On the Hunt

Family Meeting

   Helena drops the gun as quickly as she’d picked it up, the loud gunshot ringing in her ear. Sal picks the gun back up and escorts Guido and Helena out of the circus tent. Helena glances around, and sees several men and women dead on the ground, blood fertilizing the dirt ground.

“Don’t look, Helena, just keep walking.” Guido encourages, wrapping his arm around her.

They make it out of the circus and into their car. Sal starts up the car and steps on the gas, sending them speeding off.

“Helena, what you did was very dangerous, do you understand that?” Guido asks his daughter, clasping her shoulders.

She nods furiously, “He...he was going to shoot you Father.”

“Next time, you let Sal do her job, okay?”

She continues to nod, but she soon stops to pause, “Father, were those men coming after us?” she asks, still holding the binoculars he’d given her.

“It’s hard to say, but you really shouldn’t be worrying yourself about those kinds of things.” he assures her, “Daddy can handle this.” he pulls Helena in to hug her as she begins to quietly sob into her father’s shirt, “You were very brave dear, very brave.”

They reach the Bertinelli manor in record time, one of the many sprawling estates surrounding Gotham City. It’s quite jarring, that such a rundown and decrepit city is surrounded by all of these luxurious mansions, with yards of green grass and open gardens to compliment the main house.

They enter the house through the main doors of cedar wood and glass, Sal making sure to lock them behind them.

“Helena, go up to your room, Daddy has business to attend to.”

She complies, running up the grand staircase to the second floor. She makes it up the stairs, but instead of heading to her room, she waits just by the banister overlooking the main hall, obscuring her from view. She watches as Guido and Sal walk through a tall set of doors leading to his office. The minute the door closes, Helena rushes down the stairs and presses her ear against the door.

“Sir, how can you be certain those men were after you?” she asks, crossing her arms.

“Because I knew those men, I use to employ them. Simple laborers of course, but what matters is that I knew them! It’s not like they were someone else’s men.”

Two men walk up and start pounding on the door. Helena runs away from the office door and hides under a thin display table as Guido opens the door and strides authoritatively across the hallway to answer the door, “Bullard, Stanek, what are you two doing here?!”

The two men in long leather jackets enter, “Boss, there’s a hit out for you. We heard about the shooting at Haly’s Circus and came here straight away.”

“So? Lots of men want me killed, how is this any different?”

“The hit’s on your entire family, anyone connected to the Bertinelli name.” Stanek explains.

He scratches his chin, “And who’s put out this hit, exactly?”

“We don’t know boss-”

“Well then find out! You think I take this lightly, a threat on my family?!” he’s practically shouting, and Helena ducks further into the shadow casted by the display table. She’d never seen him this angry. Guido wipes his forehead with a handkerchief, taking deep breaths, “I’m leaving you two in charge of finding whoever’s behind this. Do what you need to do.”

The men nod, and exit the building. Guido walks over to Sal, “Call Helena’s school, tell them I’m pulling her out indefinitely. It’s not safe there anymore.”