Authors: S.K. Lessly
I quickly peeked around the machine to find no one was there.
Shit!
I hope to God Darrell and Hugo heard the gun shots and made their way inside this bitch.
I smelled a trap. Ducci’s guys were trying to out flank me. They were setting me up. Instead of going left out into the open, I went right, around the heavy-duty machines, looking for targets. I tried to keep as quiet as I could, making sure I stayed hidden when I could.
I looked up and found a rafter circling the large room. I saw shadows bouncing off the walls and windows up there. I couldn’t tell if the shadows were friendly or not. What I couldn’t do though was stay where I was.
Suddenly, shots started flying over my head from behind and shots started coming from in front of me. I ducked, firing blindly behind and in front of me. I had no choice but to move out into the open. I kept low, still firing into the shadows where I saw muzzle flashes behind inoperable rusted machinery. I heard a grunt in one direction. As I started to look for more targets, I came face to face with Ducci and three other guns. I stood there, guns in front of me, not wavering at all.
He was going to go before I did; I promise you that.
“Put the guns down little brother,” I heard Eddie say behind me. I didn’t have to wonder if he had a gun trained on me. Two seconds after his demands, I felt the steel of a gun on the back of my head.
Eddie then leaned around me and said close to my ear, “You have no idea how much I’ve been looking forward to this moment.”
Someone else came on the sides of me and took my guns from my hands.
Eddie moved around to face me, gun still in my face. A deadly grin suddenly creased his face as he brought his hand up and smashed the butt of his gun against the side of my face. From the force of the blow, I stumbled slightly, but I didn’t fall.
“Do you have any smart ass shit to say now motherfucker?!” he yelled down at me.
I took a deep breath, trying to channel the pain in the deep recesses of my mind.
As I stood and made eye contact with Eddie, I was surprisingly close to him. I smiled.
Dumb little fucker,
rang through my mind right as I snapped my head forward, smashing my forehead right on the soft spot of Eddie’s nose.
“Argh!” he cried as he fell backwards on the floor. I started for him when Ducci’s men stepped forward, guns in hand. I kept my one good bloodless eye on Ducci as he raised his gun to my face.
“I hope you rot in hell,” Ducci spat.
I grinned again and blew a kiss at him, “
Vaffanculo
!”
My eyes never wavered as his face tightened. It never wavered as his grip grew taunt around the trigger, and my eyes never wavered as I watched the side of the goon’s head to Ducci’s right explode into Ducci’s face and eyes.
The M40 felt comfortable in my hand, like a long lost friend, as I moved quickly to the side of the building. I showed Darrell and Hugo, along with four of Junior’s family where the majority of the people were inside the building and where I needed them to be. I assumed Basile’s men were spread out along the large warehouse, covering their boss’ exit. I couldn’t tell which heated bodies were Uncle Bruno’s men or Basile’s.
It didn’t matter really. We were there to provide support for Angel and the Don. I didn’t give a shit about causalities. My contact in the NSA cyber division, Mark, gave me the specs of the building and places I could enter without being detected. I moved in that direction, hoping shit wouldn’t get messy before I got there.
Knowing Angel as I did, he’d probably start the party without me.
As I came around the building, I found a metal ladder bolted to the paneled wall of the warehouse. I slung the rifle over my shoulder and started climbing quickly and as quietly as I could. I hadn’t heard anything inside to tell me things were turning to shit just yet, but that didn’t mean anything.
I made it to a landing that ran along the beginning of the roof of the building. I unslung my rifle and moved slowly, until I found a way for me to enter without being seen. There was a window open and a man standing in front of it with his back turned. Since he was facing away from me, I couldn’t see his face to know if he was friend or foe. No matter, I slowly slung the rifle back over my shoulder and crept slowly behind the large figure in front of me. I crouched down slowly, pulling the knife slowly from its holder around my ankle, and just as the figure turned around, I saw it was foe. I moved quickly, striking the blade along his neck, making sure I got the artery as I moved. Blood squirted out as he gurgled entirely too loud for my taste. I clamped my hand over his mouth as he dropped to the roof, trying not to get his blood on me.
As his heart continued to pump blood out of him, I checked his pockets. I recognized this was one of Ducci’s men, not Basile’s. I’d seen this man in countless meetings standing close to his boss.
I quickly brought my mic to my lips and said softly, as I looked around for any other threats, “Ducci and his men are here. Not sure how they got clear of the guards posted around the building, so keep an eye out.”
I heard back in my ear, “Basile is leaving the warehouse from a side entrance.”
“It’s time, ladies. Get into position,” I told them before I looked through the window.
I brought the M40 up and looked through the scope. I had excellent position and could probably pick off anyone I wanted. I looked at the dead body at my feet. “Was that your job, fat boy?” I whispered in the darkness.
I peeked around the area of the window, listening for any sounds. I didn’t hear anything, so I climbed into the window as silent as I could. I thought about leaving the window open, but I didn’t want to leave my back exposed. I moved to lock the window, when suddenly I heard gunfire below me. I crouched and watched Ducci and his men overcome a couple of bodyguards as they moved into the main area below me. I heard more gunfire elsewhere in the building, and I hoped it was friendly. I shifted from my position, looking for a more favorable one; one where I could see everything just as I saw Angel dart from his hiding place.
His father wasn’t with him.
Damn it.
I found a good position that allowed me to see everything. I heard Ducci bait Angel, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he would grow tired of sitting around. Abruptly things deteriorated as I saw the trap unfold below me. I wanted to warn him, but I couldn’t. The way Ducci and his men were moving in the shadows, I didn’t have a clear shot.
I saw Angel emerge from the shadows shooting behind him. He actually hit two, and I shook my head. That fucker was accurate as shit with those damn guns.
I started to tell him to move from that open spot, but it was too late. I had no time. I moved to a better spot, a place that would give me operable advantage to make my presence known, as well as keep me hidden until I pulled the trigger.
I will say that I could have pulled the trigger right then and there. It would be about a five-hundred yard shot, but I wasn’t worried about that. I knew my cousin. He was going to bait Ducci to make the first move. I waited and as soon as Ducci mouthed something to Angel, I took a deep breath and fired. I didn’t wait to see if I acquired my target. I moved my gun a fraction to the left and fired again, blowing the head off the man that was standing to the right of Ducci.
Angel was already on the man to his right, so I looked for Eddie and found he was gone.
Fuck!
I stood and found him running to the back of the building. I slung my rifle and started looking for a way to get down to the bottom level. That son of a bitch wasn’t getting away from my bullet this time.
There was a ladder not too far from where I stood and I headed there, running as fast as I could. As the latter got close, I dove for it and practically slid down the sides to the level that I needed.
Bullets were flying everywhere. I could tell by the sounds of the guns that they were was M4s, which meant Darrell and Hugo had entered the fray.
I pulled out both of my Berettas and moved quickly to the direction that I saw Eddie disappear to.
When I got to the doorway, I did a quick peek and found the hallway before me empty.
Keeping myself low, I stepped into the hallway and walked slowly, looking everywhere I could for movement.
At the end of the hallway, I came to another doorway. I remembered that Mark told me that this led to the back of the warehouse with a door that lead out toward the pier, an easy escape.
Not this time, Eddie.
I crept in the dark room, as silent as I could. I could hear erratic breathing coming from a place in the corner. I knew it was Eddie and his broken nose.
I headed in the direction that I heard Eddie in. I was trying not to make a sound.
Allowing my undying hatred, the burning desire to rip him to pieces with my bare hands, drive me, I completely missed the sound behind me. That is, until I heard the click and felt the barrel against my temple.
The lights suddenly came on, and I was face to face with the barrel of Eddie’s gun.
Everything happened so fast that I had no time for shit to sink in. Don’t get me wrong, I knew who had just saved my ass. Hugo and Darrell couldn’t have made that shot if their lives depended on it. Also, anyone with sense would have shot the one pointing the gun at me, but not my cousin. He knew I wanted Ducci for myself, and he’d made that happen.
The man’s head, standing next to Ducci, exploded, sending blood and brains into Ducci’s face. I ducked as Ducci fired blindly and moved to the man to my right. I threw a hard right to his nose, making him stumble and at the same time wrenching his gun from his grip. I turned and quickly sprayed behind me, getting a fourth guy in the throat before the clip hit empty.
Ducci hid behind a pillar and once he heard the click of my empty clip, he emerged, gun firing directly at me. Fortunate for me, the one I hit was coming up behind me with his own weapon. I spun quickly, grabbing the idiot behind me, spinning him in order to put him between Ducci and myself.
Ducci emptied his mag into his own man, trying desperately to hit me. He missed. I pounced. Ducci was a brawler too. I knew this, so it wouldn’t be a breeze, but I will tell you, it’s was going to be fucking enjoyable.
I charged Ducci, anticipating him to start swinging the instant I was close enough. I was counting on it. He threw his right hook. I ducked under and brought a two-hundred and thirty pound colossal right hook, filled with serious inertia, to his chin.
The force of the blow sent Ducci stumbling back against the pillar he’d hid behind. I moved quickly, taking advantage of his unbalanced stance and went in on his mid-section. I drilled into him, letting every bit of the anger and frustration I’ve buried for months come out.
He tried to fight me off, but I was too strong, too determined, and too fucking pissed off.
I sent an elbow to his nose, smacking his head back against the pillar and down he went. I walked over to the one that took my Glocks, the second victim of Lincoln’s, and retrieved them.
I turned ready to empty my gun into Ducci when I started taking heat from my left. I took cover and returned fire, but was unable to prevent one of Ducci’s men from saving Ducci’s sorry ass. I watched as Ducci looked back at me before he disappeared from my sight.
Fuck!
He wasn’t getting away that easy. I started shooting blindly in the direction of where I thought the gunman were, but I didn’t hear any return fire. I took off, running in the direction that I saw Ducci’s punk ass run.
I couldn’t wait to get to that son of a bitch. Ducci was going to die tonight in that nasty abandoned warehouse.
There were still sub machine guns barking all around me, but the sound was starting to die down. I knew me and my men needed to get out of there soon before cops surrounded the building, so I ran out of the warehouse, ducking fire on my way.
I found the coward piece of shit, Ducci, getting into his car in the front of the building. I started shooting at him and felt my anger rise even more when my bullets weren’t hitting him. They weren’t even penetrating the car windows.
Bullet-fucking-proof glass.
He started the car, and I started aiming for his tires. I shot all four tires, then went for his engine. I emptied my magazine into his car until it died. Through the smoke coming from the hood of the car, I could see his frantic face. He was stuck. He couldn’t get out because I would shoot him. He also knew that he was a sitting duck.
Darrell appeared next to me and stretched out his hand. He had two grenades for me. I holstered my weapon, and as I heard Ducci screaming for his life, I pulled the pin of each and rolled them under the car, making sure one landed right by the fuel tank.
I watched as they went off and Ducci’s face disappeared into a ball of fire. The explosion lifted the car into the air and landed on its roof. I watched it burn for a moment longer before I turned to Darrell.
“Do you have my father?” I asked.
“No. Hugo, Laz and Russo are looking.”
“How many did we lose?”
I knew I had Laz and three others with me. I wasn’t sure who came with Pops and Eddie.
Darrell shrugged. “It seemed Ducci had a lot of men with him. Some were doubling as Basile’s guys, so we never knew they were in place until it was too late.”
I nodded. “We need to find my father.”
Darrell and I turned to go back into the building to look for my father and Lincoln, when a side door unexpectedly swung open from the inside and Eddie emerged. I was frozen in my spot for a second, not expecting to see him alive since Lincoln was in the building. I brought my gun up, aimed, and pulled the trigger. However, I realized my clips were fucking empty.
Eddie noticed me trying to shoot at him, and he got off a few rounds, causing Darrell and I to hit the dirt.
I could hear Eddie getting away. Darrell got up quickly, emptying his gun into the darkness as Eddie ran. I stood and stared at the door he’d come from. I headed in its direction and with each step I took, I felt sick. My pulse quickened, and I found myself running to the door. I couldn’t explain why. Maybe it was the look in Eddie’s eyes, but the sense of urgency was there.
I flung open the door and stopped dead in my tracks. I could feel my lungs collapsing. I couldn’t breathe.
God, no, this can’t be happening.