Vice City
--Errand for a Friend--
Liberty City, St. Marks, Mid 1971
St. Marks in 1971 was not like it was in later years. It was more traditional, it was less developed, but still had the general style is always has had. The one thing that usually remained constant is that the mafia had the last say in the illegal business of the St. Marks area. Not only that, but they had almost total control of the business thrughout all of Liberty City, not just St. Marks. This was of course, before many foriegn gangs moved into the area and took away much of that control in later years. The bistro was still around, not exact in appearance as it was in the future, of course. But it still sat near the top of the large hill. Outside, Tommy Vercetti stood looking at the building. Sonny had called for him. Sonny was now a good friend of his, he would do anything for Sonny. Sonny was a relative of the big crime boss, why wouldn't he be honored to work with him? They had gone on many jobs together since the bank incident, most being successful. Sonny did have a angry streak at times though.
Tommy breathed in, it was a very mild day, pretty warm, even for May. Tommy walked up the steps, wondering what Sonny had in store for him this week. He walked inside. "Tommy!" Sonny stood up almost immediately, and walked over. The two shook hands, and then both sat down near a big round table. "Tommy, I have a job for you, a very important one." Before indulging with more details, Sonny hands Tommy a drink. Tommy takes it without saying anything and takes a big gulp. "You up for it, Tommy?" Tommy stays silent for a few moments, "...Sure." "Of course!" Sonny leans closer to him.
"Listen, Tommy. Sometimes fractured business relationships can be repaired. But unfortunately, not all. There's a guy here in Liberty City, owns a construction business, he's been doing work a few streets down from here, you might have seen it." Tommy nods, continuing to gulp down his drink and listen to Sonny. "Well, he's refusing to pay protection! Not only that, but he's a big anti-vietnam whacko, who's been stealing some business from us lately. And on top of that, he's threatening to go to the authorities with information on us! Three good reasons to knock him off. And that is where you come in Tommy."
"He's going to be down in Harwood late tonight. He's thinking about buying the property or some shit. That's what my sources tell me. That is why you're going to go down there, and have him sleep with the fish, ya know what I mean?" Tommy peers up from his drink. "How dangerous is it?" Sonny, obviously in one of his volatile moods errupts, "You have a problem following directions Tommy?!!" Tommy backs off, but remains calm, "No..." "Good, now go down there and take care of this for me, an errand for a friend. You're with us now, and we take care of our own." "I know, I know." Tommy gets up and picks up a pistol from the table.
"No no!" Sonny grabs the gun from Tommy's hand, and Tommy looks back at him, a little frustrated. "Don't use that, it's too noisy. Use this." Sonny slides a large knife across the table toward Tommy. Tommy looks at the knife with a slight smirk, and picks it up, examining it. Tommy nods and puts the knife in a hidden spot under his shirt, then starts to walk toward the door. As he exits through the door Sonny adds in, "Whatever you do, DON'T leave the murder weapon." Tommy exits the bistro onto the sidewalks, and looks around. "He's pissing me off today..." Then gets into his car and drives off.