It's Just Business

[Gabriel Constantin]

Amazing. I haven't been on this website for years. Despite that, here's an GTA-based role-play I wrote for another forum. I was wondering if I could get some criticism please? It's pretty long, so bear with me.

 

It's Just Business

 

Slipping his arm through the soft cotton sleeve of his suit jacket, Gabriel Constantin finally began to feel normal again. He pulled the coat together and fastened the buttons in an almost military fashion; it had become second nature to him by now, and though he hadn’t done it in a while, it had stuck with him none-the-less. Tucking his crimson red tie into the outfit, out of sight, he was finally complete.

 

It had been several months since Gabriel has donned his familiar black and red suit. Over the course of his long career, it had almost become like a second skin to him, though he had been forced to part with it for several years until recently. Gabriel had only been back in Liberty City for just over a week now, and he was still readjusting to the city’s cold, concrete demeanor.

 

He made his way towards the large panoramic window at the far side of his Saint Mark’s apartment. Looking out onto the golden sands of Portland Beach he was reminded of the similar settings in Vice City, where he had spent the last six months, trying to make a living for himself. He’d only made the decision to return to Liberty a few days before arriving back in the “worst place in America,” at the request of his former boss, Donnie Foricelli.

 

A loud buzzing noise could be heard throughout the lavish apartment. Moving hastily away from the window, Gabriel made his way to the kitchen were he found his mobile phone sat atop the island, vibrating frantically. Picking up the phone, Gabriel looked over the number that appeared on screen and hit the green button.

 

“Hello?” He said, instinctively. Waiting patiently, Gabriel was soon met with the sound of familiar voice. “Fine… Yes… Okay… Today? Understood… Bye.” Hanging up and slipping the phone in his trouser pocket, Gabriel made his way towards the front door, stopping momentarily to grab his keys.

 

Closing the apartment building door behind him, the black-suited man made his way across the busy road to his garage directly opposite. Reaching into his pocket he pressed a button on his keychain and the large metallic door suddenly sprung to life, opening slowly and revealing an Audi A8 lurking in the shadows. Taking his keys out of his trousers he opened the car door and sat behind the steering wheel, another feeling he’d missed during his absence, starting up the engine he reversed out of the garage and headed east.

 

A short car journey later and Gabriel arrived at Marco’s Bistro, on the east-side of the Saint Mark’s district. Coming to a stop just below a large set of stairs, which was the main entrance to the restaurant, he killed the engine and got out of the vehicle. He made his way to the dinning area on the first floor, where he was greeted by a small group of Italian-American men dressed in a similar fashion to him.

 

“Gabby!” one of the men said warmly, walking towards Gabriel with arms opened wide. Gabriel embraced the man, who was easily two or three inches taller than him. As they separated their hands met in a friendly handshake. The man had short, blonde hair, a complete opposite to Gabriel’s long jet-black mop.

 

“It’s nice to see you again Valentino,” Gabriel smiled as he gripped his hand tightly. The pair had not seen each other since Gabriel’s departure, over eight years ago, by that time Gabriel and Valentino had developed a strong friendship. Making their way towards Gabriel, the other two men who sat with Valentino exchanged similarly warm gestures with the black-suited man.

 

Valentino and his friends, Alonzo and Marco, were long-time associates of Gabriel’s. Upon his return, the trio had been put under his command along with several other men who were not present at this time. Gabriel held quite a strong position within the organization and as such demanded respect, respect he had earned himself. After the group had finished swapping pleasantries, Gabriel briefed them on their assignment and they made their way down the stairs and into Gabriel’s car.

 

Reversing out of the Bistro, Gabriel and his newly formed ensemble drove south towards the small commercial district of Portland which was sandwiched between the high-class residential area to the north and the industrial region to its south. Idle banter passed between the four Italian-Americans, with Alonzo leading the conversation on his favourite subject; sex. The car became a forum for the manliest displays of libido, with Alonzo taking the prize once again with his infamous story of his four-hooker strong gangbang.

 

It was coming up to 9:30AM when the black Audi A8 pulled up outside of the Noodle Punk Noodle Diner on the outskirts of Chinatown. Gabriel had timed their visit perfectly, it was a working day, and the restaurant would have just finished taking in their morning profits before everyone scuttled off to work for another day. Though for Gabriel and his associates, this was their job.

 

Exiting the vehicle, the men brought with them each a large aluminum baseball bat, apart from Gabriel who merely tucked his hands in his trouser pockets as he walked towards the diner entrance. The other men followed suit, dangling their weapons by their sides in an effort not to look conspicuous.

 

A small bell above the door alerted the owners to their arrival. Looking up at the group of men who’d entered his diner, the old Asian man’s face turned a similar shade of pale to that of the dish cloth he was using to dry the glasses with. He swallowed loudly and managed to put on a happy face through a shroud of fear. Pushing his spectacles to a higher position on the bridge of his nose he smiled at the men.

 

“How can I help you gentlemen?” he said, in a high-pitch, nervous voice; his thick Asian accent preventing him from pronouncing the letter L without it sounding like an R.

 

Gabriel wandered calmly to the counter behind which the owner stood. Placing one hand on the work-top he looked straight into the Asian man’s eyes and smiled devilishly. “Mr. Wen…” he started, the Asian man nodded in affirmation to his name and swallowed again loudly, trying to hide his fear, “…A little bird told me that you’ve stopped paying your protection money to Donnie Foricelli. Is that right?”

 

Mr. Wen looked around the room nervously; he could see Valentino, Alonzo and Marco standing at the other side of the diner. He could see their weapons. He could see rage. Swallowing his fear, for the third time within five minutes, he tried to explain his situation to the unflinching mobsters.

 

“You see… I have a family to protect,” he stuttered, “A-And the Triads, they said they could protect them better than you. I d-didn’t have a choice. They threatened my family! What was I suppose to do?!” Mr. Wen stopped suddenly when he heard his tone rise towards Gabriel. He realized his mistake, and quickly stepped back from the cash desk. He raised his hands to his waist as if he was confronted by a wild animal, though he wasn’t far off.

 

Without hesitation, Gabriel lent across the counter and landed a punch across the Asian man’s face. He fell to the floor almost instantly, hitting it with a loud thud and alerting the attention of the staff working in the kitchen. Gabriel turned and nodded to Valentino who hopped the cash desk and opened the register, taking handfuls of money and stuffing them in his pockets.

 

Moments later the kitchen doors swung open and several men, dressed in fast-food uniforms appeared. They had armed themselves with meat cleavers and various other kitchen appliances. One of the braver employees charged Alonzo with his knife held above his head. As he brought the weapon down to strike, Alonzo dodged the blade and swung his bat horizontally across the attacker’s face, sending him spinning to the floor in a pool of blood.

 

The rest of them dropped their weapons, the sound of stainless steel striking the hard tiles echoed throughout a room. The silence was broken by the loud thud of the till being slammed closed and crashing to the floor. Valentino clambered over the counter and rejoined his associates, nodding to Gabriel; he made his way towards the door with Alonzo and Marco.

 

“Listen!” Gabriel barked, directing his attention to the cowering group of Punk Noodle employees. “You can tell Mr. Wen, when he wakes up, that he pays his protection to The Foricelli’s and no-one else. Capiche?” They nodded, shaking from fear. “Good… Don’t worry, it’s just business.”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Valentino landed himself on the fine leather back-seat of the Audi A8. He moved up to the other side of the car as Alonzo climbed in beside him. Gabriel sat down in the driver’s seat and Marco took shotgun. Starting the engine, Gabriel put the vehicle into gear and pulled off away from the diner. As they traveled towards their next destination, Valentino emptied the contents of his pockets onto the back-seat.

 

“How much did you get?” Gabriel asked, looking at the pile of money in his rear-view mirror as a sinister smile crept across his face.

 

Valentino and Alonzo counted the notes and coins between them, it was quite a large haul; there was a lot of money sat between them. But Gabriel couldn’t tell from where he was what percentage where large notes and which were small. “About $500,” Valentino replied.

 

“He must have been having a pretty good day,” Marco added. The short, bearded man smiled, deepening the wrinkles on his forehead as he did.

 

“…Until we got there at least!” Valentino laughed.

 

After a short drive that had lasted no more than ten minutes Gabriel brought the Audi to a halt once again. This time the group of mobsters had stopped outside ‘Video Video’, a small family run video rental shop on the other side of Chinatown that were loyal to the Foricelli Family.

 

This would be a simple collect and carry assignment; the family that owned Video Video was very loyal to the Foricelli’s and wouldn’t be any trouble, so Gabriel sent Valentino in on his own to retrieve the cash while the rest of them stayed out in the car. Valentino got out of the vehicle and entered the shop.

 

Fifteen minutes passed, and Valentino had still not returned from the store. Gabriel was worried. He knew that the owners were friendly towards the Family, but he did not expect them keep him talking for this long. Something was up. He gestured to Alonzo and Marco who both looked as worried as he did.

 

They exited the Audi, baseballs bats in hand. Jogging lightly they reached the door but could see no sign of life inside. Gabriel pushed on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked. Now Gabriel was really worried. He nodded to Alonzo who raised his bat to the window and quickly brought it down with one quick swing. The glass fell to the floor like heavy rain on a winter’s day. Making their way through the newly created entrance the trio of mobsters instinctively headed for the back room.

 

Breaking down the door, which was also locked, they were greeted by a ghastly sight. Valentino’s body lay against the far wall, a bullet through his head, and his blood plastered across the beige wallpaper. Gabriel gritted his teeth, turning and striking the nearest thing his fist. He cracked the cheap plasterboard sending a small cloud of dust into the air.

 

In the center of the room the two owners of the shop were sat and bound against two chairs. Their heads were tilted back and their necks slit. Fresh blood coated their clothes, a sign that the killers couldn’t be too far. Before Gabriel could react again, he turned to Alonzo and told him to retrieve the shotguns from the trunk of the Audi.

 

The rear door swung open and Alonzo hit the floor. Blood poured from his neck, turning his shirt a dark shade of red. Two Triad foot soldiers stood in the doorway, with pistols aimed at the mobsters. Gabriel had no time to save his fallen brother; he turned to Marco and shouted: “GO!”

 

Gabriel and Marco ran for cover as stray bullets flew around them like bees in a field of flowers. They took position behind the cash desk. Sitting with their backs against the counter, their breathing was heavy as beads of sweat began to form on their foreheads. Wiping the perspiration from his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket, Gabriel turned to Marco and told him to stay put.

 

Dashing across the shop and out the broken window, Gabriel narrowly avoided several shots from the Triad gunmen. He dived across the bonnet and landed on the over side, taking cover behind the vehicle. Ducking behind the car doors he managed to make his way towards the rear of the Audi while the Triads were still concentrating on the front.

 

Popping the trunk, he lifted up the felt lining of the boot and opened up a secret compartment. He’d had it installed to prevent the Police from finding it whenever they tried to search his vehicle. Gabriel pulled out a pump-action shotgun and quickly checked the chamber for ammunition. When he saw that it was empty he quickly loaded the weapon and cocked it with one hand.

 

He took cover behind the shop’s front wall. The Triads were still firing shot after shot in his general direction with little success. Gabriel waited, and when one of the Asian gangsters stopped to reload his pistol he peaked around from his hiding place and fired off a shell at the duo.

 

The gangster was propelled backwards in a pool of blood as if he’d been struck by a truck on the freeway. As soon as Gabriel had confirmation that his shot had hit its target, he rolled back around behind cover not forgetting about the second Triad. Bullet after bullet continued to ricochet off of the wall, spraying clouds of dust and debris into Gabriel’s field of vision.

 

This time, the Triad decided to hide behind the door frame before reloading his weapon. When Gabriel heard the cease fire he reappeared and immediately aimed his shotgun at where the Triad should be. But he was no where to be seen. He looked at Marco, who gestured back at him.

 

Taking cover once again, Gabriel waited for the Triad to open fire once more. As soon as the Asian retreated from cover Marco stood up from behind his hiding place behind the counter. The gangster turned and directed his attention towards unarmed mobster. At the exact same time Gabriel stepped out and fired off another shell, blowing out of the Triad’s legs and sending him flipping forward into the floor.

 

Gabriel walked over to the body of the now paraplegic Asian. His moans of intolerable pain just made Gabriel happier. Though he loved to see his enemies in pain, he decided to end this quickly. Taking aim once again, he pulled the trigger and fired off one more round. The Triad’s head was ripped apart by the spray of red hot shrapnel, destroying it beyond reason. Wiping the remains of the gangster from his chin, Gabriel turned to Marco.

 

“You alright?” he asked. Marco nodded as he stood up and wiped the dust from his suit. Gabriel sighed as he looked over what was soon to become a crime scene. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his mobile phone, dialing up a number he pressed the green button and held it to his ear. “Hello… I need a cleaner down here… Six dead; two Triad, two civilian, two family… Video Video in Chinatown. Hurry.”

 

With that he hung up. Looking at Marco he murmured, “It’s just business.”

[Oxidizer]

You weren't wrong about thing being a long one, were you?

 

Read it and I think it's wicked! Though if you're looking for constructive critism then I'd point you in Eminence's direction for that.

 

But yeah, awesome stuff man. Some good description in there an' all.

[Gabriel Constantin]

You weren't wrong about thing being a long one, were you?

 

Read it and I think it's wicked! Though if you're looking for constructive critism then I'd point you in Eminence's direction for that.

 

But yeah, awesome stuff man. Some good description in there an' all.

It's isn't that long! It's only six pages.

 

Thank you though, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Coral_City]

You know what? This thing didn't need a GTA background at all -- it was fantastic by itself! Very good writing, full of vivid description and the overall plot of the story was ironic, though, swell! I'm surprised at the caliber of this particular GTA fan fic... just great!

 

Is there anymore... or is that it? Still, I liked it very much. Keep up the good writing, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more chapters, regardless of length.

[Gabriel Constantin]

You know what? This thing didn't need a GTA background at all -- it was fantastic by itself! Very good writing, full of vivid description and the overall plot of the story was ironic, though, swell! I'm surprised at the caliber of this particular GTA fan fic... just great!

 

Is there anymore... or is that it? Still, I liked it very much. Keep up the good writing, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more chapters, regardless of length.

Thank you, again. I must admit; I wouldn't mind reworking the second half, because I feel as though the latter part of the story became nothing more than an list of events rather than a descriptive story. But it's been posted now, so what's done has been done.

 

Sadly, it's a single chapter. As I said, it's for another forum where I post single stories like this to earn my "gang" extra territory & to win gang battles etc. I may be writing other such short stories in the future, though they wont necessarily follow on from this particular arc.

 

Again, thank you. I will probably get around to posting something again within a few weeks. It wont be long.