Demitri had lost count of how many men he’d killed - normally it was almost a game between himself and Valentin, they kept count and then tallied up at the end to see who was paying for dinner - but this was different, his mind was glazed over as he killed again and again. The last time he’d been in this estate he’d been a kid and he’d watched his father murdered, if he stopped to think about that too much it would break the fragile grasp he had on his sanity and he couldn’t risk that at that moment in time.
Blood splattered his skin and soaked his clothes as he joined Hannibal, panting as he tasted copper, eyes wild, “We clear?” He asked quietly, the house had gone almost too silent and he didn’t trust it - not for a minute.
Will stuck close to Valentin as they scaled the stairs, always a few steps behind - he didn’t move to shoot, didn’t move to kill - he let the older man clear the path ahead. All was well until they reached the landing, Val was ahead and Will barely registered the blur of one of Darko’s men lunging towards his lover’s back, weapon drawn. There was no way that Val would move in time, no way that he had ever seen the assailant, for a split second Will thought he was about to watch the blonde killed - then his training kicked in. He launched himself forward with a sharp cry, faster than he thought humanely possible and threw himself onto the man’s back. The goon was twice the submissive’s side, but Will was much faster, and smarter. They rolled on the floor, Darko’s man finally pinned the sub, Machete to his throat but Will had already struck home with his own knife, puncturing the man’s lung easily and bringing his knees up to use all his weight to kick the huge man off himself, “Asshole.” He muttered, turning to face his lover, “You’re welcome… Mistress is this way… I can hear her.” Running purely on adrenaline the submissive slinked ahead of the Viking, taking the lead.
Having emptied his first mag of bullets, Hannibal ducked behind a pillar to reload, keeping his eye on Demetri as they swept through all the rooms of the lower floor as the team they’d brought with them headed out onto the grounds and set up a perimeter, in case anyone should turn up and come at them from behind.
Letting the haze settle, Hann’s eyes darted around the carnage around them then to Demetrius as he ducked into side rooms to make sure they were clear, “Something’s not right.” He stated, shaking his head, as he did so, he spotted just a hint of a shadow from the corner of his eye, heading toward a moderately concealed staircase for the basement, “Fuck!”
The mob boss took off after him, dumping his rifle in favour of his hand gun as he headed into the dark and damp underground area. The last time he’d been down here, he’d had to witness the filth Darko left Tabitha in during the early years before she trusted him, and again when he discovered she had been seeing someone behind his back. A shiver ran down his spine; if someone was heading this way, there was only one reason - Darko had another girl, be it one for resale or his own collection, his only option was to get to the goon before he got to the girl.
Jumping the last of the stairs, Hanibal landed on his feet, gun raised as he pulled the trigger three times, making sure the goon wasn’t about to get back up. Once he was sure he was dead, he approached the only door with a padlock on it, let out a fortifying sigh and shot off the lock to open the door and see a skinny scared, brunette little girl dressed in rags and pressing herself into the corner, hoping she wasn’t next, “It’s okay Sweetheart, we’re here to help you.”
Val had decided against reloading, it took too long and he didn’t have time for that sort of shit. Instead he waited until his would be attackers were packed together close enough that a single shot from his shotgun took them out with maximum efficiency and when he ran out of ammo, he just switched guns. As they approached the top floor, Val didn’t have a chance to sweep his surroundings before he heard rather than saw Will take out his assailant. The Viking turned in time to see the goon die, his eyebrow raising just a little, “Remind me to never piss you off.” He muttered, nodding his head and moving toward the sound of Tabitha’s screams.
Nicolae raised his gun as he heard footsteps approaching, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw friendly faces for the first time in too long, “Thank fuck.” He started, turning his head as Tab let out another scream, “I tried to check on her but it’s locked and I don’t wanna make it worse by kicking it in.”
Weighing up his options, Val handed his gun over to Nic, took a breath and kicked the door so hard that it came off one of the hinges and hung precariously in the doorway. Taking a second to look at the scene, most of it stained red, he strode across the room to grip Tab’s wrist in his hand, arm moving slowly and cautiously around her shoulders as he whispered to her, “Tabby... It’s done, you did it. C’mon now, we gotta get you home.”
The mention of home seemed to catch the female’s attention, long enough for her to stop fighting against the hand on her wrist and actually look at who had been hindering her thrusts. Upon seeing Val’s concerned face, Tab’s hand suddenly let go of the knife as though it had burned her. A moment later and she crumbled, her entire body slumping against Val’s as the last of her adrenaline was used up, leaving her unable to do anything but sob.
“It’s alright, I got you.” Val mumured, shedding his leather jacket to wrap it around Tab’s slight frame before picking her up as gently as he could, “Will’s got you too. He didn’t wanna be anywhere else, just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
