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Marescas popped up from behind, firing. Franco and the Fiorvantis fired back, jumping the wall. More Marescas ran from the villa, firing back, but the Fiorvantis mowed them down withlupareand pistols. The fusillade rang out, unceasing. Bullets found their targets. Agonized shouts and screams filled the air.
The Marescas aimed at Franco, but Franco fired back, hitting one on his way to the villa. Sebastiano and Mauro galloped at his sides, shooting anyone who raised a rifle to him. The Marescas were dropping everywhere. They hadn’t expected Franco to come with Roberto’s men, too.
Franco, Sebastiano, and Mauro shot their way inside the villa and killed the men surrounding Don Bruno and Pino. Their pistols clattered to the floor. Pino returned fire, providing cover for Don Bruno, who tried to run out the back door.
“Take them alive!” Franco shot Don Bruno in the leg, bringing him down in the dining room. Don Bruno cried out in pain, trying to crawl away.
Meanwhile Pino fired, hitting Sebastiano in the shoulder. Roberto’s man Mauro fired and hit Pino in the side.
“Bruno!” Franco leapt from Arabo, caught Don Bruno by the collar, and flipped him over, drilling his pistol in his cheek. “Where’s Roberto? Is Violetta with him?”
“You’ll never find them!” Don Bruno writhed in pain. “You killed Bruna! You killed my daughter!”
“Tell me where they are!” Franco shouted, spitting with fury.
“I hope Roberto kills her! I hope he killsyou!”
Boom!Franco shot Don Bruno, then whirled around, knowing Roberto’s man Mauro would be shocked, having just learned the truth.
“Don Franco?” Mauro asked, horrified. “Did Don Bruno sayyoukilled Donna Bruna?”
Boom!Franco grabbed a pistol from the floor and shot him in the chest. Mauro fell off his horse, dead when he hit the floor.
Sebastiano had a pistol on Pino, who lay bleeding from his side.
“Pino!” Franco grabbed Pino by his bloodied shirt. “Where are Roberto and Violetta? Tell me or I’ll kill you!”
“You’ll never find them!”
“Tell me!” Franco pistol-whipped Pino, breaking his nose, which exploded in blood. “Tell me!”
“I never will! Kill me!”
“Have it your way!” Franco struck him again and again with the pistol, sending blood flying until Pino emitted his last breath.
“Sebastiano.” Franco stood up, covered with blood. His chest heaved. His mind raced like a runaway horse. “Say nothing of what you just heard. The men don’t know it’s Violetta we’re rescuing. They think it’s Roberto.”
“Understood, Don Franco.” Sebastiano nodded. His shoulder wound was superficial, grazing his flesh.
“Roberto has Violetta and he’s using her to lure me to him. The question is, where would they hide? It’s mining country, so it’s logical to hide in a mine.”
“Yes, and Don Roberto knows the area better than we do.”
“Right. Don Bruno owns the biggest mine, but they wouldn’t go there, it’s too obvious.” Franco thought aloud. “They couldn’t use a working mine, either. I think they’d go to an abandoned mine, one that’s isolated. I saw some on the way.”
“I did, too.”
“I bet Don Bruno would have a map of the local mines, somewhere in here. Start looking. Turn this place upside down. I’m going out to talk to the men.” Franco touched his arm, leaving a bloody fingerprint. Sebastiano left to look for the map, and Franco led the horses outside and scanned the scene.
The shooting was over, the Fiorvanti victory clear. The Marescas had been slaughtered, lying dead on the dry ground in front of Don Bruno’s villa. Only a few Fiorvantis had been killed. The Fiorvantis turned to Franco as he emerged from the villa. Their stricken expressions showed that they feared the worst, since Roberto wasn’t with him. Thegunsmoke began to clear, revealing Mussomeli atop a nearby mountain, with its cluster of red-tiled houses, a church dome, and an abandoned castle.
Franco raised his bloodied hands. “Men, victory belongs to the Fiorvantis, but Roberto wasn’t inside. Don Bruno was, and he’s dead now. Pino is dead, too. I killed them because they refused to tell me where Roberto was.”
“Bravo, Don Franco!” the Fiorvantis shouted, raising their guns. “Don Roberto needs us now!”
Franco waved them into silence. “But I have terrible news. We lost one of our best. Don Bruno killed Mauro!”
“No!” The Fiorvantis erupted in outrage, especially Roberto’s men. “Not Mauro!”
