Author: Hello everybody, I'm back after so long with trying to get back into school and working part time as well. I've decided to change my pen name since the my old one, Black Waltz, was something that was childish since it was the only thing I knew as a kid and changed it to something that reflects with my love of horror writing, so viola. Another thing I want to point out I've decided continue this story, so if you remember my other chapter with the author's note, it's gone and replaced with a chapter so you can read it.

And thanks to reading Chuck Hogan's The Town, I have an understanding of how I want this story to feel like a crime story.

The plane went through the runway of the airstrip of Liberty City International, its tires screeched against the asphalt as it came to a stop. People on the inside got their bags and belongings; some were going to their relatives, others enjoy a relaxing vacation while some wanted to learn new things as well as a new hook on life in America—that being Amalla and Tsuruko.

As the people filed out of the plane they watched them go and waited for it to clear up before reaching up and grabbing their belongings as well. Even though Tsuruko said she wanted to leave with the clothes on their backs, her mind changed and two went back to get their stuff and take it with them. Tsuruko said it didn't feel right leaving it there after she put it off for days on end to make the choice to come; Amalla knew the same.

Both of them walked through the airport, feeling it strange being in America; but they said they wanted a new life and that's what they were going to get. One that involved cars, guns, money, and drugs. Amalla chuckled at this… if Su could see her what she was going to do, she would throw a fit!

Outside the airport in front, they waited for somebody to pick them up. Before arriving in Liberty City, Tsuruko mailed to Keitaro that they would be there and asked him to pick them up; he had no obligation to that and told them he would be there—he didn't realize it would be at night when they landed but he wasn't going to complain; at least the night was still young.

"You sure he's coming?" Amalla asked.

Tsuruko nodded, "He said he would be… oh, wait, that must be him!" A car pulled up next to them and window rolled down, showing him with his music going. He popped open the trunk and they put their bags in the back and closed it before getting into the back seat. Keitaro drove off while they just looked at the spectacle of the city; Keitaro chuckled at this since they had never seen something like Liberty City.

"Surprised?" he asked, looking at them through the rearview mirror.

Coming out of their trance, Amalla spoke up. "I've never seen something like this before, only when I visited where Kaolla was living… this is amazing, Keitaro."

He smiled as he made a turn at a street in Broker and into his parking lot of his safe house. He got out while the girls followed him inside and were amazed by his place. Keitaro gave himself a lot of credit for it. After Kentaro got put down he cleaned up the place to make it look good for his new guests as well make him not look like a slob—something that he was not.

"It's not much, but there are other places in Liberty City that we can use."

"It seems quaint for my standards," said Tsuruko.

"Well, I think it's great. Speaking of which, where are the rooms at?" asked Amalla.

"Upstairs, same with the bathroom… make yourselves at home," Keitaro said as he went to the kitchen to check on his phone. He was getting messages from his current employers about new work opportunities throughout the city; that was something he couldn't turn down; besides he was always looking for work.

Then his thoughts were on his two guests, who both didn't know how to use a gun or drive any kind of vehicle. He was guessing the only way he was going to meet them was by train, and that wasn't cheap. Guess I'm an instructor now, he thought to himself before going to the fridge and getting bottled water. Keitaro knew that teaching them would take some time but he knew he could count on them for certain things, especially Amalla; with her genius in electronics and devices she would come in handy with anything.

Taking another drink of his water, he wondered about work but decided to wait on it for another time—he had two newcomers in Liberty City that needed to be taught and shown around the city for them to get used to America. Hell, with his chances, they'll probably catch on fast with anything… something was missing though.

He had two more but he needed another to make the group complete. From he was told of his employers there was another one who had come to Liberty City before he did so he wanted to try and offer him a chance with them, but his employer told him that man didn't want anything to do with the underworld of Liberty City—so he was out of the question.

Another one who was a candidate was a man named Johnny Klebbitz, who was a former member of the motorcycle gang, The Lost. From what he heard from the grapevine was that the president of the club was doing time on the inside and the whole gang busted into the prison with guns blazing before Johnny put a bullet into his president's head, ending his life. When that deal was done they burned the clubhouse and the surviving members went their separate ways.

"I wonder if he's still around?" he asked himself.

"Whose still around, Keitaro-san?" asked Tsuruko, who had changed into some different clothes she had brought along.

"Oh, it's nothing… I was just thinking about adding another person to us. It can't just be the three of us doing work, we need a fourth person."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Johnny Klebbitz, he was part of motorcycle gang here in Liberty City called The Lost before they disbanded… who knows where he's at now."

"What did your people tell you?"

"Well not much, but I was hoping I found find him around the city, somewhere."

Amalla soon came down the stairs, dressed in different clothes as well. With the way they were dressed, Keitaro knew they wouldn't fit into the city like that. Reaching into his pocket for his wallet, he gave them some cash; enough to buy some different clothes to make them standout a bit better. "No offense but you two need some new clothes… can't be seen in the city wearing those, now can you?"

Looking down at her outfit, which was her usual samurai hakama and sandals, was something she took notice about; how the people at the airport were staring at both her and Amalla get off the plane and wait for their ride. Amalla was a different story; she looked like something out of a fantasy movie with her country's clothing—she knew she wasn't the only who gotten stared at when they first arrived, of course her outfit was nothing revealing like it usual was.

"You're right Keitaro, I guess I was in such a hurry I didn't really think to pack much of anything else besides this and my other outfit. Do you know any place where in the city we can find something we'd like?"

Keitaro smiled, "I can think of a few places."

Sitting silently in his car, humming to himself, Keitaro waited in his Infernus for the girls to come back from their shopping excursion. He gave them some cash—about two hundred each—and they were spending it on some new clothes. He still thought about teaching them driving and how to use a gun, but with Johnny's help, it would be okay; they both had been in Liberty City for a while, except Keitaro was taught firearms back in Los Santos with other people as well as how to drive the vehicles with the schools he had taken.

Now he was hoping what he learned in San Andreas would help him in teach the two how to use a vehicle—water, land, or air—and be able to take them from others. "Now that is something the two are going to have to get accustomed to," he said.

A knock at his window broke him from his trance. He saw the two dressed in something of their tastes—Amalla was dressed in jeans, a shirt with a crescent moon and flowers on it as well as some bracelets, and beige fluffy boots. Aside from the bracelets, she still kept on her ear rings and hairband as accessories as well.

Tsuruko was a little different. She wore a blouse with knee-high boots, matching jacket with an undershirt that showed off her slender midriff; accessories were a necklace and with a pearl pendant and two rubies on each side of it. Keitaro had to nod at their taste of clothing… Motoko was never one to wear those types of things, being the unfeminine one in the bunch back at Hinata Sou.

"Glad my money was well spent," he said as they got in and he drove with them to another one of his people. Inside the car, Tsuruko asked him what he did after he left to America; Keitaro knew well what happened and started to tell his tale.

"Being in San Andreas was a new experience for me… I was scared and didn't know anything about this new life about what I wanted to do. I wasn't like Motoko or any of you but thankfully, though some good luck, I was able to make friends through a guy who was an ex-marine in the military."

"Did he teach you anything?" Amalla asked and Keitaro nodded.

"A lot that I'm thankful for… martial arts and weapons training, tactical planning, safe cracking, all the works… then I get busted and did some time inside the Los Santos prison. Did some time for the job I pulled and then was let out."

"Did anybody try and get you?"

"Definitely… had to sleep with one eye open when I got there but I used my moves on them and they thought twice about messing with me. Even on the inside I did training, even a bodybuilding regiment."

"When you were let out back into daylight, what happened?"

"To make a long story short, I did some more work and then one of my bosses told me about more opportunities here in Liberty City. Of course, I couldn't say no to that and Kentaro and I both came here."

"Was he in prison with you as well?"

"He was and he was with me all those times when I first got there and showed me everything and I soon grown the courage to not be afraid. Even some of the inmates were there to take me in. Shame that we was taken down so early here in Liberty, I was really hoping he could experience it more. But with you two here, it makes up for that, but I just hope it doesn't repeat again like with Kentaro."

"Relax, Keitaro, everything's going to be okay," said Amalla.

Keitaro parked on the curb of the house and got out while the two followed suit. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the kind of people I work for," he said.

They followed him inside the large house as he knocked on the door and was greeted by a man in his forties with a strong build, full beard, and thinning hair. The man smiled as he recognized him from another. "Keitaro," he said in a Russian accent, "it is good to see you, comrade. Please come in."

"Thanks Korzhakov."

Inside his house was decorated with some high-end goods, namely drugs, guns, and money. For Keitaro it was nothing new to him but Tsuruko and Amalla couldn't believe that this was the kind of thing he was doing… and he liked it? Doing something like this would get them jail time but when they saw the rubber-banded money on the table as well, their outlook changed at the kind of cash they would earn from this type of thing.

"Tsuruko, Amalla… I'd like you to meet Vladmir Korzhakov. Korzhakov, these two are Tsuruko and Amalla."

They just nodded as a sign of saying hello, making him chuckle. "They're very shy. So you say they're from Japan… do they know how to use a gun?"

"Actually no, that's why I came to you… I thought that maybe your guys could teach them how to use a weapon so they won't be fumbling trying to figure it out. I will say that Tsuruko is hell on wheels with a sword that much I can guarantee."

"If they don't know how to use a gun, I'll be more than happy to help out," said the ex-colonel.

Calling for some his guys and telling them to take them to the firing range, they were lead away while Keitaro and Korzhakov sat at the table. "I was told by Lucy that you're good for work, is that right?"

"Well, I have the brains for it and I need the money… in a way, I'm good at what I do."

"And with Tsuruko and Amalla here, things will work even better. I like how you attract good people to help. Sounds like you have quite a thing for it."

Keitaro smiled, "I attract people of many types… you just got to be careful of the bad ones who'd like nothing better to bury you alive."

"I know it well." He reached for a bottle and glass, gesturing to the bronze man. "Have a drink?"

"No, thank you though. Lucy told me about you and said that things were looking good for you and business, until some things went downhill."

The sound of gunfire could be heard in the back as they knew the girls were getting their weapons training. "Things happened all the time, Keitaro. I was just the kind of person to make sure nothing else happened. After the war in Afghanistan I went through, I brought my guys here to expand on my business, but like all business's, you got rivals.

Knowing where this was going, Keitaro said, "You need a favor?"

"Can you help?"

"That depends," he said, listening to the gunfire in the background. "I've done plenty before and when I got here so I know the risks of this. My two friends, however, I'm worried about. One is a samurai and the other comes from a foreign country with wealth and skill… that's something I need for us to do well."

"How good is that Amalla girl with electronics and security systems?"

"She's great at it. Tsuruko, though, is a noble samurai, but given the position she's in… when her husband passed away… she's also looking for a change."

"Well then they came to the right place for that."

Korsakov took a sip of his drink, "It takes time to adjust, Keitaro. But with the way things go, they should settle down nicely."

"Maybe they will."

"By the way, Shion told me you did six months in prison… was that here?" asked Korsakov

"No, in San Andreas. You familiar with it?"

"Yeah, I had a friend of mine who was in the army once and I visited him when I could. How long was your prison term?"

"Two years… and from that point on is where I learned a lot. I lied to her when I said I six months."

The two men continued to talk while the girls went on with their firearms training; they were fast learners and were learning everything about guns, Tsuruko especially. She made a mental note to carry a handgun with her in her back pocket instead of always relying on her sword for protection.

Amalla was also learning as well. Her family was always teaching others martial arts as self-defense but never something like weapons training—her country never used guns like so many others do, which always made her wonder about them. Now she was holding one and firing at practice dummies in a firing range at someone's house in America.

"Doing well, kid," one of the colonel's men said to her, "keep at it!"

Amalla quickly unloaded a clip from her pistol and loaded another one in two seconds flat, surprising herself. After a few minutes of training with the pistol, they started to learn about other guns like assault rifles, shotguns, everything that the boss man had kept with him for protection.

Keitaro looked out the window, seeing as the girls were learning more and more about weapons training. A few minutes passed and two were back inside, their fingers itching from the guns they were holding and learning. "How'd it go?"

"It was unbelievable for me," Amalla said.

Tsuruko nodded, "It was something quite relishing… I think once I learn to master a gun, I'll have very little use for a sword."

"Just hope you'll still be as good as your sister."

"She doesn't come close to knowing how to use one," said the older sister. All three of them stopped and pondered about what she said and then they burst into chuckles. Tsuruko couldn't help but think about what she thought about her younger sister, of course, it was all true since she visited Hinata Sou to take her back to Kyoto she easily beat her in the hot springs with little effort—that proved she still had a lot to learn, especially at being a woman.

"Sometimes I often think I have a brother inside a girl's body," said the sword mistress.

"I wasn't the only one," said Keitaro as the two took a seat next to him. Korzhakov got off the phone with one of his workers and told them to get the money, and if they didn't give it to them to use "other measures". "Everything alright?" Keitaro asked.

Turning to him, the colonel's face regained composure. "I'm fine… just had a bit of a problem."

"Need a hand with it?" asked Amalla. She felt like she was ready for it but this just got a laugh out of both men.

"I appreciate the offer, but you still need to learn more about guns, Amalla. But I like you and Tsuruko, you got good stamina when it comes to working with Keitaro."

"So you'll call us if anything comes up?" she asked.

"Sure… besides, you still have others you work for you but that doesn't mean you won't have another chance for money."

After getting more acquainted with Keitaro's employer, they left and went somewhere to talk about this whole thing. Tsuruko asked what kind of food they had in America and he told them about a number of places—it wasn't like Japan, first of all. Everything in America was the opposite of Japan's health benefiting food. They stopped to eat at a restaurant that served Japanese cuisine.

Pulling into the parking, he looked at the place and them at them. "Is this all right?"

"This is okay for me," said Tsuruko.

"Same here, Keitaro, I got no problem with it," said Amalla.

So the two ate inside the restaurant and ordered their food. "So, are you two sure you want this? It's not going to be easy."

Taking a bite of her eggroll, Amalla swallowed it, savoring the taste of the food while Tsuruko did the same and then took a sip of her soda, also savoring the flavor. He just watched the two as they ate like they had never seen food like the stuff they had in Liberty City; he could remember the times when he was in San Andreas how he was never used to the pizza. In Japan, they made pizza entirely different but in America, they used different toppings like pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms and other things besides corn and pepperoni and chicken.

Knowing that what they ate would be okay with him, mainly because he had some large bills in his pocket he could pay for the food. After about an hour of talking and eating, the two went back to Keitaro's place and got themselves relaxed. He thought in about a week they would have their weapons training all figured out, but the other stuff—the kind where you have to get your hands dirty for a buck—it would take a lot more than a week.

That was something that he learned back in San Andreas, what Jim Rogers, the ex-marine told him… in the jungle, it's eat or be eaten.

"So," he said trying to break the eating, "I take it you two are ready for this sort of change? I'm sure you two would know what you guys would be getting into—cops, drugs, money, organized crime, all that stuff."

They paused from their eating and set their food down. They had all these mixed emotions in their head about this whole thing, Tsuruko especially. When they were on the plane they had their minds set on this and were ready, but now their minds were having second thoughts about being in the city, but they shut all that off from their head and looked at him.

Tsuruko spoke first, "I know very well what I'm getting into, Keitaro-san, and I'm willing to make those sacrifices for this kind of life you've been living. I say that I've moved on from my old life and now live in one where I can forget about the things that have happened…I'm ready for what the city has to offer."

He looked at the darks-skinned woman, "And you?"

Amalla looked at him with the same look on Tsuruko's face, and then smiled. "I heard about from your letters the things you've been doing and the money you've been making. I can say that's something I never thought you would do but I can see you're a different person that before…America has calmed you down, you've changed. I'm also willing to leave my past life behind for this one."

"Even if that means having cops chasing you?"

"Even that," she said.

"Well, good. Soon you two will be more knowledgeable about Liberty City and everything, but there are still some things you need to learn…how to drive. Lucky for you, I've had some experience before with all the ones I've learned."

"What about weapons training?"

"You're still going to learn that, I'm taking this one step at a time so I won't be rushing you."

After they ate, Keitaro drove the others back home and they all lounged around before the Sandman did his work and they were asleep. The next day brought more surprises for trio as they were enjoying a few drinks over at one of the bars in Algonquin after they did more of their weapons training; Keitaro could see improvements and know that they would be able to fully use a gun quickly.

He was still looking for someone to add to his gang and since Niko was out of the picture, he didn't know of anybody else besides Johnny, seeing as he is, or was, part of the Lost MC in Liberty City but since everything went to hell for them, they split and he didn't know if Johnny was willing to be part of the crew; from what Keitaro found out from the colonel and the other one, Luis Lopez, who was the bodyguard and partner for Tony Prince, the man who owned the nightclubs in the city.

Two choices, he thought to himself, I just don't know which one to choose.

As he was enjoying his drink, the door opened and somebody walked in—the person he wanted to see and ask. "Hey, three shots," said the man while the bartender got the glasses and poured in the liquor while he sat next to Keitaro.

Both men were silent next to each other as they downed their drinks before Keitaro spoke up. "Johnny Klebbitz, right?"

The former MC member looked at the tan man and said, "Yeah, who's asking?"

"Just wanting to know… heard about what happened with your president, Billy Grey."

"Fucking cocksucker had it coming. Billy never gave a shit about the brotherhood to begin with," he took a sip of his drink, "and always wanted us to be ruthless and start fights with people I didn't want to fight.

"I heard about what happened. What do you plan to do now?"

"No idea, but I still want to be in on the action but there's no way we can form the Brotherhood back the way it was."

"You know I was looking for you Johnny. I need someone like you. Besides, you said you want back in on the action, but I'm no biker like you but I know how to ride one. Name's Keitaro, by the way."

"Yeah, I heard about you," he downed the rest of his last shot and turned to him. "You've been doing some pretty fucked up shit, I was surprised by this. Heard how you were doing a drug run for the Russian guy Korzhakov."

"You know him, huh?"

"Yeah, he's a big guy here in the city, along with other people you or I haven't heard of yet."

"How good are you with four wheels?"

"Never liked those pieces of shit, why?"

"I need someone who knows how to drive a car. Of course I heard how you aren't very good at it."

"You got that right… but ever since the Brotherhood gave up the ghost and we went our separate ways, I decided to get back into cars. It took some time but I managed to have a liking for them, but I still love my bikes."

Keitaro finished his beer and said, "So how about?"

He held out his hand in a shake and Johnny looked at for a minute, debating on whether to join him and his friends—he thought about back to the club, they would always be brothers even if they were no longer the way they used to be. Still, he could get in touch with them whenever he needed and help his new friends out… why the hell not?

Johnny extended his hand and it was done. Johnny Klebbitz, former member of the motorcycle gang the Lost was now part of another family.

Author:Another chapter for you, my friends. I had a hard time with this mainly because I don't want to feel like I'm rushing things through the story but I've been reading a lot of books so I can know what to do, especially The Town, which is I think is a good book so far. I'm also aiming that the next chapter's word count would be a lot more… like 20,000 or 25,000. Another thing I want is that I won't be using all the characters from the GTA 4 universe, mainly because of the Niko storyline since some of them were dead at the end of the game, and Niko wanting nothing to do with the criminal underworld anymore; that's why I'm using made-up bosses and other people Keitaro and his friends work for. I was having a debate on who to use (Luis Lopez or Johnny Klebbitz) and decided on who, while also trying to get the personalities of the character of the game right.

This story will be put on hold so I can focus on other projects because I feel like they need the attention, note just this one.