The Exceptional Arrival
A Tony Pitti Story
I'm standing on an ocean cliffside. The night sky booms and flashes with rage as I am pelted with rain. I am completely overtaken by fear and loneliness. I look down and my feet are stuck to the ground. A massive wave begins to build in the sea. Every second it grows larger and more violent. It towers hundreds of feet over my head by the time it reaches the shore below. The world begins to tremble. "Drowning to death" I think. Just like dad.
"Attention passengers. We're experiencing a bit of turbulence. Please stay seated and fasten your seatbealts." Only a dream. I wipe spilled whiskey off of my face and rub my eyes. The open window shares a glimpse of my shimmering destination. Liberty City. This was the escape from the madness I had left behind in Vice City. Time to clean up.
I unbuckle my belt and shift my way over to the inflight bathroom. A shrimpy Indian looking flight attendant shoots up from his seat, "Sir, the fasten seatbelt signal is on. Please take a seat imme-" I shove the kid out of my way and he falls back into his seat. In the bathroom I look into the mirror. A bald head, a thin beard, and a black suit stare back. This could be a new start Tony. I've got the experience, the balls, the grit… What the fuck else is there? The Vercettis think I'm a dead man. I can finally start fresh. The loudspeaker interrupts my thoughts, "We're only fifteen minutes from landing in Liberty City, folks. The center of the universe."
***
It's 4 AM and I'm standing in the Francis International Airport parking lot contemplating my next move. I light up a cigarette to clear my mind. The milky smoke swirls around me and raises into the cold night. Think, damnit. Who do I know in Liberty City? I look around to get my bearings. Streetlights. A desolate parking garage to my left. Traffic. LCPD police station… Exactly.
After making a few calls I grab the nearest cab. "Get me to Meadows Park, and get out of all of this fucking traffic." I had been to Liberty City a few times before purely on business matters and had never got a chance to truly take in the urban nightmare. I peered down an alleyway from the taxi to see a man getting the shit kicked out of him by four others. Two blocks further gunfire erupts from third floor of the apartment building to our left. I think I might fit in here.
Twenty three dollars later I was looking at the Monoglobe. Never got a chance to see this one before. Earth lay before me. All the opportunities a guy could possibly dream of. But I'm not here to snap photos either. Finally I reach the house. It stood three stories high and was built from brick. Dark ivy crawled across the walls and a black Emperor sat parked in the driveway. A man named Bill Saville lives here. Billy's going to help me out tonight.
I jump over the fence to the backyard and look for a discrete entrance to the building. A fire escape leads to the roof. Why not. I clamber my way up the stairs without a sound and reach the roof. Shit and pebbles cover the ground. I try the doorhandle, locked. With one swift kick the door flies open and disrupts the tranquility of the home. Time to get to business.
I creep down the stairs and hear movement in the bedroom to my left. I put my ear to the door. Smack. The handle swings out and hits my forehead as I crash to the ground. I look up to see a 30 something year old plump white man pop out with a baseball bat in his hand. He wears a night gown and slippers. His short black hair is frizzled from a rude awakening. Damn, still a fat slob Billy.
Billy lowered the bat and looked in disbelief at the ground. "Tony? What in the fuck are you doing in my - OW" I sent a sharp jab to his sack and popped up to my feet. Right hook, left hook. Billy stumbled backwards down the hallway in shock. I put up my fists and yelled,
"You think we all forgot about what you did to the family Billy?"
With a bloody grin Billy stammers, "Give it up Tone. They're all dead now. This won't change nothing."
I charged at him, dodging the swing of his bat, and pinned him to the wall. My fists curl and I throw a punch at his mouth. Rage takes over me and the only thing I want to see is his brains on the wall. As I wind for another jab he conjures the strength to push me towards the stairs. As I fall backwards I grab his arm and we tumble down together. At the bottom of the flight we compose ourselves onto our feet and stare each other down. Damn, it's too early to be getting cracked ribs already Tony. Billy still gripped onto his bat as he shuffled further from me down the hallway.
"The feds pay for this house as well you fat fucker?" I spit blood onto the walls nearby while gripping my side.
"I didn't have a choice Tony. They had me pinned" He coughed and reached into his mouth to throw a tooth onto the ground. "If I hadn't set up Dante… Jim and the rest of them. Well I woulda been in the pin too. What would you have done?"
For a quick instant my mind wandered to that warm August night in 1990 when the blazing gunfire erupted like fireworks. It was like a goddamn civil war reenactment that night on the boardwalk. The pickup was supposed to be smooth as usual. Billy meets us at the end of the dock with a van filled with roughly 50 bricks of powder. Only this time when Dante opened up the trunk he was met by an M4 to the face instead. Most of the brothers were locked up, a few killed, but I managed to hop on a Faggio and slip out of there with my life.
I let out a grim chuckle, "Every rat will have his day Billy. You've been avoiding it, but today is yours."
I saw complete red and charged at Billy once again but this time receiving the blow of his bat. He swung low and hit me in my hip which sent me flying towards the wall. I took a deep breath and embraced the pain. He began to wind up for another swing when I elbowed him in the stomach. The force made him drop the bat and lose his breath. I saw my chance and grabbed the weapon. By the time he had recomposed himself I was swinging at his ribs, neck, and legs. Each hit sent him stumbling backwards until he was at the top of the last flight of stairs. The look of complete agony on his face gave me the boost I needed to make the finishing blow. I whispered "This one's for the Forelli's." and gave him a wink before cracking his skull and sending him toppling down to the first floor.
Billy's broken corpse lay mangled below me in defeat. I hadn't killed a man in 5 years. It feels oddly invigorating to take a life once again - not that I'm some sort of sick freak but a guy gets nostalgia sometimes. Especially when you've wiped away another maggot off of your dashboard. I made my way down the stairs and caught my eyes on a set of shining keys on the living room table. Bingo.
***
Now I'm flying down Columbus Avenue in my Emperor realizing that I'm not the only one getting into crazy shit around here. Terrorists seem to have infiltrated the city and half of Middle Park is up in flames. Helicopters, military police, and rioters fill the streets as this city seems to fall deeper and deeper into hell. Looks like easy money to me.
Please share any thoughts and constructive criticism!
Fri Nov 22, 2013 4:50 pm by oo Codex Wan oo
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