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The drive was unexpectedly long, and it didn't help that we all stayed in black windowless cabins of trucks, but surely, it did come to a stop.
"How long have we been driving for?" I complained when we came down.
"Somewhere between seven and eight hours," he answered casually before turning to the rest of his men. "Okayi miei soldati. The operation is very linear. Go in, get the baby, come out. Follow me unless I tell you otherwise, is that clear?" There was a chorus of 'Yes, boss.'
"Wait!" I called out to them before they began the operation.
"We need someone to get to the baby first, so they don't use her as a bail out ticket," I reason. This actually has Alessandro thinking for a while.
"We could do that, but whoever gets to that baby in time, could just get out the same way. Easy peasy," he mapped out.
I smiled.
"Chances of surviving that experience are slim to none."
My smile deadened. He motioned to his men to advance, and they began to do so. We were just outside a mansion that looked similar to ours. The only difference was the size and the fact that it wasn't surrounded by the huge chunk of land like Alessandro's was.
"Isn't it just weird that they'd kidnap someone and not have security at their front gate?" I muttered as I followed the rest of the team. I felt a hand grab mine and yank me forward.
"From now on, don't leave my sight," Alessandro warned. I nodded. Really, with the experience I've seen him display, I was going nowhere.
I repeated my skepticism to him, but he just smiled, "Leonardo has taken them down. Sniped from about a kilometer or two down from that hill." He pointed to the hill just short of the distance he mentioned. I felt like if I could focus more, I'd see a tiny shape in the distance, lying in wait. Maybe he'd give me a wave.
Sure enough, when we got to the front gate, they were all dead. I shuddered to think of Leonardo as a cold-blooded killer like Alessandro, but right now, it didn't matter as long as we got Artemis back.
"We have to move now before our lead gets cold. Fabio, Felipe. Secure the right rear exit. If anyone comes out from there, especially with the baby, do not engage. Just inform me. Gustavo. Take on the left rear. There's an opening where they can exit with a vehicle. Be ready with Paul in case that happens.Leonardo, eyes on the roof," he spoke the last instruction into his communication bud. Everyone dispatched as they had been instructed and the rest of us faced the front gates head on. With a tap of his fingers and some intricate gestures, one of the men came forward and began cutting through the lock with a blowtorch. It didn't take long before we were inside.
Then, the first shots were fired. We took cover behind some sandbags that were in position for the gate security Leonardo took down. Alessandro tapped me and handed me a pistol.
"When you want to shoot, you have to..." He wanted to do a mini tutorial, but I beat him to his own game. I pulled the hammer down forward and rode it smoothly back. The click was satisfying. He looked at me like he had just seen a ghost.
"What? Carlos taught me," I shrugged. He narrowed his eyes as if to say, 'well played' before turning back to face the gate.
"Intel," he said and listened to his eyes on the inside.
Of course, there were traitors.
To be honest, the mafia was a very unfair game. "They're holding position in the room. The balcony of that room is where the shots came from," he informed us.
"Cover fire on the Grande room out left till we're in the building," he instructed. He used his eyes and facial gestures for countdown and in the next most life thrilling seconds of my life, we were running for the front door with some of ourmen shooting in the instructed direction. As most of them were focused on the shooters from the balcony, none of them saw the figure approaching us from inside the house. I initially thought it was our reflection, but I could make out, though faintly, some oddities in the movement.
I didn't want to do anything stupid until I saw him aim a machine gun at us. Except for Alessandro, no one here had a machine gun and he wasn't drawn. In a split second, I aimed my gun at the glass door and shattered it completely with multiple shots.
That took all of them by surprise. Alessandro even put a hand on my gun to make me lower it, but he stopped mid-way.
"Huh. However, did I not see that?"
"You're welcome," I swallowed. I should be feeling proud, but I knew what I had just done. I had done a self-initiation process. I was now part of the mob, fully. I didn't have to look to see the wide smile on Alessandro's face.
The next set of minutes was completely alien to me. I knew nothing about combat, so I was pretty much just an extra person. For one, the first guy I killed was the last. I didn't have the prowess or the guts to kill anymore. Besides, inside the house was full London has fallen mode. I was more so being saved than actually fighting. I remembered Alessandro's instructions to stay by his side at all times.Where did he think I would go?
We advanced towards that particular room fast. Alessandro's men were good. So far literally none of them had died or seemed to have any injury. I guess it was the element of surprise though. None of the Colombo men had any form of protection. We seemed to have caught them on a normal day at work. The vulnerability was pathetic. The guard positioned to hold the room forte had his eyes trained in the wrong direction so Alessandro's shot to his leg was clean. Before he could do anything about it, his arms were disabled as well.
Alessandro approached stealthily. I was against violence and gun life, but watching Alessandro move like that made me want to take proper gun combat lessons. On his hunk, it looked damn good. He faced the door and put his foot on the neck of the guard. I thought it was just a show of power and dominance until I saw the guy strain visibly and let out a choked cough.
"No one with direct involvement in this will die by the bullet," he said. I realized he was talking to us. "They will all die by my hand." It was an instruction.
He kicked open the door and flanked by it immediately, making me do the same to the opposite side before we entered. There were only three men in the room. No Artemis.
