Final Attack
****
“How does it feel? Is it painful?” Luca asked, laughing. His hand extended to reach Kaivan’s face, forcing him to meet his gaze. “This is just the beginning. I can give you an even harsher lesson, you damn brat!” he exclaimed harshly.
Kaivan could feel the pain and agony in his chest and spine from being repeatedly struck by Luca’s henchman. However much he was hurting, Kaivan couldn’t show his weakness. He raised his head, staring back at Luca without flinching.
“Do you think I’m foolish?” Luca spoke again. “I may be old, but I’ve experienced attacks like this quite a bit, young man,” he continued. “I’ve taken every precaution to face you all. Just so you know, I don’t care if I get captured tonight. My goal now is simple, to erase you!”
“Unfortunately, I’m not scared of you in the slightest.”
Kaivan grinned, openly taunting the middle-aged man in front of him. He didn’t care about his vulnerable position right now.
“Oh, really?” Luca retorted. He shifted his attention to the woman who was equally defenseless beside Kaivan. Slowly, the older man pulled a pistol from his clothing pocket, aiming it directly at Anna Maria’s head.
“What if I shoot this woman in front of you?” he asked Kaivan. There was a mocking tone in his words. “I want to see if you’ll still be as arrogant. By the way, it wouldn’t be difficult for me to kill her right before your eyes. Or, if shooting her is too simple, I could have Mateo sample your wife’s body before ending her life.”
Kaivan’s anger surged. He struggled to break free, using all his strength to escape from the men restraining him.
“By God, if you dare lay a finger on my wife, even a strand of her hair, I swear I’ll chase you to hell, Luca!”
A loud laughter erupted from Luca’s lips. The middle-aged man seemed quite pleased as he laughed at his arch-nemesis.
While engrossed in their conversation, a loud noise emanated from inside the room, coming from a helicopter engine. Two Sisilian members entered the room hastily, bearing urgent news.
“Sir, it seems our headquarters is surrounded by the enemy. You should leave this place immediately!”
Luca turned his gaze towards Mateo, knowing exactly what he needed to do. He acted as if he had already anticipated all the possible bad outcomes.
“Mikael, Mateo,” he called. “Take my captives out of here immediately. We’re relocating them to Palermo. Meanwhile, the rest of you will resume attacking anyone who enters this compound.”
Both of them nodded in understanding. They hurriedly dragged Anne and Kaivan through the underground passage, rushing to exit the compound without being detected. Outside, there were several standby cars. They quickly loaded Anne and Kaivan into one of the cars and sped away from the compound.
Meanwhile, Noah and Julie, having successfully entered the building, meticulously checked every corner. They even combed through the underground area and found no one.
Frustrated that their intended targets had escaped, Noah grabbed one of the Sicilian members he had incapacitated earlier. He struck the man and forced him to reveal where Luca had taken Anne and Kaivan.
“If you don’t tell me where your boss went, I’ll make sure this bullet goes through your brain!”
Noah had his pistol aimed directly at the enemy’s temple. He had even pulled the trigger, ready to fire.
“Don Luca wants to take the captives to Palermo right away,” the man stammered. “They might not be far from here.”
Without further ado, Noah delivered another blow to the man before heading out to the compound’s courtyard. He quickly approached Xavier.
“Luca has taken Kaivan and Anne through the underground passage. According to his men, they’re on their way to Palermo.”
“We can follow them on motorcycles. I’ll guide you all to exit through a shortcut.”
“In that case, I’ll contact the Sicilian authorities first to block their escape route. After that, I’ll request assistance to apprehend Luca and his remaining followers who have already left.”
After notifying the Sicilian authorities to help intercept the targets, Noah contacted the AISE agents to prepare to head to the border between Caltanissetta and Palermo. Next, he grabbed one of the motorcycles and got ready to ride. Along with Julie, Noah followed Xavier, who was already riding with Hans, towards the compound’s exit.
They rode side by side, accelerating the motorcycles until they finally caught up with the two cars they were after. Hans fired several shots in an attempt to stop Luca and his associate’s car. However, the enemies were undeterred and continued to speed up. Seeing this, Julie, seated behind Noah, took out her weapon. She aimed from a distance and fired shots at the tires of both cars. Unfortunately, her first shot missed. She kept trying to aim until on her third shot, the cars’ speeds were finally brought to a halt before they reached the border.
Gradually, Noah could see how Kaivan and Anne were forced out by their captors, with pistols held to their heads. This situation made it difficult for them to initiate an attack.
“Why go through all this trouble to chase us?” Luca addressed those who confronted him. He maintained his mocking smile.
“Hand over Kaivan and Anne, or I’ll blow your brains out!” Noah said firmly. He meant every word.
“Do you want to kill me?” Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Little child, let me tell you something. I don’t care if you want to kill me or not. What’s important to me is that both of them die first at my hands. Whether you fight back or not, my fate is the same, right?”
Luca then signaled his henchmen to attack. A fight was inevitable. Noah, Hans, and Xavier exerted all their energy to take down the enemies who vastly outnumbered them. They worked together to incapacitate those who stood in their way until almost all of Luca’s henchmen were subdued.
Seeing the increasingly dire situation, Mateo and Mikael rushed to Luca’s side, aiming to protect their leader from danger.
Meanwhile, Julie, noticing Kaivan and Anne unattended, ran over to them. She quickly untied the ropes binding their hands and feet.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“Get away quickly before they attack you again.”
However, instead of obeying, Kaivan took a step forward towards Luca. This action forced him to confront Mateo first, while Mikael stayed in position guarding Luca.
Kaivan unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at Mateo, not giving him a chance to retaliate. Simultaneously, in the distance, a caravan of Sicilian security personnel and AISE agents arrived in their vehicles. They rushed to surround the area.
Seeing the situation growing more dire, Mikael, from his position, aimed his gun at Kaivan as he assaulted Mateo. Anne, realizing her husband was in danger, screamed, attempting to shield him from the impending gunshot.
But it was all in vain. The sound of gunfire rang out, the shot hitting its mark. It wasn’t Kaivan who was hit, but the bullet struck Anne’s right chest, causing her to collapse. Mikael deliberately redirected his weapon from Kaivan to Anna Maria.
“Anne!”
Witnessing his wife crumple, Kaivan halted his assault on Mateo. He rushed to Anne’s side, attempting to reach her before the enemies could. However, before he could reach her, he was also hit by a bullet. From a distance, Luca deliberately fired two shots, hitting Kaivan in the chest and arm.
The security personnel, who were positioned close to Luca, didn’t remain idle. One of them retaliated, firing a shot directly into Luca’s abdomen. The old man fell to the ground, unconscious.
Noah, seeing his injured sibling and brother-in-law, ran over. He tried to get them both to a nearby hospital as quickly as possible, hoping their lives could still be saved.