Dirty Obsessions - The Lion and The Mouse

Jesus Christ!

The rest of the Solntsevskaya jumped from their locations and charged forward, pointing their guns.

Shit!

The blond Xecutioner grabbed my attention. He delivered two blows to one guard’s head and kicked another one in the center of his chest.

The blue-haired Xecutioner weaved a guard’s wrist around in a circle, dived for his ankles, and yanked the big man down to the ground. Once he crashed on the floor, Blue Hair rained hard blows to his chest.

Three left.

The knives and sword came out next.

Circuit shrieked. “The guys from the kitchen are coming with guns and butcher knifes!”

My heartbeat picked up. “And the men around Valentina and Natalya, what are they doing?”

“They moved Valentina and the baby into the closet. They have their guns pointed at the door.”

I shook my head. “How the hell are the Xecutioners going to avoid the bullets? Did we get them bulletproof vests?”

Yefim shook his head. “They didn’t want them. Hiro said vests weighed them down.”

“Circuit, can you communicate with Hiro?”

“Yes. I have a bud in his ear.”

“Make sure he knows Valentina and the baby are in the closet and that the guns are pointed at the door.”

“Already did it.” Circuit laughed. “You’re getting the hang of this.”

I rolled my eyes. While Circuit was having a grand old time, I was close to having a heart attack. I touched my chest and watched the events.

Please, God. Please, God.

Manic chaos erupted on the screen. It was a crescendo of screams, grunts, slicing, and shooting. The men from the kitchen had entered. Fived armed men against eight blade-wielding proved to be no real match at all.

Hiro and the Blond were already heading to the bedroom as his brothers took care of the men in the living room.

A minute later, and all the Xecutioners surrounded the bedroom’s door. None of them stood in front of it. Four Xecutioners were on the right. The others on the left. Misha’s people were several feet behind them.

Circuit spoke. “They can’t shoot until we know Valentina and Natalya are safe and away from the targets.”

Pain bloomed in my chest. “This is almost over.”

Yefim took my hand and held it. “It will be okay, Ava.”

Trembling, I took comfort in his hand. “It better be. Misha has been through enough. He’s already burying his father. I won’t have him bury his daughter too.”

Hiro knocked on the bedroom door.

The guards in the bedroom didn’t take the bait.

Hiro opened the door and stepped back.

The guards shot at the emptiness. A few ducked behind the couch.

Circuit’s voice sounded. “Hiro just asked me where each man was located. I told him.”

I leaned forward. “What do you think he’s going to do?”

“I have no idea.”

The Xecutioner with black hair and pink streaks moved to the edge of the doorway, dove into his pocket, and yanked out several tiny silver objects.

I squinted. “What are those?”

Excitement hit Yefim’s words. “Ninja stars.”

I looked at him. “Like from the movies?”

“Yeah. Stainless steel throwing stars tend to have four to eight sharp points.”

Circuit added, “These look like seven points.”

Yefim continued. “If thrown the right way, they’ll stick to any surface.”

One of Leonid’s guards shot at the space again. They looked to be unsure of what would happen next.

“O-kay.” Circuit’s voice rose to a shriek. “Hiro asked for the locations again.”

Mr. Black-and-Pink threw two stars with deadly accuracy. Both stars landed in the center of a guard’s throat. One dropped his gun and grabbed at his neck. Blood spurted from his hands. The other crashed to the ground. The star was lodged deep into his neck.

My stomach twisted in disgust. For some reason, those kills messed me up more than the ones from the living room.

Pretend like it is a movie. Just a fake film. Nothing more.

The guards shot at the opening. A few headed that way.

Six left.

One guard got close to the doorway. Hiro blurred in and yanked him into the hallway. Mr. Black-and-Pink threw five stars into the room at once. Guards dove to the floor, trying to avoid them. That gave the Xecutioners the opportunity to rush in.

I didn’t breathe. I held it in.

Hiro beat the shit out of the man he’d dragged into the hallway. He delivered five carefully aimed blows. It was sickly calculated. The first blow bent the guard’s leg the wrong way. Freaked out, I shielded my own leg. The next two blows broke both arms. The fourth cracked the side of his head. The fifth broke his neck.

When the guard finally fell to the ground, I actually felt bad for the man.

I cleared my throat. “I guess they didn’t need guns after all.”

Fear covered Yefim’s face.

Now I understood why Misha had been so enraged. I didn’t think Yefim could truly take any of the Xecutioners one on one. The best bet would be to shoot them immediately and hope for the best.