Chapter 8: The Slip

At Harwood, Claude knocked the door at 8-Ball's house again. 8-Ball opened the door, and Claude presented the money he requested to him. 8-Ball then handed him a sniper rifle, and said, "OK, let's do this thing. I can set this baby to detonate, but I still can't use a piece with these hands. Here, this rifle should help you pop some heads." 8-Ball then went inside, and took out a small case of explosives. Claude could not believe it. An explosive that small wouldn't have cost $100,000, unless 8-Ball just wants a share of his earnings. After all, he helped Claude escape the prison transport in the beginning, and he had given Claude knock-off rates for arming bombs at his shop. The two men then went to the Cabbie Claude jacked earlier, and headed to Portland Harbor, where the "Les Cargo" is still moored.

Near the moored ship, the rumors were then proved. The "Les Cargo" is indeed a Cartel-owned ship. Salvatore was right about the "Les Cargo" being a drug factory. It's time to sink that drug-infested boat. "Get a good vantage point then I'll head in when you fire the first shot." 8-Ball instructed. They both exited the cab, and went their separate ways. 8-Ball went to the nearby crates to hide, while Claude went to get a good vantage point. The best one at Portland Harbor was near the rooftop of the fuselage wharf. It was a good bird's eye's view, and there he saw it. 10 Cartel guards onboard, with 2 of them near the main entrance. Parked nearby are 2 Cartel Cruisers. Claude didn't bother about the cars (they're both empty, by the way), and aimed the rifle at 1 of the 2 guards, and popped his head off. He wasted no time to pop his comrade's head off too. Then quickly and silently, Claude wasted the remaining 8 Cartel guards onboard, 1 by 1. He didn't hit the fuel barrels; 8-Ball needed them to kick up some beautiful fireworks. With all 10 guards dead, 8-Ball then went inside the hull, and soon after that, left in a hurry. The bridge started to blow, along with the main stern and bow. 8-Ball quickly headed for the ramp, but knowing that he's a bomb expert, he could easily escape without going up with the boat. Luckily, 8-Ball left just in time as the ramp was about to break. The "Les Cargo" soon began to fall, and then the ship started to sink into the water. Hah, Claude thought. No more SPANK will come from THIS ship. Claude then went down to see 8-Ball. He congratulated 8-Ball for a good job, although he can't speak. 8-Ball then gave Claude half of the money he managed to pick off the hull and the guards' dead bodies. It was $150,000! 8-Ball the bid Claude farewell, and took a cab back home to Harwood. Claude then took one of the Cartel Cruisers, and drove to Salvatore's to tell him the good news.

Sure enough, Salvatore had been informed about the demise of the "Les Cargo", and he was excited to see Claude again. He had one final job for Claude. "It's my favorite cleaner!" He exclaimed after seeing Claude. "I'm proud of you my boy. You kicked the hell out of those grease balls. I've got just 1 little job for you before we can all celebrate. There's a car around the block of Luigi's Club. The inside is covered in brains. We had to help some guy make up his mind, and it proved a little messy. Take it to the crusher before the cops find it." Seems easy enough, Claude thought to himself. He took the Cruiser he stole from the Cartel, and drove to Luigi's Club. As he reached the edge of Luigi's Club, Maria paged. She informed Claude that the car was a trap, and to meet her at the slip road near Callahan Bridge. Alright Maria, I'll play your little game, Claude thought to himself. He then drove to the slip road, and was he surprised to hear what Maria had to say.

"Listen, Salvatore thinks we're going behind his back. So he was offering you to the Cartel, in order to make a deal." Maria told Claude about Salvatore. "I couldn't let him do that; I mean the worst thing is … it's my fault. I told him we're an item; don't ask me why I don't know." Claude was a little angry with Maria with this affair. But he was glad Maria saved his life. "Look, you're a marked man on Mafia turf and I've got to get out of here too. I've seen too much killing. Too much blood …" She paused, and introduces Claude to an Asian woman who's been beside Maria ever since they met up. "This is a friend of mine OK, an old friend … this is Asuka. She's someone we can trust." Claude was glad to hear that. Then, Asuka spoke to them. "C'mon, enough with the speeches." She speaks with a Japanese accent. "We've better get out of here before we get more hysterical Italians wanting less friendly reunions." She led Maria and Claude to her Reefer docked nearby, and instructed Claude to steer while she talks to Maria.

Claude did exactly as he was told, and slowly steered the Reefer. They bypassed Callahan Bridge, which was still in disrepair. After that, Asuka told Claude to dock the boat at one of the docks nearby. This was Staunton Island, the commercial district of the city. Claude then carefully docked the boat, not hoping to get a scratch on the boat.

The party of 3 then walked up to Asuka's condo, a pretty orange building nearby the docks. Maria and Asuka then gave Claude further instructions. "Asuka and I are gonna have to talk, eh … why don't you go cruise around?" Maria said. Asuka followed up. "You'll need a place to lie low. There's a warehouse in Belleville that should suit your needs. Come back to my condo when you're ready, and we can have a little chat." Maria and Asuka both went inside. Claude decided to go to Belleville; he's quite exhausted from doing jobs for El Burro and 8-Ball. Nearby was a Stinger that has a custom paint job, which Claude presumes it's Asuka's. On the windscreen was a note that says, "Feel free to use my car at anytime. –Asuka." Oh well, Claude thought. He then hopped in the Stinger, and drove to Belleville, and sure enough, there was a warehouse there. The owner had been waiting for Claude for a while. He told Claude that his apartment was upstairs, and to get there, he had to use the lift. Claude did that, and went back to his new hideout to get some rest.

Note: The following sector is not based on the GTA3 storyline. For those who wants to follow the whole story straight, I'd suggest you don't read this part. I only wrote this for fun.

Asuka and Maria went inside Asuka's apartment, and there, they had their talk. For a while, everything seemed fine, until a helicopter soon flew in from the air, and landed at the helipad on the roof. Inside the helicopter were 4 men, all Chinese. A man in sunglasses was escorted by another Chinese man who was beside him. They both had suits on, and why they landed here was a mystery. The 2 men then took the elevator down, and went to Asuka's apartment.

Asuka answered the door, and wasn't at all pleased to see the 2 Chinese men. "What are you doing here?" She asked them. The mystery men said nothing, and then the man in sunglasses said, "I just dropped by to talk." Asuka didn't exactly accept the man's answer, but she let the 2 men inside anyway. Maria saw the 2 men coming in, and was also surprised to see them.

"Asuka. Who're these men?" She asked. Asuka then briefly replied. "Maria, I haven't told anybody about this, not even your new friend or my brother Kenji, but I'm married." Maria didn't understand. Asuka sighed, and explained everything. "This is Wu Zi Mu. I met him in San Fierro. It was before I met you at Las Venturas, when you're with Salvatore. He and I … are … married." She replied sheepishly with the final 3 words. The mystery man finally spoke too. "You must be Maria," he said with a gentlemanly, but Chinese, accent. "I'm Wu Zi Mu, but you can call me Woozie." Maria was a little glad to know that he's harmless. "If you don't mind, Maria." He continued. "I want to talk to Asuka. In private." Maria agreed, and thereafter, left the condo.

After that, Asuka and Woozie got together again. However, Asuka still didn't really accept Woozie's uninvited arrival.

"So, what's your business here?" She started. She's a little cross with him. "Trying to put me out of business again?"

"No, let me explain." Woozie said. "Listen, I understand that your Yakuza has a little problem … so I was wondering …"

"Wonder what?" Asuka snapped. "Wondering if you would take this opportunity to call your Triads to undermine our already weakened power?"

"No …" Woozie remained calm. "No, I don't have that kind of intention. I just came here to take charge of the Triads in Liberty. Those idiots have failed to show me respect, so I'm taking over. And while I'm at that, I came to offer help for you." Woozie then placed his hand on Asuka's shoulder.

"What! To help!" Asuka was a little mad, and she took Woozie's hand off her shoulder. "After you ruined the Yakuza's venture in Las Venturas, what makes you think I'll accept your offer? Besides, I'm doing very well myself, thank you very much!" She then paused, and then slowly and calmly said, "Please don't talk about anything that's not about business. We're … we're no longer related in that way." Before Woozie could say anything, she just told him to leave. Woozie felt a little disheartened, and told his boys to leave. They quietly went upstairs, and took off in their helicopter. They then flew towards Portland, and they disappeared into the horizon.

Asuka, on the other hand, just looked at the helicopter and silently said to herself, "You idiot. Why did you do this?" Looks like they still love each other, but are too shy to express themselves. Maria then came home, and saw Asuka near the balcony. She didn't know what happened, and she don't intend to. She just scurried back to her room, and left Asuka alone.

I know I'm a bad romance writer, but it's the best I got.