The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 2, Issue 2
Tommy walks out of the Pole Position, the strip club that he owns, with a smile on his face and a new, refreshed look about him. He walks over to his Sabre Turbo and hops in. The car roars to life and tears off down the street, toward the Vercetti Estate. That girl sure knows how to cure what ails ya, he thinks to himself as he drives along a road in the evening Florida sun. He smiles as he looks out the window at the people walking up and down the sidewalk. He's Tommy Vercetti. He's a real, proper, grade A lunatic, as Lance once said. And he's a smart lunatic, the most dangerous kind. Why should be be afraid of some low-rent goombas from up north? He owns this town and nothing is gonna take it from him. His smile fades, however, as he pulls into the driveway of his mansion. A police cruiser is parked outside, with two officers sitting on the hood, obviously waiting for him. He drives past them and parks the Sabre in his garage. He walks out and the two cops come towards him.
"Tommy Vercetti?" one asks.
"Who's askin?" Tommy hates cops as much as he hates Haitians.
"My name is Officer Rodriguez and this is Officer Shanks. We're from The VCPD-"
"Yeah, no shit," Tommy offers flatly.
Officer Rodriguez clears his throat. "We're helping with the investigation of a shootout that took place approximately 3 days ago in Little Haiti. Ten men, all Haitian, were killed. An eye witness said they saw you flee the scene in that Sabre Turbo." He points to the car as if Tommy doesn't know what he's talking about. "We wanna ask you a few questions, would you care to come with us?"
"I'm not goin' anywhere. Anything you need to ask me, you can follow me up to my office and ask me there."
Tommy turns and walks up the stairs, the cops, bewildered, following close behind. As they walk through the doors, Tommy points to a soldier and motions towards the two cops. The man, carrying an Uzi, steps in front of the cops.
"Give your guns to this man, officers."
The two cops look at each other, and timidly, hand over their handguns. Tommy continues up the stairs when the police are unarmed. He walks into his lavishly decorated office and sits in a chair behind his desk. The two cops sit in the chairs in front of Tommy's desk. The doors close loudly, causing the cops to jump. Tommy chuckles to himself.
"Now what did you want to ask me?"
"Mr. Vercetti, as I said before, a person saw you leaving the Junkyard in Little Haiti where the shooting occurred. Shots were heard and then the witness saw you leave the scene. Why were you at the Junkyard?"
"I wasn't at the Junkyard, they must have me mistaken for someone else," Tommy lies. "My dealership - my CAR dealership - sells Sabre Turbos, so that could have been anyone. Also, my employees sometimes take the cars temporarily to take care of any business they may have." Tommy is talking in a very official tone, not in the wise-guy style he usually talks in. He wants to make himself as believable as possible. "It could have been anyone."
"The car was seen a few minutes later pulling into Kaufman Cab's. You also own Kaufman Cabs, correct?" Officer Shanks, who has not yet spoke, eyes Tommy suspiciously.
"Yes, I have quite a few business ventures across town."
"So, Mr. Vercetti, my next question is this. If it wasn't you, who was it? All signs are pointing to you."
"As I said before, it was probably one of my employees. I have an alibi for that day. I was at Ammunation and then I went to a friend of mine's. He lives in Little Haiti, that was the only time that day I was there. I wouldn't go there if I could help it anyway."
"And why is that?"
"Well, let's just say a business relationship turned sour. Listen, Officers. I know I may seem like a likely suspect. But I can assure you, I had nothing to do with this heinous crime." Tommy keeps a grim look on his face, but on the inside, he's laughing his ass off just thinking of popping all those beach bums. "Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all for now. We may need to stop by again for further questioning."
"Yeah, sure. You can collect your guns when you go out. Have a nice day, Officers," Tommy says sneeringly. He glares as the two pig's heads disappear down the stairs of his mansion. He sits back down and rests his head on the back of his chair. A few moments later, the phone rings.
"Tommy, it's Phil. I was talking to my man in Liberty, Machowski, and I've got some info for you. I'm gonna be over in a minute." Phil is excited, Tommy can hear it in his voice. He's eager to hear the information so he can start dealing with this problem personally.
"Some pigs were just here, so hang back for about 20 minutes, in case they stick their noses into my business any more. I'll talk to you soon, Phil."
Tommy clicks the phone off, and gets up from behind his desk. He walks outside his office and down the stairs to the bar, to pour himself a well-deserved drink.