Page 55 of Captured Innocence

I’d determined the location where Sophia was likely being held, the building little more than a cement hut. We were miles outside of Paris, the countryside sparse, very few people around. There was no one to hear her screams of agony. An unsettling feeling remained in my system. While she was likely bait and nothing more, given the fact her two security guards had been slaughtered, the amount of violence used almost decapitating them, that meant the person responsible had no qualms about killing her.

Up to this point, there’d been no demands made or proclamations made. This wasn’t about ransom. A game of cat and mouse was being played. It was as if the enemy was waiting to see how far we’d go in to claim what belonged to us. “Send Luis and Carlo to flank the two sides of the building. You and I go in. Kill everyone on sight with one exception.”

He chuckled beside me. “I do love to watch you interrogate the bastards.”

I was good at what I did, my father teaching me well how to extract the most information in a limited time. I usually carried what my Capo and friend called a ‘goodie bag,’ various body parts and bones requiring sensitive handling in order to extract the greatest amount of information. I had no doubt my dead father would admire my techniques, insisting I’d learned from the best.

Even my Capos had gleaned a thing or two over the years. We were a sick group of human beings but that was the way I’d been raised. In my world, there was no second guessing, no room for a conscience or remorse.

And anything considered a weakness had to be destroyed.

My first weapon had been provided at age seven, my father insisting I learn how to shoot accurately. I’d been beaten when I failed enough times that I learned to be a perfectionist at everything I did.

He claimed it was something to be proud of.

I snickered at the thought, the bastard of a human being rotting in his grave. I’d been the dutiful son and where had it gotten me?

“On my command,” I said, shifting further forward and listening for any unusual sounds. The darkness was our friend, the night vision goggles one of the best purchases I’d made years before. My men were trained like soldiers in the military, skilled in all phases of reconnaissance and weaponry. It was vital in the brutal times in which we lived, our number one enemy the Russians always improving their game.

The three men moved behind me, waiting for my order. I crept even closer, noticing two enemy soldiers sleeping near a small fire. We were dressed in all black from fatigues to combat boots, our faces blackened with ink, the night vision goggles hiding any chance of identification. We’d been successful in getting close, not a single enemy soldier the wiser.

While our training had been years in the making, our skills constantly honed, I didn’t like the fact we’d managed to slide into their camp without being detected by a single enemy.

That meant we were either dealing with amateurs or my concern about a setup was merited.

After scanning the perimeter, I motioned for Luis and Carlo to take the two soldiers silently, which they did using their knives, slitting their throats without hesitation. With two men down, I’d calculated eight remaining. The odds were getting better.

“Go,” I said quietly, waiting as the two soldiers shifted to the right and left. Vincenzo and I went straight ahead. Before we managed to get to the padlocked door, gunshots broke out. Fuck me. They’d managed to see us coming or there’d been a tripwire surrounding the building.

“Shit,” Vincenzo said from beside me, immediately jumping in front and popping off several shots. Suddenly, there were more soldiers than I’d anticipated. I dropped and rolled, firing at will, catching at least two in the chest. Then there were more. What the fuck? Where were they coming from?

Goddamn it. I hated being right.

This had been an ambush. It was obvious they’d known beforehand how we operated, which meant someone from the inside had betrayed us. There was no time to regroup. It was kill or be eliminated.

Several bullets slammed into the building behind me. I rushed forward by fifty yards, yanking out a grenade, tossing it toward a group of at least four soldiers. The blast was exactly where I’d aimed, their bodies catapulted into the air. Sounds of men being pummeled with bullets came from every direction, my soldiers successful in claiming at least a dozen or more lives.

My rage increased, the fact we’d been pulled into a game not settling well in my mind. There would be hell to pay when I returned to Italy, every soldier grilled until I found the bastard who’d traded his loyalty for money. Greed was the root of all evil. Whether it was power, money, or blood, it didn’t matter.

When the sound of gunfire died down, I took a deep breath. Vincenzo dropped by my side, wiping sweat and blood from his face.

“What the fuck?” he hissed, although he knew the answer as well as I did.

“Any sign of the others?” I huffed through clenched teeth.

“No. Do you want me to look?”

“No. There’s no doubt someone sent a warning. We won’t have long before backup arrives. We go in.” I moved toward the door, standing back and firing at the padlock. Then I swung open the heavy steel, stepping back.

When a soldier’s body fell face forward, it threw me off guard. I crouched down, taking the time to roll him over, the goggles allowed me to see one vacant eye staring back at me. The other didn’t exist, a sharp instrument taking care of that.

Vincenzo crowded against the door, taking labored breaths, nodding when he was in position. I was the one who went through the entrance first, preparing to fire.

The loud growl sounded like a wounded animal and within seconds, I was pitched to the cement floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a glint. Whatever had killed the other soldier was in the assailant’s hand. I slammed my fist into the person’s jaw, pummeling him back by several feet, jumping to mine. I wasn’t surprised when the asshole clamored to his feet, lunging toward me as any well-trained soldier would do.

Vincenzo jumped into the foray, grunting as he issued a hard punch under the soldier’s jaw. Then another popping of gunfire occurred outside the hut.

“Go. I have this,” I snarled through gritted teeth.