Page 97 of Capuleto

I delicately pulled out the blade, biting back my own scream of pain. The warm blood slid down my forearm, soaking my shirt. As I lowered my hand, the grass continued to stain red. It hurt like hell; I had to plug the wound somehow.

I tore the bottom of my shirt. At this rate, I was going to need a new wardrobe, that is if I managed to get out of this alive.

I tied the strip of fabric around the wound; it looked like a damn chocolate fountain, and I didn’t intend to bleed out before telling R the whole truth; I owed him that.

The Russian had fallen. His body was giving its last spasms as I plunged the blade into the socket. I had no time to waste; every second counted, I wasn’t going to be delicate, he had done worse things.

I removed the eyeball, severing the optic nerves. I needed it to pass the security check. I had no other way out, was too injured to consider another alternative or face Yuri and whatever guys he might have inside the house.

I heard a scream that nearly made me drop to the ground. On the other side of the glass, the maid looked distraught and raised the alarm. Just what I needed!

I grabbed the mobile from the ground and took off running, crossing all the damn hairs on my body hoping they wouldn’t catch me. I heard voices as I reached the access gate. There it was, the damn check.

A bullet grazed my right ear. I couldn’t risk getting a shot in the back. I turned around, drawing the gun and shot as soon as my retinas found the target.

The guy on the terrace fell into the void from my precise shot.

I made up the distance that separated me from freedom. The damn ribs were killing me, the hand wound too, but I preferred it to be them rather than a bullet in my neck.

I reached the scanner and placed the eye on it. I hoped it would work.

A roar caressed my back. It was Yuri. I could recognize that frustrated scream anywhere. I looked to see him raising a machine gun that he intended to riddle me with bullets.

I was lucky the gun jammed for a second, the only one I needed for the door to open and for me to pull the trigger as a farewell. The machine gun fired just as I hid behind the wall.

I ran to the car, started the engine, and floored the accelerator without a second thought. A hail of bullets welcomed me as I passed the front of the house.

The car's body and windows were fucked. The good news was that I was still alive.

I accelerated as much as I could. Knowing them, they wouldn’t be satisfied with me just getting away with what I had discovered.

I had to send the recording to R, before Yuri talked to his sister.

"Hey Siri, send the last video I recorded to Romeo's WhatsApp."

"I'm sorry, I can't send videos."

"Well, that's fucking useless!"

"I suppose you're not in the mood." I looked at the phone flabbergasted by its response.

"No, I'm not in the mood! You're not helping at all!"

"I'm here to help you."

"Well, it doesn't seem like it! You're useless!" I was getting exasperated and couldn’t stop watching the road or the rearview mirrors.

"I don't know how to respond to that."

"Well, fucking great!"

"I'm just trying to do my job. Tell me if there's something else I can help you with."

"Okay, then go fuck yourself," I replied, annoyed.

"I don't know what that means, but if you want, I can look up 'I don’t give a shit about your ass' on the internet."

If I hadn’t needed to send that message, I would have already thrown it out the window. So much for the iPhone and all its crap, but it couldn't send a simple video! After this, I’m switching to Android.

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