In The Beginning...

"Tommy Vercetti... Huh! Shit. Didn't think they'd ever let him out..."

- Sonny Forelli

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

Plot
Forelli Family Don, Sonny Forelli, and his brothers Marco and Franco, discuss the release of Tommy Vercetti from prison, after his being arrested for killing eleven men during a botched hit and serving fifteen years. The mobsters decide to send Tommy to Vice City to man their drug operations there for a few months.

After flying to Vice City, Tommy, Ken Rosenberg (a lawyer who serves as the Forelli contact in Vice City), and mobsters, Harry and Lee, drive in Ken's Admiral to a 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.

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.

Deaths

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

Trivia

 * 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.
 * A dead man can be seen on a meat hook in the room behind Sonny Forelli.
 * If the player enters the "BIGBANG" cheat code while Ken pulls up at his office, the game will crash.
 * When Tommy, Harry, and Lee arrive at the 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's Admiral is much 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. After the opening cutscene, it also has a unique white color.
 * When the player enters either Ken's Admiral or the Faggio parked next to it, the radio will automatically tune into Flash FM and "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson will always play. In the mobile version and 2013 re-release of the game, this is replaced by "Self Control" by Laura Branigan.
 * The interior of Sonny's room in Marco's Bistro is actually inside the Ocean View Hotel and is connected to the protagonist's hotel room.
 * Victor Vance possesses a heavy Latin-American accent in GTA: Vice City, which was not heard in Vice City Stories.