Niko had got another call. Whoever the hell it was on the other end, behind the distorted voice, told him where he could find the two men that had tried to kill him.
Niko wasted no time. He'd immediately phoned Jacob, and met him on Charge Island.
"Irie Niko," The Rastafarian said, taking his friends hand. "I got the guns. Yo' want backup on dis run?" His English had improved over the last year or so, as had Niko's.
"No, that's okay Jacob," Niko said, taking the stubby shotgun, an MP5, and a few grenades. "Thank you very much for the guns."
"No problem Niko. No problem. We got each other's backs covered, seen?" Niko nodded. "Yo' need any back up, gimme a bell. I'll be ready if yo' need help against the Babylon."
Niko nodded again, and the two shook hands.
Soon, in a car stolen from the Airport's long term parking lot, Niko sat parked across the street from a liquor store. He watched the shop front - The Voice had told him it was a front for an illegal gambling den that his would-be assassins like to frequent. The irony was not lost on him.
He saw a gray Washington pull up and park in front of the store. Ogre stepped out and went inside. Niko, trusting The Voice's word, waited for the skinny runt to turn up. Sure enough, he did, riding a white Bati 1000 motorcycle. The guy even wore white motorcycle leathers. Niko waited until he went inside, then got out of the car and headed for the alley.
Johnny had written the address of Micheal's apparent murderer on the back of his hand. Stubbs had been unable to get a photo of both faces, but the face that Johnny had committed to his memory apparently belonged to a Lyle Greenhorn. He had a large head, his hair shaved, and sported an un-stylish goatee. He looked just like your typical thug - big beefy and ugly. Soon to be dead.
He'd parked his bike in a back street behind a dumpster, and walked the rest of the way. Terry had come through, showing that he was indeed a true brother. How could he have any doubts? He'd gotten a sawn-off shotgun and an automatic machine-pistol, along with a couple of pipe bombs. Johnny also wore some body armor under his jacket.
He found the place and checked the address. Everything checked out.
Johnny took a breath, allowed Micheal's face to flash through his mind's eye, then kicked the door open.
Niko had crept in through the back door, knocking a guy out with the butt of his gun, and moved through what looked like a kitchen. He risked a peek through one of two doorways, and saw a cluster of six men sitting at a card table.
He saw Ogre, sitting next to a miniature refrigerator, and the skinny guy next to him. He couldn't see any guns, but he knew these guys would be armed.
He withdrew for a moment, and contemplated throwing a grenade in the room. He decided against it. Perhaps he could find out who they worked for before he killed them...
Then there came a loud crash from another room. There was a shout, followed by a shotgun blast.
"LYLE!" Johnny shouted at the top of his voice. "WHERE ARE YOU LYLE?!" He stepped past the body in front of him, ignoring the almost black blood that rushed from the torso. He lifted his gun up to the door separating the shop from the backrooms and fired. Then he quickly reloaded.
Niko jumped out of cover, his MP5 immediately coming up for Ogre and Skinny. A shot to the leg, maybe the arm. Wound them, then find out what the hell-
Neither were there.
Niko caught a glimpse of white disappear through a doorway, but ignored it. He had three more men in the room. Two of which had seen him.
Niko brought the sub-machine gun up and fired three shots at the first man. Before the guy could even fire a single round, the bullets struck his chest and head. He fell.
Then Niko aimed at the other man who was now moving for cover. He fired, but missed. The man had reached his cover.
Johnny barged through the door, and saw someone disappear up some stairs. He followed.
He found himself in a small room with a single window that overlooked a room with a card table downstairs. He saw a man fall, shot, and another dive for cover.
There's another shooter here. Johnny thought. Immediately he thought of Stubbs.
"The motherfucker!"
The man he was chasing had ran into the only other room up here. Johnny followed but immediately regretted it. The man had picked up an assault Shotgun, the Street Sweeper. He grinned and pulled the trigger.
The sound of an angry jackhammer blasted through Johnny's ears, as he backpedaled. He reached the door and allowed himself to collapse behind the wall. The frenzy of shotgun shells drilled in the the floor, no more then an inch or two from his feet. He quickly pulled them behind cover.
"AWW! WHAT'S THE MATTER?" A gravely voice called. "MOMMY CALLED YOU BACK FOR DIN-DINS?"
Johnny grabbed his automatic pistol. He carefully slid it into the door way and fired, arching his hand so the bullets would span the entire room.
Then he leaped up, machine pistol in his left hand, sawn-off shotgun in his right. He ran through the door, spraying the room with 9mm bullets. He spotted the gravely-voiced man, scrambling for cover behind an old bed, and brought the shotgun up.
The man's eyes went wide, and he dropped the gun.
The man was Lyle.
Johnny's jaw was set, his blood boiling.
"YOU KILLED MICHAEL!" He shouted, ignoring the gunfire from downstairs. He dropped his pistol and grabbed the man, throwing him onto the bed, helped by a solid swing of the sawn-off.
Johnny heard the wet crack as Lyle's nose broke. He heard the man cry out, his hands shooting to his face.
Johnny dropped his gun.
"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" He shouted again, sending a vertical punch straight down into the man's cheek.
Ignoring the pain in his fist - not even caring if his knuckles were broken, Johnny backed off and picked up the man's Auto shotgun.
"Did you kill him quick?" He asked, his voice on the verge of breaking.
"Yes!" The man replied from behind a torrent of nasal blood. "A clean job!"
Johnny took a breath. "Well in that case..." He began, ushering the man to stand.
"Don't expect the same courtesy from me!" Johnny fired at the man's leg. His knee disappeared, Lyle Greenhorn screamed in agony. Johnny fired at the other knee. Same result.
"FUCK YOU!" Johnny yelled, pulling hard on the trigger. He screamed as the automatic shotgun let out it's barrage of shells. Smoke and blood filled his vision, and the screaming stopped.
But he didn't release the trigger, not until the barrel needed reloading. Luckily, there was a spare by the bed. Johnny reloaded, then turned round to look at Lyle's body.
There was nothing left. He saw part of a face, torn and covered in blood, and a mangled carcass that may once have resembled a body. He looked down. His leather jacket was covered in blood.
Niko had cleared the card room. He rushed down into the cellar, coolly switching his MP5 for the shotgun. He was halfway down the steps when he heard the insanity from upstairs. Several loud booms, in quick succession.
He paid no mind, and moved into the basement.
A man in a tank top fired a pistol. He missed.
Niko fired the shotgun once. The man flew back. Niko turned.
Suddenly his world went black. He blinked to see the room on its side. A second later he moved his head, seeing the sideways view of the stairs - the skinny man running up them.
Niko pulled himself to his feet and dabbed his thumb on his face. It came back red. He pinched his nose and, despite the bleeding, decided it wasn't broken.
He moved up the stairs.
Johnny, now in a blind rage, came storming out of the room. There was a single man, holding a gun in Johnny's direction. The man's mouth was open, his eyes staring at the red figure coming toward him.
Johnny fired three times.
Then a shot plunged into his chest. He stumbled backwards, but the vest did it's job. Johnny turned and traced the shot to the card table downstairs. He looked through the window and saw a man firing a gun up at him. Johnny lifted the shotgun and took him down quickly. Then he saw movement from a doorway. He fired again.
Niko pressed himself against the wall and stole a glance round. A man was in the process of slumping over the card table when a shine of metal caught his eye. He looked up-
"SHIT!" Niko breathed, spinning himself away from the doorway. shotgun shells tore into the wall.
Niko blind-fired his shotgun through the door way.
The gunman upstairs momentarily ceased fire. Niko used that half second to steal another look.
Johnny saw the head poke out from cover. He fired again and the head disappeared. Did he get it? He paused firing for a second.
The head reappeared and Johnny swung the gun round, ready to fire, stumbling slighty.
Suddenly he felt a searing heat on the tip of his ear, accompanied by a blast of air. Then there came a second shot, hitting him in the Kevlar vest. He involuntarily dropped the gun.
Johnny dropped down, taking cover under the window and felt his ear. He winced as his finger touched the hot wound.
"Jesus Christ!" He breathed. The bullet had just missed him. Had he not stumbled, half of his brain would be on the wall. And despite the stumble, the shooter had corrected enough for a heart shot. Johnny gave a silent thanks to the body armor. That guy's dangerous. He told himself.
He grabbed a pipe bomb, feeling his heart pounding faster then ever before.
Two men, he heard Stubbs say. The other was around here somewhere.
Then there came a clatter from by the stairs. Johnny looked up and saw a grenade roll across the floor.
"HOLY SIIIIT!" Johnny called out, dropping his weapons and running for the window in the bedroom.
Niko heard the grenade explode, then darted out from cover, his MP5 leading the way. Part of the floor collapsed, blocking the back door. Niko turned and ran out the front.
Johnny's fall out of the first story window landed him, of all places, on top of some trash cans. He groaned and stumbled to his feet. Everything hurt, there was blood trickling down his face and onto his shoulder, and he couldn't tell his from Lyle's.
You shouldn't have killed him. He told himself. He needed answers, not bodies.
He stumbled down the alley to his bike. Sirens sounded in the distance, slowly getting louder. He had to go. Now.
He managed to reach the road, seeing a car speed away, leaving a cloud of wheel-smoke in it's wake.
Who the hell was that? Had Stubbs set him up, or did whoever killed Michael want him dead too?
Johnny decided Stubbs was going to get a bloody visit - literally.