Grand Theft Auto Vice City: The Novel
Prologue
The snowy winter air was thick, a blizzard was flying throughout the sky. In Harwood, the night was calm. At the Syndacco's Used Cars, twelve men were inside a room with a large long table, the crew was holding a meeting. "Sonny Forelli and Salvatore Leone called a truce. We should use this peace as an opportunity to expand." A mobster said. "No, that will cause a full on turf war. We just accept the peace, then we start making moves on Staunton Island. The big businesses there will prove fruitful if we play our cards right. The Yakuza are opening a casino, if we can get a license, we'll be able to get a piece of the action." The boss, Dominic, told the crew. "I doubt if we'll be able to get a license for here, now Las Venturas is the place to go, the casino's there bring in big bucks. There's hotels, resorts, everything that we can monopolize on." Antonio added in. "We'll look into it, I'm telling you boys, this will be a big haul." Dominic said with a laugh.
A blue Stallion convertible pulled into the parking lot, the driver was behind the wheel smoking a cigar. He wore a heavy blue winter coat, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, he had short brown hair and some stubble on his face. The kid didn't look to be more than twenty years old, maybe twenty one. The kid reached under his seat and grabbed a 9mm pistol, he cocked it and put it in his jacket. The kid stepped out of the car, he walked up to the entrance of the showroom. The kid walked inside the building, he threw the cigar on the floor and stomped on it. Two mobster goons stopped him, they looked the kid in the eyes. "We've been waiting on you, Vercetti." The goon told the kid before drawing his pistol. The kid ducked behind a car and drew his weapon, he stood up and fired at the goon. He shot the goon in the chest three times, he then shot the other one in the head.
The kid ran through the showroom, he kicked the door open to the office and aimed his gun. Dominic, Antonio, and the other nine mobsters stood up. "Tommy Vercetti, we knew you'd be here." Dominick said with a smirk. Tommy looked surprised, he eyeballed the small army assembled in that room. "What's the matter, you didn't think I'd be an easy mark did you?" Dominick laughed. Tommy prepared for a fight, he ducked behind a desk as the entire crew drew their pistols and opened fire. Tommy took aim at a goon and shot him in the chest, the good fell lifeless. Tommy opened fire on a few more goons, taking them down one by one. As the bullets kept flying in Tommy's direction, he looked at the magazine in his pistol. He was down to only a few bullets, he stood up and shot the three remaining goons. Tommy was out of bullets, Dominick smiled and took off his jacket. Antonio grabbed a machete off the wall, he threw it to Dominick who caught it.
Tommy pulled out the combat knife that he kept holstered in the back of his pants, he readied for combat. Dominick swung the machete at Tommy, who dodged the attack. Tommy jabbed the knife at Dominick, who knocked the knife out of Tommy's hand with the machete. Tommy swung at Tommy with the intention of decapitating him, Tommy ducked and charged at Dominick. Tommy tackled Dominick to the ground, he used the opportunity to stand up. Tommy grabbed the machete and thrust it into Dominick's chest, penetrating his heart and killing him instantly. Tommy then turned his site to Antonio, who ran out of the room, Tommy gave chase. Antonio ran through the showroom, Tommy on his trail. The two made their way outside, Antonio fell and Tommy caught up to him with the machete in hand. Before Tommy could deliver a killing blow, he was blinded by a bright light. Helicopters were in the air, police cruisers stormed the car lot. Tommy dropped his machete, he knew he was surrounded. "Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees." A policeman said into a megaphone. Tommy did jus that, he was caught.
Liberty City Courthouse, Liberty City, 1971
A crowd was massive in front of the courthouse, they were all there for one reason: To make sure Tommy Vercetti fried for his crimes. A reporter and cameraman stood in front of the crowd. "Leann Silver here with LCN, standing outside the courthouse to await the verdict for Thomas Vercetti, known notoriously as 'The Harwood Butcher' Hundreds of Liberty City citizens stand outside the courthouse, all in hopes that Vercetti is not only found guilty. But to see him get the death penalty. Last year Vercetti viciously and cold bloodedly murdered eleven men, all of whom were rumored to have connections with organized crime. One of the men, Dominick Syndacco, was a wealthy and influential man who had several businesses. The car dealership he owned and operated, was where these murders had taken place. At this moment, the jury is still deliberating. But we will update further when new developments occur." The news reporter told the viewers.
Tommy sat at the defendant's table, his smug and incompetent lawyer looked around nervously. Tommy wore a three piece suit, that consisted of a black coat and slacks, a white shirt with a red tie, and black wingtips with black socks. The lawyer was an older gentleman, with thinning gray hair and a gold front tooth. The lawyer wore a gray suit with a wacky looking tie. The jury came back in the room, they all sat at their seats. The judge looked at the jury. "Jury, have you reached a verdict?" The judge asked. "Yes, Your Honor." The foreman said standing up. "We the jury find Thomas Vercetti, guilty of eleven counts of first degree murder." The foreman read. The judge looked in the back at a man, who wore a suit and had slick black hair, the man nodded and winked at the judge. "Mr. Vercetti. You have been found guilty by a jury of your peers, as I think the death penalty would be a waste on you. I am sentencing you to Fifteen years in the Liberty State Maximum Security Penitentiary. With no pissibility of parole." The judge said before banging the gavel. Tommy stood up, he walked with the officers to the back of the courtroom to exit the door. The man with the slick black hair approached Tommy. "Hey, kid. We'll work on getting you out. Just do your time, you'll be okay." The man told Tommy. "Okay, Sonny." Tommy replied before walking out of the room. Sonny smiled watching Tommy get escorted out, he just knew Tommy wouldn't survive prison.
Fifteen Years Later
Saint Marco's Bistro, Liberty City, 1986
Sonny was older now, his slack black hair was graying and he didn't look like the healthy young man he used to. Sonny was in his fifties now, but still mean as a snake and sly as a fox. He sat in his chair drinking wine with his top men. "Hey, Tommy gets released in a few days." Harry told Sonny. Sonny hadn't thought about Tommy in years, he was almost sure Tommy would've been murdered in jail. "Tommy Vercetti?" Sonny asked in a surprised response. "Shit, I never thought they'd let him out." Sonny replied. "He kept his head down, helps people forget." Harry told Sonny. Remembering how fast and big Tommy's name had gotten over the publicity of his murders, Sonny knew immediately Tommy had to go. "People will remember soon enough, when they see him walking down the streets of the neighborhood it will be bad for business." Sonny replied. "So, what are we gonna do Sonny?" Lee asked Sonny. "I say we treat him like an old friend, and keep him busy out of town. Okay?" Sonny suggested and asked. "We've been talking about expanding down south right? Vice City is twenty four karat gold these days. The Columbians, The Mexicans, hell even those Cuban refugees are cutting themselves a piece of some nice action." Sonny told them. "But, it's all drugs Sonny. None of the families will touch that shit." Harry told Sonny. "Time is changing, the families can't keep their backs turned while our enemies reap the rewards. So, we send somebody down to do the dirty work for us. And cut ourselves a nice quiet slice okay." Sonny explained. "Who's our contact down there?" Sonny asked. "Ken Rosenberg." Harry replied. "Shmuck of a lawyer." Lee added in. "How's he gonna hold Vercetti's leash?" Harry asked. "We don't need him to, we just set him loose in Vice City and give him a little cash to get started okay. Give it a few months, then we pay him a little visit, right?" See how he's doing." Sonny explained with clear intention of murdering Tommy.