Two: New and Improved
Two hours flew by, and it only felt like two minutes to Tiana. She woke back up and got out of the big bed, walking over to her suitcase at the edge of the bed. When she opened it, another envelope laid on top of all of the clothes she had in there. She took the envelope out and opened it; there were a couple of wads of cash, and another small note.
I know this is such a big step you have to take so suddenly, but I know you can do it. I wish you didn't have to leave L.C. like this, but it's for your own safety. I dunno what I would do if something were to happen to you too. You're all I have left, Tiana. Remember, stay low, and listen to everything Dave says. He's looking out for you at the end. Love you Tee, see you soon.
-Dad
Tiana wiped a tear that was beginning to fall down her face, and took the money out of the envelope. There were tons of hundred and five hundred dollar bills, and she remembered her father saying it was about 150 thousand dollars. Where he got that much money from confused the hell out of her, because there weren't poor, but they were nowhere near rich either. After putting the money on the bed, she took out a pair of black skinny jeans, and a white V-neck, short sleeve T-shirt. She dug even further in the bag for a bra, and a pair of underwear, placing them on the bed as well.
She took a quick shower, no longer than 15 minutes, and made her way out of the bathroom. She was still sporting a blackened bruise on the side of her neck, and it still looked like there were finger prints there. After changing into her clothes, she placed concealer around the fingerprint bruises around her neck, and placed light foundation on her face. After her makeup was done, she placed her shoulder length curly hair into a high bun, and slipped on a pair of her black and white high top sneakers.
Tiana decided right then that instead of taking a cab like she planned on doing, she would take the bus. She wanted to know her way around the city a little bit more, and learning the bus routes would do the trick. She grabbed the money off of the bed, putting about 300 dollars in her wallet, and the rest was hidden at the bottom of her suitcase, under the rest of her clothes. She grabbed her jean jacket, put it on, and made her way out of the door, taking the front key off of the table near it.
There was a bus stop down the block from her apartment, and when she got there, there was only one other person waiting for the bus as well.
"Hi." The lady said, she looked like she was around the same age as Tiana.
"Hey…does this bus go to Pillbox Hill?" Tiana asked her.
"Yup, it sure does…you're not from here are you? I can tell by your accent."
"Yeah, I'm from Liberty City."
"Really? That's cool!" The lady said before holding her hand out. "I'm Priscilla."
"Tiana." Tiana said, shaking her hand. "Nice meeting you."
"Likewise…oh look, the bus is coming."
Sure enough, a bus pulled up in front of them a couple of seconds later. That's when Tiana realized she needed change for the bus fare, which she didn't have. Priscilla noticed her scrounging for change in her bag and paid for her.
"Thank you, I definitely forgot about the bus fare." Tiana said.
"No problem, but you do owe me." Priscilla said.
"Fine," Tiana playfully rolled her eyes and smiled. "What do you want in return?"
"For you to let me take you out for a night on the town. It's Friday, downtown Vinewood is always buzzing with excitement at night." Priscilla said.
"Deal…I need your number though." Tiana said.
Tiana handed Priscilla her cellphone, and Priscilla put her number in. She called herself from the phone, and saved Tiana number once it popped up.
"There, just let me know if you still want to go out later." Priscilla said.
"Okay, will do."
"Great…well, my stop is coming up. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Tiana nodded and waved her goodbye, and Priscilla got off of the bus. She continued to ride the bus in silence, thinking about what had just happened. Wow Tee, not even 12 hours in and you already made a friend, she said in her head, laughing. The bus rode through downtown Vinewood, picking up more passengers as well. Once they were out of downtown, she noticed the huge FIB building coming up, and realized her stop was near. She pressed the button, and the bus eventually stopped right across the street from it. She told the bus driver to have a good day, and walked off of the bus. Once it was gone, she crossed the street at the crosswalk, and made her way inside of the FIB headquarters.
It was even bigger inside of the building, and the main lobby was bustling with workers; some were in uniform, and some were in casual clothes. Tiana walked up the front desk, and the receptionist hung up the phone and looked at her.
"Can I help you?" She asked her politely.
"Uh, yeah, hi." Tiana started. "I'm here to see Dave Norton…Malcolm Banks told me come here."
"Give me one second; let me inform him that you're here." The receptionist picked up the phone and talked for a couple of seconds, before hanging it back up. "He'll be down here in a minute, you're welcome to sit over there and wait for him."
"Okay, thanks."
She walked away from the desk and sat down on the bench not too far from it. Three minutes later, an older man, who looked the same age as her father, walked up to her.
"You're Malcolm Bank's daughter?" He asked her.
"Yeah. I'm guessing your Norton." She answered.
"You guessed correctly. Tiana, come with me."
Tiana stood up and followed Dave up the escalator, and into another part of the building, where the investigation rooms where. They walked into an empty interview room, and Dave closed the door behind her. Her motioned for her to sit down in a chair, and she did so.
"First off, I'm sorry you had to make a sudden move like this, but it was for the safest procedure." He started.
"Yeah...yeah, it's okay. If it's to keep me and my dad safe, I'm all for it." She said. "Have you spoken to him today?"
"Earlier, after he took you to Francis International. I let him know once you touched down in Los Santos, you'd be safe…there are a couple of things I need you to understand, so pay attention."
"Okay."
"Because you are a witness to an assassination in Liberty City, you will be put under witness protection. You will no longer be Tiana Banks from this point forward."
This hit Tiana like a bowling ball hitting pins, but she just swallowed and nodded slowly. "Okay."
Dave walked over to another table near the back of the room and picked up a folder, placing on the table in front of her. She opened the folder and saw that the first page was another birth certificate, and a small picture of her.
"From now on, you will go by Jupiter Aensland. I'm sure you've been in your new apartment in Mirror Park already." Tiana nodded, and Dave continued. "You have to lay low, Tiana. Don't do anything illegal, and don't put too much attention on yourself."
"Okay." She said once again.
"Any questions?"
Suddenly, a question she had been pondering had popped up in her head once again. "Yeah. School…I want to finish. I only have one more year to go."
"Yeah, it's taken care of. We enrolled you in the University of LS…you're still a business major, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, you go on Monday to make your class schedule."
"Alright, thank you."
"That's all I have to tell you, for now. Anything else pops up; I'll be giving you a call."
Dave made his way to the door, before turning around one more time. "Remember Jupiter, stay low. No one knows why you're here."
" 'Kay." She said.
He walked out of the room, and she walked out not too long afterward, making her way out of the building, and on her way back to her apartment.
Goodbye Tiana Banks, hello Jupiter Aensland., she thought, shaking her head slowly.
