Too Far Gone (Urban)

30| Old Friends, Older Enemies

The next day...

The boss crossed his legs and rested his feet on the empty box in front of him, staring at the new TV he had bought for the HQ. Shaundi set up the cable and everything before she left, leaving him to figure out the rest for himself. He flipped to the next page of the channel guide, his eyes slowly scanning over the numbers and names as he held the remote in the other. His phone rested besides the latest newspaper, his recent act printed on the front page.

     He smiled proudly to himself at the thought and selected channel six news. Surely enough, they were still covering the ongoing story, adding details and people they suspected to be part of it. Jane Valderama babbled on about how the Saints and the Brotherhood were seemingly at war with each other, referring back to Carlos's death in connection to Jessica's. The boss hadn't considered this feud as a war yet. Really, the Saints and the Ronin were somewhat at war at the moment after Johnny and the boss buried Akuji's son alive. He could still hear his pleas and cries as Johnny had lowered him into the ground.

The sudden sound of glass breaking ripped him out of his innermost thoughts. A brief curse was heard, followed by more breaking glass. The boss let out a groan, turning around to inspect the carnage that occurred.

     "The fuck man!" A saint member yelled, dropping the shelves he carried under his arm. The guilty saint struggled to find something to say.

     "It slipped!"

The boss shook his head, rolling his eyes as he stroked the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He should've just hired professionals.

     The boss picked up his phone and dialed Johnny's number. Johnny had stayed indoors grieving for the longest, and he was itching to drag him out of the house and go on a killing spree. He knew Johnny would want to, too. He was still pissed off about Aisha's death and the interruption of her funeral. Johnny picked up at the third ring.

     "What's up?" He said in a somewhat default tone.

   "Johnny," the boss asked, "How you holdin' up?"

     "Besides destroying half of the Ronin's territory? Pretty fuckin' good."

The boss chuckled. "And I was just about to invite you on a killing spree."

   "Shit, I can go for one or two."

  "Yeah? Get your ass over here then."

  "Can't." The boss felt someone tap on his shoulder and twisted his neck to see Gat standing over him, phone pressed to his ear, a smirk plastered on his refreshed face. "I'm already here."

  "I can see that."

  More breaking glass — followed by a curse — was heard. The boss looked over to see the same saint freaking out again. Johnny followed his gaze and shook his head.

  "These louts are careless."

  "Better than nothing, really."

  "True."

  Johnny plopped on the couch next to the boss. A long silence occurred between the two, who both had wandering thoughts in their mind. They stared at the TV blankly, watching Jane run her mouth on and on. The same clumsy saint dropped another glass, but they didn't even flinch to look. Johnny finally broke the silence, rubbing his clammy hands on his jeans as he leaned to the edge of the couch cushion. "About Shogo..."

The boss glanced at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, he spoke up. "What about him?"

   "What you think the Ronin's gonna do to avenge his death?"