Guns and Roses

Forty ~ Rya

I fucking hate theory Home Economics. Reggie is on his phone beside me emailing some news show about doing a segment on Kira's disappearance. A sort of appeal to get her home. Apparently he's doing an interview at the end of the week on the radio.

I scribble down something about vitamins and then look up at the clock. I've only been here ten minutes but it feels like ten hours. I still have forty minutes left and it might kill me.

My entire body feels jittery and it might just be adrenaline in my system because of this morning but I sometimes get this way before something big happens. Tonight could be fun.

I text Quinn. I dont want him getting caught up in anything that he doesn't have to be.

"Miss?" Someone shouts out "What's that?"

I look up and see the boy pointing at a red spot on the wall. I frown as it starts to move. "Whoever's got the laser pen, please turn it off" the teacher says tiredly.

I follow it until it drops slightly and then stops again on the side of Reggies head. The only thing between Reggie and the window is me which means whoever is shining the light is outside.

Something clicks inside my head and my blood runs cold. It's a red dot sight from a sniper rifle.

Whoever it is cant shoot me, the Petrovs want me dead but they wont let one of their men claim the title. It will be one of them that comes for me.

"Reggie" I say quietly. "Stay completely still"

He frowns but does as I tell him. "Why?"

I turn to the teacher and then look her dead in the eye "I need everyone to listen to me" I say loudly. I need whoever is watching to think I'm asking for help with my work. "Nobody panic or someone is going to get hurt. Theres someone outside with a gun but they're here for me. They wont shoot if everyone stays calm"

I see everyone keep their heads down but eyes widen in fear. "I need someone to out their hand up and ask to go to the bathroom. After you leave the room, run down the hall and lock yourself in a cupboard then phone the police. Tell them to bring guns, dogs, a fucking missile launcher if they've got one. The Russian mafia are here"

"Why?" The teacher asks and she sits down on the desk, her hands shaking.

I start to laugh from nerves. "To kill me. Traitorous bastards"

One particularly brave boy raises his hand. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

The teacher hesitates but then nods. The boy holds his phone tight in one hand and then makes his way towards the door. The door swings open before he makes it there. "Not yet" Rafa says and points a gun at the boys head "Nobody is leaving"

Red light blinds me for a second and I watch as the red dot sights flies across the wall in a strange pattern before disappearing entirely. Reggie lets out a sigh of relief.

"Hello Rafa" I say smiling. "What brings you here today?" My hand slides along the underside of the desk and I try to mask the grimace as I feel all of the old chewing gum beneath my fingers. I reach the drawer and slide it open without taking my eyes off of him.

He swings someone out from behind him by the back of their neck and Quinn lands in a heap by Rafa's feet. "I got impatient" he confesses in Russian. "We were meant to take out Quinn here and then Switch and Arthur but I dont have the patience. I can do that when I'm in charge much easier anyway"

I roll my eyes as I find the handle of the knife and wrap my fingers around it. "Speak English. If you're going to monologue at least make sure every one can understand you"

I risk a glance at Quinn and see that he's bleeding from a wound on his head. He's conscious but barely as he makes no attempt to get to his feet.

I take the knife from the drawer and tuck it into my waistband behind my back before getting to my feet and walking around Reggie. They must know about my friendship with him which makes him a target. I stand directly in front of him, blocking him from any form of attack.

"So this is it?" I ask him "Will killing me make mummy and daddy proud?"

He laughs "This is so much bigger than us Rya. Killing you is the start of something new"

"Dont kid yourself Rafa. I know what its like, as much as you'd hate to admit it, we come from the same roots. The only reason you're standing here right now is so that Dimitri will finally give you respect"

"I dont have daddy issues" he snaps.

I raise an eyebrow "We're mafia. Daddy issues are pretty much a job requirement"

He raises the gun and points it at my head. "Thank you by the way" he says still smiling "For taking Mika out. I saw her body, you can be brutal you know that? Too messy though, its clear that you were trained by an Italian"

His words shock me. I expected him to be angry about Mika, not thank me for it. "What is wrong with you?"

He smirks "I'm not the one who bashed someone's head in with a rolling pin and then acts like the perfect student only an hour later"

A gunshot makes me jump back. Everyone in the class drops to the floor and I grab the knife from my waist. He missed the first but I wont be so lucky the second.

He fires again and instead of jumping back again like he expects me to, I leap forward and do a hand spring, wrapping my legs around his throat and throwing us both to the ground.

We hit the ground hard and luckily he takes the majority of the blow. Pain still rushes through my body from my ribs and I drop down onto my arm which also sends pain rushing through me. I roll off of him and stab down on the arm with the gun in it.

He roars in pain and swings with his other arm, catching my thigh and knocking me off balance. He takes the second I need to steady myself to get to his feet and yank the blade from his arm.

He punches and I see familiar brass knuckles. "It was you" I tell him as I side step him. "You kidnapped me. You tortured me"

He swings again and this time when I try to tep away I hit a table and he hits my face. My head rocks back and I roll back off of the table and land painfully next to a hiding classmate.

Blood pours from my nose and split lip as I get to my feet again and turn to face him. He's got the gun again but in his non-dominant hand he's unsure.

A gunshot rings through the room and he drops like a stone. I steady myself against the desk as I stare at the hoke in the side of his head and then at the woman standing in the door way.

Ellie smiles at me. "Killing your siblings is sort of becoming a family tradition with the Petrovs isn't it?" She asks me and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

I grab a kitchen knife from a nearby desk and launch it at her. She ducks but it catches her cheek, opening up a long cut along her face. She turns her head and looks down the corridor before stepping out of sight. I hear her footsteps pounding down the hallway.

"Quinn?" I say quietly. No one has moved yet. I walk over to his hunched body and lift his head to look at him. He looks right at me and I realise that he's only playing semi-conscious and bleary. "You knew nothing" I whisper.

I look up as someone else walks in, a gun in his hand and blood on his shirt. "Minha"