Chapter Five - Saint Marks Reunion
Vercetti's ogre of a bodyguard had jacked a Sentinel for the trio. Rosebud took to the wheel while Tommy and Vince sat in the back. "We're going into Saint Marks in Portland, follow this road over the bridge." Tommy directed.
"You know Portland?" Vince asked.
"Yeah quite well. I used to work in Liberty City a long time ago, but I stumbled across a couple of erm problems that lead to me moving to Vice City." Tommy replied.
Vince tried to push the issue further, "Care to elaborate on those problems?"
"Well let me see, I remember a problem regarding betrayal and then imprisonment." Tommy stated in a deadpan manner. "But I wouldn't be the great majestic man I am now if it wasn't that old mafia manner of sticking the knife in a hard working company-driven employee. I personally would have just preferred an end of the month bonus" The Sentinel was cruising over the Callahan Bridge into Portland. It was nearly dusk and the amber light was soothing the grimy appearance of Liberty City's industrial district. Pimps, prostitutes, the homeles, dock workers, all of the island's most respected clientele were out this evening. "Much doesn't change eh?" Tommy mused. The car had entered Saint Marks, along the pavement tired Italian labourers were closing their stalls, they didn't notice Tommy, Vince and Rosebud. Someone else did.
"IT'S THAT BASTARD! HIT THE CAR! HIT THE CAR!" A mafia hood had been watching over the market when he had spotted Vince in the Sentinel. He'd reached for his shotgun leaning against the lampost and fired from the hip. The shot tore one of the back tyres into tatters and alerted both the Sentinel's passengers and all other hoods along the road.
"Holy shit!" Tommy screamed. "Pull over Rosebud!" The car performed a hand- brake turn and screeched to a halt in the middle of the road, shot after shot hit the car and smoke was bellowing from every crack and groove. Tommy and Vince dived out of the car but Rosebud failed to follow. The car erupted into an explosion charring the leather seat covers, the pine tree air freshener and one of Tommy's most devoted bodyguards. They both managed to tumble into an alleyway and took brief refuge behing a dumpster. Tommy gasped for breath, "You got a shooter kid?" Vince simply nodded and slapped a magazine into his one of his two handguns. They heard the growing noise of many footsteps funneling into the entrance of the alleyway.
"We know you are down here so give up and you will die gracefully with honour. It's the least we could do after you killed our Don." the hood snorted. There was another dumpster sitting under scaffolding on the opposite side of the alleyway, Vince leapt sideways to the other dumpster and shot wildly at the group of hoods, landing in a heap. Three of the suits fell into a crumpled heap and sent the remaining hoods to the entrance of the alley.
"Good work kid!" Tommy shouted. "And when the hell did you kill Liberty City's Don?" He shot a look of bewilderment and mild admiration towards Vince.
Vince just shrugged, "It's a long story." They both heard the clink of something landing nearby them, "GRENADE!" Vince cried. He glanced from around the dumpster and spotted it feet away, there was no time to throw it back, he leapt into the big fortified dumpster. The grenade exploded leaving Vince nursing a headache inside the steel tub and Tommy thankful for it not being thrown near him. He heard the hoods coming back into the alley again.
"We got the son of a bitch he jumped into the dumpster!" one hood shouted. "Are you sure he's on his own?" another asked. "Yeah the other one was charred in the car." the first replied. The three remaining hoods ran over to the dumpster. Tommy still in hiding noticed the scaffolding above the dumpster, it was about three storeys high and directly above both the hoods and the dumpster Vince was hiding in. He leant from his cover and began shooting furiously at the catch keeping the tread boards above the hoods aloft. It twisted and four sturdy planks along with countless pipes toppled onto the hoods.
"I see the mafia still isn't spending the time and money to educate you guys eh?" Tommy went over to the dumspter and gave it a knock, "You can come out now." Vince opened the dumpster and recovered himself from the daze that the grenade had triggered. Tommy began to help him out of his shelter when both froze still, a shot gun had been fired. Both looked to the entrance of the alleyway to see a looming silhouette.
"That's as much fun as you will have on my streets, now drop those fucking weapons." Vince recognised the voice as belonging to Tony Cipriani, the new Don of Portland's mafia. Vince and Tommy dropped to the floor and lay face down.
"Forgive me for not introducing myself properly, but I'm currently compromised," Tommy commented.
"Cut the wisecracks smartass," Tony shot both a glare, lingering on Vince then shifting to Tommy. "I recognise the punk lying next to you, but not you."
"The name's Vercetti," was all that Tommy offered.
"Tommy Vercetti? The Harwood Butcher?" Tony said nothing else and walked over to Tommy and stamped on his back. Tommy felt the crushing force and began to wheeze. Cipriani delivered the same treatment to Vince then called upon two hoods. "Get them in the back of the car," he commanded.
***
"Good evening Liberty City and welcome to Channel 6 News brought to you by Love Media. Here are tonight's top stories. Police are still hunting for the fugitive responsible for bombing the AmCo building earlier this week. The Mayor has come under increasing pressure to find the fugitive and curb the worrying increase in crime on our streets. His main candidate in the upcoming elections Donald Love today unveiled his proposed plans in cleaning up what he described as 'the criminal filth that is infecting our citizens and our children'. Our mid-week polls show that Donald Love is set to achieve a landmark victory and nothing short of a miracle will save the current Mayor."
***
Tommy had been pistol whipped after his beating by Cipriani. He awoke in a blur and found himself bound and tied to a chair in what looked like a mansion. Tony Cipriani sat opposite him waiting. Tommy's throat was burning and he struggled to speak, "What's with the mafia hopsitality, it's such a rarity these days."
"Oh don't worry Vercetti I won't disappoint you but I decided we needed a good chat for old time's sake." Cipriani said softly, dripping with menace. "And don't start with your threats, you may run Vice City but it's me that controls the blocks you're sat in the middle of."
"So what shall we discuss Tony? Oh how's St Marco's Bistro, is the spaghetti still to die for?" Tommy had perfected his razor sharp wit over the years.
"I want to know why the hell you went on that massacre that forced the mob into two factions. You caused a lotta hell that day, a lotta hell. All the men that died in the Forreli-Leone war, Christ I was killing people I grew up with." Tony began to seeth on the anger that the memories were invoking.
"Look Tony you weren't the only victim of that mess. Sonny Forreli had set me up for the fall, I did time for the bastard. Why do you think he sent me to Florida? To stop me mouthing off!" It wasn't just Cipriani who raged on this issue, Tommy had bad memories too. "Anyway there's other things happening which was why I was in Saint Marks, I was coming to see you. Except I didn't know I was riding with Salvatore's assassin."
"Don't mention that bastard! I've got to deal with him yet. So what was so pressing that you had to call upon the establishment you publicly denounced years ago?"
"Some guy is triggering incidents around Liberty, he blew up the AmCo building the other day. Word is he is running you guys now."
Cipriani froze in both fear and humiliation, "How the hell did you know? It's bullshit, I prepare to take orders from no-one. No-one!" Tony fell into a senseless and booming rage he began screaming obscenities and slipped into a lecture with Tommy. Tommy looked away in familarity and boredom, Cipriani was always a boring long-winded bastard. He looked over toward the patio doors leading out into the garden, there was something out there, he couldn't quite make it out but there was a figure outside. "AND FOR THE LAST TIME TONY CIPRIANI BOWS DOWN FOR NO MAN, NO MAN!" The ornate glass doors smashed open, a small imposing figure garbed in green stepped in, he held a silenced pistol on his hand.
"Is that so Mr Cipriani?" the figure spoke.
Tony spun round to meet the voice, "Darkel? What the.." The bullet sunk into his neck, the sentence ended in a blood-curdling gargle, he sank to the floor, crimson frothing from his mouth.
"He always was to rebellious for my liking." Darkel said to his now reduced audience in a rasp. "Thomas Vercetti, Florida's most powerful man sat in bonds. It seems too easy." A smile spread across his face as he raised his pistol to meet Tommy's head.
"Well go on you son-of-a-bitch, you'll hear no pleading from me." Tommy spat defiantly.
Darkel slowly begun to squeeze the trigger but felt a crushing blow to his back, he'd been shot. Behind him stood Vince with a newly acquired pistol, taking from the dozing hood left to watch him during Tommy's interrogation. Darkel slumped to the floor without a sound. Vince ignored Darkel for a moment and went to help Tommy. "Who the hell's he?" Vince asked while slashing the rope binding Tommy to the chair.
"Darkel, apparently. Cipriani knew him, well did." Tommy replied. He was now free and stood up to stretch his legs. "So what do we do with are double-act here? Is the crusher still here?"
"Yeah, never seen so much action." Vince replied.
"No kidding" Tommy said.
***
They lugged both bodies into two Sentinels parked in the drive and each drove one down to the crusher. Tommy's passenger was Darkel, he drove at a leisurely pace enjoying the delights of Flashback FM. He was driving down Portland's Main Street when he heard the sirens behind him beckoning for him pull over, "For fuck's sake!" he muttered to himself. The cop walked over to Tommy's window.
"Do you know how fast you were going back there sir?" the cop wasn't a fountain of youth Tommy noticed, in fact he must soon be pushing retirement. Tommy noticed his badge, it read DEMPSEY.
"If it isn't Sergeant Burt Dempsey! How's it goin Burt? You still taking bungs these days?" Tommy asked in between beaming at the cop.
"What the... Tommy Vercetti! Well seeing as it's you I'm sure we can come to an arrangement." Dempsey replied.
"Here's a bundle for ya." Tommy reached into his pocket and pacified the police officer. "See ya round...ya prick!" Tommy sped off leaving the cop to count presidents' heads. He eventually reached the crusher to find Vince had already disposed of his car.
"Where the hell have you been?" Vince asked. He didn't wait for answer, he noticed something sticking out of the car's boot. "That's odd" he said.
"What? What?" Tommy asked irritably. They both went to the boot and Vince opened. "SHIT!" they both gasped. All that was there was a bullet-proof vest with one bullet indentation in the back.
Vercetti's ogre of a bodyguard had jacked a Sentinel for the trio. Rosebud took to the wheel while Tommy and Vince sat in the back. "We're going into Saint Marks in Portland, follow this road over the bridge." Tommy directed.
"You know Portland?" Vince asked.
"Yeah quite well. I used to work in Liberty City a long time ago, but I stumbled across a couple of erm problems that lead to me moving to Vice City." Tommy replied.
Vince tried to push the issue further, "Care to elaborate on those problems?"
"Well let me see, I remember a problem regarding betrayal and then imprisonment." Tommy stated in a deadpan manner. "But I wouldn't be the great majestic man I am now if it wasn't that old mafia manner of sticking the knife in a hard working company-driven employee. I personally would have just preferred an end of the month bonus" The Sentinel was cruising over the Callahan Bridge into Portland. It was nearly dusk and the amber light was soothing the grimy appearance of Liberty City's industrial district. Pimps, prostitutes, the homeles, dock workers, all of the island's most respected clientele were out this evening. "Much doesn't change eh?" Tommy mused. The car had entered Saint Marks, along the pavement tired Italian labourers were closing their stalls, they didn't notice Tommy, Vince and Rosebud. Someone else did.
"IT'S THAT BASTARD! HIT THE CAR! HIT THE CAR!" A mafia hood had been watching over the market when he had spotted Vince in the Sentinel. He'd reached for his shotgun leaning against the lampost and fired from the hip. The shot tore one of the back tyres into tatters and alerted both the Sentinel's passengers and all other hoods along the road.
"Holy shit!" Tommy screamed. "Pull over Rosebud!" The car performed a hand- brake turn and screeched to a halt in the middle of the road, shot after shot hit the car and smoke was bellowing from every crack and groove. Tommy and Vince dived out of the car but Rosebud failed to follow. The car erupted into an explosion charring the leather seat covers, the pine tree air freshener and one of Tommy's most devoted bodyguards. They both managed to tumble into an alleyway and took brief refuge behing a dumpster. Tommy gasped for breath, "You got a shooter kid?" Vince simply nodded and slapped a magazine into his one of his two handguns. They heard the growing noise of many footsteps funneling into the entrance of the alleyway.
"We know you are down here so give up and you will die gracefully with honour. It's the least we could do after you killed our Don." the hood snorted. There was another dumpster sitting under scaffolding on the opposite side of the alleyway, Vince leapt sideways to the other dumpster and shot wildly at the group of hoods, landing in a heap. Three of the suits fell into a crumpled heap and sent the remaining hoods to the entrance of the alley.
"Good work kid!" Tommy shouted. "And when the hell did you kill Liberty City's Don?" He shot a look of bewilderment and mild admiration towards Vince.
Vince just shrugged, "It's a long story." They both heard the clink of something landing nearby them, "GRENADE!" Vince cried. He glanced from around the dumpster and spotted it feet away, there was no time to throw it back, he leapt into the big fortified dumpster. The grenade exploded leaving Vince nursing a headache inside the steel tub and Tommy thankful for it not being thrown near him. He heard the hoods coming back into the alley again.
"We got the son of a bitch he jumped into the dumpster!" one hood shouted. "Are you sure he's on his own?" another asked. "Yeah the other one was charred in the car." the first replied. The three remaining hoods ran over to the dumpster. Tommy still in hiding noticed the scaffolding above the dumpster, it was about three storeys high and directly above both the hoods and the dumpster Vince was hiding in. He leant from his cover and began shooting furiously at the catch keeping the tread boards above the hoods aloft. It twisted and four sturdy planks along with countless pipes toppled onto the hoods.
"I see the mafia still isn't spending the time and money to educate you guys eh?" Tommy went over to the dumspter and gave it a knock, "You can come out now." Vince opened the dumpster and recovered himself from the daze that the grenade had triggered. Tommy began to help him out of his shelter when both froze still, a shot gun had been fired. Both looked to the entrance of the alleyway to see a looming silhouette.
"That's as much fun as you will have on my streets, now drop those fucking weapons." Vince recognised the voice as belonging to Tony Cipriani, the new Don of Portland's mafia. Vince and Tommy dropped to the floor and lay face down.
"Forgive me for not introducing myself properly, but I'm currently compromised," Tommy commented.
"Cut the wisecracks smartass," Tony shot both a glare, lingering on Vince then shifting to Tommy. "I recognise the punk lying next to you, but not you."
"The name's Vercetti," was all that Tommy offered.
"Tommy Vercetti? The Harwood Butcher?" Tony said nothing else and walked over to Tommy and stamped on his back. Tommy felt the crushing force and began to wheeze. Cipriani delivered the same treatment to Vince then called upon two hoods. "Get them in the back of the car," he commanded.
***
"Good evening Liberty City and welcome to Channel 6 News brought to you by Love Media. Here are tonight's top stories. Police are still hunting for the fugitive responsible for bombing the AmCo building earlier this week. The Mayor has come under increasing pressure to find the fugitive and curb the worrying increase in crime on our streets. His main candidate in the upcoming elections Donald Love today unveiled his proposed plans in cleaning up what he described as 'the criminal filth that is infecting our citizens and our children'. Our mid-week polls show that Donald Love is set to achieve a landmark victory and nothing short of a miracle will save the current Mayor."
***
Tommy had been pistol whipped after his beating by Cipriani. He awoke in a blur and found himself bound and tied to a chair in what looked like a mansion. Tony Cipriani sat opposite him waiting. Tommy's throat was burning and he struggled to speak, "What's with the mafia hopsitality, it's such a rarity these days."
"Oh don't worry Vercetti I won't disappoint you but I decided we needed a good chat for old time's sake." Cipriani said softly, dripping with menace. "And don't start with your threats, you may run Vice City but it's me that controls the blocks you're sat in the middle of."
"So what shall we discuss Tony? Oh how's St Marco's Bistro, is the spaghetti still to die for?" Tommy had perfected his razor sharp wit over the years.
"I want to know why the hell you went on that massacre that forced the mob into two factions. You caused a lotta hell that day, a lotta hell. All the men that died in the Forreli-Leone war, Christ I was killing people I grew up with." Tony began to seeth on the anger that the memories were invoking.
"Look Tony you weren't the only victim of that mess. Sonny Forreli had set me up for the fall, I did time for the bastard. Why do you think he sent me to Florida? To stop me mouthing off!" It wasn't just Cipriani who raged on this issue, Tommy had bad memories too. "Anyway there's other things happening which was why I was in Saint Marks, I was coming to see you. Except I didn't know I was riding with Salvatore's assassin."
"Don't mention that bastard! I've got to deal with him yet. So what was so pressing that you had to call upon the establishment you publicly denounced years ago?"
"Some guy is triggering incidents around Liberty, he blew up the AmCo building the other day. Word is he is running you guys now."
Cipriani froze in both fear and humiliation, "How the hell did you know? It's bullshit, I prepare to take orders from no-one. No-one!" Tony fell into a senseless and booming rage he began screaming obscenities and slipped into a lecture with Tommy. Tommy looked away in familarity and boredom, Cipriani was always a boring long-winded bastard. He looked over toward the patio doors leading out into the garden, there was something out there, he couldn't quite make it out but there was a figure outside. "AND FOR THE LAST TIME TONY CIPRIANI BOWS DOWN FOR NO MAN, NO MAN!" The ornate glass doors smashed open, a small imposing figure garbed in green stepped in, he held a silenced pistol on his hand.
"Is that so Mr Cipriani?" the figure spoke.
Tony spun round to meet the voice, "Darkel? What the.." The bullet sunk into his neck, the sentence ended in a blood-curdling gargle, he sank to the floor, crimson frothing from his mouth.
"He always was to rebellious for my liking." Darkel said to his now reduced audience in a rasp. "Thomas Vercetti, Florida's most powerful man sat in bonds. It seems too easy." A smile spread across his face as he raised his pistol to meet Tommy's head.
"Well go on you son-of-a-bitch, you'll hear no pleading from me." Tommy spat defiantly.
Darkel slowly begun to squeeze the trigger but felt a crushing blow to his back, he'd been shot. Behind him stood Vince with a newly acquired pistol, taking from the dozing hood left to watch him during Tommy's interrogation. Darkel slumped to the floor without a sound. Vince ignored Darkel for a moment and went to help Tommy. "Who the hell's he?" Vince asked while slashing the rope binding Tommy to the chair.
"Darkel, apparently. Cipriani knew him, well did." Tommy replied. He was now free and stood up to stretch his legs. "So what do we do with are double-act here? Is the crusher still here?"
"Yeah, never seen so much action." Vince replied.
"No kidding" Tommy said.
***
They lugged both bodies into two Sentinels parked in the drive and each drove one down to the crusher. Tommy's passenger was Darkel, he drove at a leisurely pace enjoying the delights of Flashback FM. He was driving down Portland's Main Street when he heard the sirens behind him beckoning for him pull over, "For fuck's sake!" he muttered to himself. The cop walked over to Tommy's window.
"Do you know how fast you were going back there sir?" the cop wasn't a fountain of youth Tommy noticed, in fact he must soon be pushing retirement. Tommy noticed his badge, it read DEMPSEY.
"If it isn't Sergeant Burt Dempsey! How's it goin Burt? You still taking bungs these days?" Tommy asked in between beaming at the cop.
"What the... Tommy Vercetti! Well seeing as it's you I'm sure we can come to an arrangement." Dempsey replied.
"Here's a bundle for ya." Tommy reached into his pocket and pacified the police officer. "See ya round...ya prick!" Tommy sped off leaving the cop to count presidents' heads. He eventually reached the crusher to find Vince had already disposed of his car.
"Where the hell have you been?" Vince asked. He didn't wait for answer, he noticed something sticking out of the car's boot. "That's odd" he said.
"What? What?" Tommy asked irritably. They both went to the boot and Vince opened. "SHIT!" they both gasped. All that was there was a bullet-proof vest with one bullet indentation in the back.