It was over in a matter of seconds.
They barely entered Caserta when their wheels exploded from under the vehicle, tossing them into the air in ways that some might only see in movies. Both Silva and Gabriel were caught between feeling and sounds of crunching metal, enveloping them like a metal coffin. Neither of them were very religious men, but in times of grave desperation, they prayed in the slowed time between each crash and tumble.
When it did stop, Silva was unconscious. Gabriel was disoriented but not out of it. He shook his head to clear it and his face of broken glass. Decades of being a bodyguard has steeled him for these kinds of scenarios, but there's a world of difference between training and experience. He coughed out dust and metallic particles. The first thing he reached for was his gun.
Judging by their orientation, Gabriel found that he was upright, and better yet, the doors were broken and loose. One good kick and they were gone from the car. He tore off the passenger side door and checked on Silva, who was bloody, but not fatally wounded. He is a tough kid, Gabriel thought to himself. He decided that letting the heir rest in the car was safer than getting out, and he needed to eliminate the threat before they were eliminated instead. Slowly, he peeked from behind the car.
A bullet whizzed past Gabriel's head.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed. Three more shots hit the car's hood before the old bodyguard saw who was shooting. "Dantalion!?"
The shooting stopped. "Master Gabriel, why are you going against the Family?!" A rough, aged voice shouted from afar. "The Boss has passed away, and the rightful heir has declared you a traitor!"
"Alissa is not the rightful heir!" He shouted back. "There is no heir until the heirloom is passed on through the correct ceremony."
"Exactly." Dantalion said loudly, so the traitor can hear him. He cocked his gun. From the sound of the reload, Gabriel deduced that his opponent switched from a pistol to a Tommy Gun. "The heirloom is with you. I must retrieve it."
"Damn it, Dantalion! You owe me you life!"
"I owe the Family my life. Your actions back then were the actions of the Family. I owe you nothing." A burst of fire. "You are my friend, but my loyalty is to the Ain-Soph-Ur." Another burst of fire.
"Fuck!" Gabriel moved to the passenger seat and the world suddenly slowed to a crawl. Silva was no longer in the seat. "Where in the-" His thought was caught short by a grunt and groaning coming from where Dantalion was. He looked over and saw Silva holding their enemy at gunpoint.
"How did you-" Dantalion's sentence was cut short when the young heir jammed the gun into his mouth. The gun was shaking, but it was squarely in his mouth, and the angle was perfect. One pull of the trigger and his brains would decorate Silva's hair and suit.
Silva could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His breath was ragged, his muscles ached. His undershirt was wet with sweat. "I am..." He found swallowing difficult. He signalled Gabriel to take the Thompson away from the man he held at gunpoint, ehich the older man did with a look of bewilderment on his face. "I am Silva Ain-Soph-Ur... Son of Antonio Ain-Soph-Ur. I am also an heir, a candidate for the next boss. If you kill me or Gabriel, know that you will be labeled as traitor and killed swiftly. Do you understand?"
Dantalion nodded. He no longer tasted metal and gunpowder. He raised his hands in surrender and dropped to his knees. Silva kept his shaking gun to his back as Gabriel tied the old man's arms behind him. "Without a Boss, the Family will fall. The daughter has taken the post and she has taken control. Her first command to the entire family was to capture you. "
"Without a true Boss, the Family will fall regardless." Gabriel spoke. He put his hand on Silva and whispered his question into his ear. "How did you do that?". Silva himself had no answer, as he did not believe what just transpired either.
"We'll be taking your car." The young man said.
"That's fine. Take it as my apology for shooting the Boss candidate and his bodyguard."
Gabriel untied him. "One day, I'll explain everything over Chianti, my friend. For now, you need to trust me. Put your trust in me above your loyalty to the Family."
"It's like I don't even know you." Dantalion didn't look at him as he stood up. "You were the one whose loyalty to the Family would enable you to spit in the face of God Almighty himself. Why change now?"
"There's more important things than the Family, Dantalion." Gabriel lit a cigarette. He handed one to Dantalion, who took it and borrowed the bodyguard's lighter.
"Bullshit."
"Tell that to Ain-Soph-Ur Undicesimo." He huffed as they started walking back to Dantalion's car. "How's your leg?"
"Can kick your ass. How's your arm?"
"Can crack your skull."
The two older man began playfully beating each other up as they walked side by side. Silva followed behind them, feeling extremely exhausted. His thoughts ranged from 'How did I do that?' to 'Weren't they just killing each other just now?'. He could still feel his heart beating in his chest, as if it wants to break out of his ribs and out onto the ground. His breathing was ragged, as if he just ran miles without stopping. He tried to calm himself down.
Breathing in, and out. Breathe in, and out. In and out, in and out. He dropped his suit and loosened his undershirt. Breathing in, and out.
"Quickly, now." He heard both men say to him. He didn't realize he wasn't moving. "I'm coming," he answered, or tried to, but there was no voice. He stepped forward, and suddenly everything was fine.
It was over in a matter of seconds.
"I will trust you, Gabriel, and lead you to Naples, but I have no part in this. If it comes down, I will save myself."
"Very well." Gabriel finished the cigarette in his mouth and and tossed it outside the window. "Now, I'm guessing you're wanting some answers."