Chapter 6: Driving Mr. Vercetti
2002, Vercetti Mansion, Starfish Island, Vice City
Tommy Vercetti, now forty-six years old sat at his desk in his fancy blue suit. Across from him sat a man in his twenties. He was wearing a blue button up shirt and blue jeans. His hair was slightly spiked and he looked like he could handle himself in a fight.
"So what makes you think you have what it takes to be my personal go to guy, my driver?" Tommy asked. The man looked at him, he spoke with a deep, slightly raspy, voice that commanded attention, "I'm the best driver that this city has to offer." He replied.
Tommy looked at the man, "Well there's only one way to find out. Let's go see if you got what it takes." He said. He got up from his desk and walked down the stairway, the man followed close behind him.
They walked out to the courtyard in front of the mansion, there was an old 1982 Infernus parked outside, Tommy grabbed the keys and handed them to the man, then he got in the passenger seat.
The man took the keys and got in, "Buckle up." He said. Tommy smiled, this guy reminded him of himself.
The man shifted the car into gear and took off down the street towards East Vice City. He ramped the car off the little hump as he came over the bridge and got a good twenty feet of air before landing again.
He jerked right and sped across the bridge that went to the Ken Rosenberg's old office, the man did a cop slide and went towards Ocean beach. He made another turn and headed towards the Malibu Club.
The car swerved around the corner by the Malibu and did a full rotation turning towards the ramp next to the club. The man revved the engine and took off, Tommy thought he was going to go by the ramp and kill them.
But the front right tire hit the ramp and the car did a full 360 in the air and landed on its tires on the other side of the canal.
The man began driving back towards Vercetti's mansion, there was a car carrier truck driving down the road but it was empty and the ramp was positioned just right.
The man floored the car and launched off the ramp, over the wall to Tommy's mansion, and landed perfectly in the parking space where the car had been before.
"Will that be enough or should we see if I can get us onto a building?" the man asked. "That'll do." Tommy replied, a little surprised at this man's driving skill.
Tommy went back to the office and sat down, the man was close behind. "So when do I start?" the man asked. "Tomorrow. What's your name anyway kid?" Tommy asked.
The man looked at Tommy. "Call me Tanner." He said as he got up and walked down the stairs. He went out to his car and drove off.
Tommy went back and sat down at his desk. He had to admit that Tanner was good, hell Tanner was better than he was. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this driver somewhere before.
Then it came to him, Tanner had been one of Diaz's men, at least he thought that's where he had seen him. He hoped that if he was right that Tanner wasn't planning on killing him.
The previous two coke barons had stood as a lesson to Tommy, Diaz was a lesson to be careful who you trust, and the previous coke baron, an Italian by the name of Tony Montana also called Scarface, stood as an example not to think you're invincible.
Tommy had mixed feelings about this Tanner, he reminded him of himself when he'd come to Vice City, which was good and bad. Since Tommy remembered why he had worked for Diaz.
Tommy decided that he needed to relax so he turned on his radio, "Hi there folks. I'm DJ Tommy "the Nightmare" Smith. In the 80's you may remember a little band called Crystal Sid and you may also remember the devilishly handsome lead singer. Now I'm on the radio and loving every minute of it. Even if K-DST kicked me off the air for calling that caller a shit head, I'm back with a new station. This next song was one of the better 80's rock ballads, this is Golden Earring's hit Twilight Zone. You're listening to V Rock"
Tommy liked V Rock with its new DJ, Lazlow was always kind of a poser anyway. Supposedly he was doing a talk radio station in Liberty City now.
Tommy opened his desk drawer and grabbed a cigar out, he clipped the tip and lit it. He decided that whatever happened he could handle it, he always had before.
Just Outside of Vice City
A black Infernus sped down the interstate, closing in on Vice City. Claude Speed was the driver of this fast car. He had run into a problem in Liberty City and had come to see Ray Machowski about it.
The note that Ray had left in his lockup whenever he fled Liberty City had read, "See ya in Miami." Claude later found out that this was code for Vice City. So he got in his car and sped quickly to this safe haven in hopes of finding the crooked detective.
The song playing on the radio ended. "God I love that song. Makes you realize that the 80's wasn't all synthesizers and pink neon lights. It was about rock, rock in its purest form. On that note here's the Deep Purple smash hit, 'Smoke on the Water' this is V Rock."
Claude also had an ulterior motive for coming to Vice. Recently he had found himself missing Calita a lot. When he discovered where Ray was his mind instantly flashed to Calita as she parted.
As the loud guitar riff on "Smoke on the Water" roared loudly over the car's sound system. Claude was deep in thought about how he would find either Calita or Ray. He needed a major crime boss to help him out, and that's when a name came to mind.
The name hit Claude like a ton of bricks, he had heard Toni say it. "Hey this kid's good but he's no Tommy Vercetti." Tommy Vercetti, the coke baron of all of Vice City, of course this was where he would be able to get information but he needed to find a way to meet this great gangster.
Later, Ocean Beach, Vice City
After asking around for a bit Claude discovered that Colonel Juan Cortez was throwing one of his famous parties on his Yacht in Vice City harbor. However this was a dressy occasion and he would need some dressy clothes.
Claude looked down at his dusty tattered leather jacket, his black sneakers, and his green cargo pants. This wouldn't do, he would need a suit, but where would he find one on such short notice?
Claude spied a payphone, he walked up and opened up the phone book to the yellow pages. He found a place called Raphael's nearby, it said that they made suits quickly.
Claude turned around just in time to see his Infernus speed away. He should have known better than to leave the door unlocked. But no matter, he was able to adapt quickly.
Claude pulled a medium length baseball bat out of his pant leg as a PCJ-600 came speeding towards him, he swung with all his might and sent the rider flying backwards as the bike continued driving for a few feet and then toppled over.
Claude picked up the PCJ and got on. He revved the engine and took off down the road. The rider managed to yell out, "Hey that's my bike!" which was a bad idea since he had some broken ribs.
Raphael's, Ocean Beach, Vice City
Claude walked out of Raphael's dressed in a black pinstripe suit, he had a suitcase in his left hand which contained his clothing, a sawn off shotgun, and a tech 9. His Desert Eagle was inside his jacket pocket.
Claude jumped back on the PCJ which was miraculously still there since Vice City was so full of crime. He took off towards Vice City Harbor.
Colonel Cortez's Yacht, Washington Beach, Vice City
Claude walked up on deck and approached an aging man in a khaki colored shirt wearing a red scarf. "I do not believe I have met you before, are you new to this city?" the man asked.
Claude nodded, "I am Colonel Juan Cortez, what is your name?" Cortez asked. Claude opened his mouth, it still seemed strange to speak after being silent for so many years. "Claude Speed. I was looking for work, maybe with Tommy Vercetti." Claude replied.
"A noble goal Mr. Speed. However only men with reputations get jobs with Tommy Vercetti. Anyway, let me show you who's who around here." Cortez said.
Cortez gestured to an overweight man in a very disheveled suit, he had a large bushy black mustache. "That is Umberto Robina. The leader of the Cubans in Vice City, he welcomes fresh faces in Vice City to work for him. You can find him at Café Robina in Little Havana." Cortez said.
"Looks like an asshole to me." Claude remarked. Cortez let out a laugh, "I suppose that assumption is correct but he would be a good starting point to getting you a reputation."
A large biker looking man with a gray ponytail pulled back behind his bald head walked by. He was dressed in a leather vest and a blue long sleeved shirt, he was wearing blue jeans and his attitude conveyed anger.
"That is Mitch Baker. The leader of all the bikers in Vice City. I would suggest working for Umberto and getting a small reputation before going for him." Cortez said without Claude asking.
"Who else?" Claude asked. "Well there's me of course. I always have a few jobs for an enterprising crook such as yourself, also my daughter Mercedes might have some work for you, and of course my newest lieutenant." Cortez replied.
Cortez whistled and a woman dressed in khaki pants and a green tank top walked up the stairs. Claude's jaw nearly dropped on the realization of who it was and her reaction was nearly the same.
"This is my first Lieutenant Calita." Cortez said. Claude shook hands, "Uh… Colonel could I have a moment with this gentleman?" Calita asked. "Why of course my dear." He replied and walked off.
Calita grabbed Claude by the collar and pulled him downstairs where she had come from. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I came to see Ray Machowski and thought that Tommy Vercetti could help me find him." Claude replied.
Suddenly Calita's eyes grew large, "Did you just talk?" she asked. "Yeah you can thank your cunt of a sister for that." Claude replied rubbing his throat.
"Where is Catalina?" Calita asked. "In about a million pieces in the Liberty City harbor. I shot down her helicopter with a rocket launcher; you don't exactly come back from that." Claude replied.
"Why did you… whatever, it doesn't matter. But you want to work for Tommy Vercetti?" she asked. Claude nodded. "Well be careful. I was working for this guy named Jericho, there was this undercover cop named Tanner who got me arrested." Calita replied.
"Now…" Calita said shutting the door. "Let's do a little reminiscing." She said as she slowly began to pull her shirt off.
The Next Day…
Café Robina, Little Havana, Vice City
Claude walked into Café Robina cool and cocky. He was back in his street clothes and ready for action. The bell above the door rang loudly as it closed, signaling his entrance into the building.
Claude spotted Umberto by the bar drinking Tequila. His hair was a salt and pepper color and was in a mullet even though the 80's were long past. He was wearing a wife beater and blue sweat pants.
Claude walked up to the barand sat down next to Umberto. "Hey Dumbass." he said. Umberto looked up. "What you want man?" he asked.
"I hear you're the guy to come to for a job." Claude replied. Umberto was quiet for a moment and then began to laugh. "What the fuck is so damn funny?" Claude asked.
"Why should I hire you? I don't even know who you are." Umberto said. "What do you wanna know?" Claude asked.
"Your name would be a good start." Umberto replied. "My name ain't important. But if ya gotta call me something, call me Fido." Claude replied, he hated that name but it would have to do for the time being.
"All right Fido. I have a job for you. You do this job for me, I consider hiring you, you screw it up, I kill you." Umberto said. "Sounds fair, what do I do?" Claude asked.
"Just be at the "Life's a Beach" sign in Little Haiti tomorrow at 6:00 and you get your job." Umberto said. "Can do." Claude said as he got up and walked out of the café.
Across Town…
"So what's the deal with this Vercetti guy?" Tobias Jones, a detective with the Miami police force, asked. "Vercetti's gonna be a tough nut to crack, but I can do it. He's planning a big job here in a couple of weeks." Tanner, an undercover cop and Tobias' partner, replied.
Tobias was a large black man in his thirties, he was wearing black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black jacket. His head was shaved bald and he had a goatee.
"So what's the big job anyway?" Tobias asked. "I don't know. Vercetti won't tell me yet. I just know he's gonna need a good driver." Tanner replied.
"Let me guess that would be you?" Tobias asked. "Yeah, I wowed the old man with a few tricks. You know the 360 over the river, stuff like that. Anyway this job's definitely a robbery of some sort, the only problem is that I don't know what we're robbing and when." Tanner replied.
"Well you got your mission brother." Tobias said. "You know it. Anyway I gotta get back to it." Tanner replied. "Alright see ya." Tobias said. Tanner got up and walked out.
Little Haiti, Vice City (The Next Morning)
Claude waited outside, he was getting tired of waiting for Robina. "Where is that fat fuck?" he thought to himself as he looked at his watch. It was six fifteen, Robina was supposed to have shown up at six.
A Hermes pulled up, it was black with flames on the sides. This car reminded Claude of the Diablo Stallions back in Liberty. This thought remained in his mind as his hand slipped into his jacket pocket and grabbed hold of the 9MM inside.
The window rolled down and a Cuban poked his head out. "Hey, your name Fido?" the man asked. Claude nodded. "Name's Pepe. I work for Robina. Get in." The man said.
Claude walked around the car and got in on the passenger side. His hand still remained on the pistol in his pocket, just in case this was a trap. The radio was playing loudly.
"Hey folks. This is Tommy "the Nightmare" Smith here with some more sounds of the 70's and 80's here on VROCK. Right now we got a little Guns N' Roses, and while we're on that subject, what was with Slash leaving the band in the first place. I mean if anybody should have left it should have been that pussy Axl Rose, I mean what a disgrace to the name of Rock N' Roll. Anyway here they are with 'Welcome to the Jungle'" came from the radio.
"Okay Fido, here's the deal. About fourteen years ago Tommy Vercetti killed Auntie Poulet, the leader of the Haitians. We had about ten years of peace until about four years ago." Pepe said.
"What changed?" Claude asked. "Some piece of shit named Lomaz. He worked for the Gator, a big drug dealer around here. But seeing as now the Gator's dead, well he went after some new work so he took up leadership in the Haitians. They been hitting us harder than ever lately." Pepe said.
"So what's the plan?" Claude asked. "We got a three part attack planned. First step is what we're doing now, tell those Haitian bastards we mean business. We're gonna do some drive bys." Pepe said.
Pepe handed Claude an Uzi. "Kill fifteen Haitians and I pay you." He said. Claude rolled down the window and pulled the lever back on the uzi.
Pepe turned the corner in the Hermes and was spotted by a group of Haitians. Claude popped out the window with the Uzi. He pulled the trigger and instantly nailed one between the eyes.
"One." He counted to himself. He sprayed across and three more fell to the ground. "Two, three, four."
Another group of Haitians came running from behind and a second came from in front. Claude pulled another Uzi from his pocket and fired in both directions. "Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."
Suddenly Claude felt a pair of arms grab him around the midsection. He was pulled from the car as it drove on. He looked up to see his attacker, it was a Haitian gangster.
The Hermes sped up and took off out of Little Haiti. Pepe was abandoning the mission since it was a failure.
The Haitian brought a fist down hitting Claude in the face. Claude hit back, more Haitians ran up and began kicking him. One of the gangsters pulled a pistol and shot him in the right shoulder.
Claude staggered to a sitting position. "What you be havin ta say fer yeself?" the gangster asked. "Fuck you." Claude replied. The last thing he saw was the business end of a baseball bat, and then darkness.
Pepe sped down the street. Fido was dead, he was sure of it. The Haitians had filled him full of holes. So much for this great assassin that Umberto had said he'd got, this guy was nothing.
Pepe made it back into Cuban territory he turned down the street and pulled in the alleyway behind Café Robina and parked the Hermes. He stepped out and walked in the back door of the café.
"Where's Fido?" Umberto asked. "Dead! The Haitians pulled him out of the car I drove away as quickly as I could." Pepe replied. "Did you see them kill him?" Umberto asked. "No." Pepe replied.
Location Undisclosed
Claude's eyelids fluttered open as he awoke. "Hello." A voice came. Before Claude stood a Haitian man in black dress pants, a red button up shirt, a black vest, and a black fedora.
"Who the hell are you?" Claude asked. "Call me Lomaz. You see you killed a lot of my men. We know that the Cubans hired you, but the question is… which Cuban and where are they at?" Lomaz asked.
"Go fuck yourself." Claude replied. He had no real problem ratting out someone like Robina but he wasn't about to give information to a piss ant like Lomaz. This Haitian was henchman material, not leader.
"Very well." Lomaz replied. A man in a heavy leather apron and a pair of jumper cables approached. "We'll just let Brother Voodoo here take care of you."
Lomaz and the other Haitians left the room and locked the iron door. It was just Claude and "Brother Voodoo" in the room. He had a monster sized headache and the gunshot wound on his shoulder hurt like hell.
Brother Voodoo placed the electrodes on Claude's shoulder blades. He jumped with the pain and struggled against the chair he was tied to as one thousand volts of electricity coursed through his veins.
Claude slumped down in his chair and didn't move. Brother Voodoo leaned down and poked him with the electrode, he didn't move. He leaned closer to see if he could hear his breathing.
Claude's eyes opened suddenly and he lunged forward sinking his teeth into Brother Voodoo's ear.
Brother Voodoo screamed loudly as blood ran down the side of his face and all over his shirt. Claude pulled away quickly severing most of the ear, he spit it on the floor and got to his feet still tied to the chair.
Claude slammed his back against the wall splintering the chair. He broke off the back of the chair and stood up, the bottom of the chair still tied to his legs and his hands still bound behind his back.
Brother Voodoo stood to open the door when Claude ran up and head butted him in the back. Voodoo hit the wall and fell to the floor.
Claude took notice of the fact that the back was broken off of the chair leaving to sharp wooden spikes where the back had been. He fell back wards and brought his feet down heavily on Voodoo.
Brother Voodoo screamed louder, the sound of puncture wounds was heard throughout the room. Blood began to run across the floor.
Brother Voodoo grunted in pain for a few moments and then was silent. Claude struggled at the ropes but he couldn't pull them loose. He looked behind him and noticed his leather jacket hanging from a hook in the corner.
Claude shuffled slowly across the floor, pulling the dead weight of Brother Voodoo with him. Finally he was just below the jacket. He got in a sitting position with Voodoo beneath him.
Claude grabbed the coat and held on. He could feel the leather stretch under his weight as he felt inside. He grabbed something and let go of the jacket.
As Claude slumped back to the floor he held up an old-time razor like some barbers used. He carefully flipped it open and began sawing on his ropes, after a few moments they came undone.
With his hands free, Claude took the razor and cut the ropes around his legs. He rolled off of Brother Voodoo and stood up. "Fucker." He said angrily as he put his jacket back on.
Claude broke off one of the chair legs and looked around. The door was heavy iron, chances are there were people outside it anyway. He looked upward and noticed a vent.
Claude punched the cover off the vent and pulled himself inside. He began crawling forward and looking for a way out of the building.
Five Minutes Later…
Lomaz opened the iron door. "Brother Voodoo has our captive finally started to…" he stopped suddenly as he noticed the body of Brother Voodoo laying in the corner with blood all around it.
Lomaz went closer to the body and noticed the chair sticking out of him. "Damn him. How did he get out of here?" he asked himself, that was when he noticed the vent cover laying on the floor.
"Damn it." Lomaz said. "Alert everyone!" he said. The Haitians that had come in with him ran out to tell everyone to be one guard for Claude.
Five Minutes Later…
Claude finally came on an empty room he dropped down and looked around. This room was an armory for sure. There were guns on every wall, there was also a bag of remote bombs.
Claude grabbed the bag as well as an M-16, an Uzi, and a 9MM off of the walls. He climbed back into the vent and began to move around.
Claude began dropping remote bombs in every room he came upon. Finally he looked down and noticed a garage type area, and there in the garage was a black Infernus. His black Infernus that had been stolen.
Claude jumped down and looked around. No one was in the immediate vicinity. He jumped in the car and started it up, suddenly the door to the garage burst open and Lomaz and several of his men ran out.
Claude gunned the engine, slowing down only to drop the bag of bombs right next to the gas tanks that were used to fill the cars. Lomaz got in a yellow Banshee with one of his men and four more piled into a Blista compact.
As Claude came out of the building he only then realized where he was. He was at the Vice City docks, he had been in an old warehouse.
When he was sure that he had reached minimum safe distance, Claude grabbed the remote detonator and hit the button.
The warehouse went up in a ball of flame as Claude sped away. The Banshee and Blista were hot on his tail, both cars were faster than his Infernus, but he was sure that he was a better driver.
The Blista came up next to him and began to ram the Infernus. The three passengers began to fire at the car.
Claude pulled away and turned the wheel back sharply ramming the Blista across the center margin and right into the path of a speeding fire truck.
Claude ground the gas pedal to the floor as the yellow Banshee got closer in his rearview mirror. Lomaz was hanging out the window with a M-4 firing at the Infernus.
Claude did the best he could to dodge the bullets of the powerful machine gun but it was a challenge. All of the sudden the Banshee just pulled off, suddenly Claude realized why.
The sound of sirens came and a squadron of police cars came up behind the Infernus. Claude could hear the sound of chopper blades whirring above him.
"Shit." Claude mumbled to himself as he did a cop slide around a corner and headed into the inner-city.
The squadron of cars followed Claude as he zoomed through Little Haiti past Kauffman Cabs. He sped into Little Havana and turned a corner when he spied an all too familiar green tint.
Apparently the cops in Vice City didn't fuck around because Claude was looking directly down the barrel of a Rhino tank. He hit the brakes as a loud crack rang out and the tank's muzzle gave a flash of light.
What happened next seemed to be in slow motion. Claude jumped out the passenger side window just as the tank shell hit the Infernus. The blast knocked him forward into an open dumpster.
The Next Day
Claude heard a low rumbling and he opened his eyes. He climbed out of the dumpster and hit the ground. He looked up to see a garbage truck backing up toward him.
Claude ran to the other end of the alley and looked around. He was still in Little Havana. Not two blocks from where the disaster had happened yesterday he say Café Robina.
Claude hobbled to the café and pushed the front door open. Umberto turned to the noise and opened his mouth in surprise. "Holy shit you're alive." He said.
Claude sat down in a booth. "If that's what you want to call it." He replied. "Do you know what you did?" Umberto asked. "Yeah got my ass kicked by the cops." Claude replied.
Umberto grabbed a paper, Claude read the headline to himself. "Over 800 Haitians Killed in Warehouse Explosion" he then read the rest of the article. Apparently this warehouse had been the main staging area for the Haitian gang's attack on the Cubans. That and this massacre was second only to the "Starfish Island Disaster" of '88.
"Man you got big Cajones. You got HUGE Cajones." Umberto said excitedly. "Are you coming on to me?" Claude asked. "Man you did all my work for me. Three big steps in one job. Your pay is in the back, talk to Pepe." He replied.
Vice City Police Department, Downtown, Vice City
"What do you make of this mess? You think it was Vercetti?" Tobias asked. "Nah. He may have done a lot of shit like this in his younger days but old age has taken a lot of the wind out of his sails. I think this was by someone else, besides they said it was a lone gunman with driving skills that rival mine." Tanner replied.
"Well this lone gunman's dead now." Tobias said. "You don't know that. They never found a body." Tanner replied. "Tanner man. His car was shot at point blank range by a Rhino. We had trouble finding the car, let alone the body of this guy." Tobias remarked.
"I just got a feeling that anyone this good to blow up and entire warehouse full of militant Haitians was crafty enough to fake his own death is all. Anyway I'd better get back to it. Vercetti said he'd have a job for me here pretty soon." Tanner said. "All right. Peace brother." Tobias replied.
The Greasy Chopper, Downtown, Vice City
Claude rode a PCJ-600 through Downtown Vice City and stopped at a seedy little bar by the bay called "The Greasy Chopper" he was told this was where he could find Mitch Baker.
As Claude walked in he could hear VROCK playing in the background, "Hey I'm Tommy 'The Nightmare' Smith. Now we got a kick ass little 80's hit here. This is by the man Billy Idol, it's a nice day for a 'White Wedding'. I can tell you about all twelve of my ex wives would disagree with that. This is VROCK."
Claude recognized Mitch as he stood in front of the pool table. He walked over to the biker.
"What the hell d'you want?" Mitch asked, not looking up from his game. "A job." Claude replied. "Why should I hire you?" Mitch asked. "Read the front page of the newspaper." Claude replied.
Mitch looked up from his game of pool. "You're the Vice Port Bomber?" he asked. "Yeah. Umberto Robina can vouch for me on that one." Claude replied. "I don't take greasy bastards like Robina as references." Mitch replied.
"Listen. Give me one job and I swear you won't be disappointed." Claude replied. "Fine. I been havin some trouble with the golfers. Bastards have been wrecking my boys' bikes. So I want you to go down to Leaf Links and smash every damn Caddy they got." Mitch replied.
"That it?" Claude asked. "Just one more thing. What's your name?" Mitch asked. "Just call me Fido." Claude replied as he walked out of the greasy chopper. "And don't take one of those pussy rice rockets like you rode in on there either, take a real American made bike." Mitch hollered after him.
Claude walked out of the bar and got on one of the Angel's parked by the door. He revved the engine and took off for Leaf Links.
Leaf Links Golf Club, Leaf Links, Vice City
Claude pulled into the driveway to Leaf Links and got off his bike. He walked up to the metal detector. "We have a dress code sir." One of the attendants said, Claude spied a pistol on his belt.
Claude got back on his bike and headed to the North Point Mall were he got all decked out with the dorkiest in golf apparel. Flannel pants, white gloves, a red and black striped sweater vest, and a white T-shirt.
Claude rode the Angel back to Leaf Links and went through the metal detector. Leaving all his weapons in the saddlebag on the bike.
Claude walked into the golf course and grabbed a nine iron out of one of the golf bags on the carts. He looked at the row of golf carts before him and at the piddly little club in his hand. This would take longer than he thought.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Came a scratchy voice from behind Claude. He turned to see Ray Machowski. "You're just like a god damn queer."
"Ray?" Claude asked. "Holy fuck! You can talk, I always thought you was one of them mute sons of bitches." Ray said. "I was now I'm not, long story. Anyway I gotta wreck all these carts, could you give me a hand?" Claude asked.
"Yeah hold on." Ray said. He walked up to the first golf cart and started it, he grabbed a roll of tape from his golf bag and taped the accelerator down. The cart took off and flew into the water.
"Good idea." Claude said. "Why do you have tape anyway?" "I got bad knees, need to tape em up sometimes." Ray replied. The two men set to work sending all the golf carts into the ocean.
It didn't take long before the golfers had their attention drawn by Ray and Claude and they were not happy. Fortunately thanks to the club's strict "no weapons" policy all the weapons they had on them were golf clubs.
Ray and Claude hopped in the last Caddy and ramped out into the street were they took off escaping those who were pursuing them. They went back to Claude's room at the hotel.
Ocean View Hotel, Ocean Beach, Vice City
"Kid I tell ya, I needed that. I was hopin I could come here and retire and leave my life peacefully, worrying only about what time I was gonna play golf." Ray said.
"So what went wrong?" Claude asked as he changed back into his normal clothes. "Nothing. That's the problem. I'm bored to fuckin tears out here." Ray replied.
"Well then I got good news. There's trouble in Liberty City and I need your help." Claude replied. "What the hell's wrong now? The Cartel come back?" Ray asked.
"No there's this super cop on my ass. Goes by the name of Max Payne." Claude said. Ray's eyes widened, "Oh… you're fucked kid." He replied.
"I take it that means you know him." Claude said. "That guy's a machine. You can shot a minigun at him till the barrel melts down at point blank and he won't take a god damned bullet." Ray said.
"Yeah don't I know it. I emptied an AK three times on him, dodged every fucking one." Claude said. "How am I supposed to help? You came all the way to Florida for me?" Ray asked.
"Well not just you. I came to get this Cartel named Calita and I'm working on getting Tommy Vercetti. That's why I'm doing jobs down here, to get street cred." Claude said.
"Hell I know the guy. You wanna meet him, let's head over to Starfish Island now." Ray said. "Let's go. I need to hurry as it is." Claude said.
Vercetti Mansion, Starfish Island, Vice City
Tommy sat with his feet on his desk. Tanner was sitting in the corner and Pepe was standing leaning against the wall as Ray walked in with a man in a black leather jacket and green cargo pants.
"I got us a fourth man for the job." Ray said as he walked in and sat down with the man. "What's your name kid?" Tommy asked.
Claude looked up, "My name ain't important, it's real unimportant, like I just got shot in the head unimportant." He said, paraphrasing Toni Cipriani.
"Well I gotta call ya something other than asshole." Tommy said. "Call me Fido." Claude replied. "All right Fido." Tommy said annunciating each syllable, "Why should I hire you?"
"Well let's see last year I… killed Chunkie Lee Chong, blew Mike Forelli to bits, killed Kenji Kassen, blew up a cargo ship, sent Salvatore Leone to an early grave, and single handedly stopped the Columbian Cartel from seizing control of Liberty City… oh yeah and I blew up my girlfriend's helicopter with a rocket launcher." Claude replied.
"So what? Do you know what they called me before the 'Coke Baron of Vice City'?" Tommy asked. "The Harwood Butcher, yeah I know my criminals. You wiped out a bunch of Mafioso's and suddenly you're famous. I killed the fucking don, I don't get shit." Claude said.
"If you want fame for a crime ya gotta get arrested. It ain't all it's cracked up to be, let me tell you. But I still ain't convinced." Tommy said. Claude stood up and grabbed a newspaper from his back pocket and laid it on the desk.
Tommy read the headline, "Why the hell you showing me this?" he asked. "Because I did that." Claude replied.
"Bullshit." Tommy said. "I did it. Pepe here can vouch for me." Claude replied. Tommy looked at Pepe, who nodded solemnly.
"All right you're in. Now sit the fuck down we need to discuss the plan." Tommy said, Claude took a seat next to Tanner who was staring at him. "What the fuck you lookin at?" he asked, Tanner looked away.
Tommy looked at the four men before him, "So here's the plan…
Vice City Police Department, Washington Beach, Vice City
"Basically we all have code names. I'm Wheelman, the new guy's Fido, Pepe is Gunner, Vercetti is Mr. Teal, Machowski is Crooked, and our contact who we meet after the robbery is named El Nino." Tanner said.
"Who's El Nino?" Tobias asked. "No clue, Vercetti wouldn't say. What's great though is we get this thing busted, we got the coke baron of vice city, the little terrorist that blew up the Haitian warehouse, Liberty City's most crooked cop, a concierge for the Cuban gang, and god knows what else with this contact." Tanner said.
"I'm still not sure about this. Tell me the rest of the plan." Tobias said. "Okay I drive everyone to the bank. We're all wearing coveralls and hockey masks, everybody is armed with a shotgun and a .45. I pull behind the bank and everyone gets out, they go in, do the job, we meet back at that junkyard that Cassidy used to live in an hour later." Tanner said.
"Alright. I'll be there waiting for you to do your thing there." Tobias said. "Good deal. We make our move tomorrow at noon." Tanner said as he walked out and headed back to work.
Vercetti Mansion, Starfish Island, Vice City
"Okay, everybody got the plan straight?" Tommy asked. Everyone nodded, "Alright. Get going, I'll meet you at the spot." He said as he went outside.
"Alright ramblers. Let's get rambling." Ray said as he stood up followed by Tanner, then Claude, then Pepe. They went out to a yellow taxi cab and climbed in.
Tanner drove to the bank, everyone was suited up as they rode towards the bank. "So everybody got the plan down?" Ray asked. "Damn straight." Claude said, pulling the action back on his .45.
Tanner pulled the car in front of the bank. "Alright. Let's do this thing." Ray said and the three men stepped out of the car, Tanner stayed in with the engine running.
Tanner watched as Claude, Ray, and Pepe walked up the stairs, they were soon joined by a woman wearing the same clothes. The doors of the bank were kicked open and they walked in.
Claude Speed
Claude, Ray, Pepe, and the woman who had joined them kicked the door to the bank open. Ray did all the talking.
"All right mother fuckers, nobody moves or they get their fucking heads blown off." Ray yelled loudly, everyone stood still.
"Now, everyone get out here in the middle of the floor. I hear an alarm I swear to god I will kill you." Ray yelled, everyone followed.
"Fido, Gunner, you guys take this bag. Go upstairs and get the vault open. El Nino you watch these people, any of em makes a move, waste em. I'm going for safety deposit boxes." Ray said.
Claude went upstairs with Pepe, they went to the vault. "Shit man. This thing's got a pass code. We need someone who knows it. Get the bank president."
Claude nodded and headed off into the halls to find the bank president. His search didn't take long since the bank was relatively small.
Claude walked in to the president's office. Ironically enough this bank president was also the president of the bank that Tommy had robbed years ago.
"We need the pass code." Claude said. "Dear god not again!" the president yelled, Claude put a bullet in his foot. The president let out a scream of pain.
"Let's go." Claude said, the president slowly got up and limped ahead. Claude followed close behind.
Claude led the bank president into the vault room where Pepe was waiting. "Put in your pass code." Pepe said.
The president walked forward and punched a few buttons on the keypad. The vault door opened and Pepe took a step forward, just as he did the bank president pulled out a .38 handgun and fired a shot into Pepe's stomach.
"You bastard!" Claude said as he pulled his shotgun off his back and splattered the bank president's head across the wall behind him.
Pepe sat down in the corner, blood was running across the floor. "Holy shit man. Holy shit!" Pepe screamed.
"Pepe calm down." Claude said. "Holy shit man! He fucking shot me!" Pepe said, his breathing was rapidly increasing.
"Pepe calm down!" Claude said, "I never been shot before man… never… I'm gonna die… Holy shit I'm gonna die!" Pepe said.
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die." Pepe said over and over again. Claude took the handle of his pistol and smacked him across the face. "Calm the fuck down god damn it!" Claude yelled.
Claude ran to the railing that looked down on the bank floor. "El Nino! Gunner's been shot!" he yelled. At that moment a daring woman lunged for the alarm button and hit it.
The alarm gave a loud scream that rang out. "Stupid bitch!" El Nino yelled as she shot the woman at point blank with her shotgun. "We gotta get the fuck outta here!" she yelled.
"What the fuck is going on out here?" Ray asked as he ran from out of a hallway. "We gotta get the fuck out of here!" El Nino replied.
About that time tear gas canisters flew through the windows filling the room with smoke. Helicopters were heard on approach as SWAT member's broke through the skylights and repelled to the floor.
Claude picked Pepe up holding him around the waist, Pepe grabbed around his shoulder and the two men made their way out.
SWATs were coming up the stairs quickly, Claude fired four shits managing to kill two SWATs and kneecap a third. More come up the stairs to replace their fallen comrades.
"Shit! We gotta find another way out of here." Claude said as he and Pepe hobbled down the hall away from the approaching SWATs.
Claude ran into the bank president's office and shut the big heavy door, he locked it and placed a chair under the door knob. He looked up at the big window behind the president's desk.
"Pepe we gotta jump." Claude said. "No man. I'm not up for that, we can't jump." Pepe replied. "Well I'm not up for going to jail either. So I've weighed the choices and this looks like the better one to me." Claude replied as he picked Pepe up in his arms and made a run for the window.
Claude crashed through the window with Pepe in his arms, as he did his pistol flew from his pocket, he had had to leave his shotgun in the vault to carry Pepe.
Both men crashed through the top of a soft top car and landed in the back seat. Claude looked around at the leopard skin seats, the lights around all of the windows, and then at the guns pointed directly at his face.
A Haitian reached forward and removed Claude's and Pepe's masks. "Well look who we have here. So glad you decided to drop in, we got some catching up to do." Lomaz said as he turned his car around. A Haitian pistol whipped Claude on the top of the head and his world went black.
Claude woke up with water splashing in his face. "Good morning you stinking piles of shit." Lomaz said, smiling evilly, his gold tooth shimmering in the light.
"Listen you piece of shit. I don't know what your name is but you've cause me more trouble. So I'm gonna kill you, but I'm gonna do it slow. Oh and we used chain this time so you won't be cutting out of your restraints." Lomaz said.
A Haitian walked forward with an acetylene torch. "Now to business. I want to know what Cuban piece of shit put you up to killing my men." Lomaz said. "I'll tell you." Pepe said.
Lomaz bent down in Pepe's face, "Tell me." He said. Pepe spit in Lomaz's face, blood and saliva was splattered all over his neck and shirt.
Lomaz pulled out a .45 and shot Pepe in the head. Pepe's head jerked back then slumped forward.
"Now for you." Lomaz said, he pointed to the Haitian with the torch. The Haitian lit the torch and turned it to the perfect setting. "Now, who hired you?" Lomaz asked. "Fuck you." Claude replied.
Lomaz signaled the Haitian with the torch, he brought the torch closer. Claude leaned back in his chair, kicking the torch out of the Haitian's hands, the Haitian fell backwards onto Lomaz. The torch landed on top of the chains binding Claude's legs.
Claude grabbed the torch with his legs and cut the chain loose. He pulled himself free and stood up. The Haitian was the first one up, he pulled out a .45 pistol, Claude took the torch and put it in the Haitian's face.
The Haitian screamed in pain as the torch melted his face off, his eyeballs melted right out of his head, he fell to the ground screaming in pain. Claude pointed his gun down at Lomaz.
Another Haitian snuck up behind Claude and pulled the gun out of his hand. Claude grabbed a length of the log chain he has been tied up in and wrapped it around one of his hands then punched the Haitian in the face, he then took the chain and wrapped it around the Haitian's neck and choked him to death.
Lomaz stood up and fired off five shots, Claude lifted the Haitian up in front of him as a body shield and he took all five.
Claude took the chain and used it like a whip knocking the gun out of Lomaz's hand. "You want to kill me, you're gonna have to do it yourself." Claude said.
Lomaz picked up the chair and hit Claude across the face with it. Claude staggered backwards and then took his chain and swung it, wrapping it around Lomaz's legs.
Claude pulled on the chain and Lomaz was pulled off his feet. Claude bent down and began punching Lomaz in the face.
Lomaz pulled a switch blade knife out and slashed at Claude, cutting his arm slightly before he took a length of chain and wrapped it around Lomaz's hand, making him drop the knife.
Both men rose to their feet, their hands around the other's neck. Claude leaned back and head butted Lomaz in the nose, he staggered backwards as blood ran all over his shirt.
Lomaz tripped and fell into a rack of tanks, knocking them over. Claude picked Lomaz's gun, Lomaz looked up. "You'd have to be a damn good shot to hit me from there with only one shot left." Lomaz said.
Claude smiled, "Judging by the nest of shit you just landed in I won't even have to aim." He said. That was when Lomaz took notice of the green tanks surrounding him, he looked at what was written on them in giant yellow letters, "Warning! Acetylene"
"Oh shit." Lomaz said as a gunshot rang through the air. Claude was running as fast as he could as the bullet pierced the first tank causing a large explosion, this explosion ignited the surrounding tanks causing a humongous shockwave.
Claude was rocketed out of the old abandoned dock station he was in as it was engulfed in a ball of flame. He hit the ground hard and quickly got to his feet as sirens approached in the distance.
"Whoa, talk about déjà vu." Claude said as jumped into Lomaz's Voodoo and flew down the street taking a detour through the airport to avoid the cops.
Ray Machowski
Claude, Ray, Pepe, and the woman who had joined them kicked the door to the bank open. Ray did all the talking.
"All right mother fuckers, nobody moves or they get their fucking heads blown off." Ray yelled loudly, everyone stood still.
"Now, everyone get out here in the middle of the floor. I hear an alarm I swear to god I will kill you." Ray yelled, everyone followed.
"Fido, Gunner, you guys take this bag. Go upstairs and get the vault open. El Nino you watch these people, any of em makes a move, waste em. I'm going for safety deposit boxes." Ray said.
Ray ran down the hall towards the safety deposit boxes. A bullet whizzed past his face, he turned and fired, taking down a security guard.
Ray opened the door to the deposit boxes and walked in. He sat a briefcase down on the table in the center of the room and pulled a lock pick out of his pocket. He began to unlock the drawers.
The first drawer contained some deeds and about one-hundred and fifty dollars in cash. He moved on to the next.
The second drawer contained a bunch of trinkets, watches, rings. Might bring a thousand dollars at a pawn shop. "Nah." Ray said as he pushed the drawer shut.
Ray opened the third drawer and his eyes lit up when he saw the contents. This drawer was filled to the brim, with jewels. Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, every type of stone you could imagine.
"Jackpot." Ray said as he took the drawer and emptied it into the suitcase. He shut the top and flipped down the little clips on the front.
It was about this time that the alarm rang out through the entire building. "Those fuckin screw-ups!" Ray yelled as he ran down the hall.
"What the fuck is going on out here?" Ray asked as he ran from out of a hallway. "We gotta get the fuck out of here!" El Nino replied.
About that time tear gas canisters flew through the windows filling the room with smoke. Helicopters were heard on approach as SWAT member's broke through the skylights and repelled to the floor.
Ray turned and ran back the way he came. The SWATs were hot on his tail, he turned a corner and ran into a room. It was an office, the kind of place where bank employees talk about giving out loans and such.
Ray spotted a bathroom, he ran in and shut the door. He opened the small window and climbed out as quickly as he could.
Ray fell head over heels and landed on his but in the alley behind the bank. He heard the sound of breaking glass and looked up to see Claude and Pepe fly through the second story window and land in a passing car.
He ran as fast as he could across the street into another alley and went around another corner. He could hear the police running behind him, he jumped behind a dumpster and hastily removed his coveralls and mask and threw them away.
As the police rounded the corner they found Ray sitting on the ground wearing a gray suit. "The son of a bitch pushed me down. He went that way." Ray said, pointing to his right. The police continued on in the direction he had pointed.
Ray dug the suitcase out of the dumpster. "Hah hah, suckers." He said as walked out of the alleyway and towards a parked car sitting by the side of the road.
Ray tried the door, it opened. "Heh, what kind of dumb fuck leaves their doors open in this city." He said as he climbed in, then laughed again, "and leaves the keys in the ignition." He said as he turned the car on.
Ray backed the Blista Compact out of the parking space and took off down the road. The radio came on and the voice of Tommy Smith came on.
"Hey folks this is Tommy "The Nightmare" Smith here playing more hits of the 70's and 80's. You know a famous band once said, "It's Just Rock N' Roll, But I like it." I think it was Night Ranger. Anyway here's some more Rock N' Roll with Foreigner, Juke Box Hero."
"Fucking burnout radio DJ." Ray said as he turned the radio off. He headed for the rendezvous point.
Tanner
Claude, Ray, Pepe, and the woman who had joined them kicked the door to the bank open. Tanner leaned back in his seat and lit a cigarette.
Tanner looked up on the roof of the bank to see the SWAT team members get in position. He didn't think they ought to be there, they didn't know what these guys were capable of but the chief had sent them nonetheless.
Tanner leaned forward and turned on the radio. "If you just woke up in a trailer next to a fat hog. You're livin' the life of VROCK. Yeah baby!" the station name came on.
"Hello all you listeners out there. This is Tommy 'The Nightmare' Smith, you know, we're all travelers going down a road of life. And I for one am just like Whitesnake in this next song, 'Here I Go Again'"
Tanner toked his cigarette and bobbed his head to the rhythms of Whitesnake. Everything was going exactly as planned and soon he would deliver these four, and hopefully Vercetti into the hands of the Vice City Police Department.
Suddenly an alarm rang out from inside the bank and the SWAT team made their move. Tanner started the engine of the car and waited, soon the woman called "El Nino" came running out of the bank.
Cop cars were coming from all directions. El Nino blasted a beat cop in the face with her shotgun then clubbed a second in the head with the butt.
Tanner drove the car over by her, she opened the back door and climbed in. "Drive damn it!" she said. "What about the others?" Tanner asked. "No time! Fucking drive!" she replied.
Tanner floored the accelerator, as he drove by he say Claude and Pepe out of the corner of his eye as they jumped from the second story window and went through the top of a Voodoo.
"We gotta lose the cops." El Nino said, she grabbed her pistol and loaded a shell into the chamber. "There won't be any need for that. I can lose em." Tanner replied.
Tanner turned a corner and did a cop slide, the car did a full on 180 degree turn and Tanner drove forward into a garage, he jumped out and closed the door.
Tanner heard the cop cars speed by outside. "Nice move Wheelman." El Nino said. "Have ya got a smoke?" she asked, Tanner dug in his pocket and handed her a cigarette, she took off her mask and lit it.
Tanner froze in terror, it was Calita. "C'mon I'm a social smoker, don't you want one too?" she asked. "Nah, I'm good for now. We need to get going to Phil's Place, get this over with as quick as possible. I stashed another car in here." Tanner replied getting into a Patriot.
Tanner started the engine and backed out of the garage. "We ain't going to Phil's." Calita said. "What do you mean?" Tanner asked. "Vercetti changed the rendezvous point, didn't he tell you? We're going to the old abandoned movie studio on Prawn Island." She replied.
Tanner groaned inwardly, Tobias was waiting at Phil's Place for nothing. He put the Patriot in drive and headed to Prawn Island.
Tanner pulled into the old movie studio and the gates closed behind him. He noticed a Blista Compact and a Voodoo with the roof caved in sitting next to Vercetti's Infernus.
Tanner parked and walked into the large airplane hangar looking building. Tommy was waiting there, as was Claude, and Ray. There was a man tied to a chair who Tanner didn't recognize.
"Where's Pepe?" Tanner asked. "Fuckin Haitian's killed him. Prick named Lomaz, he's pretty much liquidated by now." Claude replied.
"Lomaz? Shit he worked for me. Man I'm gonna miss that guy." Calita said. "Yeah he seemed like a henchman to me." Claude replied.
"Will everybody shut up!" Tommy said, everyone got silent. "Someone alerted the cops to us, someone sent one to our original meeting place."
Tanner's eyes widened at the realization of what was going on. "Someone alerted Detective Tobias Jones to Phil's Place to wait for us. So what we have here gentlemen and lady is a case of mutiny. Now one of you assholes other than Ray is a cop." Tommy said.
Tobias looked directly at Claude, "Man they were ahead of us every step of the way." He said. "Oh, so it's you Fido. No wonder you wouldn't tell me your name." Calita said.
"Okay I told you who he was now let me go." Tobias said. Tanner had to admire his intelligence in this situation. "Shut the fuck up." Tommy said and fired a shit into Tobias' head.
Tanner groaned inwardly again as his partner's head slumped down. His most loyal partner and best friend was dead. "Stop!" Calita yelled, Tommy turned around.
"What?" Tommy asked. "Fido isn't the cop." She said pointing a gun at Tanner's head and pulling the hammer back. "Isn't that right Tanner?" she asked.
Calita pulled off Tanner's mask. "You didn't think I'd figure it out. The SWAT team knowing when we'd be at the bank, you not wanting to hurt any cops, the fact that you wouldn't take off your mask. I read you like a book." She said.
Tommy, Claude, and Ray all raised their guns. "Bye-bye narc." Tommy said. Suddenly the whirring of helicopter blades was heard followed by sirens. "I put a locater on the Patriot, led em right to ya." Tanner said.
All four criminals opened fire. Tanner jumped out of the way and into the Patriot he had drove in. They fired at it as he drove away but their bullets only bounced off the side, he crashed through the gate and took off.
The police arrived at the scene in time to see a plane taking off. They began firing at it, the helicopters swooping overhead emptied several rounds into the plane before it crashed near Leaf Links.
The cops took off to Leaf Links to see if they could find any survivors. Some stayed behind to search the movie theatre.
Meanwhile: On the edge of Prawn Island in a red Idaho sat Claude, Ray, Calita, and Tommy. "Man I can't believe they fell for that." Claude said. "Vice City cops ain't the brightest in the world." Tommy replied.
As Claude drove through Vice City Tommy began to speak. "I can't believe it. I'm screwed, if I go home that bastard Tanner is gonna get me. My entire empire is bust, and on top of all that the bank robbery was a fucking bust."
"Not entirely." Ray said as he grabbed his briefcase and opened it up showing Tommy the contents. "Okay, that's good news. That's enough to build a new empire, but where?" Tommy asked.
"That's what I came here to talk to all three of you about." Claude said. "All hell has broke loose in Liberty City. The Mafia and Yakuza are trying to keep control of the situation but they can't hold onto it for long with all the gangs against em. Not to mention this Max Payne bastard. I need your help" Claude said.
"You know I'm with ya kid." Ray said. "It's not like I have another choice." Calita said. "Fuck, I got nothing better to do. Plus it's been a long time since I last saw old Liberty." Tommy said as Claude pulled onto the freeway.
In the next chapter you will see the events leading up to Claude coming to Vice City as well as those after he has returned. We're talking a full blown gang war consuming all three islands and the triumphant return of "The Harwood Butcher" Don't miss Chapter 7. Coming as soon as I write it.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it has made you see that this story is just building up to something big. We haven't heard the last of Tanner, could there be a team-up with he and Max Payne in the future? You'll just have to find out, keep reading and reviewing! -MasklessDuckman.