SUN SHORT #1 - Who's The Real Number 3?
On the day Hunter was defeated by Worcester, Worcester is sitting in an abandoned mall with several other members of the Massachusetts Boys with him. As he tries to light a cigarette, he sees someone approach him.
The No. 3 of The Massachusetts Boys, Cambridge. Behind him is the No. 6 of Massachusetts Boys, Frankfurt 'Fall River' Schulz.
"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up here Cammy," Worcester begins to say, "Or would you like me to use your real name today…"
Cambridge exits out of the shadows revealing he's…
"Chao Huang?" Worcester questions the third-in-command.
Chao, without responding back, takes his hand and proceeds to slap Worcester across the face, the sound of the slap echoing out for all to hear.
"I thought when I stood on that porch that night you understood not to fuck with my family," Chao utters, "Looks like I needed to make it clearer for you."
Chao slaps Worcester across the face again.
"If you ever…"
And again.
"Harm my family again…"
And again.
"You'll be dead."
Chao goes to slap Worcester one more time. But he stops himself as he feels a knife being pressed on his throat.
Worcester, who's holding the knife, laughs, "Wow, if Boston saw this he'd think we're newlyweds."
"Boston & Salem are busy on business, so right now I'm in charge," Chao begins to say.
"Are you though?" Worcester questions.
"What?"
"I mean sure, you're the 'third-in-command' n all," Worcester begins to say before asking, "But does that matter when everyone here respects me more?"
"What are you-" Chao begins to question before looking around to see something odd.
Every low ranking member there all begins to walk behind Worcester. And it's not just them either.
The No. 10, Trisha "Amherst" Bernstein.
The No. 9, Victor "Lynn" Dunnerman.
The No. 8, Quinn "Quincy" Overton
The No. 7, Parker "Plymouth" Duggar
And even the No 6, Frankfurt "Fall River" Schulz.
They all are allying themself with Worcester.
"You may have that title, but if nobody would listen to you that begs the question, Who's The Real Number 3?!" Worcester laughs.
Chao is silent. He may be strong, but strong enough to put all of these people in place by himself? Not even close.
"When Boston & Salem come back-" Chao tries to hiss.
"Shhh," Worcester says as he places a finger on Chao's lips, "You talk too much hon'."
Worcester turns around and greets the other members of The Massachusetts Boys by saying, "Thank you everyone for your help in this matter, I think a celebration is in order!"
Everyone else besides Worcester & Chao cheer as Worcester can't help but think to himself to set his sights higher. If it was this easy to take care of Cambridge, getting rid of Salem & Boston should be a piece of cake. After that all he really needs to do is take care of Mason Makinsley & his Dirty Fang and then it's finished.
The Devil In Red will be able to rule over the entire city, just like how he was always supposed to.
SUN SHORT #2 - A Dirty Favor
"So I take it you're interested in the offer?" Joel Cooper asks.
The leader of The Vignette is standing outside the Seastar High school, with his two men Archer Flick & Elias Fox standing behind him. The people he's talking to are none other than Vanessa Deli & Blanko Deck.
Vanessa looks down at the scrawny kid before asking, "I thought elementary school wasn't out yet?"
"I'm older than both of you," Joel responds.
"Listen man, if you need us to call your mom or something we can do that," Blanko says, concerned for Joel's safety.
"Did you not just hear what I said?" Joel groans.
Elias is silent as he blows some bubble gum, but Archer intervenes in the convo.
"What my boss Joel is asking is for you to head into The West Side and retrieve a picture he needs from The Massachusetts Boys," Archer explains.
"Ah you're those Vignette people Makinsley warned us about," Vanessa begins to remark before saying, "Sorry but I'm not interested. Can't you three just do it yourself?"
"As much as I'd like to obtain the photograph ourselves, that's not a real possibility for us now," Joel responds, "And don't worry, I'll make sure this is all worth your time."
"Really?" Vanessa says as she begins to walk away, "I don't think anything will be worth risking my life for a simple photogra-"
"It's been a while since you saw that man, am I mistaken?" Joel questions.
Vanessa stops dead in her tracks before turning back and rushing Joel. She lifts him up by the shirt as her face is filled with rage.
"How do you-" Vanessa tries to ask.
However Archer & Elias quickly grab onto Vanessa's own arm, and force her to let go of Joel. Because of this, Joel falls to the ground but he seems unphased.
"You want to see him again?" Joel questions with a smirk, "I'll tell you where he is if you get me that photograph."
Blanko looks at Vanessa concerned, unsure if he should intervene. However it doesn't take long for Vanessa to respond.
"Fine, we'll get you that photograph, but you better not be lying," Vanessa says.
"You don't need to worry about that," Joel says as he's helped up by Archer, "I don't believe in lies."
"Well then," Vanessa begins to say as she makes her way down the street, "I guess there's only one thing left to do. Head over to the west."
SUN SHORT #3 - A New Job Offer
DING!
The door to an auto repair shop opens as a man enters it. Inside the shop are three people; Timothy McGee, Thomas Dolby, & Tim-Tom Pitt.
"Hey, welcome to the store, if you need some repairs on your car, you've come to the right place!" Timothy says as he's mopping the floor.
"I don't have a car," the man remarks, "I actually heard you guys could do 'favors' for people."
"Favors, huh?" Tim-Tom remarks as he makes his way over to the man, "Well if it's that you want, then step right up. Whether it's getting your dog to spit out your keys, beating up your enemies, or teaching your kindergarten class the ABCs, there's nothing us Three Ts can't do!"
"I like the confidence," The man says as he hands them a wad of cash, "Is this enough of a down payment?"
Tim-Tom looks at all the money, it's more than he's ever held before in his life.
"Y-yes this is more than enough!" Tim-Tom says as he hands Tom the cash, "What do you need from us?"
"It's simple really, there's a photograph in the possession of The Massachusetts Boys, it'll cause a lot of trouble if it ever falls in the hands of someone else, so I'd like you three to bring it to me and destroy it in front of me," the man explains.
"It'll be a bit tricky to get it from those guys," Tim-Tom remarks hesitantly.
"But you can do it, right?" the man asks.
"Do you need to even ask?" Tim-Tom says with a coy smirk, "Aye boys, get on your bikes, we got business to handle."
"'Bout time things got interesting," Tim sighs in relief as he drops the mop.
As The Three Ts all exit out into their garage, the man stands there for a minute.
"Well they certainly grew up," the man – a record store owner by the name of Casey Burns – ponders, "Wonder if you'd say the same, Tammy."
SUN SHORT #4 - Feathers
"Now then what do you think weighs more, a ton of steel or a ton of feathers?"
The person who's asking this question is Kimberly Masterson, a teenager with hair that's half dyed-orange and half-dyed black, white skin, black lipstick, and blue eyes. She's currently wearing a white crew neck sweater, blue jeans, and black boots.
Currently, the 17 year old is in the middle of tutoring the young 3rd grader, Jude Jackson, who just had quite the eventful weekend. The two are sitting at the kitchen table in Jude's foster home.
"Well, it'd be a ton of steel," Jude answers, "Because steel is heavier than feathers."
"Oof, sorry Jude, but you're incorrect," Kimberly sighs.
"Then it's the feathers?! But that's silly!" Jude complains.
"Sorry but that's also wrong," Kimberly explains, "A ton is two thousand pounds, so they would both weigh the same."
"Urgh you tricked me!" Jude vents, "Can't we just go back to the stuff about perimeter?"
"Sorry sorry," Kimberly laughs, "Though there is something I wanted to teach you there."
Jude tilts his head in confusion as Kimberly explains by opening her hands, "Let's say instead of a ton, it was just a pound of steel and a pound of feathers. Now imagine holding them in your hands."
Kimberly's left hand opens further while the right hand remains in the same position as she continues, "You'd have to hold a lot more feathers than you would steel for them to match weight, right?"
"I guess," Jude remarks.
"The same applies to humans," Kimberly explains, "Some people may be more adept to learning a new skill like math, but that doesn't necessarily make them better than someone who's just feathers. If they take the time to improve, then eventually one day they'll be able to match or even surpass someone made of steel. So even if you're made of feathers, just know that doesn't make you weak, it means you just need to be resilient."
"Woah," Jude remarks as inspiration hits him, "Thanks Kimberly! I'll make sure to study hard!"
"I know you will," Kimberly says as she begins to stand up from the table and collect her bags, "But I'm afraid that's where our tutoring ends for the day. Make sure you have your foster parents schedule another session okay?"
"Okay! Bye Kimberly!" Jude says as he waves goodbye at Kimberly.
Kimberly waves back before exiting the house and walking down the street of the west side, as she does so, she gets a call from 'Chao Huang'.
"I see you're quick to call," Kimberly jokes, "Jude seemed to have fun today with the tutor sess'."
"Glad to hear that, but that's not why I called Lowell," Chao says through the other line.
Kimberly Masterson's face changes demeanor as she assumes her other role, being the No. 5 in The Massachusetts Boys.
"How did it go?" Chao questions through the phone.
Kimberly falls silent as she recalls the events of yesterday…
__________________________
The day prior, Kimberly 'Lowell' Masterson is walking down the street with a phone to her ear. She's wearing a white-black flannel jacket over a black t-shirt that has a graphic of some Midwest Emo band on it, black shorts, black fishnet stockings, & black boots.
The sun shines down on her as she's on the phone with Chao Huang, the third-in-command of The Massachusetts Boys.
"So, Worcester has got most of the gang to ally himself with him, and he's eyeing to take your title by force?" Kimberly questions as she continues walking to her destination.
"Yes, I was calling to see where you stood on the matter," Chao explains.
"To be honest, I'm keen on just letting you two sort out your differences," Kimberly responds as she stops walking, "Then whoever is stronger between the two of you is the one I'll side with."
"I should have known you'd be no help in the matter," Chao questions through the phone, "Are you even at that place yet?"
"Yeah, I'm standing right outside it," Kimberly answers as she eyes an abandoned nightclub, "Club Azure's really seen better days, hasn't it?"
"Just go in and do what Boston & Salem tasked you with," Chao says through the phone, "Understand?"
"Yeah don't worry," Kimberly says as she breaks open the locked door to the club with a kick, "I won't party too hard!"
After hanging up, Kimberly walks down the dusty steps of the once vibrant nightclub. she eventually reaches the main area of the decrepit night club. Most of the lights have already been worn out and cracked but those that are still active shine a light on all of the people residing in the place.
"Well you all certainly look like shit," Kimberly remarks before sniffing the air and then immediately after holding her nose, "Urgh, and you smell like it too."
"Who the hell invited this bitch?" One of the thugs remarks.
"I swear I locked that door," Another adds as they all begin to circle Kimberly.
"Take it you guys are all members of Club Azure, right?" Kimberly questions, "Or were."
"Like we'd tell you," One of the thugs says, "You got quite the nerve coming here by yourself, ever since the boss got busted we've had this place to ourselves. And we intend to keep it that way."
As the thugs get closer and closer to Kimberly, the teenage girl groans, "I should've known this would happen, mind if I end the call?"
"I thought you were going to earlie-" Chao begins to say.
"Thanks Cammy!~" Kimberly says with a smile as she eagerly hangs up on the third-in-command, "Now then, I'm just here as a messenger. So if you're gonna get mad at someone get mad at the-"
A fist flies toward Kimberly which she dodges as she finishes her sentence, "government."
"Tch! You just got lucky!" The thug who swung remarks, "Let's see how well you do against this one!-"
The thug stops dead in their tracks as they witness Kimberly's leg has been raised above her head. Then with the swiftness of an axe, she brings it down on the man in front of her.
CRACK!
"Aaa- AAAHHH!" The man yells out in pain as he crumples to the ground, "My shoulder! YOU JUST BROKE MY FUCKING SHOULDER!"
"Did I?" Kimberly teases, "It just felt like I was swatting a damn fly."
"You bitch," the man yells as he rests on the ground, "EVERYONE GET HER!"
Several thugs all begin to rush Kimberly, but Kimberly doesn't seem too phased by it. Instead when several swing their fists at her, she crouches down before kicking their feet in.
Two other men try to rush at her at the same time from opposite directions, but Kimberly simply rushes toward another thug right before the two's fists land on her. Due to this, the men's fists collide into the other's face. As for the man that Kimberly rushed, it doesn't take more than a simple front kick to take him down to the ground as well.
With one thug left standing, they try to turn and run only to trip themselves. As they land on the ground, they begin to crawl away.
"Sp-spare me please, I just came here to fit in!" the young teen pleads.
Kimberly however slowly approaches them before raising her leg up once more, ready to perform another axe kick.
"Wh-what are you, made of steel?" The young teen sobs.
"Nah, just feathers," Kimberly responds, "And a fuckin' lot of 'em!"
The teen closes his eyes as Kimberly brings her foot down… only, it doesn't connect. Confused, the teen opens his eyes to see Kimberly helping him up.
"Why are you?-" They try to ask.
"You said to spare you," Kimberly remarks, "So I did. Besides, today I'm nothing more than a messenger. How can I be that if I don't got any fucker to talk with?"
"I…guess," the teen agrees.
"Relay this message to the others when they wake up," Kimberly says before explaining, "Since your boss is in jail, the government was able to seize this property and just recently sold it. They're gonna make a new business here soon enough, so if I were you I'd consider packing up your things before I have to come back and 'clean' the place up."
"H-how do you know all this?" The teen asks.
"Didn't I just tell ya, ya dumb bitch?" Kimberly remarks as she flicks the fellow teen on the forehead, "You should get your ears checked dude."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the teen remarks.
Kimberly begins to walk up the steps as she says, "Well looks like I got that taken care of. Better not see ya again when I come ba-"
"Wait!" The teen remarks.
Kimberly stops walking up the steps to see at the bottom of the staircase is the teen.
"When you said you were made of feathers, what did you mean?" the teen questions.
"Really? That's what you wanted to ask me," Kimberly scoffs before explaining, "What you saw today wasn't out of talent, it was from hard work. Maybe one day if you work hard enough, you could beat someone with lots of talent like I did."
"I see, then in that case…" The teen starts to ask.
_________________________
"And yeah, that's how it went," Kimberly explains to Chao in the present day.
"I see, you sure you can handle that responsibility?" Chao questions.
"Don't worry about it," Kimberly remarks as she spots her destination up ahead, "I'm number 5 here, it's about time I took someone under my wing."
Kimberly looks up ahead to see that standing outside a shutdown grocery store is the teen from before. He has long silky black hair in a bun, and white freckled skin.He's also wearing a pair of black square sunglasses, a black leather jacket over a blue-green ensign check button-up both with the sleeves up, black denim pants, & black running shoes.
"Speaking of which," Kimberly remarks as she hangs up.
"Oh, hey Kimberly! Or wait do I call you Lowell or?-" The teen questions.
"You can call me Kimberly when it's just us, but when other members are around, stick with Lowell," Kimberly 'Lowell' Masterson answers.
"Okay, thanks Kimberly!" The teen responds.
"Don't mention it C.J.," Kimberly says before walking into the abandoned grocery store, "Now come on, we got some work to do today."
"Alright," C.J. says as he reaches into his pockets, "But you do know that's not my name, right?"
"Eh but you look like one, so I'll stick with that," Kimberly remarks, "And besides, once Boston picks out a nickname for you, I'll have to switch to that."
"I know but still, why C.J.?" C.J. questions.
"I just said why dumbass!" Kimberly groans.
The two continue to argue as the newest member to The Massachusetts Boys makes their debut.
SUN SHORT #5 - A Business Dinner
A nice car parks outside the fancy Yamamoto Family's Japanese Restaurant. Two people step out from the rear seats and onto the sidewalk. The first is one of MSA's many fashion designers – Brenda Delaware. Her long dirty blonde hair is down and curly while she's wearing a very fancy purple blazer over a black sweater, purple dress pants, and black high heels.
"Should we get a table set sir?" Brenda Delaware asks.
"Sure, the other two must still be having trouble getting to this part of town," the other person that exited the car states, "Especially during rush hour."
The other person is none other than the president of the moon shadow affiliate, Ryan Everst. He's wearing a cream colored crewneck sweatshirt with purple & black stripes on the bottom of the shirt & sleeves, a black wool jacket with purple engravings, black denim pants, & brown loafers.
Ryan Everst goes to the driver and hands him a tip, "Make sure to park somewhere close by."
The driver nods and drives off leaving the two to enter the restaurant.
Ryan opens the frosted glass doors to the restaurant and lets Brenda enter before following suit. The place is a traditional Japanese-styled sushi restaurant with the kitchen at the center of it and can be viewed by everyone. One of the walls has a giant fish tank filled with fish of all shapes & sizes swimming in it. And as for the patrons, most seem to be of very high status. After all, not everyone can afford to dine at such a fine establish-
"Oh, is that Mister Everst?" a voice calls out.
Ryan & Brenda look over to see that sitting at a table are two people. One is busy looking at the menu while the other is waving them over. The person waving has dyed blonde hair in a mullet, white clear skin, green illusive eyes, a charming smile, & a cheery demeanor. The man is wearing a black turtleneck under a brown overcoat, blue jeans, & brown loafers.
"We already got a table," the man remarks, "Come join us, I already ordered drinks."
Ryan & Brenda curiously walk over and sit on the other end of the table from the man.
"I thought traffic would be a bit of a hassle for you," Ryan remarks as he takes a seat.
"Oh no need to worry about that, sir," the man says with a smile, "I always make sure to be early to all important meetings."
"I see," Ryan sighs, "You were the one who asked to meet me, so tell me what it is you wanted to discuss Cavendish. Or would you like it if I called you by that nickname?"
The man, Jackson Cavendish, smiles as he pours a glass of water for Ryan, "Oh please, only my family really calls me Boston. Cavendish is just fine with me."
As Jackson finishes pouring Ryan a drink, the business dinner between the head of The Massachusetts Boys & the president of The Moon Shadow Affiliate truly begins.
See You Next Chapter!~