bullets and bouquets

61

"All right, let's move," Dacre says. The four gang leaders move into the mansion of another gang. They sneak through a hallway and hear voices ahead, "Go for it."

Finn throws an amnesia bomb and the four put their gas masks on.

"What the fuck?"

"An attack!"

The four hear more yelling but only for another moment or so before bodies begin hitting the floor. The smoke lingers, taking out everyone who breathes in the gas. When the smoke clears, the four rush into the room.

"Spread out!" Dacre instructs.

"We've got thirty minutes before they wake up," Finn states. The four take off in separate directions to find Sabrina.

Joe checks into what appears to bed someone's bedroom. Natalia takes the stairs and goes up to the second floor of the mansion. Finn goes into the basement and Dacre sweeps the rest of the ground floor.

"Sabrina? Sabrina, are you here?" Joe shouts.

"Sabrina!" Dacre shouts.

"Where are you?" Natalia calls out. Finn checks around the basement and finds a rolling bookshelf. He pulls out his radio.

"I might have something. I'm in the basement," he radios. It isn't long before he hears footsteps running to the stairs. He rolls the bookshelf away and finds a hidden hallway behind him.

"Oh shit," Natalia comments.

"Let's go," Dacre says.

"I've got another bomb at the ready," Finn states. The four move into the hallway. It's dark and the walls are cement. The four use the flashlights equipped with their guns. They hear muffled voices in the distance.

"Quiet," Dacre whispers. The others follow behind him. A dim source of light is at the end of the hallway.

"Someone's coming!"

"Shh!"

"Quiet!"

The four walk into a giant room. They shine their lights around the room and are left in shock. Teens and children are locked in cages. They're dirty and skinny.

"What the fuck?" Joe says. The children whimper at the guns being pointed at them.

"Holy shit," Natalia comments. She begins to tear up, seeing a little girl inside a cage with more children. She hides behind the other kids.

"Listen to me," Dacre announces to the children, "We're gonna help you guys, okay?"

The children murmur amongst each other, questioning the adults that have stumbled upon them.

"The people who locked you in here, where are they?" he asks. The children all look at each other, "Do you know?"

An older boy speaks to another child in a different language. The younger child says, "The people went to collect more."

"From where?" Dacre approaches their cage.

"Ah!" the children move away as the light on the gun points at them.

"Dacre," Finn says, "Take off the light."

"Oh," he takes the flashlight off the gun and puts his gun in its holster, "We aren't going to hurt you. Where did they take you from?"

The child repeats the question to the older boy. The older boy responds.

"We were taken from Italy. We come from all over," the younger boy states. Natalia recognizes the language and approaches.

"He speaks Italian?" Natalia approaches. The younger boy nods and she begins to converse in Italian, "Can you describe the man who took you?"

"There's more than one. A man and a woman. They travel together. They pick us up off the streets saying they'll take care of us," the boy replies.

"Where were you taken from?" she asks in Italian.

"Verona. They travel all over Europe. We're forced to fight each other for money," he explains.

"Like people bet on you?"

"Yes."

"What is he saying?" Dacre asks.

"There's a man and a woman who takes them. They travel all over Europe telling homeless kids they will take care of them," Natalia relays in English, "He was taken from Verona."

"We have no time," Joe says, "We need to get them out of here now."

"Tell them in Italian, I'll speak in Greek in case any of them are Greek," Dacre announces.

"I can speak French," Joe adds.

The three gang leaders announce the same speech to all the children in various languages, "We are here to help. We need you to trust us."

"I'll start working on the locks," Finn announces. He starts with the older boy who was helpful in explaining the situation. After telling the children in Italian, Natalia pulls out her phone, "What are you doing?"

"Calling for backup," she explains. She sends out a location ping to her men with a message telling them to contact the allies and get their men to help.

***

Robin, Briar, Jenna, Bella, and Gianna are sitting in the game room, drinking and having a fun time in the safety of the Estate. This is until Jenna gets a notification on her phone.

Natalia Dyer has requested backup in Chania with the attached message:

We need as much help as possible. Send as many cars and men to this location.

"What the fuck?" Jenna comments.

"What?" Bella asks. The former gang leader calls Natalia.

"Natalia? What's going on?" she asks.

"Jenna?"

"I got your message. I'm still on your allies list," the former gang leader explains.

"Oh, shit. I forgot about that," Natalia answers, "We've found some sort of dungeon with children. They've been kidnapped and forced to fight each other for others to bet on."

"What the fuck? How did you find them?"

"We came to this mansion to look for Sabrina. She's not here and we found these kids here instead. There's probably a little over a hundred kids here, Jenna. We can't just leave them."

"Yeah, shit," Jenna comments.

"I have to go now, we have to hurry," Natalia says.

"Okay, be safe," Jenna ends the call.

"What happened?" Bella asks.

"They found a bunch of kids in a basement," she answers, "like over a hundred kids."

"Jesus Christ," Robin exclaims.

"Looks like we're going to have more children at the village," Briar comments.

"That's so nice that you're going to take care of them!" Gianna exclaims.

"Dacre loves taking care of others," his girlfriend smiles.

"Have they found Sabrina yet?" the brunette asks.

"They haven't found her yet. They found those kids instead," Jenna answers, "But as soon as they are out of that dungeon, they'll go right back to finding her."