23. Vitorio
The sky is quickly growing dark above us, and the men are gathering, armed and ready. Moving in hushed whispers, they are making their way towards the back entrance of Luca's hideout.
I signal to the group of men on my left, telling them to stay low while the group of men on the right move ahead.
Already we can see how heavily guarded this place is. My idea of tackling this with as little violence as possible is quickly disappearing.
We have managed to get quite close without being spotted - but the risk is increasing by the second.
"As soon as we get through that door it is going to be mayhem" Marco whispers behind me. "I know." I agree. "Let's get this done as quickly as possible. We get the hostages and get out."
Marco turns to say something to his team behind us.
"Ready." Someone replies.
Marco nods at me. "Let's do this."
I click the pin out of the stun grenade and two men storm towards the door, slamming it open with the force of their bodies. As soon as it flies open, I toss the stun grenade through the doorway and everyone behind me ducks down.
We feel the impact more than hearing it, and as soon as it happens, we are on our feet and rushing in.
Men are standing around inside Luca's hideout, clutching their faces and rubbing their eyes trying to get rid of the blinding pain of the white blast of light that hits their eyes.
We flood into the room. They start shooting without hesitation. We shoot back.
Within seconds it becomes a blood bath of bodies and gore.
"Hold the door, keep your position," I yell behind me. "I'm going to find the hostages. Marco with me."
Room by room Marco's group of men work by my side to take down Luca's hordes.
It is a blood bath, for both sides. Another grenade goes off and mayhem erupts around us. I bolt out of the line of fire and find myself alone.
I move down the hall with my back against the wall, hearing men shouting from somewhere else in the building.
I grab the walkie-talkie attached to my vest and press the red button. "Marco, come in."
"Receiving."
"I'm no longer with the group, carry on, I'll find you."
"We found the hostages, busy moving them towards the exit now."
"Excellent. I'm turning back. If you get them out and I'm not there don't wait for me."
"We will wait for you Vit - what the fuck. Get down - what the… " the radio cuts off.
I hear a click behind me, the cock of a handgun. I slowly raise my hands in the air, my gun hanging from one finger, using the trigger as a hook.
"Vitorio." He glares at me with menace in his cold grey eyes.
"Ricardo." I sneer. I am in no way surprised to find my biggest enemy here. So, this is the scum my brother has been working with behind my back.
"Where is your brother?" he snaps.
"How the fuck should I know? Isn't it obvious, seeing as I am here with guns and explosives, that Luca and I are not getting along right now?"
I can't hold back the intense sarcasm oozing in my words.
Ricardo shakes his head and lifts his lips into a grimace.
"Fucking Luca." He snarls.
I squint at him, my hands still raised.
Three men arrive behind him.
"Sir, we have blocked off their escape." One reports.
My heart sinks.
Ricardo glances into my eyes, and for a moment I swear I see him grin. Then he spins away from me and in a flash, he has shot a bullet through the skull of each of the three men.
He stares down at their lifeless bodies, then spits at them.
When he turns to face me again, I am holding my gun firmly, pointing it straight at his head.
"That won't be necessary," Ricardo says. "Come on, I'll call my men off."
"You just killed your own men." I snap, staring at the bodies bleeding across the hallway.
"No, I killed Luca's men. They won't listen to me if I tell them to defy Luca. My men, on the other hand, will do whatever I ask of them."
"Defy Luca?"
"I'm fucking sick of him, man. He's a psychopath. It's impossible to do business with someone like him. He has no soul. He is ruthless and reckless, and I want out. But I didn't find the right way to escape the contract yet, until today that is, when you arrived. So, together, we can both get out of here. You help me, I help you."
My jaw muscles clench as I mull it over. Then I nod.
"Lead the way."
He starts jogging in the direction I came in, and I jog behind him. I am not sure if he is playing me, or if I can trust him, but for now, he is the only option I have if they really do have the exits blocked off. I'll work with him until I can get the hostages out at least.
If he shows any sign whatsoever of going back on his word, I won't hesitate to kill him.
Ricardo turns a corner, and I hang back when I see a swarm of men with their guns pointed at my team. My team actually is in a stalemate. They are standing firmly, with their guns raised, but they are outnumbered.
Ricardo clears his throat loudly and some of the men glance towards him.
"Please take note, that we are no longer siding with Luca and are now siding with Vitorio." He says eccentrically. A few of the men look confused. "Well?" Ricardo snaps.
They move quickly, turning their weapons away from my men and towards Luca's men. "What the fuck?" the wave of shock that runs through the group is intense.
Luca's men are now outnumbered.
Ricardo steps deeper into the room. "If you want to live, drop your weapons, lay flat on the ground, place your hands behind your heads, and don't look up until we are off the property."
Seven men drop to the floor, kicking their guns away from themselves, and placing their hands behind their heads.
I stare in disbelief, wondering how the fuck we got so lucky in such a tense situation.
Marco is glaring at me with his brows knotted together with countless unspoken questions burning behind his eyes.
"Marco, relax. Turns out Luca's been stirring up bad blood everywhere. Ricardo and I have an understanding."
Marco lowers his weapon, and his men do the same. "Let's get the hostages out of here." He says to his team, and Ricardo's men step aside to let them pass.
Ricardo and I wait until the last person is out of the house before we leave. I nod as a gesture of my gratitude towards him, then pull myself into the passenger side of Marco's SUV. He slams his foot on the accelerator, leading everyone away from the hideout.
Someone would have notified Luca of what went down here by now.
And he isn't going to be happy.
But the spontaneous truce with Ricardo has given me hope.
If one of my biggest enemies can work with me against my brother, there is hope that I can make everyone see him for who he really is.
Right now, Luca is weakened, with half of his forces taken down and the other half disarmed at his hideout. Now is the perfect time to strike.
I pull out my phone, recording a voice note detailing everything that my brother has been doing and how it has been affecting the Vitali name.
They need to know what is going on before this spirals out of control any further. They need to know that I played no part in his deceptive treachery.
I reveal the ugly truth of Luca's dealings with human trafficking, which my entire family has always been dead set against.
I ask my family to understand that the murder I was framed for was actually Luca's doing and ask that they allow me to come and see them so that we can fix the damage Luca has done.
I hit send on the message, making sure it reaches every person it needs to reach.
I have been on the run from everyone in my mafia family for so long now, and it is time to fix this once and for all.
Everyone who receives that message is going to have to choose a side. The family is divided between Luca and me. They are going to have to choose who they want to believe.
I lean back in the seat, feeling immense relief that we managed to get so many people out of there safely. Marco is so eager to get everyone home, that the poor pedal is the victim of his heavy foot.
Sitting with my head against the backrest, I stare out of the window, watching the scenery fly past me in a dark blur. I am so desperate to talk to Nicki, and Danny has still not replied to my message. I don't know if they are alright. I am beginning to worry and think of other ways to try and find her.
I don't trust Luca, and he has already proven that he is capable of anything. I should not underestimate him.