I grab the IV pole and use it to help me walk around, at first, I stumble, I can't feel my legs. What happened in here, I don't even know where I am. I open the door quietly; I don't need anyone to know I'm trying to leave. I tip toe across the ugly patterned hospital floor, but I'm mistaken, this is no hospital. I turn the corner, "Boss is going to be pissed if we can't find him."
I slip into one of the rooms, watching their shadows run across the window. Phew, they thankfully didn't see me, I wonder who they are looking for. I turn behind me, what room is this? I walk towards the desk and pick up the picture that was laid flat against it. "Oh my God."
I dropped the picture, the glass shatters spreading everywhere. I can't stop the shaking; this revelation is absolutely horrifying because I was right. My Father has a twin.
I place my hand over my mouth, I think I'm going to be sick. The flashback of the tattoo parlor with the different Mafia crest imprints on my brain.
"Those are the two crest that belong to the twins. The rumor is that they both died, the last time I tattooed that crest on someone was about 20 years ago." The crest I saw were skulls in the shape of the yin yang. One was black the other transparent. My Father had a solid black skull tattoo, but- this man we're dealing with now; his tattoo has changed. It has a red X over its eyes and Snake wrapped throughout its skull. This man, he is driven by the hate he feels for someone.
A sharp pain emits at the lower half of my belly, I hold it, blood dripping onto the floor, I moved too much. I can't stop now; I must keep going. Shane is down wherever I was being held, I need to find him before it's too late. I need to move quickly, they may have noticed that I am gone, I know I'll be moving slow once whatever medication was being injected begins to wear off. I must take advantage of this, right here right now. So why am I not moving? I'm frozen in fear, I don't know what is beyond that door, it's the unknown once I move the handle. They could have camera's; they could see me before I even get a chance. NO! Stop this madness, we must make it out of here alive, both of us, I can't be wallowing in sadness right now. I rip the IV off my arm, I hold my hands against the desk, keeping my balance.
"Pick up your feet Lexi, come on!" I move my legs towards the door, I place my hand on the doorknob, turning it clockwise until it opens. Let's not die selfishly, but selflessly. I look both ways and above, something needs to stand out to me before I can see it, this isn't a hospital, this is an underground facility, there isn't a single outdoor window in this place. The only windows belong to the ones that face the hallways., every inch of this place is cold, I haven't seen a single thermos, all the lights are florescent, I can hear the buzz coming off a few of them. I begin to speed walk, I must get out of here, follow the signs Lexi, follow the signs. Every building must have Exit signs in case of an emergency.
"Oh Lexi," I heard a voice down the hall I was speed walking, I look behind me, there is a blood trail from where I have been. I could make this work, that voice reminds me of my Father, but he isn't my Father at all, I don't think. I look over to the left, I see his shadow dancing across the wall, he is so scary, but I can't let him see. He'll probably kill me on the spot.
"There she is!" Several nurses run toward me "I'm not going out like this and begin to run in the opposite direction. Don't think about the pain, just keep running. Breath in, breathe out, come on, RUN! I push myself, I can see an Exit, it's right there. I look behind me, the nurses stop in their tracks, did they just give up? I push on the door.
"AHH!" I screamed, the door had nothing there, no stairs, no wall, no balcony, just 5 stories above ground.
"How can this be, I thought we were underground, everything pointed it to be an underground facility." I could hear the man behind me breaking out in a laugh.
"You are the daughter of an FBI agent, aren't you? I couldn't let you believe anything." He claps his hands together, as if he won. But I'm not ready to give up yet.
"You will never win, not as long as I'm alive." I fall backward out the door, If I'm correct, in about 15 seconds, I should hit- Everything around me broke, shattered. I saw a reflection, a slight reflection. An airplane flew by shining a bright light into the building. It was mirrored glass, pointed in a direction that mimics the parking lot. Now that it's broken, I can clearly see the pool that I smelled earlier. I pray its deep enough to break my fall, it will only be moments before someone else captures me. I never imagined I would feel what it is like to fall from a 5th story building. I smile, I could feel a tear lift off my face.
"I love you, Shane." I whispered. My body hits the water, it felt like I was hitting a solid rock, I couldn't feel my Fingers or toes, this Is it. This is where I die, and I will die by drowning.
It sounds like a diamond rain, the glass coming in after me is so melodic. A hand reaches for me, pulling me out of the water, to bad I wanted to hear the rest of the song.
SHANE
I watched them take her away like she was a rag doll, moving her limp body away. Did they think I don't remember their face, they're dead when I get out of here, I swear it! Now that the attention is taken away from this area for a little bit I can think about my escape, but I cannot stop thinking about how limp she was, they kept saying "we need to save them," But it was just her... no." I quickly stand up in the cell, I run to the cage.
"YOU BASTARDS! BRING HER BACK TO ME!" Shit, I lean my head against the cold, cold bar.
"I can get you out of here," I turn to my left, Nadia leaning against the dusty, decrepit wall. I won't trust a single word that comes from her mouth. Both her and Grandpapa double crossed me.
"Don't think for a second that you are not on my hit list." I said coldly. I feel like taking my hand around her throat and squeezing it until her neck breaks. I want her to scream and fear me more than she fears mark.
"I don't want your help." She sighs, walking towards my door. "I know you don't trust me, I wouldn't either. But you should know as well as anyone business is business. And when business is done, then it can be time for revenge." She hits the door just a tad and it opens, I run past her and in the direction they took Lexi, her hand grabs my Arm.
"You can't go that way; you'll be dead the minute someone unauthorized opens that door. There is a connecting room to the main hall this way. Do I trust her? No, I will always go with my gut, I need to go up these stairs, the longer I stand here the longer I lose her. I need to know, I must know, I must know if she is pregnant with my baby! I run up those stairs cautiously, I cannot be seen.
"What happens if the baby doesn't survive?" Mark says in a room decorated with darkness.
"It will be an all-out war between the most dangerous family in the world. I only helped you to stop my Grandson from marrying that... abomination of a woman." My Grandpapa speaks.
"Isn't your son Married to her mother?" He chuckles, His hand in his pocket, the other on his scotch.
"Not married, besides she's only useful for her intel, imagine all the things we could do if I kept her in the dark with the deal we've made." He smiles, I look through the door crack "Matthew, welcome to the Mafia." He sits back in a brown leather chair, a smile on his face, his eyes dark with power. Who is Matthew? That's Mark, isn't it?
"It's good to be here. I should have been here from the beginning, but Mother and Father were idiots. They chose my pushover of a twin brother. How can you lead an army with no backbone? It should have always been me. That baby being alive is getting in my way. An heir is more important than death. If that baby lives, then the mother shall die." He intertwines his fingers; I didn't know my fists were clenched. If he thinks he can lay a finger on her or the baby in anyway, I'll blow up this whole building, I will watch his body burn and listen to his screams, I laugh at the scene in my mind, what a fun game. Lexi hold on a little longer, I promise I'm coming to get you as soon as I find you.
There is a trail of blood leading from a room, what happened up here? It looks like someone was- Lexi, she was dragged up here, wasn't she? I walk to the right of the trail leading into a dark concreted room, a tray that had a pile of bloodied clothes, they were soaked. There were tools laid flat against a tray, there had been blood that was pooling from the surgical table to the floor. It was still dripping. How is she walking around with all that blood loss? She must be fighting hard to stay alive. I just pray that they are both going to be alive when I figure out this puzzle before me. This must be where the trail begins, I'll follow it out the door, I walk out the double doors and follow the trail, it goes into a room then out of it. I open the door, a picture was flat on the ground, I go to pick it up, cutting my hand on the glass that was sticking out from the frame.
"So, it's true, he really is Mark's twin brother." They looked so happy in this picture; this must be before Mark became the king of Mafia. It all makes sense now. The contract being redacted, the marriage being cancelled, all of that was Matthew's way of saying he is going to do things the way that he was going to do it. If he wanted to be the king of Mafia so bad, he should have won the war before he turned 21.
If siblings are born into a mafia family, there is a game we call "The war". It's a mind game that two people play on the mountain behind our family home. I presume that is why my grandfather purchased the property, he has always housed the siblings of Mafia members. My grandfather retired of being the king of the Mafia, now he is admiral. To think that he and Matthew plotted to throw me in here- wait, I see it now. This is the game of war.
*Glass breaking* I cock my head towards the sound, that is not good. The commotion was loud enough for Matthew to hear unless he was the reason for the noise.
I was about leave when I heard Matthew and his men run in the opposite direction. I open the door, peaking before I go towards the noise as well. I look beyond the corner, a door opened, there is no balcony or ledge. I walk towards the open door and look down. I saw Lexi, floating in the pool, did she jump? I saw someone pulling her out, we are playing the game of war. I need to watch everything I do. This game, only one Mafia king can win. I look over my shoulder where did Nadia go? She was behind me a moment ago, dammit, I don't have enough eyes to keep on her.
I open the door where the picture lays. I pick up the phone clicking the intercom button,
"Matthew... If I win this game of war. I want your death as my prize. If you win... you can claim the heir as your own. This game will end when dawn arises tomorrow, or one of the Mafia Kings die." I drop the phone and begin to run; I need a strategy before I accept the possibility of my death.
I wrap the duct tape along my shoes, I grab one of the pistols that I took from a man on his team. I take the sharpie and finish my 6th group of tally marks, 30 men killed in two hours, how many people did he hire for this? I cock the gun, I run past the corner and into another room.
I can't kill 4 guys with two bullets, not with this cheap gun. I've been all over this building and I haven't found Matthew or Lexi, the blood trail that I was following for a little bit has disappeared. She is no longer in the pool room either, but I can't be focused on that right now. I have played this game with many people, just never with a sibling. I've always played a modified version of this game with people that wanted to challenge me. Now I know for sure, only one of us is walking out of here alive. I open the door, I was shoved back inside by someone in a dark suit, the gun wouldn't shoot, who the hell-.
"What the hell are you thinking? Don't you know this game is forbidden?!" Enzo yells. What is he doing here? How did he even know I was here? Where is Anna?
"Your Dad told me it's about one against 100. I came for your backup."
"Have you located Lexi?" He asks, his eyes are full of worry, he misses her just as much as I do, but not to worry we're going to get her and bring her back. I shook my head no, I haven't been able to find her, whoever 'saved' her from the pool has hidden her to the point not even I can find her.
"How long do we have until the war is over?" I look down at my wrist, I'm not even sure to be honest, there isn't a single window in this entire building, I haven't been able to look outside except for when I saw her at the bottom. I sigh, I'm beginning to feel hopeless, I've killed so many. I will make them pay for every scratch on her body.
"let's kill this fucker!" He whispers, he's right. it's time to get back my fiancé.
Lexi
I wake up to the sound of a fire cracking, this feels like home.
"Oh good, you're awake." A young lady smiles. She has beautiful red hair; she looks so friendly.
"Who are you?" I ask. She plays with a stick in the fire, I look down, the bleeding it stopped, the pain too. What did she do?
"I'm Nadia, I brought your husband here." My husband? Oh, Shane, SHANE!
"Is he alive! Please tell me, the last thing I remember he was..."
"He's fine, in fact, he couldn't stop talking about you. He came to Spain to get help from his grandfather. And we pretended to turn him in so we could get close enough to figure out who really was behind your kidnapping." I meddle with my bump rubbing it, something doesn't feel right,
"I'm sorry." She spoke. I look up at her, what does she mean? Why is she sorry? I look around, a pool of blood at the entrance, this is how I noticed we are below the building.
"That fall was impressive. But I'm pretty sure you fractured your leg, and your baby..." No, no, God I didn't try this hard to survive just for my baby to die. I couldn't stop the crying, I felt crushed, my heart heavy. I feel like I failed my child, like I'm not strong enough to protect you, this can't be. I'll never get to see the face of the wonderful thing Shane and I made together. I was cornered, and I didn't want to go back to that dark forsaken cage. I said I didn't want to die selfishly, but in the end I was. Shane is going to hate me, he won't want to be my Husband, I killed my child. I lay my head in my hands, I knew I wasn't going to be a good mother, but I am in fact awful. She walks to me, her hand on my shoulder she smiles.
"Wait here." She turns back around, walking behind a rock, grabbing a basket. She walks towards me,
"Your baby is a beautiful girl, as soon as you find your husband, take her to the hospital. Due to all the stress your body has undergone. She was premature and needs real help." I look down at the baby sleeping in the basket. She is so small, she looks like Shane, I couldn't stop smiling. I take her out of the basket, I rub her little nose and watch her smile.
"Daphne, Daphne Grace Hall is a perfect name." I smile. The girl looks at me, I look back at her. There is something else she is not telling me.
"Matthew has started a game. Shane has put a time limit to his death sentence."
"What?" I asked.
"If you don't stop Shane or Matthew, Shane's death is inevitable."