Life is complicated

Chapter 2: the Bellic cousins

Here is the next chapter of my story, ladies and gentleman, and I apologize if I took a couple of days. It was suppose to be finished by yesterday, but I got caught up in some work. But here's the chapter, fellow readers. Enjoy.

Niko arrived into his cousin's apartment via the elevator and was relieved the entire place was not in the state of someone's trash den. It seemed like he was doing a great job keeping the place tidy. Or it seemed so at least. The first thing that Niko noticed as the sweet smell of bacon and eggs hit into his nostrils, causing him to shift his attention over towards the kitchen.

Mallorie was present in the kitchen, cooking some breakfast in the kitchen and wearing her usual casual clothing. She shifted her attention towards the elevator when seeing Niko had arrived, and greeted him sweetly. "Oh, morning, Niko."

"Morning, Mallorie." Niko greeted in return, moving closer towards his new cousin-in-law whilst realizing her new husband was not present. "Where's Roman? I got a text from him to come here."

"He's just getting dressed while I got stuck with cooking duty." Mallorie answered, tipping the food contents out from the frying pan and onto two separate plates for herself and Roman.

Niko nodded but not before shifting his attention over towards the laptop on the kitchen counter, and this caused him to remember that it had been a long time since he last checked his emails. Maybe he had something important. "Mind if I use your laptop?"

"Sure, it's fully charged." Mallorie granted whilst she was making her way over to the dining table near the center of the apartment.

Niko sat himself down one of the kitchen stools and logged on to his personal EyeFind Mail account. He checked his inbox, and was somewhat annoyed to see he only had spam emails. He deleted every single spam he got, but froze when he noticed the last email was not a spam and was from someone he knew. The subject of the email was labelled "I am sorry" and the message was from his mother, Milica Bellic.

Niko clicked the email and opened it up, slowly reading its contents in his mind.

"My dearest son,

Roman informed me of what happened to that girl named Kate. I am so sorry for your loss, but I know you can make it through this, my son. Always remember that you are with your cousin and his new wife, and I hope all of you enjoy your lives together in Liberty City. I know life has not always been kind to you, Niko, and you always try to live the correct way. I hope maybe one day you can put that past behind you. I may not be with you, my son, but as a mother, I will always love you and Roman. I hope you write to me soon.

Your loving mother

Milica Bellic."

Niko closed his eyes for a moment when the whole wedding massacre raced around his mind, the thoughts of his girlfriend dying in his arms caused him great pain from inside. He tried to forget about it the best he could, but his best was not good enough and he could not handle it. He shrugged it before after a moment or so, and began typing a message in return to his mother, whom he missed dearly.

"Dear Mother

It is nice to hear you again, and I thank you for your concern. Kate's death was hurt me more than I could ever imagine, but like you said: as long as I have Roman and Mallorie with me, I'm sure I can get through this. Thank you for keeping in touch with me. I hope one day I can come home and visit you. I assure you everything is going to be alright."

Your loving son

Niko Bellic."

Niko hit the send button on his computer and logged out from the laptop. He stood back up and shifted his attention over towards another direction when Roman had arrived, wearing his usual white and brown tracksuit.

"Hey, NB!" Roman greeted in an enthusiastic tone, holding both of his arms out as hard as they would go, expecting a hug from his cousin. "What? No hug?"

"Sure." Niko chuckled, returning to the hug towards his older yet fatter and stupider cousin. He leaned out from the hug after a moment or so, crossing his arms together as he stared towards him. "So, what do you need help with?"

"Cousin, I need to go and pick up some things and could do with a driver." Roman requested, but his expression changed when his cousin frowned with his eyes half-closed. "What?"

Niko sighed in response, annoyed that Roman had only brought him here just to drive him somewhere. He knows how to drive himself, and what's stopping him from getting a taxi? He could get free rides since he does own his own cab company after all. "Roman, you got me out of bed and got me to drive all the way across turn to drive you somewhere? Neverovatan (="Unbelievable")."

"Come on, NB, my car's is in the shop and all my cab drivers are busy!" Roman explained, but his words were not yet enough to convince him. He got down on his knees like a dog, pressing his hands together with a pleading expression. "Please...?"

Niko merely sighed in response and shook his head to both sides. He had to admit he did not want to be Roman's personal chauffeur, but then again, he did not have much to do nowadays. "Fine Roman. You owe me though."

"Alright!" Roman enthusiastically yelled, running towards the dining table and grabbing his breakfast that his beautiful wife made for him, and practically eating it with only a couple of bites. He pecked Mallorie's cheek before rushing his way over towards the elevator. "See you later, beautiful. Come on, NB!"

"I'm coming." Niko sighed, following Roman into the elevator to hopefully get this day done and over with.

"Bye boys!" Mallorie bid them farewell as the elevator doors closed, leaving her all alone in that big apartment to finish her breakfast. Well, she was not necessarily alone since she was carrying her baby that had full nine-months to go yet.

Niko and Roman got back into Niko's Emperor and began making their way to the destination Roman needed to go to: Florian Cravic's (now calling himself "Bernie Crane) apartment near the corner of Ivy Corner South and Pyrite Street in Middle Park. Despite Niko almost killing Florian when he mistaken him for the traitor in their group, Florian was now friends with both of them, even attending to Roman and Mallorie's wedding, but did run away when Pegorino had turned up and fired upon Niko, accidently hitting Kate.

While they were driving to his important, the Bellic cousins began to make conversation with each other on their way there. Niko was the first to speak up, and the first thing he asked was the reason why they were heading there in the first place. "Why are we going to Florian's apartment? You two got together now?"

"Screw you, NB. My heart belongs to Mallorie." Roman assured, but not before explanation his attentions for going there. "I lent Florian a couple of thousands of dollars to help him out with his business. He text me to say he's got a lot of money back, and wants to pay me back, plus a little extra for the help."

"Sounds like he and that Deputy Mayor are together now." Niko assumed, keep his eyes locked upon the road just in case he ended up crashing again like he always seem to do in the past whenever he was either being chased or chasing someone.

"I need this money anyway. Me, Jacob, and Brucie are heading out to this club for a long night out. And boy it's going to be wild!" Roman admitted, unable to contain his excitement.

"Ahh, yes, Jacob offered me if I wanted to go with you guys this Friday." Niko said, recalling the previous phone call he received this morning from his Jamaican friend. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Sure, the more the merrier." Roman agreed, knowing that his cousin had not yet gotten the chance to visit the club he and Brucie always love to hang out in when they were both free. "Bring a couple of friends, too. The night is going to be wild!"

Niko thought about his offer for a moment to see, wondering if he still had many friends left. There was Packie, and after what happened to his sister and his brothers, he sure could do with some cheering up. And there was Dwayne, whom Niko thought of to be someone just like him. "There are a couple of people I know, Roman. Remember when I said some guy asked me to kill his friend, but I liked the friend live and kill the guy instead? We should bring him along. Dwayne is a good man."

"If he's a friend of yours, then he's a friend of mine, too." Roman agreed. "Anyone else you know?"

"There is a friend of mine from that Irish family I use to work for." Niko answered while he slowly took his foot back a little when there was a red traffic light up ahead. "His name is Packie McReary. He's one of the people I robbed that bank with. Kate was his sister, and he has three other brothers, but one of them is dead, the other one is in prison, and the other one is pretty much a drug addict."

"Shit, sounds like this guy has lost a lot." Roman admitted, knowing what it was like to lose people you were close with. He remembered losing his own mother in a house fire, but he not there when it happened and heard the news from Niko. But what he did not was his mother did not die in a house fire, and her death was far worse than he would ever be able to imagine.

"Yeah, it's just him and his mother now." Niko replied. "We should bring him along, too. He's helped me out a lot."

"If you want to bring him, than be my guest." Roman agreed, raising his internet up on his cell phone to check for any interesting news. His eye's widened when he found a rather bit of interesting bit of news that sure did shock him. "Holy shit!"

"What is it?" Niko inquired.

"It's Bulgarin, the asshole you use to work for!" Roman answered, unable to get his words out when he realized they might be okay after all. "He's dead!"

"WHAT!?" Niko was in complete shock by this news, now knowing he had nothing to fear from the Russian Mafia anymore. He quickly snatched the cell phone from his cousins' hand, not seeming to be bothered about the fact they were in car in traffic and he was the driver. "Let me see that."

"Niko, the road!" Roman panicked, jumping beside him and taking the wheel for a moment, keeping them from crashing into their end.

Niko read the news report about one of his greatest enemies being blown up in his private jet whilst leaving Liberty City. He was shocked by whoever did this, but the point was, he would no longer be after him and Roman and longer. "This is great. Now we can finally live freely without crazy people trying to kill us."

"Yeah, it's great, NB, but take the wheel now, please." Roman requested.

Niko dazed out from his thoughts and took control of the wheel again and handed Roman his cell phone back. He felt really relived now that Bulgarin was dead and this means he would no longer be a problem towards him, and even if he did have any men left, they would most likely focus on whoever killed him.

Niko and Roman sat in silence for the rest of the journey to Florian's apartment. It did not take them much longer to get to Florian's apartment. Niko pulled up alongside the path, deciding to wait in the car until Roman was done getting his money back.

Roman opened up the car door from his side and stepped outside. He turned back towards his cousin before heading inside. "Niko, you wait here. I won't be too long." he said, closing the door behind him and then proceeding to the apartment doors.

Niko waited patiently for his cousin to return and took his hands off of the wheel and leaned back against the chair. He had nothing much to do other than to go onto his phone and play around with it since it was not the kind of phone that has internet connection. He could listen to the radio, but then he remembered the radio had broken this morning. "Stupid radio." he muttered.

The silence he was sharing to himself had broken when his cell phone began to ring. He took out his phone from his jacket pocket and held it up against his ear, unsure of who was calling since the contact number was currently unknown. "Hello?"

"Niko?" a familiar voice spoken on the other end of the line, and it was certainly shocking for Niko to hear this person again. "It's Gerry."

Niko was too surprised to answer him for a moment or so. He remembered when Gerald was arrested for armed robbery and racketeering, and it sure was going to be a long time before he would be released from prison. Niko did not expect to hear from him again after the whole kidnapping-Gracie-for-the-diamonds incident. "Uh, h-hello, Gerry. How are you doing?"

"Spending almost my entire life in prison, eating shitty food, and wearing the same fucking clothes twenty-four/seven, but over than that, life is great." Gerald sarcastically replied, but not before realizing it was time to get back to the previous subject. "Niko, Packie came by a couple of days ago. Told me about the diamonds getting dropped into a dump truck."

"Yes, we were ambushed by these crazy Russian mobsters. We tried our best, but we could not get them back." Niko explained, unable to imagine how crazy Gerald was going to be about their whole plan going bad like this.

"Shit, needed those diamonds, man. But at least we ain't got to deal with those Italians anymore since Ray and old Pegorino were killed recently." Gerald replied, and this caused Niko to feel somewhat relieved that he was not going to go on a rampage. But his phone call was not over yet, and he still had one more thing to ask: "Niko is it true...? Is my little sister Katie dead?"

"Oh, fuck!" Niko cursed, holding his hand over his phone for a moment to avoid Gerald from hearing him. He had to come clean with him, like it or not. He held the phone back up against his ear, silently praying for a miracle. "Yes Gerald, it's true. She was with me when it happened. Pegorino tried to shoot me at my cousins wedding because of a deal I refused to work for him, but he hit Kate by mistake...I'm sorry, Gerry..."

There was silence for a moment on the other end of the phone line. Niko knew one-hundred percent fact that Gerald was still now since the phone on his end had not hung up. He was expecting for the older man to swear vengeance against him, but instead, he continued speaking in a calm matter. "Niko, I know it ain't your fault, and I'm glad you killed that son of a bitch Pegorino. Please, look out for me ma and Packie, will you?"

"I will, Gerry." Niko assured him,

"Thanks Niko. Saint Michael was right about you. You are a good guy." with that, Gerald had hung up on his end of the line, possibly from his calling hours being over now.

Niko placed his cell phone back into his jacket pocket, waiting patiently for Roman to return. He attempted to get his radio working while he was waiting for Roman to return. He sure was not the best when it came to fixing things, maybe he should hire Brucie since he does own his own auto shop...No, that would be bad idea. He could not even get his own car working, resorting to him stealing a car from a friend of his.

Before long, Roman had finally returned out from Florian's apartment and by the looks of his face, he seemed happy. He got back into Niko's car via the passenger side with a slight grin across his face. "Got the money, NB, with extra!"

"And you are going to waste all that in one night?" Niko replied whilst turning the key to stop the engine, preparing to head to their next destination.

"What can I say? This club has expensive drinks." Roman chuckled, sitting back in the passenger seat with his hands placed behind the back of his head. "Now, I want to see where you have been staying. I hope it's not that apartment in Bohan."

"No Roman, it is not that crappy apartment in Bohan." Niko answered, only just realizing that he never brought Roman to his new apartment that Dwayne had given to him as a gift for saving his life, and the fact it would have reminded him too much about Playboy X. "It's a penthouse in North Holland. That friend of mine Dwayne had the deed to it, but he gave it to me."

"Shit, that is one gift I would love to have!" Roman admitted. "Well, drive away, NB. I can't wait to see this apartment."

"Just don't gamble it to Russian mobsters." Niko joked, referring to the many times Roman had pretty much gambled everything he owned just for money.

"Screw you, cousin!" Roman exclaimed, shoving him for a moment that only caused Niko to merely laugh in response. "Možete bitipravi kurac ponekad (="You can be a real dick sometimes")."

"Tako da mogu (="So I can")." Niko agreed.

It took around the same number of minutes to make it back to North Holland, but when they did, Niko introduced Roman to his apartment and his cousin had to admit it looked like a great place. While Niko was leaning against a rail on his balcony, Roman continued to observe the penthouse from the outside. "Man, this place is awesome, Niko! You got a Jacuzzi and everything!"

"As long as it keeps a roof over my head, then it's the same as any other apartment." Niko replied, merely gazing off into the distance while he had to take a moment to think things over, especially now that he discovered Ray Bulgarin was dead now, once and for all. "Besides, this is only my first apartment."

"You have TWO apartments?!" Roman inquired, unable to imagine what kind of work Niko was in that got him all this fancy awards. "Man, is it another penthouse?"

"No, just a standard apartment in Alderney." Niko answered, referring to the apartment Ray Boccino had given to him when he was working with them to help better keep an eye on him. "I don't really use it that much anymore. Not sure if I need to."

"Well, you lose one, at least you have another." Roman told him the bright side of owning two apartments. He began to make his way into Niko's kitchen without asking when his throat felt a little dry. "I need a drink."

Niko waited a few more seconds before joining him in the apartment, collapsing back down onto his couch. He merely stared at the TV while Roman helped himself into his fridge. He had a question he needed to ask his cousin, something he had wanted to ask him for a long time. "Roman...Do you ever wonder what you would do if you lost me?"

"I thought about that question every day since you joined the war, cousin." Roman admitted, getting himself a glass out from the cupboard and placing it down upon the counter. "I would be devastated, but knowing you, Niko, you can't die! You saved me from an army of Russians in that warehouse; you took on those Italians at the old casino, you even robbed a bank and killed half the LCPD. Niko, you are unstoppable."

"It's not something I proud to do, Roman, but necessary." Niko explained, folding his arms together and leaning back against the couch. "But all that is over now. I don't want to live this life anymore. I want to change; I want...Live like a normal person. Remember that dream you told me about? About me and you owning a tavern restaurant? Maybe that could happen now."

"A strong possibility, cousin." Roman agreed whilst he was pouring some orange juice into a cup. "With all the money we earned...And I could see the cab depot. Yeah, we could do it."

"Maybe one day when I am in the right state of mind, we can make those dreams come true, cousin." Niko suggested, hoping he could finally live the American dream and have a new beginning here. He turned towards Roman for a moment and noticed him about to drink the orange juice. "Roman, no!"

He was too late to stop him, and Roman had already chugged down the orange juice in one big sip. Seconds after he swallowed it, he began coughing uncontrollable, desperate to get that taste out from his mouth. "What the fuck was in that juice?"

Niko was partially laughing when seeing his cousin drink something that practically tastes like something you sweep up out of a sewer. "I tried to warn you, Roman. That juice is more than two-years out-of-date."

"Niko, you fucking shit!" Roman swore, turning on the cold tap in the kitchen sink and throwing himself under it, swallowing as much cold water as he could in an attempt to get the disgusting taste out of his mouth. "Ugh, taste like a horse shit in my mouth!"

Niko could not stop laughing at his older cousin and was lucky enough to be able to keep himself stood up. This was the first time he had laughed (exception for the mocking laugh at Pegorino) since the events of the wedding, and for once, he looked happy. "Roman...Come on, clean your mouth out and help me do some shopping, would you?"

"You owe for this, Niko." Roman told him, rinsing out his mouth with water one final time.

"Actually, with you getting me up just to be your driver..." Niko clashed, crossing his arms together as he watched Roman dry his tongue with a towel. "..., I say we call this even."

And the second chapter is completed, ladies and gentleman. I know nothing major happened in this chapter apart from Gerald McReary, but I assure you we will be seeing some action further into the story, folks. Stay tuned for chapter 3: a familiar face.