The Mafiosa's Thorn

A Lit Fuse

Rafael, what the fuck are you doing?! Bianca's mind shouts at him. Questions run through her head of why he's getting involved in this shootout. She empties out her revolver to save his life. Two down.

She reloads from her purse while Luis is just as confused as she is. She peeks and her jaw drops. Rafael moves from cover to cover without a wasted movement. He drops low to shoot out the legs of one Triad member before a headshot.

One of the them runs out of bullets and pulls something out of his black jacket. The sunlight almost dances on the flat, sharp blade that can cut a watermelon in half.

He swings down at Rafael who's in the middle of reloading-

With reflexes of a cat, he turns the gun to its side to block and push him off. The butt of his gun is thrusted into the gut of the man. As he coughs, Rafael puts a bullet between his eyes with a brown pistol.

He picks up the watermelon chopper to block a swing of another's blade.

"Watch out!" She screams while shooting at the men aiming at him.

He ducks to his right from a side blade aiming at his face. A small gash appears on his left cheek.

The blades swing in opposite directions, but his pistol beats them. One drops like a sack of potatoes while the other shakes from the bullet that enters his chest. A bullet to the forehead ends him. He dodges gunfire while sneaking towards his next target. The blade shines-

Slice! Slice!

Blood gushes from the neck of the Triad member. A bullet grazes his shoulder, but no response from the monster as he runs on the top of a car for a successful head shot. He jumps down for shelter like nothing happened.

His actions left many questions in Bianca's mind as she covers for Rafael. A hitman would be an insult to his abilities. This man is almost one with Death.

"Watch out!" Rafael yells while shooting to the left of them. A grunt is heard from injuring one of the two men rushing at Luis and Bianca with blades. They quickly open fire...their blades clatter to the ground.

Slice!

Blood splatters on the sidewalk as Luis falls near the SUV. He unloads bullets through the black dressed individual. Breathing heavily, he presses the trigger towards another member, but the click confirms he's out.

Bianca shoots the man in the nuts before blowing his brains out. She quickly looks around while tying her jacket around her dedicated driver to stop the bleeding.

"M-Miss, get-"

"Silenzio!"

Mustached Triad members rush at her with watermelon choppers, but they get tackled down by the florist. Within seconds, his pruning scissors are lodged deep into the man's jugular. Blood spurts over his green apron.

Before he can attend to the other-

Bang! 

The stiletto of the mafiosa digs deep into the hole of the man's chest, before ending him between the eyes. Harsh emeralds almost soften upon meeting chocolate. He pulls her down to his level to protect her.

The next action surprises her. He grunts while picking up Luis. "Come inside!"

Adrenaline rushes through her to follow him. She whistles and directs her surviving henchmen to enter the flower shop. Bullets whizz past them, breaking the glass of the shop. Pots shatter.

The strange florist grabs some antiseptic under the counter.

"Slide that door open and get inside," he points to behind a shelf. Alejandro glances at Orchidea whose eyes tell him to listen. Alejandro and another shove the shelf off. Their eyes pop open.

Guns, ranging from sniper rifles to handguns, are lined up on a wall with hanging cases of ammo. A bed sits opposite the deadly wall.

The others rush inside. Rafael puts Luis on the bed to focus.

"Does anyone have a lighter," he asks them. Bianca understands his intention and hands her lighter over. He takes off the bloody apron before spraying it with antiseptic.

Click!

The flame lights up the apron before it is thrown on a pile of flowers. The fire travels with smoke filling up the room. He closes the sliding door while returning the lighter to her.

One of the men is frightened. "What the fuck are you doing? We're going-"

He kicks away the rug, revealing a trapdoor underneath it. Alejandro opens it up. A staircase leads down into the darkness below.

"Old Prohibition tunnels that run under the streets. But first things first...."

He undoes the jacket around Luis and rips the shirt off to spray antiseptic on his back.

"Motherfucka!" Luis exclaims from the pain.

""This will help, but you need a doctor. Med-kit is under the bed," Rafael splashes some sanitizer on the cut of his cheek. He lets out a wince from the sting.

Bianca grabs it and hands it over. The main questions running through her head are: Why? And who is Rafael?

With speedy care, he applies medical dressing to keep him from bleeding out. To disguise the man, he removes his mostly clean collared shirt, revealing a white beater on him. His dirt brown pistol is hanging from the side.

Gasps fill up to the ceiling while jaws drop to the floor. Hearts collide against their sternums. Rafael's back muscles are decorated with bullet and knife wounds. But the tattoo on the left side of his neck drops a blanket of hopelessness on them.

A human skull with a cavernous mouth, aiming to devour anyone in its path. A rod is stuck on the roof of the skull with a looping sickle acting as the jaw line.

Among the crime organizations, rumors had spread about an infamous man that disappeared years ago. "His shadow is dark because of the blood he spilled. Crossing him is worse than entering Hell itself. His skull tattoo is an omen. If he sees you, your time is up."

The rumors and his actions left no doubt in their minds.

Bianca breaks the silence. "El S-Segador?!"