It was a stormy weather in Midtown that night. The city seemed quieter than usual, Dean and Drake moved in quietly to see a way they can pick the pieces of their life before moving into a new city if that was the last resort for them.
Drake stood by the window of the safehouse now raided by Police, He had a pistol tucked into the back of his jeans, a bag of burner phones, and one photo of the Downtown Devils from back in the day, James, Dean, himself, and Malik. Four young guys, smiling like they owned the world.
Drake sipping a dry gin, that became his favorite when he stayed at the Colombian's Creek.
Contemplating on how to put the pieces of their life together Dean remembered a number James told them to never call unless the world was falling apart he opened James hidden secret furniture and still found the small note pad that had the number without any name on it.
Drake dialed it.
It rang once, Then again.
A voice answered, Deep, Calm, Dangerous.
"You alive?" the voice said.
Drake took a drag. "Barely."
"Then I assume this means war?"
Drake nodded to himself. "Yeah, all out."
Back at the prison
James was done playing defense.
His lawyer, Thomas Marshall, had just told him the next hearing would focus on the source of the weapons found in his penthouse, illegal firearms, magazines, and 4.6kg of white substance suspected to be fentanyl and some paperwork that suggested that these substance had been smuggled into US borders from Mexico.
James seem to be in more trouble than he thought just when it was starting to believe that it's possible Marshall would get him out.
James stared at the file Marshall dropped on the table.
"This is bait," James said.
Marshall agreed. "They're trying to make you the supplier. Like you're the root of everything."
"I'm not taking that hit," James said. "Not while Malik is pretending he never touched a kilo in his life."
Marshall moved closer to James. "Then you better give me something I can work with."
James tapped his fingers on the table. He had two options now:
1. Stay silent and go down.
2. Start naming names but carefully. Only the snakes. Only the ones who betrayed the Devils code.
"I'll give you names," James finally said. "But not to the court but rather to the press."
Marshall seeming a bit surprised. "The press?"
"Yeah," James said. "Let's start leaking. Let the streets hear the truth before the courtroom does. Malik wants to dance with fire, let's turn the whole floor into a furnace."
The very next morning…
A blog post went viral.
"Downtown Devils Speak: Inside the City's Most Dangerous Cartel Betrayal"
No names were officially mentioned, just code names, deals gone wrong, bribes paid to corrupt officers, and rumors about Malik's solo drug shipments using James's name.
Inside the courtroom, Malik looked shaken.
He grabbed his lawyer by the wrist during recess.
"They're trying to flip the streets against me and that has to be James!"
But James just sat in the dock, calm, cold, Watching.
Later that night… somewhere in Sacramento.
Dean and Drake finally heard rumors, James is alive, locked up and in a legal battle with Malik.
"The Downtown Devils are more down than I thought, we are torn apart, maybe we should move like I suggested earlier" Dean said looking at Drake.
"I can't believe you have grown this soft, Dean this is our life, Midtown is our own. You can go wherever you want even if I am the only Devil standing I'll stay and fight, fight for James freedom, fight for the soul of the Devils" Drake said firmly.
Dean feeling a little bit guilty of trying to chicken out. Said "We need to be alive to fight."
Drake was silent.
Dean continued trying to save face "So how do we begin?"
Drake said "We need to find a way to have access to James and see how we can help, he would do the same for any of us."
Jazmin found Drake
Jazmin had been silently trailing Drake and Dean and finally she found Drake at a small coffee shop in somewhere Sacramento.
Before Drake could say a word
With her two hands up in the air she said quickly "I'm unarmed, I came with a word from James, you must have heard he's been locked up and he is facing trial and a possible jail term, he needs to hear from you Drake or Dean, he said you should get back to him through me"
She said all that with her hands still up in the air.
Drake didn't take his eyes off her for a second.
"Wait you and James been talking.. for how long?"
"No, we've not seen or spoken to each other till when I visited him in jail" she said hastily as well.
Drake still not convinced said "Jazmin kid Sister to that fuck face Bryan... I'm I supposed to trust you now?"
"I hired that high ranking celebrity lawyer Thomas Marshall for James and paid him in full without Bryan's knowledge, you don't have to trust me just believe every word I've told you now because they are true hundred percent" she said
"So then what took you so long to find me" Drake asked with a smile.
Seeming a little more convinced and relaxed with her presence.
She sat down. "I almost didn't come."
Drake nodded. "But you did, why... You are in love with James?" he asked chuckling.
Dean came in looking tired, who do we have here?"
Drake narrated their conversation to Dean.
Dean asked "so you are asking for forgiveness now?"
"I'm not asking for forgiveness," Jazmin said.
"I'm just here so we can help James"
"Good," Dean said. "Because you're not getting any."
Drake cuts in "Tell James we are with him, anything he needs"
Meanwhile… back in jail.
James was visited by a new face a federal agent who said he wasn't there officially.
"We know you're being set up," the agent said. "We've been watching Malik too."
James heart skipped a bit. "Then why am I still here?"
"Because we want all of them. Not just Malik. Any officers involved, the port security, the Mexicans or Colombian anyone involved in bringing drugs into US soil… We want to clean the whole system."
James narrowed his eyes. "And what do I get?"
"Reduced sentence. Maybe even early release," the agent replied. "Help us, we help you."
James didn't answer. He stood up, walked to the cell window, and looked outside for a few minutes in silence then turned back to the agent and said
"Then let me speak to my lawyer."