Victoria firmly gripped her brother's hand, pulling him out the terrace doors, her footsteps light as she trotted across the ballroom. Marcello followed his sister aimlessly, his mind becoming overwhelmed with emotions. They trained him to be a merciless, unfeeling killer, but everyone had their weakness. His Achilles heel was his sorella, Victoria. When the fighting broke out, he was terrified as he searched the area for his sister. As he was fighting, he sighed with relief as he saw his sister tackle one of the masked men.
"Where are we going?" Marcello whispered. He noticed on the terrace there were five of the masked men laying aimlessly on the floor. Some were bleeding out onto the terrace floor, their blood running like the red sea. Victoria paid no attention. She continued to bustle past as she pulled him by his hand.
"We were going to find the Batmobile." She rolled her eyes as her voice dripped with sarcasm. "We are heading to a vehicle that I have had stationed nearby. Just across the road, down an alley."
Marcello's eyes widened with surprise. He tightly clasped her hand as he followed her past the terrace and through the adjourning garden. The garden wasn't well lit, like the terrace. It encased them in darkness; the shrubs hiding them away from prying eyes. Victoria had her back against the shrubbery. Only flickers of blue and lights were creeping through the gaps as they got closer to the main road. Victoria paused, Marcello's brows furrowed. Victoria's neck shifted left and right, scouting the area. She scanned the area to make sure they were alone before reaching out to pull back the thick brown branch, its green leaves brushing against her hand. Marcello walked in front of Victoria, almost peaking his head out when she abruptly removed her hand from her brother. She stretched his hand out, stopping him from taking a step. Marcello's head snapped in her direction where he saw her, placed her middle finger on her lips, implying that he needs to be quiet. He took a step and watched as his sister popped her head through the gap.
Victoria's eyes flickered across the street, observing as the entrance, she noted that there was an obscene amount of police. There were a few people from the media clicking and snapping their pictures. A few were being held back by police officers as they tried to slip past the barricades. Victoria checked the other side to see that there were a few pedestrians scattered across the street, trying to walk away from the crime scene. She didn't hesitate as she dragged her brother by the arm and slipped behind a group that was heading in the same direction as the alley. Marcello couldn't help but turn his head toward the hotel where he witnessed the excessive crowd gathering. Victoria lifted her hand, smacking him across the back of the head.
"Ouch." Marcello quickly muttered, lifting his hand and rubbing the sore spot on his head.
"Head down, eyes low. We do not need your ugly face sprayed across the papers tomorrow." Victoria replied as she bowed her head. Marcello imitated her actions and looped his arm through hers. He gently felt her pull as she stepped from the crowd and slipped through a dark and narrow alley.
As they walked down the alley, Victoria's heels clacked louder and soon drowned out the police sirens. At the end of the tunnel, two enormous and muscular men greeted them. The men wore black suits and their backs straightened as their eyes caught Victoria and Marcello walking towards them.
"Donna." Both respectfully bowed their head.
"Boys." She responded. She strutted past them, still clutching her brother's hand as she yanked him to the side of the black car where she flung open the passenger door. She pushed Marcello's head into the car, with his body following behind. "Put your seatbelt on." She ordered. Victoria then slammed the door shut, then walked a back to the men, gave them a curt nod, making her way to the passenger seat. Both men followed her lead and made their way into the free seats in the car's front.
Victoria shuffled into her seat. The fresh smell of leather soon dissipated as a thick smell of iron tickled through her nose. She gazed at her dress, noticing that there were small flickers of blood on her gown. She looked at her brother, who had splatters of blood covering his suit. Fortunately, his suit was a deep burgundy colour, which subtly camouflaged the blood.
"Did you bring what I asked for?" Victoria questioned.
"Yes Donna. The package is the boot, and I strapped the guns to the bottom of our seats." One man replied.
"Excellent. Make your way to the designated spot." She ordered before she perched on the edge of her seat. Her hand stretched underneath the front car seat until her hand gripped the cold metal gun. She wiggled it out of tape and pulled it. Before she could settle, she reached over her brother's lap and searched under the seat in front of him; grabbing the gun before chucking it onto his lap.
Marcello's eyes widened in disbelief. His mouth was gapping in surprise. "How? What?" His mutterings soon turning to whispers.
"I think the response is, 'Thank you sister, you saved my life." Victoria's voice hummed with delight.
"I still don't understand how?" Marcello's eyes narrowed as he slumped in his seat.
"Did you really think that we would be safe at that event?" She cryptically replied.
"What do you mean? What the hell happened?" Marcello anxiously asked.
Victoria sighed deeply. "Did you not see the bodies scattered on the terrace? They were aiming to kidnap me. Unfortunately, they underestimated their enemy." She let out a deep chuckle.
"Now is not the time for laughing! They attacked you and you were on your own! They could have killed you!" He shouted.
"They tried. Fratello, you know I am difficult to kill." Victoria explained. Marcello ran his hand down his face before pinching the bridge of his nose. She knew that her brother's patience was running thin. "Fratello, calm down. I am safe, other than a broken rib and a few bruises. I am alive and well." Her voice was soft and reassuring. She stroked his arm up and down, offering her comfort as she tried to curb his anxieties.
"Tell me what happened?" He heaved out as he tightly pursed his lips.
"You can't expect us not to be a target. They rumoured the mysterious princess of the oldest and strongest Mafia was to be making her debut." She hummed.
"You mean that your were behind those rumours?" He said in disbelief.
"Of course." She nodded her head.
"Why?" Marcello questioned.
"Take it as a strategic guess. I knew I would be a target. So, I was baiting the fish." Victoria explained.
Marcello's face hardened as the words lingered in his eyes. His eyes sparked with hatred and anger as he pieced the puzzle together. "You're still searching for Padre's murderer?" His words were quiet. Even if he was asking a question, it was almost rhetorical.
"I never stopped." An unspoken pain filled Victoria's voice. Her eyes were hazy. Although tears filled her eyes, Victoria didn't let a single drop escape.
"Why? Why didn't you tell me? We could have put more security in place, we could have done more! What if something happened to you?" Marcello rattled out the sentences before he could even process them in his mind.
"That is exactly why I didn't tell you. Fratello, I love you deeply and I know my safety comes before anything else." She grabbed his hand and tightly squeezed it. "But things needed to play out the way they did. If we changed the security, which hasn't changed for the last five years, then they wouldn't have made a plan to attack. They have been looking for leverage against our family since our father's demise. I was just a fish they couldn't quite catch." She smirked.
"Haven't you given yourself away? Won't they know who you are?" Marcello worriedly questioned.
"They won't, because I took care of them before they could even mutter my name. Only the trusted members of the Mafia know I am the head. For years I have been searching for padre's killer, only to meet a dead end each time. It was time for us to go on the offensive side." She finished.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Marcello quietly murmured.
"Because we don't know who our enemy is and you would have never left me on my own. Your overprotectiveness would have only made them hesitate about attacking me. Whoever killed papa and whoever tried to kill me was at that party." Victoria's voice filled with venom and vengeance as she her fingers clawed into his hand.
"You're hurting me sorella." He gently whispered. She released her grip and gave him an apologetic look. "What's the plan?" He heaved.
"We find the bastardo and then we torture him slowly and kill him." She smirked, her eyes twinkling with a vengeance.
"Donna, we are here." The man driving the vehicle announced.
"Excellent." She clapped her hands together and swung open the door.
"Where are we?" He replied as he opened the door, noticing that they were at in the middle of nowhere. The road was coarse and made up of rubble.
"Somewhere. Now get the clothes out of the boot and start changing." She explained as she looked over her shoulder, her small bits of hair swaying in the gentle breeze.