"Xay Thomas."
[GANG INFORMATION UPDATED: WEST SIDE STANS]
Maurice peered over my shoulder.
"Aw hell nah."
"What? We have a name, Maurice. This was what we were after–"
"This is what YOU were after," he corrected, "This is where my help ends and so does this bullshit of wanting to find him."
"What a fine time to quit. We know that this Xay–"
Maurice raised a hand. He shook his head and folded the paper in my hand. Without any more words he walked out the door and beckoned me to follow. After arriving at his car he checked his surroundings and spoke.
"You're talking too much. We know the name, don't say it out loud."
"How careless of me, you're right. The allies of the Arch Dragon could be watching."
"Whatever nigga–you hate the guy? Fine. Saying that you're gonna find him in public? Death wish. Niggas don't mind they own business. And they absolutely will tell Xay long before you ever see him."
"Well how do you suppose we go about it?"
"We don't. Get paid. Get pussy."
[NEW REOCCURING QUEST: FUCK BITCHES, GET MONEY]
[NOW ABLE TO TAKE SIDE QUESTS]
"What do cats have to do with this plan?"
Maurice stared at me.
For an entire minute, he stared and said nothing.
"Do you plan to amass an army of felines–"
"Shut up. Just…"
He rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Do anything but look for that nigga. That's it. I don't care what you do, just don't be stupid. Or else–"
Maurice pointed to the faded stain of blood by the corner.
"Fuck around and find out. And you already found out."
"Thanks for the reminder of why I'm doing this. Very couth of you."
"No idea what that word means, but going after that guy means you would need his location, the weapons, and the help. And you have none."
I made a mental note of that list.
"Now," he opened the door to his car, "I'm headed to the park. You coming?"
Maurice and I drove to the park where we found the usual members. Ock remained virtually uncontested on the court. Dayleon was lurking around the edges as usual, hands in his pockets. When someone noticed Maurice walking up they pointed him out. Ock ran over to meet him immediately.
"Friend Maurice! How long has it been?"
"It's been two weeks, Ock, what are you talking about?"
"Two weeks without a real opponent! One versus one me right now. Let's go."
Maurice chuckled and walked onto the court with Ock. I took a seat on a nearby bench and started contemplating my options.
Xay Thomas.
Somewhere over on the west side was a man who walked freely. Supposedly untouchable due to his relation to the leader.
How fortunate for him.
I pulled up the quest log from my phone.
[MAIN QUEST]
[GET YOUR GET BACK - PART 3]
[OBJECTIVE: LOCATE XAY THOMAS]
[SIDE QUESTS]
[FUCK BITCHES GET MONEY]
I ignored the side quest and selected the main. Nothing showed that I did not already know.
Belongs to the West Side Stans.
Brother is the ringleader.
Located somewhere on the west side of Stanlowe.
I had a name and a rough location. I'm sure the map on my phone could lead me to the west side of Stanlowe with no problem. I still had the gun I took from Julian's car, despite having no idea how it worked or what it used for arrows.
I had the location.
I had the weapons.
I just needed party members.
Gathering help would be a harder task. Putting word out that I want Xay Thomas at my feet would alert him too quickly. Saying nothing would render my quest a solo venture. Plus, even if I did manage to gather allies, I doubt they would want to work for free.
I wouldn't.
I needed someone with a personal grudge against the Stans. Someone who has proven to be a formidable force. Someone–
A crowd of people erupted in cheer. I walked over to see Dayleon in a scuffle against another man. He was on top, hammering blow after blow to the man on the court.
"You motherfucker! You–"
More men came and separated the two. Dayleon was able to break free and land one more strike before being restrained again.
"Fuck you, nigga! Fuck you and your pussy ass gang! Fuck you and all the Stans!"
The crowd separated. The beaten man was escorted away by his allies whereas Dayleon broke free and walked the other direction. I found myself gravitating toward him as he settled on the far side of the crowd. Peering through the sea of people, I saw him sit down by himself on a bench, tapping his phone.
I maneuvered through and stopped a couple steps shy of him. He wore the same red outfit the day I first met him in the park. I cleared my throat to get his attention.
No response.
I did another. A little more obvious this time around.
Still nothing.
"Excuse me? Dayleon?"
He glared up at me. I gave him a simple wave.
"It seems our paths converge. Your vitriol of the stans is only matched by your fury. Join me in my quest to locate them and enact vengeance."
Dayleon stood in response. He stared into my eyes with an expression I could not read. I extended my hand in welcome, hoping this would be the start of my party in this new world–
"Nigga, what the fuck are you on about."
I retracted my hand awkwardly.
"Perhaps I should put it plainly. You hate the Stans, I'm trying to find the Stans, we work together to find the one I'm looking for."
[RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS NOT MET]
Dayleon rolled his eyes and walked away.
"Hey! This is a good offer! I have–"
[CASH: $68]
Less than I remembered. Supplies were expensive in this world.
"Sixty-eight dollars to your name should you help me!"
[INGENUITY CHECK FAILED]
"You think I'm broke, nigga?"
Dayleon pulled a wad of green from his pocket and spread it across his arm. That looked to be quite the abundant stash of currency.
He put it away and kept walking.
"Okay–what if I joined you? Aid on your quests and then you–"
[PARTY JOIN REQUEST DENIED]
"FVR isn't taking any new members."
"Who is FVR?"
He walked off without another word.
I stood staring at the panes of text reminding me of ineptitude. Once I batted them all away I remained staring at Dayleon as he walked away. His fury toward the Stans of the West Side would prove to be a great tool, should he allow me to harness it.
I returned to my spot on the bench and kept going over my options. Who else had I met?
Three-Six.
One of them pulled a gun on me until Maurice's reputation saved me. Maybe I could use that same reputation as a way into their group.
Feasible.
Then I work my way to be the leader of their group. Expand their operations, become a formidable force, and storm the west side of Stanlowe with my newfound army.
Inevitable.
—
I found Three-Six patrolling the sides of the road in their usual spots. The usual greeting between us occurred.
"What, nigga?" said the one wearing the hat.
How refined.
"I have a proposition for you…"
I took a glance at each member of their group. Neither the man wearing the hat, chain, or sheisty could afford a belt. Their pants hung low enough for me to see their undergarments.
"...for you qualified men."
They looked between each other. After a moment the one with the chain came forward and nodded.
"I have heard word of your exploits. I am in need of a force to enact my revenge on the man who shot me. However, I know nothing in this world is free. I am willing to offer my services in any way you see fit. Let your enemies be my enemies, and vice versa."
I took a bow on the last sentence. Surely, lightly prostrating myself would convince them of my fealty.
No words were said.
I held my head down for an entire minute.
Slowly, I looked up.
Was the bow too much?
The one with the hat spoke up first.
"Nigga are you gay?"
The one with the chain laughed. The man in the sheisty looked away and chuckled. I awkwardly joined in, confused.
"Fuck you mean, 'any way we see fit'?" he continued, "That's gay as hell."
I cleared my throat.
"Are we in agreement?"
"He is Maurice's cousin," said the one in the sheisty, "Maybe he got potential."
"That's what we thought about that other nigga," added the one in the hat, "And he was straight cheeks. No hands."
"But this one has got a little active recently," sighed the one with the chain, "Meet us at the park tonight at 1 AM."
[REPUTATION CHECK PASSED]
[RECRUITMENT QUEST ACCEPTED: THREE-SIX]
"Right. I will see you there."
I took exactly three steps before realizing something crucial.
"I don't think I caught any of your names?"
"Rod," said the one in the hat.
"Q," said the one in the sheisty.
"Will," said the one in the chain.
"Rod. Q. Will. Let this day be recorded as the start of our new alliance."
"Uh-huh. We'll see you later," Will said.
I walked back to the park with my head held high. So high, in fact, that I did not see the pane of text that had appeared in the corner of my eye.
[RECRUITMENT QUEST TUTORIAL]
[ORGANIZATION RECRUITMENT QUESTS WILL VARY ON THEIR TIER]
[IF FAILED, RECRUITMENT QUESTS CAN BE ATTEMPTED AGAIN AFTER TIME PASSES]
[IF REP FALLS BELOW A CERTAIN LEVEL, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO TRY AGAIN]
What was my reputation level? I remember seeing messages of my reputation growing, but I had never bothered to check. As if the system could hear me, a long list of titles sprang out, all of them with an "X" across them, save for "B.A.N."
[HOOD LEGEND]
[THAT NIGGA]
[LIKE THAT]
[HOOD RAT]
[B.A.N.]
I tapped on "B.A.N." and another list appeared.
[BITCH ASS NIGGA V] + [RANK UP AVAILABLE]
[BITCH ASS NIGGA IV]
[BITCH ASS NIGGA III]
[BITCH ASS NIGGA II]
[BITCH ASS NIGGA I]
My current highlighted rank was [BITCH ASS NIGGA V]. Somehow, I knew this was not a title that carried any honor. What I did know was that any sort of rank upgrade would be better than this title. Though, the title of [HOOD RAT] did not sound much better, it would at least erase the profanities.
Q, Rod, and Will each showed a speckle of promise, aside from being in need of belts. I returned to the park to see Maurice and Ock panting on a bench.
"Who won?"
"Ock won," coughed Maurice.
"Eleven to ten! He almost had me beat!" Ock smiled. "Where did you go?"
"Just took a walk. Considering my options. Weighing the cost. Nothing worthy of note."
Maurice glared at me.
"Ah, well I am glad your walk was so nice," chimed Ock, "It is good to see you focus on living now."
"I can now. The hard part is over."
"Jamal?" Maurice asked, "What did you do?"
"Like I said, nothing of note. I'll see you later, cousin."
The rest of the day came and went. I got to the park at one AM precisely to find neither Q, Will, or Rod there. It was not until one-fifteen until I saw three figures coming toward me in the dark of night. Once they were but a few steps from me, they spoke.
"Alright. I guess you were serious about this," Will said, "Are you ready?"
"Ready. What is the task? What is the quest I must complete in order to earn your good graces?"
"We gotta make sure you can hang with us," Q said.
"Ah, a test of endurance. Of course."
[RECRUITMENT QUEST STARTED]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE]
Rod chuckled.
"Quest? Nigga, we jumping you."