Beyond Uncertainty

20-Against the Odds

Liam and Frankie waded as fast as they could to the shore and carefully ran towards the house and ducking away from sight. Dread filled Liam when he saw their security team crouching behind the distant trees and pointing their guns at the house. He knew then that someone might have sneaked inside the house. He looked around and searched for something that could help them both when Frankie pulled him to the left, towards a big rock formation, away from their original destination. She crouched and dug in the sand. He helped her without knowing what they were looking for. Soon enough, his jaw almost fell when she took out a big black duffel leather bag and from there took two large rifles and a few Shuriken blades. She handed him one of the rifle and two pouches which contained the blades. He was still crouched down, face masked with surprise and delight when she turned at him.

"Liam, stop looking at me as if this is a surprise gift! Of course I would stash away ammo. There are more around the perimeter and inside house. I just forgot to mention to my brother when they arrived. He's not stupid, I'm sure he's also prepared. Come on, we have to go! We have to help them!" She scolded as she pulled him. He took the bag from her hand and they resumed their stealthy trek to the beach house.

"Let's split up. Go to the other side and I'll go around here." She pointed the front of the house where Liam was supposed to go. The mafia princess was obviously the leader of their tandem. He just nodded his head and followed her instruction. The four security escorts saw them, nodded their heads and two followed them to cover their backs just in case they need backup. The other two stayed on their position to shoot at the enemies that might break in the house. When Frankie was nowhere in site, they started moving. His wet clothes would have made him feel cold but with the adrenaline of the situation, he felt warm all over, not to mention his flaring temper to the group that was sabotaging their peaceful vacation.

"Boss, there are two men at the porch but they're both down." Gerry, the guard backing him up whispered and Liam saw two men in black masks and they were indeed lying face down on the floor of the porch. He could see a pool of blood. He and Gerry approached the men. They both kicked one to check if they are still a threat. The door leading to the receiving area was ajar and Liam took that chance to peak inside. He saw two masked men crouching low near the sofa, pointing their guns at the hallway leading to the kitchen. He held his rifle and aimed at one of the men while Gerry did the same to the other. Two shots made their mark at the back of their necks, making it impossible for them to retaliate. Gunshots ensued and both Gerry and Liam had to jump out of the way as two more men emerged and fired at them. After five attempts to shoot them, Liam heard a loud thud and a groan of pain. Crouching back towards the door, he saw Alejandro's knives at the two men's throats but no sign of him.

"Alej? Where's Luna?"

"She's safe here with me. But Liam, there are five of these motherfuckers at the back of the house. Would you mind getting them?" He heard Alejandro's voice and Liam cursed when he realized that it was Frankie's side. He and Gerry went around the perimeter only to find five men writhing in pain with blades on their chest, neck, abdomen, forehead and nose respectively. It was a gory sight and Liam couldn't help but wince as he saw the impact of her perfect throws. Frankie and her guard Aldrin were busy collecting the guns and throwing them away from the five fallen enemies when he called her.

"Frankie."

"Where is Alej and Luna?"

"They're inside. Gerry, Aldrin, cover for us, I'm not certain if there are more of these bastards." Liam took Frankie's free hand and pulled her towards the back entrance of the house. They were careful with their movements, searching the place for hidden enemies. When they were sure that the perimeter was safe, they moved to one of the rooms where he heard Alejandro's voice. There, his heart broke for his sister who was crying at the foot of the bed and holding her flat stomach. Frankie ran to her and Alejandro approached him, tapping his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"She shot one of the men. She was alright a while ago until she realized that we were almost ambushed. By the way, two choppers will be arriving soon. One is for decoy to the airport and the other for us. I'll be flying us to Melbourne. The jet is already there." Liam nodded his head. They had no choice but to fly to Italy because of the series of threats that occurred the past few hours.

"Did you call the cleaners?" Alejandro nodded in response to his question.

"They're in transit. Come one, let's go. The team will take care of the mess here."

Both men gently pulled their significant other to them and lead them out of the beach house. There were blood on the floor but the wounded men were no longer in sight. Gerry handed them black vests, caps and shades. Luna and Frankie pulled their hairs up to be covered with the cap. Liam nodded at their decoys, two pairs of guards who were wearing the same vests, caps and shades. Two black bullet proof Range Rovers were waiting for them and parked beside each other. All four of them were seated and buckled in their seats in no time in one of the cars while their clones were at the other car. They were soon on their way to the chopper that will bring them to the airport. Extra measures has to be taken because of the near ambush.

"How did you know we'd be attacked today?" Frankie asked her brother after a few minutes of silence. 

"I didn't. But I'm always prepared. It also helped that the guards called that someone invaded the perimeter." Alejandro's voice was as soft as possible while he held his asleep fiancee.

"Frankie had some guns stashed in the sand." Alejandro smiled and looked at Liam and his sister's adjoined hands.

"Some things never change. She's her father's daughter."

Liam smiled as he remembered their parent's story that Marco has an armory on almost all of his houses and escape routes as well.

Alejandro's phone beeped and he raised his arm to read the message. His smile turned into a smirk as he handed Liam the phone. He and Frankie read the message, their moods generally brightened. 

"That was fast. I'm sure their boss would appreciate the secrets that they spilled. Though we still have to validate the information. We can't afford a trap nor a false information. Bro, are you sure you don't want to go back and..."

"No. Family is more important." He smiled as he saw Alejandro caress his sister's face. He noticed that Frankie was doing the same. He squeezed her hand and she gazed at him with a wider grin. Family is indeed more valuable than anything and Liam swore that their family would always be safe against all odds.

***

A/N: Isn't Frankie the coolest and hottest mafia princess?