The battered Sentinel made its way down the dirt track. It was barely recognisable as the same type of car as the highly polished Sentinels at the end of the driveway. It was old and ramshackle, the duct tape on the doors and windows appeared to be holding the thing together. The car stopped in a clearing at the end of the drive.
A young man got out of the vehicle and examined his surroundings. He looked slowly around him, taking in everything he saw. His eyes passed over the house and the two guards in front of it. Though he seemed outwardly calm his eyes showed he was on guard and alert. Finding nothing that troubled him he stopped a moment and looked out to sea. It was a clear day without a cloud in the sky. The sea was almost blue today, just a hint of its usual grey. It reminded him of summer days when he was younger and his grandfather would take him fishing in the sea around Liberty. The cold wind blew the smell of pine trees and sea salt along with it. Don't fuck this up, he told himself, if you do your career is over.
He walked towards the house. The two guards standing by the steps exchanged a look as he walked towards them. He looked like what he was, a punk kid. His hair was cut in a short mohican. He thought it made him look like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. In reality he looked like a kid with a mohican. He had washed the dye out. His one attempt at tidying himself up for this meeting. A gesture of respect he supposed, though why it should matter was a mystery to him. Still his friend Tuccio had suggested it, and Tuccio knew about these things. His hair stood, bleached white, faded yellow, in contrast to the dark stubble on his shaved scalp. He wore faded and torn black straight-leg jeans. His dark green army jacket almost swamped his slim frame. His pale blue eyes were fierce with determination. His face had a sweet, innocent look which made him look even younger than he was. Personally he wished he looked more bad-ass. Despite his youthful appearance he had been working for the Leone family for almost four years.
He walked confidently towards the guards. He appeared perfectly at ease. "Harvey Williams. I'm here to see Salvatore Leone."
The guard looked him up and down and waited for a minute before walking into the house.
"Wait here" the other guard told him.
Harvey waited till the first guard returned. "You can go in."
He walked up the stairs and into the house. He looked around the room at the unfamiliar surroundings. The place seemed huge to him. It was expensively furnished. Large widows let in the light and looked out over the beach. Paintings and photos covered the walls.
He couldn't believe he was actually in the Dons house. Seeing the place for the first time finally made this all seem real. Didn't make him feel any less nervous though. No-one else was in the room and he was unsure if he should walk further into the house. He started to look around, following a trail of pictures around the room. A noise interrupted him. A young woman, heavily pregnant and with long dark hair down to her waist appeared from a door to the left of the room. She smiled at him, "Through here" she indicated the door she had come through.
He walked into the room after her. It appeared to be an office. Salvatore Leone sat in a chair in front of a desk. His father, Giovanni Leone, sat behind the desk.
Harvey knew Salvatore. He was present at every meeting of the organisation, however small. Everyone knew him. He was the boss, the one who got things done. Orders came through him, whether he made them or not. Salvatore was in his mid-forties. Dark hair was now dark grey. Not especially tall, not especially good-looking, a little overweight. Despite this he had a look about him that said authority.
Then there was Salvatore's father, Giovanni, the Don. A mysterious figure to Harvey. He couldn't remember having seen him before. He didn't interact with the lower members of the organisation. Mainly stayed in his home. He looked like Harvey expected Salvatore would look in twenty years. Shorter, fatter and greyer. But with an air of authority and power which far surpassed his son.
Salvatore got up, "Harvey. Good to see you." Salvatore turned to Giovanni "Pa, this is Harvey Williams, the guy I was telling you about. Harvey, this is Giovanni Leone." Giovanni stood up from behind his desk for a moment and reached over and shook hands with Harvey. "This is Carlotta, my wife" Salvatore indicated the dark-haired woman who had shown Harvey in. "Carlotta, Harvey Williams."
"Nice to meet you" Carlotta said. She turned to Salvatore "I'll go check on Joey and Pia." Salvatore kissed her goodbye and sat down. He waited till she had left the room before speaking.
"Sit down kid." He indicated an empty chair. Harvey sat down. "Lets get down to business." Salvatore said, "You've done good work for the family in the past and we hope you will do more in the future. I'm sure you have heard about the events of last week when four members of our family were slaughtered." Salvatore looked at Harvey. Harvey nodded. "A survivor of the massacre was able to identify the gunman. We believe this man has fled to Vice city."
Giovanni spoke for the first time. "We want you to go down to Vice. Take this guy out." He paused. "Before we go any further we need to know, will you accept this task?."
"If you succeed you will become part of the family." Salvatore added.
Harvey was surprised. Sure he had done a few hits for the Leones but that was small stuff, rival dealers and thugs. Not the kind of people who could take out four armed men. This guy had used a sniper rifle, he was a hitman himself. But could he afford to let this opportunity go? "Sure, I'll take it" he said.
"Good" said Salvatore. "You will leave for Vice tonight." He handed Harvey a picture of a tall, dark-haired man. "This is the guy you're going to kill. Nick Brennan. You've heard of him?" he said, reading the expression on Harvey's face.
Harvey looked at the picture. Nick Brennan. Had he heard of him? Hell yes! Nick Brennan was the most famous and feared hitman in the whole of Liberty. Known for his ruthlessness and apparent ability to dodge bullets. Now he understood why they had offered him this mission. No-one else would be dumb enough to take it. He decided he was dumb enough, and desperate enough to get into the organisation. "Yeah I think I heard of him, some kind of hitman right?"
"Yes, and don't underestimate him. When you're down there don't let him know you're looking for him. Go down there, take him out and leave. Get him quick." Salvatore took a small brown bag from his pocket and threw it to Harvey. "This is money to find a place to stay and buy ammunition while you're down there. The plane ticket is in there too along with an alternative I.D. We cant offer you any contacts as we don't want to alert Brennan to your presence. I'm sure you can find somewhere to buy the artillery you'll need, Vice is known for its relaxed gun laws." He looked at Harvey "Ok?"
"Yeah, but how do I find this guy?"
"All we know for sure is he's somewhere in Vice. We believe he may be working for Tommy Vercetti. Keep your eyes open but don't make it obvious you're looking for him. He shouldn't be hard to find." Salvatore and Giovanni stood up. Harvey stood up too. "Your plane leaves in a few hours time. I'm sure you have things to sort out before then" Salvatore said pointedly. Harvey shook hands with Salvatore and Giovanni. "You understand what you have to do?"
"I understand" Harvey said walking to the door.
"While you're down there you don't contact us and we don't contact you."
"No problem" Harvey exited the door. He walked out of the house, nodding to the guards as he passed them.
Harvey drove down the dirt track in his battered old Sentinel. He checked the money in the bag. Not much. Cheapskates, he thought. He smiled to no-one in particular. He was glad to finally get a chance to prove himself, even if it was by going up against the biggest killer in Libertys history.
Back in the house Salvatore leaned back in his chair. He watched the expression on his fathers face. "You're not happy about that, right Pa?"
"It's nothing to do with me. You know that side of the business is yours now."
"But what do you think?"
"He looks like a street kid. How old is he? He can't even be of age yet."
"He's done good work for us before. Apparently he's some kind of genius with a sniper rifle. He took out Bill Kant, Kysee Lang of the Triads, a whole herd of drug dealers down at the docks.
"This is different. You're sending a boy to do a mans job."
"And who else can we send? We need everyone here to stop the Forellis retaking our land. Besides none of them would go after that psycho."
"What can that kid do for us? It's like a lamb to the slaughter."
"Its not what Brennan will be expecting. At the least it will send a message to him that we will not take this lying down." Salvatore paused. "Maybe the kid will get lucky. And if not? It doesn't matter. He's expendable."