This wasn't new to Ash. The scene paused when Ash cleared his throat.
Giovanni turned, grinning. "Ash. Wanna join? This guy is new."
Ash shaked his head.
"No," Ash said flatly. "Just business."
The younger man hurried out with his clothes when Giovanni finished, eyes down.
Giovanni fixed himself, still smiling. Buckled his pants.
"What is wrong? Did something happen?"
Ash laid the report down.
"One of them talked," Ash said. "He said a word."
"Lombra. He said it is an important code."
Giovanni's smile froze.
The room went quiet for a moment.
Giovanni laughed too fast. "That's pure nonsense. That word code was buried a long time ago."
Ash watched him closely.
"Is it?" Ash asked.
Giovanni waved it off. "Forget it. It's nothing."
Ash didn't reply and left.
Behind, Giovanni felt uneasy.
A week later, the night in Ash's warehouse split open with gunfire.
Ash was in the warehouse with his men, checking crates one by one. Metal scraped. Guns clicked into place. The air smelled of oil and dust.
Bunch of new guns.
Then without a warning the first shot rang outside.
Glass shattered.
Someone screamed.
Before Ash could turn, bullets ripped through the far wall. Sparks flew as metal shelves were torn apart. Men dropped where they stood, blood splattered across the floor.
"Boss!" someone yelled. "We're under attack!"
Ash's eyebrows narrowed.
"Be ready!"
Masked men stormed in from every side. Wearing bullet proof vests. Rifles raised. Others swooped in from the front, guns blazing, taking down Ash's crew with swift precision. The air was thick with gunfire as they closed in, leaving no escape.
Ash's body reacted quickly, hiding behind a wall.
He pulled his gun and fired.
Bang. Bang.
One man fell backward, mask snapping to the side. Another crashed into a crate, blood staining the wood.
"Take cover!" Ash shouted.
His men scrambled, firing wildly. The sound was deafening. Gunshots echoed, overlapping, swallowing screams.
Ash moved fast, ducking behind a pillar. Bullets slammed into the concrete near his head, spraying dust into his eyes.
"Tch."
He fired again.
Click.
He reloaded.
A sharp pain exploded in his arm.
"Shit."
He grunted, stumbling back. Blood soaked through his sleeve. His grip loosened for half a second, long enough to feel how bad it was.
"Lucas!" Ash shouted into his phone. "We're hit! Send backup now!"
Only static answered the phone.
"Lucas!" he shouted again.
Nothing. No reply.
His chest tightened.
More of his men fell. One crawled across the floor, leaving a dark trail behind him before going still.
They were losing, because they were outnumbered.
Ash scanned the exits.
Too many enemies. They knew the place well.
This wasn't random.
A grenade rolled across the floor.
"Down!"
The blast threw him backward. His ears rang. Heat burned his skin. Smoke filled the air, thick and choking.
Ash forced himself up, teeth clenched. His arm screamed with every movement.
He ran.
Bullets chased him. One grazed his shoulder. Another shattered a light above his head.
He burst through a side door and didn't look back.
By inches, he escaped.
ৎ────
Ash didn't stop running until his lungs burned.
One of his men's car was beside the road. He drove straight to Giovanni's office, blood soaking into the seat beneath him.
Something felt wrong.
Ash's gut told him this was big. The word "Lombra" echoed in his mind.
He reached the door.
Then he heard Giovanni's voice.
Angry.
Sharp.
"What do you mean he escaped?" Giovanni snapped.
Ash froze.
Another voice answered, nervous. "He disappeared, sir. We lost him in the warehouse."
There was a pause.
Then Giovanni spoke again, low and dangerous.
"Find him. And get rid of him, tonight! If not, I'll kill you!"
Ash's fingers tightened around the door handle.
The words sank into his bones.
So that's how it was. It was him.
Ash's fist tightened at his side, rage building up inside him.
He backed away quietly, eyes locked on the door. No sudden moves, no revenge of intent yet. Giovanni was in there, but he wasn't alone, it would be suicide.
He left.
ৎ────
That night, Ash barely had time to think.
Headlights flooded his yard.
Engines roared.
Cars surrounded his house from every side.
Men poured out, guns raised.
"Come out, Ash Cullen!" someone shouted.
Ash stood in the dark hallway, breathing steady.
So this was it.
He wrapped a bandage around his wounded arm, tight enough to stop the bleeding. Pulled on fresh clothes. Slid extra guns under his coat. A knife into his boot.
Earlier, Ash tried contacting his men. But no one answered.
The front door exploded inward.
Ash fired first.
Two men dropped before they could react.
Gunfire filled the house. Bullets tore through walls, furniture splintering apart. Glass shattered. Smoke burned his lungs.
He threw a smoke bomb and ran.
The garage door lifted halfway before bullets punched through it. He slid into his car and slammed the pedal.
The chase was brutal.
Cars slammed into each other. Tires screeched. Gunshots rang out through narrow streets.
Ash swerved into an alley, then another. He clipped a wall, sparks flying.
At the last second, he slammed the brakes, jumped out, and ran.
He blended into the crowd just as his car sped off driverless, crashing into a barrier.
Men shouted. They looked around.
"Find him!"
But Ash was already gone.
ৎ────
Days passed.
Ash Cullen vanished.
No phone. No trail.
He withdrew his money in pieces, scattered across cities. Changed his name. Burned old contacts.
Ash traveled far from the city. He ended up by the sea and rented a small house with a different name and different documents.
He sat on the porch some evenings, listening to waves crash against the shore. The sound should have been calming.
But it wasn't. Betrayal lingered in his mind…all his men were dead. Ash wanted revenge, but first, he needed to recover.
Since 2 days ago, the dreams came.
The white light again.
A voice calling his name.
It keeps telling that, someone is waiting for him.
Ash woke up, drenched in sweat, his heart racing like crazy. The dream lingered, but its meaning escaped him.
"What is it?"