L O R E N Z O

Dusk had never appeared quite as threatening as it did tonight. Something in the air screamed of bruised hymns, and I was certain making the day without a single funeral was unlikely. I was only hoping the people I'd wanted to protect would remain safe; if not, then this elaborate ruse I'd conjured to trap Orlov and Murphy would be a disaster I didn't want to consider if it all went to shit.

"Renzo!" Luca nudged my shoulder, and I blinked with a start, turning to him.

"I didn't realize you were saying?"

His brows furrowed, but he chose not to comment on my moment of weakness, "We're here."

It was only then that I noticed we were at the docks, and the Sun was only minutes away from setting. I needed to get my head on straight. Any mistake tonight could result in carnage, and I wasn't about to lose control of a game of my own making.

"They'll reach the safehouses just fine, Renzo. And you'll be the first to hear when they do." Luca patted my shoulder, "But right now, you need to be on your A game."

"Yeah." I exhaled, "Give me a minute."

Luca nodded and left the car, leaving me alone inside the vehicle. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the back of the seat, breathing out. My thoughts were spiraling, everything seemed to be fading away, and I was trying to hold on to a forlorn sense of reality that had started appearing like a mirage in itself. Focusing on my breathing for a minute, I centered my thoughts and forced myself to focus on the issue at hand. Killing Grigory Orlov.

I opened my eyes and left the car, unsurprised to find Luca and Alessio standing right in front of the door.

"Are the men ready?" They nodded, "And Firori?"

"He's been seen meeting with Orlov." Alessio gritted his teeth, "he would've told Orlov the entire plan by now."

"What he thinks he knows of the plan." Luca corrected him. "But we must still be careful. It's hard to tell how many men Firori has gotten to."

I nodded before checking my wristwatch for the time, "What time will the boat be here?"

"It shouldn't be long now," he answered just as we began walking towards the containers.

I turned my neck to take a note of our snipers before facing straight ahead as we walked away from the safety net provided by the car to the little shelter offered by the containers. If Firori had ratted off what he knew to Orlov, the Russians wouldn't be far behind. They would be here for the drugs any minute, and one thing I knew about them was that they were not quiet.

Alessio, Luca, and I stood in silence, and soon enough, we could make out the ship across the darkened horizon, and as if that was the signal they were waiting for, the earpiece in my ear buzzed with static before Stefano's voice came through.

"They're here." And then his voice got cut as there was a loud bang in the distance.

I hissed under my breath before removing my gun from the holster, eyeing Alessio and Luca. They nodded as we took our positions behind the containers, waiting for the Russians to reach the end of the docks through the maze of containers. Luca typed away on his phone before pocketing it and removing the safety of his gun.

"Is it done?" Alessio muttered, eyeing the ship in the distance.

"Yes. They'll anchor now. Orlov will not get to touch that ship."

"Good."

I turned away to make my way through the metal containers. It wouldn't be too long before they'd figure out that it was too easy. I hadn't stationed many men on the ground, relying on the stealth of snipers, and that was something Fiorri wasn't familiar with.

I caught sight of someone sprinting across the pavement and stopped in my tracks, pushing myself up against the container. My arm was no longer resting on my side; the gun in my hand was now trained in front of me. I turned my neck to look around, and when my eyes caught Luca's, I signaled to ask him why there hadn't been any noise yet.

It was awfully quiet for an ambush, which had the hair at the back of my neck standing.

Luca shrugged as he pulled out his phone, and I did the same, leaning against the metal as I pulled up the live feed of all the cameras I'd inserted a couple of hours ago. The Russians were there but hadn't moved from their position at the entrance. Grigory was speaking, but I couldn't make out what it was that he was saying from this distance. One thing was for sure: something was not right.

I was aware of the shift in the wind; I could feel it in my bones, and something about this was screaming treachery. I just had to put my finger on it. After observing them for a few more minutes, I looked away from my phone's screen and motioned for Luca to come closer.

"I need you to send the boat back. Tell them to get back into International waters."

Luca's brows furrowed, but he stayed silent, nodding curtly as he took out his phone. I turned my earpiece on again and called out for Stefano.

"Boss?"

"Do you have sight of Grigory Orlov?"

"Yes."

"Shoot him."

I felt Luca's burning gaze on me, but I remained focused on Stefano. "Finally!" He gleamed, and I suppressed the urge to tell him to get his head on straight.

In his childlike wonder for violence, Stefano had the tendency to forget the significance of the task at hand and fuck up the most important of things.

"And Stefano?"

"Yeah."

"Get down from that building and get away as fast as you can."

"Why? I was just getting started!"

"Stefano..." I warned, "You fuck up one more time, and I will have your balls."

"Damn... that's harsh." He sighed dramatically, "But I gotta go make sure I blow his brains open."

I shook my head but otherwise remained silent as the static returned to silence in my ear.

"Renzo, you just blew the entire plan!" Luca scowled, his anger unmistakable on his face.

Perhaps it was reckless, but I needed this ruse to be real, even if it'd kill me.

"Get the men, Luca. Let's go greet the Russians."

"What about the fucking ambush?"

"It'll happen." I rubbed my jaw just as Alessio's figure became visible as he made his way over.

"I thought we were following the plan down to the very last detail."

"We are. Just not plan A." I shrugged and turned around to make my way towards the car.

"Why?"

"The snipers might be compromised." The footsteps behind me got faster, and both of them caught up with me, their faces alight with curiosity, albeit Luca's facial expression was more of a scowl.

"Motherfucker!" Alessio kicked the metal, the noise echoing in the silence around us.

"So Fiorri's really working with them."

"And his specialty is explosives." I added, "None of us will leave here alive if we stay here. The fucker isn't even here himself yet."

"He left his house, though." Alessio rubbed the back of his neck, his brows furrowed.

"If he knew we were onto him, he wouldn't sit there and wait for us."

"Send men after him. I want him alive." Luca nodded, typing away on his phone as I turned to Alessio, "You okay?"

He looked up at the sky, closing his eyes momentarily before facing me, "I'm fucking pissed."

"So am I." I exhaled, eyeing the dissolving tangerines in the sky for a minute before turning around to walk towards the cars. "Luca, get the men. Oh, and call Agent Nash. Tell him he might get that promotion sooner than promised."

"Did he ever tell you why he went from a con artist to an FBI Agent?" Alessio said as he increased his pace to match mine, so he was walking beside me.

I side-eyed him, "I didn't ask."

Luca had only pocketed his phone after talking to Nash when we reached where we'd parked our cars, and with it came the sighting of Russians. Grigory stood right in front of his man, his hands pocketed in his suit, no weapon in sight, standing at ease like he had all the time in the world. His nonchalance meant nothing when he had men behind him training their guns at us. He smiled, motioning at the space between us,

"I'm surprised you haven't reached my throat yet, Lorenzo." Grigory snickered, "your father would have."

I kept my hands at my sides, holding my gun casually, as I looked him in the eye, "Were you expecting that?"

"I was expecting to do this with Leonardo, but he's got his tail between his legs ever since he got married."

Alessio cursed beside me; the tension in his body rippled to mine, and I subtly shook my head, warning him to wait for Stefano.

"I'm afraid you'll have to make do with me." I sighed, "Though, I'm not sure you'll get what you came here for."

Grigory laughed mockingly and turned to his men, and it was right then that everything stilled, and in a matter of mere seconds, he dropped to the ground, his body folding on itself. Blood pooled on the pavement, and soon enough, his impeccable two-piece was soaked in blood, and it clung to him like skin.

It didn't take long for his men to recover and for them to start firing their rounds at us. It was almost like chaos had personified and joined us in person. Its presence was palpable against my flesh, and the wind carried the echoes of destruction better than any hymn or melody.

I rolled away and took cover behind my car, looking around for Alessio and Luca, exhaling when my eyes met theirs, and they nodded. Gunshots kept ricocheting in the silence of the waterside, and soon enough, there was static in my ears, and Stefano's voice crackled.

"Whew!" He exclaimed, "It's done, boss." his manic laughter echoed in my ear in unison with the banging of the gunshots, and I told him to shut up as I peeked from the side of my car, aiming at the bullet-ridden vehicle.

I shot a few of Grigory's men in the head, and once my bullets ran out, I took cover behind the vehicle again as I replaced the mag. Crouching behind the car, I walked to the other side, closer to the driver's side door. The FBI would be here any second to get their slice of the pie in the fall of the infamous Grigory Orlov, and I had to get out of here before that happened.

I looked at Alessio, and when he met my gaze, sweat droplets matting his hair to his forehead, I pointed towards his Aston Martin, indicating that now was the time. He'd lead the men out of here. Alessio nodded and held his gun in one hand as he stood with his back against the pillars, running across the lot to get to his car. The car beeped as he got inside and dashed off, tires screeching as bullets fired in the background, embers flying off his car as the shots embedded themselves in the back. I nodded at Luca, asking him to rush towards the car while I'd covered him, and just as he rolled across the cemented floor, I opened the driver's side door and stood up, holding pistols in both my hands as I fired incessantly. I paused, took cover behind the car just as I heard static in my earpiece, and focused on the person speaking.

"Boss," Milan's panic-ridden voice echoed in my ear, and immediately, my back stiffened as I cupped my ear with my hand to hear him clearly amidst all this chaos.

"What?"

"We lost..." He exhaled, and my heartbeat increased with each passing second of his silence, "Contact with Alessandro..."

He hadn't even finished speaking when I felt an abyss in my gut. Fucking hell. I pinched the bridge of my nose, composing myself. Luca hissed in my ear, and I turned my face towards him as I made out his voice,

"Renzo! We need to go!" Luca screamed, and if he were any other man, he would have been long dead for fucking ordering me, but I understood his desperation, and I knew his reservations. We'd been blindsided.

I stood up, my grip tight on my guns despite the slight tremor in my hands as I began firing, giving cover to Luca. Luca rolled over towards the car, and in a split second, I turned my attention to him; there was a pinch in my hands, and before the pain even registered, the gun from my hand had already dropped to the ground, chased by my blood. I clenched my jaw as I forced myself to take another aim while Luca started the car, and I opened the rear door.

"Renzo, get in!"

Luca screamed, but before I could respond, much less react to his words, the silent greyness seemed to get bigger and bigger, driving me out of focus and into blindness toward an abyss I'd never mastered.

* * *
It's been a while! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I had the biggest writers block and struggled with this for months (it's a lot to do with what comes next😭 so you'll understand once we get there) and life happens so I'm really sorry for the delay. I'll try my best to make sure I have consistent updates! Trust me, I know how bad it feels to not know what happens next ad a reader, so it's always at the top of my head, but I had some other commitments (uni activities, my design business etc.) but I promise I will not abandon any of the stories I've promised you all!

So on that note, what do you think will happen next?

Also the next chapter comes with an announcement that I think you'll love🫢🫢

Once again thank you so much for reading and sticking by me! I love you guys🫶🫶

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