Video: An hour-long video by Zoe Amira filled with art and music from Black creators. It has a ton of ads and 100% of the ad revenue will be dispersed to various BLM organizations including bailout funds for protestors. You can replay the video and put it to the side to keep supporting it. I wrote this entire chapter while having the video play.

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#BlackLivesMatter

I will be starting each chapter with these updates until the state of America has reached its conclusion.

If you don't support the BLM movement, please go to my profile and click unfollow. Thank you <3

^ Edit: If you don't WANT to support the BLM movement without even trying to educate yourselves to change your opinion/perspective, THEN unfollow. This is a series about bullying and racism is bullying. You can't follow me or this series if you continue with that bigotry.

If you're tired or uncomfortable hearing this then KEEP READING THIS. You have to be uncomfortable when reading this because this is happening and this is real. If you're tired of reading this stuff, who cares, black people are tired of the oppression but that's not stopping them. This is a historic and important movement we're currently living in. You have the privilege to ignore it, but the black community doesn't.

Please read my work "To Be Educated" so you can learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement currently happening in America and all around the world. I have provided resources so you can learn how to show your support if you're unable to protest or donate money. The most important thing you can do is educate yourselves and spread awareness. My next essay will be about protests and the police.

I will make some points to spread information or cover current events before each chapter as an update. I will elaborate more on this and any future points in TBE. You're free to correct me if I got anything wrong.

Published: June 5, 2020

1) All Lives Matter but the focus should be that Black Lives Matter because of the oppression the black community has faced for years. When you say All Lives Matter, you are shifting the focus from Black Lives Matter. We know all lives matter, but currently, we're focusing on black lives. That's why you should only put #BlackLivesMatter.

2) Campaign Zero #8CantWait - The BLM Movement is asking for police reform with eight focuses in order to decrease police violence by 72% (Ban chokeholds and strangleholds, require de-escalation, require a warning before shooting, exhaust all alternatives before shooting, reform duty to intervene, ban shooting at moving vehicles, establish the use of force continuum and require all force to be reported.)

3) Do not believe the BLM movement is an unworthy cause just because people are destroying property. The movement needs more organization but it is important. There is a difference between the peaceful protests of the BLM movement and the riots/looting that don't stand with the BLM movement. There are opportunists and looters who aren't part of the movement- DO NOT confuse them for BLM protesters. The BLM is against the actions of destroying things, injuring people, and looting businesses.

4) The media isn't doing the best job covering the BLM Movement. There's showing more of the violent riots when there are MUCH MORE peaceful protests. Also, the police have been seen shooting and hurting journalists covering the story, therefore, threatening the freedom of the press to cover stories indiscriminately without favor for the government.

5) Even though the riots are bad as they blindly hurt businesses of minorities, riots do work. America has the Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr who organized peaceful protests to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law that happened from the late 1940s to the late 1960s. Through this they were able to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited discrimination based on color, sex, religion and national origin. When King was assassinated, violent riots spread across the country and DAYS later the Civil Rights Act of 1968 passed which prohibited discrimination of the sale, rental or financing of housing based on color, sex, religion and national origin, it took days of violent riots for this action to happen. The Black Lives Matter movement has been going on for years and there have been peaceful protests that still received criticism such as when black athletes took a knee during the national anthem during games.

6) Cities have enacted curfews and called in the military. Peaceful protests have become violent due to police intervention and escalation. Some cities have taken out the curfews and called back the military. After that, there were still peaceful protests without any violence (probably because there wasn't a police presence in them). My hometown Los Angeles is such an example- it's like the LA Riots again.

7) The police system in America wasn't created until AFTER the abolishment of slavery. They created the police in order to protect white people and white property in fear of the retaliation of black people (because who knows, after decades of oppression, I would be pretty angry myself). So the police system was created out of racism and bigotry. It is a known fact that the police system has a majority of white supremacists and members of the KKK because they are able to use their authority against minorities.

8) People are saying ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) in social media. Like myself, I have family and friends who were police just as many you may have, and they are good individuals who want to protect and help people so they should therefore not be discriminated against. HOWEVER, that can be said with black people and other minorities, and yet they are STILL discriminated against as a group. Being an officer is an occupation, not a race. These good people can leave the system that was created and continued to hurt people and minorities, join the BLM protests, and ask for reform of the police system.

9) You may be wondering why suddenly all of this is happening when so many people have suffered before. Why George Floyd? George Floyd should not be seen as a martyr nor an idol. He is a human being that was wrongfully killed. The black community has been holding their anger for decades, with other killed black individuals such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Gardner, but nothing happened. George Floyd was the final straw, and they deserve that right to finally protests after decades of staying silent.

10) The four officers that killed George Floyd have been charged. Breonna Taylor's case (a black EMT who was killed while she was sleeping when police broke into her home) was reopened. There are many other individuals wrongfully killed. Educate yourselves, petition, and spread the word.

11) Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city where George Floyd was killed, the Minneapolis City Council has vowed to dismantle the police department. This shows there is hope to all of this, that there can be an end.

12) If you are a minority, angry why the BLM movement is such a big deal when your own people and culture have been oppressed by the police, know that you aren't alone. However, the black community has been oppressed for such a long time in America and seen more actively. And since the BLM movement is in motion, you should show your support because WHEN the movement succeeds, it will not only help the black community but YOUR community as well. As a fellow person of color and minority, you have a civic, moral duty to help your fellow minorities. As a person of color, I am doing my duty by writing all of this.

13) If you are a white person who may not understand the BLM movement and/or want to educate yourselves and do something, the first thing you should do is acknowledge your privilege and begin educating yourselves. Also, know that there may be many individuals of the black community who will harbor hate against you due to the history of oppression. However, that should NOT stop you from continuing your support because there are more people there grateful for your support. I've seen videos of white people use themselves as shields in front of fellow black protesters against the police- AND THAT IS BEAUTIFUL AND RIGHT.

14) Don't be afraid to lose friends, families, or followers. Call out the racists. I had family members who were racist but they educated themselves and reflected. It's possible. You can't defend racism in your family. Just because they're blood doesn't mean anything- you know from TGGBB. You can get new friends. I'd rather lose all of my followers if they were all bigots and racists who didn't support the BLM Movement if it meant I can have ONE person who did support it. I'm proud that this isn't the case for me. Not supporting the BLM Movement goes against what my platform stands for, and if you are against it, I would like to ask you to unfollow me and stop reading TGGBB.

15) If you are unable to donate or go to a protest due to strict/racist parents or COVID-19 don't be discouraged. There are other ways to show your support: support black artists and writers, use your social media to spread the word, sign petition, call/text/email your local government for action to be taken.

16) Don't be afraid to educate yourselves. I'm still learning stuff! Educate yourselves through not just the news (as it could be incorrect) but through social media like Instagram and Twitter. What is really important is seeing the videos of protesters to see how peaceful the protests are until the police come. Police officers have been seen destroying their own cars and buildings to blame it on the protests, they shot at people who are only passing by (one being a homeless man in a wheelchair because he was VERY threatening; sarcasm). One group of police pretended they were going to be part of the protest and when the people protesting cheered as they took a knee, the police fired tear gas at them. Use your social media to share resources and advice to support BLM and help protect protesters.

17) Other News: Please comment here if there are any other news or points you'd like to make. Expect to be fact-checked and you must be civil.

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Discussion: Comment here if you want to discuss/debate about these things. Please keep it civil or I will delete the conversation.

Safe Space: Comment here if you want to voice your grievances and have your story heard without risk of turning it into a debate/argument.

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I'm honestly surprised how I wrote all of that at once, no breaks. It was honestly really good letting it all out. It was like pent up anger and knowledge that must be shared.

Also please know I'm doing all of this because it's my civic duty, my moral obligation to do this because of my platform against bullying, and my belief as a human being. I'm unable to donate or protest, but I'll write my heart out. I'm happy I received so much support from my readers, but please know I'm doing this simply because it's the right thing to do. In my next life, I would be a teacher or a social activist.

Now onto the story!

_B_L_A_C_K_
_L_I_V_E_S_
_M_A_T_T_E_R_

Previously on TGGBB2:

The Four Musketeers are attending the bimonthly gang meeting with the other three lead gangs: Carter Andrews of the Grizzlies Biker Gang, Jae Seong of the Inked Blades, and Lucas Haynes and Antonio Gonzalez of the Mayhem Wasps.

Giovanni is someone from Declan's past who was in the foster care system with him. He was last seen at the police station when Jordan was taken into custody for being caught spraypainting an alley wall. He has shown to know the past of the Three Musketeers and has some sort of connection to the Royals.

And that's what you missed on Glee!

Wait.

I mean, TGGBB!

~

Bennett went back to the meeting, wearing his signature serious look again. "Let's discuss the final and most important topic of this meeting, as with every meeting- finding the Lost Boys so we can finally leave this hell."

"Your time is running out," Declan said lowly. "Once we deal with the Lost Boys, we're leaving whether you have a plan on who will lead or not."

Jordan rested his chin on his hand propped up on the table. "You have to give us some credit for putting up with you guys for so long. After all, you're taking away some of our youth here."

Each gang leader wore a look- one of grimace, shame, anger, or dread.

"I need a smoke," Carter muttered to himself. He pulled out a cigarette from his jacket and one of his men offered him a lighter. Soon, there was another source for my second-hand smoke.

"Let's review what we know so far," Bennett told them.

Jordan had taken out his laptop and was going through it. "Starting from August last year to now, there have been a string of incidents happening all around the city. We originally thought it was some new gang trying to make a name for themselves. However, they kept hitting key locations of each of the main group's territory aside from ours in the West."

He flipped a page in his folder. "In September, they first robbed a high-end hotel owned by a member of the Blades." He looked at the group's leader.

"Cost us a damn fortune cleaning that up," Jae spat. "They got into our hidden funds and managed to hack into our system and collected data about-" He stopped himself and looked away. I couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or annoyance on his face. "Well, we already went over this. It was all of the data we have on every rival gang."

Jordan let out a tired sigh. "And I want to thank you again for the tight security you have for such valuable data." He received a glare from the man he just mocked. "Police records, government files, passwords..." Jordan just sighed again.

"We're quite thorough," the leader admitted with a half shrug.

"Moving on. From that incident in September all the way through November, they instigated several fights with smaller gangs that have been fighting against the Mayhem Wasps."

"By that time, we had finally put those leads in line," Lucas said, gritting his teeth. "Then they wanted to raise hell again especially after learning about some of our... disadvantages." He glared at Jae referring to how he was able to successfully chip away the Wasps territory while they were going through gang wars.

"They even managed to infiltrate a faction within our own gang that never wanted the union," Antonio explained. "We had to fight people outside and inside our group. It was a mess." He cursed in Spanish perhaps from the memory.

"And we have just learned that from January to February, they have been messing with the Ursa Grizzlies," Jordan said, then looking at Carter.

The gang leader took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled deeply, smoke spilling out. "It started small at first. Vandalizing our bars and clubs with graffiti then messing with our bikes and other rides. If I didn't notice how my ride felt off, I could've died the moment I hit the highway since I didn't have any brakes."

"Then they started messing with our dealings that you have figured out, kid." He nodded to Jordan. "They started leaking our underhand deals to the bosses of those we were promising protection with which of course made them back out. They were chipping away at our main source of income and hurting our reputation. Not to mention, it was they who managed to get one of our new recruits into the drug business."

"Aside from those three main incidents, they have been doing these things as well in each territory," Jordan said. "They've been trying to jumpstart a new drug business, creating turf wars and messing with finances."

"They're trying to bring the city back to the time it was led by the Royals," Bennett said. "They want everything in turmoil so that any surviving members can come back to control the city again."

"I thought all of them were either in jail or chose self-exile over rotting in prison," Lucas argued. "They can't risk coming back to take the city back especially with us waiting there."

"They can if there's no one there waiting for them," Antonio said darkly.

A long silence hung in the room.

"So we understand their end goal," Carter said. "They grabbed funds for themselves and data against us for their plan while they continue finding ways to undermine all of our work. But what about the gang itself?"

Jordan cracked his knuckles. "Now it's my time to shine."

As we had agreed amongst ourselves for the integrity of our group, Bennett, Declan, and I held back the urge to roll our eyes.

He looked back at his laptop and started typing on it. "I created a program to track all of the activity of the exiled Royals and any connections they have- blood or not blood-related. Even if they were a neighbor, I have them on the list." He stopped typing. "There wasn't much. There's a couple of cousins or nephews, some old high school or college buddies, even some kids either left with their mothers or are in the foster system but they're all under the age range of high school to college. There haven't been any alarms going off yet, but we'll know the moment it starts ringing."

"We're still open to the idea that they have no relation to the Royals," Bennett said. "They could be a small gang trying to be some cheap copycat. But we still need to consider the possibility of some sort of relation- no matter how small."

As they started to discuss any other possible ways they could be related, Declan held out his hand to me.

I looked at his hand. "What? You want to hold hands?" I asked sarcastically.

He was stone-faced and grumbled out, "Give me the gun."

I hesitated. "But what if-"

"I don't want you to ever have to think of that," he told me. "Ever."

I took the pistol out of my pocket and handed it to him. I felt like a child. Jordan explained the gun was a small magnum revolver. Declan checked the chamber and, in frustration, ran his hand down his face.

"Six bullets, fully loaded," he bit out, looking furious. He shot Jordan a glare who was either deep in the conversation as he typed on his laptop or was good at ignoring him.

Declan then put the gun in my pocket. I was surprised.

"Only until we're out of here," he told me.

We returned back to the conversation.

"I don't know if it's real and they were careless, a thought-out trap or they're having fun messing with me," Jordan said, letting out a sigh. "So we have to take this transcript with a grain of salt. It took months to find and listen to one burner phone and I barely got anything on it. I couldn't do anything through their computers with their damn hacker," Jordan said before quickly adding, "Yet."

"Gathering the data we know from previous fights we had with them," Jordan said.

Declan reflexively had his hand go up to his shoulder and grimaced for what Jordan had said.

"We know that there's four of them. But from what I found, there's two more."

"They use nicknames to hide their identities," Jordan explained, muttering to himself how cool that was. "We know Nicotine is their leader. They have the hacker who goes by Trojan- Classy. Someone named Ghost. I heard the name Bones but I'm unsure if it was an actual nickname or just the body part. And we know for sure there's twins."

Declan grimaced and I remembered how he said that when he got hurt in a fight, he said he saw two people with the same face.

"I don't really know their official nicknames because they keep changing it up: Thing One and Thing Two, Dumb and Dumber, Hikaru and Kaoru, Doppelgangers." I watched in disbelief at how Jordan was fighting back a smile when he listed those names. "What they say most though is Gin and Tonic so let's call them that for now."

He tiredly ran his hand through his hair. "But like I said, we shouldn't act like we won the lottery. I'm trying to come up with a plan on how to catch them but hopefully, I'll have something by the next meeting." he closed his laptop and leaned back on his seat. "That's all for me folks. You can bring him in."

The metal double doors behind the leaders of the Mayhem Wasps abruptly opened. Two men held either arm of someone as they dragged him into the room. He was beaten up and had his hands zip-tied together. They forced him to sit down on an empty seat in the middle of the room.

"Easy there, you'll damage the merchandise," the guy snapped at them.

The guy looked around the room, seeing all eyes were on him. He had a sadistic smile on his face as if he was reveling in the attention. Then his eyes landed at our table.

Even though I already knew he was going to be here, it didn't make things any better. I slightly lifted my glasses from my face to pinch the bridge of my nose.

"If it ain't None of Your Business," Giovanni said with a smirk.

I sighed at the name, but I knew it was better than him saying my actual name to which I never gave him.

He laughed. "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. Well, you should cut me some slack, I was high among other things."

I grimaced at the thought of mixing several drugs in my system at the same time.

"I want to thank you for the present you left me," Giovanni said as he slightly lifted his right arm. "I had my arm in a sling. The only good thing about it was that I could think about you every time I saw it, mami. I mean, I still had my left hand so..."

Bennett, Declan, and Jordan moved up in their seats as if they wanted to come up to Giovanni and beat him up some more. But they remembered the plan and didn't move. As for me, I did my best to not give him the satisfaction of how embarrassed I was and just glared at him. I hoped he was just saying it to get under our nerves. Hoped.

My hand twitched to go for the gun in my pocket from that hope.

Don't Naomi. It's tempting but just don't. Not yet anyway.

"But who would've thought the Fourth would be a cute girl," he continued with a smirk. "Such a big step for feminists everywhere."

"Oh but I can't forget all of you," Giovanni said to the guys before laughing. "I'd never imagine I'd be the special guest to the main gang meeting. I'm honored."

"After you told us he was at the station, we tailed him after he made bail," Lucas informed Bennett. "We followed him for a month and came up with nothing."

Giovanni snorted. "You think I wasn't going to notice you guys were following me all that time? I grew up in the streets. Declan you can vouch for me on that. You have always been by my side after all."

Declan sat there with his arms crossed and said nothing.

"So after that, we grabbed him for interrogation, but he still didn't talk," Antonio explained.

"I'm no snitch unless I get something for it. But the only thing you offered were more bruises so it was an easy no for me. It wasn't exactly my first kidnap-interrogation anyway."

I remember Bennett's reminder to us: Giovanni loves to talk. With an audience, he was bound to slip something up.

"Isn't it kinda pathetic that I'm your only lead for the Niños Perdidos?" Giovanni said as he rolled his eyes at that. "I was a freelancer. I only did odd jobs, side hustles, for the Royals- selling drugs and weapons or stealing stuff. Although it was a shame I never got into the strip club business."

Giovanni smiled at me. "I think you'd be perfect for that job. You can fit into a lot of roleplays, glasses."

I put my hand in my pocket, holding the gun for a moment before taking my hand out empty-handed.

Control yourself, Naomi. He may have valuable information.

Giovanni grinned. "Oh were you going to reach for a gun there, Nunya Business? Go ahead, shoot me. You'll be doing me a favor." He laughed.

I glanced at Declan. He looked at Giovanni with a mixture of anger and disbelief, his hands balled into fists, his jaw clenched. Giovanni sat only a few feet from Declan, beaten up with his left eye half-closed and his hands tied together.

The two of them were in the foster system together. From how they spoke back to the police station, they used to be close.

"I'm a lost cause, a lost boy if you will," he mused. "You know the best thing about being a halfie- half Mexican and half black? You get the best of both worlds, wait, I mean the worst. You're neither Mexican or Black, you're nothing." He turned to the two leaders of the Mayhem Wasps. "I'm probably your love child or somethin'."

Lucas gave Antonio a look of disgust. "Lovechild?"

Antonio shot Giovanni a glare. "I'm Salvadorian, not Mexican," he snapped.

Giovanni ignored him. "Then being a foster kid hits the final nail on the coffin. The foster care system is already broken and if you're a minority, you don't have a fighting chance. Neglect, abuse, homelessness, dropouts, suicide, hell even human trafficking." He counted the list off his fingers despite his hands still tied together. "I can make a list of my brothers and sisters of the system who fell into this."

Declan cast his eyes down and exhaled after what Giovanni had just said.

It was there I saw it: Giovanni and Declan were foils of each other. Both of them were in the same system and grew up together, but Declan went down the better path of a happy family while Giovanni went down the path with nothing waiting for him there.

"If I gotta be honest, I'm surprised I'm still alive," Giovanni said thoughtfully. "You already know I messed with the Royals but I've also had my run-ins with the cops. Got my fair share of beat ups and, of course, no one believed the black kid in juvie. Oh, wait, sorry, halfie. Then again, they always say it takes one drop." He looked at Lucas, the black leader of the Mayhem Wasps who grimaced when he said that.

I hated the fact I knew this from my history class. The one-drop rule- a racial classification used during the times of segregation in America. It takes "one drop of blood" just to be black and from there on you can be subjected to the racism that comes with it.

"In conclusion," Giovanni droned, "I say you should just get rid of me. I'm not going to cough anything up, and even if I did, you'll kill me afterward. I don't have anything to live for anyway. Already I'm trying to remember if any of my contacts can score me some drugs if I get out of here alive." He looked lost in thought, trying to remember.

The whole room was silent. We were expecting a confession, but not one like this.

Giovanni smiled. "Don't tell me you're pitying me- especially you Wasps," he said, turning to the two leaders. "After all, we're on the same boat. The cops will pick us off one by one until there's no one-"

Lucas slammed his fist on the table, silencing Giovanni. "We aren't target practice. We are human beings."

Giovanni scoffed. "At the rate this country is heading towards? We aren't. I mean look at us. You think they care about us? Sure, maybe people higher up in the food chain, up the wealth ladder, but not a couple of low-life gang members. On paper, we're equal but not in the streets. We're not equal, we're one..." He paused. "What was it? One-half, one third?" He paused. "No, three-fifths."

I exhaled when he said that. The Three-Fifths Clause of the US Constitution back when America practiced slavery. The clause was for representation in Congress to which enslaved blacks would be counted three-fifths of the number of white people of the state. However, it is often misinterpreted that a black citizen was worth three-fifths of a white US citizen. Either way, both were racist pieces of American history.

"Maybe they don't care about us," Lucas told him. "But you know who does care? Ourselves. Our community and any allies we got. After this meeting, we're going to change things- help our community through those social orgs and get some damn laws passed. And we'll do it with the help of the Blades."

"I'm but a man of my word," Jae said with a lazy shrug. "Especially since you've backed me into the corner and everything."

"Shut up, anime character," Antonio told him. "You've had your 15 minutes. Give Lucas his."

"Excuse me?" Jae asked in disbelief. "Anime is Japanese. I'm Korean." He cursed at him and his hand went for his sword. "But if it's anime you want, it's anime you'll-"

However, Jae stopped when he looked at Lucas and Giovanni, perhaps realizing the more important matter at hand. He slumped back in his seat without another word.

Lucas looked at Giovanni with a glint in his eyes. "And you're going to join the Mayhem Wasps after this."

"What?" Giovanni and Antonio demanded in disbelief.

"Sure his loyalty is shaky right now, but you've seen how he was during our interrogations," Lucas told Antonio. "He's no snitch no matter what we did. And since he's been in the streets for so long, he has the street smarts too. Just imagine how he'd be if he's with us."

"As much as I enjoy getting drafted for the starting line up," Giovanni said dryly, "what makes you think I'll join with you guys?"

"You said it yourself," Lucas told him. "You got nowhere to go after this. Then come with us. We'll get you cleaned up and working for us. It'll be better than whatever you did for the Royals. Give it a couple of months and if you still don't like it, I'll kick you back on the street with 5000 bucks in your pocket- my own money," Lucas assured when he got a glare from Antonio.

"Is this some sort of new interrogation tactic?" Giovanni said slowly, eyeing Lucas suspiciously. "Because for a second there, you almost got me."

"You have nothing to lose," Lucas told him. "Either you join us or you leave with 5000 bucks on you after a couple of months. We're all messed up so you'll fit right in. But to get in, you need to give us something about the Lost Boys."

"Even if I did take you up on your stupid offer," Giovanni began, "what about the Royals? What if they come back for me?"

"We'll protect you," Lucas urged. "You're not alone anymore. Like you said, you're our love-"

"Please don't finish that," Antonio told him. "So what? We're adopting him or something?"

Giovanni snorted and shook his head. "You're kidding. Took 19 years and I'm going to get adopted by a bunch of gang leaders?"

Lucas let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sponsoring you. That's it. So what do you think?"

Giovanni hesitated. He then looked at Declan for what felt like the longest time. With Giovanni older than us, that meant he was Declan's older brother who looked out for him.

"Nicotine tried to recruit me."

Giovanni swallowed. "It happened last year around July or August. They grabbed me when I was heading back home after my shift in the auto shop. These twins dragged me into the alley where he was waiting for me."

"Can you describe what they looked like?" Jordan asked him.

Giovanni shook his head. "They got me where the street lamps were broken and it was already dark. The twins wore these raccoon eye masks since I was closest to them. Would've been funny if I wasn't scared for my life. Nicotine though kept his distance, just a voice at the dark end of the alley."

Jordan cursed under his breath. "You can't tell anything about them?"

"I uh..." He looked like he was struggling to recall. "The twins were young, maybe 15 or 16 years old. I could've fought them off if it weren't for the gun and knife they had on them. I can't tell with Nicotine though. I really don't know."

"What did he say when he tried to recruit you?" Bennett questioned.

He shifted in his chair. "He told me he was making a gang. He heard about me because I ran with the Royals a couple of times and wanted someone with my experience and talents. I gotta admit, I was kinda flattered." He gave a small shrug.

"Did he say why he was making the gang?" Bennett asked him.

"I asked him that and all he said was that he wanted to bring chaos back into the city. Back to when the Royals used to run it. Said he missed it. Kinda sick in the head if you ask me."

Jordan scoffed. "It didn't seem like you were against the Royals coming back when we saw you at the police station."

He rolled his eyes. "I was on drugs and I saw you after all of these years. Of course, I'll be all talk. I mean yeah, I hate you three, well, three and a half." Giovanni looked at me and I gave him a blank stare.

"But that doesn't mean I want to live back like when the Royals used to run things. I mean, you all know what it was like. Always looking over your shoulder with your hand on a gun. You see a mugging or a robbery and you think, hey, it must be Miércoles."

"Did he explicitly say how he was related to the Royals?" Bennett asked.

Giovanni's eyebrows furrowed together at that. "I mean, I thought he was. But I never really asked, I just kinda assumed it. If he's not doing it for some kind of revenge then that's... worse."

His words hung in the air. Revenge was one thing. But being driven just for the sake of it, no, for no true reason at all was terrifying.

"Actually there may be one thing," Giovanni said slowly. "One of the raccoons kept bothering Nicotine that they needed the Royals back for him. They weren't talking about themselves, the twins or Nicotine, but some other person. Maybe one of their members?"

"So just one person is connected," I muttered to myself. At least there's still a chance we can get the Lost Boys through that person.

"If I can say anything though, Nicotine was kind of a smooth talker," Giovanni told us. "I mean, I can't do him justice on how well he explained everything to me with this interrogation and all. He had that charisma when he was trying to talk me into joining with him. If I didn't listen to his actual words of wanting to make this city hell on Earth again, I would've gone with him."

"Nicotine also did his research about me though. When he tried to get me to join, he hit all my buttons. At first, he said I'll be rich after they succeed, but I was too smart for that kinda scam.  When that didn't work, he said I could get revenge on the police, my past foster parents, even those who hurt my foster siblings. He also said he'd even help break down the foster system in the city that screwed over me and my true familia."

Despite the problems the foster system has, problems that they themselves acknowledge, it still helped a lot of abandoned or orphaned children to find families.

"But it was all talk, it had to be. He didn't even tell me how he was going to make things happen. Then again, it would make sense not to spoil the master plan. Despite how sweet the honey was, it was just a trap. A guy can still dream though. I'd love to get my revenge on my first foster family, hell to all of them. I know you would too, Declan. Not just your first family, but your second, third, all the way to the seventh and last one."

Declan tensed when Giovanni said at that. "What's done is done. I already have my family."

Giovanni scoffed. "Yeah, lucky you." Declan looked pained from Giovanni's curt words.

"What happened when you turned them down?" Jordan asked.

"Surprisingly enough they just let me go. Maybe I wasn't worth the trouble. Although one of the twins wanted to beat me up. Nicotine told me I could tell anyone about his recruitment, saying it would help spread the word, but I told him I was no snitch." Giovanni paused. "Well until now. There goes my reputation."

Bennett looked at Giovanni. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

Giovanni thought about it then shook his head. "Nothing that comes to mind. You can keep asking questions but that's all I got."

"Well at least we have something now," Bennett concluded. "Nicotine does want this city at the state when it used to be led by the Royals although we don't know the exact reason why. They have at least one member somehow connected to the Royals. And two of the members are in high school." Bennett turned to Jordan. "You know what to do."

Jordan nodded. "Already on it. Knowing their age would help narrow down the search. There can't be a lot of twins in the city."

"Then that concludes this meeting," Bennett said, sitting up from his chair. "Hand in your reports to us and we'll see you in June."

Each gang left the room after having one of their own give Jordan some folder. Two of the men from the Mayhem Wasps untied Giovanni but still stood by him, perhaps still being wary of his loyalty. Giovanni was terrible from the moment I met him, but hopefully, he gets his act together.

Suddenly, Declan walked up to Giovanni. I watched as they spoke a few words to each other before Declan came back to our table with Giovanni watching him as he walked away. 

The four of us left the room and walked down the hall to head back to Bennett's car.

"So..." I began. "Are Jordan and I in trouble?"

"No," Bennett said just as Declan said, "Yes."

There was a pause.

"Yes," Bennett said just as Declan said, "No."

There was another pause.

"I say that cancels things out which means Naomi and I are free," Jordan said with a grin.

"We'll let you guys go just this once," Bennett said. "But next time just tell us. We were just surprised."

Jordan shrugged. "I was expecting a lecture at least. It would've been worth it if I got to see Naomi be such a badass." He pulled me into a hug and I couldn't help but hug him back.

I laughed but the laughter stopped.

"What do you want?" Jordan demanded.

Jae stood upright from leaning against the wall.

"I just wanted to praise you for making a fool out of me," he told me with a smile.

Bennett, Jordan, and Declan stood in front of me.

"You're not getting anywhere near her."

"Back off buddy. You're asking for it."

"Leave Jae."

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt her or anything," Jae said, rolling his eyes. He reached into his pocket and the guys reached for their guns but stopped. Jae pulled out a small card and reached his arm past the guys to give it to me.

I slowly took it and saw it was a business card. It had his name Jae Seong with a phone number on it.

"I like your work," he said with a smirk. "You're part Asian or Pacific Islander, right? Maybe a small percentage but it's in there. With my years of experience, I can tell."

"I'm not joining the Blades," I told him dryly.

"I figured that," he said, looking at the three who were glaring at him. "But think of it as an apology for one of my men pointing a gun at you without my order. Must've scared you although the show was quite entertaining."

"Use it if you ever need a favor," Jae said with a smirk. "Or if you want a discount to any Asian business."

He laughed then began walking away down a different corridor to rejoin with the rest of his men. He waved without turning around. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship, Fourth."

I put the business card in the same pocket that held my gun.

~

Whale then.

I hope you guys enjoyed that. I really enjoyed writing with Giovanni. I'm honestly laid back when I write his dialogue. Also, everything he said, and his discussion with Lucas was all impromptu. It was heavily affected by the BLM movement but I'm really happy I wrote it.

I'm glad I made Lucas shine here because the last chapter Antonio shined. I love how you guys just see Antonio and Lucas as some adult-gang version of Jeclan, so of course, I write the love child stuff above.

Also, we know a bit more about Declan: he was in seven foster families. I wish I could do more justice in writing about the foster care system. If there are any readers who went through it, I'd love to hear your stories.

Also don't go THAT deep into my reference thst Naomi is of Asian/Pacific-Islander heritage (to which I said part from what Jae said). This is just a test run when writing her in Broken Glasses AND I wanted her and Jae to connect in the end. There's so many continuity errors in this series AS it is a first draft that I though, hey why not? It's my book after all. I can easily make Bennett Nicotine if I was bored enough.

Growing up, I read so many books, paper or in Wattpad, with just a white cast. So I began writing with just a white cast OR not specifying their ethnicities at all since people imagine characters on their own. However reflecting it now that I'm older, as a minority it hurt to realize that I had such a mentality. I'm not doing this because of the BLM movement, I wanted to do this long before but didn't know if you readers actually wanted it until I asked in my social media and Chapter 22 Author's Note (which was written before all of the American BLM protests began mind you). So I hope you look forward to Broken Glasses which will be a beautiful melting pot.

Look forward to next week for the next chapter of "Broken Glasses". Oh, if you guys don't already know, I published the first chapter of the new version of TGGBB, Broken Glasses. It already broke 10K reads! Thank you everyone!

BG is a stand-alone book so it won't have a lot of elements of TGGBB as well as not be connected to TGGBB1 or 2 at all. TGGBB and TGGBB2 is a series together. BG is its own story. Think of it as an alternate universe with no connection to TGGBB at all.

Also, it's a long process for a book to become a paid story AND it needs to be completed so it's ok, BG will not be a paid story yet. Once BG is completed, I would want to publish it on paper. I also want to say, TGGBB and TGGBB2 will NOT be paid stories.

Wait, I just realized B and G- Bad Boy and Good Girl. I'm secretly a genius. I'm unconsciously a genius. I'm a genius!

Please get it through your skulls that I'm writing to spread awareness in bullying. I would like to get paid yes, but only through Broken Glasses as a published book. The message is more important than money. I turned down TGGBB as a paid story.

AND I reached 180K followers! Thank you all for your love and support. I look forward to writing more for you all!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram so you can learn more about the BLM movement as well as fun TGGBB memes or hilarious comments I find in TGGBB1/2.

Stay safe everyone!

Rubix