Chapter 19: Captive
Niko woke up, he was groggy and everything was black. He heard the sound of a whoosh, then a crack. Simultaneously a sharp pain hurt his side. "Ahhhh!" He screamed. Another blow cracked him across his head, Niko screamed again. The blindfold was taken off his face, standing before him were three men wearing suits were standing in front of him. They were all Hispanic, and they looked tough. "Niko Bellic." One of the men said. "Who the fuck are you!?" Niko asked him. "That is not important, what is important is who you are. And who you associate with." The man replied. Niko looked up at him. "What do you mean?" Niko asked the man. "Patrick McReary. The man angered a lot of people in his coke fueled Irish rage. Then Dwayne Forge, tragic death. You have alluded us during your encounters with these men. But you did not go unnoticed. McReary got away, you and Dwayne are not so lucky." The man explained. "You owe your life to us now, it's in our hands. We decided to drain it from you. Slowly." The man told Niko.
Niko laughed in return, he spit on the floor of the warehouse. "Fuck you. Death does not scare me." Niko replied. The man lit a cigar, he took a few puffs and then stuck the cigar in Niko's neck. "Ahhh!" Niko screamed. "Scream all you want, nobody can hear you." The man told Niko, he then motioned for two of the men to follow him. "Keep a watch on him, we'll be back to finish the job later." The man told his henchman. The guard nodded, he clutched his AK-47 and looked at Niko. The two men walked away, leaving Niko and the guard alone. Niko looked at the guard, he decided to try some psychological warfare that he learned in the army. "Hey, man." Niko told the guard. "Shut up." The man replied. "Come on man. You can let me go, I mean it's not like you're capable of finishing the job." Niko told the man. "Fuck off." The man replied. "I mean, if you can. You'd be a boss right now, and not some generic goon." Niko told him. The man had enough, he walked over to Niko and hit him in the stomach with the butt of the automatic rifle. Niko grunted, the man kneeled down. "Say one more thing you cocksuck-" The man was cut off as Nikokicked the man in the testicles, the man was on his knees. Niko stood up and used his legs to put the man in a scissor lock.
Niko used all his might to twist his legs and body, he snapped the man's neck. Then he collapsed on the floor, breaking the chair and freeing himself. Niko grabbed the man's rifle, he then ran over to the nearby work bench where his phone was. He dialed the only one he knew could help him out. The phone rang twice before he got an answer. "Hello?" Johnny asked through the speaker. "Hey, I'm in some shit. I'm pinned down by the cartel in a fucking warehouse." Niko told Johnny. "Where at?" Johnny asked in response. Niko looked around, he noticed across the street through a window the Sprunk factory. "The one across the street from Sprunk factory." Niko replied. "Okay, I'll round up the brothers and we'll be there." Johnny replied. "Okay." Niko said before hanging up. He snuck through the warehouse, he scoped out the situation. There were several cartel members patrolling the area, too many for him to deal with on his own. Niko decided to hunker down and wait.
Johnny put away his phone, he turned over to look at Ashley. She was passed out cold, he sighed and stood up. Johnny got dressed and left the house, he mounted his bike and rode to the clubhouse. Inside was Clay and Terry, they were having a beer at the bar. "Hey Prez." Clay said raising a beer. "No time, round up some soldiers and mount up. Niko is in trouble." Johnny told them. "On it." Terry replied. Johnny, his lieutenants and several prospects mounted up and rode to the warehouse. It wasn't far from them, so they hurried up. Johnny parked his bike at the Sprunk factory, they all dismounted and they looked at the warehouse. It was crawling with cartel members, Terry looked at Johnny. "So, got a plan?" Terry asked Johnny. Johnny pulled a grenade launcher out of the back of the Slamvan. "Oh yeah, it's about to rain Spic." Johnny replied. Johnny shot the grenade launcher at the warehouse, the explosion caught the cartel's attention.
After the explosion, Niko made his move. He stood up and started taking out as many cartel as he could, Johnny and the bikers were keeping them well distracted. Niko gunned down several guards, making his way to the exit. As he approached the exit, he felt a sharp pain course through his left leg. He looked down to see a throwing knife sticking out of the back of his calf "Fuck!" Niko shouted. He looked behind him to see the man from earlier, Hector Martinez. "Going somewhere Bellic?" Niko turned around, he aimed the rifle at Hector. When Niko pulled the trigger, the gun was jammed. "Fuck!" Niko shouted. Hector drew his pistol and aimed it at Niko, Niko pulled the knife out of his leg and threw it at Hector. The knife pierced Hector's hand, Hector screamed and dropped his gun. Niko ran to Hector, running on pure adrenaline. He jumped and did a spinning roundhouse kick, knocking Hector to the ground. Niko picked up the pistol and shot Hector twice in the head, he then turned around and left the burning warehouse.
Outside, Johnny lit a cigarette. He and his boys made quick work of the cartel members. "I owe you man." Niko told Johnny. Johnny thought for a minute, about Roman. "No, we're square." Johnny replied. The two shook hands, Clay looked at Niko. "Do you need a ride home?" Clay asked Niko. "Yeah, I don't know where my car is." Niko replied. "I'll take you." Johnny told Niko. "Okay." Niko replied. The two got on Johnny's bike and rode off, they rode through Alderney and into Algonquin. Johnny pulled up in front of Niko's penthouse in Holland, he parked and Niko got off the bike. "That is a nice bike you got parked there." Johnny told Niko. "Thanks, man. Hey you wanna come up? You can have a beer and meet my girlfriend." Niko told Johnny. "Sure." Johnny replied. He dismounted his bike and followed Niko inside.
