Chapter 3: CHAPTER THREE
The next day the group had gone back to normal and Ivy was back to being her quiet and emotionless self, keeping all her emotions bottled up.
She started her day by lighting a cigarette, leaned against her car in a car park a few metres from the school. She exhaled and let the smoke out, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. It was a big day. She was going to be leaving in the middle of school to have a meeting with some very important, very dangerous people.
Gang leaders from some of the most dangerous gangs were all coming to meet her. They were going to hear her proposal, and she was going to ask them for help in saving her brother and killing the rest of her family. She didn't want to ask for help, but she couldn't afford to attack alone, because while she was dangerous, she wanted more people on her side.
So, she made her way into school after calling Carlos and double-checking that everything was arranged and ready. She stomped on the cigarette and walked into her first class of the day. And continued until she was in Art, with Caleb sat beside her. A hall monitor walked into the room. He was in her gang, she had to have someone on the inside with her.
He smirked when he saw her and turned to face the teacher. "Ivy Parker has been signed out. She's to head home for a family emergency."
Ivy stood and packed all her things away quickly before heading towards the door. She slung her back over her shoulder and walked out of the room. The hall monitor shut the door behind her and grinned down at her. "Ready for tonight Boss?"
"As I'll ever be Dean. Everything set?"
"Just as you ordered." He nodded, walking outside with Ivy to her car. She got in and he saluted her mockingly before walking back to the school. He was essentially placed there to keep an eye on her friends when she couldn't.
Ivy drove to the house and parked her car in the garage, leaving the driveway clear for her guests. She headed right for the dining room and made sure everyone's seat was accounted for, including hers at the head of the table. No one sat at the other head or on her right hand side, her right hand side was reserved for her brother, and the other head was her father's old seat, which she honoured by leaving it empty.
She walked to the side where a large cabinet stood, filled to the brim with old whiskeys and alcoholic beverages. She made sure there were enough crystalline glasses for everyone, as she knew they would all want some.
Then, she headed to the kitchens, and as soon as she walked in, she was surrounded by the delicious aroma of foods that were being cooked. Steaks were in the freezer, about to be pulled out to thaw, and ready to be seared for the guests when they arrive. And before she left, she grabbed a cold beer from the freezer and popped it open, chugging some down.
She headed for her office which was on the highest floor and had a balcony that faced the driveway so she could see everyone coming into the house. The walls were painted a dark brown and the floor was the same colour but with wooden planks. Her desk was to the side with the balcony to the left and the door to the right. Opposite her desk, there was another cabinet, this one with fingerprint and retinal scan that held all her weapons. The rest of the gang had a weapons room down in the basement that was right beside some cells they had and a torture chamber. But her weapons were up here, where no one else could get them.
Ivy sat down in her leather chair and placed the beer on the desk before grabbing a pen and going through some paperwork about a few deals and shipments. When she was done, she heard the rumble of a car and stood to look out of the balcony and saw Sierra exit the car, accompanied by Levi and Lily.
She rushed downstairs to greet them, and arrived just as they walked into the entrance hall. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We came to see why you left." Levi replied.
"Big meeting happening today. Lots of gang leaders are coming, and I think I can get some of them to help me in getting Jacob back, and making those fuckers pay." Ivy took another gulp of her beer, and Sierra rolled her eyes at it.
"Ivy, it's not even 5."
"It's a beer Sierra, be grateful I haven't pulled out the whiskey. Besides, now that you're all here, I think I'm gonna need it."
"HEY!" Lily pouted, causing the rest of them to laugh.
"You guys can stay, but you're gonna have to be somewhere the gang leaders can't find out. If they know I have a weakness, they could exploit it. I don't know if they're all good, so let's not take any risks." She began walking down a corridor to the side of the hall and led them to the end of it where there was a flight of stairs leading down.
"Oh no, do we have to go down there." Sierra whined.
"Now that you know everything, you need to defend yourselves, and I won't always be there to save you like last time." Ivy walked down the stairs and took a left. "We're not going where you think we are Sierra."
"Thank God."
"No one told you to come looking down here. It's your own fault."
"Oh shush V."
Levi and Lily looked at the pair, confused. Ivy smiled, "Sierra came looking down here when we had an interrogation going on. Let's just say it wasn't pleasant. But we aren't going down there, we're going to the shooting range, and I'm gonna teach Levi and Lily how to shoot a gun."
"What about Sierra?" Levi asked.
"Sierra knows how to shoot a gun. She might miss her targets sometimes, but she's improving." They got to the end of the corridor and Ivy placed her hand on a scanner outside a heavy black door and the door slid open, revealing a huge room.
To the left side were enough weapons for a small army, there was a plethora of all types of guns, ranging from handguns, to shotguns to rifles and more. There were throwing stars, nun chucks, knives, swords and so much more.
To the right side was the shooting/throwing range. It was separated into three. One section for guns with headphones hanging on hooks and targets far from the little barrier separating them. Another section with metal targets for knives and throwing stars, and the last one with training dummies and fighting robots for hand-to-hand combat and fighting with things like swords and nun chucks.
Ivy headed right for the guns and ushered the rest to join her. She grabbed two silver handguns and handed them to Levi and Lily. "Go to Carlos, he's over there, he'll teach you how to clean, assemble and all that stuff before you come to me and I'll teach you the proper stance and how to shoot."
The pair head off to where Carlos stood, wiping the barrel of a handgun. Ivy walked over to the daggers and pulled two off the hook, handing them to Sierra before she herself grabbed a rifle and walked over to stand in front of a target. She slammed her hand down on a red button and glowing targets appeared in front of her, flickering slightly, they would appear and disappear, making things harder for her.
Sierra was practicing with the daggers, hitting the training dummies and fighting robots with them, and Levi and Lily looked over at Ivy with wide eyes. She was effortlessly letting loose a stream of bullets that hit the targets perfectly causing them to shatter. Carlos grinned at their looks of shock and wonder.
"She's a good shot, huh?"
"Wow." Levi's mouth was open.
"She trained with the best trainers, the same ones that trained her father. She's the best of the best, she actually helped train me for a while. And now, I'm going to train you."
And Carlos launched into an explanation about the guns and how to use them, how to assemble and clean them and all that stuff. They later went over to Ivy and she taught them the proper stance and helped them stand and aim before urging them to fire off a few rounds.
Lily had very good aim, and hit very close to the targets but was slow in reloading and cleaning. Levi was quick with reloading and cleaning, but his aim could use some help. Nevertheless they were both getting the hang out it quite quick.
Soon enough however, someone came down to tell Ivy it was almost time and that she needed to get ready. She returned all their weapons and led them to a room on the highest floor near her office. She opened the door and they walked in.
The room had a bookshelf to the side, along with a TV and several gaming systems and controllers. There was a pool table as well and a mini kitchen and bar. "Please don't leave the room, I beg you. These are some really dangerous people, and I don't want you getting hurt."
"So how come you're going?" Levi questioned, eyebrows raised.
"Well, 1, this is my job, 2, I need their help, and 3, I'm more dangerous." She winked and left the room, and headed down to her own bedroom. She quickly took a shower before heading to her closet.
She would dress elegant, but not too elegant. Ivy rifled through the different dresses hanging in her closet and pulled out a deep red dress. She slipped it on after curling her hair and adding some light make up paired with lipstick the same colour as the dress. Then she added a pair of black boots that were hidden under the dress, she may be wearing a dress, but there was no way she would wear heels.
After spraying herself with some expensive perfume, Ivy strapped her gun to her thigh and walked to her office. She saw cars beginning to arrive and waited a while until they were all here. She knew they would be led to the dining room and so she headed right there.
Outside the room, one of her men nodded his head and opened the door, allowing her in. She walked in and all the men stood. A smirk appeared on her lips and after sitting down, she waved her hand, "Please sit."
Her eyes scanned over all the leaders sat around her. Some women, mostly men. She sized them up, and continued until her eyes landed on someone familiar. Her eyes narrowed. It was the new kid, Caleb. Looks like he was one of the powerful ones, he didn't seem like a gang leader.
Dinner was accompanied by light conversation and jokes. She could feel Caleb's eyes on her as she engaged in conversation with the people around her. When the food had been taken away, and the alcoholic beverages served, Ivy knew it was time to begin. She took a sip of her bourbon and then placed it down and stood.
"Thank you all for being here tonight, I know it can't be easy with your busy schedules, trust me, I know." She looked around, and took a deep breath before continuing. "As I'm sure you all know, both my parents and my sister were murdered, and my brother taken by the murderers. They're waiting for me to turn 18, so I can pay them to give him back.
But I refuse to give them that satisfaction. I will not allow them to get that from me. I want to get my brother back and make those fuckers pay for messing with me. So, here I stand, asking you for assistance in getting my revenge on those sick fuckers."
A man to her left stood. He was a close friend of her fathers and now a very trusted one of hers. "Ivy, you know how close you are to me. I'm by your side, now and always."
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand in thanks, before turning to face the rest. The man -Devin Thomas- spoke up. "Those who stand with Ivy Parker, say AYE!"
A majority of the people stood and called out "Aye!" Caleb included, although he threw curious glares in her direction. The ones who didn't stand, pushed their chairs back and immediately left. They had chosen to stay neutral, not aiding either side.
Her allies left soon after as well, heading back to their home countries or their territories in other parts of the country. Ivy stood at the door waving goodbye to Devin as he got in his Rolls Royce and drove off. Then she closed the door and walked up the marble staircase to her office, and headed right for the balcony, looking up to the stars and then at the mountains across town.
"I'm coming for you Jacob."
Then, she heard footsteps behind her, and she knew it wasn't someone in the gang, she knew what their footsteps sounded like, this one was different. It wasn't any of her friends either, too loud for Sierra, too quiet for Levi and too far apart for Lily.
Her hand dropped to her thigh and she quietly pulled her gun from the holster, then she whirled around and pointed the gun at the head of the person. It was Caleb. He raised his eyebrows and lifted his hands in surrender.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded, flicking the safety off.
"Woah, let's not do anything rash." He reached out and covered the barrel of the gun with his hand before pushing it away from his head. "I'm here because you invited me here. Did you know who I was?"
"No, of course I didn't know. And I meant what are you doing here?" She gestured to the room around her. "Why haven't you left?"
"Because I thought we could talk."
"Alright, come with me." She returned the gun to its holster before walking past Caleb and heading to the room her friends were in. She opened the door. "Guess what I found out today?"
Caleb stood outside the room, not able to see anything, he could only hear. "That the gang leaders are actually cinnamon rolls and they don't hurt anyone and have their goons do it for them?" Came a masculine voice that Caleb recognised as Levi, he furrowed his eyebrows, didn't Ivy know that telling them this could put them in danger?
"No, Levi. They do their dirty work themselves. But, I met someone you may know." Ivy walked into the room and moved to the side, allowing Caleb to walk in. When he did, he saw the looks of shock and surprise on all their faces. Levi's mouth dropped open and chips fell from his mouth, Sierra fell off the arm of the chair she was perched on, and Lily's eyes were wide.
"CALEB?" She screeched, causing Ivy to wince.
"Yes, Lily. Caleb here, is a gang leader."
Sierra stood, recovered from her shock and looked Ivy up and down. "Damn V, you look good!"
"Thank you Sierra." Ivy flashed her friend a brief smile before it disappeared again. Levi wolf-whistled, causing Ivy to thump the back of his head. "I'm headed off to get changed, I'll be back in a bit. Keep him entertained, will you?"
"Happily." Levi grinned as Lily walked closer to Caleb and dragged him over to the pool table where Sierra handed him a pool stick. Ivy waved and departed to her room to get changed into more casual clothing.
She swapped her red dress for a pair of ripped jeans, a tight, graphic band tee and a leather jacket over top. She left the boots and wiped all the makeup off, except for the red lips. Then she tucked her gun into a holster on her belt and walked back to the game room.
She opened the door and plopped down on the couch beside Lily and rested her head on the other girls shoulder. "You wanna talk Martin? Let's talk."
"How do you know my last name?"
"I know everything." Ivy smirked as said boy sat in front of her. Sierra sat on an armchair and Levi sat on Ivy's other side.
"Why didn't you say anything at school?"
Ivy turned to Sierra. "Is this guy for real?" Then she turned to Caleb. "Are you for real? You want me to tell you, the person I literally met yesterday that I am the gang leader of a very well-known and dangerous gang?"
"Ok when you say it like that it sounds bad."
"It sounds bad regardless." Ivy deadpanned.
"Good point."
"I know." "She knows." Ivy and her friends all said at the same time, causing them all to laugh, Ivy letting out a quiet chuckle.
"What happened with your brother? I've only heard rumours and stories." Caleb questioned, his eyes never leaving Ivy as she sat down beside Levi and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"The stories aren't all true. He didn't willingly go with them. My parents didn't stage this. I was not there. I was home, with Sierra actually. And then I got the call from some of the guys in the gang saying they recovered the car, and it had three bodies, my mothers, my fathers, and my older sisters. There was a note, and basically it said that they took my brother, and that they weren't going to give him back until I could pay the ransom 6 years later when I was 18. I was only 12 at that time, and I barely understood anything about the gang.
Demi was never meant to take over, my father tried to keep her out of gang business. He focused on Jacob and I. He trained me, as much as he could in the years before his death, and he tried to train Jacob, but my little brother wasn't one for violence, which is why I was elected leader by my father. Jacob was to be my right hand man, the political Parker. But he was kidnapped. And I swore that night that I would get him back, whatever it took. No matter how much blood I got on my hands, mine or theirs, I was getting him back."
"And you know you've got us, babes." Lily smiled from where she sat beside Sierra who nodded, and Levi squeezed Ivy tighter.
"You've got me too. And my men." Caleb nodded her way.
"Thank you."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone