*Giovani*
As night fell, everything began to fall into place. I slid out of the black sedan with a grim look, staring at the front of the safe house we’d tracked down thanks to Salvatore’s information. This was the final one in the area and based on his information, I knew that Lorenz should be there.
Tallon was across town, raiding their biggest supply warehouse. He’d already taken down the n working there and salvaged whatever products they had been transporting. Lucky for us, so of it was still usable.
Alessandro’s team was near the docks we know they used. We’d already bribed all the ship captains and others in the area so that if anyone decided to make a getaway by boat or even train or car, we would know about it. Alessandro took great pleasure in knowing he was in charge of anyone trying to escape.
I shuddered to think what he would do to them. We may have been cruel, but Alessandro still hadn’t forgiven them for Dahlia’s kidnapping, even if it hadn’t been Lorenz in charge at that ti.
Either way, though, it was no sweat off my back so long as we captured or killed each one of these motherfuckers. This was going to end tonight.
We’d made sure of it.
Dark shadows moved across the roofs of the buildings behind us, guns pointed and eyes watching for any sign of movent. I surveyed the dark building closely. There was not a single light on inside, but that was to be expected.
The place was probably kept secure from any prying eyes by dark tints on the windows. Luckily, the security was lax around it, probably because they were just overconfident, or maybe the n Lorenz was paying just didn’t care enough.
All the n who had been loyal to Dmitri were either killed or had abandoned the cause, leaving only rcenaries for hire. Those kinds of n were only in it for the money. They didn’t give a rat’s ass who was paying them.
It was a fatal mistake for Lorenz.
Gabriele held out my gun, offering the handle first with an impassive look on his face that made him appear more bored than serious, but I knew he was more attentive than he looked. He’d already had this place watched for the whole day and morized the schedules and nas of its inhabitants.
There was no room for error this ti, no chance to let anyone escape. Every entrance and back door to the building was covered by our n, leaving dozens of eyes watching in case they spotted even the slightest chance of a runner.
They had their instructions–shoot them down and leave no survivors.
“Ready?” I asked Gabriele as I cocked my gun, checking the bullets and making sure there were no bugs. The bulletproof vest I wore over my clothes was heavier than usual, with double padding at Oliia’s insistence.
Hopefully, we won’t have to test it, I thought.
“Let’s get this over with,” Gabriele sighed, grabbing his firearm from the holster and cocking it back with a snap.
He sent a determined nod, and I turned to the n we had waiting behind us.
I raised my hand, pointing to the building for a go motion, and suddenly everything else went quiet as I stuffed the plugs into my ears. The entire street had vanished into a bubble, and there was just and the cold tal in my hands.
“Let’s go,” I ordered sharply.
Gabriele and I took the lead, rushing toward the building and pressing our backs against the rough brick walls. Gabriele nodded to a few of the n following us and raised their guns, completely ready.
We were hidden just out of sight but close enough that the minute Lorenz and his n showed up, we’d be ready to take them out.
“Take out Lorenz and his second in command,” I commanded the n going in with us. “Leave no survivors.”
It was the only way to end this once and for all.
It didn’t take long before the rat ca running into the trap, completely unaware. The black car rolled up and we watched patiently as it halted to a stop in front of the house.
Out stepped Lorenz.
He had the sa arrogance as the last ti we’d t, barking out sharp orders in Russian to the man who got out of the car with him. Said man was a big bully type and looked no happier under Lorenz’s command than his boss.
But he followed him in, probably as just hired muscle to guard him. Salvatore had ntioned Lorenz’s paranoia about being attacked. Though, would it be paranoia if he was really going to get attacked? I wondered.
Lorenz and his hired gun disappeared into the safe house, and I smirked. We’d finally got him.
I made a hand signal to Gabriele, who passed it down the line. Our n lined up on the rooftops, rifles pointed at the windows and doors on all sides. I kept a firm grip on my pistol, taking the mont to pull up the protective mask, taking a swift count to make sure the other guys had done so as well, then we swiftly took action.
We moved fast as we ran to the door and paused for only a second as Gabriele set a hard tallic device on the door. We moved to the sides of the doorway and Gabriele counted down with his fingers.
Three, two, one....
The door splintered with the force of the tal device and imdiately I pulled the tab of the smoke grenade and threw it in. It took less than five seconds before we heard the shouts and curses, and then smoke billowed out from the doorway.
Imdiately, I heard the sound of glass breaking on the second floor and a loud shot. Sothing heavy fell into the bushes beside us, but I wasn’t going to look. I stord inside, followed by my n, gun raised as I spotted the targets.
A bullet hit the chests of one, two, and then a third man and we continued forward. Between the sounds of gunfire, bodies dropping to the floor, and the smoke filling the room, it was chaotic but also precise.
Flawlessly we took it room by room, swiftly taking out each of the n we saw until we had cornered the last few in the basent, where we knew there was an escape route. Unfortunately for them, we’d already collapsed that tunnel ahead of ti. Salvatore’s information had paid off significantly.
Once we got back, I figured the least I could do was give him a gift basket.
He did take a gunshot to the kidney, after all.
I heard screaming in Russian as we broke open the basent door and stord down the stairs. I raised my pistol at Lorenz, finding him easily among the six n trying to escape. I smirked at the panicked look on his face as we surrounded them.
Only a few of the n had weapons on them and they didn’t know who to point at, considering how many of us there were compared with them. The hired gun behind Lorenz didn’t even bother to put up a fight He simply looked resigned to his fate.
“Giovani,” Lorenz hissed.
I unstrapped my mask, pulling it down so he could see my face. It was a risky move, but a calculated one.
“Fucking shoot him!” Lorenz hollered.
One of the hired n, still young, maybe in his twenties, raised his gun, his hands shaking. But I glared at him fiercely as five guns pointed straight at his skull.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you," I told him roughly.
The kid swallowed, clearly unsure of what to do, but finally, he dropped his gun, raising his hands in the air in surrender. I saw tears in the corner of his eyes, and it was clear that he hadn’t been in this life for long.
“You fucking coward!” Lorenz scread, seething in rage. “Fucking die with honor!”
That seed to be the last straw for the hired n. The other two dropped their guns to the group, raising their hands in surrender as they turned away from their forr boss.
I jerked my head to Gabriele, who nodded. He gestured to the five n who surrendered, each walking forward obediently with their hands raised. He zip-tied their hands behind their backs, forcing them to lay on their stomachs one by one.
Lorenz was left standing there all alone, staring at the end of twenty barrels.
“You think you’ve won?” Lorenz snarled, giving a nasty glare. “You haven’t. You can kill . You can kill every Russian in Italy and it won’t matter. We’ll always co back. We’ll never stop coming until you and your filthy kin are dead!”
I shrugged, not caring about his idle threats.
“They can try, but we’ll always win in the end,” I smirked. I pointed the muzzle of my gun straightat his temple, with no remorse or hesitation at all. “Any last words?”
Lorenz straightened his spine, looked right in the eye, and announced loudly for everyone to hear, “Long live the Zaytsev.”
And I pulled the trigger.
Dark red liquid splashed across my face and the back wall. I heard the kid on the floor gagging and whimpering as we all heard the loud thud. I watched emotionlessly, simply brushing the blood away with the back of my hand and lowering the gun.
“What do we do about them?” Gabriele asked, his arms crossed as if he hadn’t just witnessed a brutal murder in front of his eyes.
This was a Tuesday for us.
I glanced at the kid on the floor and then to the resigned looks of the other four. I gave Gabriele a dark look.
“The plan hasn’t changed,” I said coldly.
I stepped over the handcuffed n on the floor, heading back upstairs as Gabriele gave the order. I was out of the house by the ti the shots rang out.
I cleaned off my gun, waiting outside as the n stripped the house, making sure not a single piece of evidence linking us to the scene could be found. I glanced at the sky above. It was cloudy tonight, with no sign of any stars. The moon barely peeked out occasionally.
I suddenly missed the starry sky Olivia had painted in Elio’s room. The mural was more beautiful on a dreary and bitter night like tonight.
I waited for the calls from Tallon, only mildly paying attention as he confird that all the Russian spaces were destroyed and the entire leadership had been taken out in one fell swoop. Alessandro phoned in and shared in great detail how he had taken care of the runners.
I didn’t particularly care how it got done, so long as it had.
Maybe I was being needlessly cruel.
But I held no regrets. I did what needed to be done to keep my family safe. Though I was sure the face of that kid, of Lorenz, and every man I’d ever killed would co to haunt on quiet nights, I could deal with that.
The conclusion could only be made better if there was a sunset I could ride into.
Now all that was left was to complete my final act as Don–naming my successor.
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