6

A week had passed since that strange meeting with the founders, she thought the feeling she had then would have subsided but it was still there, still lingering.

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she saw her father, each time she would tell him about it, he would smile softly and touch her cheek saying, “I can’t delay this trip Alice, it’s too important.”

So she believed his words. Lionel Caroni was the most honourable she had ever known and in her line of work, she had met a lot. He was never a man to go back on his promises. And he always had a plan for everything which he executed in perfect precision every time. So when he said something was important, it really was.

Alice never questioned his actions, she trusted him with every fiber in her body and they had enough resources in Russia in case of emergencies. It wasn’t that she did not trust that he would take care of himself on this trip, it was that he never mentioned the details of what the meeting with the Russians would be about. Not even to Lilith. This had Alice wondering.

What was he keeping a secret?

It was a little past midnight, he had just left for his trip, despite her warnings. She had access to the GPS system in all of the organization's vehicles but she never had a reason to personally track the traveling route of her father.

Until tonight.

Right now she was staring motionless at her laptop, her eyes following the little red dot on the screen that represented the car her father was traveling in. It was taking the secluded route he would normally take to a private airport and making good ground. 

Just a few more minutes, she bit down on her lips nervously. He had approximately one mile to the airport then he was clear. She started counting the minutes.

One minute

Two minutes

Five….

Suddenly a quick wave of white lines swept over the laptop screen, then it went grainy. She tapped the laptop screen with her fingers harshly trying to get it to start working again. The screen takes a minute to clear but when it did, the red marker was missing. She reloaded the network just to see if she was mistaken. It came up blank again, confirming that her car’s tracker had been deactivated.

She quickly got to her feet and dragged on her coat and grabbed her pistol from her nightstand and headed through the door and down the main corridor. Based on her, the car was near Thatcher woods the last time it was online.

And that’s exactly where she will go. 

A door flew open with a loud bang behind her but she didn’t stop to look who it was.

“Alice I heard noises, where are you going at this hour?” Lilith’s concerned voice sounded from behind. 

“Dad’s tracker was deactivated.” She threw over her shoulder.

“What?” Lilith screeched in shock, her shrill voice grated off the walls of the hall. Alice didn’t offer an explanation, nor did she slow down so Lilith had to run to catch her. “Alice!”

“Mom, I can’t talk right now. I have to find him.” She said, dismissing any further conversation Lilith would bring up.

“I’ll send some of the men behind you.” Lilith understood her, she knew Alice’s demeanor, she was always calm. Seeing her so openingly worried brought a new wave of terror that stabbed her heart, one she never knew she could feel. Lilith ran back down the hall towards where the men stood watch at night.

Alice rushed to the garage and chose a black Y2K motorbike. It could cover more ground. She disregarded the helmet and strapped the spare handgun the motorbike held to her pants waist. The wheels skidded on the pavement as she peeled out of the garage and through the mansion gate in the direction of her father’s car.

Her heart thundered in her chest.

It could be nothing, she tried to reassure herself. Maybe they went into a black zone, that area was known for them.

“Call Lance!” She spoke loudly. The bluetooth earpiece in her ears beeped and the robotic voice echoed in her ears Calling Lance. It connected on the first ring.

“Alice. I’m kinda busy!” He barked out, based on his tone she knew that something happened and sent a of blinding terror down her spine.

“What the hell is going on? Where’s my father?” 

“Alice- heavy fire, following us!” Those were the only words that came through the earpiece, along with a series of gunshots. It was raining bullets over, it was so loud that Alice couldn't hear anything else but it.

“Lance!” She shouted, her throat burned from the crisp air. “Lance!” The earpiece started to fry, before there was silence. 

Shit!

Alice pressed on the gas pedal harder, the bike ate up more ground on the dark road. Her long hair danced with the wind, occasionally impeding her vision but her eyes were dead set on the journey ahead. Tall trees were on each side of the road, the dark shadows they created painted an eerie tunnel at the edge of the trail. 

Not long after, the bike neared the site, the fleet cars were in a jam and covered in bullet holes, one was wrapped around a tree and the other was in the middle of the road. The headlights were still on and smoke was sprouting from them.

Alice jumped from her bike as soon as it scraped to a stop and pulled out her guns, pointing them in opposite directions, just in case anyone was trying to sneak up on her. There was no one in sight from where she stood, but she counted four muddy car trails that continued onto the road ahead. They looked about a couple minutes old, which meant whoever did this was long gone. She went around the car that impeded her vision, with the same stealth and caution she held when she first approached.   

That’s when she saw him, confirming that her worst paranoia came to pass.

Her father was lying flat on his back unconscious, three of his men surrounded him in a pool of their own blood. Just then, the world stopped around her. She rushed towards him, her breaths sharp and frantic. In one swift motion, she fell to her knees beside him and pulled his body upwards, searching him up and down.

His chest was pierced twice. The white dress shirt he wore was soaked with blood, she could still feel it spurting out from the bullet holes.

“Daddy.” She jerked him, with hope that he would move but he didn’t. His eyes were still closed and face that was full of life just the day before was pale as the fresh winter snow.

She swiveled on her knees and held onto her father’s shoulder. “You have to wake up.” Her body shook from the series of sobs she released and she clenched onto him, desperately. “Wake up, please.”

She knew her tears were in vain. Her father was dead. Nothing she did could bring him back.

“Alice.” A familiar voice called out from somewhere, it was Lance. He was out of breath as he rushed back towards her from the direction of the muddy skid marks on the ground. His hands came up to her back slowly. The fingertips dripped of his own thick blood as he tried to mend the wound in his abdomen; he was leaking like a fountain. But Alice was blinded by her own pain.

“Don't touch me!” His jaw made a crunching sound as she rammed her elbow into his groin. The pain came in a blinding whiteness that he had to blink away to contain. “Fuck!” She jabbed him again, this time he didn't react to it, he just stood there, silent. Staring down at his boss that he was supposed to protect. Lance wore a painful expression, and it wasn’t because of the bullet wound. 

Don Caroni was dead. A man he respected-loved. The man he was to be glued to on this journey. And he didn’t even know how it happened.

“H-how did this happen? You were supposed to be with him.” She cried out in agony.

“I’m sorry.” He said, but the sound of the fleet cars that approached them drowned out anything that Alice even thought of saying.