It was early morning that day. A busy one at that.

Nicki Minaj was running around one of the many mansions she owned in preparation for the upcoming party she had arranged. As the host, it was her responsibility to sign off on the imported drinks she had ordered, and ready them to be available for the festivities. Then cater to her important guests with whatever food she could present, and the job that was to be kept on the hush was arranging whatever narcotics she could procure for her guests.

Sure, she could've gotten someone to handle all of this work and alleviate herself of the stress it brought, but she was a woman that took a hands on approach to everything she did. She'd been that way from the beginning and her current status would not compromise that now.

"So, I just sign here too?" Nicki asks and the deliverer nodded, leading to her to sign the bottom of the iPad, "There we go. Just put it in the kitchen, sweetheart. It's straight down the hall."

The deliverer nodded as he picked up the box of wine and followed her instructions, walking past workers that were moving around valuables and any breakable objects from the vicinity.

Suddenly a scream echoed from up the stairs and Nicki widened her eyes as she rushed up the stairs towards the sound of the familiar voice.

She arrived to her bedroom and found Ariana rolling around on her bed whilst giggling gleefully to herself.

"Girl, why'd you scream like that? Had me thinking I'd have to beat someone's motherfucking ass when I got up here." Nicki said with a relieved sigh.

"She said yes, Nicki! She's coming to the party!!!" Ariana exclaimed as she hopped off the bed and showed Nicki the text Crystal had sent her, "Lady Vengeance, her producer and manager are all coming tonight!"

"That's honestly great, Ari, I'm happy for you." Nicki said as Ariana excitedly texted Crystal back to send him the time and place of the party, "You thought about how you want the night to turn out if she does show?"

Ariana gasped with wide eyes, "Fuck, you're right. What am I going to say to her? What would we even talk about? Do I even look good enough to see her again!?"

"Sweetie, breath. You doing too much right now." Nicki soothed as she placed her hands on Ariana's shoulders with a comforting squeeze, "Look, the party's tonight. That's enough time for you to collect yourself and get ready for the turn up. You're Ariana Grande, show her what she's missing out."

Ariana let out a breath and smiled at her friend with a nod, "You're right. You're so fucking right, Nicki. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure she leaves this party thinking about me as bad as I think about her."

"On God?" Nicki asks with knowing smirk.

"On God is a Woman." Ariana stated proudly.

"That's my girl!" Nicki exclaimed as she hugged her friend and the two shared a laugh.

~

Dame and Crystal sat together on a couch within a small yet well-lived house that fit an old jazz and Rastafarian aesthetic. The two of them continued discuss ways to elevate their business whilst waiting for Devina who was in Dame's room reluctantly trying on different articles of clothing.

"So, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Apple Music. The more people we attract to these, the more dime we pull in?" Dame asked, understanding more and more about the modern ways music would make revenue.

"TikTok too. Your shii blow up on TikTok, then all them other sites blow up too." Crystal said.

"Hmm, aight so how much we made so far?" Dame asked.

"$27,000." Devina stated as she stepped out of the room and walked to them in a new outfit, "And counting."

"Facts! I'm telling you, OG. 'Alright' blew the fuck up." Crystal said excitedly as he showed Dame the current streams their songs had garnered.

"That's good. That's very good." Dame said as he looked at Devina, "Not the outfit though. Try another one."

"Wasting my fuckin' time playing dress up for a party I ain't even wanna go to." Devina told him.

"It ain't about wanting to go. We gotta make sure people put a face to the name. Lady Vengeance catching eyes at an exclusive event is an opportunity we can't pass up." Dame explained as he stood up.

"Look at it this way, Vengeance." Crystal said to her, "The better you look to them, the more they interested in you, and the more they interested..."

"The more business we attract to our brand." Devina finished for him and Crystal nodded with a smirk, "I get that, but I do this shit for the music, not to be treated like a show horse."

"That's this life. Told you it was a different den of demons." Dame reminded as he handed her another shopping bag of clothes for her to change into and Devina rolled her eyes.

She returns back into his room and Dame chuckled before sitting back down on the couch.

"She hates this shii for real." Crystal comments.

"She gon' have to deal with it. It's only the beginning from here on out." Dame said with a shrug, "Might have to go harder on it too since she's choosing to stay independent."

"Ain't it easier for us to sign though? Like, these clothes had to come from our pocket and I know we gon' have to pay for a lotta other shii." Crystal asked.

"Labels do have benefits, but you're essentially selling yourself to slavery. They take control of you and your art, knowing that you as a small artist don't got the power to cause any problems for whatever bullshit they put you through." Dame explained, "She's smart for waiting for the perfect deal, but that'll come to fruition once I elevated her to that level. And I will elevate her to that level, you can be damn sure of it."

"Anybody ever tell you that you and her are similar as fuck?" Crystal asked with a smirk.

"How?" Dame asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't know. Maybe it's the look the both of y'all get when you say you'll do something. It be scary how scary determined the both of y'all get." Crystal explained nonchalantly, "It's as if y'all related or some shii."

Dame smirked, "You crazy, fool."

"Right back at you, OG." Crystal said with a laugh.

Devina steps out of the room and meets back up with them. Her new attire causing them to widen their eyes in surprise as she remained stoic to their gazes.

"Here's the plan. Dame's right about marketing me and I understand that his way of doing this gon' work out for us, but I'm also going to do it my way too." Devina stated, "While Dame gets Lady Vengeance's name to the masses with his marketing, I'm going to keep releasing singles to garner a fan base. Once we got enough people that not only listen, but stay and wait for more. That's when we can feed the streets by releasing either an album or mixtape. We clear?"

The two of them didn't respond as they kept staring at her, Crystal had his jaw dropped as he was enamored by her appearance and Dame was smiling with an impressed look.

"Niggas!" Devina said, clapping her hands, "You fuckin' hearing me?"

"Hold that thought." Dame said as he got up and walked past her to his room, searching through his drawers until he found what he was looking for. He walked back to them and presented Devina with a chain, putting it on for her, "There. Now, that's a fucking fit."

"You look so fucking fire, Vengeance! Shii that fit go hard as fuck for real!" Crystal exclaimed excitedly, "Aye, you said you single right?"

Devina gave him the middle finger as she looked at Dame, "You hear me?"

"I heard you, V. I'm down with the plan and the fit." Dame stated with a smirk.

"It really look that good to y'all?" Devina asked.

Crystal and Dame looked at each other before looking back at her then nodding and replying in unison, "Hell yeah."

~

Royal Kenyatta was worse for wear. Having sustained multiple cuts, bruises, and a few broken bones would be quite explanatory to that statement.

He was currently in a state of unconsciousness as he rested in a hospital bed in a communal room with a few other patients occupying beds of their own.

Speaking of other patients, Lenny occupied his own hospital bed across from Royal's. His foot was propped up in a cast that covered up his leg in its entirety. He was in constant pain ever since that day and even the slightest twitch of his leg brought on an excruciating feeling that even painkillers could not subside.

He stared at Royal's unconscious form with a look of indifference. He empathized with a fellow victim of violence even if he didn't know him personally, and he really didn't care to. All of his thoughts were more focused on them.

The people that invaded his home and brutalized his living space and his very own self. He remembered their faces vividly, especially her. Their leading lady. The bitch that put him in the hospital in the first place.

His intentions were clear. Once he was ready to be let out of this wretched place, he would find her and make sure she went through pain much worse than what he had inflicted. He would get his revenge on not just her, but on all of them.

"Leonard Lemont. That's your name, right?" A man asked as two men in formal attire approached his hospital bed one with a notebook in hand.

"Who's asking?" Lenny asked, looking away from Royal and at the two men.

"I'm detective Weston and this is my partner, detective Marshall." Detective Weston introduced, "We're here to ask you a few questions regarding your recent robbery and assault."

Detective Weston was a tall man with a well-built figure. He was an older gentleman with dark brown hair, a brown beard that had a few greying hairs added to it, Caucasian skin, and he sported hazel eyes. He wore a white dress shirt with a blue tie, blue khaki pants, black shoes, and a grey trench coat over his attire. This was Detective Jonathan Weston.

Detective Marshall was a shorter and younger man compared to his partner with black hair, a well-trimmed black beard, Caucasian skin, and brown eyes. He also wore a white dress shirt although his tie was black, black khaki pants, and black shoes with a black coat over his attire. This was Detective Aaron Marshall.

Lenny looks between the two of them and scoffed as he shook his head, "No comment."

"C'mon now, we're all friends here. How about you tell us what happened and we'll be more than applicable to get out of your hair." Detective Marshall said with a smile.

"I ain't your friend and I ain't got nothin' to say to y'all." Lenny said as he sent him a glare, causing Marshall's smile to drop and get replaced by a narrow of his eyes.

"I understand your predicament. You're angry and you're reluctant to trust two strangers with your own personal business, but we just want to help get to the bottom of this and help you get justice on your attackers." Detective Weston stated earnestly, "Help us so we can help you."

Lenny stared at him for a moment and looked away with a look of indifference, "No comment."

"Look, hot shot. You're here because I'm guessing you fucked with the wrong people, and we're here to do our jobs by making sure those people don't do this to anyone else. If you'd just wisen up and get that stick out of your ass, then maybe you'd finally do something worthwhile with your life and give us a reason to keep helping you people." Detective Marshall told him in a threatening tone.

"Hey, Marshall, that ain't helping nobody here. If the man doesn't want to talk then we gotta respect that." Detective Weston said to his partner to ease any rising tensions.

"I don't give a fuck who y'all are, okay!? I ain't no fucking snitch! So get your bacon back asses outta here 'cause you sure as hell ain't getting nothin' from me!" Lenny shouted as he glared at them.

"What'd you say to me!?" Detective Marshall exclaimed angrily.

"Alright, stop it! All of you!" Precious yelled as she stomped towards them, "This is a place of healing and all this hollering ain't helping with this man's and other patient's rest. Detectives please leave him to recover. He'll speak to y'all when he is good and ready."

Detective Marshall angrily pushed off the footboard of Lenny's bed as he gave Lenny one last glare before marching out of the room.

Precious followed Detective Weston as he also started to make his way out, but stopped at the entrance and turned towards Precious.

"Look, I'm sorry for causing a scene. My partner, he's a good guy, but his temper causes him to say and do things aggressively." Weston apologized.

"Y'all police men seem to be aggressive by nature by the looks of it." Precious said as she somberly looks at Royal.

"A friend of yours?" Weston asked, noticing the look she was giving Royal's unconscious form.

"Family, actually. My little brother." Precious replied.

"Is it okay if I ask what happened?" Weston asked.

"There was an order to clean up the streets and a lot of your boys in blue jumped at the opportunity to spare no expense at dishing out the necessary amount of violence to make that happen." Precious explains, "A lot of people that were on that street were brought here in critical condition, especially Royal."

"I'm so sorry, I...had no idea this happened." Weston apologized sincerely.

Precious let out a shrewd laugh, "Sure you didn't."

"Listen..." Weston paused as he looked at the nametag she sported over her scrubs, "Precious. This wasn't something that was supposed to happen. That isn't why we wear the badge, why I wear the badge. I'll do the best I can to look into whoever was responsible for doing this to your brother and make sure the necessary actions are taken to get them to face the consequences that are due. I promise you that."

Precious looked up at the man and considered his words. His eyes held a sincerity to them that added to the promise he made, but that all seemed to good to be true for her.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, detective." Precious simply stated in response.

~

In an open and empty field, the last of five empty bottles was placed on top of a fence post. RayRay twisted the bottle slightly to align it with the rest and he stepped back from them once the job was done.

Eli aimed a gun at the bottle targets as RayRay walked away from them and back to Eli, standing behind him to oversee the shooting practice that would ensue.

While the two of them were getting ready to practice, Rachel laid on the roof of their car with a distant smile on her face. Fully embracing her current high and travelling through space in a state of euphoria.

"Aight, fire." RayRay instructed.

"Ain't gotta tell me twice, my nigga." Eli replied with a smirk as he held the gun sideways and started to fire although he was missing each and every shot with the closest the bullets got were hitting the posts a few times.

"Stop." RayRay said with a shake of his head, grabbing the gun and taking it out of his hands.

"Ayo, what the fuck? I was popping off!" Eli exclaimed angrily.

"We shooting targets, dumbass. Not the wind behind them." RayRay retorted, as he held the gun and aimed it tactfully, "This is how you hold a gun. This is how you fire it. Not whatever ignorant way you were doing."

"That ain't the gangsta way though." Eli argued, which caused Rachel to let out a laugh, and he chose to ignore the annoyingly mocking tone of the laugh, "What kind of thug you know shooting them shits that way?"

"None, that's why they keep dying." RayRay stated, as he stood up straight and glared down at him, "This kind of life ain't a game, Eli, and using one of these ain't like playing with a toy. You hold one of these then you're letting everyone know you're prepared to take a life and they should be prepared to take yours."

"This ain't the military, Ray. Shit's different out here." Eli told him.

"Looks the same to me. A lot of top dogs taking in the youth and training them to be killers so they fight for what they believe in. Ain't as formal, but pretty damn similar to me." RayRay told him as he placed a hand on Eli's shoulder, "We ain't doing this to be gangsta. We doing this to protect ourselves and each other. We do it because we want you to stay alive especially with how you paint yourself as a target by flexing the money you be making with those new chains you wearing."

Eli looked down at the new chain he bought that hung around his neck and looked back at RayRay with an offended expression, "This shit's fire though."

"It is and a lot of other niggas out there recognize that too. That could lead to another Lenny and Luka situation, you feel me?" RayRay asked and Eli nodded reluctantly, "So, lock in, lil bro. Keem's out there doing business without you today because we didn't want that injury to make you collapse on the street."

"So, you instead brought me out to a field where I might still pass the fuck out?" Eli asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We brought you out to a field to recover productively." RayRay states, handing the gun back to him, "I'mma make you a shooter one way or another, Eli. You just have to learn to respect the way a shooter be moving."

"Y'know...the funny part of it is that I bought the chain and shot like that not because I was pretending to be gangsta, but because that's how they actually be moving. How niggas with respect be moving in the streets." Eli stated and Rachel let out another laugh, only this time Eli did show his annoyance, "The fuck's so funny!? You got something to fucking say!?"

With her high having died down, Rachel rolled off the car and landed on the ground with a stumble, shaking off any inertia she started to experience. She then made her way over to them and looked at Eli with a tired yet mirth filled smirk.

"If respect is what you want from people then the way you goin' about it right now, ain't finna do shit for you. Following in the ways of other 'gangstas' just shows off your sheep mentality. You doin' what they all doin' and they just doin' what someone else been doin'." Rachel stated, "You want respect? Get a fucking clue then. Think about how RayRay and I be moving, we got people selling Stars for us for reason, don't we? And if we got people following us, why is we following Devina?"

He wanted to argue and dispute her, but she was oddly enough making sense on the matter. Before this whole family business had started, RayRay and Rachel had pull around the projects and then some. It wasn't a lot, but they still managed to gain people that worked for them out of both fear and respect.

Then Devina arrived and did more than he ever could in less than two weeks. She moved like a natural born leader and they could all see it, and that was why they could not only look past the fact that she was their baby sister, but their boss. Someone that was determined enough to earn the respect of those around her.

"You want respect, baby bro?" Rachel asked as she pulled out her own gun and aimed it at the targets the way RayRay was showing Eli earlier. She fired at the targets, hitting each and every bottle without wasting no more than the five bullets that were required, "Study the blueprint."

~

Business was booming in the streets. Most, if not all, of the well-known crackheads and dope fiends had made the shift to consuming Stars on a regular basis. Those that were leading themselves to budding addictions were in the same boat. Many people, young and old, from around the community were buying Stars to fulfill the euphoria it brought them or to get a taste of what this new drug could bring.

Keem stood around the bleachers of the community basketball park, selling to those that approached him and having garnered the reputation of the person people would go to for the Stars.

He wasn't alone in this endeavor though. Rachel and RayRay had sent two of their most trusted enforcers to sell the product with him, and offer their own form of protection just in case shit went sideways.

Keem finished up selling to another person and he pocketed the cash before turning around and walking back to the seats where his guards, Darnell and Tjay, were chatting about random topics offhandedly.

"You hear about Luka, though?" Tjay asked.

"What about the bum?" Darnell asked.

"Rumor's out that he got shot." Tjay informed.

"He alive?" Keem asked, standing beside them and lighting a cigarette.

"Apparently. A lot of people ain't sure though." Tjay said with a shrug.

"Ain't Lenny already in the hospital or some shit?" Darnell asked.

"Yeah. He is." Keem simply replied as his mind flashed to that day.

"Both brothers got they shit ran. If that ain't bad luck..." Tjay said with a shake of his head.

"They still alive, right?" Keem asked and Darnell shrugged while Tjay nodded, "Doesn't sound like bad luck to me."

"He ain't wrong." Darnell admitted.

"I guess you right. It ain't bad luck, more like...karma." Tjay said with a nod, "Yeah, that shit gotta be karma."

"What the stripper gotta do with them?" Keem asked with a smirk and Tjay laughed while Darnell shook his head in amusement.

"This nigga." Darnell said with an amused smirk.

"Yo, you stupid, fool." Tjay laughed.

"By the way, how many of y'all Rachel and RayRay got on this?" Keem asked.

"Shit, a lot of us. Them Stars making waves for real." Tjay replied.

"Besides here, we got at least 5 other corners covered." Darnell explained, "We doin' our best to keep it on the low too, especially around the Westside."

The basketball game that was currently in progress was interrupted by the angered march of a woman that stomped through the court without a care for the player's complaints.

She continued her stride with Tjay and Darnell taking notice of her approaching. Keem noticed they were looking behind him and he turned around in confusion only to be shoved angrily by the woman who he identified to be his sister Rosalyn.

"You stupid motherfucker!!!" Rosalyn shouted, as she was lunging at him, but Tjay was pushing her back and Darnell helped Keem up.

"Rosalyn!? The fuck's wrong with you!?" Keem exclaimed, dusting himself off.

"The fuck's wrong with me!? The fuck's wrong with y'all!? Does each and every one of you have some kind of death wish!?" Rosalyn shouted as she struggled under Tjay's grip, "Let me the fuck go! I will cut you, bitch!"

"Let her go, man." Keem told him and Tjay raised an unsure eyebrow at him, but he just nodded with an eye roll.

Tjay let her go and Keem grabbed her arm and led her away from the court so they could talk privately.

"Rosalyn, the fuck? Why you tweakin' like this?" Keem asked.

"The better question to ask is why the fuck was Eli's name mentioned around Darius fucking Kincaid?" Rosalyn asked angrily.

"What? What are you talking about?" Keem asked.

"Some unfortunate punk called Luka showed up to Darius and apparently he wanted to get his get back on the people that put his brother in the hospital. The people being Eli, and his apparent crew." Rosalyn explained, "Eli ain't in charge of no crew, but Devina's a different story, right?"

"Darius...? Wait, so your pimp been hearing about us? So fucking what?" Keem asked.

"So, y'all might get killed now, that's what! It don't matter if you were or weren't the ones that put Luka's brother in the hospital, because Darius sent one of his top dogs to take out the people responsible." Rosalyn explained.

"...Shit." Keem muttered in realization.

"Yeah, shit, but y'all are lucky Luka wasn't able to describe y'all enough for them to actually know who you guys are." Rosalyn told him, "They only got a name to go off right now, so we got time."

"Time for what?" Keem asked.

"To get you, Eli, and any other stupid motherfucker involved with this shit out of town." Rosalyn told him.

"You want us to run?" Keem asked and Rosalyn nodded, "Man, fuck that. I ain't letting some pimp and his hitman run me out of my own home."

"Then you'll die, Hakeem. I can't keep trying to bite the bullet for y'all if you keep putting yourselves in the line of fire." Rosalyn stated, but Keem seemed to be unmoved, "The man he sent after you is a killer, Keem. He's an OG in the gang that be ruling South Central. If he's after you then a quarter of the city is too."

"I thought Darius was in charge of the Westside." Keem said in question.

"He is, but he's also a strong asset to the person that's in charge of the South." Rosalyn informed, "If you don't run away now then half the city might get involved in hunting y'all, Keem."

"Okay, I hear you. I fucking hear you." Keem said with a nod, "You tell anyone else about this?"

"I tried Eli's phone, but he ain't answering and Devina's is set to busy." Rosalyn informed.

"Aight, I'll get ahold of either Rachel or RayRay so we can get everyone up to speed." Keem said as he took out his phone.

"The twins are involved in this too?" Rosalyn asked and Keem nodded, leading to her clutching her head in frustration, "Oh my fucking God."

~

Later that afternoon, the door to Royal's communal hospital room was opened by Precious and she stepped aside to let Izzy step inside.

"He's unresponsive right now, but he's been stable overall." Precious explained to Izzy who let out a sad sigh as he looked at the state his brother was in, "I appreciate you coming to see him Izz. It means a lot to both me and him."

"Y'all are my family, of course I'd show up to support y'all in any way I could." Izzy said with a smile and Precious returned it.

"Well, my shift's still on so I'll leave him with you. Don't mind the other patients, they got their own troubles to be bothering you. Just try to keep things hushed for their sake." Precious told him and Izzy nodded.

"Got it. See you later, Precious." Izzy said with a nod and Precious gave him a quick wave before leaving the room.

He sighed and approached Royal's bed, taking a seat on a nearby chair near the bed. His thoughts were clouding his mind and he could feel a sense of guilt rising within him.

Yet again, he was powerless to help his family. Powerless to protect Rosalyn, and powerless to have prevented his own brother from ending up in such a state. Back when they were younger, they would always look to him as their protector, but now his mind and body weren't even close to being able to protect anybody.

"So, it was five of them?" A voice with a thick Hispanic accent asked and Izzy turned to see the source.

Across from them was Lenny who spoke to an older man with the surprising part being the fact that Lenny looked nervous as he spoke to the man.

The older man was of Hispanic descent with a stout figure, lightly tanned skin, greying hair, a well-trimmed yet greying goatee, sunken black eyes with a few wrinkles adorning his face. He wore a red, long-sleeved, plaid shirt, white khaki pants and brown boots. This was Darius' most trusted enforcer, Santiago Guerrera.

"Yeah, uh, don't know their names, but I know damn well that Eli was with them." Lenny stated and Izzy perked up at the mention of the name, "He wasn't the one in charge of them though."

"And who was?" Santiago asked.

"The bitch that did this to my motherfucking leg!" Lenny yelled as he angrily glared at the destroyed body part.

"Calm yourself, Leonard. No use in directing your anger at mere memories." Santiago told him, "Just give me the information I need and I will do the rest."

"And you said my brother sent you?" Lenny asked and Santiago nodded, "Where is he now?"

"He did his job by alerting Darius, now he's just waiting for me to do mine. No need to worry." Santiago told him and Izzy slightly widened his eyes at the mention of another name he knew.

"Okay, uh, fuck, Luka told me they sold their product around Ivy, at the basketball park. I think that's where you can find them." Lenny told him.

Santiago smiled and nodded, "Gracias, my friend."

"Yeah, yeah, just..." Lenny paused as he noticed Izzy looking over at them and he sent him an angry glare, "Fuck you looking at!?"

Izzy looked away and back at Royal, but he could still feel their eyes on him. Santiago let out a chuckle as he touched Lenny's casted up leg and he hissed in pain.

"Get well soon, Leonard." Santiago said to him as he gave the cast a squeeze and Lenny let out a pained cry.

Santiago started to leave, but he paused and approached Izzy and Royal, Izzy sitting up and looking at the man warily.

"I hope he gets well soon. Let me assists you for a moment," Santiago said as he pulled the curtain around the bed forward to cover both Izzy and Royal up, "Privacy is important after all."

With that said and done, Santiago took his leave and only when his shadowed figure from behind the curtain left the room did Izzy allow himself to let out the breath he'd been holding. He clenched his hands to settle his rattled nerves from the encounter.

~

That night, Nicki's party was in full resounding swing. The music blasted in and out of the mansion, and the place was filled with celebrities and figures of all shapes and sizes. The outside of the building was fully populated with luxury cars and even a few motorcycles with a few guests hanging around the front entrance.

A maroon 1956 Cadillac Fleetwood arrived at the location and drove through the open gates, finding a place of parking after a little while of searching due to the amount of cars having already occupied their own parking spaces.

Dame parked his car and switched off the engine, looking at his fellow guests with a smirk.

"Y'all ready to turn up?" Dame asked.

Crystal stared out of the window at the booming mansion with an excited grin, "Hells yeah."

"And you, superstar?" Dame asked turning to look at Devina who sat in the backseat, "You ready to shine?"

"Considering the fact you wasted my whole day on my hair and makeup, I damn well better." Devina replied.

"Look, you were rocking the braids, but this new look suits you too." Dame told her, "Combine the pampering, the fit, and the great ass genetics and you get the dime piece you looking like right now. A modern day, soulful Cleopatra."

"That's actually so accurate for what you looking like right now, Vengeance." Crystal confirmed with a nod, "You beautiful for real."

"Dame. Crystal." Devina said and they both looked at her as she leaned closer to them, speaking in a lowered tone, "Hop off my dick."

And with that statement, Devina opened the door for herself and stepped out of the car. Crystal laughed as he stepped out and Dame just smirked with a shake of his head, stepping out and locking the car.

Inside the mansion was what you would expect from an event this lively and with this many guests. A lot of drinking was involved, people smoking arrays of substances along with taking whatever narcotics that were either presented or given to them by friends or associates. A lot of people knew each other and a lot didn't, this party welcomed well-known and newer entertainers that were around Atlanta.

Nicki did her best to accommodate her guests by guiding them and presenting them with what she could manage. While she was doing this though, she managed to spot her friend, Ariana, sitting by the couch near the front entrance.

She seemed to be in a conversation with a man that could not take his eyes off of her, and kept trying to engage with her, but she didn't seem interested at all and seemed to be speaking offhandedly while her attention was more focused on the entrance.

"Ari!" Nicki called, gaining her attention and she waved her over. An invitation the pop star happily accepted as she got up from the couch and walked over to Nicki, leaving the man speaking to her dumbstruck, "Ooh, he was cute. New friend?"

"Stop." Ariana said with an eye roll, "I don't even know his name, and I just stopped caring when he started talking about his third Corvette."

"Well, he's still staring at you so he thinks there's something there." Nicki pointed out and Ariana took a glance at the man who smirked at her from the couch.

"Next." Ariana replied which made Nicki laugh.

"You having fun at least?" Nicki asked.

"I mean, yeah, but I'd have even more fun if she actually showed up, y'know?" Ariana asked, "Maybe the directions I gave her were wrong and she got lost. I should probably go look for her, right?"

"No." Nicki replied.

"No?" Ariana asked.

"No." Nicki repeated, "You're going to calm your little ass down and have fun at my motherfucking party, Ari. They said they'd show, right?"

"Yeah..." Ariana admitted.

"Then they'll show, and if they don't, fuck'em. If she ain't showing up for you then you shouldn't waste your time chasing after her." Nicki told her, noticing a server she hired passing by and quickly grabbing two Martinis from the tray they held, and handing one to Ariana, "Chill out, okay? Don't let one girl fuck with you like this."

Ariana softly smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I know I am." Nicki said and the two clinked their glasses as they laughed to each other.

Crystal was the first to step into the mansion and he looked around the place with a hyped up and enamored expression. He still couldn't believe he was able to attend such an event in the first place.

Dame stepped up behind him and fixed his fedora, looking around the people and place with a smirk. His mind drifting back to the olden days where he attended events such as these in less refined settings though.

Devina was the last to enter the mansion and soon all eyes were on her as many people were awe-stricken, gasped and whispered amongst themselves at the appearance of such a radiant beauty. She didn't like the fact that her appearance had essentially caused a halt around the front entrance of the party, not because she was shy or some other reason akin to that, but because she was a person that preferred to move in silence and being the center of attention was the exact opposite of her preference.

Ariana was mid drink, but paused and almost choked when she spotted the woman she had gunning for these past few days. She was a sight to behold when they met, but now she was the definition of an eye catching goddess walking amongst mortals that couldn't compare to her.

Nicki noticed her friend's jaw-dropped state and turned to look at the entrance, spotting Devina and widening her eyes, "Damn..."

It wasn't much of a transformation, but the subtle touch ups they had made to her appearance elevated her natural beauty. With her braids having been taken out and hair stylized into large and wavy curls, just the right amount of makeup applied to enhance her beauty, hoop earrings around her ears, a black turtle neck with Dame's gold chain hanging over it, brown baggy pants that were held up by a white belt, and brand new white Air Jordans to complete the look.

"All eyes on me." Dame referenced to her with a smirk.

"Shut up." Devina replied with an eye roll.

'Good lord, she's perfect. Truly a woman of surpassing beauty. Why now? After so long you decided to reveal yourself to me now? I hate that I'm this drawn in by you. This bewitched by just your presence. I must have you. I will have you. You don't know it yet, but the fact of the matter is...you're mine.' Ariana declared to herself.

"Is that her? Lady Vengeance?" Nicki asked and Ariana nodded slowly as she continued to take in Devina's appearance, "Then what are we waiting for? Get your girl, Ari."

Ariana was more than happy to follow that directive as she followed Nicki to accommodate Devina and her entourage.

"Well, well, well, looks like the guests of honor have arrived." Nicki said with a smile.

Ariana took notice of Dame who sported a confused expression from Nicki's comment, but covered it up with an amused smirk. The one she recognized, Crystal, looked so elated to be face to face with both her and Nicki she half expected him to pass out then and there.

And then there was her. She could feel her eyes on her and when she looked at her, meeting her eyes, she couldn't help, but shy away a moment after especially with how Devina unabashedly looked her over with a stoic expression, and interested eyes.

"Guests of honor. Is that right?" Dame asked.

"Of course, sir. That is unless the supermodel standing next to you ain't the Lady Vengeance that I heard about." Nicki said as she sent Devina a smirk.

"What you been hearing about her?" Devina asked and Ariana let out a low sigh after rehearing her voice in real time.

"A lot of good things. A female rapper that's one hell of a lyricist that's been making waves while only having just two songs out. One being a vibe and the other topping charts that's slowly becoming a black anthem." Nicki explained, "And from what I been told personally, she someone real special."

"Game recognize game." Devina stated as she held her hand out for Nicki to shake, "It's nice to officially meet the queen of rap in all her glory."

Nicki smirked as she shook Devina's hand, leaning to Ariana and whispering to her, "I see why you like her."

"And it's nice to see you again, Grande." Devina said to Ariana once her and Nicki were done shaking hands.

Ariana smiled shyly at her, "You too."

"And these two are associates of mine. The old soul is Dame, my manager and the goofy ass kid that got a permanent smile on his face for some reason is Crystal, my engineer/producer." Devina introduced.

"A damn good pleasure, ladies." Dame said with a tip of his fedora

Crystal cleared his throat with a nervous laugh, "W-what up, y'all..."

Ariana giggled and gave him a friendly wave, "Hi, Crystal."

"She remembered my fucking name..." Crystal whispered to Devina excitedly and she rolled her eyes.

"Manager and Producer?" Nicki asked and both Dame, and Crystal nodded, "Tell you what, how about I introduce you two to the other managers and producers that are attending? Chop it up with some likeminded fellas."

"Yo, for real!?" Crystal asked in surprise and Nicki nodded.

"Well, lead the way, Miss Queen. That's an offer I just can't pass up." Dame stated.

Nicki smirked as she gestured for them to follow her. Ariana mouthed a 'thank you' to her and Nicki just sent her a wink as she led them away, leaving Devina alone with Ariana.

Ariana watched her friend round a corner with Devina's entourage and she suddenly grew nervous as she realized that it was just the two of them now.

With her heart pounding, Ariana slowly turned around to and looked up to meet the gaze of the woman before her, speechless at just witnessing her.

"You look beautiful." Devina tells her, "Genuinely. You made it real hard to keep my eyes off of you."

Ariana blushed and bit her lip with a smile, "Same should be said about you honestly."

"All this?" Devina asked, gesturing to her overall look and Ariana nodded, "Nah, this is the first time I've ever dressed up to this extent. I ain't even glitz and glamor kind of woman anyway."

"Then what kind of woman are you?" Ariana asked.

"One that's got too much weight on her shoulders to be playing dress up." Devina replied.

Ariana took ahold of her hand and nodded over to the kitchen where drinks were available and ready to be served.

"Then let me help lift some of it just for tonight." Ariana told her and Devina allowed her to lead her to the kitchen where a whole shelf of an assortment was presented with a person tending to the guests at the bar.

A lot of eyes around the party had directed themselves towards them, but Ariana didn't care for them and Devina just took notice of them, and met a few of them which lead to those that made eye contact with her to look away or lower their gazes.

"Would say y'all spared no expense, but I reckon that's to be expected of you people." Devina commented.

Ariana turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "You people?"

"Yeah. Wealthy, beautiful kings and queens of their craft." Devina replied and Ariana smiled at her.

"Nice save, Vengeance." Ariana retorted.

Devina shrugged, "It ain't flattery. Just the truth."

"I can appreciate the truth." Ariana replied, and gestured to the bar, "What can I get you?"

"Water." Devina replied.

"For real?" Ariana asked with a raised eyebrow, "You're not a drinker?"

"I like to be clear-headed." Devina replied, "Realized a long time ago that a lot of shit goes wrong when I'm not."

"What kind of shit?" Ariana asked with an interested expression.

"Shit that would make you think you were living in a movie." Devina replied.

"Then it's a good thing I like movies." Ariana replied with a smirk, "What kind would I be living in?"

"This one's got a little bit of everything." Devina replied with a subtle smirk.

Ariana stepped closer to her and looked up to meet her eyes, speaking in a low and suggestive tone, "Even the dirty parts~?"

"Haven't gotten to that part yet~" Devina replied in her own suggestive tone.

"How close do you think you are~? Ariana whispered.

"Starting to believe I'm closer than I thought~" Devina replied leading to Ariana's smirk to grow as she stepped closer to her.

"Ariana?" A voice asked, cutting into their moment.

Ariana recognized the familiar voice and turned around, surprised to see a familiar face approaching them, "Sean?"

The person in question was a man of average height, brown skin, black eyes, sporting a cornrow cut, and maintaining a very well-trimmed beard. He wore black silk jacket over a white V-neck, black jeans and white sneakers with shining pearls pierced to his ears. This was a well-known rapper and one of Ariana's exes, Big Sean.

"Yeah, I knew it was you. Long time no see, huh?" Sean asked with a smile.

"Yeah...long time." Ariana replied with a curt nod.

Sean looked at Devina and raised a confused eyebrow, "Who's this?"

"That's...she's uh..." Ariana tried to articulate as she looked between Devina and Sean.

"An acquaintance." Devina replied for her, sending Ariana a short nod, "One that's going to find the bathroom."

"Vengeance, wait-" Ariana tried to stop Devina as she started walking away from them.

"Hold up, Ari, I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Sean said, placing a hand on her shoulder and stopping her from going after Devina.

Ariana sighed, "Now?"

"Yeah. No better time than the present, right?" Sean asked with a chuckle, but she just stared at him causing him to clear his throat awkwardly and continue to speak, "I know it's been a while, but I was thinking we pick up where we left off, y'know? Rekindle some old flames?"

Ariana gave him a surprised look and quirked an unbelieving eyebrow at him, "Seriously?"

Meanwhile, Devina continued making her way through crowds of people that either called out to her, tried to introduce themselves to her, hit on her or just stared the same awestricken gaze everyone seemed to be giving her.

She found herself enjoying the time she spent with Ariana, but she could tell her and the guy that interrupted them had history and that was just something she chose not to deal with. There were enough things on her plate, adding someone else's relationship woes was not the play to be made.

So she walked away, not to use the bathroom, but to find a quiet place away from the drunken crowds, away from the deafening music, away from it all. Just a place of reprieve where she would recount her thoughts and focus on her next move in regards to her music and her illegal business.

She skirted past some people who were walking down the stairs when she travelled up onto them. Arriving onto the second floor, Devina paused before she could bump into two people.

It was two men. A large and towering one, and a shorter yet built one. The taller one was in casual attire and he stopped laughing along with his friend as he took notice of Devina along with his friend. The shorter one was a rapper that went by the name of Boosie Badazz, and the bigger one was none other than Darius Kincaid.

"Well, hello there, little lady. Lost?" Darius asked with a smile that unnerved her.

Devina's face remained stoic as she showed him no fear and looked him in the eye, "No."

Darius hummed in interest, it's been a while since he'd encountered someone so defiant to his size and demeanor.

Boosie smirked with a slight chuckle, "Mane, this ain't the 60's. Cut that little lady shit and give it to her straight."

"Oh, really? You gon' show me?" Darius asked amusedly.

"Hell yeah, fuckin' check it." Boosie said as he rubbed his hands and licked his lips, "Aye, girl, how's about you join my friend and I by the pool with the rest of the fine hoes. Bet you'll be the finest one there."

"I might just be the finest one. Smartest one too if whatever sad excuse of pullin' that you're attempting actually worked on them." Devina told him and Boosie's smile dropped.

"Bitch, the fuck you say to me?" Boosie asked in offence.

"I'm telling you to hit the fucking weight room, weak ass boy." Devina replied in a dry tone, "You just ain't at my level."

Boosie raised his hand and aimed to smack her, but Darius grabbed it and stopped him from doing so as he laughed.

"Alright, hold up, calm it down. I like her." Darius said as he looked at Devina, "I like you."

"Feeling's not mutual." Devina replied.

"That attitude, that defiance. I really like you. Reminds me so much of my Rose." Darius said with a chuckle, and he looked at Boosie, "C'mon man, if she doesn't want to join us then we just have to respect her decision."

"Right, cause' you all about respecting bitches, huh?" Boosie asked with a smirk and the two of them laughed as they walked past her and down the stairs.

Devina watched the two of them giggle as thick as thieves and shook her head, continuing her way down a hallway in an attempt to find a room to just chill within.

The rooms she tried were either locked or clearly occupied by the sounds of faint creaking and moaning she could hear after listening intently to the doors.

After a few more tries, she managed to find an unlocked door and she reached for the handle, opening to find a surprising sight.

The room was coincidentally enough the bathroom and inside a man was snorting coke, but her sudden appearance caused him to jump in surprise and the last of his remaining coke spilled out of his small plastic bag and fell down the drain.

The man was tall with light brown skin, black eyes, short hair that was cut into a fade, a short beard, and the semblances of a few tattoos sticking out from his clothes. He wore a pink, fluffy coat with a tattered shirt under it, baggy green pants, cross-shaped earrings, a silver chain around his neck, and red sneakers. This man was a famous artist known to push a certain style overall, Kid Cudi

"Shit! Shit! Fuck! Shit!" Cudi cursed as he quickly and desperately tried to collect whatever inkling of cocaine remained and place it back into his plastic bag, he paused and looked at her with wide eyes, "G-Get the fuck outta here!!!"

Devina stepped back and shut the door, but paused when she heard him wailing and let out desperate cries from the other side of the door. She opened the door once again and approached him much to his surprise.

"What the hell are you still doing here? I told you to get out!" Cudi exclaimed.

"You lost your product because of me." Devina stated, digging into her turtleneck and grabbing something from within her bra. She pulled out a packet of Stars and placed it on the sink for him, "I promise you this is more than enough to make up for it."

Cudi looked down at the packet and picked it up in confusion while Devina left him alone, shutting the door behind her.

She continued her search by walking down the hall, but as she rounded a corner she bumped into Ariana once again.

"Fuck...hey." Ariana said as she smiled at Devina.

"We really gotta stop meeting like this." Devina told her and Ariana giggled.

"So, are you okay? I thought something was up when you just up and left like that." Ariana asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. Thought I'd just give you your space with that guy. Sounded like y'all have history." Devina explained.

"And that's exactly what it is, history. Distant history at that." Ariana said to make it clear, "Our conversation didn't even last that long."

"He a man of few words?" Devina asked, leaning against the wall near to her.

"Quite the opposite actually, I just didn't want to talk to him." Ariana said with a shrug.

"And why's that?" Devina asked.

"Because I want to talk to you." Ariana replied, smiling in delight as she noticed another one of Devina's subtle smirks.

"I'm down to keep talking to you, preferably in a place where we can chill and actually hear each other." Devina told her.

"Tell me about it. Those speakers are loud as hell." Ariana said in agreement and gestured for Devina to follow her, "C'mon, I know a place that Nicki specifically made sure no one got into. Well...no one besides me, of course."

"Swang on, Grande." Devina said and she started following her through the halls until they reached a pair of double doors at the end of the hall.

Ariana took out a gold key from one of her pockets and inserted it, turning it to unlock the room.

"Your room, M'lady of house Vengeance." Ariana said in a posh accent as she gestured for Devina to enter.

"Leading me to enter a dark room before you, this the part where you knock me out and kidnap me." Devina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're imaginative, but no. I don't need to kidnap you." Ariana replied with a giggle, 'You're already mine after all.'

"I'll take your word for it." Devina said as she entered the room, identifying the queen sized bed and the few assorted items as a bedroom with the lights switched off.

"Thought Nicki's room would be a good place away from...everything." Ariana said as she reached to turn on the lights, but Devina stopped her by grabbing her hand.

Ariana looked at her in surprise and Devina pointed to the balcony that had an amazing view of the city of Atlanta.

"I figure we'd be able to see the view better without the lights on." Devina told her.

"Or you just want whatever happens in here to stay in the dark." Ariana said with a suggestive smirk.

"That's another option." Devina replied as she made her way over to the balcony doors, opening them and standing by the railing.

Ariana joined her and the two of them looked out at the view of the illuminated city in silence. After a while she looked away from enjoying the view of the city and opted to enjoy the view of the striking woman next to her. Even in darkness, she was glowing.

"I can't figure you out." Ariana admitted.

"Why do you say that?" Devina asked.

"You're unlike any rapper I've seen or come to know. You show up out of nowhere, make waves, come to a party and refuse to do things that people at parties usually do to have fun or just feel good in general." Ariana explained.

"Safe to say I'm an anomaly, right?" Devina asked, looking at her and Ariana shrugged, "I don't need to do what everyone else does at parties or anywhere really to feel good. I am what I am and I'm okay with that."

"So, what does make you feel good?" Ariana asked.

"Working." Devina replied, confusing and surprising Ariana, "Getting paid. Doing things when I want, how I want, and getting paid more than what some office job gets me so I can just end up eating shit. That ain't what I'm after."

"Oh, so you are after something?" Ariana asked with interest.

"Fuckin' right." Devina replied.

"And what's that?" Ariana asked.

Devina looked back out at the city with a distant yet determined gaze, "Freedom."

"From?" Ariana asked.

"Freedom from all of it." Devina stated as she looked away from the view and back at Ariana.

This woman truly was some kind of enigma. She had already drawn her in through looks alone, but speaking to her was much different from anyone else. Lady Vengeance was closed off, that much she could deduce, but unraveling the layers she had bit by bit drew her in even more, and with each layer she was falling for her more and more.

"You taking anyone with you in search of that freedom? Family? Friends?" Ariana asked fully loving the fact that she was genuinely having this type of conversation with someone.

"I got family. Don't need the friends." Devina replied.

"C'mon," Ariana said with a giggle.

"I mean it. I really do." Devina said with an amused smirk.

"Everybody needs a friend. That's the whole point of being human. We all need and want people at our sides during the good and bad." Ariana told her.

"People let you down." Devina stated with a shrug, "As of now I ain't got any friends, and I don't need 'em."

Ariana looked at her with small smile that only grew wider as she slid closer and bumped shoulders with Devina.

"Then I'll be your friend." Ariana stated.

Devina shook her head amusedly, "You don't wanna be my friend."

"I just said I would didn't I?" Ariana asked.

"My life, the people around me...it's not good for someone like you, Ariana." Devina told her, "I'm not good for you."

"If that's the best you can do to make me steer clear from you then you fucking suck at it." Ariana stated as she held her hand and entangled them, "We're friends now, end of discussion."

Devina looked at the woman next to her in surprise and she just smiled back at her then looked back at the view of the city. Now it was Devina's turn to try and figure her out.

She knew the life she was leading wasn't safe for someone like her. It wasn't for the faint hearted and the more time passed, the more she would have to become someone that shouldn't even be around such a pure soul. She could do it. She could let her go and walk away at that very moment and get the thought of one Ariana Grande out of her mind, out of her sight, and out of her life.

She didn't move though. She didn't let go nor did she want to. She understood the risks of the path she was choosing, but she was choosing it anyway. This would be the first time in a long time that she would be leaving a lot up to chance. A chance at something new. A chance at the one thing she hasn't ever planned for.

"Devina." Devina stated and Ariana looked away from the view and at her in surprise, "My name is Devina."

~

Late that night, Darnell and Tjay continued to talk to each other about random topics that they would spring on each other. They had been selling Stars left and right all day, even after Keem had left, and they were about to leave the basketball park and call it a night.

That is until a car pulled up on the sidewalk near them. Darnell paused mid-sentence and alerted Tjay of the car.

"The fuck?" Tjay asked confusedly.

Santiago stepped out of the car and approached the two of them with a smile, "What's up, fellas. Been hearing some stuff about a new product. Care to spare an old man some?"

"We ain't got nothing for you, old man. You must've heard wrong." Darnell told him.

"Come now, relax, my friend. We're all friends here, right? Look, I even have the reason why we're such good friends." Santiago said as he pulled up a large wad of cash from his pocket, "An old man just wants to see some Stars, fellas."

Tjay and Darnell looked at each other in surprise then back at Santiago with wary, but interested expressions.

"That depends," Tjay said, "How many Stars you looking to see?"

"So, you are selling them?" Santiago asked.

"I guess you could say that, yeah." Darnell confirmed.

Santiago dropped his smile and tossed the wad of cash at Tjay, who caught it in surprise just as Santiago pulled out a butterfly knife from his pockets and rushed Tjay.

Darnell let out a surprised shout as he watched Santiago stab Tjay multiple times until the holes punctured in his body started leaking enough blood to be visible on his clothes. It only took a few more stabs and a final one to the neck to bring Tjay down, and his now lifeless body fell to the ground.

Darnell reached for the gun hidden under his clothes, but Santiago bum rushed him before he could grab it and started stabbing him multiple times as well. Just like Tjay, multiple stab wounds were left in him and he fell to the ground dead due to the blood loss.

Santiago sighed as he stood up straight, looking down at the two lifeless and spat at one of them.

"Stupid Mayates." Santiago comments as he bent down and wiped the blood off of his knife with Darnell's jacket.

He reached into it and grabbed his leftover packets of Stars before pocketing them. He lastly picked up his wad of cash and pocketed that as well, leaving the bodies and going back to his car.

He opened the driver's side door and paused to look at the two dead bodies, smirking a job well done before getting into his car and driving away.

~

Raydar