167 Falling at the last step

{futuristic world}

-Now die!" The bodyguard raised her semi-automatic rifle, aimed straight for Romeo's head.

I looked at her in disbelief as a million-idea flashed through my head to try and stopped from shooting: turning the boat, wildly, distracting her by yelling, pushing her to the ground, creating an object in the way, jumping in front of the barrel, anything, anything to not let anyone else die, to not let any of my friends die because of me again.

But I wasn't fast enough, I could do nothing, I stood frozen, hopeless, waiting for the inevitable bang as the woman's finger pulled the trigger and *FLICK*

Then nothing.

Nothing happened, as if time was frozen, everyone stood in place like dummies in a shop's gallery waiting for something to happen as the 2 boats continued their wild chase.

-Uh?" the woman looked down at her weapon, ignoring her enemies completely. As she did, my vision caught something rapidly approaching our boat from the front.

I turned toward it and saw one of the large brick walls built around the riverbed standing right in our path.

Without a second to spare I turned the motor all the way to the opposite side the canal was following, hoping it would be enough to avoid collision.

-Oh, I forgot to put the ammo in." commented the woman, oblivious to the whole situation, as she used some of her energy to create a few bullets and load them in her rifle.

On the other hand, the ship, which was getting closer to the embankment by the milliseconds, couldn't complete its turn in time and hit the wall forming a large crack making the whole embarkation shake back and forth.

I managed to stay up just barely while keeping the motor from hitting the wall top, however the bodyguard, who had failed to even notice that we were about to collide with the wall, wasn't so lucky.

She immediately lost balance, swung around wildly as the weapon and bullets she had been holding flew off her hand, some bouncing against the river's embankment before falling in the water just like their owner who had been knocked unconscious after hitting her head on the wall.

As we watched her fall over, we continued our chase, as if nothing had happened, as if we hadn't seen someone drown in front of us.

Romeo's straight bullets started to fly by again and my hand continued to move around, directing the ship in the winding hallway.

I would say that she deserved it, but even if she wasn't a good person, she shouldn't have ended up like this. I mean… it is still better than if Romeo had been the one to… but still.

-Watch out!" shouted the Italian leader who was hiding in the boat behind a seat while pointing at an upcoming embankment I hadn't noticed.

Unlike last time I managed to avoid the wall completely and continued the mad chase to the sea, that, despite its intensity, didn't seem that impactful anymore.

But it probably should if I don't want to crash into a wall now that I think about it.

After a short while we arrived at the river's opening in the Mediterranean, at that point Juliet and Romeo's boat stopped working as they pretended to have an argument about running out of fuel, even if the boat consumed the energy generated by its driver, but no matter.

I parked the small ship on the side of the port and walked out on the large concrete deck before turning around and facing the large open almost endless sea, forgetting this whole situation if only for a brief second.

Seeing the wave form, raise and crash, the birds flying about, uncaring about the world, its implication, its problem, anything really.

But I don't have time to stop and smell the roses, I have to work for my goal, and set the stage for the last part of the plan.

I extend my arm toward Psalmanazar and said: "we need to find a new ship for deeper water"

The man who was still on the ground looked at me with a conflicted expression before standing up on his own and walking past me, not saying anything.

"What a nice guy" I ironically thought before looking around the port.

Beyond the immense abandoned partially sunken wrecks lying about, and the empty mostly destroyed multicolor containers, I saw the remains of the jet ski Nicole and I had used to get here in the first place.

It seemed like such a long time ago, I feel like I have aged 10 years since, even if it hasn't even been a week.

As we kept walking around, I pointed at multiple ships, trying to slow the men down and leave enough time to either let Juliet and Romeo catch up with us or find where my mother was.

But then as I was pointing out another half-destroyed ship to him and proposing using it as our way out, the bald man stopped and slowly looked around.

-Is there something wrong?" I asked somewhat nervously.

The resistance leader didn't immediately respond, instead he turned to look at the port's entrance open gates and said:

-It's oddly convenient.

I froze in place fearing that the jig was up and that he was about to ruin the plan but tried to stay calm, maybe I still had a chance.

-What exactly is our esteemed leader referring to?" I asked in a naïf, confused tone

He waited a few more seconds before continuing, but more like thinking out loud than actually answering me.

-The escape plan proposed just before the attack, the video connection cutting before the sound as I talked to the head of security, our enemies also having boats designed for sailing rivers, all the shots missing, us hitting the wall just when my guard arrived on it, our pursuer running out of fuel, the explosion above the HQ shattering windows right next to us without harming us, your incessant question and propositions slowing us down and your attitude, that same over confident smile of yours.

Before I could react, he turned toward me and asked: "I'm exactly where you wanted me to be, am I not?"

His expression was serious, his glare even deeper than usual, his face somehow even more stoic.

I sighed, understanding that there was no way to save the plan. But to be fair, it had lasted much longer than I anticipated and that we really needed it too.

I looked him in the eyes and in dead serious expressions answered: "almost."

-I see... It makes sense." He looked back toward the entrance and in the general direction of Rome before saying: "We're far enough away from the city to be disconnected from the energy distribution radius, and you made me spend all my energy on creating that boat, rendering me defenseless."

He stayed silent for a few more seconds looking into the sky, as a gust of wind slided on his hairless head, making him look really dramatic. "I am out of options, out of allies, out of time, out of energy, out of everything." Then as if to prove his point he brought his hand to the pockets on his pants then on his military jacket "except"

In a quick movement he opened his jacket interior pocket and pulled out a short barrel gun that he pointed straight to my face.

Why does everyone have a gun as a final resort but me?!

-This was an old gun used by the ancient crime syndicate to get rid of traitors." He calmly explained "so, who are you working for?" He asked menacingly while putting his weapon in evidence

Knowing it was futile to be silent as it only increased my odds of being fired at and reduced those at winning.

"I work for White Snack." I answered in a detached tone to try and trigger him a little

Apparently unaffected by the information that I was a member of the most dangerous terrorist organization on earth the man continued: "What was your order and who gave it to you?"

-It's my mother who ordered me to start this operation." I explained while avoiding all the detailed to make him ask more questions and waist more time

-Who else is working with you?

-Romeo and Ju-

-JULIETTE!

////////////////////////////////////////