I have to make a move because Demetrius
still has the upper hand. Things changed the minute I saw Lisa. I
need to get her out of here alive. No one knows she’s in here, and
I have no way of telling them. I have done everything he’s asked me
to do. And everything he asks will lead me closer to my death.
I decide I have to change my tactics and
talk to him.
“How did you get him?” I ask attempting to
sound interested. Uncle Tutti dropped down on my to-do list.
Demetrius’ interference changed everything.
“It was easy,” Demetrius laughs. I paid off
some of his guys. It is mind-boggling how little allegiance they
had to him. After Prazzo went missing, Tutti couldn’t handle his
crew.”
Faint gunshots sound in the distance.
Demetrius looks up at the noise and smiles.
“How nice that you put Megan and her daddy
on a rooftop,” he says, his ego bloated. His happy tone letting me
know he was aware of what we were up to.
I feel the adrenaline kick my body into
overdrive at the thought of someone shooting at Megan, and I take
advantage of it. I whip around tackling the gunner behind me to the
ground. As we wrestle for his gun, it goes off into the air. The
recoil throws us back and the gun lands on the floor.
The bullet’s trajectory makes a gaping hole
in Uncle Tutti’s lowered head sending his chair flying backwards
with the splat. Lisa screams and knocks her chair over, putting her
lower to the floor.
Demetrius’s second goon
comes at me, and I fight with the two of them with every ounce of
anger and fear. I knock the gun out of the hands of the second
goon, and it skids across the mangy floor. I am able to grab my own
gun, but they both tackle me. Instead of firing it, I can only use
it to knock them away from me and the smaller guy goes down easily
and unconscious. The bigger guy is a bit more of a struggle.
Demetrius simply watches, not intervening, even when his second guy
crashed to the ground. Stupidly, I lose the grip on my gun, and it
skids across the floor as well.
Dammit!
I want to lunge for it but I swing around,
ready to take Demetrius. Bizarrely, he looks mad, but for some
reason it doesn’t seem to be directed at me. I stand with my feet
splayed and my arms ready for attack anyway. Demetrius seizes the
gun out of the back of his jeans. I dive for the floor in the
doorway. I crouch behind the wall. I lift up the cloth of my jeans
at the ankle and pull out a small pistol.
I try to catch my breath as I listen
carefully to Demetrius. He is murmuring to himself. “That’s not
what was supposed to happen. You ruined it!” he bellows.
He fires his gun, startling me. I peek
around the corner, trying to see what he’s doing. My first thought
is Lisa. He is poised over the guy that shot Uncle Tutti
accidentally. Demetrius shoots him point blank in the back of the
head as the goon lies unconscious, splayed on the floor. Demetrius
continues to ramble to himself like the fucked up guy that he
is.
I have a shot and I mean to take it, but I
turn my head at a very minute sound. Crawling towards me quietly is
Vito. I gesture to him that there is one left, Demetrius, and the
girl. Vito nods in understanding. He points in the other direction,
letting me know that he is going to go in through another door. If
I can distract Demetrius, Vito can probably get Lisa out of
here.
Carlo and Joey pop their heads up, and I can
see them through the broken window. They signal me, and let me know
they’re coming in. I momentarily get distracted by thoughts of
Megan and wonder if she’s okay as I turn back and scan the room.
Two bloody corpses, an unconscious man, and a girl strapped to a
chair that lies on the floor. I pop up, my pistol ready, and my
eyes dart around searching for Demetrius.
He’s gone! Shit!
Vito comes in the other way, and we meet at
Lisa. She is quivering. We set her upright, and I attempt to
examine her. He face is cut and she is badly bruised. Vito removes
her restraints. Both wrists and ankles are bloody and raw with deep
indentations from the rope. Silent tears stream down her face. She
gingerly touches her sore wrists.
Carlo and Joey meet us in the room. They
flank us ready for anything.
“Where did he go?” Carlo asks quietly.
“I don’t know,” I tell him. Vito pulls his
phone out and dials. He calls Patrick.
“Is everything okay?...(pause)...We will be
out of the building in less than two minutes. There are five of
us.” He ends the call.
“Carlo, Joey, you watch the rooftops,” I
command. “Vito and I will take the streets. Stay together, and keep
her in the middle.” Lisa’s eyes are cast down onto the floor. “Do
you think you can walk?”
She sniffles and nods her head yes. She gets
up unsteadily, and I grab onto her arm to help her. She takes a few
uneasy steps, but then gets her bearings. I reach down and pick up
the scattered firearms and double-check unconscious guy for
additional weapons. “OK, let’s move,” I command. The group takes
their positions, and we travel as one unit.
I glimpse Uncle Tutti out of the corner of
my eye. His chair completely knocked over backwards and his blood
is splattered around like spilled red finger paints all over the
flooring. I have no remorse over his death. He wanted to hurt the
people I love. His demented views cost him, and there is no one to
blame but himself.
Lisa does what she is told, hanging in the
center of our group with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Her image borderlines on that of an unstable mental patient. Carlo
helps her along.
Each room we entered is clear. At the main
door, Carlo and Joey cover each side of it. Vito goes through
first. Joey, Lisa, me, and then Carlo follow. The fresh air is
cleansing after the rank foulness of the rundown building mixed
with the smell of blood ate at my skin.
Up ahead of us, Vito shoots into the trees.
I whip my head up, and we all dive to the ground taking Lisa with
us. Two shots clip the building, spraying bits of brick. We quickly
low crawl across the asphalt and around the corner. One shot, from
far away, sails through the air and into the trees. The shooter in
the trees falls with a thud, crushing leaves and sticks.
Vito’s phone buzzes, and he jerks it out of
his coat. I put out my hand to take it. I answer it.
“Vito, I think I got them all,” Megan says
excitedly. “Are you guys okay?”
“It’s me,” I say, and Megan lets out an
audible sigh of relief.
“Oh, Antonio! Thank God!”
“Everyone is fine. Stay where you are. We’re
coming to get you.”
“My dad’s been shot,” she says nervously.
“He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Where was he shot?”
“In the arm. I put bandages on it.”
“Is he conscious?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Put him on the phone.” I hear some rustling
then Patrick’s gruff voice.
“Yeah,” he says.
“Is your area secure?”
“Yes. She took out one on the rooftop and
one in the trees. We haven’t seen anybody else.”
“Okay. We will be there shortly.”
I hang up and dial Alex. He picks up on the
first ring.
“Start coming towards the docks. We’ll meet
you,” I tell him and hang up.
“How do we know there’s no one else?” Joey
asks.
“We don’t. But we can’t sit here all night.
Patrick said they didn’t spy anyone else. They took out two.”
“What about Demetrius?” Carlo asks.
“I have no fucking idea.” I really didn’t.
The mission now is to get everybody back to the casino in one
piece. Lisa and Patrick both need to be seen by Doc Howie. “You’re
going to need to beef up security at the casino. This isn’t the
end. Demetrius will definitely try something else. All of your
employees need to know what he looks like.” Carlo nods in agreement
using his eyes to check everywhere for Demetrius.
We all move succinctly, holding our weapons
at different angles ready to fire if necessary. Lisa shuffles along
amongst our group. We meet Alex, and he drives into a small
alleyway.
The SUV only holds six. We pile in, and
Carlo gathers Lisa into his lap, freeing a spot for Patrick. Megan
rode on my lap on the way here as I didn’t want to draw attention
with too many vehicles.
Alex swings the car around and heads for the
building where we left Patrick and Megan on the rooftop. Suddenly,
an ugly recollection creeps its way into my mind. Demetrius knew
Megan and Patrick were sniping.
“Give me a phone,” I yell,
panic setting in.
He is going to go after
them!
Joey hands me a phone, and I
dial Patrick. We
just
talked to them, so I know they have service. The phone rings
and rings, then goes to voicemail. Each ring that echoes on the
other end of the phone makes dread circle in my stomach.
“They’re not picking up!” I shout to no one
in particular.
Chapter 16
Whack: to kill
Megan:
The relief I felt in hearing Antonio’s voice
could not be compared to anything I’ve ever known. I settle in to
wait for them to come, my mind eased since Antonio didn’t seem too
concerned about my father’s injury.
My father lies next to me resting. I fumble
with the strap on my helmet trying desperately to get this hideous
thing off my head. I tug and pull. The stupid thing is stuck.
My eye catches something in the dark. A
shadow moves slowly, inching toward me. A shot of fear threads its
way up my body. I reach for the rifle, not looking away from the
threat. A man steps out of the darkness in front of me. Two more
men converge, slipping closer. I grasp the rifle and drag it slowly
toward me.
“That would be a bad idea, Megan.”
It’s Demetrius.
“You are an unbelievable shot,” he says
proudly. “Just incredible.”
My heart is pounding in my ears. My father
is as still as a stone. I desperately try to clear my head of
fright.
“Is Daddy hurt?” he asks mockingly, truly
not caring.
I’m immobile. He is still yards away from
us, but his vile ruthlessness permeates the air. I’m trying to
figure out where he came from. The only access to the roof I know
of is the one we used.
His two henchmen keep pace with him. I eye
them warily waiting for them to make the first move. The gun I have
is heavy and clumsy. It will take too much time to line up the
shot. A distraction is my only hope.
They inch forward, and fear paralyzes me. I
don’t know what to do. Demetrius stops directly in front of me and
looks down at me. His eyes pierce through me, like he wants
something. I look up at him from my position on the ground, scared
as all hell. Demetrius’ associates hover behind like
bodyguards.
My father is only a few feet away from me,
and I silently pray that he hasn’t lost consciousness.
“How is your sister?” Demetrius asks in a
carefree tone. “You know, I love small women. She is tiny and
pretty. I would love to take her out one night. You think you can
arrange that?”
Is he kidding? This guy is a real nut-job!
What does he expect me to say? Is he waiting for something?
Then I get it. He’s trying to bait me or
maybe even my father. He is testing us.
My father’s gun that lies beside him, and
Demetrius kicks it across the roof. It slides, kicking up pebbles
of dirt in its wake. He motions to his colleagues, and they rush
forward, locking each one of my arms...trapping me. I struggle and
let out a little yelp, but their hold is tight.
At that moment, my father
sits up and stabs Demetrius in the side with a knife.
I didn’t know he had a knife!
Demetrius curses and backhands my father across the face hard,
sending him flying. The force of the hit must have been incredible
to throw him back that way...my father is a big man.
“You bastard!” I scream, kicking and pulling
my arms and legs trying to free myself to get to my dad.
Demetrius’s hand covets his side where my
father stabbed him. Blood oozes between his fingers. He gazes at me
and smiles psychotically.
“Let’s go!” Demetrius says sternly. I flail
my body, scared to death, that if they take me away, I will be lost
forever.
“No, no!” I yell. It does no good. They just
drag me along, not even fazed by my rant.
I’m so busy trying to save myself that I
don’t notice my father. He grabs the ankle of one of the assholes
attached to my arm. The guy goes down face first onto the hard
roof’s surface.
With my newly freed hand, I
did my nails into the other guy’s deep enough to draw blood.
“Bitch!” he shouts at me and takes a swing at my face with his
fist. I duck, and he misses me.
I’m
free!
I run across the roof in the darkness,
hearing footsteps behind me. I turn, ready to inflict as much
damage as I can, and realize it’s my father. We take cover behind a
large sheet metal vent. His bandages are soaked through with blood,
and he is breathing shallowly. He pats my knee.
“Good job,” he says through panting
breaths.
Voices echo through the vent, and I hear
running footsteps. A lot of them. The door to the roof swings open
and crashes against the side. Someone is bellowing my name.
“Megan!”
It’s Antonio!
“Over here!” I stand and yell.
Relief washes over me and tingles down my
back when I see him come around the corner. His facial expression
is murderous. He picks me up and crushes me to his body, my feet
dangling. I can barely feel him through all the padding. He kisses
me fervently and desperately. The helmet tips forward and clips him
on the forehead before I step back, getting my balance.
“Did you get him?” I ask.
Vito steps around the corner looking feral.
“He got away!” he yells.