Dedicated to:OmotayoKofoworola
Thank you for reading my book to the end!
"You attack one of us...you attack all of us."
~ promptuarium.wordpress.com
Carlton's POV
Jovan pointed a gun at Augustus' head, his back to me. Immediately, the men who were holding me, reacted by attempting to attack him.
Something interrupted them.
A sharp shatter of a glass and a zip slicing through the air, made us all turn. Augustus' head of acquisitions, the man who was handling the contract, had his head blown to tatters as he collided with the ground.
He had just been sniped.
Panic arose in the hall, people running everywhere away from him. One by one, we watched them being sniped from somewhere through the windows.
The men around me aimed their guns at Jovan, but he wouldn't move.
Before they could hurt him, someone started shooting from the back. It all happened so quickly. All of them were on the floor, leaving me gaping at them with bewilderment, while Augustus went pale. I looked back to see who the mysterious shooter was and when I did, it felt as if a cool breeze washed over my senses.
Breanna Riley took her coat off, untying her bun to reveal her hair flowing behind her elegantly. Her gaze was focused on Augustus as she stepped right on the platform amongst all the chaos, reloading her gun.
"Breanna," he gulped, "Let's talk-"
She shot him twice, once on the shoulder and once more on his thigh, throwing a smile at him over his screams. "I won't make that mistake again."
Time slowed down when she turned to me, rays of sunshine illuminating her hair strands golden as they swayed with the breeze. Her lips twitched into a beam when she leaned down at me sprawled on the floor, speechless. Reaching for me, she asked, "Need a hand?"
I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. The knife wound in my thigh stung and I tripped again, but she held me close. "You did amazing." Her face was so close to me, if I leaned in just a little bit-
"Aye, you lovebirds!" Jovan snapped us out of it. "We're in the middle of an ambush!"
Shit. I totally forgot about Jovan and some sniper-guy handling all the remaining men in the room.
"Right!" Breanna voiced, racing off the platform without me. "Carlton, get out! We'll be right with you!"
"But-"
"Just go! You're hurt!"
She was right. In this condition, I was more of a burden than support. My whole body ached as I stumbled down the platform toward the metallic gate, after taking one last look at wincing Augustus. A man in the corner of my eye, raised his gun at me, but Breanna shot him down. "I'm covering you!"
I fell on the handles of the door. Sounds of gunfire pelting on walls, metal, wood,...people, filled my ears as I pushed the door open. Bright sunlight infected my vision, coaxing me to squeeze my eyes shut. My frail knees gave up, and I tripped, but someone wrapped their arms around me.
When my eyes adjusted to the brightness, tears brimmed and threatened to fall. Amidst the smoky gunfire and dust particles flying about, Dylan's blue eyes exchanged a joyful sparkle with me.
"Dylan?" I whimpered.
"Long time no see," he grinned, hooking his arm around my waist to steady me.
Again, I had become distracted and failed to see a man darting in our direction. "It's Carlton! Don't let him escape!"
Dylan gasped.
Someone shot that man down; he fell face first a few feet away from us, revealing the person who had shot him from behind. A smile formed on my face, a tear finally sliding down my cheek.
"Damien, my man!" Dylan cheered.
Damien did not look happy. "You idiot! You almost got Carlton killed! I told you to-"
Explosive gunfire erupted from across the room but we were shielded by men in black coats and black hats. They worked for my father, didn't they? One of them yelled over their shoulder, "Get him outta here!"
"I'll cover both of you." Damien tightened the grip on his gun, ushering us towards another door that probably let us out of this building.
Dylan held me closer, endeavouring to help me stand up, but it felt as if all the bones in my body had crumbled away, as if millions of nails were exploding on my injuries. I had pushed myself beyond my capabilities.
"C'mon, Carlton." Dylan encouraged me, his whispers lingering in my ear. "Just a little more!"
I had almost hoisted myself up, whilst pain was banging against my thigh and my ripped shoulder. Someone approached behind me, wrapping my other arm around his shoulder, helping me stand up completely.
I looked up to see him and got my hundredth shock of the day.
"Eye for an eye," Raymond huffed as he and Dylan helped me stagger through the smoke and grim, Damien leading us out. The outside air hit me like a hopeful dream, making me feel alive and...optimistic.
And then we paused.
Someone was standing in the center of the expansive factory compound, just done shooting a man.
Caden Hargrave turned around to see me all torn apart, while he looked like he just escaped from a zombie apocalypse. It was funny how he was out here on the field, actually trying to save me, instead of sitting in his office and just giving orders.
We all stared at one another and the fallen bodies around the ground. Well...what now?
"Where are they?!" Damien asked Caden, to which Caden shrugged, turning his head in all directions.
"Watch out!" We heard a girl shrieking and looked in the direction of the factory. Breanna and Jovan were running towards us, dodging the raining bullets of the men following them.
All of us panicked and got into our stances. Since I was basically immobile, Dylan held me as we knelt on the ground; Caden, Raymond and Damien, followed by Breanna and Jovan, standing in a circle around me, safeguarding me.
That was a moment.
It took me a while to take it all in. Even though our enemies were surrounding us in all directions, my heart beat with relieving glee that I hadn't felt in months. It was so heart-warming to see my friends protecting me and putting their lives on the line, just like I had done for them.
"What're we gonna do?!" Breanna screamed at Caden, as she shot at the enemies.
The number of enemies were gradually increasing. Some of them were being sniped down from somewhere, but our circle was getting smaller as timed ticked by. Dylan was trying his utmost to guard me as much as he could. We almost got shot at if it weren't for Raymond.
Dylan and I exchanged an exasperated glance. We needed to help somehow. "Where's your gun?" I asked him over the sound of bullets showering in the distance
He pursed his lips into a thin line and smiled. "Damien didn't allow me to have one." For once Damien had made a thoughtful decision concerning Dylan; I would never want him to handle a gun.
"Caden?!" Damien screamed deterrently.
"What am I supposed to do?!" He yelled back at him.
A loud thundering, cracking sound filled the atmosphere, hushing all the gunmen present in the area. All of us ducked as if lightning was falling from the sky. We all turned to look in the direction of the noise, and saw several vehicals rushing to us.
Wait, was that...the police?!
Soon enough, we realised that several police cars had broken right through the main gate of the facility and were gradually surrounding the whole area from all directions. Sirens blared painfully in our ears, red and blue lights bouncing off the facility, under the greying evening sky.
We were all fucked.
Involuntarily, I put my hands on my head.
The doors of the police cars slammed open and an announcement reached our ears. "Drop your weapons and put your hands on your head-"
Our enemies began shooting at them without a flinch, completely forgetting about us.
My friends backed away, Dylan helping me along the way. A few policemen approached behind us and before I stretched my arms in front so they could handcuff me, they patted Caden's back in a frenzy.
"Are you guys okay?!" The elder policeman asked.
"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows.
"All of you, go on ahead," the younger policeman said, pulling us back from the shooting scene, "We'll handle it from here."
A black SUV darted through all the gunfire and skidded to a stop right in front of all us. The window rolled down and almost instantly, I lost count of all my shocks that day.
"Alexandra Bancroft?!" All of us asked at the same time, except Caden.
Alexandra stuck her head out of the SUV. "Ugh! Just hurry up get in!"
I knew Caden and Alexandra were secretly sleeping together! I just knew it!
Enemies poured in from all directions and giving a tough time even to the policemen. Caden began pushing us into the SUV immediately. "C'mon! I'll explain later!"
Jovan backed away. "I'll help out here."
I pulled away from Dylan's grip, looking wretchedly at Jovan, who I had always respected and cared for. I opened my mouth to argue but he interrupted me.
"See you later, son." He smiled, pulling out two pistols and walking away to help the policemen. I attempted to stop him but Raymond grabbed me, his eyes urging me to let Jovan go, and determinedly hauled me toward the SUV.
Breanna pulled Damien into the backseat, Dylan and Raymond helped me climb into the middle, squashing me between them, while Caden got into the passenger seat beside Alexandra.
There was space between Breanna and Damien in the back seat. Jovan could've easily fit there. Tears formed in my eyes as my friends adjusted me so my wounds would hurt less.
My eyes landed on some of our enemies climbing into cars while looking at us. "Umm...guys?"
Alexandra saw it and immediately revved the engines, Caden chanting distressingly as the SUV gathered speed. "Go, go, go!"
The evening sky was stained red, night falling upon us. The sun still peaked betwixt the skyscrapers stretching into the heavens, a calm stillness blanketing the atmosphere, and a cold breeze leading the birds to their shelters.
And amongst this calm stillness, Alexandra's savage driving broke through the silence of the empty streets. She evaded cars and criss-crossed down the very much straight roads to dodge the bullets being fired upon us, from the cars that were following us.
Raymond, Breanna and Damien were all trying to gun down the people in those cars, or shooting the tyres, but they weren't much successful. Damien bellowed with rage as he missed yet again. I grabbed the seats anxiously, gulping down my heart that was thudding in my throat. Dylan, beside me, also looked pretty terrified but he still gripped my arm; either to keep me steady, or to give him momentary comfort because he was shivering as well.
The window beside Breanna suddenly shattered as a bullet fired through it, and she shreiked with fear as she ducked down.
"Breanna!" I forgot all my injuries as I turned around in my seat, scanning her for potential wounds. But she looked okay.
"Fuckin' hell," Raymond, who was next to me, cursed under his breath, reloading his rifle. Then he did the single most craziest thing I'd ever seen. He rolled his window down and stuck his whole body out of it, firing rounds like a maniac.
He shot several tyres and the drivers, knocking down two out of five cars. I was dumbfounded beyond measure to see so much courage sprouting out of a single human being.
Alexandra took a sharp cut with the SUV, and I lurched forward, grabbing Raymond's legs before he was sent flying out of the window. "You're fucking crazy, you know that?!" I yelled at him but chuckled at the same time as he got back into the car, grinning from ear to ear.
One of the cars caught up with us, driving side by side on left. The driver of the car whipped out a gun, pointing it straight at Caden.
Horror made my face go pale, and I screamed, "Caden, watch out!" Caden petrifyingly ducked down but a loud gunshot was heard.
That car crashed into the side of the street and I noticed that Alexandra had removed a gun a shot the man with one hand, whilst driving with the other; it was a whole another shade of cool.
Caden couldn't stop smiling at her. She turned to him and smiled back, mocking him. "Dummy."
That he was.
We had left those remaining two cars behind, but yet again I was consumed with confusion as Alexandra halted between an alleyway. Everyone fell silent for a while, only the car engines roared and our raspy breaths mingled.
I was about to ask why we had stopped but I paused when the overhead sunroof of the SUV slid open. We all waited for a while and all of a sudden, someone jumped into the SUV through that sunroof. My heart jumped when Alexandra slammed on the accelerator and began driving again.
The two cars following us were chasing us again, Raymond, Breanna and Damien getting back to shooting at them.
I looked back in awe.
"Woohoo!" Ace Bennet cheered radiantly. He was now sitting between Breanna and Damien, holding an easily more than one meter long sniper in his hands.
Overjoyed when he saw me, Ace hoisted himself up in his seat. "Oh my God, Carlton! Did you see that?! Did you see what I did?!"
I was so happy to see him, that it was impossible to erase the smile off my face.
"I was sniping them all down like a fuckin' pro!" He screamed in excitement, pointing the sniper straight toward my face. "I was like pow, pow, pow-"
"Let's-" Damien gripped the muzzle of the sniper, turning it away from me. "Let's not do that."
"Hey Mr. Sniper guy!" Breanna called him. "We're sort of dying here?!"
Ace proudly loaded his sniper, raising his eyebrows at me. "Watch me." He turned around, first of all, shattering the back window of the car and then aligning his sniper through it.
One by one, he sniped down the tyres of both the cars, that sent the cars hauling into the sky and crashing down, exploding into sweltering flames as we all looked away.
"And that's how it's done, baby!" Ace hooted with elation, Damien patting his back with pride.
We escaped the area, the explosion becoming smaller and smaller as we went further away. Suddenly engulfed in serenity, we all sighed and lay down in our seats, exhausted out of our wits.
It was a wild evening, I had to admit. The series of events that had gone down in just a couple of hours was making me question reality. Especially the fact that Caden had convinced the police to be on his side. For the next couple of minutes, we calmly drove down the New York roads, streetlights turning on as darkness fell.
I was quite taken aback by the bravery they all had shown, but I had no idea that the biggest shock of day was yet to happen.
Alexandra parked her car in a random parking lot in the middle of a street I couldn't recognise. We all got down, Dylan and Raymond helping me out.
Why were we here of all places? I had questions but I was too humbled by my friends to ask them anything yet.
Breanna dropped her weapon and squeezed me into a hug, my face burying in her neck.
I was however, interrupted by a car entering the parking lot that we were in. I looked up to see an elaborate, polished, matt black Bugatti stop in front of us. A man in a coat and a hat stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the door of the passenger's seat.
Another man climbed out from it, his expensive brogue shoes glimmering under the faded radiance of the streetlights, the lavishness of his suit overpowering all our attires combined. He removed his black hat, his fingers embellished with pricey rings.
I stopped blinking, a jolt resonating down my spine. "Father?"
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I had so much fun writing this omgg!! This was last action scene of the whole book. I'm wheeping (T_T)
Hope you enjoyed it! Please do vote if you did ^^
Love, K!