Lance Vance

"I'm sorry Tommy, This is Vice City, this is business!"

Lance Vance to Tommy Vercetti upon betraying him.

Lance Vance (1958-1986) is a cocaine dealer who soon becomes the partner-in-crime of protagonist Tommy Vercetti also the secondary antagonist Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Lance worked in the cocaine trade with his older brother, Victor (the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories). Lance piloted the helicopter and Vic conducted the deals themselves. In GTA Vice City Stories, the two make up the main members of the Vance Crime Family, with Vic as the boss.

Background
Lance Vance was born to a white mother (Janet Vance) and an unnamed father who immigrated from the Dominican Republic. He and his two brothers, Victor and Pete, grew up in poverty. Because their mother had a drug addiction, they were raised by their Aunt Enid who, especially Lance, sees as their sole maternal figure. Lance was often teased about his name in school, which he is still very sensitive about (when he works with Ricardo Diaz, an extremely powerful, important drug lord, he lies and says his name is Quentin). According to Vic, he was also kicked out of the Boy Scouts in his youth. Vic always treated Lance like a little kid and Lance would get them both in trouble, patterns that continued well into their adult lives.

GTA Vice City Stories


In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, set 2 years before events in GTA Vice City, Lance is first mentioned by Vic (telling his sergeant that Pete is sick with asthma, and Lance is sick in a psychological way, as well as messages from their Aunt Enid.

Lance arrives from his home (which is not stated) and slowly ushers Vic into drug trafficking. They work with Bryan Forbes, before he reveals he's an undercover cop with VCPD and the brothers take him hostage. Forbes often attempted escape and tried to trick the brothers, even leading them to a gay bar called White Stallionz (ironically, all the homosexual men in the bar were dually part of a violent biker drug ring and attacked the brothers).

Lance then suggests stealing a large shipment of drugs from Jerry Martinez. After Vic calls Jerry to mock him, Jerry reveals that he was allied with the Mendez Brothers, two powerful drug lords who were now out for the Vance's blood.

Lance also becomes addicted to his own cocaine, as does Vic's girlfriend Louise Cassidy-Williams who both hide their habit from Vic. Lance often blamed the missing drugs on their addict mother or a biker gang. Vic finds out and first accuses them of an affair, which they respond that they only get high as friends and call him judgmental (a criticism Vic often receives).

When Louise is kidnapped and eventually killed by the Mendez brothers (who they briefly made peace with before a second war), Lance shows little feelings for her and tries to console Vic by saying family is more important (namely, himself). He only becomes involved with the Mendez war after his car gets destroyed. At the end of the game, Lance arrives at the Mendez penthouse to back up Victor, but he arrives so late that the shootout is already over. 

GTA Vice City


In GTA Vice City's opening cutscene, Lance flies Victor to a cocaine deal with Sonny Forelli's men when Victor is shot by a third party ambushing the deal. Lance, still in the helicopter, flies away unscathed.

Lance meets Tommy Vercetti, the surviving Forelli mobster from the deal, when he kills Leo Teal (a cook/hitman who knew something about the deal, silenced when Tommy beat him to death). They agree to help each other get revenge, though Tommy is slow to accept Lance, which he calls "lonely tough guy crap".

Lance on the surface appears cool and collected, but he is very impulsive. His quest for vengeance against Ricardo Diaz, the boss who betrayed them in the first place, results in his capture and torture by Diaz's men, and he is only saved in the nick of time by Tommy. Lance redeems himself by supplying the M4 Carbines, on of the few times where Tommy lavishes praise, that the two of them use to finish off Diaz and his Colombian gang.

While and after the two of them overthrew Ricardo Diaz, Lance complains about being treated like a little kid (such as after Cop Land) and becomes irritated by Tommy's attitude and dominance in the gang. Tommy frequently berates Lance for his mistakes, also Tommy never really gives credit to Lance's contributions. Shortly before Sonny Forelli's arrival, Tommy declares the Vercetti business is "my operation mine", implying that he views the criminal enterprise as a sole proprietorship rather than a partnership, and this was perhaps the last straw for Lance.

Eventually, Lance betrays Tommy to his old boss, Sonny Forelli, revealing that the cash payment was counterfeit, which prompts Sonny to come prepared bringing a large number of gunmen to the Vercetti Estate. Lance and a bunch of Forelli mobsters wait on the roof of the Vercetti mansion but they are all killed by Tommy. Tommy proceeds to finish off Sonny and the Forelli mobsters.

VCPD Crime Tree Record

 * Recently arrived in town with his brother.
 * Asks a lot of questions.
 * Trained helicopter pilot.
 * Believed to be in narcotics trade.
 * Heard mouthing off in a lot of nightclubs.
 * Believed to get aggressive or needy when he drinks. Possibly emotionally insecure.



Trivia

 * In a PC World article, Lance was voted as #17 of the top 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time."
 * He can be seen as an action figure at Zero RC along with Tommy, James Earl Cash, and Piggsy from Manhunt.
 * A Lance Vance look-alike appears in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on a billboard in Los Santos with a message "Let's go to Dundee!!"
 * In earlier sketches of Lance, his was supposedly named "Eddie" or "The Buddy".

Mission appearances

 * GTA Vice City
 * Introduction
 * Back Alley Brawl
 * Guardian Angels
 * Phnom Penh '86
 * Supply & Demand
 * Death Row
 * Rub Out
 * Shakedown
 * Bar Brawl
 * Cop Land
 * Hit The Courier
 * Keep Your Friends Close... (Betrayal, Killed)


 * GTA Vice City Stories
 * Jive Drive
 * The Audition (Boss)
 * Money for Nothing
 * Caught as an Act (Boss)
 * Leap and Bound (Boss)
 * The Bum Deal
 * Snitch Hitch (Boss)
 * Blitzkrieg (Boss)
 * Turn On, Tune In, Bug Out (Boss)
 * From Zero to Hero (Boss)
 * Brawn of the Dead (Boss)
 * Taking the Fall (Boss)
 * Blitzkrieg Strikes Again (Boss)
 * Lost and Found (Boss)
 * White Lies (Boss)
 * Where it Hurts Most (Boss)
 * The Mugshot Longshot
 * Burning Bridges
 * Domo Arigato Domestoboto
 * Light My Pyre (Boss)
 * Last Stand

Murders committed

 * Ricardo Diaz - Murdered by him and Tommy to exact revenge.

Gallery
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