Savage Crown II

40. Forty

Natalia
We stood in the dark alley that gave us access to the back of the building where the fire escape ladder was. The building and atmosphere back there reminded me of New York with the rusty metal exit ladders and balconies up high. We stood in the shadows patiently waiting for our signal.

As soon as we saw Angel outside of the building with Felix I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me. He went in without getting caught. Before getting into the town car he removed the jester mask he wore and held it in his right hand meaning that everything was good to go.

The timer was counting down already and soon all of the bombs Owen had made would go off. "You ready Natalia?" Eli asked as he clipped in an extended mag into his gun. "Yeah I am "I replied. Truth was that a familiar rush was setting in. One that I'd get when I'd go on jobs with my brothers, my mind was completely focused and my feelings and mind were completed separated in this moment. My mind had only one goal and it would accomplish it at any costs.

As we shifted over to the ladder we began climbing up and running towards to the nearest window on the second level. The explosions below us were already going off causing the men inside to rush downstairs. With all the comotion going on the glass shattering from the window we broke was masked. We quickly stepped inside the dimly lit room that had a dirty tan carpet throughout and was littered with empty alcohol bottles and a poker table at the center. This was an average low grade hench men would use as their free room. We opened the door that opened into a long hallway with a flight of stairs going down and on the opposite end another going up. Owen split from us and took the stairs that led up to the 3rd floor to begin his search for Declan while me and Eli began making our down stairs to the to Callum.
As we reached the bottom stairs we put on our gas masks and began shooting anyone we crossed paths with. Our field of vision was impaired with the black smoke the bombs released but at least we weren't choking on the poison that was released from Owen's concoction.

We continued on our dark footed path for a couple hundred steps until we finally approached the brown double doors that led down to the basement. We quickly descended the rotten wooded stairs into a damp stoned basement that smelled of still water and rust.

Eli and and I separated and began looking in each of the cells for Callum. Desperation kicked in as we almost reached the end of the cells and none of them were him. I picked up the pace as I neared the last cell and saw two dead bodies belonging to armed guards were laying on the floor in a pool of their own blood. Both guards had their eyes gauged out and multiple stab wounds throughout their body. It had to be Callum. He was here.

I continued running towards to second exit when a storm of bullets went off from behind me. Eli yelled for me as he took cover in one of the cells, "Run Natalia!"he yelled, "I'll handle them! you get out of here!" His words echoed as I picked up my pace.

The poison and smoke upstairs had began to settle to the floor and our time on having the upper hand was coming to an end. I ran fast dodging as many bullets as I could hoping I'd catch up to Callum as I neared the second exit. All of those plans felt like they had failed as a strong arm yanked me by my arm backwards and flung me up against a wall. Wedged between the wall of a dark narrow supply room and the heavy stronger body of my attacker. I couldn't move my hands to shoot him. His strength overpowered my own rendering me practically immobile as he easily disarmed me and pinned my hands with one arm above my head and with the other yanked off my mask so that I could feel his breath close to me. Both my legs were caught between his own large legs. His body was hot and sweaty with a strong metalic scent. "Let go of me or this is where you fucking die" I seethed. Trying to make out the face of my attacker. I could feel that he was smirking as he watched me squirm to break free.