Valentina

Air around me smelled metallic. My mouth tasted rotten, laden with the soot from the heavy firing. In the center of all the chaos stood a heavily armored vehicle. My ears rang at a volume which I perceived to be enough for it to bleed.

Masked men fired rounds of bullets as I bucked behind them to the man who vowed to be my guard for the trip. Alejandro was the only one who wore no mask. Flaunting his identity, he jumped up from the jeep which brazed bullets like a video games.

I saw his hands move up and down and his lips curl up and sideways, instructing me. I had a reckoning. Al must have worn ear plugs. How else was he able to withstand the sound that was enough to make the ground crumble and walls to quiver? I placed my hand over my ears and tilted my head sidewise. Al's eyes widened. He moved with lightning speed, dragging me inside the jeep.

With two pats on the driver's back, the vehicle rumbled to life. Pins pricked in inner lining of my ears as I palmed them, lowering myself between my legs. I screamed for myself, for the situation we were in. I had never flaunted rules so carelessly, neither have I endangered my life in any way.

Marrying Antonio was the biggest life threat I could ever undertake, close second being this decision to raid at Spain's Capo quarters.

A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me. With the which that roared and speed at  lightening pace, I held onto the roof handle. Al pressed the sides of my cheeks, shoving a pill deep inside my throat. With a dry sensation which itched its way down my throat, I coughed. He patted my back and tossed a water bottle. I drained the contents before sliding back to my seat.

The backgrounds of the mansion disappeared in the distance, smaller and smaller with each passing second. A siren bellowed through the mansion and into the nearby areas. Alert was on. We were on the run. With the constant blares, I was remembered of the time when mom was carried in the back of ambulance.

This siren call had the same sound, same effect. It made my mouth dry, my heart to pound into my ribs. I was expecting death. It could come in any form now.

"Feeling better?" Al turned me to him. I peeled my eyes off the darkening sky and placed it over him. With a scope adjusted to his rifle, he checked the vision with a closed eyes. "Perfect," he murmured to himself.

"Yes. I am fine. Actually I am great." I clenched my teeth and grunted. He laughed at my behavior. Rarely having witnessed Alejandro laughing, I punched him for his playfulness. "I don't know why but I am so fucking pumped. I want to punch a hole in the wall," I growled again, grinding my teeth.

He passed another bottle towards me. "Stay hydrated," he instructed before pulling a Remington rifle from his bag and on my lap. "Epinephrine effect won't stay for long. We need all hands on deck."

My eyeballs shot out. "You gave me fucking adrenaline?" I screamed at him. He shrugged, tossing off the backside topping off the jeep. "You asshole," another louder scream and Al turned to me, holding both my hands.

"We might die here today, if we don't fight. Do you want to die here? Do you want some pervert to rape your dead body?" he scanned my face. His eyes darkened. He was telling the truth. 

I shouted. "No," and began loading my gun. It clicked in with the magazine.

The driver in the front shouted. "Tailgate." Someone was following us. 

Al and I took the corners, hiding behind the metal stems of the vehicle's skeleton which held up the roof. With the open view, wind blew my hair in all directions. I felt a harder pounding on my chest when I tied my hair in a haphazard manner. Slitting the dresses' sides, I crossed my legs, watching a black SUV tag us.

Although we were racing ahead faster, the siren calls grew louder with each turn that we took.

"We need to take that driver out, Val," Alejandro mounted his rifle and laid on his stomach. His head reared up like a snake, scanning the murder car that was unwilling to let go. "Cover me." He shouted. Suddenly it all came to reality. We were fighting for our lives.

I moved close to Al, ducking low so only my eyes could scan the scope mounted on a tripod. One perfect shot from the enemy car could kill us. The same applied to them. The siren bellowed louder, my heart thumbed on the ribs and suddenly my vision narrowed on the car fast approaching from behind.  

Al and I both were trained for a day like this. Antonio called Al the hungry leopard and for some unknows reason, I knew today I'd see the beast in action. That, if I was able to protect him.

A bullet flew past me as the car approached, trying its best to rear-end us. Al shouted to the driver some codes, alphas and tangos, as our car maneuvered into another swift turn. The shot was perfect to take if aligned. Al's armor clicked. I rose up. With a finger on the trigger, I waited for the moment. 

The siren call, acceleration sound, driver yelling all faded into the background.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heartbeats sang with me as I exhaled. Now.

About to pulled the trigger when a head popped out from the SUV' s side. The man in that car was taking a shot at me. I, on him. A closed eye and a second of stability later, I fired. The bullet whooshed through the barrel and into his skull. It burst opened like a watermelon shredded to pieces. The driver in that car seemed to have been affected by this. The vehicle's route wavered from its straight line.

Distract.

The adrenaline in my body was pumping me with instructions. I grabbed the machine gun and rained over the trailing vehicle. Al still remained in position, stable. His center of gravity remained unaffected by the small jerks from our car. With his foot tugged onto the separation plate with the front, his stability provider pose, Al smiled into the scope.

The next thing I saw was the enemy vehicle severed from its straight path into the greener background on the side. A loud bang blared at the end and smoke spewed out like a steaming kettle. Thich black smoke from the engine. 

Phew. I fell back onto the side. Al rose back into his seating position, smiling.

"You should do that more often," I said. He raised his eyebrows in question. "Smile, I meant smile," I answered.

Happiness was short lived. A bullet flew between us into the driver's chamber, shattering the windshield. We ducked down. "Save me, you idiots," the driver yelled.

"Trying." Al shouted back.

"What now?" I barked between the bullet noises that rained on us like hailstorm. We couldn't hold our previous position anymore. Under the bullets that fell as curse from the sky, we remained glued to the edges. Al tossed a grenade on the road. A loud explosion later the metal rain stopped.

Within seconds, we hit the runway. Al shouted on his walkie-talkie. "GET IT STARTED."

He looked at me, pulling me close. "Trust me on this, Hermana."

I nodded vigorously. What there even another option?

Maybe it was Al calling me sister for the first time or the fact that the Moralez didn't abandon me in Spain or simply the adrenaline that seemed to have regrouped and resurfaced, I was ready for whatever was tossed onto me.

The car ran parallel to the jet, which sped up on the runway. The airhostess, with a buckle tied to her waist, lend me her hand. I grabbed it, hoisted off the car by Al. Inside, I leaned onto the sides as the engines rumbled up. I looked back on to the car.

Al stood at the edge, ready to take the jump. I knew there was only time for one jump. Rushing to the cockpit, I glued my eyes onto the window. If he failed and fell, we needed to slow down. I cannot go without him. He came for me and I would do the same for him. With the resolveetched in my mind, I chewed my cuticles as Al made the jump.

For a second, time stopped as he remained suspended in air. Then I couldn't find him.

"Break the speed," I barked the orders into the cockpit before rushing out. "Continue going," I screamed as I ran out to witness Al hanging onto the edge and reeled in by the hostess.

Once inside, in his elated state, Al curled his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. Real James Bond move there. All she could do was blush away and submit to him. The doors were closed before the craft made it into the air. The background noises faded into the whirling of the engine.

Al hugged me tight, patting my head and back. In a way, it was his silent thank you. I clung onto him as if he was Nicolas. As if I was indeed blessed to have him save me. Protect me. When we separated, he winced.

"Where?" I knew he was shot. He removed the brown leather jacket off his body, flinching as it slipped off his right arm. The bullet had grazed his arm. "Flesh wound," I said.

He nodded before turning to the hostesses. The properly decked girls rushed to place a first aid kit before Al tore off his sleeve. She gasped and moved a step back.

Al turned to me, rolling his eyes and whispering. "Weak girls disgust me."

"Nobody is asking you to marry her," I snickered, rubbing spirit over his wound. He winced, grabbing the armrest. "You are a weakling too," I smirked, cleaning up his wound and dressing it up.

After being patched up, Al fell back on the seat, leaning low. His eyes remained on the hostess who flirted with her eyes.

"Whiskey," I rattled my empty glass with the lone ice cube. He nodded in return. After pouring his a glass, curiosity grabbed me. "Why did we come here if the intention was to do nothing? 

"Well, not nothing. Look at the back," he pointed to the resting area behind.

I walked over, turning on lights in the dim lit area. A silhouette lay on the white cover. I was scared to be walking into an unconscious Santos. But it wasn't him. When the lights reappeared, the face reveal shocked me to the core.

Stomping back, I tossed the grinding airhostess off from Alejandro's body. His 'hey' vanished when he watched my expressions. "You don't like the surprise?" he smirked.

"This wasn't a part of the deal."

Al gulped his drink and hissed through his teeth, "And neither was Santos burning the contracts."

I stood shocked, listening to his words. I didn't inform anyone about that. Hell, what happened between Santos and I couldn't even be narrated. Everything happened so quick. Then how did Al come to know of it?

"Was I bugged?" My chest heaved again and the faded sensation from the adrenaline dose crept back inside of me. I was fuming at his words and Antonio's deeds. What the fuck did I land myself in?

Al pointed to my purse. The one I clutched onto my chest as if my life depended on it. It was bugged. I felt betrayed. I was not only sent as a scapegoat, one who could have been killed in this transaction, they didn't even believe me to do the right thing. 

I was a watched pawn. A pawn to be spent.

Bugging my accessory made me see red. I walked back to the area where the victim from the ego clash from two empires laid, unconscious.

The collateral in all this.

~

Awesome Pawsomes..

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Love

S