Summary: John Myers is anything but a regular man. With impressive skills to kill and an envious intelligence, John has worked in the crime line since he was young. But his involvement with the Italian Mafia ended when one of the Souriano's brothers killed his sister for his money. Now, John must find Lou Souriano to get his revenge. Word is that the man is in Liberty City, working with one of the big names of the Liberty Mafia: Jack Sullivan. Things start to get interesting when John finds out Souriano is not in Liberty, but in Vice City. The only man who can help him get to his target is Tommy Vercetti, the old underground king from Vice City who decided to settle down in a bigger city. What will happen when John finally finds Souriano?

Prologue – A Waste of Time

John Myers was sitting behind the wheel of a shiny black PMP 600 on a corner in North Holland, smoking a cigarette and observing the deserted Frankford Avenue ahead of him. The radio was tuned to The Vibe and "Criticize" was on, playing low in the car. The street where he was parked was dark and empty, and, above his head, the traffic light worked pointlessly. He inhaled the smoke of the cigarette slowly and carefully and then let it out the window, thinking.

In the trunk of the PMP there was a black bag full with dollar bills that added up to five thousand dollars. John had just gotten it from a hotel room in the Exchange neighborhood south Algonquin. Earlier that day, he had knocked out one of the janitors in the alleyway behind the hotel while the man took the trash out. John stole his clothes and entered the building undercover, carrying a hidden 9mm pistol with a silencer. All he had to do, then, was hide in the targets' room and wait for their return. One silenced shot for each one and the bag was his. John left the building like any other man, wearing his custom sunglasses.

He knew it wouldn't take long for someone to find the bodies. The smartest thing to do was to drive away from the hotel and wait for things to cool down. He drove around in circles first, to be sure no-one was following him, and then he headed north. John stopped at BurgerShot to eat dinner. That was around eleven p.m. Jack wanted to see him at midnight.

John had parked the black PMP on that street thirty minutes ago and was waiting for the right time to walk into the building and meet up with Jack. It was the second job he was doing for the man, in exchange for information on Lou Souriano, John's only objective in Liberty City. He had been around for six months and had already lost count of how many people he had killed.

Alexander O'Neal was replaced by Freddie Jackson on the radio and the green display of John's watch switched to 00:00. He turned off the radio, threw the cigarette on the curb and got out of the car.

Standing alone in a deserted street in North Holland wearing a black jacket and carrying a heavy bag at midnight would look suspicious to anyone. John raised his eyes to the windows on the buildings surrounding him, looking for curious eyes. The very few windows with light were free of movement. John walked into the building.

The place was old and smelly, but John didn't mind that. Walking firmly, he crossed the main hall until he got to the elevator at the end. He waited patiently as it came down making more noise than a train in the distance, always looking around to make sure no-one was watching. If he ran into any kind of problem, he had a dagger well-hidden under his jeans, strapped to his right ankle.

The elevator arrived and John lifted the bars to get in. The ride was long and loud, but John's mind was far away from the elevator. Somewhere up there, there was a man who knew everything he needed to know about Lou Souriano's whereabouts, but he insisted on playing games and making John run around like his bitch, completing things he had left behind. John had decided he wasn't gonna put up with that crap anymore. He wanted answers now.

The elevator stopped and John walked out to the hallway with the heavy bag on his right shoulder. Jack's apartment was the last on the right.

John knocked five times and waited. The doorknob turned after ten seconds and a man in a cheap blue suit let him in, walking him to the improvised office where Jack Sullivan was waiting.

"Johnny!" he exclaimed when John walked in. "Midnight, exactly! If there is one thing you understand, my boy, is punctuality."

Without saying anything, John threw the bag over the table.

Jack Sullivan was a middle-life man with gray hair and a few golden teeth. That night he was wearing one of his black Perseus' suit with a striped tie, and the smell of his cologne impregnated the air in the office. John felt nausea because of the strong smell, but didn't let it show. He just stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, waiting for Jack to honor his part of the deal.

The old man leaned over the bag and unzipped it. The dim light of the lamp on the desk lighted the dollar bills in the bag and Jack's eyes. He went through them in five seconds and then leaned back on his chair.

"Five thousand dollars, Sullivan" John said. "Now, it's your turn."

Jack blinked, and then opened a smile.

"You gotta relax, my friend!" he said, and reached out for a bottle of scotch on an end table. "Here, have some whiskey."

"I don't need a drink, Jack. I need answers."

"Alright."

Jack put the scotch away and leaned over the desk, crossing his fingers before his eyes.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Where is Lou Souriano?"

"Johnny, Johnny…" he chuckled. "I can't go around telling on my associates! Do you have any idea how bad that would be for my business?"

"Your business is shit, Jack. You own a couple of clubs around the city and you resell the coke from the Russians. It's a cut-throat business."

"Still, it's all I got" he replied. "Lou Souriano is an important associate of mine. If you wanna take him down, you better do it silently. And no-one can find out I helped you."

"I just hope you're not hiding him from me."

"Ha! I'm not that stupid, Johnny. I promised you I would help you get him. In exchange, you would finish some jobs for me around the city. Lou doesn't know a thing about our little… deal."

"So where is he?"

"Unfortunately, my friend, Lou is not in the city."

John felt the blood in his veins start to boil.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You had me running around, doing favors for you, and the whole time you fucking knew Souriano wasn't even in the city?"

Jack raised his hands, palms facing Johnny.

"Whoa, boy, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Lou is not in the city right now, but he will be. Trust me. He said he had some business to finish in Vice City and he would be back in no time. Don't worry; he'll be yours before you know it."

"Listen to me, Sullivan, I ain't got no time to waste here" John ranted, pointing his finger at Jack's face and leaning on the desk. "I want Souriano."

"You listen here, boy. I'm the best you got on Souriano so far. The man is like family, and he wouldn't do something without my advice. I could call him right now and tell him to get a flight back to Liberty City and he would get on that fucking flight, right?, but I need stuff done before that happens, you hear me, boy? So you better cool down and do what I tell you if you want Souriano."

John thought about it for a second. Six months before he even got a hint on Souriano. He couldn't let that go.

"Good" Jack said as John retrieved from the table. "I'm glad you're not gonna become another trouble in my account."

"If you're so close to Souriano, why are you turning him in?"

"Because! Because I need stuff done, you hear me, boy? And Souriano was becoming a pain in my ass. Yes, the man is like family! But not the good part of the family, you understand? Haha!"

"So, when is he going to be back?"

"Who knows? Listen, boy, I ain't got time to waste either. I know you need money, and I got it. Keep close to your phone, and I will keep you informed about Souriano. Trust me, the man will be yours before anything else if you promise to help me. Can I have your word?"

"I need some guarantee."

Jack huffed.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"I wanna a cut of your profits" John said, glancing at the black bag, "and I want some info on Souriano. Details of his life and his involvement with you."

"Why the hell would you want to know that?"

"I've got my motives."

He huffed again.

"Alright, boy. I met Souriano right after he arrived in Liberty City, alright? Back then he was just another poor bastard with a lot in his head and no money to spend. I got him on the biz. Now he runs things on his own. Are you happy?"

John pondered.

"That's enough for now. As for my cut…"

Jack reached into the bag and pulled out four rolls of bills.

"How does a thousand sound to you?"

Sullivan threw the bills at John, who grabbed them without dropping. One last glance at Jack and he was out of the room.

"Remember to stand by your cell phone, Johnny!" Jack shouted from the office as John crossed the living room of the shabby apartment and walked out to the corridor.

He redid his steps down the elevator and out to the street, getting into the car again. He checked his watch; a quarter past midnight. Avery would probably be awake when he returned home.

Starting the car and turning on the radio, John rethought his steps. Sullivan had promised to help him get to Souriano if he did what he was told for the time Souriano was away. It didn't sound as promising as John would have expected, especially after hearing that Souriano was further than he'd like, but it was all he got now. After he arrived in Liberty City, he spent six months running around, making connections, trying to get a word on Souriano. He knew the bastard was in LC; his "contact" had assured him of that. He just didn't know it would be so hard to find someone in that city. Although LC was just a group of islands in the middle of the Atlantic, the place was bigger than a State's metropolis, and everybody seemed to have something against someone. After long six months of hard work, John had come to Sullivan, one of Souriano's associates. When he thought he was getting close to his target, Jack came up with that story of Souriano not being around. What a bunch of shit. If John had any other path to follow, he would have told Sullivan to go fuck himself and he go after Souriano himself. But he didn't have the money to drop everything and head to Vice City like he had done before.

John headed east, crossing Northwood Heights Bridge to get to Bohan. He was living in a one-bedroom apartment in Fortside with a girl named Avery Dawson, an old friend of his who had followed him in his hunt for Lou Souriano. Avery was quiet and shy, but extremely helpful. If John didn't have her, he would have taken double the time to find Souriano's contacts in Liberty City.

When he arrived at his apartment, Avery was watching some late night show under a blanket in the living room. She raised her gray eyes to him as he walked in, taking off his jacket and throwing the rolls of bills on the counter of the kitchen.

"So? How was it?" she asked as he undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. The jacket was left on a chair.

"A fucking waste of my time" he replied.

Avery stood up, leaving the blanket on the couch, and walked towards the counter to have a look on the money. John noticed she was only wearing a thin top, panties and a pair of socks.

"A thousand dollars? That's good enough" she commented.

"Yeah, but this Sullivan thing is a dead end."

"What do you mean?"

"Souriano's not in the city."

Avery's chin dropped.

"Are you serious?"

John removed his tie and threw it over the counter too. Avery glanced at it and returned her eyes to him. She could read disappointment all over his face.

"What did he say to you?" she asked.

John told her everything that happened at Jack's place.

"Hey, it's not that bad" she started. "If you keep doing these 'jobs' for him, you'll get to Souriano in no time. Or at least you're gonna have enough money to fly to Vice City and check on Sullivan's story."

"Still… I feel like I've been wasting every second of my life in this city if Souriano's not here."

"Come on."

Avery reached out and touched his arm over his shirt.

"It wasn't a waste of time. Sullivan says he's close to Souriano, and I bet he is. If you just hang in there, I'm sure Jack's gonna give him to you in no time, John. Trust me. You're gonna get him."

John raised his hand and placed it on the back of Avery's head, pulling her closer to his arms. She didn't resist; instead, she left herself get caught in the kiss, putting her arm around his waist and closing her eyes to the touch of his lips.

In a matter of seconds, they were both out of their clothes and rolling over the sheets of the bed in the only bedroom in the apartment. It was nothing new to them; whenever John came home after a full day, Avery made the stress go away with her body. There was nothing romantic in their relationship; it was just about the sex. There were no intimate dates or thoughtful gifts, just the sheets over the bed. As long as it worked for both of them, there was nothing wrong with it.

That night, after Avery had fallen asleep on his side, John remained awake, thinking about his position. It was hard to digest the fact that Souriano wasn't around, but he would have to be patient and continue on the right track. Avery was there to help him, so there was nothing to worry about. She wouldn't let him do anything crazy or stupid; he knew that for sure. All there was left to do was wait. And that was what John was going to do.

He rolled over under the covers and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.