IT SEEMED LIKE they were back to their old selves again. He was on the ground floor and she was on the top. With each day that passed, Claude was running out of patience; he wanted to climb up the stairs and force her to talk to him, but he knew that it would just make things worse. Whenever she would go down to use the restroom or get something from the fridge, he was always struggling to keep himself seated on the couch. He could do nothing but look at her, at least, so he knew she was still there. He feared that one day, when he woke up, Reena would be gone, and simply thinking about it had driven him completely nuts.
When Asuka told him that Kenji was once again asking for him, he had already thought of refusing. He fumed over the thought of the Waka-gashira insulting and pushing him to his limits. If not for Reena, and if not for his deal with Asuka, he wouldn't be staying here.
The other night, he had thought of taking her away, bringing her to a place she didn't know so she couldn't go or leave him, but he didn't want to prove that Kenji was right… that he had no honor.
He was preparing himself for another harrowing trip to the casino, and as he put on his jacket, he heard Reena's heavy footsteps on the loft. He looked in her direction, and in an instant, she sprinted down the stairs holding her hand over her mouth. She almost stumbled as she scurried straight to the restroom, gagging and throwing up.
Worriedly, Claude ran toward her, finding her kneeling in front of the toilet while she retched. Her scruffy hair was all over her face, and while she prepared for another puking, he pulled her hair together and cumbersomely touched her back. In the past few days, he often saw her looking sick, most especially in the morning whenever he would peek at her in the loft, though he never asked, fearing that she would just decline him. This time, however, he couldn't keep the worry to himself.
"I'll stay. You're sick…"
Reena tried to shove him, but she vomited again, her hands quivering as she poured her guts out. Shaking her head weakly, she held on to the seat and said, "Just go." She kept her head over the toilet as if another purge was imminent. All of a sudden, her chest heaved once again, and for a grueling indefinite period, she seemed to have drained all the content of her stomach down the toilet. Swallowing, even her breathing, felt and looked so strained.
It was heartbreaking to see her that way, yet, Claude couldn't help but be filled with suspicion. He found himself staring at her, his thoughts running wild, and seeing the signs of what could be happening to her gave him a multitude of emotions. His eyes trained on her body, down her hips and belly, trying to see if there were some changes… some things to take note of.
Two months since they got together. Could it be–
"I said, go!" She broke from his grasp and ran to a chair, catching her breath and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She was shivering, and exhaustion combined with whatever could be happening to her had put shades beneath her eyes.
Leaning forward and leveling his head, he tried to have a glimpse of her face. "Hey…" Claude attempted to touch her cheeks, but Reena lightly slapped his hand away. He reached for the second time, but she struck harder and blatantly refused.
"Stop, please…"
"What's wrong?"
She curled her lip beneath her teeth and put her hand on her head. "Everything's wrong…" she whispered with her eyes closed, seemingly avoiding looking him in the eyes.
He didn't want to go, and even if it meant that he would just stand in front of her the whole day or forever, he would. She was refusing, and he knew that something was up. Something big. And if ever his hunch were true, they couldn't stay here.
Tonight, they would be leaving this shithole for good.
"I'll be back soon," he said, standing and taking off his jacket to swathe it around her shoulders. Before leaving the suite, he stooped down and kissed the top of her head, even though she attempted to dodge him unsuccessfully…
0-0-0-0-0
The casino's ambiance was extremely unusual. When he entered the building, none of the Yakuzas he passed by looked at him with disgust or ridicule. Asuka Kasen walked beside him, her head up high as she strolled the corridors, receiving greetings and ojigis from the Yakuza members. Claude observed her bravado in every step she made until they reached the doors of Kenji's office, in which her attitude had greatly diminished.
There was a Japanese lady in a kimono pouring a cup of warm tea from a porcelain pot beside Kenji. The Waka-gashira was surprisingly in a good mood, smiling at him as he and Asuka entered his office. As soon as the servant left, Kenji stood from his chair and walked around the desk, greeting Claude with words of wisdom.
"To be truly strong, it is important that you never show weakness."
It was uncanny, at least for Claude. Maybe because he was pleased with him last time so he mellowed down a bit? It didn't make sense. It was not until that time that Claude realized he would rather see his distorted face than with an ostentatious beam. Besides, he didn't have time for dissembling graces, not for a person like Kenji Kasen.
"Colombians, those condescending South Americans," Kenji grumbled as he touched his beard, "they have ignored our repeated request to leave Liberty City to us. Now they are negotiating terms with the Yardies to humiliate us further."
A long time had passed since he heard of the group.
The Yardies, Claude recalled, was a Jamaican gang led by a man named King Courtney in Hepburn Heights. Before his imprisonment, Claude had once worked for the Yardies by stealing cars from other groups so that King Courtney and his gang could break into their enemies' territories without getting caught easily. As far as he knew, they were more independent, isolating themselves from the rest of the organizations in Liberty City, and they hated the Diablos to death. He didn't know that they were now working with the Cartel.
"They're finalizing a deal across town. Pay your respects to the Colombians…" Kenji went up to him and looked him in the eyes. "Our honor demands that you leave no one alive."
Asuka just stood behind her brother, staring up at him briefly. "There's a Yardie Lobo in the garage downstairs. Use the car to get to their meeting place." She drew something from the pouches of her suit that rattled and tossed it toward Claude. The keys jiggled in his hand as he clasped the objects in midair. "The explosives and weapons are in the car."
Claude didn't want to do it anymore. Kenji was right – the Cartel was contemptuous, but there was nothing he wanted to do more than to get away with Reena. Yet, now that they were back in Liberty City again, they were forced to face their troubled pasts and deal with them to finally put them to rest. He was worried to death for her; he was expecting rather than afraid, and he wanted to know if his suspicion was right. He wished it were.
He stepped back, and putting his arms on his side, Claude stooped down slowly, more relaxed this time, before turning around and leaving the Casino as quickly as possible.
0-0-0-0-0
In the Yardie Lobo, Claude drove slowly toward the desolated underpass that separated Newport and Rockford, at the edge of the Aspatria Bedford Point Expressway. His eyes scoured the sight ahead, catching the glimpse of the vast Liberty Strait along the highway. The road, although in the middle of the day, was a bit deserted save for the few six to ten-wheeler trucks that passed by, heading either to the port in Torrington or Shoreside Vale Lift Bridge.
Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he fumbled to the compartment below the controls and found a grenade and a revolver. He grabbed the weapons and put them on the dashboard, obliviously reaching out to the passenger seat as if he was going to touch someone. When he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand back and grasped the steering wheel with palpable disappointment. He had been so used to having Reena beside him in the car, touching her thigh while he drove wherever.
They would do it again, they could have it again. He just needed to finish the job, that was all. In the BP Patriot, they would drive away from Liberty City, away from all the things they wanted to run away from. Just as planned.
It didn't take him that long to reach the place while overwhelmed by his musings. He slowed down under the foundations of the skyway, and he found two Cartel Cruisers and about six Colombians waiting at the rendezvous. Claude parked the Yardie Lobo on the dirt ground across from the Cruisers and blared the horn, keeping the tinted windows up. Clueless of his presence in the car, the Colombians approached him unsuspectedly carrying two briefcases of what must be Spank.
"Amigo," one of the Colombians called out. "Aren't you getting down to pick these up, eh?" They walked closer toward the Lobo and put down the briefcases on the spot where Claude anticipated they must be in. The Colombians slowly stepped backward, moving away from the merchandise.
Claude opened the door slightly. He grabbed the explosive that was in the car's dashboard, pulling its pin and holding the lever in a tight grasp. A nervous air flared from his nose, and in a blink of an eye, he tossed the grenade toward them, clutching the gear and reversing the car as quickly as he could. Unable to react immediately, the grenade blew into a massive explosion throwing the Colombians in different directions. Shrapnels of the device burst in the air along with the shrieking of the men, the impact causing the windshield of the Lobo to crack. Luckily, Claude was able to get himself away as far as possible before he was assaulted by the same explosion he caused.
As the injured groaned and splayed on the earth, Claude got out of the car and claimed the briefcases containing packs of Spank that would be sold by the Yardies in Staunton Island. Amid the fog caused by the blast of fire and dust, he then rode back in the Lobo, leaving the ruckus and driving away from the area. Some of them might still be alive, but he didn't bother to make sure that they were all dead even though it was Kenji's instructions. All he needed was to bring him the Spank, that was all. He was determined that this was the very last thing he would be doing for the Yakuzas, and he and Reena would be leaving that night.
The car zoomed on the highway, swerving left to right in a hurry and avoiding the trucks and other vehicles that were ahead of it. Claude looked straight into the road, shuffling through the constellations of his thoughts and questions he ought to answer. Where would they go? How would they leave? Should he tell 8-Ball, or Asuka, or just go without saying goodbye, leaving behind his promise to help her look for Maria? Would Reena come with him?
Preoccupied with the multitude of questions, Claude was caught off guard by a spiked roadblock that was thrown on the road. Steering away quite too late, the Lobo's wheels got jagged, flipping over and rolling on the highway for a few meters. The roof of the car scratched on the rough surface, leaving skid marks on the pavement. The car upended on the middle of the road with Claude hanging upside down, the nearly-snapping seatbelt held his body onto the seat.
Disoriented, he felt blood oozing from his head, which was gradually followed by panic – he could not feel his legs. While he tried to collect himself, he caught a glimpse of men wearing ex-army pants approaching him.
Though hazy, while his eyes blurred behind the blood flow and his head ached in bleakness, he saw a man with long dreadlocks reaching inside the car and taking the briefcases of Spank. He had tried to raise his hands but could barely move them. Light-headedness overwhelmed him, his visions went fuzzy, and as he spiraled down to the void, the only image that remained clear in his mind was of Reena's...
KENJI WAS SIPPING tea from his cup across from Asuka on the table when a Yakuza came in. Much to his delight and exhilaration, the Colombians were found dead, apparently caused by a huge explosion triggered by someone in a Yardie Lobo, and the Spank missing. With a grin on his face, he clenched his fist in a hurrah, feeling his unmistakable victory against their rivals.
They had been hunting down the Cartel for some time, but the group kept on changing strategies in spreading Spank in the city. Though they had taken Fort Staunton, the construction site provided them nothing but more waste, and the Cartel had cleaned up before they reached it. Even the Espresso-2-Go stalls, Cartel façades in Belleville, Bedford Point, and Torrington, had been seized, but the Yakuzas failed to retrieve anything. It was only through that operation that they got what they needed, and to Kenji's surprise, through the work of a Caucasian he despised.
"Claude deserves the credit for that…"
"He isn't so worthless after all," he snickered while he looked at his sister.
"I told you, you have judg–"
"Oyassan, we have bad news!"
Although caught off-guard, Kenji chuckled in glee, dismissing the worry on the face of the Yakuza who had approached them. "Just say it. There's nothing that could turn my mood around right now…"
The Yakuza shifted his gaze between him and Asuka, and after swallowing what could have been a lump in his throat, he declared, "He got into an accident…"
Kenji was smiling until the beam on her face faded. It took some time for the report to sink in until he realized what the Yakuza had just said.
His sister, likewise, was stunned, and with her eyes and mouth gaping in terror, Asuka cried, "What happened?!"
"The Yardies ambushed him on the way. It's on the news…"
In an instant, she scrambled over to the desk and took the remote control. Turning on the television, Kenji and Asuka stood still, frozen in their positions as they watched the news report.
"Flash Report: Claude Speed, 31, one of the fugitives who had escaped the LCPD convoy in Callahan Bridge last September, was caught this morning in Newport. The suspect's car flipped over the highway, causing traffic interruptions. Speed was found unconscious in a Yardie Lobo. Updates will be provided by the LCPD about the case."
The sounds coming from the screen got muffled in an instant along with the darkening of Kenji's vision. Turning around, he felt his heart implode, and when he came upon the hanging katanas on the wall, it was as if his hands moved on their own. He unsheathed the blades from their cases and charged at the Yakuza who brought the news, slashing him in the chest twice.
"Kenji!"
He wielded the swords once again and lashed at the others standing on the side, feeling utmost rage as if his head was exploding. Like a lightning bolt, he moved so quickly that the Yakuzas were unable to retaliate. As the blades slashed at their bodies, they just accepted their deaths right then and there.
For a man like Kenji, one's honor was very important, more important than life. Instead of being disgraced, it was better to die just to keep honor intact. Wrath swamped him, and he blamed Claude for the ignominy he was feeling at the moment. He would not let him off that easily, and he knew that Claude would be back with his Spank regardless of what happened.
Asuka was still on her spot. Kenji turned and charged toward her, seeing that his sister had already prepared herself to take a weapon, or at least, something to throw at him to defend herself. In an instant, he raised the katana that he held with his two hands, blood sliding on its blades while he looked at Asuka with profound rage.
"This is your fault!"
"Kenji, I'm warning you…" she said as she grabbed a stone figurine on the desk where she stumbled as he violently advanced.
Hands trembling in the air, he wielded the sword in the empty space, sprinkling droplets of blood toward Asuka's face and clothes. Pointing the tip of the blade to her unyielding face, he fiendishly hushed.
"Get me the collateral."
THE OLD OFFICE of Salvatore Leone was empty and dull, mostly with unread documents scattered on the table that Joey never paid attention to. He found himself lingering in his father's solace just like one of those normal days since the will was read, smoking the tobacco that his father had left in the drawer. He would swivel the chair now and then, seemingly imitating his father's movements. Occasionally, he would also turn the radio on to listen to some news, so he did that day as he laid his back on the chair and put his feet up on the desk, watching the smoke coming out from the cigar spread in the air. He did all these as a pastime while waiting for Luigi, who had gone to the kitchen to grab them a drink.
Since his takeover, Leone's empire was slowly crumbling and the number of their men had decreased. However, even though the Leone's control of Portland was at risk, he did not have plans to give up looking for his father's murderer. What made him even more determined to look for him was his father's altered will. He received nothing compared to what he had given to Reena. If he could just poke his eyes out and roll them endlessly on the floor, he would. As if to torture himself even more, he opened the letter and read it to himself for the ninth time.
Figlia,
May you forgive me for all my mishaps. Whatever I'm giving you is not enough to suffice my incompetence as your father. May you live a happy life. Ti amo, amore.
Tuo Padre,
Salvatore
He took the lighter and set the letter on fire, holding and watching it as the flames slowly devoured the sheet and turned it into ashes. When the whole letter was almost burned down, he dropped it on his father's table, creating a huge, black burn on the wooden desk as the fire rose for the last time before dying out.
Joey needed Claude to get Reena back. He wanted her to renounce the will, whether she liked it or not.
A piece of soft music playing in the background was cut short when the radio crackled, suddenly airing a flash report. Joey felt quite annoyed because he was enjoying the music when he heard a familiar name mentioned in the news. At first, he thought his mind was just playing games with him until he realized that what he was hearing was true. Astounded, he sat up straight and put his feet down, dragging himself closer to the desk.
"Flash Report: Claude Speed, 31, one of the fugitives who had escaped the LCPD convoy in Callahan Bridge last September, was caught this morning in Newport. The suspect's car flipped over the highway, causing traffic interruptions. Speed was found unconscious in a Yardie Lobo. Updates will be provided by the LCPD about the case."
As his trembling voice find its way to his throat, Joey immediately screamed for Luigi. Of all times, some fucking good news finally came, and now that he knew where Claude Speed was… that he was injured and vulnerable, all that he needed to do was to get to him in time.
Soon, the made man arrived and looked around the place, his head unconsciously shaking. "Why are you shouting? What's the matter?"
"H-He's in Staunton Island… caught by the police. He got into an accident!"
"Who?"
"C-Claude Speed!"
Luigi's face lit. "I'll be sending men to Staun–"
"Make sure he won't slip away this time. I've been itching to kill that fucking bastard!" Joey exclaimed, feeling the wrath flowing through his veins. "I-I just couldn't understand! How did they make it across the borough? Our men were all over Portland at that time! "
Joey knew that Luigi was likewise wondering how it all happened. They were very certain that when Salvatore died, all entrances and exits to Portland had been guarded by the mafiosos, and there was no other way for a group of three people to just escape and get missing. Trucks? No, impossible. None of them had access to larger vehicles. Chopper? Hell more unattainable. Not a single aircraft aside from the one in the mansion could be accessed by the mafiosos. Boat? There were only three. Only Salvatore, Joey, and Toni had boats, and the two were docked near the Portland Rock…
When he looked back at Luigi, the made man seemed like a kid who had discovered an aha moment.
"There's one more way for them to have escaped…"
"Where?! How?!"
"Liberty Strait," Luigi revealed. "They must have gotten a boat…"
Only two were docked in the Portland Rock.
"A boat…" Joey thought, the wonder he felt was suddenly replaced by a suspicion that he wished weren't true, because if it were, he didn't know what else to do.
"I think I know now…" Luigi said very certainly. "I promise you, when I get back, Claude Speed will be dead, and I'll bring you the traitor's head…"
This is in reference to Deal Steal (GTA III).
I'm not a native English speaker, so I appreciate it if you can correct my expressions and choice of words, or suggest better ways to express things! I also highly appreciate receiving favorites and comments if you like the story! Thank you so much for reading! 3
