Chapter 22: Claiming the White Throne
Under the astonished stares of Abruzzi's men, Tommy walked out of the cell as if nothing had happened, shoulders squared, stride unhurried.
Belick was gone. The Nostra Family had been bent to his terms. Two enemies down. Only one remained — the White Gang.
Compared to the others, they were the easiest target. Their reputation might have sounded fierce, but it was smoke without fire. Before Tea Bag arrived at Redhaven, they had been a footnote, weak and scattered. Two years under his ruthless leadership had revived them into something formidable, but it had taken only one bloody afternoon in the yard — Tommy's fists against Tea Bag's knife — to topple that structure. Now Tea Bag lay in the infirmary, and the White Gang was a lion with its head cut off.
In a dim corner of the block, a dozen of them huddled, voices dripping with bitterness.
"Damn it, it's all that Tommy Vercetti's fault!" one spat, knuckles white around his fists.
They cursed him, blind to their own sins. They forgot the trail of misery they and Tea Bag had carved, forgot the endless extortion and violence that had made every other gang turn against them. In their eyes, only Tommy was to blame.
They didn't realize the man himself was already walking their way.
"Hey, kid, you're crossing the line!" one of them barked, stepping forward to block his path.
Tommy's gaze swept across their bruised faces, the swollen eyes and split lips. They'd been beaten badly in the recent Black–White clashes. The losers were always easy to spot.
"Oh really?" he said lightly. "From where I'm standing, looks like you've already lost the line."
The casual scorn in his eyes set their blood boiling. The bearded brute leading them snapped. With a roar, he swung a punch at Tommy's face, the air whistling from its speed.
The others cheered prematurely. "That's it, Jack! Show him the White Gang's strength!"
But their celebration died before it began.
Tai Lung's martial arts talent sharpened Tommy's senses to a razor edge. In the moment before the fist landed, he saw every flaw in Jack's stance. His hand shot out like lightning, caught the punch mid-swing, and twisted.
Crack!
The sound of bone snapping echoed in the corridor. Jack's scream tore through the air.
Another gang member rushed from behind, hoping for a cheap shot. Tommy sidestepped smoothly, planted a kick between the man's shoulders, and sent him sprawling face-first into the floor, teeth scattering across the concrete.
Two down in seconds. The cheers that had begun now hung awkwardly in the air, sounding more like applause for Tommy than for them.
"So," Tommy asked, voice calm and steady as his eyes swept the circle, "do you want to keep fighting… or do you want to listen to me?"
The White Gang shifted uneasily. Their pride said fight. Their survival screamed otherwise.
Before anyone could answer, a prison guard appeared down the hall, baton in hand. "Hey! Break it up!" he barked.
Normally, guards ignored these scraps unless blood spilled. But today, after the riot earlier, tensions were high. Another outbreak could ignite the whole block. The guard kept his distance, eyes sharp, ready to step in at the first sign of escalation.
The White Gang froze. With a guard watching, brawling wasn't an option. The excuse to stop came almost as a relief.
Tommy took the moment. "You're leaderless. Broken. Everyone's pushing you into the dirt. You want to survive? Follow me."
The words hit harder than his fists. For a moment there was stunned silence. Then muttering.
He was right. Without Tea Bag, they were finished. But Tommy — the man who had crushed their enemies and stood unshaken against the guards — might be the only one who could restore their power.
The idea was outrageous. Tommy was the reason for their downfall. And yet… he was also the only one who could lift them from it.
Some sneered. Others whispered. But more than one set of eyes began to shift, calculating.
Tommy watched the doubt and fear in their faces. He didn't rush them. Leaders weren't begged for. Leaders took the throne and made the world believe.
And tonight, the White Gang was beginning to believe.