Chapter Two
Aht watched intently as the car sped away, his muscles tense and ready to spring from his hiding place. Once the vehicle disappeared around the corner, he allowed himself a small, contemptuous smile. 'Coward,' he thought. She had fled as soon as she ran out of bullets.
So much for the fearso boss she believed herself to be. Even with his wounded shoulder, he was confident he could have taken her down.
His fingers brushed against the bullet wound. He had managed to extract the slug, now tucked away in his pocket as a grim souvenir. The pain was a dull throb, overshadowed by the thrill of the chase and the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
Suddenly, two gunshots shattered the silence. "Bang! Bang!" The bullets whizzed past him. Aht instinctively ducked back into his hiding spot, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Damn it!" he cursed, the frustration boiling over.
He was out of bullets, and the shots were coming from where he parked his car.
"Bang! Bang!" Another volley of shots rang out. Aht knew he had to get out of there. He strained to listen over the din and realized the gunfire had a pattern, a rhythm that suggested there was more than one shooter. Thirty, he concluded. The synchronized shots were too consistent for a single person.
"I'm f*cked!" Aht admitted, but he couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of it all. Who were they and why were they shooting at him for no reason? He'd enjoy tearing them apart... if he left here alive.
His current hideout was riddled with bullet holes, and he was barely holding up. He knew it was only a matter of ti before the next one hit him.
He sprinted to a different cover, crouching low and waiting for one of the shooters to get close. As soon as the man approached, Aht pounced, grabbing him and using him as a human shield. In one swift motion, he seized the man's gun and began firing back at the attackers.
The bastards didn't even hesitate. They kept shooting, indifferent to the fact that he was using one of their n as a shield. Aht fired until the gun clicked empty, dropping bodies as quickly as he could.
His opponents, well-ard and relentless, continued their assault. Desperation gripped him as he prepared to say his last prayers. Just then, the sound of a car engine roaring to life cut through the chaos.
'No. What if it's their reinforcent! Shit!' Aht thought to himself.
But in the next mont, he saw his cousin, Markus, in the car, firing at his opponents. He threw a gun his way. Aht quickly picked it up and resud shooting at his opponents. He stopped the car and jumped out to join him.
"How the hell did you manage to get this many people shooting at you?" Markus asked, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"People with guns love !" Aht yelled back through the noise, rolling his eyes. "How did you find ?"
"Is that a thank you?" He asked while shooting. "You were gone for so long and so I searched your car's location. I didn't want you having all the fun to yourself."
Within minutes, several of their attackers were down; so dead, so wounded. The remaining two n, realizing they were out of bullets, turned and fled.
"Who are these guys?" Markus asked, scanning the area for any remaining threats. "Is this because you trespassed?"
Aht nodded, catching his breath. "Yeah, but it seems like they were waiting for more than just a trespasser."
He neared the bodies on the floor searching them for any identifying marks. As he rifled through their pockets, his eyes caught sight of a tattoo on one man's hand. He ripped the clothing to expose it fully. The tattoo was a tiger intertwined with a snake.
"I knew it!" Aht exclaid.
"Knew what?" Markus questioned imdiately.
"The tattoos. They are her n. Asli's n."
"Why does she hate you so much? What did you do to her?"
"I have no idea and I don't care," Aht replied curtly.
"Are you sure you both don't secretly have feelings for each other?" Markus asked, stifling a laugh. "You can't bla us for thinking that."
"Us?"
"Yeah, the whole organization thinks that. She keeps you on your toes."
Aht rolled his eyes, "Believe what you want. All I know is she's a pain in my ass."
Markus let out a loud laugh.
"Crazy bastards." Aht stord his way, seething at the fact that he got shot. He cared little for the history between his and Asli's Organization; he was in charge now. Despite making new alliances, he knew so enemies would always remain enemies, and he refused to have a truce with her.
He knew her organization was behind the theft, and blad it on him for having a poor managent. But how was that his responsibility? He had called for a eting, wanting to confront her; but the brat didn't show up. She thought of herself as superior to him.
"Where was she when I was born? Did she know the years of dedication it took before she even uttered her first words?" He ranted, frustration boiling within him.
"Well, maybe she's better than you are. I an, you got shot and she left unscathed." teased Aht's cousin, knowing well he could only get away with such jabs because he was family. "I wish I knew who she was. Or at least what she looked like!"
Aht shrugged off the comnt, unwilling to admit he lost. "I never got the chance to fire," he replied, concealing the fact they had faced each other with guns drawn longer than they should have.
"Really? But you ntioned she shot at you twice," Makus persisted, his playful deanor contrasting with the seriousness of the situation. Aht shook his head; his cousin always found amusent in the most dire circumstances.
"Yeah, and I only got hit once!" Aht snapped, directing his frustration at Makus as if he were to bla for his current state. "Whoever sent that GPS to et him there, I will find him."
"Did soone send you a GPS? And you followed without any caution?" Makus interjected and his concern showed on his face.
"No, not for the organization. It was for the Orphanage. Soone sent the location, suggesting there were so..." Aht paused, choosing his words carefully. "Child trafficking."
"Why did you go alone?" Makus interrupted again, his brow furrowed with worry.
"I can handle any situation. When I arrived and realized it was their facility, I was about to leave when I sensed soone standing behind . And don't ask why I was about to leave. I didn't detect any signs of child trafficking or anything suspicious." Aht explained, his tone defensive.
Makus chuckled. "Alright, Cousin. You managed to extract the bullet before I even reached you. It ans it wasn't deep. She's not quite the shooter, is she?"
Aht's frown deepened as he recalled the mont she escaped. Despite being taller than her, she still managed to shoot him in the shoulder.
It didn't seem possible with the angle she held the gun.
He sighed, sinking into his chair, conceding that perhaps her guards were on high alert. There was no chance any of their warehouses would be left unguarded. Maybe one of them shot him from behind her.
"And here we are, back ho. So, should I inform everyone that their Mafia boss got shot by a little girl?" Makus teased, emphasizing 'little girl' as he always did.
"I'll put a bullet in your head if you dare," Aht retorted, then furrowed his brow. 'I should have dealt with her for stealing from us and causing our operations to fail severally.' He said to himself.
He left the car while Makus drove away. He winced as his shoulder hit the door. 'So much for being a Mafia boss.' He couldn't help but murmur to himself. Aht was angry.
"You are ho early," His mother was first to notice his presence in the room. She worriedly watched him as he tried to hide his bloody hands.
She knew the job they did, she wasn't against it and neither did she love it. The woman was kind, and was everything a mother could be. She stayed by his dad even when it caused her sleepless nights.
"Lisa! Lisa! Lisa!" He heard screams from the television, his attention suddenly focused on it. The singer was his mother's favorite. His father just sat there peeling apples for her. He had retired years ago and was devoting the rest of his life making up for the tis he wasn't there for her. She now stopped waiting for him every night by her window.
"Blood blood blood," everyone's head turned to the tv, witnessing how the singer got up imdiately and was searching around. Then later, as if in pain, winced while touching her calf.
"Asli?" He squinted his eyes, watching the young celebrity. Was he wrong?
Her height. Her stature. Why did it remind him of Asli? The Lady boss. He had only heard of her and the first he t her, was their face-off a few monts ago. Could it be her? Why would a Mafia boss be an entertainer? If she was, where from the blood?
"I didn't shoot her. She wasn't shot," he murmured absentmindedly.
"Who?" His father imdiately asked, interested in who he could've shot.
"Nobody important, dad." He smirked at his old man. He knew he missed the action and thrill. He had to retire because his health had been failing.
'Asli. Lisa. A-s-l-i. L-i-s-a.' He spelled out slowly, 'She's not foolish enough to choose a stage na derived from her own, is she?' He dismissed the thought as his eyes went back to the television.
The singer had already left the stage. However, Aht couldn't get the nagging feeling of familiarity off his chest.
Could it be her?
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