Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rewrite)

Chapter 75: Family Business

An hour later, Tommy and Lance were still sitting around contemplating what would be next for Lance's newly-built empire now named the Lance Vance Dance Club. While the bar was complete, Lance still felt that the bar was missing something. Since Tommy was the more intelligent of the two, Lance relied on him to come up with the idea.

"So Tommy," Lance told Tommy. "I was wondering, this bar is looking nice so far, and everything is working just fine, but I still feel that it's missing something."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Well," Lance started to explain, "I feel that this bar still looks empty. It still looks like a plain, ordinary bar in spite of the arcade games and television around here."

"You know, come to think of it, if you were to take away the TVs, counters, and arcade games, this place would look too austere for anyone to attend regularly," Tommy admitted.

"That's what I'm saying," Lance told him. "This is a business we're running here, and if we want to bring all the patrons here, we have to make this place look fun, so that everyone would want to attend it, and since this is my business asset, I gotta make sure this place looks nice if I want the money thrown my way. Any suggestions, Tommy?"

"You tell me," Tommy told him. "You're the one who came up with the idea to implement it."

"Okay, I got it!" Lance replied. "This place just needs a little decorating, and some artwork as well. I heard you used to be an artist, and you did an excellent job with that portrait of Diaz you made."

"Yeah," Tommy told him. "It's a shame I had to let that drawing go to waste though. Nothing hurts more than wasted talent."

"Which brings me to my suggestion," Lance told Tommy. "Can you make a portrait of my brother?"

"Why?" Tommy asked.

"Well since it's partly my fault he was killed in that ambush almost two months ago, I want something to keep his legacy alive and remember him by," Lance responded. "Please, Tommy. If you had known him longer, you would have been cool around him."

Tommy thought for a second. Despite not knowing Vic as well as Lance did, he did show a bit of empathy for his death since he seemed like a good person who had high standards. So Tommy accepted the offer.

"Alright," Tommy told Lance. "After all, I know how it feels to lose a family member out of violence. Believe me, this has happened to me too."

"Thank you very much, Tommy," Lance thanked. "It really means a lot to me."

"No problem," Tommy replied, walking to the exit. "Just wait here while I go get the stuff for the bar."

Tommy walked outside and hopped inside the white Infernus. He started the engine and made a right turn on the curved road of Ocean Beach and drove straight down the road through Ocean Drive. Tommy continued driving straight until he made it through Washington Beach, passing the Malibu Club and riding through Vice Point.

The sky had now turned a purple and blue evening, and the blazing sun above was reddish orange. It was a cool, serene evening, with the only noise from the cars' engines as they drove through the roads of Vice Point. Tommy saw the North Point Mall up ahead and made a left turn on the parking lot.

Tommy parked in an empty space and jumped out of the vehicle. He knew that he had to get a lot of material in order to decorate the bar. If the patrons were going to attend the bar, it had to look nice and fun so they would be enthusiastic enough to attend and make it their regular hangout spot.

Tommy walked up to the entrance of the mall and walked inside. The song. "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds was playing in the background. The patrons recognized Tommy and simply kept their cool. They knew what the mobster did around the mall the last time he came over and didn't wanted to get on his bad side, especially after he took over every business asset around Vice City. Tommy stood proudly and continued walking.

Tommy took the escalator to the second floor and walked into the art store inside. He purchased the mandatory material needed to draw a portrait and walked out of the shop. He headed for the escalator and made his way through the entrance.

Tommy walked outside to his vehicle and hopped inside, storing the art material in the back seat as well. He started the engine and slowly drove out of the parking lot, making a right turn on the long road of Vice Point. He drove straight and made his way through Washington Beach. Tommy finally made it back to the bar and parked the Infernus inside the garage. He exited the vehicle, took the art material along with him, and made his way to the entrance of the bar.

Tommy entered the Lance Vance Dance Club to meet up with Lance. "You got all the art supplies!" Lance answered. "Excellent! Now just hold on."

Lance went into the back room to fetch something out of there. After about seven seconds, he finally returned to Tommy. He was holding a photograph. "This is my brother's picture," Lance told Tommy, showing a photograph of Vic. "I miss him so much. You know, I feel as though it's my fault he was killed in that ambush. So I want to make something dedicated to him so I can keep his memory alive while we're ruling this here city."

"Believe me, Lance," Tommy told him. "I know that feeling too. And since you have my empathy, I'll draw a portrait of your brother."

"Thank you very much, Tommy," Lance thanked, shaking Tommy's hand firmly. "This means a lot to me."

"No problem," Tommy replied. "Now stand back so I can concentrate in the art."

Tommy used Vic's photograph as a reference in order to get the portrait right. He went to a desk and began sketching out the face. After the sketching, Tommy used another graphic pencil in order to make the outlines look slightly darker and sharper. He then got started with the coloring after succeeding in the lineart and spent most of the time shading and highlighting just to get the portrait look impeccable. Tommy was not only motivated through diligence, but also to empathy, as he knew how it felt to lose a loved one himself and therefore could relate to Lance.

After about two and a half hours spent on the portrait, Tommy had finally finished the portrait of Vic Vance. He had to spray it and let it dry outside so it wouldn't get smudged. After a while, Tommy then returned back inside the bar and showed Lance.

"So whadaya think?" he asked.

Lance grabbed the portrait of his brother and discerned it meticulously. He was amazed at how Tommy had drawn the portrait. Vic's eyes were realistically highlighted and reflected. The stubble around his face was drawn intricately. The outline was neat and crisp. The shading was impeccable. Vic's face just looked so realistic that Lance had to stare at it closely to see if it really was a drawing. After about thirty seconds of examining, Lance finally stared at Tommy looking rather pleased.

'You, Tommy, are an artiste!" Lance complimented, giving Tommy a high five. "This don't even look like no drawing! It looks more like a photograph to me! What's your secret, Tommy?"

"Practice," Tommy told him. "That's my secret."

"I appreciate this, Tommy," Lance replied. "My brother would be so proud! Even though I lost one brother, at least I still have Pete! I'm gonna put this in the picture frame to hang up in the wall."

Tommy watched as Lance went back into the back room. Now that his bar was now set up and ready for the grand opening, it was time to put in the finishing touch.