"Why did Alex send you rather than Annya?" his voice stayed calm, and his gun stayed in place.
"I don't know. We don't ask questions. We just do as we're told." he said, exasperated.
"Do you know what's happening to Annya?"
"All we know was she disappeared for a few months and then ran off to America. No one knows why she's back." he responded, but didn't sound like he cared.
"Who told you this?" Alestar was compromising, so Sean slightly lowered his gun, but it was now pointed at his shoulder, rather than his head.
"Alexander." Sean narrowed his eyes in suspicion, Alex seemed to be keeping a lot of secrets.
"Where did she go for the few months she was missing?"
"No one knows exactly."
"Why did she run to america?"
"I guess the death of her parents had finally gotten to her. Alexander did everything to try and look for her, but she knew how to stay hidden." Another secret. Another lie. Everything was starting to point to Alex.
"Did you know she was being hunted?" Sean knew the answer, but he wanted to make sure. Suddenly Alestar's head snapped back to Sean, who put his gun down, but kept it in his hand.
"Shit." he whispered. "We were just told she ran away." there was genuine surprise in his eyes, expression and voice, making Sean put his gun away.
"By Alex." Sean grunbeled.
"By Alex." Alistar seemed to come to the same conclusion and suddenly started driving with urgency, not caring about stop lights or cars in the way as he smoothly swerved in and out of lanes.
"Where are we going?" Sean yelled, trying to hold onto something.
"The airport. I need to get rid of my phone and exchange cars." he said, his voice showing concern.
"Then where are we going?"
"Probably the prison house. Alexander isn't known to be the clever one of the family." Alestare mumbled the last part, probably to himself.
"Not that I'm complaining, or anything ,but why are you helping? Why are you breaking orders?" Sean asked, trying not to throw up.
"Everyone knows about the division of the clan, and the only thing worse than a traitor, is a traitor against their own blood. If Alexander lied to us, making Annya look like a deserter, putting more people on his side." he said it like it was a matter of fact, but he didn't sound bored or annoyed. He was invested in the conversation.
"And who's side are you on?" Sean asked and Alistar linked at him through the rear view mirror, meeting the boy's eyes.
"The clever one." he responded with a sly smile.
Alistar wasted no time throwing his phone out the window and running over it before he parked and jumped out, with Sean right behind him as they started power walking until Alistar seemed to have found what he was looking for. He looked around before he pulled something out of his sport coat and walked over to the driver's side of a black Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300. Sean had spent enough time working in garages to know some of the fastest cars in the world. Alistar seemed to be having some trouble and they were both getting impatient.
"Here. I got it. You be look out." Sean finally whispered, coming beside the man who looked at him like he was crazy, but Sean tilted his head to the front of the car, telling him to go. Alistare let out a breath and did as he was instructed and a few minutes later, the door was open, and the men were trading spots.
"How do you know this?" Alistar asked as he was pulling wires out of the car.
"I've worked with a lot of people who lock their keys in their cars." Sean said as he walked to the other side of the car to get into the passenger's seat, as soon as his door closed, they were speeding out of the parking garage and towards where they hoped Annya was being held.
"Shouldn't we check back at the hotel? Maybe she's still there." Sean suggested, letting his hope overshadow his worries, but Alistare shook his head.
"My sister was with her. And said Alexander was taking Annya for a drive to get her mind off of, uh..." he suggested with a smirk as he looked over at the large man beside him, and Sean couldn't help his own smile, but was then turned into a scowl, knowing she was taken by her own brother. He looked over to see Alistar with his own game face on as he kept swerving between cars until they reached a shopping mall.
"What now?" Sean asked, looking around.
"This car is too loud to sneak up to the house." Alistar said as he drove, looking around the parking deck until he saw the car he wanted. "Unlock it while I park." without another word, Sean jumped out and started working as Alistar sped off. As soon as he came running back to their new car, Sean was just about finished unlocking it as they smoothly traded sides.
Just like Alistar said, this other car was eerily silent, but still impressively fast. They kept driving for another hour before they went off into a side road and then a trail with tire prints.
"Where did you get the gun and silencer?" Alistar asked, not taking his eyes off the dirt road ahead of them.
"Annya." was all Sean had to say before Alistar nodded with a smile on his face.
"She never settled with her weaponry. Does she know you have it?"
"I can lie and say yes, or I can be honest and say no, and you can protect me from her wrath once we get her back." Sean said and the man laughed beside him. Once they were a good enough distance away, Alistar parked and they both silently got out, but made sure the doors were open for a quick getaway.
"Wait for a man to be out of the line of sight of the others around him to take your shot. No survivors. Are you up for it?" Alistar whispered, as they both looked at the house. Sean looked from Alistar to the house before taking a breath and nodding. The man looked at him for a second before also nodding.
"You go right, I go left, meet back here once you're done with them." with another nod from Sean, they both went their own way.
Sean expected it to be harder to pull the trigger, but he had to keep reminding himself that they knew Annya was there and that they turned a blind eye, knowing what her own brother was doing to her, probably even happy about it. He had a few left, when he saw Alestar sneak up beside him and take out the last two men.
"What now?" Sean asked.
"Walk through the front door." Alistar said with a shrug, then smiled when he saw Sean's wide eyes and open mouth.
"You just killed eight people, and this is your hang up?" Alistare joked.
"I don't like how comfortable you are about that." he mumbled as they walked to the front door.
~~~
After a second, the three locks clicked open and one of the guards came in with his gun drawn.
"You don't need that. I'm just losing circulation in my feet. I need the ties loosened." he didn't move. He just stood there weighing his options. She just waited for him, but knew he would eventually give in. he let out a sigh before he approached her, keeping his eyes glued to her, not noticing her legs weren't restrained until he was close enough to to get a strong blow to his nose, and while he was already down, she stood up and threw herself and the chair on him. Upon impact, the chair shattered and her arms were free. She took off the cloth from around her neck and placed it in his mouth, making sure it was too tight for him to move or make a sound before she hit him on the head hard enough to knock him out.
Once she knew he was unconscious, she got the two guns and a knife he had, and made some more noise to make it sound like a struggle, making the second guard walk in, but as soon as the door opened, she pulled the trigger, and dragged him into the room and walked out, locking the door.
She slowly and quietly walked the hall she knew so well, making sure her back was to the wall and she was out of sight. She was glad that this place didn't have cameras or long range communication devices as she walked, making sure she listened to any mumbeling or walking, and doing the same thing she did before, separating the guards and taking them out one by one, trying to make as little sound as possible.
"Anya." a familiar voice said from behind her. He sounded sad, almost apologetic. She didn't need to hear the click of the gun to know it was pointing at her.
She let out a breathy chuckle, turning around with her bloody hands up by her head.
"Uncle's done a number on you since our parents died. When did he turn you against me?" she said in a quiet voice.
"Anya, please don't make me do this. Just go back and I'll cover up what you've done, Uncle doesn't need to know."
He pleaded.
"What would mom and dad say?"
"Nothing. They're dead." there was no emotion in his voice.
"They trusted you with me." she reasoned. "They always have."
"Then trust me. Go back and I'll make sure you don't get hurt." there was obvious pain in his eyes, but she didn't care.
"The difference between you and me, Alex, is that I would never put you in harm's way, let alone lead you into it." she seethed.
"I don't have a choice, Anya.'' There were tears starting to pool in his eyes, but she wasn't phased.
"What are you going to do once I'm dead? What are you going to tell people?" she asked, slowly approaching him.
"Keep my position. I'll tell them you ran away again. They already think you disappeared for two months and ran off to america."
"I was kidnapped and then shipped off, and you told everyone I ran away?" There was clear anger in her eyes as venom laced her voice. Alex took a step back as she got close, which brought on a smile to her face.
"You are nothing without dad, and you are nothing without me. You will run this organization into the ground, and not even uncle will be able to save it. Everything our family has worked fo-" suddenly there was a sharp pain in her side. She wasn't sure if he meant to take a non-lethal shot or if he just didn't know his anatomy.
"You always were a prideful coward." she seethed, as blood spilled between her fingers.
"Anya, please." his voice was strained and a single tear ran down his face.
"You haven't cried since you were a child. Even when our parents died, not once did you cry. But now that you're killing your own sister, do you shed tears." she said, in a silent chuckle.
"You know he will make you do it, right? He will need you to be cold and ruthless, and the only way to do that now is to have you betray your baby sister, watch her suffer and then kill her. He will make you look at me dead in the eyes as my life slips away. He might even have you torture me." another chuckle. "You wouldn't even let a boy talk to me in school. I would have to sneak them in and when you caught us, you said you won't tell dad, but you would terrify the hell out of them, then lecture me and not forgive me for days." more tears started spilling over and his bottom lip started to shake.
"Anya." he took a shaky breath, unable to speak above a whisper. "Please. You don't need to make this harder than it has to be."
"For who, brother?"
"Anestasia." he said in a stronger voice, but his eyes were still desperate.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting orders from uncle?" she seethed, as her breathing became shallow.
"I needed to check on you."
"Yah? How do I look to you? Am I well? Are your worries put to rest?" she joked, holding up her bloody hand from her wound so they could both see it.
"You did it to yourself." he said, holding his head up. He was trying to convince himself more than her. To ease some of his guilt. "I tried to tell you, and you knew what would happen. It was out of my hands."
"Is that what you told yourself every step of the way? It's out of your hands?" Anya was starting to get weak, but she refused to show it. If she passes out, her brother will take her right back to where she came from and she will be both trapped and shot. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and before Annya could look back at what he was seeing, she felt a sharp pain in her scalp, pulling her head back.
"Now, your grace, what are you doing out of your chambers?" Artyomov seethed into her ears, and Alex looked terrified.
"I just wanted to stretch my legs." she replied in a weak voice with an accompanying smile.
"What have we done to ourselves?" he asked, looking at the blood pooling her shirt.
"Uncle." Alex's eyes were wide as saucers, with his hands up, trying to stop him. "Uncle, no. sto-" his words were cut off by his sister's pain filled screams as their uncle dug his finger into her bullet wound.
"Like you said, Alexander. She knew what would happen. It was out of our hands." he Quoted as Alex's horror-filled eyes never left Annya's weakened body.
"This was never supposed to happen," he whispered. "This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Well of course not, but you know what happens when a prisoner tries to get defiant. She killed our men, she has to pay." another round of screams came out as he squeezed her injured side. "Don't worry about it, princess. I'll get that bullet out and stitch you up until you're good as new." Artyomov quietly said into her ear.
"Why?" Alex asked skeptically, not wanting to hear the answer, but needing to know.
"Well, you got to let out your frustration out on her, I feel like it's only fair that I get a turn." His voice was menacing as he pulled her hand back further to get a better look on her face.
"Uncle, please. This has gone too far." Alex pleaded, stepping closer to them.
"Show your elders some respect, boy!" Artyomov yelled, pulling her head back again and squeezing her injuries, making her scream in pain. She was barely able to keep her eyes open at this point, but she was too scared to pass out. "I'm doing this for you. I'm doing all of this for you! She is the only thing in the way of you getting everything you want! Everything you need! It all will be at your fingertips when she's gone."
"Fine, then kill her. We don't need to do all this." Alex argued, not caring if his desperation or tears showed.
"Oh, don't worry, King, you will. Let me just show her what it's like to be treated like a lady before she goes." he said with a smile that would scare even the devil.
"UNCLE, STOP!" Alex yelled, pointing the gun now at Artyomov who just laughed.
"What will you do, boy? Kill me? Where will that lead you? What will happen when everyone sees your dead uncle, sister and a house full of dead mobsters? What conclusion would that give people. You'll be kicked out, on the streets. I can raise you to power higher than you could ever imagine."
"I don't care. I'm out. Leave her alone." Alex demanded, not caring if his tears were undermining his tone, but that only made Artyomov laugh harder.
"Out? You don't get out. You know this. The only way out is death, and I know you don't want that."
"Let her go, Artyomov. I won't ask again.'' This time Alex's voice was strong and his finger was already on the trigger. At this point, Annya was hardly hanging on, only held up by the grip her uncle had on her hair and injured side.
"Good. I'm tired of this conversation anyway. He said as he forced Annya's legs to move with him, knowing she was finally too weak to fight back."
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