Rihai

Nove

"Something is off." Armando looked at the burnt vehicle in front of him. The people inside have been burnt to their deaths. The road is empty, the sun almost ready to set and the waves of the ocean crash on the shore with a loud roar everytime.

Romeo circles the car, looking for something that could lead him to whatever caused this. Their town was a peaceful one. The only sort of violence or attacks only came from the Americans. This crashed car infront of them couldn't have been an accident. A car doesn't topple over by itself, especially on a road this empty.

The only skid marks on the road were from the deranged car, not indicating the presence of any other vehicle. "This is a clean murder. Looks like something our father in law's assassins would do." Romeo's conclusion held weight but it didn't make any sense. Aurelio stood farther away from the car, the sight of fire bothered him, though he kept his discomfort to himself.

He stared at the sea, the warm air sifting through his hair. "The assassins only know of attacks or when to take action through our father in law. And he only gets to know when we tell him. That man is hundreds of miles away, he wouldn't have known. So the only way these attacks could come from the assassins is if they are keeping an eye on us. If they follow our moves."

Armando took off his glasses and wiped his eyes, the smoke around him was making them burn. He put his glasses back on and turned to his brothers. "But why would they attack unprompted? This is an empty road." None of them had thought that choosing a different route to go back home today would let them to see sides they never have before. Was choosing to trust their father in law a wrong decision?

His assassins are doing things without being asked to. Was that old man using his assassins to spy on the Italians? They had never even met their father in law's men, who were they? And what were their plans?

Something shifted in the air, tension so palpable, it seethed through their beings. Romeo pulled out his leather gloves and caught a piece of cloth that hanged from the crashed window. It was burnt from all sides, leaving only a centimeter length of it, but that was enough. Romeo would have recognized the green cloth anywhere. It was from his own t-shirt, one that his wife had staked a permanent claim on. "Call the guards! I want to know if our wives are home."

All that was left in the car was ashes. What if one of them belonged to his wife? His unusually stricken and grave voice had Armando working in seconds. The guard picked up on the second ring and Armando didn't give them any opportunity to speak. "Where are our wives?"

"At home sir."

"Do not fucking assume, go and check!" He could hear the thumping footsteps as the man ran inside the house. "Yes sir, they are all in the living room." Armando released a sigh he didn't know he was holding. He nodded at his brothers to let them know.

Romeo had his doubts, they might be at home now, but this piece of cloth in his hand definitely belonged to his wife. His fists clenched. They had warned them against getting out and yet they did. Prevention is better than cure, that's something his wife always pointed out, then why the fuck was she so hell bent on dying the hands of his enemy?

The men sat in their car, after Romeo told them what he found. Armando opened his laptop, pulling up the surveillance footage but he didn't find anything. All the cameras were clean. Their wives haven't stepped out. Aurelio drove faster, his anger bubbling up. All he asked of Aadrika was that she stays at home. Why was it so difficult for her to follow. "Remember, you installed a camera at the back entrance? It was hidden and didn't give a clear view of anything? Find that, Armando."

Armando got to work. The footage wasn't clear. The camera was hidden at an angle that a wall blocked half of the view. But he saw it. The pit his brother had dug for emergency exits. It moved and he saw his wife jump through it followed by her sisters. He followed their car through jacking into multiple security cameras across town. The car they found burnt was in the footage behind his wife's car all the time.