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Chapter 13: Need For Speed

Tommy's P.O.V.

Over the course of the week (A/N: I'm a lazy bitch...), I realized more and more about the kid. Not only did she have a unique sense of humor but she was also very creative and smart. She thought of a lot of ways for my assets to make even more money and even coordinated the TV commercials for Sunshine Autos and Kaufman Cabs which air many times a day.

Moda's also a fast learner. In three and a half days, she had not only honed her driving skills to almost rival those of my own (key word: almost), but she also got the hang of other critical skills you need to learn in Vice City such as how to use different firearms, the maintenence of drugs (of course when she delt with drugs, I was ALWAYS supervising her), shortcuts to evade the police, gang territories, and how running over Haitains can ease a troubled soul.

However, the only thing she refused to do was kill without reason, like me. So she wouldn't run over anyone unless they were running from a cop, shooting at us, or trying to steal the car. I also taught her how to ride a bike which was very enjoyable to me as a "father" if you get the cliche'.

Yeah, Tommy Vercetti was more than proud, he was estatic. But I figured that she needed her own personal bodyguard seeing as how things were starting to get a little :tense: around here with rival gangs, Ferrari's bullshit, and an assortment of other assholes who want my head on a silver platter, so all of this would keep me rather busy and I couldn't keep my eye on her all the time.

So today, when I was going to present her with a...present, one that she would really love and use, I was also going to introduce her to a very distant...uh...relative of mine.

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Moda's P.O.V.

I was in my room, laying on my plush queen-sized bed (A/N: if I remember, she did have a queen sized bed), reading a Seventeen magazine and listening to my walkman at full volume, I heard some distant yelling.

"Moda!" I paused, but brushed off this voice as a figment of my imagination and continued my reading. Seconds later I heard a really loud explosion which meant one of two things...

A police helicopter had followed Tommy to the house, only to be blown up, or Tommy had used a rocket launcher to summon me like he always does when I have my headphones on so loud that I can't hear him. I sighed, turned off my walkman and exited my room but on the way out, I was distracted by the mirror.

I checked myself in it. I had on a plain, close-fitting, bright-orange, spaghetti-strap tank and some baggy-leg jeans that hung loosely on my hips showing a bit of my lower-tummy. I had on a belt and a pair of high-top Chuck Taylor Converses to match the orange of the shirt. My hair was down and kinda messy so I just combed my fingers through it. I did a few poses in the mirror for fun.

'KA-BOOOOOM!' said Tommy's rocket launcher again so I sprinted down the stairs and out the front door.

Outside in front of the garage stood Mr. Vercetti in a plain white tshirt, under some baggy, demin overalls. He was also wearing a baseball cap. He was standing in front of an object which was obviously a car that had a gray sheet on it.

"Yeah?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the brightJune sunshine. Tommy stared at me.

"Are you planning to block off an intersection today? Ya look like a traffic cone, kid." he commented. I stood with my arms folded, my hip popped out and with a 'whatever' look on my face.

"Are you planning to fix some pipes? You look like a plumber, minus the exposed asscrack..." I said. He chuckled at my sarcasm. .

"You're getting better, kid! But anyway, I've been thinking and I figured since I'm gonna be 'at work' all the time that I should provide a few somethin's for ya." He yanked the sheet over the car. "Ta-da." he said. My eyes lit up like the night sky on Independence Day. In front of me sat the most beautiful car I had ever seen.

"A Comet!" I squealed, bouncing up and down.

It was a soft but bright baby blue color, had ivory leather seats, a royal blue steering-wheel cover and on the hood was a huge, cursive 'M' monogram made from shiny rhinestones. Tears came to my eyes.

"Yep, my buddy at the Sunshine Spray 'N' Go really outdid himself." Tommy said kneeling down. "Thick, bullet-proof tires, durable windows, he even got the convertible roof goin'. Not a lot of Comets can do that, y'know. I figured you'd like the light blue and rhinestone thing and the leather seats." he reached into his pocket and tossed me the keys. The key was solid gold and had a Florida keychain on it. I ran up to Mr. Vercetti and threw my arms around his neck. I hugged him tight and planted a huge kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you so much, Tommy!" I said, squeezing harder.

"You're...welcome...kid." He strained, I relased him from my grip. "Just make sure you take care of it, this shit ain't gonna be cheap to fix!" he said.

I hopped into the driver's seat without opening the door and turned the steering wheel.

"How did you know? I always wanted a Comet!" I said.

"Actually...I didn't know. See, I was studying the way you drive. I analyzed that you needed a car that was fast, but not too fast, sleek, stylish, and somewhat compact so you can squeeze into tight spaces in traffic, versatile, and stable it wouldn't tip over so easily. Hence, a Comet." He explained. I put the keys into the ignition, starting the car.

"Wait, kid! Don't you wanna see what your other present is?" he said. I turned off the car and hopped out.

"Okay, sure!" I said. Vercetti put his thumb and index finger together in his mouth and whistled. I looked around.

"Another thing ya gotta know is that every being with even the smallest bit of signifigance in Vice City needs their very own, personal bodyguard...Except me." he smirked. His smile fell and he looked around also. "Where is he...Come on out you little bastard!" he shouted.

Emerging from the other side of the huge stoop in front of the house was a boy who looked to be about my age if not older. He was wearing a heavy, black, leather jacket and baggy, olive-green cargo pants. He also had on some skater-boy, BMX-like tennis shoes which looked to be too big for his feet. He had dark brown, spiky hair, almost as dark as Mr. Vercetti's, long sideburns, a wide forehead, big, light brown eyes, a cute button nose, a thick set of lips and smooth-looking vanilla skin. He was cute. Real cute. But he was short. He was almost two inches shorter than me.

"This is Speed...Claude Speed." Vercetti said. "He's my...uh...my nephew."

End Chapter

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I know what you're thinking! But I wasn't sure if GTA3 took place in the 70s or the early 2000s (I don't watch the intros) so I went with the early 2000s. I'm guessing Claude was in his mid-twenties so he was in his early twenties in the early 90s during San Andreas, right? I'm not sure because I have yet to play it but that would make him a teenager in the mid 80s, right? Okay.

As far as him being Vercetti's "distant nephew", just leave that, his future adventures, and Vercetti's family tree to your imagination. This is just for the sake of this fan fiction, okay? I figured I had to put Claude in the story sooner or later. Just to mix things up.

In case you didn't already guess, the Comet is my favorite GTA vehicle next to the Sanchez dirtbike. I mean, I always thought it was cute. I filled my Sunshine Auto and Hyman Condo garages with Comets. I especially like the white, red and baby blue ones. Thanks everyone especially "no1need2no!" thank you so much for your support!