GUNSHOT ➪ Zayn

seventy fourth

'Caffe al latte per favore' Alyssa said. 

'In 3...' Selena started 

'I know you guys, don't I?' She smiled as she turned towards their ennemies. 

'2...'

'Jonshon?' Douglas questioned, recognizing the blonde girl. 

'1...' 

'Oh, yeah, surprise!' She claimed, an hypocrite smile stuck on her face. 

'Now!' Selena yelled. 

'Kill her, right the hell now!' Victoria yelled. 

Zayn bursts through the glass window of the café, shattering it into countless shards that scatter across the floor. Amidst the wreckage, he quickly takes cover, crouching behind a sturdy wooden table. Meanwhile, Douglas and Victoria, sensing the threat, swiftly draw their guns, ready to open fire.

Not far behind, Alyssa who was still standing up took refuge behind a nearby table that she pushes against the wall, creating a makeshift barrier for protection. Selena and James also enter the fray, each finding their own concealed positions. Selena opts for the security of a solid wall, while James strategically positions himself behind a sturdy bench.

As the tension rises —Alyssa, Zayn, James, and Selena—converge on one side, near the entrance, their eyes locked on the adversaries. 

On the other side of the café, Anna, Victoria, Hemma Berth, and George Berth lurk in the shadows, forming a formidable opposition. Gripping showdown amidst the shattered glass and concealed battleground; 

"There will be blood" Zayn uttered. 

Zayn pulled his head up and met Anna's eyes, narrowed, and with a subtle sideways motion of her head, she silently conveyed her deception without uttering a single word. 

"I'm sorry." He mouthed. 

"Anna!" Douglas yelled her name, throwing her another gun. 

She grabbed it and he gave her an icy look. As if he knew exactly what she was hiding, as if he'd seen the brief exchange she'd just had with Zayn.

For some unknown reasons Alyssa felt a piece of her heart breaking, maybe because after that she'd have to tell the truth about her mother's diary or just because she unconsciously knew that the silly guy who owned her heart was sleeping away? 

She tried to find comfort in James' gaze, he offered Alyssa an understanding smile, his lips curving slightly as he conveyed his empathetic comprehension of her feelings. Somehow she felt relived. 

"Everything's gonna be okay." She told herself. 

The Evans started shooting, they wanted to get rid of them, but for real this time. This mission transcended alliances and rivalries, becoming a quest for revenge that surpassed the significance of The Other Side and the Colorado's alliance. It was no longer about factions, but about seeking justice and retribution for the countless families torn apart by violence, spanning all of them.

Anna and Douglas took up positions, effectively shutting and covering the Beerth side. Frustration filled the air as Douglas broke the silence, urging the Beerth to take action. 

"I'm not going to cover you forever. Can you please just do something?" 

Meanwhile, Georges and Hemma focused on activating their advanced arm technology designed to shoot upon command. It resembled a small robot connected to their guns via Bluetooth.

"Just wait a fucking minutes." Hemma replied. 

In the midst of the tense standoff, Selena turned to Alyssa, recognizing the need for a decisive move. 

"Aly, now." She requested Alyssa to throw a small grenade to eliminate the Beerth threat. 

Alyssa hesitated, fully aware of the dire consequences it would entail. 

"Not yet." 

"What?" Selena said. "If I fucking tell you to do it now, you do it the fuck now or I would." 

"I'm not gonna kill 'em!" Alyssa said; "This is not the fucking moment, if I ever get to use this fucking grenade, I'd kill Anna with them." 

"Don't do into!" Zayn claimed, without thinking about his current situation with Alyssa. 

"I beg your pardon?" Alyssa chocked. 

Back on the other side of the room, the tension escalated further when Georges lifted his head, catching James' attention. Rage surged within him as he yearned to avenge his mother's brutal demise at the hands of Georges, years ago.

James didn't even take the time to breathe out, he knew. It was now or never. Slowly pulling the trigger, the sound of the bullet leaving the gun surrounded the room, feeling louder than all of the other shoots; Maybe if was because of his determination, or maybe it was just luck. The bullet urged to the man's ear, making him fall on the ground. If not dead, he was never going to hear anything and someone else would get rid of him at some point. 

"Hey guys, calm the fuck down!" Zayn yelled at his partners. "James what the fuck was that? You never do it on purpose?" 

"He fucking raped and killed my mother. I shoot his ear;" 

Zayn takes a deep breath in, it was no time to fight with his mate. The man didn't understand this sudden change, how could James turn into a killing machine? How could he be the one to tell him that no blood was the best way? 

It felt like an eternity, those few minutes that held their lives in the balance. 

"I'm running out of ammo," Alyssa muttered, her tone fraught with concern.

In that critical moment, when danger loomed its darkest, a sudden reprieve washed over the spies.

"Zayn, check your bag," Selena commanded, her voice steady amidst the chaos.

Zayn dropped to the floor, hastily rummaging through his backpack as instructed.

"They're bloody gone!" he hissed, his frustration veiled in a hushed whisper.

"Take another look, Zayn," Alyssa ordered, her words laced with determination.

"We can't stay here any longer," the man interjected, his voice tinged with urgency.

Alyssa let out a nervous laugh, her anxiety manifesting as shaky amusement. "Oh, that would be just our luck."

"See for yourself!" he grumbled, tossing the bag pack her way.

As she caught it, their eyes locked in a brief moment of shared desperation and determination. The weight of the situation pressed upon them, fueling their drive to survive.

With no time to waste, they knew they had to press on, their fate hanging in the balance. As Alyssa frantically searched the bag pack, Victoria and Douglas closed in on them, their presence growing ever more imminent. Alyssa's gaze shot up, scanning their advancing positions. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath, realizing the impending danger. Without hesitation, she hurled the grenade towards the far end of the room, triggering a thunderous explosion that sent the Beerth into unconsciousness. The resulting smoke billowed, engulfing the café in a chaotic haze.

"There's no time left," James proclaimed, urgency coating his words. The four Deluxe agents—Alyssa, Zayn, James, and Selena—rushed towards the exit, forsaking their original plan to steal the classified documents. The room descended into chaos, a disheveled battleground left in their wake. Through the hole they had created in the bay window, they made their escape, but Zayn's instincts pulled him back towards the café, he had to solve this mission's objectives. If not for him, he owed this to Selena. 

"Zayn, come back here, now!" Alyssa's voice rang out, laden with tears. He turned to face her, witnessing the anguish in her eyes. "Step foot inside that café, and you'll never see me again," she cried out, her words filled with a mixture of desperation and determination.

"Alyssa, I gotta get those fucking documents." He said. 

"I beg you not." 

A small tear called down her bleeding check, 

"Zayn."