concentrated. Both legal and undocumented Latino immigrants lived in the area which was part of the reason most of Los Carnales was composed of Latino thugs.

While Starlight had repeatedly driven to the airport which was in the southern end of Carnales territory, she never took the time to look around the area. She did notice a number of Carnales thugs around a villa in Ezpata which bordered Chinatown and suspected that the Lopez Brothers might be leading their gang from there.

Other than that, there wasn’t anything of significance to note in their tour of the southern island. Since the Carnales were specialized in drug synthesizing and trafficking, Starlight did take note of the warehouses as places where potential labs could be housed.

Speaking of trafficking, Starlight suddenly remembered an old buddy of hers whom she hung out with whenever school life was becoming stressful for her. Her friend was always pretty mellow most of the time until someone tried stealing from him which would trigger him. She found out quickly that when the man was triggered, everyone in hearing distance of his shouting would know it.

“Let’s go to Fox Drive, I’d like to visit an old friend of mine. He’s pretty cool, I think you’ll like him.”

Paul shrugged and headed over to Fox Drive which was south of the Saints-held Athos Bay across a couple of bridges. Starlight saw a familiar van that looked like something out of the Seventies and had Paul stop the car before they got out and headed into a junkyard.

“Last I heard from Tobias, he was slinging while his buddy, Billy, watched his back. I wonder how he’s doing now,” Starlight mused.

They soon got their answer when they heard a gunshot up ahead. They quickly spotted a shirtless man wearing nothing but a pair of multi-colored baggy pants and a beaded necklace. He wore no shirt and no shoes and he was currently in the middle of unloading an entire clip of ammo into a man wearing a black coat.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN STEAL FROM ME?! YOU THINK YOU CAN FUCKING ROB ME?! YOU STUPID! FUCKING! BACKSTABBING! PIECE OF SHIT!” he screamed, unloading several rounds into the man’s corpse.

Paul cringed at the display of rage he just witnessed. He had never seen anyone get that angry before.

Strangely, as if a switch was suddenly flipped, Tobias’ demeanor had suddenly gone from enraged to completely chill as he noticed his new company. He smiled as he noticed his old friend, “Hey Starlight, sorry about the mess. Billy here thought it would be a good idea to skim off the top but…” He fired one last round into the corpse, which Paul figured was Billy. “He was wrong…”

Suddenly, Paul felt on edge about being around the guy who seemed like he could change his expressions too fast for his liking. “...You’re right, I do like him,” he tried, though nobody bought that.

“What’s with you?” Starlight asked, sensing Paul’s discomfort.

“How does someone go from pissed off to chill that fast?”

“Relax, bruh,” Tobias assuaged. “You’re friends with Star, so you’re fine with me.”

“As long as you don't try to cheat him. As you can tell, that can really trigger him. Other than that, he's a pretty chill guy,” Starlight added.

“Since you’re here, you mind helping me out?” Tobias requested. “Since Billy here decided to abruptly retire from the business, I need someone to watch my back while I make a few deliveries.”

“I can guess what you’re delivering, but I have to ask: Are you on the FBI watch list?” Paul asked. “Last two times I helped someone with their deliveries I had them on my ass toward the end.”

“Nah, man, I’m actually pretty low on their radar since I’m in a low income neighborhood. It’s those punk Latino kids you gotta watch out for. Anyways, let’s roll.”

Just like with Laura and Marvin, Tobias drove around and made the deals while Starlight and Paul made sure to keep him safe. The runs were a little easier than the last two times since they now had a sizable income and could afford to keep fully stocked on ammo at all times. The difference was that the police presence was minor this time while the Carnales became increasingly aggressive in trying to stop Tobias.

“So, you Star’s personal muscle?” Tobias asked.

“I’m her friend, actually,” Paul replied.

“Kind of both, really,” Starlight shrugged.

“That’s good, can’t have too many friends,” Tobias nodded. “Don’t you have a boyfriend yet? I bet all the guys are giving you looks.”

“Nah, statistically most relationships around my age end in break ups so I’ll hold off on things like that until the market matures. What about you?”

“Me? Nope, ladies can’t handle my ‘unique’ charms.”

Paul suppressed a scoff as he heard that. He had seen Tobias’ “unique charms” in the junkyard and it would take a woman with a certain kind of crazy to want to date him.

“Well, I can set you up on a date with someone if you want,” Starlight offered. “I know someone around your age who’s single and holds well under pressure.”

“I suppose I can give your offer a shot,” Tobias shrugged, unsure if the offer was a good idea.

Eventually, the Carnales grew so furious with Tobias stealing their customers that they started breaking out the heavy artillery in the form of RPGs which forced Starlight to start using her magic to protect them by sending the rockets back at the Carnales. Beyond that, the deliveries went smoothly.

The fact that the Carnales were unable to deal with one drug dealer who was protected by the Saints had shown the gang that their enemy was a force to be reckoned with. This, combined with the times with Laura and Marvin, had also shown the law enforcement that the Saints were not to be underestimated.

As they said their goodbyes to the seemingly unhinged man, Starlight promised to set him up on that date once the Carnales were finished. They then returned home to finish their day off in peace.

The next day the two returned to the church as it was time to begin moving against the Carnales. Yesterday’s stunt had shown Starlight what their next opponents were capable of. The Carnales were obviously heavily armed for warfare, possibly in preparation for their war against the Saints. Sure, the Vice Kings had thugs carrying around RPGs, but the Carnales seemed to have their thugs armed with enough explosives to demolish half the city. Starlight had no doubt that the Columbian Cartel were providing them with weapons. This was going to be an uphill battle.

Starlight and Paul entered Dex’s office. The man was expecting them as he had everything set up on his board on the wall, including a map of the city and some photos depicting Carnales.

“Hey you two, glad you could make it,” Dex greeted. “Ready to get started?”

“Yeah, what do you have for us?” Starlight asked.

“Check this out, as you probably know, the Carnales were the first organized gang in the city until Benjamin King stepped up against them. I ain’t worried about their history as I am worried that A: the Lopez brothers are crazy muthafuckas, and B: Victor, their enforcer, survived a dozen VK drive-bys. There’s also their connection with the largest drug cartel in the world which would make any Johnny-like plans utter suicide.”

Starlight gave Dex a flat stare but Dex ignored it and continued, “The plan is to cut off their income then go for Hector. Sound good?

“I agree with the plan,” Starlight said. “King did mention that taking out Hector would be the best way to weaken the Carnales. Angelo’s brash personality will drive a wedge between the Carnales and the cartel without his brother around. We will have to deal with Victor at some point but that’s going to require some more planning if we’re to take out that tenacious bastard. So where do we start in attacking their income?”

“Good question,” Dex nodded. “There’s a couple of drug labs in warehouses located in The Mills and near Southern Cross. Both are fairly small hoods so you should find the warehouses easily.”

“So we’re assaulting two labs in two territories?” Starlight inquired, seeking clarification. “Seems like a bit of a bold move but if Paul and I each take a lab at the same time it should ensure that they won’t have time to reinforce either one.”

“That should work as long as you two can handle the labs solo. You two do a lot together but can you handle solo missions?”

“We’ve got it handled, Dex, don’t worry about it.”

Once they were finished with their briefing, Starlight took her car and headed to Southern Cross while Paul hijacked a car and headed for The Mills.

Heading across the bridge from Athos Bay, Paul entered Fox Drive before turning into The Mills where little but an industrial mill, a few small warehouses and barely any housing was located. The target warehouse was easy to find just off the main road where he got out and started blasting the surprised Carnales thugs with a shotgun.

The thugs were lightly armed so Paul didn’t have to worry about any destructive weapons like he and Starlight encountered yesterday but he still had to make sure to avoid being hit anywhere that could lead to a lethal wound while blasting the thugs.

He soon reached what looked like the back room of the warehouse where he noticed some makeshift equipment that he suspected was used in drug production. After tossing an active grenade at the equipment, Paul quickly left the room before a huge blast devastated it.

With the lab destroyed, Paul only needed to deal with any reinforcements and get back to the church.

Technically, the warehouse Starlight was looking for was in Cecil park which bordered Southern Cross, but Starlight didn’t care about the technicalities as she parked near the entrance of the warehouse which had a wall and a gate.

Pulling out her platinum SMG, Starlight began her attack by taking out the guards near the entrance to the warehouse itself. Once inside, she switched to her shotgun and took out the few Carnales who were actually inside the warehouse which made Starlight feel a little disappointed that there were so few defenders of the site. She quickly located the lab and blasted it with a bolt of her magic while raising a barrier to protect her from the resulting explosion.

“Come on, at least the Vice Kings put up a better fight than you idiots did,” Starlight complained.

One thug who was barely alive raised his head in defiance to Starlight as he growled, “Vete al la mierda, bruja! (Fuck you, witch!)”

Starlight frowned as she fired a round of her revolver in the thug’s face. “Rude, yet insultingly accurate.”

Once she was finished, she returned to the church to report the news.

While Cecil Park was still well defended thanks to a stronghold in the area, the neighboring Southern Cross was left vulnerable so the Saints moved in on that territory as well as claiming The Mills, bringing the war against the Carnales to a good start.

Dex was still planning their next move and there was still enough daylight to do something else before the end of the day.

“So, anything from Wong?” Paul asked.

“He did point me to another mechanic looking for some cars but he also wanted me to deal with someone who is supposed to meet us at the airport. From what I heard, she’s hiring hitmen to eliminate people who have been standing in her way of buying up their properties.

“Isn’t that what Wong had us doing before?”

“Wong’s list involved people who have wronged him or his family. Marcel only wanted us to make sure a bunch of witnesses dropped out from a court case. This woman, Deb, wants someone to eliminate a number of innocent people so she can buy their properties and rent them out to people for obscene prices.”

“Maybe we should ignore this one?” Paul suggested.

“Nah, I’ve got a better idea. For now, let’s head over to Miguel’s place.”

On the way to Miguel’s shop in Charlestown, which was deep in Carnales territory, Paul wondered about Starlight’s close ties with Wong and it brought him to ask the question that had been bothering him. “You seem awfully close to Wong, are you planning on succeeding him at some point?”

“I’m not sure there’s anything to succeed in his organization. He’s just a retired Triad member with a number of loyalists working to make Stilwater a better place. I can’t really say if the organization was made to live on without him. Though I did ask him about that and he told me that while I would make a worthy successor, that my potential was bigger than anything Stilwater could contain.”

Paul chuckled, “He sure knows how to flatter someone.”

The two soon reached the garage and looked around to find a head-shaved man in an electric wheelchair driving over to see them. “What homes, you two never seen a man in a wheelchair before?”

“You sound like you’ve had a bad day,” Starlight remarked.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just in a bad mood,” spoke a woman who walked up to Miguel, who Starlight figured was Jen, his wife. “Ain’t that right, baby.” She then kissed Miguel on the side of his head.

Starlight smirked, “Gotta count your blessings, Miguel. Doesn’t look like Jen is leaving you anytime soon.”

Miguel’s face gained a faint shade of red, “Heh, you got a point there. Still hate that my boosting days were ended by that pig, Monroe. Then he got promoted to chief afterward, life sucks sometimes.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I stole the kickback money he took from the Vice Kings,” Starlight offered.

Miguel chuckled, ”That does make me feel a little better. Anyways, since you seem to know my name, you must be the ones Mr. Wong sent my way. I have the list tacked on the wall. Do this for me and I’ll even give you a coupon for a fifty percent discount on all car repairs at Rim Jobs for a year in addition to the cash…cool?”

“Sure, I’d rather take that than the cars that other mechanics have been offering me. I have no interest in amassing a fleet of cars, unlike Paul here.”

“Hey, I thought they looked cool,” Paul protested. “Besides, I don’t plan on keeping them since I could make a lot of cash selling them if I find myself strapped.”

While Paul was grabbing the list, Starlight made a quick phone call to someone before the two regrouped.

Looking at the list, Starlight spotted the odd ones quickly. While Miguel was looking for a Reaper sedan, there was no way she was giving him her car. Stealing an ambulance could be troublesome if she wasn’t careful since stealing civic vehicles could get her into trouble with the cops. She didn’t see much issue in stealing a Destiny sedan, a Taxi, a Slingshot compact, or a Bootlegger sedan. She knew that the Vice Kings drove Compton sedans around so she might find one in the former gang’s territory somewhere. The La Fuerza sedans were typically driven by Los Carnales so she would probably see Paul hijack one later.

After bidding Miguel and Jen farewell, the two head over to the airport. More specifically, they headed to the hotel near the airport. Once they arrived, Starlight went over the plan with Paul, “All you have to do is follow the script and we will get easy money from this.” Paul nodded and went inside. Starlight headed over to some bushes. “Laserbeak, execute the operation.” The drone chirped and flew off.

Paul was soon greeted by a woman in a red dress with a floral design carrying a martini and a briefcase. “Don’t ask questions, just come with me,” the woman ordered. Paul complied and went over to an area with a pair of seats and a table.

Once the two were seated, Deb placed the briefcase on the table and opened it, revealing numerous stacks of twenty dollar bills. Paul surmised that there were thousands of dollars in that case. “This is for you…” Deb said before placing a series of photos on the stacks. “...if you kill them in the methods specified for each photo.”

Paul looked at each photo and barely managed to suppress a cringe as he looked at the people. He saw a SWAT team member and a picture of a sniper rifle, a construction worker and a molotov cocktail, a roller skater and a GDHC .50 pistol, an obese sex worker and a knife, a mailman and an SKR-7 Spree SMG, a utility worker and a Tombstone shotgun, a dockworker and a baseball bat, and the one that made his blood boil, an old woman and a VICE 9 pistol.

Paul had a thing against killing the elderly, children as well. Unless they were really deserving of it, he would try to avoid killing old people.

Deb gave a sultry chuckle, not knowing the fury boiling within her interlocutor. “Right now I’m willing to bet you’re thinking of one of two things. Either you’re thinking, ‘There’s no way I can kill someone who’s done nothing to me’ or you’re thinking, ‘How am I going to spend all that cash.’”

“Well, you’re right that I am thinking of one of those two things. Unfortunately for you, it’s the former. Fuck you and fuck your contract killing ways!” Paul growled.

Deb frowned as she heard Paul’s vehement refusal of her offer to which she pulled out a pistol and aimed it at him. “Really now, you helped Wong kill a bunch of people and now you’re getting cold feet?”

“Those people wronged his family,” Paul shot back. “One of them even brought about the death of his granddaughter.”

“These people have wronged me,” Deb countered.

“For what, not wanting to sell to you?”

Deb’s eyes widened a little as she heard that but quickly regained her focus. “I see you’ve done some research. A pity, I prefer those who are more inclined to do as told and not ask questions. I can’t have you going to the cops about this so you will have to die in this empty hotel lobby.”

Paul gave his most annoying grin, “Ain’t gonna be empty in the next few seconds, bitch.”

As he said that, a nearby window shattered as a metallic canister bounced on the floor and rolled up next to Deb. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what was about to happen but it was too late to protect herself as her vision was met with a blinding white light. By the time her vision returned, she noticed two things: Paul was gone and she was now surrounded by a SWAT team. Ironically, John, one of the targets, was among them.

“You are under arrest for multiple charges of murder-for-hire throughout the State of Michigan,” John declared. “We have your recorded confession and now we have the photos as evidence. You’re going away for a long time.”

“Looks like that anonymous tip was legit after all,” another officer remarked.

While Deb was being carried off, a certain avian drone who was responsible for recording the scene and broadcasting it to the police flew toward the bushes around the hotel. Within sat Starlight and Paul as well as a briefcase full of cash.

“George Clooney has nothing on you,” Paul commented.

Starlight scoffed, “I wish. The things he pulled off in those movies were done without magic. Though I did take some inspiration from that.”

As Laserbeak flew toward the two, they decided to leave the bushes so the drone could perch itself on Starlight’s shoulder. Paul still had one last question as they got into Starlight’s car, “I saw the cops leave with a briefcase just like this one, but I thought I grabbed it when that flashbang went off.”

“You did, I just conjured an illusion of the briefcase. It’ll vanish in an hour, then they will probably be scratching their heads about it for a while. Anyways, let’s go see Mr. Wong and tell him the good news.”

After they arrived at Wong’s place and gave him the news, Wong smiled before presenting the two with rewards for all of their hard work so far. The rewards came in the form of three weapons: A platinum AS12 Riot shotgun, a gold-plated GDHC .50 pistol and a platinum RPG. Paul was quick to accept the RPG since Starlight preferred to stay away from explosive weapons if she could help it. She accepted the shotgun and pistol though.

Once they had finished their business with Wong, the two returned home to rest before they continued their war against the Saints’ enemies.