Property of the Mafia

[44] In Plain Sight

The sense of urgency we were all feeling was immense; I almost felt sick to my stomach. Silvio had almost slipped a few times, scared of both the rising water but also the ferocity that was Leon closing in behind him. You couldn't blame the kid, though, this entire climb was all about endurance-to expect a child to have the same physical (and mental) strength as someone in their twenties was unreasonable.

"Linette, can you see the water yet?" Leon asked, short-winded.

"I really can't tell... we had a little bit of light at the bottom near the door from the pathway, but now that we're this far up, it's too dark to see anything below us, not to mention above us."

"Damn." He cursed under his breath, still climbing aggressively. He coughed loudly as Silvio's foot slipped off the step and into Leon's face. "Hey! Watch it!" He sputtered angrily.

"S-Sorry." Silvio responded feebly, his usual arrogance substituted with uncertainty. "My palms have been numb for a while and now they're getting all sweaty."

"Well be careful. I'm already holding Linette so I can't hold another person." His ranting sounded more like concern for the boy. A muffled grumble in agreement responded.

"The sound of water is getting louder." Leon murmured nervously, his hot breath against my cold skin sending a wave of shivers up the length of my arm.

"Leon, hold me up for a second, would you?" I asked. He obliged quickly, sliding his arm on the underside of my thighs to hold me up. I slowly released my good arm from around his chest and felt around in my pockets. Earlier I had given my gun away, yes, but I still had the ruined tazer, lip balm, and two rings from the Tresora that I hadn't used to get in.

I took the lip balm out from my pocket, urged the two boys to be quiet, and swiftly dropped the lip balm into the cold depths beneath us. To our horror, the sound of the lip balm meeting the water was a lot closer than expected. It sounded like the water was only a few feet from reaching us.

"Silvio, drape yourself over my shoulder." Leon urged, no humour in his tone. Silvio did not seem to listen and Leon abruptly pulled the younger boys leg so that he fell directly onto's Leon's shoulder. Silvio's back was arched and slung across Leon's shoulder in a bizarre contortion.

"OUCH!" Silvio screeched angrily the moment he made contact. As he attempted to flip himself over to lay on Leon's shoulder stomach-down (rather than belly up) his face collided with mine, understandably, considering the confined space we were in.

"What was that for? I almost peed myself." Silvio muttered under his breath, embarrassed. "And s-sorry, Linette." He mumbled, rubbing his nose timidly.

Leon suddenly picked up speed at a frightening pace now that the ladder was clear. Despite having Silvio draped over one shoulder, hanging on from sheer weight alone, he still managed to climb. I clung to Leon with my good arm over the other shoulder-the excess weight should have been exhausting.

"Unless you want to drown, I suggest you be quiet for a while." His voice sounded strained and seemed to require significant effort to come out. "Damn, why do the Noir have to be such sneaky little bastards?"

"Leon! Silvio's here." I snapped, trying not to increase the tension between the already fussy pair.

"... Exactly why I'm saying it now." He muttered under his breath.

Silvio, still draped over Leon's shoulder like a bizarre tote bag, angrily whacked the latter directly in the face with his elbow. Either too exhausted or too occupied to respond, Leon continued to climb as Silvio muttered in frustration to himself.

It had been tense for a while until Silvio finally broke the silence.

"Do you think everyone's okay?" He asked weakly, as if afraid to ask.