A Woman's Empire

XLIII

CHAPTER FORTY THREE

The room was cold, dark and eerie. There were mumbles coming from the corner of the room. Of course Audrielle couldn't see who they were. She was blindfolded and they wrapped a piece of cloth over her mouth so it would muffle her cries for help. She didn't know long she had been tied up. Probably days, maybe even weeks.

They fed Audrielle and gave her one cup of water a day but that was all. The food wasn't great either. It had a texture of porridge but tasted like dirt. Audrielle didn't complain though. She was thankful that they were giving her something to eat and drink everyday that would help keep the baby alive. Hopefully.

"They should be here any minute." Someone said and then it went silent. Footsteps started to echo around the room and Audrielle kept turning her head, trying to figure out which way they were coming from.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The footsteps were loud and heavy. Then they stopped and she inhaled somebody's cologne. It was strong, too strong that Audrielle scrunched up her face. She liked the smell of Leo's cologne. How one small spritz of it would last for days and no matter where she was, she could smell it lingering in the air.

"You're going-" the person talking was suddenly cut off by a gunshot echoing through the place. Audrielle flinched at the sound and the person laughed.

"Shit, they're here already." He muttered. Audrielle heard him fiddle with something in his pocket when she suddenly felt the cloth around her mouth fall. Instantly screaming, the guy laughed.

"Let the show begin princess."

——————

"You know the drill?" Leo barked at the twenty men gathered around the large table. They all nodded silently but Leo decided to go through it once more.

"That building is going to be littered with armed guards. From the basement to the third floor. There will be approximately fifteen on each floor. More on the main floor. Antonio and I will search for Audrielle. Marco and Fred will get Tanner, and when you see him, shoot him in the knee caps. That fucker will die slow and painfully. The rest of you will kill anyone you see. There will be two helicopters located 0.3 miles north of the location. The rest of you will take the SUV's we arrived with. Weapons are in the trunks. There's enough ammo for everyone. We will hit them hard and heavy. Show no fucking mercy." Leo stated. He had revised his grand plan for the last week. Ever since he got an unexpected phone call from an unknown number giving him the address and time.

Leo spent several sleepless nights trying to think of ways he could not only safely rescue Audrielle but also cause hell for Tanner. He had doctors and nurses on hand waiting at the house but also on the helicopters. Just in case anyone got badly injured. Antonio dismissed everyone from the meeting. They had two hours until it was four pm. The time Tanner chose.

Reaching for the bottle of vodka, Leo poured himself a shot. He held up the bottle to Antonio but he declined. The clear liquid looked innocent sitting in the crystal shot glass. It looked like fresh, clean water. But vodka had a not so innocent kick to it. When the glass was empty, Leo slammed it down onto the table before cackling to himself. Evil thoughts were running through his mind. He was thinking of the ways he could torture Tanner. Make him pay for what he was doing.

Soon they had set off. Ten black SUV's sped down the long, dusty road. Two helicopters following in close behind. It looked like a scene from out of a Fast and Furious movie. Fast cars, dangerous weapons. The sun was slowly setting causing a vibrant glow of orange to tint everything in its path. On the right hand side of them was a beach. It followed them all the way. Soon they started to slow down. The road narrowing into a driveway that led them away from the beach. Paddocks of grass surrounded them and occasionally there were a few cattle. Then suddenly, right in front of them was the rundown building Tanner sent them to. It was very old. It looked like it had been some sort of barn and you could still see some red paint on it.

The cars came to a stop several feet away from it for safety. Everyone hopped out, guns in hands, bullet proof vests on and ammo hanging around their waist and chest. Leo had an assault rifle in his hands ready, one on his back just in case and two hand guns. Leo was prepared to bring his wife back.

Leo whistled and pointed his finger to the building. Like robots, everyone started to run to their places. They bombarded through the doors and Leo was the first to shoot. Down went a guard. Then another. And another. A few people were shot but with the vests on, they got back up, aimlessly shooting until the person was dead. Everyone split up. More than half went upstairs and a dozen headed downstairs to the basement.

Leo headed for the main floor. He shot down guard after guard, and like a pro, he reloaded before the other person had time to think about shooting. Not long and the building was slowly going quiet. That meant that there wasn't many people alive.

Suddenly a blood curdling scream echoed through the old barn and Leo instantly recognised it as Audrielle. Rushing to where the noise came from, he was met by Audrielle alone, tied to a chair and blind folded. The sight of her made his chest tighten but he was also glad to see her alive. He quickly ran up to her, grabbing her face with his hands that were covered in someone's blood.

Audrielle flinched heavily at the touch and started to scream for help. "Shh... shh... it's okay. It's me, Leo." Leo whispered to her, trying to calm her down.

Audrielle broke down into a sob and Leo ripped off the cloth that covered her eyes. She squinted at the sudden light but then her swollen eyes fixated onto Leo and she started to cry again.

"I'm here princess... it's going to be okay." He mumbled as he pulled her in for a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder as he held her. He had missed her so much. Just hearing her scream made his heart heavy.

"We're gonna get you and baby out of here okay. You need to follow me closely. You just need to run. Okay?"

Audrielle nodded her head with watery eyes. Her throat was too dry and sore for her to speak. Leo suddenly leant forward and kissed Audrielle on her chapped lips. She kissed him back passionately. Audrielle admitted to herself that she missed Leo. Even though she knew she shouldn't but in times like these it was nice to have someone.

Suddenly Audrielle was jolted back in the chair and she screamed. Leo was on his knees in front of her but with a gun held up against his head.

"Move and I'll kill you." Audrielle looked up to see it was no other than Lucy. That backstabbing, homewrecking whore. Audrielle snarled and tried to attack her but it was no use. She was zip tied to the chair. She hissed when she felt something sharp and cold press against her throat. She turned her head to see Tanner staring down at her with a Sadistic smile.

Before anyone could say something, a loud, agonising clap bounced through the room. In the corner a shadow appeared and as they slowly entered the light, Audrielle gasped.

"Dad?" Leo questioned, staring straight at his father who laughed at the scene.

"Now isn't this quite a show, hm?"