xp_logs | Turf War: Showdown (Reply)

Angelo and Amanda go in to get Alejandra. Best-laid plans, and all that...

"No", Angelo said flatly. "There's gonna be enough people bustin' in here causin' confusion when it all goes down. An' do you really want your boys right by a gang house when the LAPD are comin' in?"

"She's my sister. Ain't no way I'm stayin out of it," came Miguel's flat reply. "We ain't scared of no cops."

"You said you'd play this my way, Miguel", Angelo reminded him in a near-growl. "You goin' back on that now?"

"All I can see is you're gonna make a huge clusterfuck in there. I'd play by your way, but not if your way is gonna get my sister killed. I ain't standin' around waitin on you bro, I 'member how you used to be. Ain't no fuckin' way we're sitting this one out, claro? We're staying." Miguel's voice was very calm, but his eyes were deadly.

"The clusterfuck is the only hope we've got of gettin' her out of there without her bringin' the others down on us. It's not gonna..." He broke off, spun away in frustration, then back. "You know what? Fine. Stay. But just remember this if it all goes wrong 'cause of you."

"No, puto, if it goes wrong it's all on your fuckin' head," Miguel said. "I have control over my guys, I know what I'm doin' . Either fuckin' trust me or don't." One arm shot out to grab Angelo's. "If my sister gets killed," he said softly, dangerously. "I'll hunt you down, and I'll make you wish all we did was burn you in a car."

"You're the one who said they were the last resort. Could say the same t'you about trust", Angelo shot back, looking him straight in the eyes. "An' if she gets killed, trust me, I'll be gone first."

Watching from the side, where she was keeping an eye on things, Amanda had to physically bite down on her tongue to keep from responding to that. Angelo had explained a girl sticking up for him would erode his authority, but listening to that...

Both men stared at each other for a few moments more. Miguel released Angelo's arm. "We'll be a block over, on La Cienega, waitin'. The first sign of anythin' not goin accordin' to plan, I go for my sister. Comprende?"

"Comprende", Angelo said with a tight nod. "Just remember what the plan is. It goes off that, we'll need you."

Miguel looked at Angelo with half-lidded eyes. "Si, claro." He guestured at Angelo with a jerk of the chin, and then turned around, stalking off into the lengthening afternoon shadows, back to where the rest of the gang was waiting.

"Great, complications. Remy'd just love this plan," Amanda muttered to herself, watching Miguel go. She glanced briefly at Angelo. "You okay?"

"Just fine", he said, voice as flat as it had been talking to Miguel, as he turned back towards the empty warehouse. "We doin' this thing?"

Amanda's expression flickered, just a little, before settling back into the slightly bored, slightly vacant stare of the satisfied junkie. "Yeah," she replied. "Let's go. They're waitin' on us."

***

The warehouse the gang had taken over as its headquarters was an empty shell, stripped of most of its fittings. The gang had made do with their own, scrounging various pieces of furniture from the neighborhoods - money went on their cars and their clothes, not on outfitting their crib. It seemed like most of the gang members they'd already met were there tonight, the atmosphere somehow charged. Watchful. Amanda felt the hair rising on the back of her neck as they walked in, and she squeezed Angelo's arm warningly. Something's up.

"Tch, Angelo, you're late, man. Stop to give your puta some on the way over?" Ric drawled lazily from where he was sitting sprawled in the best seat, a large leather-upholstered armchair. He had one leg hung over the arm, foot swinging idly as he tossed a fireball from hand to hand. "I told you, bro, tonight's a big night."

Angelo didn't visibly appear any less relaxed than when they'd walked in, but the muscles of his arm tensed under Amanda's hand, and he glanced around the room casually. "Yeah, well, I'm here now. What's up?"

"There was gonna be a big deal goin' down, but somethin' came up. But it ain't my big moment. Baby-A, you got somethin' you wanted to say to the Skin-Man?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed. She really didn't like the way this was going at all. With effort, she concentrated on pulling in more of LA's energy - she'd called it the equivalent of fast food, no substance and it made her feel vaguely queasy after several days of using it, but when needs must...

"Yeah," Alejandra turned to Angelo and fluttered her eyelids coyly. "Angelito baby, where have you been? Mamacita's missed you." Even through the drugs, there had been no mistaking the scar on Grey's shoulder. He hadn't changed that much and she wasn't that stupid. "It's not nice to try and trick me, baby, and especially not nice to trick my gang," her voice hardened dangerously.

Angelo barely resisted rolling his eyes at that, just looking at her. "Lot of water under the bridge, Alejandra. An' tell me what I said was a trick."

"You coulda been honest 'bout who you were." Alejandra said, placing her hands on her hips and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Why the secrecy? Why not tell me who you were? You lyin' 'bout somethin'. So what? You a narc now? We don't like narcs, Angelito."

"You wanna check me for a wire?" came the flat response. "I ain't a narc. Truth is, I didn't think I'd get near if you knew who I was. Didn't exactly end on the best of terms, did it?" Sure, it wasn't the best of cover stories, but he was thinking on his feet.

"You're lyin'" Alejandra hissed. "I'm stoned, not stupid, cabrón. You think I wouldn't have welcomed you back? I cried over you when you fuckin' died, asshole. Nothin' would have made me happier than to see you again. And now you come back with some new bitch pretendin' you don't even know me? No. I know you, Angelo Espinosa. Who're you working for? The cops? Miguel?" A golden halo began to surround her, and her hands shook.

"You cried over me when your brother killed me", he retorted brutally. "You think I'd be workin' for him? Truth is, he did call me - but it ain't like that. I came back here for you, Alejandra. Not for him."

"And he does things on his own, you know that. Like keepin' me prisoner. Because 'Big brother knows best!'" she spat. The halo grew in intensity. "Fuck him and fuck you. I can take care of myself. I have my own peeps now, and now you either get the fuck out of here, or we cut you into little tiny pieces."

"He told me that, si, an' I think he's a fuckin' idiot for doin' it. But I came here with a job to do." He was keeping a wary eye on her hands, but not backing away a single step.

"Rico. I'm bored now," Alejandra said, raising her hands. "I cried over you once, Angelito, shame to waste those tears."

Rico stood, moving over to stand beside Alejandra, still tossing that fireball from hand to hand. "Well, this is fuckin' touchin', ain't it? Reunions, long-lost boyfriends... Tell me, cabrón, why I shouldn't roast the pair of you where you stand."

"Because she's a fucking lying junkie slag," Amanda shot back, unable to contain herself any longer. That bloody cow... Then she snapped her mouth shut, realising that she'd done more than speak out of turn. She'd used her normal accent. Oh, bollocks.

Angelo shot her a sharp glance, then sighed. "She ain't told a single lie." It was directed as much to Amanda as to Rico, but to her it was an apology of sorts. "But I didn't come here meanin' any harm to you or yours." It was true - he'd come meaning to keep them from being harmed, even if he had to get most of them arrested to do it.

"But you are hidin' somethin'," Rico's eyes narrowed. "That fuckin' puta ain't one of us, that's obvious. An' I don't like secrets." He hefted the fireball in his hand, letting it grow larger. "I ain't got time for this," he said, contemptuously, and hurled the growing fireball at the pair.

---

The lights coming out of the warehouse were unmistakable, and definitely not according to plan.

"Let's go, boys," Miguel said.

---

Amanda winced as the shielding spell flickered out almost as soon as the flames dissipated. "Sorry, Ange," she muttered as she moved around him to face the angry gang members approaching them from behind. "I fucked up."

"This was fucked up the second we walked in", he muttered back, positioning himself to watch the opposite direction. "Least the boys should be comin' in any minute now."

"Saved by the bastards who set you on fire. The irony is killin' me." Balling her fists, Amanda glared at Eduardo, who was lining himself up for some kind of powers attack. "At least they can't use the energy stuff without hittin' their own people..." Of course, that didn't stop some of them trying, and she barely managed to deflect Eduardo's force beam with a mini-shield. "LA's not the best powers-wise for me - I think we need to take it to them?"

He half-laughed at that, eyes hard despite his sharp grin. "Then takin' it to them's what we do. Go!" And he lunged forward at the nearest mutant, skin outstretched.

"He says the sweetest things," Amanda murmured, as she followed suit. Eduardo's nose made a very satisfying crunch as her elbow caught him off-guard.

The noise was hidden as the doors to the warehouse burst open with a bang. Miguel's gang in all their tattooed glory pushed their way in. They'd been warned not to spray the scene with bullets by Miguel, but they were packing heat. And plenty of it.

Angelo was a little occupied, but he managed to catch Miguel's eye as he came in. He didn't do anything as obvious as nodding, but the agreement was clear anyway.

Guns. Fan-fucking-tastic. Amanda grimaced as another force bolt from Eduardo gazed her shoulder. His expression of surprise as she promptly booted him in the groin was priceless - the inducer projected an image of open-toed high heeled sandals and a tight miniskirt, but it was the faithful Docs that connected. Around them the scene was degenerating into complete chaos as Miguel's gang waded in. No semi-automatics - no-one was going to contradict Miguel's order there - but there was plenty of everything else. It would have been one-sided, except for the fact Rico's gang were packing their own heat. Amanda saw several Kick inhalers being yanked out of pockets. The energy projectors were hampered by the close quarters - no-one wanted to bring the warehouse down on top of them - but it didn't stop them using their powers to melt bullets and guns.

Angelo, meanwhile, had a very clear goal in mind, whoever he had to kick, punch or swipe out of the way to get there.

Rico.

Rico let loose another gout of flame, his lip curling as one of Miguel's boys staggered back, jacket ablaze. Unlike many of his people, Rico was clean - he knew what Kick did to powers in the long run, and he had no intention of losing his edge. It gave him the luxury of being able to think his way through things, and at that moment, he was trying to work out the game here. Angelo and his puta were obviously working with Miguel, but he doubted it was just about Alejandra. The girl was powerful, sure, but not anything special.

The train of thought was interrupted as he caught sight of Domenica's unprotected back, and he raised his hands with a cold gleam in his eye.

Angelo was too far away to do what he really wanted to - kick the bastard in the face - but that didn't mean he was helpless. From only a few feet away, it was simplicity itself to lash out and wrap a strand of skin around Rico's wrists, jerking him off balance before he could work up a blast.

"Fuck!" The fireball he'd meant to fire at Domenica ended up hitting the floor, scorching his shoes, and he yanked at the skin around his wrists, trying to free himself. "You wanna play with fire, Skin Man?" he taunted, twisting his wrists around so he could lay his hands on Angelo's skin. "Would've thought you'd had enough burnin' in your life, man."

"Better me than her", was the only reply, voice stone-cold as his eyes were, as he stepped back and away from Rico's hands without releasing his grip.

A weakness. Looking into those cold eyes, Rico knew he'd have to char-fry the cabrón to get free, and that would take too much juice. Domenica was out of reach, but there was someone else handy... Twisting one hand free, he reached out and grabbed Alejandra by the back of the hair, yanking her towards him. "Better her than you, Skin Man?"

"Rico, you--" Alejandra squeaked as Rico cut off her air.

"Sorry, baby," he said, almost tenderly, holding his hand against her face. "But I know how things're goin' down, an' I'm not goin' out that easy. So, a deal. You call off your punks, Skin Man, an' I let Baby-A keep her looks."

Angelo's expression flickered and he glanced at both of Rico's hands, then up to take in where he was standing in relation to Alejandra. Then, very slowly, he smiled. "No."

He didn't give Rico a chance to take that in before he'd raised both hands and sent bolts of skin flying straight at his face and chest.

Rico staggered back as several lengths of skin hit him at once, loosing his grip on Alejandra. She stumbled forward, then spun around, whether to attack Rico or to help him, it wasn't certain. But before she could reach, she found herself grabbed again from behind, a forearm laid across her throat and threatening to choke her.

"I think," came 'Domenica's' voice in her ear. "We let them settle this, si?"

Angelo was moving as soon as Rico staggered, in a dangerous stride headed straight for the other young man. He barely glanced round to see where Miguel was, and that he wasn't too busy, before he spoke, holding out one hand expectantly. "Miguel. Gun."

Miguel said nothing, merely handed over his .22, while keeping his larger gun for himself.

Good enough. Angelo just kept stalking forward, gun levelled straight at Rico, until the barrel was right up against the man's head. His voice was pitched low as he started to speak.

"When I was fourteen, ese, I shot someone just like this. He was my friend, but it was either him or both of us. An' the thing is, Rico... you ain't my friend. So what makes you think I'd even think twice about you?"

Rico swallowed, but that was all. "I hear a lot of talk. You gonna do it, then do it already. But I don't think you've got the cajones."

Angelo's response, wordlessly, was to cock the gun. And then he raised it... and brought it down hard on Rico's temple.

"Done enough of it for this life", he said, turning away as the man crumpled.

Watching, Amanda sagged a little in relief. For a moment, she hadn't actually known what Angelo would do. A short exclamation of pain followed as Alejandra, taking advantage of the distraction, stomped down hard on Amanda's foot and elbowed her in the gut at the same time. Normally the Docs would have absorbed the impact, but Alejandra was wearing wickedly pointed stilettos, and she hadn't pulled back. She lost her grip on the other girl, watching as she dashed over, not to the fallen Rico, but to Miguel.

Alejandra's hands were already glowing as she stormed over to her brother, cursing him out fluently and imaginatively in Spanish. "...what the fuck do you think you're doin' here?" she finished. "Come to save me, Miguel? Or t'kill me?"

Miguel said nothing during Alejandra's tirade, looking at her with the patience of a long-suffering older brother. "I've come to get your ass out of here before you get yourself killed. The fuck were you thinking? Or were you too stoned to notice that you were eating into our turf? Either it was going to be us, the cops, or your "friends" that were gonna kill you. Ain't no way I was gonna let that happen."

"You always thought I was dumb", she accused. "I can look after myself, big brother. Whatever you think."

Miguel spread his arms out. "This is taking care of yourself? Alejandra, dios mio, I know you're smarter than this! You're a fuckin' junkie! That guy almost killed you? And if he wouldn't the rest of the boys will! I know the house arrest wasn't the smartest thing but what the hell was I supposed to do? We ain't got nowhere else to go!"

"An' I ain't goin' nowhere with you!"

"Stop bein' stupid!" Miguel finally lost his temper and grabbed Alejandra by the arm.

"Get the fuck off me!" She yanked herself free and whirled, hand raised and glowing ever brighter, clearly about to launch a blast at him. But then she stopped, battling with herself, and after a moment her face twisted and she turned to run.

Only for there to be another ruckus at the door, as a voice rose above the din: "LAPD! This is a bust! Put down your weapons and put your hands on your heads!" Immediately the sounds of fighting became sounds of flight and chaos as some tried to break away, whilst others tried to continue the fight, or tried to take it to the police and black-leather clad mutants accompanying them.

Amanda exchanged a glance with Angelo. About time. "You want somewhere to go?" she shot at Miguel and Alejandra, who were looking ready to run or to fight, either of which would be a waste of everything. "We can help. But you have to decide now."

"Domenica'll get you out", Angelo backed her up hastily, joining them. "I'll handle the cops, if you three get out of here right now."

Miguel didn't even give Alejandra time to argue. He seized hold of her again. "We'll follow you."