On the Run

14 - A Broken Past

The frosty night air settled over the quiet empty city of Craco. Aside from the brief moonlight that occasionally shone down on the place, it still looked dark and menacing, forgotten about in time. The wind whistled gently, being the only other noise aside from the running engine of Daniela's car as it parked about half a mile away from the entrance into the city.

Lorenzo manoeuvred it into a tight secluded dirt path that was hidden strategically by bushes and small chunks of concrete. It was the perfect hiding spot. Lorenzo killed the engine and switched off the headlights but left the soft radio play lowly.

"Your outfits are in the boot, right?" Lorenzo checked, glancing over at both women.

"Yes," Daniela nodded, opening the door slightly, "we don't have long to get changed. The escort team will be here in a few minutes to guide us down into the facility."

"Mind running this crazy plan by me one more time?" Lorenzo then asked, directing it more towards Mia.

"We head down into the base, find out exactly what it is they're doing down there and what Orabella is planning," Mia explained, "we then find your brother and bring him back here. Me and Daniela will then go back to the base and take down Orabella from the inside."

"Piece of cake," Daniela said optimistically. Her eyes glazed over to Lorenzo and she could blatantly see the ripples of panic unravelling on his face. "Don't worry, Lorenzo," she then said, placing her hand over his and gently rubbed it.

Lorenzo's breath hitched at the sudden contact. If the idea was to distract him from freaking out, then it seemed to be working.

"I just don't want either of you to get hurt," Lorenzo said, looking up at them.

"We're not going to get hurt," Mia assured. She wasn't sure if she even believed herself, but she made sure to sound like she did. "And like I've said, Orabella isn't a heartless mostro."

Lorenzo fought back a scoff and instead rolled his eyes at Mia's comment. "There have been multiple times in the past few days that we've almost been killed."

"I know that, but I also know Orabella. She won't kill us," Mia said. She could tell that Lorenzo was heavily questioning her stance on her former mentor and she understood it. With everything that they'd been through in the short amount of time, she'd be surprised if Lorenzo didn't feel the way that he did.

"She had Caterina killed, Mia," Lorenzo said. Mia winced at his comment. "All because she took a peak at something she wasn't meant to see. What do you think Orabella will do if she gets her hands on you? Or Daniela? Or me?"

"Lorenzo," Daniela spoke up, "I get what it is that you're feeling right now. But we're big girls. We know how to fight off a few guards. And you... You've been a high-level fugitive that's evaded capture so many times these last few days. You'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Daniela looked into Lorenzo's eyes while she said that, and Lorenzo found something oddly comforting about her words. She gave his hand one last squeeze before pulling it away slowly. He knew he could trust them both with his life and it looked like he'd have to if he wanted to see his brother again. He let out a small breath and gave a slight nod, displaying his agreement.

"Nice pep talk," Mia joked, earning a few chuckles from the pair of them. She fully opened her door and stuck her head out, looking and listening. The coast was clear, and it was deafeningly silent. "We should get changed now."

Daniela murmured in agreement and left the car along with Mia, hurrying around to the back. She hauled open the boot and started rummaging and pulling at the necessary things needed.