Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rewrite)

Chapter 43: Alloy Wheels of Steel

Tommy made his way to the Greasy Chopper bar. Inside were a bunch of bikers inside talking and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes playing. Tommy put his vehicle in park and hopped out. He walked towards the bar and entered inside.

It was packed inside and replete with multiple different pictures and stickers mounted on the brown wooden walls. Tommy turned to a big Caucasian bartender behind the counter.

"Where's Baker?" Tommy asked the bartender.

The latter pointed at the pool table, and Tommy turned to his right to see a gang of bikers at said table. So Tommy walked towards it to face the three bikers.

"I'm looking for Big Mitch Baker," Tommy told them.

"Who's lookin'?" one of them asked in a Southern accent as he stood up straight to face Tommy.

He was a large man about two inches taller than Tommy. He had brown shoulder-length hair with a receding hairline, a matching goatee, and large blue eyes. He wore a mean expression on his face. He was also wearing a white T-shirt, a blue-and-black leather vest over, a tag necklace around his neck, blue faded denim pants, and black biker boots. Tommy just stared back at him with confidence. He must have been Mitch Baker.

"Tommy Vercetti," he greeted the Bikers' leader..

"Vercetti?" Mitch asked. "You don't look like the law, so that's bought you a minute. You better talk fast."

"Kent Paul said you might be interested in pulling security for a gig he's got set up," Tommy answered.

"Kent Paul?" Mitch asked, pacing around the pool table. "Sheesh! No wonder he sent ya. The last time he was here he left through the window in nothing but his limey birthday suit."

"Are you interested or not?" Tommy asked impatiently.

"We only do favors for our own," Mitch answered as he used the pool stick to smack the cue ball against one of the solids, hitting the latter ball inside the corner pocket.

"How do I join?" Tommy asked the Bikers' leader.

"This ain't no country club, boy," Mitch told him, walking up closer to him. "Can you handle a bike?"

"Can you sit on a stool and drink?" Tommy retorted caustically.

Mitch then turned to his other two buddies. "Cougar, Zeppelin, go see how this girl handles a bike," he told them.

The two guided Tommy outside of the bar and led him to the parked Angels out front. They each hopped on one Angel and parked at the starting point. Tommy hopped on an Angel himself, adjusted the helmet hanging on the handlebars onto his head, and followed along.

They joined another biker, who was also prepared for the impending race, and warmed their engine.

"All right, fancy clothes," Cougar sneered at Tommy. "Let's see what you can do."

The bikers counted backwards to three and started racing. They zipped past Tommy and turned left. Tommy just sighed in confidence and zoomed after them, trailing behind.

The colorful reddish-orange evening sky glowed around the city vividly. Tommy could feel the nice breeze rapidly blowing through the holes in his helmet as he sped straight down the road to catch up to the other bikers.

By the time Tommy made it to the other end of the road, he had already caught up to the other three bikers as they made a left turn on the road, and Tommy zoomed past two of them, putting him second place in the race behind Cougar.

The motorbikes' engines roared loudly as they rode through the city, and Tommy and Cougar were now neck to neck as each of them struggled to take the lead.

"You think you a real biker, boy?!" Cougar called out to Tommy.

"I will be after I win this race!" Tommy shouted back.

He zipped past Cougar and made a right turn on the corner of the road. Tommy was now in first place, and he turned left on the intersection of the road ahead of him. Tommy drove straight down the road as quickly as he could to hold on to the lead. He made another right turn on the intersection of the road up ahead and continued riding as fast as he could.

The lights from the buildings and streetlamps started to flicker on as the sky was gradually becoming darker. The roads had scanty vehicles riding through the city. This gave Tommy the perfect opportunity to speed up some more as he made yet another right turn to ride straight down the road.

He rode around the square pathway of the city and straight down to make a left turn on the road going south of the town. Tommy was really enjoying the race, especially since he was miles ahead of the other three bikers, who didn't even appear in his rear-view mirrors.

He could hear the engine of the Angel he was riding roaring loudly. A copious amount of smoke blew rapidly through the tailpipe. The headlight on the Angel shone a bright light ahead. Tommy could feel the blood rushing through his skull as he continued riding as fast as he could. If he was going to gain respect from the bikers, he had to let his skills do the talking.

So he made a sharp left turn on the other end of the road and drove straight down until he made a right turn on the end to ride straight down. Yards away, he saw that he was getting closer to the Greasy Chopper bar and cranked the engine up to boost extra speed.

Tommy felt his veins pulsing with determination and his blood rushing through his face as he finally zoomed through the goal line of the street next to the bar. Tommy had won the race!

He waited for two minutes to see the other three bikers cross the line. They all pulled to a complete stop, hopped off their bikes, pulled off their helmets, and walked over to Tommy.

"Gotta hand it to ya, pal," Cougar told Tommy, "that was some badass riding!"

"I agree," Zeppelin added. "You really had us eating your stones with that killer rolling!"

"Thanks, fellas," Tommy told them. "I ain't no bike rider, but I do what I gotta do. Whadaya say we go celebrate with an unforgettable night inside the bar?"

The other bikers cheered as they followed Tommy inside the bar. Despite his performance, he still felt he didn't do enough to earn the Bikers' respect. So Tommy had to see Mitch to know what else he must do for him and the gang.