Chapter 2: A Real Liberty City Welcome

A/N: Here's the second chapter, or third if you wish to call the prologue a chapter. This is the point in which the action starts to heat up in the story. You also get the first appearance of a GTA character here, as well as an OC I've been fond of ever since I conceived him. He only appears for two bits in this chapter, but he'll be seen much more, along with characters GTA fans know and (generally) love. Alright, on with the story!

August 18, 2012

It was with great embarrassment that Leon found himself awakening in the most awkward position he'd ever been in. Sure, the time he woke up in a trailer out in the San Andreas countryside, stark naked and unaware of the exact events that led to that situation was pretty damn awkward, but at least he had been by himself. This time he wasn't, and he was fairly certain that if he didn't work his way out of this particular position quickly, it would get far more awkward than it needed to be.

The unsurprising part of this morning was that Violet was still asleep. This was normal, as Leon had always been the early riser of the two, even when they were younger. No, the abnormal part of the morning was the fact that Violet had her body pressed tightly up against his, one leg and an arm draped over him. Leon guessed that she'd been having a good dream and had simply came to be in such a position because of it, but it didn't make it any less weird. There was also the question of why he failed to notice this at some point during the night, but it was very likely that he was too deeply asleep to register anything. The most important thing at the moment was to carefully extract himself without waking her, as he figured she'd probably overreact and be unable to even look him in the face for hours after that.

Leon moved gingerly, doing his best to avoid waking Violet, but that turned out to be very unavoidable. The minute he broke away, Violet's eyes fluttered open and she greeted him with a smile. Aware that she wasn't entirely focused just yet, Leon waited for the inevitable wide eyes and pronounced blush that he was sure to see. It therefore came as quite the shock that he saw neither; Violet simply yawned and removed her leg and arm off of him, getting up in the process.

"Well, that was a refreshing slumber. Sleep well, Leon?" she asked, stretching her limbs. Leon was speechless for a second, a little disappointed that he was denied seeing her look embarrassed. It would've made for a funny picture, at the least.

"I slept fine, though I think you were the only one to have a good dream," he answered with a smirk. "Was it as good as I think it was?"

"Oh yeah, very good. It wasn't a dirty dream or anything, but it was certainly nice."

"I suppose dreaming about spooning with some guy would be a nice dream for you. Who was the lucky guy?"

"Someone who probably wouldn't ever let me get that close in real life, at least not on purpose." Her tone was wistful.

"Whoa, you dreaming about celebrities now?"

"Of a sort, I suppose."

Violet didn't volunteer anything else and Leon wasn't nosy enough to pry any further, so he let the matter drop. Whoever the guy, dreaming about him had at least put Violet in a good mood.

"I just realized that we don't have any toothbrushes," Leon said as he moved to begin his morning routine. "We'll need to pick some up later."

"We can grab some later when we go shopping," Violet said. "For now, we can just chill here and watch some TV. I'm sure the clothing stores won't be open for another couple of hours."

Leon took a look at his watch, noting the time as twenty minutes past six. Most clothing stores wouldn't open until nine or ten o'clock, so they did indeed have some time. This became a problem for Leon in mere minutes when Violet decided to remove the towel she had worn to sleep, revealing the black lace panties she had on which matched her bra. Leon groaned in protest to the action.

"Nope, not gonna roll with this. You either put that towel back on, or you put those jeans on, because you are not about to walk around in nothing but your underwear."

"Don't be such a prude, Leon," Violet said, making no move to cover herself up. "I wouldn't stop you if you felt the need to go around in your boxers."

"Yes you would, because that'd be just weird and uncomfortable for you. Don't try to say otherwise." Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I bet you're just fucking with me, aren't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't really know." The smirk on her face told Leon she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Do you get a kick out of messing with me? Is it that fun of a game?"

"Considering you're so easy to fluster, I'd say yes."

"I see. Okay, I'm going to sit in the car. Enjoy all the prancing around I'm sure you're about to do." Leon took a few steps toward the door, but Violet took hold of one of his arms, stopping him.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Jeez, you act like you've never seen me in such a state before. Hell, we've seen each other naked at one point, remember?"

"And whose fault was that?" Leon asked pointedly. "You just had to go waltzing in my room while I was changing clothes, while you yourself were naked! Exactly why was that the case again?"

"I didn't know you were home. Surely it's perfectly acceptable for me to walk around in the nude when you aren't around, right?" Violet asked with a serious look on her face.

"I'd prefer if you didn't. I'd also prefer if this line of conversation came to a screeching halt. What do you say, eh?"

"Sure, sure," Violet said, turning her attention toward the TV, which she turned on with the remote. Several seconds passed in silence before she added, "At least I didn't bring up how big I realized you were."

Leon actually yelped at that. "You what? Vi, I don't really need to hear that from my sister!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It's not too big."

Leon opened his mouth to say something, realized what she said, and began opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, at a complete loss for what to say. Violet watched him with mischievous eyes, breaking into uncontrollable laughter within moments.

"I have one hell of a weird sister," Leon finally managed to get out after a while. "Are you done yet?"

Violet merely nodded, still laughing hard. When she did stop, she kept her word and let the conversation die once and for all.

Once ten o'clock came around, the duo left the inn and headed over to Algonquin in order to do some shopping and enjoy themselves a bit, something they hadn't done for a while, even while they were back in Cordell City. Their first stop was Modo, where Leon picked up a few pairs of jeans, some plain tees of varying colors, a jacket, and several pairs of sneakers. Violet settled for three pairs of jeans only, choosing to spend the bulk of the money Leon gave her at a store called Fantastic Fashions. Leon didn't get to see everything she bought, as he refused to venture inside the incredibly feminine looking shop, but he groaned when Violet came out of the place wearing a white halter top and black tights that showed off her curves, along with a pair of black heels.

"You must like attracting attention, don't you?" Leon said when she got in the car.

"Only certain people," Violet replied.

"Yeah, well I hope I don't have to go shooting anybody for coming on to you. I don't think that dude you met six months back will ever forget me."

"You did shoot him in the balls. I'd be reluctant to forget you under those circumstances too. If it makes you feel any better, this is the second of only two sexy outfits I bought."

"Seriously? What's the first?"

"That's my secret for now. I'm saving it for a special occasion."

Leon just shrugged, not horribly curious about her other clothing choices. He instead turned his attention to finding a place to eat at. He settled on the Vinewood Bar and Grill, a fairly upscale restaurant in Star Junction. It wouldn't be too major of a hit on his wallet and he and Violet would get a good meal.

They filled their time with pleasant conversation, trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy in their new situation. It couldn't last forever, sadly, and Leon soon dropped Violet off at the motel and found himself pulling up in front of an unassuming home on Altona Avenue in the Northern Gardens district of Bohan, where Carmen told him her friend Rhys could be found. Leon approached the front door, knocking politely on it. The door opened within seconds, revealing a young man in a brown hoodie and gray sweat pants on the other side.

"You must be Leon," the man said. "Been waiting for you to show up. I've got a job that needs doing quickly, and I need a reliable guy to handle it."

"I'm as reliable as they come," Leon said, walking inside. "Rhys, I take it?"

"Yes, that'd be me. Carmen told me a little about you last night. Said you were one hell of a guy and that I wouldn't go wrong by hiring you. Tell me, was she right?"

"Just give me the job, and I'll get it done."

"That's all I need to hear." Rhys sat down on his couch, taking a long drag of an already lit cigarette. "I got a couple of acquaintances that came into the city a day or so ago. They're here to purchase a few kilos of coke I got my hands on a while back."

"You need me to watch over the deal?" Leon asked, taking a guess at the job.

"No. I want you to see to it that I get the money and keep the coke."

"You do realize that'll be somewhat of a problem for your acquaintances, right?"

"Well, I did promise to welcome them to Liberty City the best way I know how." Rhys laughed darkly, putting out his cigarette. "Not my fault if they don't predict my more…selfish tendencies."

Leon kept his face blank, letting no emotion get through. Deep down, he found the job less than appealing. Even if Rhys and these people weren't the closest of friends, killing them just to keep his product was incredibly sad.

"They'll be waiting in the playground over at the Firefly Projects in Broker. Get over there, put a few holes in those guys, and nab the cash. Make sure you don't bring the police back here if you get spotted," Rhys ordered.

"I'm not an idiot. I got this," Leon said before exiting the house.

As soon as he was outside, Leon let out a weary sigh. He found Rhys incredibly annoying, and he hadn't spent more than a few minutes with the man so far. Leon hoped he wouldn't have to put up the guy for long. Finding another employer was a new top priority, though it still lagged behind finding a suitable place to live.

Pushing his problems to the back of his mind, Leon started up the car and made his way toward the Firefly Projects, making sure to check his mental map of the city to avoid getting lost. His map still needed a lot of work, he had to admit. Though he knew Bohan and most of Dukes well, his knowledge of the other two boroughs in Liberty City was quite lacking, especially when it came to Broker. He really only knew the neighborhoods of Outlook and South Slopes, and that was only because he had two separate shootouts in both areas that took him all through them.

Leon took his time driving to his destination, taking in the sights. It had been a year and a half since he was last in Liberty, and he had only come that time because Kai had gotten in some trouble and needed help. It wasn't a simple journey that time either, as Leon had been all the way across the US, over in the state of San Andreas, and had to scramble to nab a flight back to Liberty. Kai still owed him for that incident, now Leon thought about it. He'd have to remind him again when they saw each other later.

All too soon, Leon found himself outside of the run down projects, right around the corner from the side the playground was on. He sat in his car for a short while, surveying the area. He wasn't looking forward to this job, and it wasn't just because he was ordered to kill some guys over some cocaine. Leon couldn't put his finger on why, but something felt off about this setup, as if things were about to go very wrong. It was a sudden and unexpected feeling, but Leon had long since learned to trust his gut in situations like this. If his gut was indeed right, and it normally was, this would not go the way Rhys expected it to. Unfortunately, there was little that Leon could do differently, short of going inside the adjacent apartment building and trying to get a good vantage point. Even if he did, it would most likely make his job of leaving no one alive harder, as he'd have to aim incredibly quickly in order to keep any of his targets from fleeing out of his line of sight. No, there was only one way to do this, and it would be the direct way.

Leon grabbed one of the spare pistols from the duffel in the trunk and stuffed it in his waistband with his personal one, making a mental note to get some holsters at some point for safer carrying, and walked over to the meeting area. Three men awaited him, but Leon felt that there was at least one more around somewhere. He couldn't see anyone else around though, and the three parked cars he could spot looked empty. Leon kept his guard up anyway.

"Who're you?" a man with mousy brown hair asked.

"I'm here on behalf of your buddy, Rhys," Leon explained. "He wanted me to let you guys know that he planned on coming himself, but some last minute business demanded his attention. I trust there are no problems with me handling things?"

"Rhys said he'd welcome us personally," another man said, this one short and scrawny. "Surely he could've put his business off 'til later."

"It was some kind of limited time deal he got offered. It couldn't wait. Now, can we get this deal going? I've got a life of my own, you know."

"I don't see no coke in your hands," Mousy pointed out. "Where is it?"

"In my car. I don't bring out the goods until I've verified that the money is real. That's the way I work."

"Clint, show him the money," Mousy said to the third man. Clint opened the suitcase he was holding, allowing Leon to see the stacks of money inside. Leon made to get a closer look, but Mousy held him back.

"You get to touch it when we see our coke."

Leon shrugged. "Fair enough. Give me a sec to go get it."

He turned around, took three steps, then stopped and waited.

"Something wrong?" Scrawny asked.

"No, I just remembered that Rhys asked me to give you a message," Leon said, still facing away from the three.

"What's that?"

"Fuck you."

Leon spun around, pulling out his pistols and firing off a few rounds as he did so. Scrawny went down with a bullet to the heart; while Clint had two bullets pierce his left legs, sending him crumpling to the ground. Mousy had better luck, only getting hit in the right shoulder. He pulled out his own gun and returned fire, causing Leon to hit the ground rolling in order to avoid the shots. Mousy kept up the covering fire as he worked his way over to the downed Clint, probably to see if his friend was still alive. Leon was forced to hop the fence and hide behind a nearby car.

From his vantage point, he watched as Mousy tried to drag Clint along to what was presumably their car. The fact that it was a two-seater vehicle didn't seem to mean much. When Clint proved to be too much of a problem, Mousy gave him up as a bad job, took the money, and bolted for the waiting car. Leon swore loudly as the car started before Mousy even hopped in it; there had been another man waiting. Leon moved as fast as he could to reach his car, not bothering to take any shots, aside from downing Clint permanently. The success of his mission would be decided by the outcome of a car chase. Leon hated car chases with a passion, especially when he had to do both the driving and the shooting.

"Why can't things ever be easy?" he asked aloud as he started up his car and went in pursuit of Mousy and the money.

It took no time at all for the chase to hit the Broker-Dukes Expressway, where Leon knew they'd head to. For whatever reason, people always headed for the crowded freeways and high traffic roads, thinking to use fellow drivers as obstacles for pursuers. It made sense, and did often work, but usually through dumb luck. Sometimes a car would come out of nowhere, disabling somebody or someone would be too unskilled to evade traffic and end up wiping themselves out.

This was why Leon preferred to avoid car chases at all costs, as the chances of him getting killed in some unexpected accident were a little too high for his liking. A car accident due to his own ineptitude was one thing, and something he personally didn't see happening, but dying by doing something he knew was a very poor idea was something else altogether. It was such an issue for him that he once made a personal promise to shoot himself if he ever had a choice between doing something the hard but safer way and the easier but dumbass way, and chose to do it the dumbass way. Thankfully, that hadn't happened yet, but there were some times when a few of the easy options he'd taken started out sensible and ended up being stupid in the end. Those incidents didn't count, because how was he to know how things would work out before things actually played out.

"I hope you fucks realize that this is only pissing me off!" Leon yelled as a few shots came through his windshield, missing him only due to the poor aim of whichever of his targets were firing. A quick look told him it was Mousy.

"Okay, you die first, you son of a bitch!"

Leon rolled down his window and took fired off a few rounds. He had never been all that good at aiming when driving and it came as no major surprise to him that his shots went wide, missing their intended target. To make matters worse, Leon could've sworn he heard sirens blaring from somewhere behind. A quick glimpse back revealed no following cop cars, but it was only a matter of time before they arrived on the scene. This chase needed to end, and it needed to end now. The problem was that his options were slim, given that he might not nail a shot to disable either the driver or the car itself, and trying a P.I.T maneuver would be tricky due to his car's slower speed. A Tailgater wasn't the slowest vehicle around by any means, but a Cheetah definitely outstripped it. The only reason that Leon still had them in his sights was due to the heavy traffic slowing them down. It wouldn't last of course, especially with much of the traffic moving towards the exit for Francis International Airport. The bastards were likely going to escape, or so it initially seemed.

Leon wasn't entirely certain how he managed to avoid an accident in the minor chaos that followed, but Mousy and his buddy certainly weren't that lucky. Leon saw how they tried to dart around a car that just happened to be changing lanes simultaneously, which made Leon put on his brakes immediately. As his car grinded to a halt, he watched the Cheetah he was chasing and the PMP 600 it tried to pass smash together in a violent meeting of metal. The PMP, being a stronger car, got off comparatively lightly in the crash, but the Cheetah was pretty much wrecked due to the contact. It had been knocked away into several other cars, ultimately resulting in the thing flipping right onto its roof. Leon didn't move for what felt like several minutes, out of both shock at what happened and out of fear of getting run over by a car if he stepped out too soon. Somehow, no one had slammed into him yet. When he saw Mousy exit the upturned vehicle, still clutching the cash, he was spurred into action. He wasn't the only one, however.

The driver of the PMP got out of his car as soon as Mousy emerged from the Cheetah, and the guy was uninjured and looking positively pissed. For his part, Mousy didn't look too scared as he pulled out his gun and started threatening the man, looking rather angry himself.

"You idiot!" Leon heard Mousy say. "Don't you know how to drive?"

"I'm not the one you need to be asking that question to," the stranger said. "And I suggest you get that gun out of my face before I break your fucking hands!"

Mousy started to retort, then he saw Leon approaching and switched targets. Before he could even get off one shot, Leon had already taken aim and fired, as did the stranger, who pulled out his own gun with cat-like agility. Two bullets entered Mousy's brain, ending the man's life.

"Hey, thanks for the assist," Leon said to the stranger as he walked up, putting his gun away. The stranger did the same before giving a response.

"I thought he was going to shoot some innocent person. I wasn't going to stand by while he tried."

"That makes you the first truly decent person I've run into in this city." Leon picked up the case of money that Mousy dropped, giving it a quick inspection. "At least as far as random encounters go. It's nice to see."

"One act of kindness doesn't make me a decent person, not with my past." The man looked at the case. "That yours?"

"Nah, just what I was asked to get. It's, uh, kinda my job."

"I know the feeling. I still find myself doing jobs like that occasionally, though I'm trying my best to escape such a life. You're a little young for this type of thing, aren't you?"

"I'm eighteen, so no, not really." Leon heard the sound of sirens getting closer and spun around, seeing several police cars making their way up the expressway. He started jogging back to his car. "Looks like I need to get moving. You need a ride?"

The man looked at his car, which was still intact aside from a busted front wheel. That wheel would make it difficult to drive, so he nodded and accompanied Leon to the red Tailgater. Leon quickly pulled away from the site of the accident, taking advantage of some gaps in the still stopped cars to maneuver over to the exit and leave the expressway behind. He had driven a few yards before remembering to see if the driver of the Cheetah was dead. Rhys wouldn't be too happy if someone survived and tried to get payback. Luckily, the sound of a sudden explosion put those fears to rest.

"Car must've caught on fire after leaking some gas or something," he said. "I hope no one got hurt."

"I think you shouldn't get your hopes up, friend. At least it wasn't your fault," the stranger said bluntly.

"I was chasing them though. 'Course, it isn't my fault the guy driving sucked at it, or that he chose to hit the expressway."

"That is true."

"So, where can I take you?" Leon asked.

"Here at the airport will be fine. I can call my cousin from here," the man responded.

"You sure? It's no trouble if you need me to drop you off somewhere specific."

"No, it is alright. I planned on visiting my cousin today anyway. Thank you, though."

Leon just shrugged and made his way to the airport parking lot. As the man climbed out of his car, Leon spoke again.

"Hey, I never caught your name. I'm Leon. Leon Masters." He held out his hand.

"Niko Bellic. Nice to meet you, Leon." Niko shook the offered hand.

"Same here." Something Niko mentioned back on the expressway popped into Leon's head and he saw a chance to expand his contact list a bit. "Hey, you said that you sometimes find yourself doing jobs like mine every now and again, didn't you?"

"Yes. I always seem to find myself drawn back into the life somehow. Perhaps it is my penance for all that I have done. Why do you take on such work?"

"This life is what I'm used to, I suppose. Hard to break certain habits, you know? Anyway, I was hoping that if you find yourself needing a partner or something on one of your jobs, you can call me up. I always need more opportunities to make cash."

Niko pulled out his cellphone. "Sure, if you'd like. I can't promise anything, though. I'm trying to leave this life behind."

"That's fine. I'm sure there's more work for me to find out there."

The two exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes. Leon had a feeling that he'd be seeing Niko again soon, despite what the man might've believed. The criminal lifestyle had a way of keeping one firmly ensconced within, though Leon had not yet felt the need to leave it. It was what he knew, and he was good at doing the various jobs that came his way. He wouldn't fault Niko for wanting to escape, though. No one deserved to be trapped in a lifestyle they despised.

Leon put those thoughts in the back of his mind for now, and made his way back to Rhys' home to deliver the cash. Though the job description would've been classified as an easy one, the way it went made it anything but. Hopefully he'd get a good payment for his work, or did it count as Niko's work? The man was responsible for the crash, sort of. Eh, he wasn't the one who spent his time and energy chasing folks. Leon was getting the money for this one, which turned out to be less than he would've liked. Rhys refused to give him no more than $200 for the job. Leon initially started to protest this, but thought better of it and simply left. Rhys was the only employer he had right now, and he couldn't afford to piss him off. Leon knew that he'd just have to get used to doing shitty paying jobs for a while. Once he built up a name for himself, the real dough would be made.

Despite the poor pay, it hadn't been too bad of a day so far. It only got better when he arrived back at the motel to see his Jester sitting in the parking lot. Kai had arrived, which perked him up. A quick look at his car yielded no sign of damage, so that was to be thankful for. Kai was a good driver when he wanted to be, but he didn't generally make that choice and was more than a little crazy when he got behind the wheel. Leon was glad that Kai had chosen to handle his car with care.

Leon's fairly good mood evaporated instantly as soon as he walked into his and Violet's temporary residence, seeing the worried look on Kai's face when the young man turned to face him. It wasn't a look that Kai wore too often.

"Kai, what's wrong? Your face tells me you've got some fucked up news," Leon said, taking a seat on the bed. Kai fixed Leon with a fearful stare, saying nothing for several seconds. Leon returned the look in kind, getting increasingly nervous, until Kai finally spoke.

"Leon, I've got some bad news for you." His look momentarily changed to one of pure panic, and his voice lowered to a whisper.

"I left cupcake crumbs in your car."

Tons of laughter and a heated "Fuck you, Kai" followed.