"I surrender!"
Lola’s declaration echoed in the air while everyone else kept their eyes on her. Her hand slowly rose, pausing as she heard clicks around her, just in case they needed to fire more.
"I am unard!" she shouted once more. "And I’m getting off this truck — don’t shoot!"
"Drop your weapons!" one rcenary shouted. "Throw them out of the truck! Throw them on the other side!"
She frowned slightly, concealed by the fog.
"I won’t do that," she muttered, sighing heavily before shouting, "I don’t have weapons! Did you see shoot you earlier?!"
No one answered.
"Fine!" she shouted, reaching for the pistol with her other hand. Then she tossed it out of the truck.
She picked up more weapons left inside the truck, throwing them out one by one just to make them think that was all. In truth, she still had a few weapons on her, but it was obvious that fighting them now would be the most idiotic thing she could do.
"I’m getting off now!" she shouted, huffing as she kept her hands raised in the air.
Slowly, Lola lifted her foot over the truck’s broken door. When it reached the edge, she paused again, gazing at the countless muzzles pointed in her direction. Her expression remained sharp; there was no trace of fear.
Then she stepped fully out, standing beside the vehicle.
"Face the vehicle!" soone shouted, crouched low with his rifle locked and loaded. "Now!"
Lola complied, turning to face the wrecked truck with her hands still raised. Her brows twitched as she glanced over her shoulder, imdiately spotting several rcenaries approaching cautiously.
None of them lowered their guard, which she understood.
The next second, her front was slamd against the truck with a loud bang. She clenched her teeth as force pressed into her back and wrist.
When the rcenary felt safe enough, he lowered his weapon, shoved her harder against the vehicle, and twisted her arm behind her back. Once he secured her, he yanked her away and threw her face-first onto the ground. He dropped his knee onto her back, pinning her wrist beneath it, while his other knee pressed down on her leg.
"You bitch," the rcenary hissed. "You gave us a hard ti, you fucking bitch."
Once Lola was pinned to the ground, the others relaxed slightly. They didn’t fully lower their guards, but the biggest threat had been neutralized.
"Radio the other guys," he ordered, glancing at the others. "Tell them to deal with those in the bar. Don’t leave anyone alive."
One rcenary imdiately turned and radioed the others stationed along nearby routes. There were still n guarding other streets and blocks due to Lola’s reckless maneuvering.
anwhile, the man restraining her reached for a pair of handcuffs at his side.
"You’re a gone woman now, bitch," he sneered. "You should’ve stayed out of this territory. I’m gonna make you scream once the governor is done with you!"
But when he checked his belt, he frowned.
"Damn—" He clicked his tongue, glaring at Lola’s back. The cuffs were gone. He must have lost them during the chase. Not dwelling on it, he turned to a comrade. "Hey! Lend your cuffs. Mine’s missing—probably dropped it."
The others reached for theirs, and one hurried over. But when he snapped the cuffs onto Lola’s wrist, they broke.
"Seriously?" the rcenary deadpanned, looking up. "Fucking kidding ?"
The other winced and checked his remaining cuff, only to realize that it was broken as well.
The chase had been brutal and chaotic. Losing or breaking small equipnt like cuffs wasn’t surprising. After all, they rarely needed them. Their justice worked differently.
With a scoff, the man restraining Lola called for others to hand over their cuffs. Unfortunately, not everyone carried such "useless" tools.
Lola remained calm despite the weight pressing down on her. She wasn’t surprised they were struggling over sothing so trivial. Intimidation and brute force were their specialties.
The only reason they weren’t doing more was simple. First, intimidation wouldn’t work on her. Second, she knew the governor would want her alive. And knowing the governor’s temper, hurting her beforehand would put them in serious trouble.
Florida and the others will be fine, she thought. They can handle themselves.
There was only one reason Lola had chosen to surrender aside from being surrounded. She could still fight and waste ti battling them, but she knew there was sothing else she needed to do.
She wanted to see the look on Haji’s face when he was executed.
Jarvis had happily shared that detail, which also explained why the rcenaries had dragged the granny out after sparing her for years. Lola didn’t want to save Haji, but she did want to protect the stubborn old woman.
And the fastest way there was to get caught.
Talk about being resourceful.
But as she waited for them to find replacent cuffs, sothing caught her attention. Movent at the corner of her vision made her brows twitch. Slowly, she shifted her gaze, and her eyes widened.
Under one of the trucks, soone was crawling out of a manhole.
Shit, she thought as another person followed, carefully making space for the first.
Lola turned her head away, fully aware of where the sewer exits were located. Just like the first one, more figures began crawling out.
The residents of Gigante.
Not just from the manholes, others were erging from the alleys.
Lola’s thoughts froze.
Initially, she had planned to leave Ransom, Florida, and the two Bellemonte n to clean this place up. Once she was captured, so rcenaries would try to seize them, but with their skills, they’d be fine.
That would give Long and the Gigante residents ti to relocate or to find sowhere safer.
But with the residents surfacing now, that plan was destroyed instantly.
I should’ve told them to stay underground no matter what.
What she hadn’t accounted for was their loyalty. Even if she had told them to stay hidden, they would’ve surfaced anyway. Not when they believe she was trapped.
Heck. They would take a bullet for her.
Lola had underestimated the impact she’d left on the oppressed.
Taking a slow breath, she spoke.
"Hey," she said. "I can’t breathe."
The man restraining her clicked his tongue. "Shut up—"
BANG!
The rcenaries instinctively aid their weapons at Lola but didn’t fire, their comrade still on top of her.
"I am innocent," she muttered. "Don’t shoot , please."
As the gunshot echoed, everyone scanned the area. Monts later, their eyes fell on one of their own, collapsed in a pool of blood.
"Enemies!" soone shouted as rcenaries aid upward instinctively. What they failed to realize was that the shot ca from the house beside them.
BANG!
Another gunshot rang out—followed by a grunt and a heavy thud. Unlike the first, the second man had been shot in the leg, forcing him to his knees. As he gasped in pain, he t eyes with soone beneath the truck.
"...."
He barely had ti to react before a bullet pierced his forehead.
"Who—"
As the nearby rcenaries turned, a roaring engine exploded through the silence.
Then, a truck burst through the wall of the building beside them, crashing straight into the formation.
Reviews
All reviews (0)