Vermillion

47

"I love you Circe. I love you so much" he said, staring at the lifeless body as he heard the sound of gunshots from outside the door.

Blood oozed in a pool of red on the concrete floor, flowing from the victims head to his position at the table.

Raffaele knew Circe was prepared to die. She always had been. She was raised with the expectancy to die any day.

She had accepted this a long time ago, but still, she didn't know she would be dying at the hands of someone she loved.

She always expected to die on a mission, whether it be by gunshot or stab wound, by a man or a woman, a Russian or an Italian.

And though Raffaele knew this, he still couldn't bring himself to kill her.

The two stared at Michails dead body.

They were waiting for the guards at the other side of the door to come in and kill them both, along with the baby.

But that time never came, it was interrupted by gunshots and the sounds of men roaring, feet stomping on the ground as they ran.

Finally, the door burst open, and Mario and Ilaria entered.

"Guys we need to leave, now!" Ilaria shouted, a gun in hand.

"H-how did you find us?" Circe asked.

"Raffaele has had a chip in his arm since he was a child, in case he was ever taken so we could track him down" Mario answered.

"I have?" Raffaele asked, dumbfounded.

"No time for chit chat, come on!" Ilaria shouted at them, running out of the room and up some stairs, the three others following them.

Raffaele paused when they reached the top of the stairs, embracing Circe in the tightest hug he had ever given her.

She hugged him back.

There were multiple bodies scattered on the hallway floors, some Russian, some Italian.

They could hear bullets in the distance, and as they ran towards the exit the sound got louder and louder.

They ran and ran, losing Ilaria and Mario in the process.

The gunshots continued to get louder until they were right next to them.

"Oh" Circe said, her voice cracking as she fell to her knees.

"Circe?" Raffaele asked as he felt her grip on his hand grow weak.

He looked down at her on her knees, blood flowing out of a wound in her torso.

He watched as he eyes began to roll, as she tried to fight the urge to pass out from the pain.

"Circe?!" he roared "Please stay awake darling" he begged "Circe please" he sobbed.

"I won't let you get away this time! I won't" a Polish man growled from behind them.

Raffaele turned his head to see the one and only Mr. Symanski standing there, a gun pointing towards the two, Circe watched as the man she had called her grandfather for years shook with rage while looking at them.

"You!" he spat "You took her away from me!" he screamed at Raffaele, almost sounding deranged.

"I'll kill you!" he screamed "But first, I'll kill her" he said, pointing his gun towards the girl who was now bleeding out on the white tiled floor.

"S-symanski" she stuttered.

"If I cant have you" he growled "No one can"

He shot the gun, aiming for her head, and just in time, someone jumped in front of the bullet.

"Angel?" Fleur asked.

She didn't get a reply.

"Kaia!" she screamed "Baby please wake up" she sobbed.

Kaia had been shot right between the eyes, dying instantly.

"What did you do?!" she screamed at the man.

Symanski tried to shoot his gun at her, but the chamber was empty.

Fleur ran towards him, landing a heavy punch on his face, knocking him to the ground.

As soon as he was down she jumped on top of him, landing blow after blow on his face, stomach and ribs, she then stood up and started stomping on him.

She didn't stop when she heard the first of his ribs crack, she couldn't. She wouldn't stop until she knew for certain that he was dead.

She stomped on his face repeatedly until he was nothing but mush, his brains splattered across the white tiled floor, his features mangled and unrecognisable.

"Fleur we need to go" Ilaria told her, trying to get a hold of her erratically moving body, but she was too strong, too high on adrenaline.

"Fleur!" Ilaria screamed, but she continued her attack on the dead mans body, until he was completely unrecognisable, not just his face, but his whole body.

They watched as she continually assaulted him, all of the rage she felt towards him for what he had done coming out at once. Not just for killing Kaia, but for all of the pain and suffering he had put Circe through over the years.

All of the rage she had built up from her own years of pain, came out all at once, and the head of the Symanski clan was her victim.

They eventually watched as she sunk to her knees, tears streaming down her face, splattered in the blood of both Symanski, and her lover.

"We need to go" Ilaria whispered, and Fleur nodded.

She picked up Kaia's body, and despite the gaping hole in her forehead, she looked just as beautiful as the day they met.

She looked calm, a slight smile on the edge of her lips, happy she had died protecting her friend.

She didn't look stressed or overly focused like she did when she was working her magic on a computer, or when she was training.

She looked peaceful.

"My angel" Fleur whispered "My beautiful sweet angel" she cried, a never ending stream of tears falling down her face.

"How do I live without you?" she asked.