2. Obi
OBI
The explosion reverberated through the penthouse just as Wynn, Ciel, and I grabbed the last bag from the weapons closet. My ears rang from the shockwave, but it wasn’t strong enough to destroy the blast door. Although we were far above other residents, some must have felt or heard that blow.
One round of explosives would not destroy that door, but two would. We had to move.
I would not let my family be harmed.
“Go,” I commanded. Together, the three of us—each with a backpack full of weapons and extra ammo, plus two bulletproof vests—darted back through the hallways to the living room.
Ryu and Caspian covered Leona’s body with their own while they huddled against the couch.
“Guys!” Leona shouted. “Obi!”
“We’re here.” I shoved a vest into Caspian’s arms, then crouched in front of Leona. We only had six. Enough for all of us, minus Volpe. “Put this on, ifunanya’m.”
“Are those bulletproof vests?”
“Yes. Kevlar.” I slipped it over her head, and she grimaced slightly at the surprising weight. “This is too big for you. Stay behind me when we engage them.”
I should have custom-ordered one that would fit her size and be easier to carry on her frame. I added it to the list of additional defense measures we’d need once we eliminated this threat. The list was already twenty-two tasks long.
We had prepared for an attack on the penthouse. It had been possible that one of our clients would find out where we lived, or someone would eventually turn on us. Prior to Leona and Caspian moving in, we even conducted quarterly evacuation drills.
But I had not prepared for our temporary, enemy-turned-reluctant-ally to lead our enemies right to our door.
Leona rolled her shoulders, trying to get the vest to fit securely while we both tightened the straps. “I’m fine.”
She had to be. We would not lose her again.
Once hers was on, I strapped mine to my chest. The rest of my brothers had also secured their vests. I inhaled through my nose, letting the exhale calm my heartbeat.
The Camorra were here. My plans did not account for this. So our only move was to escape and regroup when we were safe.
“Ciel.” I watched the security feeds on the TV. “Any other movement?”
“The camera sh—the camera short-circuited because of the blast, but the elevator and stairwell cameras are still empty,” he responded. “That might be all of them.”
I shook my head solemnly. “The Camorra do not act in half-measures. There will be more men.”
Leona’s jaw clenched as she stared up at me from her place beside Volpe. He’d already passed back out and would be dead weight. Caspian would need to carry him. That left me, Wynn, Ciel, Ryu, and Leona to fight back.
“How many are left?”
“Four.”
I nodded, my jaw set in a grim line. Five versus four, until more showed up. More than doable. We just had to get to our vehicles before their reinforcements arrived.
“We need to reach the garage,” I said, visualizing the plan in my head. “We’ll move as a unit through the hallway to eliminate the men there. Then we’ll make our way down the stairs. Stick together. Keep Leona protected.”
“We’re so high up,” Wynn said, glancing at our woman and the Kevlar vest wearing her down. “Can we cut across one of the lower levels to the elevator?”
“Ciel, can you restore power while we’re on the move?” I asked.
“I should be able to.” He clipped his tablet to his normal cross-body strap. He’d packed a bag full of equipment from his room, but we were leaving most of his technology, and I doubted we’d have time to come back for it later. “Not sure—not sure about the cameras yet.”
“What about your computers here?” Leona asked. “That we’re leaving behind?”
“I can wipe them remotely,” he said. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. His words came out slower. “Once we’re safe. I’ll have backdoor access to save anything I need, but they’re locked up tight. Not a risk to leave them. We’d always considered an attack and evacuation as possible.”
“Genius,” Leona said with a smile, drawing a blush from his cheeks.
“All right,” I said. “Ryuji and I will be up front. Caspian, you carry Max. Wynn, I want your eyes on Leona. Stay by her; keep her safe. Ciel, you bring up the rear. Understood?”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
Volpe groaned in pain as Caspian slung one of his arms over his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. “Cas?”
“We’re leaving,” Caspian answered. “Try to walk.”
Volpe’s head bobbed back and forth, but he leaned against Caspian’s side and got his feet underneath him.
Next, we each grabbed a backpack. Even Leona slung one across her shoulders and tightened the straps. I pressed another quick kiss to her brow.
“You look like a turtle, little vixen,” Ryuji said with a laugh. She pouted for a moment before he corrected himself. “A very…sexy, powerful turtle.”
“Focus,” I said, but even I couldn’t help the small smile on my face. “Let’s go.”
I stepped first through the hallway, my gun pointed at the ground while I kept my eyes on the blast door, and I signaled to keep quiet. Sure enough, voices echoed from the other side.
Wynn placed a flashbang grenade into my outstretched hand.
Then I held up my fingers to count down from three.
On the last count, Ciel raised the blast door wide enough for me to chuck the flashbang into the hallway.
We all turned our backs and covered our ears as it exploded. Surprised shouts immediately followed.
With practiced control, I ducked under the wedge of the blast door and fired two bullets at the closest two intruders. They dropped dead before they even realized what had happened.
“The stairwell,” Ciel said from behind me. My head snapped up to see the remaining two disappearing inside.
“We can’t let them get away.” I rushed forward and shoved the door to the stairwell open with my forearm. The sound of a gunshot echoed through the confined space, and I barely had enough time to push Ryu backwards before the bullet whizzed past us both.
“Fuckers.” Ryu leaned over the rail and fired two shots at the men rushing down the steps. “Shit. They’re moving. Let’s go.”
We moved and reacted as a unit. The only sounds were our breaths and the echoes of our footsteps as we sprinted downwards, trying to catch them before they disappeared.
“There!” Leona fired a bullet down the stairwell, her small form allowing her body to bend low enough to aim properly, and a shout of pain answered. My chest swelled with pride.
Another floor down, and we found a man limping with a bloody wound on his thigh. I held my gun to his temple and finished the job. Even with the suppressor, the sound was deafening.
“We have to find the last operative.” We left the body behind and continued downward. A door slammed shut two landings below us. “There!”
Another alarm blared through the building. Lights flashed. The fire alarm.
“He must have pull—pulled it,” Ciel said through gritted teeth. “Residents and businesses will start flee—fleeing.”
Whatever quiet I hoped we’d have was now gone.
“Fuck,” Caspian grunted. “This is such a fucking mess.”
“Ciel, get it off as soon as you can and try to intercept any emergency services,” I ordered as we rushed through the door, back onto the floor level.
Flashing red lights and blaring alarms followed us while we dashed down the hallway, trying to catch up with the final intruder. Just as I tried to take aim, a door opened and blocked my line of fire. Civilians rushed out, eyes wide and terrified.
“Move!” I shouted, trying to clear a pathway in the quickly forming crowd. Screams echoed through the hallway as people caught sight of our guns. “Ciel! Cut the alarms!”
The sound cut off, followed by the lights. “Emergency services are on their way.”
At the end of the hallway, just before the entrance to the other stairwell, two civilians exited their apartment door right in front of the Camorra operative. The man darted inside, slamming the door behind him.
“Hey!” they yelled. “What the hell!”
“Get out of the way!” Leona screamed. They backed aside just in time for me to kick the door open. It slammed backward.
A gunshot rent the air, and pain laced through my arm. I ducked backward, pulling Ryuji with me. Blood trickled down my bicep, but a quick glance and squeeze of my fingers around my gun told me it was a flesh wound.
“Ready?” Ryu asked after reloading his pistol. I did the same. We locked eyes and nodded, ready to dart inside together.
Caspian still had his arm around Volpe, and the two leaned against the wall. Caspian’s look of concern said it all: Volpe needed medical attention. Fast.
“Wynn, keep Leona out here. Ciel, make sure this hallway is clear.”
“Copy.”
Ryu crouched down and went inside the apartment first, arm extended to aim, and I followed directly behind. We’d fan out once we got inside. The apartment opened into a large living area, with windows overlooking the city. Movement behind the couch drew my attention, and I instantly fired a shot.
The couch cushions exploded into a cloud of stuffing. The man launched across the floor, reaching for the safety of the kitchen island. Ryu shot his gun, catching him in the gut. He skidded to a stop, slamming headfirst against the kitchen cabinets with a heavy groan.
I walked closer, my gun trained on his head. “Ryu? Weapons?”
Ryu came around the other side of the kitchen island, kicking the man’s hand where he weakly clutched his gun. It flew across the floor.
“Bind his hands.”
Ryu looked up, eyebrows knitted together. “Don’t kill him?”
“We can’t do this here.”
He nodded before he rifled through the man’s tactical backpack and found some rope. He tore the pack off the man and then bound his hands behind him before yanking him to his feet. I grabbed the pack and slung it over my shoulder, grimacing at the wound on my bicep.
“I got him,” Ryu said as we both ignored the man’s cries of pain and weak struggling. Blood stained his middle, turning his brown combat fatigues into a dark, sticky red. “Take him down to the garage?”