GTA: The Ballad of Rainbow Dash
Chapter 5: Feel Good Inc.
(Panties – Two days later)
Seeing Roman practically glow after finding out that Niko wanted him to manage the small pancake restaurant had worked wonders for both of them. Dash knew that this was a big step toward a dream Roman had chased for so long, and it felt good to help a friend like she did back when she lived in Ponyville. Dwayne had even shown a great deal of interest in running the kitchen. Niko had told him that he wanted it to still serve pancakes, but that he could cook other things as well.
“So, I was putting together a lunch menu, and it looks like we might have to get some of the supplies in,” Dwayne said.
“Supplies, it shouldn't be a problem,” Roman said.
“Roman, we’ve only got the supplier that worked with the original owners. Sometimes I don’t think that you think about things like this. Niko, my cousins Carlos and Luis are in the distribution business. I know that they have been supplying goods to a few of the vendors around town, and I think that they could get us what we want,” Mallory replied.
“Okay, Mallory talk to your cousins. Roman, call the supplier we know and find out what else they can supply and what the charges are going to be. Dwayne, give them a full list of what we need,” Niko said.
“And what are you going to be doing?” Roman asked.
“What else? I’m going to be funding this Roman,” Niko said.
“Niko, man, I didn’t mean anything. This, this is our dream come true. It’s a business that we can be proud of. It’s a place that will grow into a respectable restaurant. One that will become the envy of every other restaurant in Liberty City,” Roman said.
“Sure, sure Roman, but first let’s get it off of the ground,” Niko replied. He turned toward Dash who watched the entire ordeal for a moment.
“Dwayne, can you cook fries?” Dash asked.
“Can I cook fries?! Back on the inside I cooked the best food anyone ever tasted. Sure, I can cook fries, but what kind do you want? Sweet potato, regular, crinkle cut, stake fries, seasoned curly fries, or anything special?” he asked.
She thought for a moment. She wanted to ask for Hayfries. It had been her favorite back in Ponyville, but it would be a little strange asking for it here. The closest thing she had found that sort of tasted close to the batter dipped goodness was asparagus. That was it. Maybe asking for asparagus fries wouldn’t sound too strange.
“What about Asparagus fries?” she asked.
He stopped for a moment and rubbed his chin. It almost seemed as if he hadn’t considered the idea of frying another vegetable besides potatoes. After a couple of seconds he nodded.
“Sure, I can do that. I can mix them up in some cornmeal batter. It should help keep them nice and crisp. Got to say though no one asked me to make those before, so where did you get the idea?” he asked.
“I used to eat something like that a lot back home,” she answered.
She was being truthful. She had nearly eaten her weight in hayfries when she was back in Ponyville. It had been one of her favorite foods. Well, hayfries, apple turnovers, and anything from Sugarcube Corner. Although, thinking on what Pinkie had used to make her cupcakes… she stopped her train of thought. She couldn’t keep going in that direction. Since coming here she had made sure to eat things that she knew hadn’t been made the same way. So far regular French fries had become one of her favorites, although she did love Mallory’s vegetarian lasagna.
The sound of money being counted began to sound from inside of the room. After a moment Roman grabbed his phone and answered it.
“Bellic Enterprises, this is Roman Bellic,” he said.
“Roman, who is it?” Mallory asked.
“Niko, have you told anyone else about this place?” he asked.
Niko shook his head.
“Look, I don’t know who you are…” he started before his face paled.
“S..Sure,” he said as he put the phone down and pressed the speaker button.
“Ah, there we go. Thank you Mr. Roman Bellic. I’m going to assume that Mr. Niko Bellic is in the room,” the voice said.
“Who is this?” Niko asked.
“I’m sorry, but as you know in our business there aren’t names. However, I believe you spoke to my employer earlier. I believe that he had talked to you and Ms. Dash about a few jobs that needed to be done. Of course, anyone else in the room with you should understand that this conversation doesn’t leave the room,” the voice said.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Pick up the phone, turn off the speaker function, and we’ll talk,” the voice said.
Niko looked at the phone and picked it up slowly. He didn’t like the feel of it. He didn’t like the fact that someone knew he was with Roman and called his cousin’s phone in order to talk to him. He switched off the speaker function.
“What?” he asked.
“Thank you Mr. Bellic. Understand that if I have to contact you through your cousin, friends or anyone other than your little girlfriend standing beside you that I will have to eliminate them. Consider this a friendly warning,” he said.
“Do not threaten me!” Niko roared at the phone.
“Mr. Bellic, I believe that you should calm down. After all, I know that you are currently in the soon to be reopened Panties ‘Pancake house’, and that you are standing next to Ms. Dash. I also know that Mr. Forge is standing off to your left, a mere eight feet from you, leaning against the fourth booth. Your cousin, his wife, and their young daughter are standing directly in front of you. I know all of this, and believe me when I say that I can execute all of them within ten seconds. That’s using a high powered rifle. If I decided to rupture the gas line it would be less time, but I need you alive. So, shall we try this again?” the voice asked.
“What do you want?” Niko asked through clenched teeth.
“Good, it seems that there is a man who has discovered a few unsavory things about what our Government is doing. We’ve played most of his ramblings off as the insane ramblings of a conspiracy theorist. We would continue to do so, but he has actually gained proof. Unfortunately we’re uncertain of how much proof he has gained, and how devastating it would be if it made it to the media. We’re an address to your phone’s GPS device. I suggest that you turn your phone on, and head over to where he is,” the voice said.
Niko quickly ended the call and handed the phone back to Roman. He turned toward the door only to feel Dash grab his arm.
“What did they say?” she asked.
He shook his head and walked outside. Dash looked at everyone else and then at where Niko had walked to. She began to follow him, but she heard the footsteps of everyone else behind her.
“Niko, whatever it is man we can deal with it,” Roman said.
“Roman they knew where all of you were standing. They knew we were here, and they are somewhere around here watching us. I used to think those idiots in Bohan were all insane, but they are right Roman. Everything they said is right,” Niko said as he shook his head.
“So, you’re saying that the aliens are really controlling the government?” Roman asked.
Dash couldn’t help the laugh that began to well up inside of her. It erupted as a small giggle and then turned into a massive case of guffawing. It began to spread through the friends standing there. It didn’t matter that there was someone that could be watching them at this moment. All that mattered was that blissful moment of happiness. Niko felt himself relax for a moment before he picked up his phone. As soon as he turned it on his GPS app popped up showing that a new address had been added to his go to list.
Before he could argue Dash got into the Dukes. She started the engine hearing it rumble to life. The large car felt good. It felt protected in a way. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it was almost as if it enjoyed being driven by her and Niko, and in return it wanted to protect them. She knew that it was unlikely. This place wasn’t like Esquestria. Magic wasn’t exactly common place here. There was that one guy The ‘Incredible’ Kleinman, but she wasn’t really sure if what he did could be considered magic or not.
She felt the weight shift for a second and looked to see Niko getting into the car.
“You shouldn’t go,” he said.
She stared at him blankly for a moment.
“This is because of me Niko. I know what’s going on, and I’m going to help,” she replied as she rolled her eyes.
“This isn’t like doing a job of Elizabeth, or running a job with Packie. This is dark in a way you should not face,” he said.
She could hear the way his accent tried to overpower his speech. He always spoke with a deep Eastern European Accent anyway, but when she first wanted to start helping him it almost became completely overpowering. It seemed as if he was trying to revert back to his native tongue. She shook her head.
“Niko I’m not taking no for an answer. This is because of me, and I’m going to help. Besides, we both know that you need all of the help you can get,” she said with a slight smirk.
He leaned back and let out a long breath. She knew he was going to end up giving in. He would because she would end up following him anyway. Finally he nodded and looked at the others standing there.
“Go back inside, go ahead and contact the suppliers and act as if everything is normal. Actually, this is normal for me, and Roman, cousin, I know this is normal for you too,” he said.
Roman nodded. Niko knew that it hadn’t been that long ago that both he and Roman had been caught up in all kinds of craziness. The insanity of it all had rained down upon them for what seemed like months, but then it finally ended. He still had to do things, things outside of the law, to help make a life for them, but it wasn’t so bad. This was going back to same insanity of before. He felt somewhat glad that some of that insanity was no longer around to torment them. That Dimitri was long gone, and all of the insanity he had caused gone with him.
The Dukes rushed off into the distance. He glanced at the app and then to Dash who was following the digital voice from the phone. Within moments they were in Bohan, nearing an old townhouse. She pulled up near it and stopped. He hit the autodial for the number he had been given by the government before. It beeped twice before the sound it being redirected could be heard.
“Interesting, I would have thought that you would have gotten rid of the original contact information,” the familiar voice of the Agent said.
“I find it hard to let go of such cherished memories,” Niko snidely replied.
“So do I. The threat to our security should be away for the moment. I’m sure that you remember this drill, but go inside, check for anything that might have the information and proof he has, and report back as soon as you find it,” the Agent said.
“Fine,” he replied before he hung up the phone.
Dash got out and walked with him up to the house. Niko tried the door, found it locked, and kicked it in. She walked inside and could tell that the owner of the place hadn’t cleaned in what seemed like forever.
“Niko, what are we looking for?” she asked.
“Anything that might have the proof this conspiracy theorist claims he has,” Niko answered.
“HeavyPad tablet?” she asked.
He walked into the room to see the tablet computer sitting on a table. He pushed the screen to see it pop open to the owner’s email account. He dialed the number again.
“What have you found?” the Agent asked.
“His email,” Niko said as he opened the first message, “It seems that he’s meeting someone named Broni on Tulsa Street. This seems very familiar.”
“Yes it does, but does it say why he’s meeting this Broni?” the Agent asked.
“He’s giving him the proof. He wants him to upload it to the Liberty Tree’s public News page,” Niko replied.
“Get over to Tulsa Street. We’re sending a picture of what he looks like to you. Find him, eliminate him and this Broni,” the Agent said.
“I thought that you would want to take him into custody,” Dash said.
“Ah, Ms Dash I see you accompanied Niko. No, we can’t afford to take him into custody. The public is just starting to calm down from the Edwin Snorden problem. So, we can’t afford to look like we actually have anything to hide; however, having someone like you and Niko remove this problem for us makes it appear to be nothing more than a random act of violence. It might even help pass stricter gun laws,” the Agent said before hanging up.
A moment later the phone beeped as a text message came through. Niko opened it to show the individual. He expected to see a middle aged man. Someone who had fighting the government for years, but instead it was a kid. He couldn’t be over eighteen, and from the looks of it he had all of his life ahead of him. Niko closed his eyes tightly. Forcing the memories of what had happened to his friends, to those who had been called his enemies, back into the darkness that hid in his mind. It didn’t help that this was someone who was just as young as he was when he went to fight.
Dash followed him still trying to grasp the situation. This was someone just a little younger than her. It was somepony, or someone, who was just barely out of being a foal. She didn’t want to think about what it meant. She got into the Dukes and let Niko drive. She leaned back into the seat.
“Is this what you meant?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
“This is the kind of thing they force you to do?” she asked.
“It is. This is why I said you should not come,” he answered.
“Niko, this is because of me. I have to come. I have to be a part of this, but, he’s just a foal, a kid. It doesn’t seem right,” she said.
“I know. It is not right. It was not right when I first had to do this. There are things I haven’t told you. Things that I did, that I saw, and that I helped cause that ruined me. I wish I could say this was the first time I had to kill someone this young, but it isn’t,” he replied.
She looked out the window as they drove. Niko had done this before, and she knew that it bothered him. His past always bothered him. She wondered if that was going to happen to her. The thought of what she did here coming back to haunt her later in her life floated around in her mind. She was haunted already. What happened in Pinkie Pie’s basement was always there. It was always ready to pick up where they had left off. She hated it too. She hated knowing that there was nights when she would be back in that basement. She would be helpless, and sometimes she would be looking at Niko already skinned, and his body turned into whatever ingredient Pinkie needed for one of her baked goods.
She felt the Dukes stop and saw the kid talking to girl. She couldn’t be much older than him.
“Stay here,” Niko said.
He got out, pulled out a pistol and dropped the boy. She could see that he did it quick, and the way he shot the boy barely even had time to realize he had been shot. She wasn’t sure, but from what she could see the boy was most likely already dead before he hit the pavement. The girl however ran. She heard him shooting at her, shouting at her, but she was pulling away from him. Without a second thought she jumped out of the car and took off running toward the girl. She darted past Niko, pulling further and further away from him, and closer to the girl.
She tackled her knocking her to the ground and causing her to cry out in pain.
“Please let me go!” the girl pleaded.
“We can’t,” Niko said almost out of breath as he neared them.
“What did I do?” she cried.
“It’s what your friend did. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Dash said.
“He was just a harmless geek. I mean, he was just a harmless guy what did he do? What could he have done?” she cried.
“He learned too much,” Niko said.
He aimed the gun, and found Dash looking at him. He closed his eyes and cursed.
“You cannot stay here. Actually you cannot stay anywhere. Disappear, I don’t care where, but go. Leave and don’t come back,” Niko said.
The girl started to get up, but Dash stopped her.
Whatever he gave to you, give it to me,” she said.
The girl handed her a flash drive.
“Go ahead and get on out of here,” Dash said.
She took off and Niko looked down at her.
“This could put us in danger,” he said.
“It’s worth it. It was like seeing myself back there all over again,” she said.
“I know, come on, we need to get out of here,” he said.