The grass is always greener on the other side.

Whoever came up with the original quote had clearly never been to Detroit. At least, not the area that I'm currently riding through. It consists of burned out houses, abandoned stores and empty streets with hardly a soul to be seen. A quiet and somber fog cloaks the city and I wonder what happened for it to end up this way, a muted fragment of what was once a great city.

My thoughts begin to wander and I wonder if I had chosen to leave Santana would I be somewhere safe and half way around the world by now instead of watching the city around me pass by. I certainly don't regret my decision to stay with the love of my life but once in a while I wonder what my life would be like if we hadn't met. I smile and shake the stray thoughts from my mind. Santana is the best thing to happen to me. She opened up my eyes to the wonders of the world both good and bad and I know that my happiness will always be with her.

Once we exit the freeway onto the smaller streets I can count the number of cars that pass us on one hand. We've been driving around for at least half an hour and I have no clue where we are headed but as long as Santana's warm hand stays enclosed in mine I am happy to follow wherever she leads. The driver seems keen on ignoring us as he concentrates on watching the roads and I smile at how Hollywood-esque everything seems in the new age mobster film that is now my life. The presence of the ever silent and brooding goons, mob boss fights and, of course, throw in a little action with me as the protagonist stuck in the middle of it all and voilà, movie magic.

I turn to Santana and watch as she sleeps, curled up into my side and think back to my life before I met her. It was aimless and monotonous and now the past names and faces blur by, unimportant. Here and now I am next to the woman I love and riding off into our charred and broken sunset in the streets of Detroit. It's not exactly romantic but with one look at Santana's face I am automatically pulled into her and can't imagine ever leaving her.

Stroking her face lightly I try to imagine another existence where our lives were less like an action movie and perhaps more like a romantic comedy. Giggling and brushing over Santana's lips, I laugh a little at my whimsical thoughts and kiss her lightly. I feel my girl stir a little and I pout a little for accidentally waking up my sleeping beauty. The feeling dissipates instantly as she opens her eyes and I am drowning again in the open and beautiful way she looks at me.

"You know if you keep looking at me like that, Britt, I might have to stop the car and personally escort you to a private location and have my devious way with you."

"Oh my! Whatever will this damsel in distress do?"

"Damsel, huh? Says the woman packing throwing knives and killer reflexes?"

"Hey now, that's not fair, San. You got me those knives as a present and it's not my fault you're such shit at dodging things."

"Oh, is that right?"

Before I could reply I feel her stick her fingers underneath my shirt and start tickling me and I burst out laughing while trying to push her hands away. I try in vain to get a hold of her hands but she evades my attempts by prodding me harder until I lose all control and beg her to stop. A few tears slip out of my eyes and I brush them away as my laughter subsides and I pull Santana towards me to give her a kiss.

The world drifts away as I lean into her and I bring my hands up, running them along her strong shoulders and up her neck until my fingers get tangled in her hair. I take the opportunity to gently massage her head. The low groan that emits from Santana's mouth only makes me grin as I press a little harder in an attempt to make her more comfortable.

This goes on for a few minutes before a muted cough from the driver pulls me away and Santana grumbles a few words in Spanish that I recognize as curses. I laugh and kiss her sweetly for looking and acting surly but cute at the same time. I watch her take a look out the window and swear I see the cogs in her mind working as she takes note of everything outside. Not that there was much around to look at. The last animate object I saw was a lone car passing us by.

The outside world looks more akin to a zombie apocalypse and I vaguely think about the possibility of it happening until I feel the car slowing down as it reaches a warehouse. Graffiti covers the entire surface of the building and I can see all sorts of debris and wild vegetation littering the property. The eerie part is the quietness of it all. Bits and pieces of humanity can be seen from the shoe lying in the grass to the various broken bottles all over the place. The only missing part are the humans. Where did everyone go?

The decayed buildings surrounding us look as run down as the warehouse we are pulling up to and I suddenly feel saddened by the thought of the history and culture that is now buried under all the rubble and weeds. The abandonment that can be felt all around makes the area even more somber and I look on as the driver pulls into a driveway and gets out. I look to my girlfriend for guidance and she smiles softly at me, patting me lightly on the knee instead as we watch the driver pull out a key and unlock a padlocked and rickety old door before sliding it to the side.

"San?"

"Almost there, Britt. Hold on."

"Where are we, Santana?"

"Technically, still in Detroit, but a lot of the buildings have been abandoned and people have just moved away. It also doesn't help that the city had to file for bankruptcy not too long ago so places like these have just sat unused and broken for a while."

"So nobody lives here anymore?"

"You might get residents a little closer to the city proper but nobody comes this far out. We've caught a few photographers once in a blue moon trying to sneak in and take ruin-porn type pictures but we just rob them and scare them off so they never come back."

"It all looks so sad…"

"A prime example of what happens when structure and social decline is left alone and ignored for years. Everything decays and dies and something else takes its place."

I was about to ask more questions but the driver chose to climb back into the car at that moment and continued to drive further into the warehouse. To say I am a little disappointed and surprised there was not a fabulous secret lair located inside was putting it mildly as I look around and see nothing but empty space and questionable rotting support beams. Curious about our current location and the reasoning behind us sitting here I turn to ask Santana but keep quiet when I see her pull out a phone and dial before setting it to speaker.

"You cannot call this number, Miss. It is not for you."

"Definitely wasn't expecting you again. Aren't bodyguards supposed to be silent and just stand in the corner somewhere? Why are you answering the phone?"

"This is procedure, Miss. You know this."

"Apparently I should know a lot of things. You still didn't answer my question, where's your boss at?"

"Outside. He is busy now."

"Busy busy?"

"Too busy, yes."

"Great, let him know I have to meet with MJ first and I'll see him later."

"I will tell him, Miss."

"Okay. Hey, by the way, what's your name, bodyguard?

"I cannot tell you, Miss. You know this, it is procedure. Goodbye."

The phone ends and we sit in silence as the sound of the phone dial rings between us before Santana picks it up and hangs up. I watch as she smiles and shakes her head at the device before chucking it out the window. I'm about to ask why but the driver takes that moment to reverse suddenly and I hear a crunch as the tires roll over the now squashed phone and I jerk a little in my seat from the abrupt motion.

"The hell, San? Why did he just do that?"

"You heard the bodyguard, its just procedure, Britt. Never know who is around listening to our calls and what not. You can never be too careful, right?"

"There's a difference between being careful and paranoid, Santana. You and Mike take it to the next level with all this secrecy and what not. I thought we were going to get you checked out since your leg is still hurting you. Wait, who is MJ? Are we heading somewhere else now?"

"Caution has kept me alive so maybe being a little paranoid goes a long way, Britt. We'll go see Mike later but first I need to make another pit stop. Things are changing and I want to make sure we're on the winning side of things. MJ is going to help me. Well actually they might not but I have something they want so hopefully I can get what I want as well."

"What is it you want, Santana?"

"Besides you?"

"Be serious, San…"

"Honestly? A way out. Things are going to get worse before they get better and I can't tell if I'm going to make it through it all. I can't guarantee things are going to end well for me but I'll be damned if anything happens to you, Britt. I'd die before I let that happen."

"Please don't say that…"

"I have to. I refuse to lie to you and tell you that everything is rainbows and unicorns because it's just not true. If anything does happen to me, MJ can take care of you and I can at least rest easy knowing you'll be safe."

"What is going on, San? Tell me."

"War, my love. We're about to go to war with some very dangerous people."

To say I'm concerned is the biggest understatement of the century. I make sure to hold onto Santana's hand as tight as possible as the car moves through the desolate neighborhoods of Detroit and I dart my eyes to the shadows and windows to check for our enemy. Unfortunately my girlfriend has decided to take a nap after revealing her news of an upcoming gang war to me so I wasn't able to ask any more questions.

I bite my lip in worry when I see the many creases marring Santana's forehead as I watch her face contort in concern. I try to soothe her worries by cuddling up close and murmuring quiet reassurances into her ear but it seems to have worsened her dreams as she begins to struggle and her eyes dart wildly underneath her eyelids.

Is this how she normally sleeps? I don't ever remember seeing her like this in her sleep but then again I haven't had a normal night's sleep with her for ages. Is this why she always seems to be out of the bed when I wake up? Fearing she'll end up hurting her leg in her sleep, I shake Santana as hard as possible to rouse her from what seems to be a nightmare.

"Wake up! San, you need to wake up, right now!"

"What's wrong? Are you hurt, Britt? Where are we? Stop the car!"

I'm quickly shoved under Santana's arm as she whips out a gun and points it directly at our driver who quickly hits the brakes and I feel the car drift a little as we skid along the thankfully deserted road. The tension in the air is thick as I feel Santana breathe heavily above me and I peek out from under her arm to see our frightened driver with his hands still on the wheel and wide eyes peering back at us through the rear view mirror.

"Ma'am?"

"What? Where are we?"

"On the road, Ms. Lopez. We're about 10 minutes away from our destination as per your instruction. Is something wrong?"

"No, just keep… keep driving. Let's go."

"Yes, Ms. Lopez."

I can feel her body relax exponentially and I hear the thud of the gun as Santana drops it in favor of pulling me up slightly and pressing a long and soft kiss against my forehead. I had so many questions but decide to keep quiet for now as I feel her lips move towards my mouth and I scoot up to meet her halfway. We kiss slowly and deliberately as I feel Santana take deeper breaths and I place a hand on her chest to make sure her heartbeat is slowly easing back to its regular rhythm.

"Santana, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Britt…just antsy I guess."

"Do you normally sleep like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're in a never ending nightmare."

"I'm just worried about what's going to happen to us, Britt. I'm especially worried about you. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you…"

"You won't lose me, San, I promise. We're like two magnets; we'll always find a way to be together again. Don't you believe in fate?"

"I'm inclined to say no but you're just going to prove me wrong anyway, aren't you?"

Ignoring her cheeky smile and smacking her lightly on the arm I try to finish the rest of my sentence but I feel the car slow down and realize we're now parked outside a nondescript apartment complex. A few people walk up and down the street but overall it's a seemingly normal neighborhood.

The driver begins to get out and I ease myself back into my seat before he opens the door and extends a hand towards Santana first. She gives me a quick kiss before shuffling out with her cane and waiting for me to follow suit. I exit and follow along as Santana walks towards one building in particular and I wonder if this is where we're meeting this MJ person. I discreetly check underneath my shirt for my throwing knives and silently thank my brain for reminding me to strap them in earlier in the car. I think that traipsing around the world with a known criminal has definitely taught me to be a bit more aware and cautious.

I'm not shocked when I see Santana pull out a gun and hobble up to the intercom before using it and jabbing an apartment number with the tip of the muzzle. What I don't expect is the door to fly straight open and slam into her as a large man barrels past her and bears down on our driver, striking the gun he has in his hands and knocking him flat onto the ground. I try to reach my girlfriend first as I see a trickle of blood run down the side of her face, probably caused by the front door slamming into her head on, but stop in my tracks as a crowd of armed men surround us with their guns pointed straight at our heads.

Déjà vu flits through my mind as I stand stock still with my hands in the air and silently pray that Santana is alright. The sound of footsteps catches my attention and I zero in on the woman casually walking towards my unconscious and hurt girlfriend. I certainly don't miss the pistol in her hand as I take in the curvy black woman circling around Santana as she takes her time slowing eyeing her up and down.

What I don't expect is for her to step hard on Santana's hurt leg and I try to rush forward to help but a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around me as I struggle futilely trying to get to her side. The loud scream is what stills my actions as I see Santana try to sit up with the foot still pressing down on her leg. The woman presses harder and I see my girlfriend wince in pain before screaming at her to get off.

"You got some nerve, Lopez, I'll give you that. Now you've got about 5 seconds to tell me why you're here before I crush your leg and use it to beat the living shit out of you."

"Fucking shit, MJ, get the fuck off!"

"One."

"Jesus Christ, that hurts! Are you crazy, woman?"

"Two. By the way, I thought you would've been much smarter than this, bringing only 2 people with you is a sure fire way to get you killed. Didn't Mike teach you anything?"

"Fuck! Get off, get off, get off!"

"Three. My patience is wearing thin, Lopez. You of all people should know not to mess with me. Or do you need another bullet hole in your back?"

Not being able to take the sound of Santana hurting any longer I reach for one of my knives and jam it straight into the thigh of the guy holding me. His grip loosens and I reach for another knife hoping to throw it at the woman but the sight of her gun now placed directly in the middle of Santana's head stops me and I jolt to a complete halt. She keeps her eyes pinned on me as she eyes the knife in my hand and then my face.

"Where'd you pick this stray up from, Santana? She certainly doesn't look or act like a Lopez, that's for sure. But then again you've always been the one that can see the potential in everyone before corrupting it and using it for your dear old dad. Not a bad way to recruit a gang I'd say, but you know all about that don't you, Lopez?"

"Santos is dead, MJ! You know I didn't have a choice! He would've killed Sam if I didn't say anything!"

"Liar! You ruined us, you ruined me. You're nothing but Satan's spawn and I hope you rot in hell. Time's up, shoot them all."

"No! Wait! He's not dead! I know where Sam is!"

"The next words out of your mouth better be the truth or so help me God I will stomp your scrawny ass out and use you for target practice, Santana."

"I swear! Let's be honest, Wheezy, do you think I am dumb enough to come here looking for a fight without more backup? You should give me more credit than that."

"Don't call me Wheezy, my name is Mercedes! You're a lot of fucked up things Santana but you're right, you certainly aren't that dumb. Now tell me, where is Sam? Where is my husband?"

"Can you at least stop squishing my leg? It's already fucked up and I don't need it to get any worse!"

"Serves you right you piece of shit! Bring these punks inside before I change my mind and murder their asses!"

I'm shoved roughly from behind towards the building as I turn around and watch a couple of guys pick up our unconscious driver and then another pair lift Santana over their shoulder. I follow along as we head up a few flights of stairs in single file, all the while keeping an eye on my girlfriend. I breathe a sigh of relief as I hear her complain about being manhandled and I can't help but shake my head at her childish behavior. Here we are being threatened with bodily harm and my girlfriend is complaining about not having her cane so she could walk up the stairs herself.

By the time all three of us are in the room I've already scoped out 3 possible escape exits and I silently thank my old training as a flight attendant for that. The room we're led into is a decent sized office space, nothing as opulent as Mike's office but definitely well used and comfortable for the woman now sitting behind the large desk in the center of the room. The person named Mercedes hasn't said a word to us since we were all unceremoniously dumped onto the only couch in the room. She slides into her chair and rifles through a few papers on her desk. The presence of the gun close to her hand isn't lost on me as I look at Santana and wait for her lead.

"Thanks for not shooting us, MJ. I know it took-"

"Shut up. First, don't call me MJ. You're not allowed to call me that anymore, it's just Mercedes now. Second, you're telling me where Sam is now or I will cripple your other leg and shoot your two lackeys over there."

"Okay, Mercedes, calm down. If you'll just let me explain, I don't personally know where Sam is but this guy over here does. Too bad one of your dudes knocked him out so I guess we all have to wait for him to wake up."

We all turn our heads towards the slumped body next to me as I take a look at the growing bruise on our driver's face. Wincing at the huge knot on his forehead I estimate it'll be some time before he wakes up again. I turn towards Santana to see her smiling awkwardly back at the woman behind the desk and I pray that the next thing to happen isn't a bullet into one of our heads.

"You better be joking, Santana…"

"If I said no would you still shoot me?"

"I'm very tempted. Now tell me the real reason why you're here. Trust me I ain't got all day and don't give me that bullshit about telling me where Sam is. You would've sent a messenger instead of coming here in person."

"I do care about Sam, you know that, Mercedes. As much as Trouty mouth and I fight all the time, he is still one of my best friends and my brother. We grew up together working our way up the ranks and watching each other's backs. I'm not proud of what I did to him, to you both really, but he's alive and so are you. Isn't that worth it?"

"You sold us out! We were going to run away together, run away from all this shit! But you, you told Santos where we were hiding and they took him! I should kill you right now for all the shit you put me through. Fuck you, Snix!"

"You knew he would never stop coming after you two until he made you one of his pawns. Your family practically owns all of Detroit and the Southern states not to mention most of the trade on the East coast. Sam was going to die before he let Santos get to you. I saved his life! He might be locked up somewhere but at least he's alive, Mercedes. Besides, you knew the consequences of falling in love with a Lopez."

The tension was so thick in the air that I thought we were all going to choke on it. I was also so confused about the conversation in general and I must've looked the part because the next thing I feel is Mercedes's eyes boring into my head and I turn around to find her staring straight at me. I feel Santana shift over and cover one of my hands that I didn't realize was shaking and I'm thankful that my girlfriend is nearby to calm my nerves.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Don't talk to her like that."

"Fuck you, Snix, I ain't talking to you, I'm asking blondie over there. You aren't a Lopez, are you? At first I thought you were one of Santana's lackeys but now that I think about it you don't really have the mannerisms of one. I mean I should know, I married one. So, tell me, blondie, who are you and why are you hanging around that bitch?"

"That's enough, Mercedes!"

Santana's grip on my hand tightens and I squeeze back in assurance as I look between the now calculative expression on Mercedes's face and the anger radiating off of my girlfriend. I didn't know what to say or how to answer Mercedes so I stayed quiet and let whatever is going on between her and Santana pan out. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be silent for long as I watch Mercedes's face transform into shock and then confusion as she looks between me and San before blurting out what I've feared she has deduced.

"Oh my god, you're in love with Santana aren't you, blondie? Oh, this is fantastic, and here I was thinking that Snix could never have a heart. Haven't you heard? The consequence for falling in love with a Lopez is a hard price to pay. I can't imagine what you even see in Satan's daughter…"

"She isn't Satan's daughter! Santana isn't like that at all and I'm sure she's very sorry for what she did to you. I don't know what happened in the past to you guys but aren't we all adults? Shouldn't we look ahead instead of to the past?"

"You don't know anything about me, girl, and if I were you I would be very careful about how you speak to me. I don't know what kind of weird drug Santana slipped you but you clearly don't have an understanding of who Snix is. Your Santana, the same one you are so infatuated with is nothing but a lying, thieving and back stabbing punk. A two-bit gangster. A person that loves only themselves and sacrifices everyone around her. If I were you, girl, I would take the next chance to run as far away as possible, the only thing that'll come out of loving a Lopez is pain and heartache."

"Santana isn't like that!"

"But Snix is and they are the same person! I don't know who you are but I'm giving you fair warning, the only thing that'll happen in loving someone like Santana is death. And judging from your face I can already see you've come close to death's door a few times already. You sure got a mouth on you though. What's your name, girl?"

"It's Bri-… I mean, my name is uh… it's um…"

"I'm going to find out sooner or later, blondie. Who are you?"

"Susan! My name is Susan."

"You must think I'm stupid. Mike's wife was named Susan and she's dead so if I were you I would start telling the truth and stop being disrespectful to the deceased. Wouldn't want the Triads to come knocking on your door now right?"

"But she's not dead…"

"What did you say?"

"Susan isn't dead...and I'm not lying, my middle name is Susan too."

"You have some explaining to do, Lopez, get over here right now! You know what to do."

The next 30 minutes had to have been the strangest so far from the time Mercedes began yelling at Santana to the moment our driver began to wake up. No sooner had Mercedes told San to move towards her, two large beefy men came in and held me down as I watched Santana slowly get up off the couch and walk towards the desk. I tried to fight and get up as I could see that walking without the cane was hurting her but try as I might I couldn't get up.

I hear the sound of a drawer being opened and watch as Mercedes throws what seems to be a handful of rice on the floor before ordering Santana to begin kneeling and explaining to her what happened. What's odder is that Santana doesn't complain and her movements are practiced as she stiffly lowers herself to the ground and puts her hands behind her head. A brief hiss of pain is all that comes out of her mouth as I watch her grit her teeth and slowly explain that Mike's family is truly well and alive.

Mercedes's face remains impassive and I begin to worry as I see my girlfriend begin to sweat and every now and then shift painfully on her knees. Clearly this is punishment but definitely one I've never seen or experienced. I try to inch closer but the men behind me continue to tighten their grip on me as I watch Santana explain our situation and everything that has happened since. Every minute that passes I can see pain flit across Santana's face and I tried desperately to say or do something to get us out of this situation.

My savior comes from beside me as I turn at the sound of a loud moan from our driver. Finally the man is beginning to wake up and I can tell Mercedes and Santana have noticed as well. Not even bothering to let Santana finish her story I watch as Mercedes bears down on the man next to me and roughly slaps him hard in the face before screaming at him to wake up.

"You best stay awake boy before I send you to join your boss on the ground over there. Do you understand me?"

"Ma'am?"

"Don't ma'am me. You know the rules, get down on your knees over there and tell me where my husband is or so help me god I'll make you and your boss kneel there until the rest of the week."

Even in his disheveled and beaten state I am thoroughly surprised to see our driver lumber out of his seat and mechanically drop down by Santana before putting his hands behind his head also. What even is this insane punishment? Not willing to let my girlfriend suffer anymore I urge the man to quickly tell Mercedes what she wanted to know. He slowly shakes his head a little and speaks quietly to Santana before receiving a small head nod from her and clearing his throat before speaking.

"Sergeant Evans was recently discovered to be held on a private island off the coast of Florida. After the death of Santos we raided the compound but found only remnants of a hasty retreat. However we have acquired information about the whereabouts of Sergeant Evans. He was taken by Santo's second in command, Sebastion Smythe, and is headed towards Las Vegas to meet with others to help him secure his foothold in La Secta."

"Smythe? That slime ball of an asshole is trying to head La Secta? Never did like his skinny ass. What does he want with Sam?"

"I don't know, ma'am, I assume it's as leverage in case you decide to move in on him in case Ms. Lopez seeks you out for an alliance."

"So now you need my help to help beat Smythe. Who would've thought Satan's daughter herself would be kneeling on my floor asking for help? But you're use to this aren't you? I heard Santos would make you kneel for days without food or drink and the first person that touches the ground with their hands gets it chopped off. Effective and motivating, don't you think so, Lopez?"

I watch as Mercedes locks eyes with Santana and for a long moment I thought nothing would come out of this trip and we were all going to die there.

A quick nod had Santana off the ground and back on the couch as one of Mercedes's men dropped her unceremoniously next to me. I hear her labored breathing and I immediately look towards her leg for any apparent wounds but find only heavily bruised knees and I sigh in relief before hugging her to me.

"I'm not stupid, Santana. I know what it meant for you to kneel down in front of me like that. Not exactly a bad punishment I have to say for you La Secta kids. Them rice kernels really dig into your skin after a couple of hours. Sam used to tell me all about how you guys had to kneel there for hours just because one of you botched up your assignments but wouldn't admit to whose fault it was. I'm not going to forgive you for what you did to me and Sam but I also don't want to waste any more time when my husband is out there. Get your gears and guns, we're going to Vegas."

A/N: My god its been a while hasn't it? A little over a year right? I'm sure you're all surprised I updated and probably angry as hell for taking so long haha. I'm sorry, life got in the way and refused to give me any motivation to write words down. I am still dedicated to finishing this story. We're almost to the end I think so hopefully I can get it all out there. I do apologize for not keeping up but I'll definitely try hard to keep on the path. You can thank my beta for that, go say say happy birthday and hi to her killercereal ), also she writes hilarious fics!

On a side note, brittanacon is coming up and unfortunately I can't go. But I'm donating a tshirt to an attendee there who didn't buy one so shoot the brittanacon organizers an email/ask on their website if you are going and would like a shirt. If you want I can even do a 1 shot or prompt to whoever gets it. Now if you think this is a good idea, I urge you to poke your favorite authors and see if they are willing to do the same to support the fandom and the organizers of brittanacon.

Lastly, thanks to everyone for messaging me, poking me and yelling at me to finish this story. And thank You for reading, reviewing and keeping up with me this far :)