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Max is finally in Miami! How will his arrival go? Read to find out.

Max Payne: Miami

Chapter 3: Fives a crowd

Max was walking through the crowded terminal with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Getting his bag from luggage claim was more of a hassle than he would of liked. His painkillers had been mistaken for an illegal drug by a jumpy security guard. He probably would have gotten arrested or worse if that other guard hadn't stepped in. Luckily for him not everyone's a complete moron.

After a few minutes of trying to navigate his way to the exit which involved a lot of pushing and shoving he made it. Standing outside the entrance of the airport he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. It had the address of the place Max was supposed to stay at. Bravura told he had a friend in Miami that owed him a favor. He said he could stay there for the 2 weeks of his vacation. Although Jim did mention that he probably couldn't count on his friend to pick him up from the airport, so he suggested just getting a cab.

Max looked at the name of the address. 6868 EAST MARVIN ST. He had no idea where that was, he would have to trust the cab driver to know where it was. He sighed. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind telling him this was going to be a long and hectic 2 weeks. He hopped it was wrong, but his instincts were usually right. He rubbed the back of his neck while looking for a cab. He was about to hail one when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Max?" He turned to see Mary standing there in a set of normal clothes instead of her stewardess uniform. "Mary? What are you doing here?" He asked. "Well I live in Miami and Spring Break is part of my vacation time so I'm free for a few weeks." She said happily. "Are you here on vacation too?" She asked curiously. "Yeah I guess so." He replied. "You guess? What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. "I haven't had a vacation in years." He said. "Wow and I thought I was a workaholic." Max just nodded his head in response to her comment.

"Well where are you headed?" She asked. 'She sure is a curious one.' He thought. "East Marvin street, do you know where that is?" He hoped it wasn't far, he wanted to get there as soon as possible and try to get some real sleep. If he was lucky he wouldn't have any nightmares, but that was highly unlikely. Mary's face brightened up a bit. "Hey what a coincident, that's only a few blocks from my place." She said. "Since it's so close I could give you a lift." She suggested. "That's alright, you don't have to do that." He said. "Nonsense, I insist. It would save you the trouble of paying for a cab, and cab drivers are never any good company." She said cheerfully. Max would have argued more but he knew she would probably be persistent so he didn't see the point. "Fine." He said gruffly.

Mary seemed satisfied that she had persuaded him. "Great, My friends are probably almost here so we shouldn't have to wait for too long." Max looked at her with a questioning look. "Friends?" Mary turned to face him. "Yeah my car isn't here so I'm having a couple of my friends pick me up, don't worry I'm sure there will be enough room for you." Max grunted as a reply. 'Wonderful' He sarcastically thought. As if on cue he heard the distant sound of music. He gazed around trying to find the source of the sound.

Then he spotted it. A bright, neon pink, 4 door Sedan. As it got closer the music got considerably loud. "Oh God." He murmured. 'Please tell me that's not them' He thought hopefully. "Hey there they are!" Said Mary from beside him. She started waving arm back and forth in the air to signal them over to her. Max groaned at his misfortune.

When the car pulled in front of them Mary headed over and gave a big hug to a woman that was practically hanging out the window. "Hey girl it's been a while since we've seen you!" Exclaimed the passenger. Although neither Max nor Mary could hear what she had said. "What!" Yelled Mary. The driver turned a knob on the dashboard and the volume of the music went down tremendously. "I said it's been a while." Restated the passenger. "Same here, It's good to see you all of you again" As Max approached the vehicle he noticed that there were 3 people in the car. All female.

The passenger saw him coming and whispered to Mary. "Lookout, creeper at 6 O'clock." Max guessed it was supposed to be a whisper but he heard it anyway. He got an annoyed look on his face. Mary glanced behind her, then turned back to her friend and said in a semi scolding voice. "Oh be nice he's not a creeper, this is Max. I met him on the plane, apparently the place he's staying at isn't far from my place so I offered to give him a lift. You guys don't mind right?" Everyone shook their heads but they did so hesitantly. "Alright then." Said Mary. "Let's get going."

Max was very unhappy at the moment. He sat in the backseat between Mary and one of her friends. She had held the car door open for him to get in first and now he was stuck right in the middle of all the chatter. 'And I thought Vinnie was annoying.' He thought. Suddenly the one in the front passenger seat turned towards him. She had dark brunette hair with a thin red highlight going down the front.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you?" She asked. "Trisha. It's rude to ask someone their age." Mary said a bit loudly. "I know but I was just wondering." Said Trisha. "I have an idea." She continued excitedly. "I'm great at guessing games, I'll just guess your age and you can tell me if I'm right." "Trisha!" Mary said angrily. "Hold on I'm trying to think, hmmm… I know! 52." Said Trisha proudly. Max starred at her emotionlessly. She looked at him expectantly. He sighed deeply. "No." He said monotonously. "Oh, well how old are you?" she asked.

He sighed again. It was becoming a bad habit lately. "37." He said with a bit of aggravation in his voice. Everyone got a surprised look on their face, even Mary seemed a bit shocked. "No way." Said Trisha. "You seem a lot older." "You must have had a tough life." Said the driver, speaking to him for the first time. "Yeah, what do you do for a living?" asked Trisha. He breathed in and out, trying not to think too hard about his past. "I'm a detective." He stated.

Trisha looked excited about this new information. "You're a cop? That's so cool, how many people have you shot?" Before Mary could scold her friend Max spoke up in a serious voice. "Too many to count. I'd prefer not to talk about it." Trisha frowned a bit, even she realized she had brought up something he didn't want to discuss. "Oh, sorry if I made you uncomfortable or something." He remained silent so she turned around and stared quietly at the setting sun in the distance.

After a while everyone started up their conversations again. Mary however was just looking at Max sympathetically as he stared into space as if in a trance or deep in thought. 'Something terrible must of happened to you, I wonder what it was." She thought to herself.

Mary exited the car to let Max out. She popped the trunk open and handed him his duffle bag. "I'm sorry for what happened back there, my friends can be a little immature or eccentric at times." She said apologetically. "Don't worry about it." Max said emotionlessly. She still felt bad for what her friends did. "Look if you ever need a ride or need help finding a place just ask me, I know this citylike the back of my hand. Here's my number, give me a call if you need anything." Mary said as she scribbled her number on a piece of paper with a pen she had with her. He looked at it, then he placed it in his pocket. "See you around Max." She said before she climbed into the back of the car.

He watched the car drive off until it turned a corner and disappeared. He walked down the street reading the numbers on the houses. After 3 or 4 houses he stopped in front of a medium sized, 2 story, white house. '6868, this is the place.' He thought. There was no vehicle in the driveway so it was obvious no one was home. He walked up the side walk towards the house with only the thought of getting some sleep on his mind. He stopped in front of the door and tried the handle. Locked, figures.

He looked down. No welcome mat. 'Then where would he keep the- ah, right there.' On the window sill sat a lone potted plant. He reached over and lifted the small object. Underneath sat a little silver key. He smiled to himself 'Too easy.'

Theres chapter 3

I know the story might be dragging a bit, but next chapter I'll try to put some action into it to make it more exciting.

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Thanks for reading!