In The Beginning...

Not to be confused with In the Beginning, an introduction mission from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Ken Rosenberg:

“I poke my head out of the gutter for one freakin' second and fate shovels shit in my face!”

Tommy Vercetti:

“Go get some sleep.”

Ken Rosenberg:

“What are you gonna do?”

Tommy Vercetti:

“I'll drop by your office tomorrow and we can start sorting this mess out.”

—Ken Rosenberg and Tommy Vercetti after the ambushed deal.

In The Beginning... is the introduction sequence in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which introduces the main characters and establishes the storyline.

Description

Forelli Crime Family Don, Sonny Forelli, his right hand man, and another unknown Forelli member, discuss Tommy Vercetti's release from prison, after he was arrested and jailed for killing eleven men during a botched hit; serving fifteen years behind bars. The mobsters decide to send Tommy to Vice City to man their drug operations there for a few months.

After flying out to Vice City, Tommy, Ken Rosenberg (a lawyer who serves as the Forelli contact in Vice City), and mobsters, Harry and Lee, are driven in Ken's Admiral to a drug deal with the Vance Crime Family in Viceport. The Vances arrive by helicopter and begin the deal.

However, the deal is ambushed, and Harry, Lee and one of the dealers are killed, while Tommy, Ken, and another dealer escape.

Victor Vance:

“100% pure grade-A Colombian, my friend.”

Tommy Vercetti:

“Let me see it.”

Victor Vance:

“The greens?”

Tommy Vercetti:

“Tens and twenties...used.”

Victor Vance:

“I think we have a deal, my friend. HA HA!”

—The ambushed drug deal between Tommy Vercetti and one of the Vance brothers.

Tommy and Ken drive to Ken's office, where Tommy tells Ken to get some sleep and that he will visit him in the morning to begin evaluating the situation. Ken goes into his office, and Tommy drives to the Ocean View Hotel to telephone Sonny and inform him of what happened.

After the cut-scene ends and before Tommy goes to the hotel, the player is considered in free-roam instead of a mission, thus they can do whatever they please.

Deaths

Victor Vance - Killed by Ricardo Diaz's Hitmen during an ambush.
Harry - Killed by Ricardo Diaz's Hitmen during an ambush.
Lee - Killed by Ricardo Diaz's Hitmen during an ambush.

Help Text

Follow the pink blip to the hotel.

Transcript

Marco's Bistro, Liberty City. Sonny Forelli and his men, the Forelli Capo and another unknown Forelli mafia member, are discussing the release of Tommy Vercetti from jail and expanding their business down south in Vice City.

Sonny Forelli:

Tommy Vercetti... Huh! Shit, didn't think they'd ever let him out.

Forelli Capo:

He kept his head down, helps people forget.

Sonny:

People will remember soon enough, when they see him walking down the streets of their neighborhoods. It will be bad for business.

Forelli Mafia Member:

Well, what are we gonna do Sonny?

Sonny:

We will treat him like an old friend and keep him busy out of town. OK? We been talking about expanding down South, right? Vice City is twenty-four carat gold these days. The Colombians, the Mexicans, hell, even those Cuban refugees are cutting themselves a piece of some nice action.

Forelli Capo:

But it's all drugs, Sonny. None of the families will touch that shit!

Sonny:

Times are changing. The families can't keep their backs turned while their enemies reap the rewards. So, we send some one down to do the dirty work for us... and cut ourselves a nice quiet slice, OK? Who's our contact down there?

Forelli Mafia Member:

Ken Rosenberg, schmuck of a lawyer. How's he gonna hold Vercetti's leash?

Sonny:

We don't need him to. We just set him loose in Vice City, we give him a little cash for getting started, OK? Give it a few months. Then we go down and pay him a little visit right? See how he's doing.

The scene changes to Ken Rosenberg, waiting for Harry, Lee and Tommy in his Admiral at Escobar International Airport, Vice City.

Ken:

Hey, hey! guys... It's Ken Rosenberg, here! Heh, heh, hey, great. Hey, well I am gonna drive you guys to the meet, OK? Now, I have talked to the suppliers and they are very, uh, keen to start a business relationship. So, if it goes well we should be doing very nicely for ourselves, which is, y'know, good. Okay, so. They're brothers okay. One of them operates the, uh, business, and the other one does the flying...

The scene changes to the Vice City Docks. A helicopter is seen flying towards the docks. The helicopter lands as Rosenberg's car pulls into the same area.

Ken:

OK, that's them in the chopper. Alright, here's the deal. They want a straight exchange on open ground, alright? OK, stay tight. Let's go.

Rosenberg stays in the car while Tommy, Lee and Harry complete the deal. One of the dealers exits the helicopter and walks towards the group carrying two briefcases. Some men carrying weapons and wearing black clothes are seen crouching behind some crates in a nearby warehouse.

Tommy:

Got it?

The Dealer:

100% pure Grade-A Colombian, my friend.

Tommy:

Let me see it.

Dealer:

The greens?

Tommy:

Tens and twenties - used.

Harry and Lee show the money to the dealer.

Dealer:

I think we have a deal, my friend, ha ha ha ha ha!

The gunmen ambush the deal by shooting at the men. Harry, Lee and the Dealer are killed.

Tommy:

Oh, shit!

Tommy jumps through the window of Ken's car.

Tommy:

Go on, get out of here! Drive!

Ken's car speeds off whilst the helicopter flies away. The scene changes to Vice Beach, outside Ken's office.

Ken:

I poke my head out of the gutter for one freakin' second and fate shovels shit in my face!

Tommy:

Go get some sleep.

Ken:

What are you gonna do?

Tommy:

I'll drop by your office tomorrow and we can start sorting this mess out.

Ken runs into his office.

News Report

noicon

Reporter:

We interrupt your programming with a message from the state department: all bridges and some roads in the Vice City metropolitan area have been closed because of a severe weather warning. Meteorologists are tracking Hurricane Hermione, which has devastated five Caribbean islands and is heading for Vice City. More updates soon.

Gallery

Walkthrough

The scene is the back-room in Marco's Bistro, Liberty City. Three men, Forelli Crime Family Don Sonny Forelli, Sonny's right-hand man and an unknown associate are discussing Tommy Vercetti, a former member of their family who was just released from prison.

Sonny says that he didn't think that Tommy would ever be released.

One of the men at the table say that Tommy was staying silent while incarcerated, which made people forget of his crimes.

Sonny responds to this claim by saying that people will remember his crimes again once they see him walking free in their neighborhoods.

Sonny proceeds to say that people seeing Tommy roaming free would hurt the family's reputation.

One of the men at the table asks Sonny what shall they do with Tommy, to which Sonny replies with the idea to keep him out of Liberty City and give him something to do elsewhere.

This solution would also work with Forelli's plans to expand into southern territories of the United States.

Sonny suggests the place where they send Tommy to can be Vice City, which Sonny compares to 24-carat gold due to the money one can earn there.

Sonny says that various groups of nationalities are making lots of money in Vice City.

One of the men at the table says that the problem is that the money is earned by selling drugs, which is against the rules of the mafia.

Sonny tries to refute the man's claim and says that the times are changing.

Sonny says that the three mafia families of Liberty City can't ignore the popularity of drug trade across the country while other organizations build up their drug empires.

After saying this, Sonny asks one of his interlocutors of their contact in Vice City.

The asked man tells Sonny of a man named Ken Rosenberg, a lawyer who he calls a fool, before asking how could he control Tommy.

Sonny says that Tommy does not need controlling. Sonny explains that they would let Tommy loose and let him run his own affairs.

Sonny plans to give Tommy some cash to start working.

After a few months, Sonny suggests that they visit Tommy in Vice City.

During the visit, Sonny suggests that they collect their cut of Tommy's businesses.

Meanwhile, at the Escobar International Airport in Vice City, a man is seen waiting for someone in his vehicle.

Tommy, along with Harry and Lee emerges from the airport terminal. Upon seeing them, the man introduces himself as Ken Rosenberg.

Ken tells Tommy and his companions that he will drive the trio to the meeting they have planned.

Ken tells the trio that he has talked to the sellers, two brothers, and says that they are very interested in starting a business relationship with Tommy and his represented crime family.

As the trio get into the car, Ken continues to talk about how the deal turning out well would be helpful to the Forelli family.

The men drive to the meeting spot in Viceport.

As the men arrive at the meeting spot in the docks, they see a black helicopter approaching.

Ken tells Tommy, Harry and Lee that that's the sellers in the black helicopter.

Ken informs the trio that they want an exchange on open ground.

One of the sellers emerges from the helicopter with two briefcases of cocaine.

The two parties heading towards the middle of the lot.

As the two parties approach each other, three hitmen take cover behind some boxes in a garage near the lot.

As the two parties meet, Tommy asks the seller if he has the cocaine. The seller replies by saying that he does and that it's of very high quality.

Tommy asks to see it to authenticate it.

The sellers responds with asking Tommy to show him the money.

Harry and Lee open the money briefcases they're carrying and shows it to the buyer. Tommy says that the money is in ten and twenty dollar bills.

As the seller says that he accepts the deal and picks his briefcase up to show Tommy the cocaine, the three hitmen start shooting at Tommy, the seller, Harry and Lee.

The seller, Harry and Lee are dead, while Tommy runs for his life.

Tommy jumps into Ken's car through an open window and yells at him to drive him out of the docks.

Tommy, Ken and the seller's brother leave the deal spot.

After several hours, Tommy and Ken arrive at Ken's office at Washington Beach. On the way, Ken complains about the unfortunate ending of the deal.

After Ken stops in an alleyway near the office, Tommy tells him to go and get some sleep.

Ken asks what Tommy what he's going to do, to which Tommy replies saying that he will come back to Ken's office later to sort out this failure.

Ken gets out of the car and runs inside.

Tommy getting into Ken's Admiral to drive to his hotel.

Tommy on his way to the hotel in Ocean Drive.

As Tommy drives to his hotel, a news report plays on the radio, which says that due to hurricane danger, some roads and all bridges leading from Vice City Beach to Vice City Mainland have been closed.

Tommy parking his vehicle upon arriving.

Tommy walking to his room upstairs to give Sonny a call and tell him about the failed drug deal...

General

Unused cutscene.

Video Walkthroughs

Trivia

Victor Vance, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (set two years before GTA Vice City and released four years after this game), appears in this mission as an unnamed dealer that is killed by Ricardo Diaz's gang, along with Harry and Lee. Victor also looks very different to his appearance in GTA Vice City Stories; wearing an orange shirt, speaking with a Colombian accent (as opposed to a North American accent in GTA Vice City Stories) and has a full head of hair. It is notable that this is one of two missions to feature a canonical death of a protagonist (the other being Mr. Philips in Grand Theft Auto V, when Johnny Klebitz is killed by Trevor Philips).
Vic's lips do not move during the cutscene in the original versions of the game. A lip synch animation was later included in The Definitive Edition.
The song that can be heard playing in the background during the first cutscene is "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister. The song is also featured on the in-game radio station Emotion 98.3.
The song that can be heard playing in the background during the airport cutscene is "Mama Papa Tu" by Mongo Santamaría. The song is also featured on the in-game radio station Radio Espantoso.
When Sonny and the group are discussing Tommy's release from prison, a dead man can be seen in the background, impaled on a meat hook in the freezer.
When Tommy, Harry and Lee arrive at Escobar International Airport, an airplane can be seen landing on the curved runway in the background. Realistically, it is not possible to land like that, possibly hinting that a straight runway was present in the beta.
Ken Rosenberg's Admiral is more detailed in the airport pickup scene than in usual gameplay, with a slightly boxier body, detailed tan interior (rather than the standard generic grey one), and a different rim design from Grand Theft Auto III. After the opening cutscene, it also has a unique white color.
In The Definitive Edition, the cutscene models of the MP5K and the M60 used by the hitmen are replaced with a Tec-9 and a S.P.A.S. 12 respectively. However, the sound of the original weapons is still used during the cutscene.
When the player enters any vehicle after the cutscene, the radio will automatically tune into Flash FM and "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson will always play. In the mobile version, 2013 re-release of the game and Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, this is replaced with "Self Control" by Laura Branigan.
The interior of Marco's Bistro is actually located in the Ocean View Hotel and is connected to Tommy's room.
In the game's files, a slightly altered dialogue exists. It's revealed that Vic and Lance own a farm in Panama and while Ken parks next to his office building, Tommy tells Ken to "shut up" and that he's alive, before telling to dump the car.
- Moreover, the game files contain a left-over motion-capture scene for the unused dialogue between Tommy and Ken by Ken's office.

In The Beginning...

Contents

Description

Deaths

Help Text

Transcript

News Report

Gallery

Video Walkthroughs

Trivia

Navigation

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