Gray Blood

The click of the lighter echoed in the silent room. Soon the flames from the lighter burned the stick of death, which he twirled in his hand playfully. A single whiff from the cigarette was enough to relax his tensed muscles. He breathed in relief, feeding his addiction. It was clear that he needed that snout to deal with me. The light taps of his feet showed his fear. I smirked at the thought that the cause of his fear was me. Clearing my throat, I smiled at him although I knew that my annoyance was clear through my eyes. He tensed up at my voice and jerked his head in my direction, surprised to see me. He stood up from his seat and extended his hand for me to take. I raised a mocking brow at his gesture but shook his hand nonetheless. It gave him a much-needed boost of confidence. He knew he was a pest bound to be smashed under my timberland boots. The man gestured to me to take the seat opposite him. An iron table separated both of the seats. I smiled, took out the gun tucked in the back of my jeans, and placed it on the table as a clear sign of warning before taking the said iron chair. He gulped at the sight of the lethal weapon but masked his anxiety by taking his previous seat. “I don't want any bloodshed, Miss D’Amelio. So how about we talk it out like decent human beings?” The man asked in a thick German accent. His tone was surprisingly calm. “Indeed, Gerhard. Let’s talk it out but if you make one wrong move then the deal is out.” I smiled a promising smile. A promise of pain and gruesome death. “How do you want me to atone for my betrayal?” Gerhard asked, coming to the point. “Pay me with your life.” The German man's eyes widened at my words. He should have known that the only atonement for betraying me was death. “Kidding, kidding.” I laughed at my joke but he didn't find any humor in it instead it made him shudder. His survival instincts kicked in and he picked up the gun from the table. Without wasting a second he pointed its muzzle in my direction. Tsk, he shouldn’t have done that. He first stole from me then he costed me the Quebec land and now he dared to point a gun at me. I would have forgiven him for the first two mistakes but with this single action he had thrown away all his chances of atonement. “Wrong move, Gerhard,” I mocked. Annoyance crawled up in my system and I stood up while knocking down my chair in the process. “Oops! I am sorry,” I said embarrassed and bent down to pick up the chair. From my peripheral vision, I saw Gerhard smile at the thought that he could finally get a reaction out of me. He probably thought that he intimidated me. But I had unique plans. I swung the chair and smashed it in his head. Three men came running inside the room and aimed their pistols at me. They must have heard the commotion. “f**k. You have a backup,” I cursed myself for underestimating the German man. This wasn’t how I planned my weekend. I kicked the iron table so that it stood erect in front of me acting as a shield and ducked behind it. Fishing out my mobile phone from the jeans pocket I dialed a number. The phone rang twice before the receiver picked it up. “I have texted you my location. Bring backup right now,” I ordered before the receiver could say anything. “Are those gunshots?” The call receiver asked in a panic, hearing the bullets fired at me by Gerhard’s guards. “Just come quickly.” With that, I ended the call. My attention drifted back to the guards. The guards had stopped firing in an attempt to save the ammo. Taking advantage of this I peaked out to spot my gun which was lying a few paces away from me. Gathering up some courage, I crawled towards the gun and caught it while dodging a few bullets. I made my way back to the safety of the table and sighed once I was completely shielded by it. The feel of my gun gave me a sense of safety and confidence. I knew I was the only one who could save myself so I nodded with newfound determination and stood up. Before the guards could react I shot one of them in the head and ducked back to save myself from the bullets. One down, two to go. I repeated the process and shot another guard but this time a bullet managed to graze my ear. I crouched down and groaned in pain. My ear ringed due to the sudden attack. Two down, One to go. Rage burned in me and I glared at the table behind which I knew the last guard was standing. The fucker had the audacity to shoot me. The bullet could have mutilated me. The sound of shuffling of feet caught my attention. The guard must have changed his position to make sure that I wouldn’t be able to shoot him. I turned on the front camera of my mobile phone and held it over my head. A bullet pierced through it in a second and it fell to the ground. Fortunately, I had already spotted the guard's location. Kicking the table with full force I succeeded in startling the guard. Before he could react I shot him in the head. As usual, my aim pleased me. Dusting my clothes I made an attempt to leave the room but before I could a fresh pair of feet made their way inside. More people walked in with their loaded AK-47’s, ready to fire if needed. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Seriously, Evans? Fifteen People? Why do you have to be so dramatic?” I questioned the man who stood tall in front of the others. His brows were creased together and his lips were pulled down in an aggressive frown. His eyes darted back and forth between the dead bodies and me. “Oh! Pardon me for not knowing how many men you were referring to as a backup.” The same thick Italian accent oozed out of his sarcastic words. Evans glared at me and if looks could kill then I would have been dead by now. “Evans Moretti, calm down, or do you want me to untwist your panties,” I commented with a sickly sweet smile to which he responded by flipping me off. Very mature. “You are late anyways. I took care of them already so let's leave. Okay?” I said and pointed at the dead bodies. Evans nodded and was about to leave when suddenly he stopped in the middle of his track. He aimed his Glock at me and fired. The bullet missed me by an inch, surprising me. I stared at him calmly and soon heard a loud thump behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to know the source of the sound. “Guess you needed my help after all.” Evans smirked which made me roll my eyes. “You are getting sloppy, Miss D’Amelio.” Huffing in frustration I walked past him. He wasn’t wrong though. I forgot that Gerhard was still alive. My mere carelessness would have gotten me killed just now but I wasn’t the one to admit it. “Moretti, the only reason you have a tongue right now is that I’ve had my share of action today.” That shut him up and he gulped audibly. “Whatever, Reese,” He mumbled and followed behind me with all the other men. “We have a masquerade to attend today.” He reminded me as I sat down inside the motorboat. “I remember. That's the whole reason why I am in Venice. Right?” Plus he would be there. My mother’s murderer would be there and I would make sure to serve him the fate he deserves. They say Gray Blood is infectious, it's rotten. Well, mine is no different. Infected with hate and abhorrence. Infected with the lust for revenge. After all, that’s the only purpose of my life. So this is me Reese Gray D'Amelio and this is my story.