67
I’m going to fuck you up
M y own scream thundered louder than the two disjointed gunshots.
Both trapped between skin, muscle, and perhaps bone.
Nikita collapsed, giving me the brightest and most radiant smile he had ever offered me.
Although my first impulse upon entering the place was to rush at Yuri, I had to restrain myself for fear that he would hurt Nikita. Now, that terror had become something tangible and real.
My wife intervened in the trajectory of the bullet that was aimed at me. She fulfilled her promise to give her life for mine.
I had never felt so much pain and fear. What if I lost her? If Yuri escaped, I would never forgive myself, but if Nikita died, I would follow her.
I grabbed her by the shoulders before she hit the ground and hugged her, roaring like a wild animal.
Yuri growled in turn, bringing his free hand to his left collarbone. Korolev was also wounded, although not mortally, as I would have wished. I had aimed for his heart, but I missed.
With my wife in my arms, I attempted a second shot that missed and hit one of the walls. Yuri had moved towards the door and also tried to finish me off before escaping through it.
I dropped to the ground, taking Nikita with me. My wife's sacrifice was not going to be in vain; I owed it to her.
The bullet hit a coat rack. The wood splintered. I shrank, lost in the closed eyes of my wife and placed my fingers on her neck to check if she was still alive.
Her rat of a brother had jumped out.
" Amore ," I murmured.
Her heart was still beating, which gave me hope. I gently lifted her head. With everything I had seen and heard, I had enough to understand that, as difficult as it might seem, Nikita was not lying; she loved me and had chosen me over her brother.
She opened her eyelids, her gaze was glassy. My hand was getting soaked in her own blood.
"And Yuri?"
"He’s gone out."
"Then what are you doing here? Run! Go after him! Kill him! You can't let him escape this time!" My wife spoke with determination and heaviness. The sweatshirt she was wearing was starting to turn crimson.
"You need a doctor urgently."
"And so do you, and Cheng." My eyes flew to the Chinese woman who was still pressing her wound. A pool of blood was flowing freely under her body. "I am not mortally wounded, moreover, I promise you that I will not die; I need more time with you to recover everything I lost. So move your ass, Capulet, and don’t let that traitorous dog kill you." I couldn't help but offer her a smile.
"I’m going after him, but promise me you’ll be alive when I return."
"I promise, now go." I couldn't classify the emotions flowing through my body because there were too many. I gave her a short kiss that felt like a sealed pact and gently laid her on the ground.
I ran to the door and peeked out, looking for the trail that would lead me to him.
A shot welcomed me. This time it didn't hit me.
“Is this what you wanted? A duel?! Then come out of your hiding place and face me, you cowardly piece of shit!” Yuri reproached me.
“The cowardly piece of shit is you!” I snapped, looking for the origin of the voice. “You didn’t have the guts to show your true face or your intentions. You preferred to stab me in the back rather than shoot me from the front, and that only has one name.”
“Strategy,” he cut in from somewhere.
The smell of salt stung my nostrils, the port lights were already on, so the darkness wasn’t absolute.
“What pisses you off the most?” he asked. “Realizing you’re a fool, that I screwed you without you realizing it, or that what you thought was love was nothing more than my secret weapon blowing your balls off?”
“It seems your secret weapon only wants to kill its creator. Even Nikita doesn’t want you alive. You’re finished, Korolev!”
I made another attempt to see where he was and received a second shot that nearly took my nose off. From the notch the bullet left on the battered steel door, I understood he was hidden somewhere to my right.
Before entering the place, I did a visual sweep.
Yuri had positioned himself near where he had parked. I saw a long line of containers, some stacked and others standing alone. That bastard could have used one of them as a hiding spot. I looked up, in the crane cab used to move them I saw no one, so he had to be behind one.
If I ran in a straight line, I could reach another of the containers ahead. Five meters of open ground.
My side was burning, and I was losing blood. I needed to act quickly to have all my faculties and defeat Yuri. I had always been good at running and avoiding moving shots. I had gone paintballing with my men more than once, and I even managed to dodge Aleksa, that should be useful.
I fired in the direction I guessed Yuri was to buy a few seconds. The reaction to a shot was always to hide. I pulled the trigger, took off running, and prayed to God for a chance to do justice.
I didn't get much maneuvering space; after three steps, bullets burst like fireworks. Fortunately, my skill allowed me to cover four meters without incident, and on the last, I jumped like one of those flying squirrels, except in my case, I was almost two meters tall.
I landed on the side of the container. I was lucky none of the shots hit me, though the wound had taken a good hit.
I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about it. How many shots had he fired in total? It was important to know the enemy’s ammunition; every missed bullet was a chance to stay alive.
From the type of weapon Yuri was using, he should have about five bullets left, assuming he had no spares or that I hadn’t miscounted.
“What’s the matter, Capulet?! Are you dead?”
“Why don’t you come and check my pulse?” I muttered tersely. I couldn’t keep resting; Nikita’s survival depended on me.
I walked crouched, sticking to the back of the yellow container. From where I was to the row of containers where Yuri was supposedly positioned, I had a couple of meters. I needed to cover them and, if possible, with the same efficiency as before. My muscles were tense, I couldn’t fail, everything depended on me doing things right.
“Come on, Romeo, you have to make up for everything that bastard has done to you.”
I focused on the target. One last breath and go for it.
Bang, bang, bang.
Three more shots aimed to tickle me. My breathing was erratic when I managed to lean my back against the metal. I looked at the sky and gave thanks.
“Mom, I know it’s you and Dante who are protecting me, and I know why. I swear I won’t disappoint you if you let me finish him.”
“Romeo, Romeo, fucking you will be my trophy,” Yuri sang mockingly.
“Is that your problem?” I taunted him. “That you have a thing for me? Now that I think about it, you always watched me when we fucked and kissed me that night… Is that what’s wrong with you? That I turned you on and you knew I wasn’t into that?” I asked as I moved. I hoped what I was saying would keep him entertained.
“Don’t be absurd!” he exclaimed, agitated. “I’m not a fucking faggot!”
“Of course not, because they have far more balls than you show,” I replied, advancing stealthily.
I still couldn’t see him. Where the hell had he gone?
I reached the next container. On the ground, there was a stone I didn’t hesitate to throw to hit the module closest to my car.
As soon as the stone hit, a new shot rang out.
I smiled inwardly. One less bullet in his tally, he had only one shot left.
“It seems you’re in trouble, Korolev… One shot left and I’ve got five,” I said haughtily.
“Is that an invitation? You know what rhymes with five. Maybe it turns out that’s what you’ve been looking for all along, to be my Italian whore.”
“You wish.”
His voice sounded closer.
I had two containers left to reach the car; if I was smart, I could make it. I was thinking about it when I heard a slight creak above my head. I didn’t stop to check if it was Yuri or a damn seagull. I moved aside quickly, and his last bullet wheezed past the sole of my shoe.
My brother-in-law didn’t wait. He lunged at me and struck my wrist, making me lose my weapon. It slid three meters on the asphalt.
“Now I’m really going to fuck you up,” he murmured, grabbing my lip to bite it. I struggled and punched him in the side, making him let go of me abruptly. “Too bad my little sister can’t see my mark on your mouth. When I’m done with you, I’m going to sodomize you so you understand that if you cried so much for me, it was because deep down you longed for my cock.”
“You’re sick.”
I tried to headbutt him. The Russian wasn’t as heavy as me; his muscles had always been less prominent, so my best asset would be my strength. I made the move, but he slipped his fingers into my wound, digging into it, causing an uncontrollable spasm.
I screamed in pain and swear I felt his erection against my pelvis. The bastard was getting aroused!
I tried to break free; Yuri was trying to tear my flesh. The pain was unbearable. I roared, and despite writhing, I punched him in the jaw with my left hand.
His mouth filled with blood. He didn’t swallow it; he spat it on my face with a smile that resembled a psychopath’s.
The blow helped me throw him off and catapult him to the side.
The wound was driving me mad. I put my hand over it, feeling the hot liquid spilling over my palm.
My brother-in-law rolled over and didn’t hesitate to throw himself over me to reach my weapon. I couldn’t allow it. I grabbed his ankle, and he tried to kick me in the face. This time I prevented it, I twisted his foot to fracture his ankle, and he howled like a dog.
I pulled him towards me with all my strength and dragged him. Yuri had reached the butt of my weapon with his fingertips, there was no time to lose.
I needed to get the gun. We fought hand-to-hand for possession of it; I used his technique and went for Yuri’s clavicle wound. He roared. When I was just touching the butt, Yuri changed his position and dug into my open flesh with even more fury. He was a damn unscrupulous beast.
A police siren reverberated closer. Had someone reported the shooting? Maybe a port worker.
I looked at Yuri.
“You won’t get out of this,” I threatened, hitting his side to free myself from the torture.
“We’ll see about that.” He pulled my flesh so hard that I released his wrist by reflex. I received a blow from the butt that made my head bounce off the asphalt.
“See you soon, Capulet,” he whispered in my ear, patting my pockets.
The pain had me dazed, but I hadn’t lost consciousness. I had to get up, I couldn’t fail my wife, or myself.
I crawled on the ground, my mind foggy, leaving a trail of blood under my body.
I heard the violence of a door slamming shut. He had taken my car keys! How did he intend to drive with a broken ankle?
The engine roared, I bellowed.
I couldn’t lose him this time!
The most fatal sound I had ever heard made the port tremble.