Max Payne

CHAPTER 2: Live From The Crime Scene

OLD ROSCOE STREET STATION
"The rusty tunnel led to an abandoned part of the station, closed off since the 40's. Something big was going down at Roscoe Street. Maybe that's why Alex want to meet me here. Maybe not... One way or another, I was going to find out" Max hopes out of the broken train and decides to head through the tunnel. Up ahead were a few thugs guarding the entrance to the lower halves of the station, they were all talking about a familiar name.

THUG #1: Did you hear something?
THUG #2: Nah, take it easy.
THUG #1: Now way, listen!
THUG #2: Come on let's go already!
THUG #1: Fine, okay.
THUG #3: Hey anyone met Lapino?
THUG #1: Lapino? Now that's spooky
THUG #2: Jack Lapino, yeah spooky. Also it's like the failure count is rising.
THUG #3: I wouldn't joke about it if I was you.

Max moves in a bit closer to see where they are heading. One of the thugs phones begin to ring, he picks it up and answers. Max couldn't hear what was on the phone so it was useless. The thug nods and then the call ends.

THUG #3: The stations not secured. Someone decided to play hero upstairs.
THUG #2: That's all we need, let's move
THUG #1: Right eh?

They picked up their things and decided to move in the direction of Max. Max steadies his gun and jumps forward shooting all the thugs before they could see Max. Two of the thugs go down but the other hides behind a box. A fire of bullets fly at Max but he's already hiding behind a pillar.

THUG 1: Your the one who's been causing trouble eh? Imma kill you.
MAX: Not if I get you first.

The thug gets up from behind the box and continues to shoot towards Max. Near the box, a gas tank sits on the ground. If it goes off it should explode and could take him out. Max focuses his shot at the tank while the the thugs continues shooting at Max. Two shots and it hits the tank, it steams and explodes on time. The thugs goes flying into the wall, killed by impact. Max gets up and decides to head up the tunnel as trouble was ahead of him. Suddenly the subway begins to shake, as if an explosion went off.

MAX: What the hell was that!!!

Max runs up the stairs out of the tunnel and arrives in another part of the old station. Rats roamed the hallways, bricks and dust over the room. Where on earth was Alex and why did he want him here. Ahead of the stairs, two thugs can be seen muttering to each other.

THUG #4: All done here.. Gimme the detonator.
THUG #5: What are you talking about?
THUG #4: The detonator
THUG #5: I thought you'd bring it!
THUG #4: You were supposed to bring it.
THUG #5: Yeah right.

In anger the thugs pulls out his SawedOff Shotgun and pulls the trigger on his partner. Talking back to each other was a bad idea, failing a task must be death in the mafia. Before the thug leaves the station begins to shake again, this time longer than before. Suddenly a piece of the roof collapses on the thugs, knocking them out. Max got lucky this time, he approaches the wired to investigate. "The door had been welded shut ages ago, and the bomb was missing the detonator" The only way through the door, was to find the detonator, maybe the other thugs had it. Max continues through the old station, looking carefully for any sign of thugs. He then comes to a room with a hole in the middle of the wall, a passage that had been recently blown away. That must have been the cause of the shaking. He decides to walk through the hole as its the only way through now. At the otherside, lies a room full of money and gold. They had blown a hole to the safe at Roscoe Street Bank. Around the corner more thugs could be heard talking.

THUG #6: Okay Fellas, The police are on there way.. New Yorks finest are be here soon, just stick to the plan. We've got our own private exit route. In and Out, do your thing.
THUG #7: True.. True
THUG #8: You said it

Whatever they wanted they already had ready, what they didn't know was the door hasn't been blown off. The thugs begin to run in Max's direction, he couldn't get in another gun fight so he decides to hide behind one of the gold stacks. One by one the thugs go through the hole and once again, Max is left alone in a cold silent room. He runs down the banks hallway and into the safes entry. He arrived at the security room. 3 safe doors with computer generated locks. The only way to find answers, was to investigate the room quickly. Max walks up to the lock computer and decides to unlock Vault A. The door opens and he walks inside, on the table lay the detonator. "The bank robbers had left their tools on the table" With the detonator on, he could blow the exit but the thugs could be on there way so he had to hurry. Max had the detonator but he was curious to find out why they needed to be here. He walks up to the detonator and unlocks Vault C, in that room a bunch of papers were scattered across the table. "The bank robbers had been after Aesir corporation bonds. The Aesir success story had recently been on every channel and on the cover of every magazine" Max puts the papers down and decides to leave the vault but before he could the banks phone begins to ring. He walks up to the phone and picks it up.

MAX: We come to you live from the crime scene.
VOICE: Who is this?
MAX: Right back at you.
VOICE: This is Deputy Chief Jim Bravura from the NYPD. You are to cease your criminal activities and surrender immediately.
MAX: Sure thing, Jim. Me and the boys been talking and everyone's real sorry. They'll never do it again.
CHIEF JIM: Who the hell is this?

Max hangs up the phone. Now that the NYPD had arrived Max had to leave. "Being placed at the scene of bank robbery wouldn't have tipped the odds in my favour" Max leaves the vault and heads up the stairs to the wired door. At the door the remaining thugs stood. Max prepared the detonator and pushes the switch.

THUG #7: Do you hear that noise.
THUG #8: What noise....

The bomb explodes killing the three thugs and the door goes flying. Max walks through to find himself at the otherside of Roscoe Street Station. Behind the locked gates a man stands with a gun ready to shoot.

MAN: Hold it... Max! Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack! I nearly shot you.
MAX: Alex.. Am I so glad to see you.
ALEX: What the hells going on here? There are more corpses here than the city morgue!
MAX: It's an armed robbery. A tunnel job straight through Roscoe Bank Vault, through the old station wall.
ALEX: This is Lupino's gig? This is Lupino's doing? Lupino's men?
MAX: You sure know how to pick a place. Can you get through?
ALEX: No it's locked. We gotta get out of here, if it's Lupino, it's also....
MAX: Alex, are you okay. ALEX!!

Suddenly blood comes out of Alex's mouth. Someone had shot him from behind, who on earth did it. "There was nothing I could do. He was dead. I could tell by the empty accusing stare of his eyes" Max's only friend had been killed in front of him, more terrible memories to live in his mind, first his wife now this. Max couldn't stay here, he had to go, he head up to the stairs and begins to here voices and the sounds of sirens feel the air.

THUG #9: Lets get the hell outta here!
THUG #10: Well be fine, just take it easy.
THUG #9: I'm allergic to sirens, we gotta get moving!
THUG 10: Just shut up already.

The thug begins to panic and shoots his partner in stress, with a thought he looks at the body and runs out of the station. There were two ways out, the sirens were on the left and the other way was to the right, Max needed to avoid the cops so he runs to the right exit. "Alex had kept me relatively sane for the past three years. Now I didn't know how I felt. Somehow he had stumbled upon something big.. And ended up stepping on Jack Lupino's toes"