A/N: I haven't done a GTA story in quite some time. But this one has been running rampant through my mind for a long time, since before I even finished the game myself. The game, in my opinion, leaves so much to the imagination, and from the first day I was playing it, I was always thinking of little things - how a character would be here, how a character could fit in there... So this is my character that I've placed in that world. Hopefully she'll measure up to her surroundings! Thank you to anyone who reads this, and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, nor do I intend to make any profits out of doing this. I just enjoy the game, and enjoy the random, fun things that are possible in the game.

"""""

Lies and deceit can be difficult to work through. Betrayals are downright impossible. Karen never thought that the life would take her far away from her home, from her family. She never imagined that someone she put her trust, her heart into would crush her either. Life has a funny way of telling someone to start over, the when and the how given as certain people filter in. Can someone forgive? Or should they simply forget?

"""""

"Shit," she muttered in the nearly empty parking garage. Not only was the car the wrong color, a quick look at the vehicle's identification number told her that it was the wrong car in total. Wouldn't her mother be proud to know that she had skipped rocks across country to not only make a majority of her living being a car theft, but a screwed car theft. She didn't even want to image the look of disgust her father might give her knowing the truth.

Though she rarely ever fucked up a job, this was one she couldn't fix. That slick Armenian, Yetarian, had painted her into a corner with this deal. She didn't have a choice but to leave the car untouched. As far as she was concerned, Yetarian had better had the best explanation ever.

Movement near a red car on the opposite side of where she crouched against this erroneous vehicle caught her attention. Damn, she thought as she scanned the exits that were available to her on the side visible to her. She could either try running the five levels down the spiraling ramp, or get the best workout of her life to get down the five flights of stairs next to the vehicle ramp. Deciding her best bet were the stairs, she quickly made a jolt for the metal door, thankful for the solid feeling of the black boots that encased her feet.

However, the motion of her escaping wasn't without notice.

"Hey!"

A man's voice echoed throughout the parking level, the heavy metal door almost silencing it behind her. She had made it down one level before she heard the door open again, the man calling out again. Damn it if it wasn't the owner of the car that she was being paid to pilfer.

"Hey, man! Hold up!"

The calm aura that she usually exuded was slipping away, and faster than she wanted. Her own panting hummed in her ears as her heart picked up its pace. Digging into the front pocket of the over-sized black jacket she wore for the keys to her truck, she cursed as she heard another voice following the one that was chasing her. Reaching the bottom of the second level, she wanted to believe she could make it out before these two guys made contact with her, but that was a sheer dream.

Just as the heel of her boot touched down with the first step of the last flight of stairs, a hand of the man's grasped onto her jacket, making her jerk back as he crashed into her. She lost the grip of the keys jingling in her hand, the noise of them skidding down the cement steps ringing around them. Her black baseball cap flew off, landing somewhere behind them, and the man came tumbling down on top of her. Together, they rolled down to the bottom, neither of them able to stop the force of their momentum.

"Shit! Lamar!"

She could just barely hear the second guy as he swiftly made his way down to the scene.

"What the fuck are you doing, man! You could have broken your fucking neck with that shit."

Pushing the man off her, she grabbed at the back of her head. "Or mine."

The second guy, she assumed by the fact that he was standing, looked at her.

"You're a woman," he stated, ignoring the fact that his friend had barely moved.

"You're kidding," she said sarcastically. "As if I hadn't known all my life."

Sucking in air through his teeth with a clicking sound, the man then put his attention on his limp friend. "You alright, dude?"

Sitting up, he accepted the help of his friend's extended hand. "I'm fine. Rolling down a whole flight of stairs was exactly what I wanted to do this morning."

"Man, that was your fault. No one told you to go balls out chasing after someone we don't even know."

"Hey," she interrupted the bickering friends. "I like a good television show as much as the next person, but can we get this settled now?" She glanced each of them over once. "You guys cops or something?"

She stood on unsteady legs as she brushed herself off, the man who she could now identify as being named Lamar spoke.

"Does it look like we motherfuckin' cops?"

Snapping her gaze at him, her mouth flattened into a line. "Not with the way you sound."

"Damn," the second guy said with unbridled amusement.

"Shut up, Franklin," he quickly said. "I don't see you sticking your fucking neck out to get the job done."

"The job didn't include tackling some girl."

"We don't know who she is," he shot back. "She could be FIB or some shit. Simeon said this place would be empty – "

"Simeon?" she repeated, interrupting him. "Yetarian? At the dealership?"

"Yeah," Franklin said, taking in her features. Dark eyes, dark hair, and lips that could make any man want to buy the world for her. "He owns it."

Nodding her head, she filled them in on her business. "He sent me here for a pick up." She looked down at the open entrance area. The morning was almost upon them. "Only the VIN didn't match what I was told it would be. I'm not about to blindly snatch up something not knowing what the coincidental setup would be."

Franklin scoffed. "Coincidence my ass," he said, seemingly to be on her side. "Simeon knows the deal. He gives us the right information or there is no deal."

She eyed him warily. "Has he done this before?"

"Once or twice," Lamar told her. "He usually good with giving us accurate details about a pick up."

"Damn," Franklin then huffed out. "Now we gotta go back without a car and without a paycheck."

"Not exactly what I had planned either," she commented as she began making her way down to the entrance. "Early morning wasted."

"Hey," Franklin's smooth voice floated in her ear. "Before you go, what's your name?"

She hesitated to tell these two men her name. She hadn't seen them around before, despite them knowing and apparently working for Simeon as well. Strange how the Armenian had kept a lot of his contacts out of each others way. She would have figured he would benefit more by getting some of the associates to work on jobs together, but figuring out Simeon's mind was not something she cared for. The endless flirting, the unrefined and uncouth way he sometimes spoke to her, and the pure feeling of filth she received from him had made her castigate him several times. A handful of times she had been inclined to walk away, to go back home, but that idea was laughable.

Having a home was something she thought she'd never have. Everywhere she had been was simply a place she rested her head. Nothing was home, and hadn't been that way in a long time. Lowering her head at the mere thought of going back to Liberty City, back to Luis and the years she lived with his unfaithful ways... She couldn't go back to that. She wouldn't. Lifting her head to meet the curious stares of her newly found colleagues, she squared her shoulders.

"Karen," she said loud enough for them to hear. "Karen Vercetti."

"""""

"The fuck are you going on about, Yetarian?" Karen was quickly losing her patience with the man as she sat on a metal chair to untie her boots. "It was supposed to be a simple in and out job. I checked the VIN and the shit didn't match."

"Hey, man," Lamar said, tossing his hands up at the elder guy. "Was that a set up? Something quick you knew we wouldn't be able to get out of?"

"Why would I want to set you guys up, hmm?" Simeon asked. "Franklin, you are my best pick up man. Why would I want to destroy that?"

"I don't know, Simeon. You tell me." Franklin looked over at Karen. She was now neatly tying the long strings to her boots and placing them inside each respective boot cavity. "Why aren't we working with her is my real question. She would have gotten away from us if Lamar didn't throw shoulder at her like they was playing a ball game or something."

"Man, would you get over that," Lamar said, pushing Franklin out of his way. "Simeon, my dude, the three of us would make you a lot of money."

"Is this done?" Karen said as she stood from the chair. Her feet were slipped into sandals and she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Can I leave now? I don't see this being much more productive than it already has been. I think we all know how shady you really are, Simeon, and if it means that you can have your cake and eat it too, then there's no way you'd put us together. Bigger team means bigger cut, and you're just too cheap for that."

Franklin and Lamar watched her speak to the man they considered their boss in an awe-inspiring way. She spoke the truth, although neither of them would ever speak out in such a way. Not that they were scared. They just didn't care enough.

"Alright then," she said with a huff. "See you guys later."

The short walk out to the back of the lot was far too long for her. This was how it always was dealing with Simeon Yetarian for her. Shit hit the proverbial fan, words were exchanged, and she fled like the black plague was running across his car lot. Finally reaching her vehicle, she tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat and sighed as she took her seat in the driver's side. This was never going to end. This mindless carousel ride. It was as if her life were one big comedy act, one joke after the next. Times like this was when she silently wished her father were around, even for a minute.

"Hey," she heard the young black man's voice as he tapped on the window to the navy blue Bobcat.

Obliging him just a moment, she rolled down the window. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to get something to eat," he said. "There's this awesome place – "

She held her hand up, stopping him. "Franklin, was it? Yeah, don't take offense to this, but I'm not here to date anyone. I was just gypped out of more than half of what I was supposed to make today. So, forgive me if I'm being rude, but I just don't see us being buddy-buddy with each other. Okay?"

The young man stood there, seemingly studying her face, eventually giving her a short nod.

"Yeah, okay," he said in a sad tone. "Was just trying to be nice is all."

"Duly noted." Just as she was about to roll the window back up, a pang of guilt twisted in her chest as she watched the back of him. "Really," she told him as he walked away. "I appreciate it."

"""""

Three years later

She didn't even have to see him to know he was there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, turning around towards the wooden cabinet she used as a closet. "I thought you had some car thing to do."

"We did it already," he simply said.

"And?" She turned to look at him. "You thought it was going to be okay with me if you broke into my house and laid your dirty boots all over my bed?"

Franklin clicked his tongue, swinging his legs down off her bed. "Your OCD is unbelievable." He stood, following her into the kitchen area. "How you get this far?"

She reached into the cabinet for a glass. "With my last name, you have to ask that?"

Giving him a wink, she had a smirk on her face that made Franklin lick his lips. He quickly recovered, lowering his head as he thought of what to say to her next.

"You going out?"

"What, later tonight?" She was facing the sink, Franklin at her back next to the refrigerator, but she knew he was expecting an answer that would benefit him.

"Just wondering if you'd like to go out for dinner," he said as he made his way to the side of her.

"With you, Frankie?" Turning the sink off, she grabbed the kitchen towel to dry her hands. "Sure. I just want to rest for a bit, then I'll take a shower and get ready."

As much as Franklin heard that they'd be the perfect couple, he just couldn't think of her like that. They were friends, and he already knew that neither one of them would ever go for that. They had known each other for just a few short years, becoming very close in a small amount of time. In their line of work, he knew that making one great friend was better than having a hundred mediocre ones.

Besides, arguing with her was something that never ended in the favor of anyone else but her own. She had a way with words that could make nearly any man drop to his knees just to get an ounce of mercy from her. Whether she sweet-talked one man and verbally assaulted the next, Franklin knew she'd always get her way. Which meant most men that approached her never got their way. She'd listed every reason in the book why she never took anything to the next level with any of the guys they worked with – work being her number one reason.

She was a professional by every sense of the term, and she kept it exactly that way. Franklin knew a bit of her background, who her father was and all he had done in her birth state of Florida, and there was never an instance where she didn't firmly stand her ground with a straight sense of direction. Dating happened to be something she didn't even mess with. She was here to make money, and make money she did.