The Secrets We Hide

Chapter Twelve

"Fuck!" Derek shouted as a masked man grabbed him from behind. He felt the man's fingertips firmly grip into his chest. He tried to shift his weight forward, hoping to throw the man forward, only to fail. Shuffling his shoulders from the death grip, he finally raised his arm, pushing his elbow backwards. He heard the electronic groan before he felt his arms loosened. Derek transferred his weight, falling to the ground, escaping from his clutches. Swift and precise, he swiveled around, punching the man in the face with every force he could muster in his body. The man sprawled across the floor, like a dead weight.

Suddenly, an enormous thumping sound resonated through Derek's ears. Followed by a rain of small clattering and clinks. His eyes darted to his brother Alec, who was gripping onto the neck of a shattered bottle. He couldn't work out whether the dripping drops were blood or red wine. What he was certain of was that they incapacitated another masked man as his body slumped across the bar.

"Nice shot." Derek huffed at his brother, nodding at the man in acknowledgement.

"DUCK!" Alec shouted as his brother as he noticed one of the masked men flick the trigger of the gun that he was holding. Derek instinctively listened to the instructions, his arm gripping the bar as he dropped to the floor. The bullet whizzed through the air, crashing straight into one bottle on the bar shelf. The bottle cracked, shards of shattered glass clanged across the floor.

Derek looked over his shoulder. He felt a piercing gaze meet his eyes. The man in the mask was reloading his gun without shifting his glare. Derek clamoured to his feet, placing both hands on the bar. He lifted himself, slid across the top of the bar, and crouched behind it, copying his brother's movements.

"Thanks." Derek muttered. Alec gave him a curt smile in response. "What's the plan now? We have no weapons and we're being shot at left-right and centre."

"Chill brother. Who said we don't have any weapons?" He smirked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver gas lighter. He flicked the top open and pressed down on the wheel, where the flicker of a red blame sprouted.

Alec shoveled behind the bar, swiping as many unbroken bottles of strong liquor as he could into his arms. He looked at the shelves that were behind the floor. His eyes widened as he grabbed a handful of wipes. He then scuttled across the floor, returning to his brother's side. He gently dropped to the floor. Picking up one at a time, he unscrewed the lid of each bottle, stuffing a piece of cloth into the opening.

"Molotov." Derek exclaimed.

"It wouldn't be a party without a cocktail, now would it?" Alec replied with a deep chuckle. Alec poked his head over the bar, scouting the ballroom. His arms darted from left to right. There were bodies sprawled across the floor, blood dripping off the walls. Pools of red liquid were flowing across the floor like a river. Masked men guarded most doors, but he spotted a black-haired woman and her brother escaping through the terrace. A thick black smog fogged the room when his eyes honed in as he watched the two seamlessly escape.

"Right, I'm going to light these bad boys up. I want you to throw the ones to the left and I'm going to chuck mine to the right. We want to create a passage of fire to the doors where the terrace is and then we run. You got it?" Alec urgently ordered. Derek nodded his head. Both gathering the piece of materials together, Alec tapped the wheel and set fire to the cloth. Both stood up and threw the bottles to the floor, a shattering, crashing noise vibrating through the room.

Flames engulfed the room. The bigger they grew, the hotter the heat. The only problem was as the flames were letting off a thick black smoke that was mixing in with the black fog that was consuming the ballroom. Derek and Alec couldn't help but cough as the smoke filled their lungs, both bringing the lapel of their suit to the mouth and nose. Both, trying to block the poison that was seeping in.

The brothers mimicked an understanding look in each of the brother's eyes as they rushed over the bar and ran toward the exit. Their eyes watered as the stinging smoke penetrated them. They sprinted as fast as they could, their feet heavily tapping across the floor. Alec's heart was thumping against his chest. He could feel the blood rushing to his ears. His chest tightened as a curved smile raced to his mind. Warm, honeyed eyed filled with warmth swamped his mind. The musical and innocent sound of laughter swelled in his ears. As the brothers followed the flow of the escaping smoke, the fresh smell of salt water reached their nose. A small crystal tear ran down the curve of Alec's face. The cool, fresh air hitting their face, both started coughing out the thick smoke within their lungs. Both hunching over as they placed their hands on their thighs. Gasping, like a fish out of water. Alec gathered the energy to bring the back of his hand to his face, wiping away the betrayal of his eye.

"We made it." Derek coughed out.

"Not quite brother." Alec gasped in between long breaths. "We need to get out of here and quick."

"Fucking Italians." He spattered out. "No weapons they said, it would be safe they said."

"Now is not the time for swearing. Come, let's go." He nodded toward the cannel. There were many abandoned gondolas scattered. Alec straightened his back, inhaling deeply. He turned and started a light jog towards the stone fence. Observing his brother's hunched position. "Brother, now is not the time to give up." He shouted as he shifted his body towards his brother.

"I'll say it again, fucking Italians." He groaned as he ran a hand down his face, wiping away the sweat that was dripping from his temples. He straightened up and made his way toward Alec, who had now jumped over the ledge, landing on a narrow wooden hull.

"Where are we going?" He questioned.

"We are getting out of here. That's what." Alec explained. There were so many gondolas, they were crashing and bumping into one another. He lifted his leg and placed it firmly into the nearest gondola. With the pressure, he felt his foot sway with the water in the canal.

"How? The river is covered in fucking boats." Derek huffed out in frustration as he followed his brother's movements.

"We don't need to drive one to get out of here. It's time to boat hop." With Alec's explanation, he swiftly navigated across the gondolas, jumping from one to the other. Derek's eyes never wavered as he watched his brother with swift and agile movements as he manoeuvred across the canal into a small gap on the other side. "Your turn, brother." He chuckled as he leaned on the building.

"I'll say it again. Fucking Italians!" Alec shouted, before retracing his brother's steps.