'Leon, Kai's on the line,' Val said as he popped his head into the office.
Leon jumped from his chair, his eyes wide. He took the proffered phone in his hands, let out a lengthy exhale, then placed the device at his ear.
'Kai?'
'I heard you're making a move,' he said. 'Let's work together.'
'What?'
'What are your plans?' he went on.
Apparently, he wasn't very eloquent when it came to the other Yazumi sibling. Leon relayed their plans in a few sentences, after which Kai reported what he could contribute. Mickey would keep in touch with him after that to firm up when and how they would act.
When the call ended, Leon raised his head, surprised to find that Val was still at the door.
'Are you scared of him?'
'Of course not!' he exclaimed, handing the phone over. Then he wrinkled his nose. 'Maybe a little. Do you remember the party we had after the wedding?'
Val nodded, the side of his mouth quirked in expectation of a story.
'When the guests were leaving,' Leon went on, 'he came up to me and said "For every time you hurt my sister, I'll cut off your finger. For every time you break her heart, I'll cut off more than that."'
It was a while later when Mickey met him at the passageway with a last minute confirmation of their plans. His cheeky grin was gone, replaced by serious features that one would normally see on Val instead.
"That's good," Leon said, when Mickey had finished the explanation, "We'll do that."
"Just remember the air freshener, alright?"
"I will," he said with a slight smile as he patted the other man on the back. "Don't worry."
~
"Good luck."
He nodded his head and let out a grunt as he stepped out of the warm car and into the snowy sidewalk. The streets were quiet on both sides, with not a soul to be seen. Even the neighbouring houses were as empty as ever, with 'For Sale' signs hammered into their front lawns.
Juan's squat, brown house he'd been to just a month before seemed as decrepit as ever, and looked like as if it were about to collapse under its thick layer of snow. He heaved a sigh as he tilted his head up to the structure, and let out a long, drawn out breath. He couldn't spot any movements; not even a shadow behind the windows, or a shift in the curtains.
"Seems like nobody, boss," one of his men said, immediately confirming his thoughts.
They couldn't have suddenly moved out, could they?
Meanwhile, the car that was their transport slowly backed out before driving away. The sinking feeling in him grew even larger as he watched its tail lights disappear into a curtain of snow. If the plan went well today, he and his crew of five wouldn't have any contact with the rest of his men for the next few days until the next snowfall. And why did it have to snow today? He tugged his red scarf even higher up his face and blinked the snow flakes out of his eyes.
Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, he gestured to his men.
"Come on. Time to find out if anyone's home."
They crossed the street cautiously, their eyes shifting left and right, watching out for guards. A sense of foreboding settled in him as he took the first step into the front lawn, with his men right behind him. His rifle was held tight in his cold hands, and he had a finger Just at the trigger, ready to fire.
All of a sudden, the door burst open. Gunfire rang out.
~
Hana woke up to the sound of gunshots.
She immediately sat up in bed and pulled the sheets off her, then turned to Sabine. The other girl was just stirring, her expression scared and confused.
"What was that?" she mumbled, struggling to push herself up, her voice laden with sleep.
"Guns..." Hana whispered.
"Oh. Oh God," she shakily muttered, as if suddenly aware of the loud pops of the guns going off. "Asier's gonna be down there."
"I'll check it out." She grabbed her jacket that laid just on the top of the drawer, stuffed her arms in it, then forced her feet on the frozen floor.
"What are you doing?" Sabine exclaimed, "It's dangerous!"
She gave the girl a backwards glance and a smile.
"Don't worry. I won't go down."
I only want to know if it's him or not. Because I hope he hasn't really come.
~
The noise had ceased once she reached the landing. A single, muffled voice travelled up, and she instantly recognised it as Juan's. Scooting as close as she dared to the edge of the wall, she stood with her back to it. The wall ran just beside the staircase, but thankfully hid her from everyone else downstairs.
"So you have finally come", she heard him say in a low tone. "I didn't expect you in this weather."
There was a silence. Her forehead creased and her heart thumped noisily in expectancies as she waited for an answer.
"That's too bad," came a second person.
His voice! It's him!
Her hands instantly flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Turning around slowly, she peeked over the edge of the wall.
Her eyes widened.
He was there, in the middle of the room, his arms casually across his chest. More than a dozen men surrounded him, every single one of them bearing some sort of weapon, ready to attack. His back was straight though, and he was staring down at Juan, as if it were he who'd won.
In that instant, his eyes flicked up.
He seemed to have spotted her, but he immediately turned his attention back to Juan, who had caught his gaze. She felt her body stiffen when Juan tilted his head slightly to the left, as if sensing an unwelcome presence. She almost thought he would call her out when he opened his mouth again, but it was only to give an order.
"Give them the usual."
A guard behind Leon kicked him at the back of the knees, and he instantly collapsed, although with a smirk across his features.
"Don't spoil his pretty face though," he said as he was about to turn to leave. "I have other plans for that."
Her stomach twisted at the words, and the horribly scarred face of Danilo popped up in her mind. Juan wouldn't do that, would he? But there was no time to think about that.
A shout almost left her when five men instantly sprang on Leon, punching and kicking him as he struggled to get up. Other men were attacked too, and she guessed them to be his people.
"No!"
She caught the flick of a knife, and heard his groan. Their eyes met, his tormented, hers scared.
No, no, no. You shouldn't have come, Leon. You shouldn't have.
"Hey, you!"
A guard running up the stairs startled her back to her position behind the wall.
"Get back in your room. You shouldn't be here!"
~
The volley of gun shots was followed by rapid shouting in Spanish.
"Detengase! Stop!"
"Stop shooting!"
"He wants them alive!"
The gunfire peppered out, but a dozen rifles still stared him in the face.
Men advanced towards him, and he could feel his own men slowly moving to his side in a protective formation.
The one who'd did most of the shouting pushed to the front, and Leon noted that he was without a weapon.
"You're outnumbered here, and we have more men inside."
He took another step forward.
"Put your rifle down, or he'll shoot the girl."
So this is where it starts and ends, is it?
He spotted a figure in one of the top windows, and a chuckle left his frozen lips.
"He'll shoot the girl, eh?"
He gave his men a nod, and they slowly lowered the weapons. He did the same too. Their guns were then taken from them, and they were prodded from head to toe for any hidden items.
"Well?", he asked, when the last man checking his pockets took a step back.
"Come with us."
~
Thank goodness he has some heating installed, was the first thought in his head. Juan was waiting at the foot of the stairs, a wide grin on his face, as if he were a Christmas present come late.
"Welcome, Leonidas. So you have finally come. I didn't expect you in this weather."
Juan's eyes flickered to the space behind him, where the windows probably were. A snowstorm was brewing outside, and the strong winds were pushing against the window panes, making an eerie whine.
His lip curled into a slight smile as he stared straight at the man.
"That's too bad."
He shrugged a shoulder and stepped towards Leon with his head slightly bowed.
"Too bad or not, I still have to deal with you being here."
He exchanged some words with a guard in Spanish, and in that brief moment, Leon caught some sort of movement from the corner of his eye.
Who is that? There was someone on the upper level watching them, but that person had disappeared once he spotted her. There was no time to wonder; a new order was given, and even though he had expected this sort of 'welcome', he was ashamed to go through it.
"Give them the usual," Juan said.
He buckled to his knees as he was kicked in the back. His men moved to help him, but they were brought down as eel, subdued by two or even three men each. He couldn't help but shake his head at the absurdity of the situation. Usually, no one could take him down like that, he wouldn't allow them.
But this time, he thought, this time, I'll let him win.
Control yourself!, he kept telling himself as he fought the urge to give his captor a kick to the groin. They were certainly outnumbered, and he hated going down without a fight, but they had a plan to follow. So much planning had gone into this mission. He couldn't spoil it when it had just started.
"Don't spoil his pretty face though", he heard Juan say before he left. "I have other plans for that."
Other plans? Then, he remembered the boy whose face he'd destroyed just a few months ago, and his screams when he'd carved the blade into his skin. Ah, tit for tat?
I probably deserve that.
~
A/N: I wonder what will happen next! Remember to comment and vote!