Chapter 30 #12
What is happening? I think as I glance at Blue, whose eyes are narrowed and intensely fixed on Edgar, while Marcel is staring at him too, but with anger and frustration. Then his gaze drops to the cable, which slips lower once cut, making it obvious what just happened.
"What the fuck did you do?!" Marcel whines out, and for the first time his voice sounds uneasy, fear showing in his eyes, and I realize that at this point the only thing standing between the success of his plan and total failure is the gun in his hand aimed at my head, but then unexpectedly he shifts it and points it at Edgar.
"Put the cable back on, or I’ll blow your head off, you traitor," he says, but Edgar forces out,
"I would, but I can’t, Marcel."
"Why the fuck not?"
"Because I can’t move, I don’t have control over my own hand!" Edgar whimpers, his voice breaking.
Understanding flashes in Marcel's eyes as he slowly turns his head toward Blue, who has a faint, strange smile on his face.
Whatever just happened gave Blue the ‘massive advantage’ he once mentioned.
This is our window, but what matters even more is Marcel’s reaction, because I can see the decision forming in him in a split second, and for all his arrogance he’s not stupid.
He understands that me with freed legs plus Edgar no longer following orders and unable to help means the balance has shifted to our side, and he is about to force it back.
My 5-sec ability is running at full capacity.
And I see it in a vision: Marcel snaps his arm toward Blue and fires, the shot hitting his temple and killing him instantly, just like that, without hesitation, without mercy.
I can see the majestic electrical discharge that breaks loose between me and Blue as our souls get separated again, the powerful current of electricity cutting Marcel and Edgar in half, as we both die, we take those two with us too…
Obviously, I can’t let that happen.
Marcel is standing about six and a half feet away from me, close to a large window with thin, narrow panes, and if I want to stop him I have to put everything I have into this move, all my strength and speed.
Being an alpha means my movements are several times faster than those of an omega.
I slam into him with the full force of my body, nearly twice his weight, and carried by that momentum we both crash straight through the glass.
I know exactly what is going to happen, how I need to position myself to avoid injury, and what is waiting for us below, as my vision becomes a precise tool again, stretching under stress to nearly ten seconds.
The fall doesn’t last long since we are only on the first floor, but we do not land on pavement, instead we hit the hood of a car, a sleek limousine that, by Fate’s choice, is rolling slowly down the narrow alley between two warehouses.
Perfect timing.
We slam into the hood with a loud impact, the sheet metal bending under us, and even though it is only a drop of about thirteen feet, it hits Marcel much harder than it hits me.
He takes the impact on his back and head, the full force slamming into him, and my body drives into him on top of that, amplifying it even more, and I hear that sharp, sickening crack of something breaking inside his spine.
His eyes are wide open, locked on mine, and a strained, broken sound escapes his throat.
"Fuck. I lost."
For a moment I almost feel something like pity, seeing him like this, small and helpless under my weight, his beautiful face slack as he stares up at the sky.
"It's hard to win with Blue."
"I lost with you."
"Oh, Marcel," I whisper. "You could have been someone, you know that? But you wasted it."
Marcel exhales quietly, his voice barely audible.
"Lowen was right. You were the one variable I couldn't quantify, and the only one that mattered…"
Then he closes his eyes.
"Gabriel Nolan?"
The voice reaches me like something from a distant past, and only then do I lift my head from Marcel’s pale face and look at the people who stepped out of the limousine and are watching us with great interest.
There are four heavily built alphas and one tall omega in a perfectly tailored suit, his features flawless, carrying a kind of minimal elegance and cold detachment that reminds me of Blue. I know him.
Ennio Ferro.
"It's Lowen now, actually. I got married," I mutter, tearing the metal breastplate off myself.
"What are you doing here, Gabriel?"
I blink, still a little dazed, while a flood of thoughts, chances, and possibilities rush through my head.
"Uh… sorry about the limo, send me the bill. As for what I’m doing… Well, I’m trying to get out of a bad situation. I was kidnapped today by this guy here with help from a group of NFH lunatics…"
The alphas and Ennio exchange looks.
"NFH?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately the man I’m protecting, Blue Lowen, is upstairs, still tied up, and there are twelve NFH operatives waiting by the door. After hearing the window shatter they might be breaking in right now."
Ennio lifts an eyebrow slightly.
"Interesting. I heard you became his bodyguard from my cousin, Eliano."
I study his cold, statuesque face. Ennio is known for being effective and ruthless as the new capo, but he is also pragmatic, and that might be something I can use.
I press my lips together and go all in.
"I know I’m asking a lot. I know your family and the Lowens haven’t exactly been on good terms, but I’m pleading with you anyway, and I can promise you this: you’ll gain a valuable ally in Blue if you go up there and take out those twelve idiots.
There’s no loss here, they’re declared killers of alphas and omegas, people who take part in massacres of civilians.
You’d be cleaning the world up a bit, taking out the weeds. "
The alphas exchange looks again, and there is a faint hint of amusement on Ennio’s face.
"You are asking a lot, Gabriel, and it’s true our families haven’t always been aligned, although I personally had nothing to do with that conflict," he says, lightly rubbing his chin as if weighing options, then straightens and folds his arms. "But that doesn’t mean it can’t change.
I’m a businessman, just like Lowen, and I can turn this into an opportunity.
You understand that you’ll both owe me?"
"Blue won’t forget such a favor. And neither will I."
Ennio’s expression remains hard to read, but I can tell he is almost entertained. Then he turns to his men and says something in Italian, short and decisive.
Without hesitation, they move to the back of the limousine and pull out weapons, following his command, no question asked, even though he is an omega in an organization built around alphas, which is kinda astonishing.
Ennio also arms himself, taking two high-capacity tactical pistols.
"I’m going with you," I say firmly. "I have a skill that can help you."
Ennio tilts his head slightly. "I don’t usually take civilians on operations."
"And yet I can give you an advantage that will keep your people from taking any losses," I say in an insisting tone.
Ennio narrows his black eyes, studying me for a moment, then gives a short nod. "Fair enough. Be my guest," he says and without any further discussion makes a small motion with his head toward the closed entrance to the building.
Just like that, he buys it, which makes me wonder what exactly convinced him.
I trigger my five-second ability right away and I know exactly what I need to do next.
"Take the sides," I throw out through clenched teeth. "They’re going to shoot, but we’ll handle it." I take a strong step and drive my foot into the lock with full force, then jump aside as the door cracks open and the first bullets come flying through the gap.
One of the alphas raises a hand, holding a round object, and grins, and I already know what it is, so I nod.
He tosses it inside and it bursts almost instantly into thick rolling smoke, filling the space. I kick the second door panel open and wait for the right moment, until the gunfire thins out, then push through the smoke and move inside.
With my ability still running, I reach the first combatant hiding behind a stack of crates. They’re all betas, which means without weapons they stand no real chance against me, so I take him out fast. Ennio and the others move in right behind me.
A second later I grab one of Ennio’s men and hold him back for a split second before he steps straight into a firing line from deeper inside the warehouse, then pull him behind a stack of crates. "Stay close to me, I’ll know ahead of time when a shot is coming your way."
"Sounds useful," Ennio says evenly. "We’ve all got vests, but I’d rather not deal with bruises."
We move deeper into the warehouse, from one stack to the next, and I guide them between incoming fire. Near the stairs there’s a group of shooters behind a pile of wooden pallets, so I take a second to assess it. "Alright. Who here can shoot and land it on the first try? I need that right now."
"That would be me," Ennio says calmly.
I raise a brow. "No offense, but alpha reflexes are known to be quicker."
He doesn’t take it badly, just looks at me with a hint of superiority and one brow raised. "Don’t worry. I’m an exception."
"Okay. If you say so. Stay close, I’ll call the exact moment they lean out and when it’s safe to fire. I’ll give you the window in seconds."
"Roger that."
I shut my eyes for a brief moment, testing scenarios. "Now. Two seconds," I say, and Ennio leans out from behind the crates and fires. One of the NFH fighters drops instantly.
"Impressive," I mutter, because his speed and precision are hard to ignore. Ennio just gives me a look that says, "Didn’t I tell you?"
We repeat it twice more, I call the window and he fires, but the next one is tighter, just one and a half seconds, and I feel he’s about to linger half a second too long, so I grab him and pull him back down behind cover, noticing in the process how hard and solid he feels.
"Stay inside the window. That shot would’ve grazed your temple. "