TheShamanMaster presents....
Niko's Dilemma
Story & Script by TheShamanMaster
Grand Theft Auto IV © Rockstar Games & Take Two Interactive
Disclaimer: GTA IV and its respective characters are properties of Rockstar and Take Two Respectively.
A/N: Once again, thank you all so much for reviewing. I got a question; will Luiz Lopez from the next GTA episode make an appearance? Well, he might, he might not. I'm trying to integrate as many characters as I can, I just don't want to overdo it. PS: This chapter will have some rough language, but then again this IS GTA.
Chapter 4: Shopping With Brucie
Morning came to Liberty City. The sun rose around 6am, and already people had left their homes to begin their daily lives. In the small part of Alderney, the biker known as Johnny Klebitz woke up to another day. Looking at his alarm clock, he snorted loudly.
"Fuck." He muttered. "Another day huh?" He sat up, and placed his feet on the ground. Holding his head in his hands, he began to reminiscent on the past. Six months since the Brotherhood had been disbanded, since Billie Grey had been murdered and his ex-girlfriend disappeared. Had this all really happened? He had wanted to the Lost MC to mean something, but it had all fallen apart. Johnny looked up, and noticed his Lost jacket hung up the wardrobe. It was his only connection, but keeping it reminded of how great The Lost MC had been.
"Damn. I don't know why I hold onto that thing...." Johnny stood up and stretched. Quickly changing his clothes and having a quick wash, he grabbed his jacket and left his flat. Ever since the disbanding, Johnny had thoughts of reforming the gang with new members and a new code of honour, but it seemed when he tried to think of it, the mocking of Billie and Brian Jeremy always seemed to hold him back. The other ex-members like Angus and Billy had been helping out, but they knew as well as Johnny, that reforming the Lost MC just wasn't going to be possible. During the time, Johnny had found a job working at a mechanics. Beginning as an apprentice, he had worked his way up to the position of co-manager very fast, and was now earning a sweet amount of money each month. Each day he'd work, and on weekends, he would hang out with his ex-brotherhood members at the bar in Alderney. They were the only family he had. Ashley had called a month back, saying that she had completely reformed. Her email to Johnny said that she had completed rehab effectively, and now had a successful job as a waitress in Vice City, and had a place of her own to live. Johnny was impressed by the way she had changed, but wasn't too sure if he really wanted to see her again. A bit more time, he thought.
Walking to work, Johnny stopped by the news kiosk, grabbing the usual daily items of any working man; a newspaper, a bottle of iced water and a sandwich. The mechanics was only three blocks away from his flat, so it was easy to get too. However, he kept his best motorcycle in the garage, as he would show it off to people who would want their bikes fixed up.
Approaching the garage door, he opened it up, switched the lights on, and unlocked the office door. Turning on the radio, he picked up the mail on the floor and sat down at the desk to inspect it. One of his favourite songs "You Could Be Mine" by Guns n' Roses came on the radio, and began tapping his foot to the beat. Realising the mail was junk mostly, he pushed it aside, and began to filling out some paperwork for some bike parts.
"Morning Johnny." Came a cheerful voice. Looking up, Johnny noticed his friend Malc come in the shop.
"Well, look who decided to show up? How's it been man?"
Malc and Johnny high-fived one another. "It's all been good, man." Looking at some bikes that were on display, he looked astonished. "Still riding these grease buckets huh?"
Johnny chuckled. "Well, as long as you keep riding those futuristic-shit-boxes than yeah..."
Malc laughed. "Whatever you say man. I'm just saying it's the future...."
"Ha." Folding his arms, the biker put on his working face. "So, Malc, what'll be? Need some parts? Or y'need my attention for something else?" Johnny was a man who always wanted to get straight to the point.
"Nah, it's good. I came by to drop some news your way..."
"Oh?" Johnny replied, raising an eyebrow. "And what kind of crap you heard this time?"
Malc didn't know where to start. "Well, I heard from my home-boys on the street, that some dude named Phil Bell is buying up merchandise recently, but apparently some cat's gone and nicked that shit!"
"And this...." Johnny clicked his tongue in frustration. "Has what to do with me?"
"I'm just saying..." The dark-skinned one continued. "Your friend...the Serb...he could be in trouble or something...that or this Phil could have some stuff that'd go nicely in this shop...something better than-"
"-I know whatcha gonna say." He interrupted quickly. "But I doubt Niko would want my help, he seems to be fine with that line of work..."
"That's not the only thing..." Malc said.
"Hm?"
"Well, call this crazy....but one of my boys was on the Boardwalk near Firefly Island and he saw Niko with some girl..."
"So?" Johnny came back crudely. "That's nothing new...so he's got a girl-"
"-You don't get it!" Malc replied, his tone louder than before. "This 'girl' was a damn kid!"
"A kid? So what? He's decided to fuck a bitch and have an offspring?"
"This kid weren't his, I'll tell you that! Unless you know a girl who dresses like she's been living off the streets and speaks in a perfect American accent. Something wasn't right. My boy overheard a conversation saying that Niko was gonna take this girl in..."
Johnny really wasn't sure where this is going. "Niko decided to take in some random girl off the street huh...you don't think he.....y'know..."
"Don't even go there motherfucker! All I know is that it sounds weird...."
Both looked at one another weirdly, before Johnny began speaking again.
"Ah screw it." He scoffed unintentionally. "I'll call him later and ask what's going on...."
"Alright." Malc shrugged. "Just let me know if you have any trouble, y'know me and boys will back you up anytime. Peace, man." With that Malc walked out the garage, and the Lost biker went back to the paperwork. This whole idea of Niko taking a child in just wasn't like him. He knew Niko liked to help out others, but it just seemed fishy. Thinking him to himself, he had really wondered if he should have helped out Ashley all those times instead of her suffering by herself. I told her loads of times. She had to do things on her own, and she should have done something sooner otherwise I wouldn't have been so harsh on her, but she had to learn one way or another. Shaking his head, his mind was soon drawn back to the paperwork.
In Algonquin, Niko himself awoke quietly. It was half eight, and the weather was very sunny. The bright rays shone through the windows, making the place look bright. Thinking of an interesting idea, he quickly grabbed his cell phone and texted the following to Brucie:
Meet me at the mall on Maganese St, 9:45. Niko.
A new shopping mall had opened on Maganese St, a block or so away from Star Junction and Middle Park respectively. It was one of the biggest openings and places that Liberty City had to offer. If you wanted something, you could find it there.
A few minutes passed, and Kiara's eyes slowly opened. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, and looked around. She spotted Niko at his laptop typing up something. She smiled happily. She hadn't had a good night's sleep like this in a long while, and she already felt refreshed. Remembering everything that happened the night before, she was pleased that she had decided to stay with him.
"Morning, Niko." She said softly.
Niko stopped typing, and looked up. "Morning Kiara. How'd you sleep?"
Kiara stood up and stretched. "Awesome! Haven't slept that nice in ages! Your bed is great!" Noticing her stomach growling, she added "What's for breakfast? He he..." After sleeping for so long, she had really built up an appetite.
"Thought we might eat out." Niko commented as he closed his laptop. "Get breakfast, and then head to out to the Mall around the block."
Kiara's face brightened up. "Cool." She replied cheerfully.
The two left Niko's apartment entered his car and drove down a few blocks to a nearby diner. Upon entering the place, it looked like an ordinary American diner. Long bar table with stools, separate cubicles for family meals, jukebox in the corner, and the rough, loud, dirty-looking, overweight truck drivers with the beer bellies who would sit near the front of the bar table, talking about their adventures on the 'road. Niko shook his head. Why I ever came to this disturbed country I'll never know, he thought.
Sitting down in a cubicle, a slim-looking waitress with long black hair approached the two.
"May I take your order, sir?" Gazing upon the younger girl, she smiled widely and added "And you, young lady?"
"Have whatever you want." Niko said. "It's on me." Turning his attention to the waitress he continued "I'll have a latte. Creamy vanilla with two sugars. I'd also like eggs and bacon; sunny side up, and bacon grilled gently alongside two slices of wholemeal toast slightly brown with the crusts cut off."
Kiara's mouth literally fell to the table. "Could you be any more specific with your food?"
Niko chuckled. "What can I say? I like my breakfast done well."
Noting all this down, the waitress looked at Kiara quickly. "You wanna be specific?" She said with a slight sarcastic tone. "Or shall I just ask you to draw a picture of it?"
She shook her head in response. "Nope. I would like six pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup along with a large vanilla milkshake please."
Nodding, the waitress finished noting it all down. "It'll be out shortly."
As she left, the Serb was bamboozled at her choice. "Blueberries and maple syrup?"
"I like my food sweet. I love pancakes." She spoke, twirling a strand of her blonde locks behind her ear. Her eyes looked around, with her expression looking unpleasant at the music being played. Country music really didn't satisfy her. Placing her hands down firmly on the table, she stood up and walked over to the jukebox.
"Hey." Niko said, worried. "What are you doing?"
"Changing this god awful music." She answered promptly. "I need something with a beat..." Walking over to the brightly coloured machine, she inserted a few quarters, and looked through the selection.
"Let's see here..." She wondered as the list came up. "Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison...yuck...ACDC, Guns 'n Roses, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Status Quo, Metallica, Anvil, Iron Maiden, Turbo, Rush, Rolling Stones...hmm....Aerosmith, Bad Religion, Chris Cornell, King Crimson. Ray Charles, Robin Trower, Phil Collins, Genesis, Deep Purple...." She wasn't too sure what to pick. "Mmmm.....Aerosmith!" Clicking the button, the machine started to play the song "Dude Looks like a Lady".
"Yeah!" She shouted loudly. As the opening riff began, she began playing air guitar to it a bit, but not knowing that about half a dozen men on the bar table had looked around slowly to see a young girl who had just messed with the wrong jukebox. One of the men, a greaser wearing a navy jacket and brass knuckles on his wrist, stood up and walked over slowly to the girl.
"Excuse me, girly..." He said with a menacing tone, which startled Kiara slightly. She turned around to see the tall man standing over her.
"He he..." She scratched her head in defence. "Is there a problem...?"
"You bet there is!" He cracked his knuckles piercingly. "You've just broken the one rule of this diner: Never touch the jukebox without Big Jake's permission....and that just happens to be me."
Terrified, Kiara raised her hands and gestured. "I'm really sorry!" She answered nervously. "I just like this song..."
Big Jake grew closer to her. She could smell his cigar-coated breath on her face. "Well, little girl...I'm about to write you a new song....Broken Bones in the Hospital!"
Kiara stepped back closer to the wall. She was really scared now, and didn't know what to do.
In Broker, Brucie's alarm clock had gone off three times already. He grabbed the thing off the bedroom table without looking, and threw it across the room where it smashed and broke into several pieces, making quite a loud bang sound at the same time. Pulling the blankets up the bed further, he really didn't want to wake up today.
"Little shit...." He mumbled sounding very drowsy. "Can't I get some sleep!? How else am I suppose to be a great car seller if I don't get my sleep!?"
His girlfriend came in from the kitchen with breakfast on the table. "Brucie baby, I think I heard your phone go off..." She placed the food on the table.
Brucie lazily opened one eye. "Yeah.....and who was it?"
"I didn't answer it. It was for you after all." Noticing the broken clock across the floor. "You broke the clock didn't you?"
"Yeah so what? We'll get a dozen more..."
He sat up, and grabbed his cell phone. Noticing he had one new message, he looked and discovered it was from Niko. Reading it, he immediately jumped out of bed and onto the floor.
"Shit shit shit shit shit shit! It's Nicky B! Why didn't you tell me!? We have to get going! It's gonna be a BIGGGG day for us baby yeah!" He dropped the phone, and headed straight for shower. His girlfriend shook her head in distress. How she put up with him she'll never know.
Back in the diner, Big Jake was about to touch Kiara, when he was interrupted by a strange voice.
"Excuse me..." The person tapped him on the shoulder.
"Huh? What are you-?" Big Jake turned round to receive a punch straight in the face, which sent him crashing into one of the cubicles on the side. The table broke around the edges, and a bottle of ketchup now stained his face.
"You okay?"
Kiara looked up. Niko! Hugging him, she clasped her arms around him for protection.
"Niko...thank god..." She whimpered softly.
The others on the bar stool were not pleased. "Oi, buddy!" One of them stood up and drew a knife. "If you wanna start something, let's go!" He was stopped by a big, black man who came out from the back of the kitchen clutching a soup ladle in one hand.
"I suggest if you wanna harm him, or any other customer you go through me." He said sternly. "That...Or I call the cops. Now what's it going to be?"
Saying nothing, the other guy grabbed his coffee, and walked out. The others followed him out. The rest of the customers said nothing. The tall black man stared at Niko.
"Alright buddy. Your food's almost ready. I'm sorry about this." His eyes were then fixed to Kiara. "Is she alright?"
Looking back with innocent eyes, she nodded slowly.
"Alright...."
Suddenly, Big Jake got up, grabbed Niko and shoved him over the counter.
"Okay you Russian bastard!" He growled wildly, like a beast. "Forget about that little whore, I'll take care of you personally!" Grabbing his neck, Jake picked up a knife and held it near his face. Thinking quick, Kiara grabbed a fork and stabbed him in the ankles. Screaming in pain, he dropped Niko, and fell to his knees. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to put up a fight anymore, he began crawling out the building.
"I'll get you, you-son-of-a-bitch...and that girl!" As he left, Kiara went over and hugged Niko tightly, not wanting to let go.
"You okay, Niko?" She asked softly.
Stroking her hair tenderly, he replied "It's okay, Kiara. We're safe." Returning the hug, Niko was so glad she was alright. The two sat down again, with the young girl not wanting to let go once until she began eating. When the food was served, she cheered up as she enjoyed the food so much. But Niko was astonished that all this had happened in one morning.
Later on, the clock reached the stroke of nine thirty. Kiara had eaten last bit of food on her plate, and loved it.
"Let's go." Niko suggested. The two left the diner, with the manager apologizing for the actions that took place, and promising to compensate them in the future. Walking down two blocks, they reached the Maganese Mall. The place looked busy already, with various consumers entering and exiting the place.
"Niko, what are we doing?" Kiara spoke up after noticing Niko hadn't moved an inch from the wall he was leaning on.
"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention I've called a friend of mine to join us. You'll like him. He'll be here shortly."
Ten minutes passed, and the place seemed to get even busier. Niko looked at his watch. The final few seconds counted down, and the time read 9:45. As soon as the minute changed, a red Infernus came speeding down the street. The sports car did a sharp u-turn and stopped just a few inches away from the sidewalk. The doors opened, and out stepped two people.
The first one was a white male, shirtless and wearing rough-cut jeans. He had a Chinese tattoo across his chest, and was wearing gold jewellery. The second was a white female, with long brunette hair which came down her back. She wore a black-and-white striped tanktop, with white skinny jeans that showed off her mid-riff. She didn't wear any makeup, but she had a flower tattoo across her stomach. Kiara couldn't believe her eyes. Wow, she's so beautiful, she thought.
"Nicky baby!" The male went over and gave him a hug. Kiara pulled a face. Who is this clown?
"Brucie, long time no see. How ya been?" He asked returning the hug.
"Ah man! Just feeling the burn! Keeping to the routine, and selling motors like hotcakes! Oh yeah...this is my sexy lady..." Walking over, the female placed her arm around Brucie's waist. "This is my girlfriend, Hayley."
Niko smiled and held out his hand. "Hayley, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Hayley shook his hand. "The pleasure's all mine..." She purred lightly. "Hm?" Seeing the younger girl, she smiled pleasantly, and bent down to her eye level. "Who might you be, sweetie?"
"K....Kiara..." She said quietly, feeling slightly scared. Holding out her hand, Hayley shook it lightly. Gazing into her eyes, the younger girl instantly felt reliefed.
"Wow." Hayley responded. "That's a pretty name. I'm Hayley, and this is Brucie..."
"Hey there, little lady!" Brucie said boldly. "And what business do you have with my man, Nicky? Hope it's good!" He laughed greatly.
"Err hem!" Niko coughed to get his friends attention. "She's just a good friend is all, Brucie. Now that we're all introduced, shall we go in?"
Entering the mall, the group were stunned by how big it was inside, and how it looked so clean and bright. The lighting was bright, the air was nice and cool, and it was packed with rows of different shops.
"Okay." Niko began. "So, where do you want to look first?"
Brucie, being the eager one spoke up first. "Well Nicky! This testosterone-fuelled badass needs to hit the sporting goods store for some weights and shit!" Turning to his girl, he added "How about you take the lil' one around, while me and the man catch up on old times huh?"
Kiara poked her tongue at him. "Hey! I'm not a kid y'know!"
Brucie laughed. "Just saying! Hayley babe, you'll look after her won't ya?"
"Of course." She replied.
"Alright." Niko continued. "We'll meet outside the Cluckin' Bell later, okay?"
All of them nodded in agreement. The boys went up the escalator to the second floor, leaving the girls by themselves.
"Where do you want to look first Kiara?" Hayley asked kindly.
"Hmm..." Kiara had a quick thought, before making up her mind. "Let's get some clothes first, I could use some." Both walked along the level to find a clothing shop.
On the top level, Brucie and Niko found the store, and began looking at various equipment.
"So, Nicky-baby..." Brucie said wanting some answers. "What's the deal with that kid? I know you are into young women, but that's going too far..."
"Ha-ha." Niko responded flatly, looking through some sporting jackets. "Real funny Brucie. I'm not into jokes right now, okay?"
Raising his hands in defence, the fitness-jock had never seen his friend annoyed like this. "Woah sorry there! Just trying to lighten the mood." He found an interesting set of weights. Picking them up and carrying them to the counter, he called the store clerk forward.
"Wrap 'em up, and put it on my tab."
"But Mr. Kibbutz." The clerk commented "Your tab has already exceeded $500 dollars! If you don't pay up in the next 7 days, I'll be force to double the said amount and take you to court."
"If Brucie Kibbutz says he wants something on his tab, he'll have it put on his tab, okay skinny?" Pulling out his wallet, he produced his credit card. "Scan this little bastard through, I'll be right back..."
Walking back over to Niko, he carried on with his conversation. "So, you wanna tell me what's up, man?"
Niko sighed. "Alright, I'm looking after this kid because I found abandoned living so badly I couldn't stand her living like that. I'm doing what I can, but what do I know about parenting?"
"Ask that bozo cousin of yours' wife to help you. Last time I checked, that chick was about to have a kid..."
"That's what I plan to do..." Picking out a jacket, he showed it to his friend. "What do you-"
"-Black and white looks best on you, makes you look like a real winner baby yeah!" Brucie shouted hysterically. "Pick whatever you want, I'm paying..."
"Err...Mr Kibbutz..." The clerk called over.
"Yeah, skinny?" He answered impolitely.
"Your credit card is no longer valid. I've only managed to pay $400 dollars total..."
"Oh....fuck." He muttered, giving Niko a perplexed look. What a way to start the day!
"It's okay; I can pay for this..."
Back on the ground floor, Hayley and Kiara were in ZIP, looking through various outfits.
"So...what is up with Brucie?" Kiara asked, as his strange behaviour had creeped her out a bit. "Is he a nut job or something?"
Hayley laughed. "Nah, that's just the way he is. He's very competitive and challenging. He likes taking things to the next level if you know what I mean; but he can be very caring when he wants to be..."
"Wow..." Kiara mumbled. "How do you survive?"
"Heh...I'll never know."
Spending time with her, Kiara felt a great pleasure of happiness fill up her soul. Hayley was like the older sister she had always dreamed of having. She was beautiful, headstrong and sophisticated. First, Niko, and now his friends. Kiara had finally starting to find happiness in her life, and was looking forward for things to come.
Johnny sat in his garage, putting some touches to a few motorcycles; polishing some metal and changing some gears. Wiping his brow, he placed down his tools and went to grab his bottle of water. He interrupted by a customer walking into the garage. At first, he thought it was Malc, but it was someone a lot muscular, bigger and darker. He stood about six foot, with a bald head, a beard, wearing a black jacket with white undershirt and black tracksuit pants.
"You Johnny Klebitz?" The guy asked in a demanding tone.
"Yeah." Johnny answered. "Who's asking?"
As soon as he answered, the black man pulled out an Uzi from his back pocket.
"The name's Dwayne Forge! And you, you no-good white trash biker motherfucker are gonna pay for what you've done!"
The biker stepped back, wondering what the hell was going on. "Woah, woah woah! What the fuck is this all about?"
"You and your gang thats what the fuck! My place was trashed, and almost burned down because of you bitches, and now you're gonna get what's coming to you!
To be continued...
So brings us to the end of this chapter! I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to try out. First off, Johnny was actually put in last minute as I wanted to focus a tad bit more on him than Niko. But don't worry, Johnny's part will act as a side story, and will cross paths with Niko. The addition of Dwayne was also last minute, as I enjoyed Dwayne as a character as he was so similiar to Niko in personality and history. I was going to be put a scene with Little Jacob and Roman, but I decided to cut it. It just didn't work.
As for the scene with Niko describing his food, it's a reference to the movie Five Easy Pieces, where Jack Nicholson asks for a chicken sandwich, but has to be specific with the waitress. Great film!
Next time, The shopping escapade continues with Brucie! Niko goes to visit Roman later on. Meanwhile Johnny and Dwayne face-off mano e mano...what is Johnny's connection with him? All this and more...in Chapter 5: Shopping Brucie Part II (Johnny's Dilemma)