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AJ turned to look at Nick. He looked tired, his eyes were glassy, and red, like he hadn't been sleeping much lately.

Of course, he hadn't really.

It had been two weeks since the first attack, and it hadn't been the last one.

It had been two weeks of terror, two weeks of pain, and two weeks of surprises.

They had been well protected though, without Nick and the Stars, they would all be dead by now. Fights had been usual, but no one got badly hurt. Nick assured them that they all knew what they were doing. But he didn't feel safe. He was starting to forget what safe felt like.

********************

AJ could see N-Zee get up again, doing the round kick thingy he seemed to do so well. His opponent went down, and he moved on. This was the first fight they had engaged, and it was supposed to send a message to this Simon guy.

"Some message" he thought.

So far, no one was badly hurt, something he could easily tell. There were no one lying on the ground bleeding. They were all up on their feet, kicking and hitting each other.

The pain would not be acknowledged tonight. Not here.

That they would all deal with tomorrow, even N-Zee, who seemed to be the only one out there without any blood on him.

At least not his blood.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

No reason.

No cause.

Just violence. Just a message.

********************

"What are you thinking?" Nick asks as he sits down next to AJ.

"I'm wondering why you are the only one left standing" he mutters in response. He knows that it sounds weird, but somehow he is sure that Nick will understand.

He does.

"Because I'm good at what I am doing AJ. It's perhaps the only thing I am good at." he replies with a smile.

A sad smile.

AJ looks at him and shakes his head. He then leans his head on Nick's shoulder and closes his eyes, relaxing for the first time in what seems like forever.

"No it's not. I can think of a few others things you are VERY good at my friend" he finally says, looking up at N-Zee with a sheepish grin.

N-Zee smiles back, a happy smile this time, and raises his eyebrows.

"Just a few?" he asks, but before AJ can answer his mouth is covered with Nick's, and they are kissing. He can feel Nick's soft lips on his own, and groans.

It feels so good, he don't want to stop.

He opens his mouth and sucks on the tongue that slips inside.

After what seemed like eternity they pull apart, both panting, breathing heavily.

"Hm, kids" it comes from behind.

"Jealous Kev" AJ says and turns to look at his bandmate.

"Oh yeah AJ. I've wanted to kiss N-Zee since the day I met him." Kevin replies in a serious tone.

AJ and Nick starts to laugh, and Kevin joins them.

It feels good to laugh AJ thinks. Really good.

They get up and follow Kevin over to the others.

Apparently, something's up.

********************

Mickey looks up as the three of them returns to the table.

"Glad to see you had time for us" he says with a smile.

Then the smile is gone, and he gets all serious.

"May's dead" he finally says, looking straight at N-Zee.

"What happened. He was doing fine. Jordan said.."

"It wasn't natural N-Zee. It was the Lions. Janny found him this morning. I sent her over to check on him, and he was dead. Gutted open like a fish, and by the look on his face, he was alive when they did it."

N-Zee's face expression changed, and for the first time ever AJ saw nothing in his eyes.

May had woken up the day before, against all odds.

He looked at N-Zee again.

At his eyes.

Nothing but emptiness.

"So, Simon?"

"Yeah. The other Lion leader died yesterday too. They say he fell down his own stairs. Funny huh, how that just happens to occur right after one of our leaders gets the fish treatment. Now it's all Simon Says."

N-Zee closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and opens them again.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Nothing. The cops are in this now. We had to report it. They pretty much told us that if anything went down, anything at all, they'll bring in the big guns. Personally, I believe them. They have made it very clear that they do not want another gang war in this part of town."

"OK. We do nothing, for now. Better tell the guys that. There's gonna be a lot of angry men wanting revenge out there on the streets the following days. I'm one of them I might add."

Mickey nods. "I'll get right to it. You ok N-Zee?"

"Yeah, I'm cool."

"'K then. See ya later" he says, and walked out of there along with Janny.

********************

Silence.

The room was so quiet. All you could hear was the occasional breathing. AJ looked around.

Six faces, his included.

Five pale, one empty.

Never before had he seen N-Zee, Nick, like this.

He saw nothing in his face. It was like all his facial expressions had been wiped away.

And his eyes, they were colder than ice, emptier than his face. He could only see one thing, and that scared him more than anything else.

Hate.

Pure hate.

He closed his eyes, trying to prevent tears from falling. He had met May once, and he had liked the guy at once.

And, now, he was gone.

And what a way to go. The ones who had done that was animals.

There was no other explanation. No one human could do that so another human.

It wasn't possible.

Yet, right now, he felt like doing that to every single Lion.

And somehow, that thought didn't scare him one bit.

********************

Simon looked up from his papers when his man entered the room.

"We've got him" he said, and Simon had to smile.

Finally something was going his way.

It had all been easy really, to get control.

With the right amount of Lions on his side, and the others thinking he was an ok man, he had planned all this.

His proceeder had been content with the territory they had, not wanting to get into another was with the Stars.

His followers had agreed. The last war had been hard on them, on both sides. The cops had taken too many, and the public had demanded harsh punishments.

Too many now sat in jail, awaiting their death date, or simply for the rest of their life to go by, and they would never again walk the street of the Lions.

Though it wasn't really hard to understand.

People had died, people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No one important in other words.

No, another war had not been in the Lions future.

Not until now anyway.

********************

He wanted the Stars gone, he wanted their territory.

They banned drugs from the streets, he sold it.

They stopped shipments and tried to destroy their business.

He didn't like that.

But that didn't matter anymore.

Nothing mattered.

Now was the time. Now they would start what would later be known as the beginning of the end...for the Stars.

********************

Simon walked into the room, grinning madly at the sight that awaited him.

The room was dimly lit with candles, and a little lamp in the corner.

In the middle, a man hang in chains from the celing.

He wore nothing but pants, and his bare chest already showed signs of abuse.

Not that he cared.

His men had already been playing with this one. Now all he had to do was finish the job.

He walked over and picked up a little pocketknife that lay on a table next to the prisoner. He studied it, and smiled. It was a little blunt, something that would make this even more painful.

He looked at his victim, his prisoner. His eyes was wide open in terror, and blood came from his mouth.

"He can't talk anymore" someone said. "But he can scream" he added.

Simon smiled at that, and raised his hand.

His first cut was deeply into the mans shoulder.

Screaming.

His fingers grabbed his left nipple, and he squeezed it.

A little sob escaped the man, but it was not enough for him.

He violently cut it off.

Now that was the kind of scream he wanted.

He put his head over to the side and looked at his prisoner.

Then with his other hand, he pushed his nail into the wound where the nipple had been seconds before.

The entire room echoed with the screams that escaped the mans throath. He could only smile.

This he liked, this he enjoyed.

Pain.

He loved to make others feel it. Just like he did now.

This would take a very long time, and he knew that when the Stars found this man, he would have his war, and they would win.

 

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