So, chapter 2 is here.
Forgive me for the late work, because my apprenticeship has started, I had a busy few weeks, let alone Ramadan has begun, it will take some time.
But lets get down to business and start reading.
Begin!
"Daddy's back! You bitches!"
"Xarị wa!"
*WHIP!*
"Daddy's back, you bitches!"
*WHIP!*
"Chxb t̄hūk tī h̄e rx?"
*WHIP!*
"F̄rạ̀ng b̂ā nī̀ næ̀! Nī̀ næ̀!"
*Knock!* Knock!*
Niko was banging on the door, trying to get a response.
"Dave, come on."
Still, no response from Dave Bosoy, the First Mate of the Platypus, as Niko could already guess what the man was doing.
Inside the room, Dave was busy being….in a particular situation he got himself in.
With clearly had fresh red whip marks on his back, barely any clothing except for his underwear a collar around his neck, and cuffs on his wrists. He was busy getting aroused by the lashings he was being given by his firm Thai beauty dominatrix master, Lamai.
She panted before wiping the sweat off her forehead before she raised her whip again and continued on - The screaming continued.
"Come on, Dave." Niko was losing his patience and was about to knock one again until someone called him.
"Niko." Hossan spotted his friend, carrying a suitcase and asked. "What are you doing?"
"Dave is not coming?" Niko said, pointing at Dave's room.
"Ah, ignore him," Hossan told him, motioning to him. "Come on, come on we got to get this thing ready before we dock, let's go." The Egyptian took his leave with the Serb coming alongside him.
"Ahhhh!"
While the encounter was still going on inside the First Mate's private quarters, the hallway was empty for the moment-
*Click!*
One of the doors opened, coming out of the opened metal door, was one of the Platypus' passengers who also were to be the newest immigrants to set foot in America.
They all wore cloaks, with the woman with the noticeable red clouds pattern one being the one from earlier, the blue-haired mysterious beauty, now seen carrying her bag, as she turned her head back to the room she just got out from.
"It's clear, follow me."
Setting foot first, the blue-haired woman entered the hallway and started making her way toward the deck, and eventually to the outside of the ship: followed by another.
This girl was seen wearing not only a cloak but also a hoodie over her head, only allowing her light dark-skinned arms and legs to be revealed, as she was a fellow traveler.
"Are we close?" The hooded girl asked her friend. "The ship…"
"Only an hour left…" The first spoke,
The mysterious young woman however could only be glad to say one thing:
"America….a new beginning…."
Climbing up the ladder, both men were met with the night as Niko was seen carrying Hossan's baggage.
"Here, pass me that," Hossan asked as he took it off from Niko's hands. He then was allowed to reach the top of the front deck.
And it happens to be that they weren't the only ones standing there, as a few other fellow travelers were there.
"Look!"
Both the Egyptian and the Serb walked up to the rails and stared at what was in front of them, with Niko leaning his arms against the metal bars as his friend was beyond ecstatic to see the lights of the city.
"Whooh Yeah! There she is!" Hossan cheered out of sheer happiness. "Liberty City!"
"Yeah," Niko responded, much calmer and tuned down, pretty much the opposite of what his friend's reaction was.
"You have ever been?" Hossan asked.
Niko simply responded. "No."
"Crazy place, Niko." Hossan phrased the city at best. "You'll certainly not be bored by this city, Niko, I can vouch that you that."
"That I might have to see for my own eyes," Niko told him.
…
Down in the cargo hold was a different story, as it was business as usual for the Chinese passengers, who were seen working on putting packaged bricks loaded with the product into the built-in hiding spots of several sports cars they had hauled in.
…
"What you going to do?" Niko asked in his broken English to Hossan who just replied.
"I might come back on board…Or I might try to make a go of it" Hossan responded as they both walked down the deck.
He turned his head around to the nearing city with a simple grin.
"Like they say, it's the Land of Opportunity." Hossan said as he thought of the long-held desires "I always wanted it to make it big…own a nice place, get a dog, a house. Live the Dream!"
Niko mentioned. "Like my cousin."
"Oh yeah?"
…
They entered the hallway with Niko still talking about his cousin.
"Yes - he's got the lot - house, women, cars, parties…" Niko named up the numerous things his cousin Roman mentioned to him.
They stopped walking for a moment as Niko referenced. "He writes me these wild emails, and after I got into trouble, I thought maybe uh…."
He trailed off before saying, "...and then I got this gig, and I spent the next seven months with you fine people and I forgot."
"Well, that's a way to say you've enjoyed your time with us." Hossan smiled at that description. "It surely was an experience, you can't deny that."
"That it was." Niko chuckled at that and declared. "I can gladly and sadly say this was my last voyage, Hossan. It was a good journey."
"That it was."
They both happened to pass by the kitchen area, where the door was left wide open while the cooks were seen as busy at work still, as they were expected to prepare another meal.
But amongst those cooks, was one that was seen preparing something with an ingredient that was anything but edible - as he was seen pulling out of a small sack something he observed for a moment.
In his hands? A clear-cut diamond that looked like it was worth millions.
And what did the cook do with it? He dropped it into the mixture and continued to continue to do this while the other kitchen staff paid no attention.
The two men were still seen talking as they re-entered the mess hall, with Niko revealing a bit more of his past dealings than he previously had before.
"After the war finished, I couldn't get a job. Nobody could." Niko said, admitting even a bit of his past actions vaguely. "so I, uh, did some dumb things and got involved with some idiots…"
"Ahh, we all do dumb things," Hossan told him. "That's what makes us human."
He patted Niko's back before leaving, giving some non-intentional wise words that stuck to the Bellic.
"Could be." Niko replied, only for himself to hear that.
Liberty City: East Hook Docks
Time went fast, as the Platypus had then finally docked in the East Hook bay that was left open for the freighter ship to enter in, as now the first cargo was being hauled out by the operational crane. And then there were those who were waiting:
Dozens of friends and family members had already assembled to wait for their arrived loved ones so they could be picked up, with some unable to contain their joy and hugging them instantly on the spot.
Looking at all the passengers walking out of the ship, he saw them disembark one by one, with some of them looking amazed, some nervous, and some even unfazed, like they were wondering what they'd be expecting in this new land.
Niko Bellic was seen coming out of the ship as one of the last, as then another passenger bypassed him and shouted out in his native tongue.
"Der amerikanische Traum!" Not needing to know what that sounded like, the German-speaking man soon also left the scene, leaving Niko to be seen as one of the leftovers.
Seeing he was by himself, Niko then just waited around and even took notice of the hauled car that was being pulled out of the cargo hold, it being a long night for all that freight to be pulled out from the ship.
*TCHK!*
Hearing that, made the Serb turn his head towards the source of that sound, and it came from a man.
A young man, looking around his 20s and with sun-kissed blond hair was seen lightening up a cigarette in his mouth, just as he blew out a puff of smoke. While leaning against the Black Esperanto car that must be his.
The two made unwarranted eye contact and were at the spot analyzing one another, with neither of them really giving a glare, but rather a curious observation that the both could understand.
But right before any of the two could start to interact - another car came driving in at high speed, also a black Esperanto car, as it stopped right in front of the two.
And the driver? It was none other than the latecomer himself, Roman Bellic.
"Niko! My cousin! I can't believe you're here!" Roman exited the car and ran up to him for a bear hug which his family member accepted. "Welcome to America!"
"Hey!" Niko happily returned the hug and was glad to see his cousin back after ten years. "Good to see you, Cousin."
Hearing that in Serbian, caused Roman to ask him confused. "What?"
"Good to see you, man." Niko reminded him and inquired. "What, you forget our language?"
"Uhm, Cabbages?" Roman responded in Serbian jokingly, clearly drunk. "Maybe a little. I've been here for 10 years! You can speak English. Remember, we learned off the English girls with the big…" Remarking while making a clear gesture to his chest, only laughing more.
"Hey, a little... not so good."
…
Naruto just watched and couldn't help but grow a smile at seeing his boss having a reunion with his cousin, a sight he better did not want to interrupt, given how it was actually touching to see.
"Excuse me..."
"Hmm?" Naruto heard that voice from his left and was soon approached by two persons, both females seen wearing cloaks over themselves, one with red clouds on that the blue-haired female wore, and the other being a normal dark cloak with a hood that the smaller woman wore, both seen carrying the baggage of their own.
"Are you a taxi driver?" The bluenette asked, a bit uncertain by the person she approached. "My friend and I need a ride."
Naruto took a quick glance at the two women and noticed they were sure not to be recognized with those cloaks, with the smaller person being more nervous than her taller counterpart, and it didn't take long for him to figure out what they were.
"It's my night off," Naruto told the two ladies and saw they were short of luggage. "But let me ask, you both new to the country?"
The two women were first cautious about this man's question, as they were not too quick to tell someone about their status in the country.
But it was the shorter lady who nodded her head to her friend, seeing they had no other choice than to be honest with this man if they wanted a ride.
"We are…." The blue-haired woman stated, but then gestured to her companion, "She and I are in a bit of need of a bit of a discrete drive to a location. To avoid the police, if you understand what I mean."
Naruto took another peak at the smaller woman and noticed she really was doing her best to keep herself covered, but her tanned skin was enough for Naruto to know they were not from the same country.
"Alright, I'll do it."
"Okay, how much-"
"Wait for that, we can discuss it afterward," Naruto told them, being the Samaritan for once as he opened the trunk. "Leave your luggage in there and then enter the backseat."
"Thank you-"
"Naruto! There you are!"
The yell quietly startled the three off guard, with all three of them turning to the drunken man who was approaching them, Roman Bellic happened to spot his best driver and wobbled towards him in his intoxicated state with a wide grin on his face.
"I thought I'd recognize my favorite driver! Haha!" Roman laughed and questioned in his slurred state. "What are you doing here so late? I thought you had free tonight?"
By this, Niko happened to walk up and observe the conversation, and he wasn't the only one, as both women also watched with the bluenette being the more sharp person who kept her eye on the blonde cab driver.
"You forgot about it, didn't you?" Naruto told his drunken laid-off boss the obvious. "You asked me to come help pick up your cousin earlier today, don't you remember?"
"Oh?... Oh, yeah, yeah, now I remember. Shit." Roman cursed having forgotten that. "I'm sorry, man, for wasting your time."
"Ah, don't sweat about it, give me half a day off instead," Naruto told his boss before turning to the other man, standing behind him in fresh-off-the-boat clothing. With the guy being around the same age group as Roman's.
"You must be Roman's cousin?" Naruto spoke, stepping a foot towards the slightly older Bellic cousin. "He told me about you."
Niko raised his eyebrow at him. Understandingly not trust this unknown individual at first, even when he happened to be working for his cousin. He crossed his arms at first and asked him up first.
"About what, precisely?" He asked, in his thick Serb accent.
Not needing to figure out much, Naruto just reached his open hand out.
"How fucked up life can be."
…
It took a moment, but Niko then figured out what he meant without saying much as he greeted the Asian young man back with a handshake. His suspicions however were more confirmed when both men firmly gripped each other's hands to test their strength.
"Strong grip."
"You too…" The Serb cousin of Roman then started to introduce himself. "Niko Bellic."
"Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to finally meet you." Naruto gave an assuring smile and added. "Welcome to the United States."
"Thank you very much," Niko said.
"See I told you that you would get along easily. Now if only I could find two women that got along that easily." Roman spoke up, with his eyes wondering then to Naruto's cab for a moment, before turning back to the others. "I'll tell you both I had quite a night last night."
"Oh, so Mallorie gave you the strap?" Naruto joked as Roman sputtered.
"Who told yo-I mean, no," Roman said, trying to change the subject. "Niko, how about you drive me home and I can tell you more about the land of opportunity."
"I wonder where the sports car is?" Niko said getting into Roman's Esperanto, being quite surprised that his cousin would pick him up in a cab.
"It's in the shop," Roman said getting in with him, clearly trying to avoid that subject as well. He was lucky that Niko just got in the cab and began driving.
Naruto however just chortled, wishing he was there to see Niko's reaction when he found out about Roman's infamous bullshit stories.
'Roman, you really gotta tone down with the wild claims, man. But god-damn, they are funny when it fits.'
As he watched how Roman's cab left off, Naruto turned towards his own cab and saw the ladies were already sitting in the backseats.
"About where I'm dropping you ladies off?" Naruto asked his passengers as he got into his driver's seat. "If you may."
"First drop me off at Inchon Avenue, Cerveza Heights, Dukes." The bluenette said, giving her first instructions.
Naruto's thoughts verbalized a warning only he knew that meant something.
'Triads…'
He did turn on the radio to Liberty Rock Radio. The right volume to let them think he could not hear their conversation.
Driving off from the docks, both Esperanto cab cars left the docks.
With the Bellic Cousins
Making their way out of the docks first, the radio was tuned to Vladivostok FM, still playing Schweine by Glukoza.
"Why don't you show me around the city?" Niko asked.
"Fucking terrorists." Roman spat.
Niko was loss for words and asked. "What?"
"Terrorists. There's been a big scare and you can't go across the bridges so good." Roman explained with a gran.
Once out of the docks, they happened to pass by the cab depot. To which Roman noticed.
"We are passing the cab office, Niko," Roman said pointing out his business. "This is the business that will take us to the top of the pile."
Driving past the depot, the brief introduction of the cab business was then resumed by Roman who went back to the topic. With the car having to stop in front of a red light.
"You, without a visa, I would stay in Broker. Fuck it, stay in Hove Beach. Everyone like us does. Even Naruto."
"Naruto, you mean that kid?" Niko asked confusedly. "He's new to the country also?"
"Yes, he's an immigrant, just like us." Roman laughed, "but then illegally, just like you. He's been here 6 months, and he's doing alright, been working ever since. Don't worry, you'll be seeing him soon. He just got a day off for now."
"At least you don't overwork your employees."
The lights turned green, forcing Niko to drive up the traffic. Mohawk Avenue, the road Roman mentioned where their place was, wasn't that far off anymore.
Driving past the sign that laid above them that said 'Hove Beach' it was Roman who then gave his final instruction.
"Pull up here."
The black Esperanto then happened to stop at the side of the road, which happened to be the parking spot that had yellow markings.
And what was it where they stopped? A brick apartment building that looked like it had better days, Niko's disbelief could be heard in his voice.
"This is the mansion?"
"Just a temporary place," Roman stated after laughing a bit, still in his intoxicated state. "The mansion is coming, cousin. That's the dream…follow me."
Intending to get to the back and grab for his cousin's baggage, giving Niko a moment alone to work out his current thoughts in his still-broken English.
"How did I not see this coming?"
Cerveza Heights, Inchon Avenue
The drive was for the most part a silent one, as the Black Esperanto was going through smooth traffic without much trouble, not even having spotted much more than a cop working on the traffic.
But what Naruto was more focused on, without giving too many hints or notice, was the conversation the two female passengers behind him were having, and what they were discussing wasn't the interesting part.
It was the language they were using. The brown girl's Japanese is a bit rough to understand, possibly not her first language.
(I tried to use Japanese, but the translation sites are bad. So just go with this, my apologies.)
"Konan, is it wise for you to meet up with these people now?" The hooded girl asked her friend in broken Japanese. "I don't trust this."
"Trust, my friend, you mean trust." The bluenette corrected her, with her name brought up.
"My apologies."
"No need to, you're learning, and making progress. But no, I don't trust these people, except for one. She and I go way back, and she owes me one. You just make sure to get to your friend's place, alright?"
"Right. But what about the taxi driver?"
"I'll handle him."
Discreetly listening to their conversation. Naruto saw he was pulling up the street, being just off the hospital entrance, he then got another word of instruction from the bluenette.
"Pull up in this alleyway."
Following her instructions, Naruto then took a right turn into the alley and slowly drove into it. Ending up in a small area. The alley was a bit of a cramped area, where a few empty garbage cans were seen and an empty car park was located.
Having arrived, Naruto then stopped the car and put the handbrake in, having reached the 1st stop.
"First stop, Inchon Avenue. Josei."
He purposefully said it in his native people just to get a rise out of Konan.
"Yes, I speak Japanese, I'm from there, so let's bypass the fact I've just heard your entire conversation in my native tongue."
The two women were mentally noting to one another, and Konan knew she had to respond.
"A-Arigatō, for the ride." The cloaked woman spoke up before then pulling a small wad of cash out of her cloak and offering it to him.
Accepting the wad of cash, Naruto quickly realized these were mostly twenties, and that he was holding close to 100 Dollars at his hands, quite a sum for a short drive to Dukes.
"I hope this will be enough to keep you quiet about this, and to drop off my friend to her next destination-"
"Take this back."
Konan was then abruptly interrupted when she saw the driver return the wad of cash, and with only a few notes of twenties taken off, he returned it back to the bluenette.
Having a suspicion, Konan was about to reach for something in her cloak-
"You're going to need every dollar you got in your pocket to try and start a new life in America, believe me," Naruto spoke, giving a bit of advice without having to turn his head. "From one immigrant to another, life in Liberty City is going to be a lot more expensive for us."
"You're an immigrant?"
"Been here for six months, have overstayed my welcome and basically I am classified as an illegal," Naruto told them. "Maybe I'm stupid telling you about this, but given you two are new to settling in this country, I'd figure telling you that every cent you have now is best spent wisely."
*Honk! Honk!*
Before any of the two women could answer, another car, a black second-generation Schafter with black tinted windows to be exact, pulled up right behind them and was seen turning around, ready to drive out of the only entrance in this cramped alleyway.
"That your friend?" Naruto asked, looking through his rear window as Konan also spotted the car.
"That is none of your concern….but still thank you for the advice."
*Click!*
The backdoor of the Black Esperanto opened up, with Konan seen stepping out of it and grabbing for something within her baggage, before then turning back to the car.
"I'll see you later, F."
The hooded girl nodded. "Right."
"And for you, mister."
"Hmm?" Naruto hummed at her words, seeing that she had approached his window and he could see her open coat - pretty much revealing her well-fit body that was underneath that thick cloak.
Her unique pupils then focused directly, without much emotion to stare down at Naruto's face.
"Maybe our paths will cross again. Mr. Uzumaki, make sure my friend makes it to her friend's place safely, and we might consider calling you again."
Naruto nods. "Right."
Not another word said Naruto watched as the mysterious bluenette woman went on to approach the Schafter with no hurry as the shotgun door was left open for her to enter it.
The car drove off, leaving Naruto to the lone female passenger, whose next destination was to be heard.
"So where am I taking you, Miss?" Naruto asked her hooded girl.
"South Bohan, the projects near Quentin Avenue." The girl spoke. "You know where it is?"
"That's Switch Street. Ok, I'll take you there." Naruto said before getting them both out on the road.
Hove Beach
*Click!*
That was the sound of the keys unlocking the door, as Roman was seen opening the door while carrying Niko's luggage, entering his apartment with a little more enthusiasm than his own cousin.
"Come in, come in!" Roman smiled, putting Niko's luggage aside. "Make yourself at home…"
Niko entered the apartment and was met with what he should've expected by a long shot.
"What's mine is yours!"
A one-room apartment with a collapsible sofa bed that looked barely clean a kitchen that had a questionable amount of stains that he rather didn't want to know, and light bulbs that could rival his old home's back in the Old Country.
Given he only experienced electricity back when he was twelve. A story for another time.
And last, the only other door that was blocked slightly, most likely leading to the bathroom which he already opted to not enter by his own decision.
It was official, and he'd only himself to blame for, he'd been duped by Roman's bullshit stories.
Roman then happened to spot something run across the room and hurried over there and-
SPLAT!
"Got him! Little bastard." Roman spoke after having crushed a cockroach with his boot, jokingly stating. "If he paid some rent, I wouldn't care."
Trying then to remove the pest from under his shoe, Roman found himself a sticky big bugger he didn't want to remove.
"Oh…. Shit….oh," Roman looked at it with a chuckle. "That's not nice."
Niko couldn't help but turn around from Roman and release a sigh he didn't want to show, as the realization was becoming clearer to him.
"Ah, cousin, it's so good to see you!" Roman said before turning to the bed. "Yeah, hmmmm." As he attempted to lay back on his bed, the state of it also was answered.
"Oh…shit…" Roman groaned, checking the bed with his hand, and felt it was obviously wet.
"Well, I needed to change anyway." Roman waved it off as he briefly lay on the unclean sheets, having no worries on his mind at all.
"So!"
Niko on the other hand, still with his body turned around, had finally something to say for now.
"So…"
"So…" Roman responded.
Turning around, Niko faced his cousin. "So, you full of crap, or what?"
"What?"
"Where's Luxury condo?" Where's sports car?" Niko asked while walking around the room with his slightly broken English and continued on, "Where's Barbara with big titties and Stephanie who sucks like a vacuum?"
Roman just asked in confusion. "What you talking about?"
"In your letters to my mother, in your letters to me." Niko reminded his cousin of the letters and emails he had sent over these past few years. "All I hear is Mr. Big, Mr. Roman, living the American dream." Niko continued on naming the content. "Sports cars, condos, women, money, the beach... opportunity! I come here, and the only thing big about your life is the cockroaches."
Sitting up, Roman then responded with a chuckle. "That's right. I got the best cockroaches, I got the best dirt!"
Both sharing a moment, the two family members were laughingly exchanging the banter that they were used to backing when they were kids.
"Screw you, you idiot!" Niko told him off.
"Okay, I'm an idiot," Roman gave in by sitting on his bed and pointing out. "But you must admit I have the best line in bullshit you ever heard."
"Yes, this I know, asshole." Niko reminded himself. Knowing Roman was good at running his mouth. Sometimes convincingly good. "You do this to your employees as well? Because I am surprised you actually can keep them around."
Roman smiled when he brought that up. "No, not as much. But they don't complain." He stood back up and grinds the bottom of his shoe against the floor to get rid of the pest. "Like Naruto, for example, he didn't complain when I gave him the cellar for a good price of rent."
"Wait…the kid lives here? In the basement?" Niko looked at him oddly. "Why?"
Roman threw his arms upwards briefly. "Because he needed a place to stay, and I first offered him half this place, but he instead wanted to live in the basement." He told his cousin while making his way to the kitchen. "But enough about him, you can ask him yourself but tell me about yourself."
"What?" Niko questioned, following into the kitchen. "What about me?"
"Well... why did you leave home after all this time? Roman began asking, having a few questions he himself had in mind as he went on to sit down on the small chairs he had. "First, I hear you're running around with the wrong kind, then I hear you joined the merchant navy, and now you're here. You never tell me anything."
"No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"No, I never tell you anything," Niko repeated, waving it off. "Another time…"
"Ohhhh….Mystery man." Roman joked around. "Strange and exotic sailor! What happened? Did your captain make you pregnant?"
"Screw you!" Niko cussed him, getting only laughs from Roman shortly. "No, no, it's nothing like ships were fine. It was before that, two things. You remember, during the war…we did some bad things and bad things happened to us."
Having sat down in the chair next to him, Roman took notice and began to listen, closely, especially now.
"War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other….I was very young and very angry. Maybe that is no excuse…"
…
Noticing the silence, Niko turned to his left and expected his cousin to be half-asleep by the beverages he must've drunk, yet instead, to his surprise, Roman was still awake and he faced the floor.
"Roman? Are you listening?"
"Yeah…." Roman slowly raised his head up to his cousin. "You know, maybe it isn't the best to talk about it right now. I can see you're pretty tired."
"Are you sure? I can-"
"No, cousin, no. I was wrong to ask it now, it's better for another time." Roman spoke, standing up and reaching for the cup on his table, wanting to drink something, he decided to drop it by the content he saw. "Have some rest first, okay? I know the bed looks crappy-"
"No, it's no problem, It will be fine," Niko told him, taking a peak at it. "Believe me, I've slept in worse, so this will be okay."
"Well I-" Roman got interrupted by his own phone as he pulled it up and noticed what time it was. "Shit... I've got to get the cab back. It's on a shift."
"Roman I-"
"No, no, like I said, cousin, take some rest first, I got to handle some business," Roman told his cousin as he stood up and walked past him but then gave him some instructions. "You know where the business is, come and meet up later once you've laid back for a few hours, okay?"
"...Sure, I'll do that…" Niko stated, turning to his cousin who was at the door. "Roman."
"Yes, cousin?" Roman asked, having the door opened.
"Thank you. For picking me up."
Roman just smiled. "We're family, Niko. Of course, I'd come to pick you up. Have a good night."
*Click!*
The sound of now the door closing, was the official maker that Niko now was on his own in this little crappy apartment he now was living in. giving him some alone time.
And sometimes he needed, he walked up towards the sofa bed and did not take a moment before putting one of those sheets over the wet part and then laying on it.
As he lay on the bed, he began staring at the ceiling as he waited until his eyes were too tired to remain open, something he had been depended on, as he couldn't sleep normally.
His body was always on high alert, it had to be. After all, having gone into a war changes a person.
Even to the smallest detail.
Meanwhile…
East Borough Bridge
On their way to Bohan, the black cab just reached the East Borough Bridge, where full-on checks were going on, with the LCPD seen pulling cars aside for 'random searches' as several rows of traffic were holding up the crossing areas on hold.
Being in the traffic jam, Naruto was waiting patiently for the progress that was slowly being made. Having gotten used to this mess of the bridges, he took his time and just watched the traffic moving slowly to the toll booths.
And then it happened to be that his rock program was interrupted, by one of America's worst news channels.
'This is Weazel News! With the latest edition of the War on Terror-
Naruto switched off the radio, much to his own delight, but much to the confusion of his passenger.
"Why did you turn it off?" The female passenger asked, barely showing her face underneath her hoodie. "Something wrong?"
"No, no, it's just that I can't stand that news channel, to be honest," Naruto said, rubbing his eyes slightly to make sure he'd remain awake. "Nobody really listens to it unless it's something important."
The passenger's eye raised an eyebrow, not that it could be seen, but she clearly asked.
"And an update on the News on Terror isn't important because-"
"FUCK YOU, PIG!"
Her words got cut off by the sudden burst of rage that forced her to focus on the very thing happening next to the road, which she completely missed as a police search was going on.
The spectacle - the LCPD was doing a full-on 'random search' against a group of motorcycle riders who were forced with their hands against the rails while the police had cuffed a few of them, whilst searching through.
These men were bikers, as they were seen wearing their colors jackets, which had the infamous skull logo on it - showing off they were the members of the Angels of Death motorcycle club.
One of them, was seen clearly with his shaven head, cuffed up on his feet as he was the more resilient one of the group as the uniformed officer was doing a body search.
"Just cooperate and we can all go home." The cop told the biker while spreading his legs with his feet. "Do what I tell you!"
"Go fuck yourself, pig!" The Angels member roared. "Go back across the southern border, you stupid Mex!"
The Hispanic cop clearly was annoyed by the biker's racial antics, but instead just ignored it and called it into the radio.
"Can I get some backup only here? I got a suspicion male over it...possibly a meth addict."
"Fucking-"
"Shut up!" Another cop shoved another biker's head down to the ground, continuing the search. The police officer even forced to put his knee on top of the biker's back as he was ready to cuff him.
"You're under arrest, mister." The arresting officer told him. "And by the way, I'm Puerto Rican. Not a Mexican, prick."
The bald biker was about to go to another tirade until he then happened to spot something, among the line of cars that were stuck in traffic, his eyes fell on the Black Esperanto can, with what he saw in the back.
He grew a wicked grin at the sight of the light-skinned, mint green-haired, and orange-eyed girl that he couldn't help but comment.
"Hey mama," The Angel remarked. "Hey, Island girl! I got a pair of coconuts for your face!"
"Huh!" Naruto's passenger flinched at the comment that was directed at her.
"Eyes on the ground!" The police officer ordered his catch. "Now!"
"Hey, take it easy!" The biker smiled back at the officer before shouting out loud to the cab's back. "I got a banana for you to suck on, girl"
"Shut the fuck up!" The officer shouted, shoving the biker's head to the street ground, hard.
"Ahhh, hahaha!" The biker laughed as his head got turned around to face off away from the cab.
Naruto watched the whole ordeal and looked back to his passenger, who looked a bit distressed by the biker's comments.
"Hey."
"Hmm?" She turned her hooded face to the cab driver.
"Just calm down, alright? No need to worry." Naruto told her. "Don't look at them, and just look at the back of my head, alright?"
"... Right."
"Good."
The traffic then happened to go forward, and it got Naruto to move up a bit as he was close to getting through the booth. The one time Naruto might actually give the LCPD some props for dealing with assholes, he drove past the scene.
The only problem was, that one of the bikers who wasn't pinned down to the ground, had his eyes fixated on the black cab, and had his eyes not on the little cute lady, but instead on the driver.
"So there you are…. Loser associate."
*CLING!*
The sound of Naruto throwing 5 Dollars worth of change into the small slot, allowing him to enter through the tollbooth with the barrier starting to rise up.
"Change fits, you're good to go." The officer behind the booth told him. "Welcome to Bohan."
"Thanks." Naruto waved the cop off as he drove through. Having finally gotten out of the traffic jam, he made his way through the straight line towards Bohan. With the traffic being less of a problem now.
The driver continued to be silent, till one of the two occupants of the car, out of the blue attempted to speak:
"Mr. Uzumaki, can I ask you a question?"
Looking into his rearview, and saw that his female passenger was seemingly more nervous than ever, now that she wanted to ask something.
"Sure, go ahead."
"You mentioned to Konan you are an immigrant. So if I can ask." She raised her head up to allow her face to be visible. "Why did you leave?"
That question honestly got Naruto to be silent for a moment as he focused back on the road and looked kinda somber.
"I left my home back in Japan after my grandmother died. I couldn't really re-integrate back into the old life after having seen some of the worst shit back when I was in Iraq."
"Iraq?" The green mint-haired passenger asked. "You were in the war?"
"From '04 to '08, I was there in the worst years of the conflict... I've seen things that I honestly do not like to be reminded of." Naruto gave her a brief explanation and he then added. "When I got back home, I couldn't even mourn my grandmother's wake when I suddenly got my very first attack at the funeral home, in front of my sister."
She held her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, you didn't know."
With the cab having finally entered Bohan, it went through Gainer Street as he took a turn to the left, over towards San Quentin Ave. Closing by his passenger's destination.
"Tell me, why are you here? What brings you to the US of A, Mrs-"
"The name's Fu, that's my name." The now-identified Fu gave up her name. "I'm from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro."
"A Brazilian who speaks Japanese? That's uncommon, even to LC standards." Naruto joked as his own interest peaked. "You happen to be half Japanese by any chance?"
Not even trying, it got Fu to giggle a bit as she was flattered by his remark and replied. "Maybe another time, give me your number, so we can hang out. Seeing we're both immigrants, we got some stories to share."
Naruto agreed. "Sure, see no harm in that."
In a matter of moments, it happened then that the cab took a turn to the left into a parking spot that lay next to the South Bohan Projects, which laid directly next to San Quentin Ave.
Parked in, Naruto looked up the projects and couldn't help but feel like something was to cross his paths with this Fu girl, who happened to be his age, coincidentally. As she was busy exchanging numbers on each other's phones.
"We're here."
"Thanks for the lift," Fu handed back Naruto's phone. "Call me, so we can hang out."
"Sure, be careful though."
"I will!" Fu said getting out of the car and grabbing for her baggage as one person down below, a lanky man in a sweater was seen waiting for her and approached her. Naruto watched on through the rearview and saw them interacting with one another:
They both then were seen hugging each other, with the fat man seen swinging her around his waste in a very comfortable manner that only indicated to Naruto they must've been very close.
'Guess it must've been her boyfriend.' Naruto thought in his mind, seeing she looked happy, he turned back to the road and re-ignited the engine.
Vroom!
"Back to the road," Naruto told himself as he drove off the driveway and went his way back home.
Unknowingly to him, another reunion would take place.
South Bohan Projects
Inside one of the high-rises, two individuals were seen speaking in the living room, as another person stood guard at the door that was observing the meeting.
"Cut down? Why do you want to cut down on product, Jim?"
The woman speaking, was Elizabeta Torres, a hefty, but still attractive woman whose height matched up to the men around her. She was what people would call a fully matured spicy Latina, the unobtainable.
"It's because of Jason. He's been using it for himself. He's wasting our merchandise, more than we can afford, sorry Liz."
The person he was speaking to, was Jim Fitzgerald, a fellow Hispanic, and treasurer of the Lost Motorcycle Club from the Alderney Chapter.
Jim, on behalf of the Alderney chapter, was the most loyal but also the smartest member of the club, who was seeing problems pop up from a mile away, and would plan to find a solution halfway through it.
"It is just a temporary precaution, the best for the both of us," Jim assured her as he was being honest with her. "Especially now with Billy coming out soon, we'll need to try to lay low for now."
"Right, that piece of shit pimp. Ugh," Elizabeta took a quick drink from a glass of scotch, before then turning back to Jim. "I swear, that wannabe playboy bitch is getting you, Johnny, and the others into trouble if he doesn't stop acting like a fool. I know he's supposed to be your 'brother' and all that shit, but that doesn't mean shit when it comes to keeping the business afloat."
"Believe me, the other brothers fully agree with you on that." Jim waved his hand up in agreement. "I got a wife and kid to look after, and Angus' medical bills. We ain't getting younger with life."
"Tell me about it, it's not like business has been going easy for me either," Liz told him, having her own set of problems she could name up but then gave a quick reminder. "Jason can be glad he's friends with you and Johnny, or else I'd had his balls already cut off and hang it in my freezer by now - and that wouldn't be my first time," Liz told him with laughter at the end.
It was no secret that Elizabeta Torres' ruthlessness was mainly due to the part that was her childhood, having earned a fearsome reputation for killing at the age of fourteen, a man who tried to rape her, having finished him in the most vicious way that could be done to a man.
Jim shrugged his shoulders for a bit and commented even on that. "And you wonder why men want to stay the fuck away from you?"
"I don't fuck around with married men, your balls are safe." Elizabeta calmed him, laughing still a bit as she added some more liquor to her glass. "Besides, you aren't dumb around to try to grab my ass without asking."
"Jason's going to get himself killed if he keeps doing that." Jim shook his head while he looked away at that thought. "I love him as a brother, but one of these days, he'll do something really stupid."
"Tell me about it." Elizabeta agreed as she downed another glass of her drink.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
The two business people turned their eyes to the door as someone was clearly knocking on it, causing the fat guard to take a look and saw who it was.
"Liz, it's Andreas…with some lady with luggage."
"Is it her? She's…" Liz questioned, confused by this, she stood up and asked. "Jorge, what the color's her hair?"
"Uhm, mint green?"
…
Elizabeta then began to laugh out loud for a brief moment, causing both men in the room to be confused before she clapped her hands together.
"She hasn't changed it at all! My sweet little Menta." Liz spoke with that little Spanish at the end before telling. "Let them in, Jorge."
Jorge did so and unlocked the door, allowing Andreas to enter first with the luggage he was carrying.
"Boss, I-"
"Shut up Andreas and take it to the reserve bedroom," Liz ordered the lanky bodyguard of her around. "Fucking move it!"
"Okay, okay." Andreas quickly went out of his way to the reserve bedroom - moving aside as a now uncloaked Fu was standing there.
"Hi, Liz!"
"My girl, Fu!" Elizabeta shouted in sheer excitement as she fully embraced her into a hug, which she was given in return, with both Latinas were long-time friends.
"I see you got yourself a nice little reunion, Liz," Jim said watching. "Mind the introduction?"
"Of course, of course. This is my girl, Fu, she and I go way back." Elizabeta said with a bright smile. "The school back in PR had an exchange program and she, a Brazilian girl, clicked as friends in the years."
Jim asked out of curiosity. "You from Brazil? Don't they speak Portuguese down there?"
"Yes, but I grew up learning Spanish as my second language," Fu said scratching the back of her head nervously. "I also can speak English as you can hear, and also Japanese."
"Japanese?"
"Yes, baby girl here learned Japanese early on, Jimboy," Liz told him as she remembered. "You may not know, but Fu here is a product of a very uncommon session between a Japanese businessman and her mixed maid mother."
"Yeah…that's it," Fu answered, clearly wishing to not have this brought up.
"Enough about that, now tell me. How was the trip?" Elizabeta asked, they both went to sit on the couch next to Jim as she wanted to know. "Hope the jet lag wasn't that bad, given you were stuck on some boat for like six months or fucking something."
Fu sat down and just smiled with luck that the subject was changed.
"The trip was okay, not much to complain. It was the reception however that bothered me." Fu said as she brought up with a slightly annoyed look on her face. "On my way over here, I started getting catcalled by these bikers."
Jim shot up at that mention and asked. "Bikers? What did they wear?"
"They all wore red and black," Fu mentioned it, with her finger on her lip thinking, bringing up one thing she saw. "One's vest I could read Angels, but I couldn't read the rest. Because the cops were arresting them on the side of the road."
"Ah, Deadbeats."
"Dead what?"
"Deadbeats, that's what we call them," Jim informed the nice-looking girl before adding. "That's what we the Lost call them anyway."
"Brothers?" Fu asked, confused to which she turned to a laughing Elizabeta. "Liz, what's he talking about?"
"Nothing, girl, nothing serious. You see, Jim here is a member of the Lost." The Puerto Rican pointed at Jim. "A different motorcycle gang that's around in Liberty City, and of course, they both are rivals."
"As much as I'd like to explain the story of the Lost - Deadbeats rivalry, I got other responsibilities to attend to - which are my wife and kid," Jim said standing back up on his boots as he decided to take off. "And I guess I'll leave you ladies to your reunion to catch up."
"Alright, be careful out there," Elizabeta told him and added. "Don't forget to say hi to Jackie for me."
"Sure, sure. Oh, and Fu?"
She turned her head around and was met with an open hand that Jim was giving.
"Welcome to America - The best country in the world."
Fu, seeing the gesture smiled at the older man took it as a friendly welcome, and shook it back, even adding in.
"Thanks," Fu gave a smirk. "But, I have yet to see it by myself."
Jim chuckled as he told her. "You'll see it soon enough, I promise you that." He turned to Liz. "Speak to you soon."
"Bye," Liz said as she saw Jim walking out towards the door Jorge held it open he walked through it.
This left Elizabeta to speak one-on-one with her friend and she went straight for that catcalling she mentioned.
"Okay girl," Liz asked with her hand leaning against the sofa. "Just tell me what those whiteboy putas were saying."
"Oh, just the same thing I heard from those gringo frat boys," Fu said as she was used to the language. "That I wanted the Banana, the coconut, that kind of stuff."
Liz grew a bit stern from those comments as she rolled her eyes. She has dealt her fair share of callings like that from unknowing fools who she hasn't dealt with.
"Typically, well at least you haven't run into Jason Michaels, he's a prick in The Lost, stupidity is like a common trait amongst men," Liz commented and asked.
Fu however grew a small smile as she turned her orange eyes away, even a slight blush was tinted on her brown cheeks.
"Well, not all men…The cab driver was a gentleman."
That however did not escape Liz Torres' eyes as her smile grew back.
"I know that face, you've got your eyes on someone, don't you?" She lightly punched Fu's shoulder and got curious. "Come on, tell me who he is, I gotta know."
"Well, he's a cab driver and an immigrant like me, and he was nice enough to give me a ride here for free."
"A cab driver?" Liz asked with the first image coming up that she hoped wasn't. "Please tell me it wasn't some fat Slav, right?"
Fu looked understandably confused at her friend and corrected her. "No…. He had blond hair, and was from Japan from what he said."
…
That only made Elizabeta start laughing out loud as she never laughed before, as she already could've guessed it who it was.
"Something funny?" Fu asked.
"No, no, no, baby girl, no." Liz tapped her couch and smiled at her friend. "But I believe you met the best cab driver you could ever meet, believe me."
Surprised by this, Fu then asked. "You know him?"
Liz could only chuckle as she couldn't help but want to start talking about him.
Bohan - Grand Boulevard
On the busiest street that was in Bohan, many cars were seen driving throughout the big road that was close to the bridge with the police barricades still up. But that didn't seem to do a damn thing to break the confidence of Bohan's main business venture:
Drug dealing, on almost every corner on the street or even small gaps, a hustler could be seen trying to holler out at any commuter or motorist that was passing by or slowing down by any chance to try and make a sale of what they held inside their pockets.
Watching, Naruto kept himself inside his cab as he was seen smoking something that he knew he could use amongst these folks to not look like a narc or some kind of civil observer. He puffed out a good amount of smoke as his car was filled with it, with all the windows closed and the density of the smoke, it could only be that he was smoking a joint.
Sighing, Naruto looked at his rolled-up one as he felt a bit better now after having taken a few hits from it, it only helped his nerves to calm down and his body as a whole.
Best weed in the city? No doubt it's from the Jamaicans - Thank you, Little Jacob.
But Naruto wasn't completely out, no. He still needed to be consciously awake as he was here on the Boulevard for a reason - one of discretion.
*Beep!*
The barely working sound of the horn was his signal - as Naruto could see that from his side a car was seen pulling up.
A four-door sedan silver rusty Emperor, parked up right in front of him but only a few meters away as it didn't spot the car behind it. Nor did the person, who then approached the sedan who just walked out of an apartment building door with a few of his pals.
"Aight man, I'll holler at you next time."
The big man, a large African-American who's got a big size on himself, wearing a brown jacket with a silver chain was seen greeting two of his boys as he dabbed hands.
"Maxwell Caughlin…."
As the big guy entered the Emperor, his two friends returned back into the apartment building as the car was seen going off back into traffic.
And little-known to him, Naruto was right behind him, with him re-igniting his engine.
"Nothing personal."
SURNAME: Akatsuki
FIRST NAME: Konan
AGE: 35
PLACE OF BIRTH: Nagoya, Japan
AFFILIATIONS: Associated with Chinese Criminal Gangs in Broker and Algonquin.
CRIMINAL RECORD:
2002- Possession Controlled Substance: Marijuana
2003- Prostitution
NOTES:
-Pornographic Actress, popular around the World.
-Deported after Trial for Prostitution.
-Suspected for murder of ex-Husband Nagato Akatsuki, was able to prove Alibi by being in a Gangbang shoot.
-Believed to have recently returned to Liberty City for Work.
SURNAME: Sereno
FIRST NAME: Fu
AGE: 22
PLACE OF BIRTH: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
AFFILIATIONS: Associated with Elizabeta Torres' Drug Syndicate
CRIMINAL RECORD:
2005- Theft
2005- Possession Controlled Substance: Ecstacy
NOTES:
-Exchange student with Vespucci University 2004-2006.
The theft charge was for stealing an Officer's hat as part of Rag Week at the University. Charge later withdrawn after Caution issued.
-Arrested for possession during a sting at Bahama Mamas Nightclub.
-Believed to have recently entered the country illegally.
Alright, so that's the 2nd chapter I hope you all liked it as I have worked on it for a bit. Not gonna spill anything, but this will be more fun to read with what I've got planned for now.
Leave a review/comment if you liked it.
Good day, everyone, and have a nice evening.