'The art gallery was apparently filled with expensive art pieces, which attracted the culprits. One of the most expensive art pieces that were showcased there was worth $4 Billion. The shooters were, however, unsuccessful in getting any of the pieces because of the quick steps taken by the security placed near the gallery.' The news reporter spoke in a computerised voice.
"It was just a robbery?" Tony asked with an agitated tone and looked over towards Mia sitting by the couch.
Mia looked visibly annoyed, too. She sighed and turned the volume of the TV up a notch.
'There were no apparent casualties at the site because of the top security that rushed inside as soon as the sound of the guns was heard. It is yet unknown how the robbers were able to walk past the security in the first place. According to some sources, it is said that robbers may have been staying in the five-star hotel above the gallery but nothing is confirmed yet.'
Samantha and Leo had been standing in the kitchen all this while, observing Mia sitting on the couch with anxious eyes.
"Did she get hurt?" Samantha whispered to Leo.
"I don't know. She didn't tell me. Apparently, she injured a robber inside the gallery and then ran out with Carys." Leo replied, eyes still on Mia.
"Do you think she regrets going to the art gallery?" Samantha asked Leo, and Leo shook his head at her.
Nobody knew what was happening inside Mia's mind. She just sat by the TV and continued to hear more about the incident. She was trying to decipher the shooting. She was baffled to hear that the robbers had walked past the security there as if it had never existed.
"Leo." Mia finally opened her mouth. Leo immediately walked towards her and stood right in front of her.
"Dial Gonsalves." She commanded, and it made him widen his eyes in surprise.
"Pericolosa…" Leo tried to find reason in Mia's command, but there was no one who can do that.
Mia looked up at Leo and raised her eyebrows at the possible protest that Leo was putting forward.
Leo knew better, so he pulled up his mobile phone and dialled the number that Mia had ordered him to.
"Hello," Leo spoke with all his might and waited for the response from the other side. "Leo talking," He added after hearing a response from the opposite person.
There was tension in the room. Tony and Samantha looked at each other with fear. 'What was Mia even doing?' They thought to themselves but dare not to say it out louder.
"Pericolosa would like to talk to the leader," Leo spoke in slow-motion, almost.
There was a shuffling sound from the other side of the call.
Mia stood up from the couch and took the phone out of Leo's hand even before he was ready to let it go.
"Hello," Mia said on the phone. She had a fire burning inside her. Ever since she had stepped foot in New York, things have been escalating out of her hands. She hated not being in control of the things near her.
"Pericolosa," Mia remembered this voice. It was the voice of the person who had shot her for the first time. Mia could never forget it. It was harsh and rough like a farmer's hand, but exactly the opposite of that.
"Gonsalves men have always had a problem of sneaking up their noses in my business for no apparent reason. Can you tell me why is that?" Mia spoke with authority and anger. She knew that the shooting was definitely intentional.
A laugh was heard from the other end and it made Mia put the phone away from her ear. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Oh poor, doll. Did you get hurt?" The man then said on the phone and Mia gave out a laugh, too.
"You think sending a man in a black mask with a single gun in his hand can help you put me out?" She replied. Her shoulders were tense.
"I was just playing with you. You know how your uncle likes you so much. I wanted to know if you are doing okay in the new city. I missed you here." He said with sarcasm dripping over even on the other side of the phone.
"I am doing way better here now. I don't have you around. The stench is gone." Mia said.
"Are you?" The man asked.
"Enough playing. Now, listen here, you old shit. If you ever try anything on me while I am here, I will make sure that I come back to Italy and chop up your body into pieces before burning your whole family down." Mia almost shouted her lungs out on the phone.
Samantha came out of the kitchen and stood right by her brother.
Mia was mad, and they all knew it. Mia had always been like that, a very brutal leader. People shivered when they made a mistake in front of her. She was known for having a high temper.
There was silence on the other side of the phone. "We will talk when you are back in town, Pericolosa." said the man before hanging up.
Mia hung up the call after a brief second and threw the phone back at Leo.
"I need to be alone," she announced before walking towards her room and shutting the door with a thud.
Silence occupied the living room, and the three people looked at each other with scared eyes.
Mia threw herself onto her bed and covered her face with the pillow propped up there. Mia felt uncomfortable today. She was sad, angry, and irritated. There was a wave of emotions inside Mia and she was drowning in it. She hated how this city made her feel.
She had second thoughts about talking to the Gonsalves back when she was sitting on the couch in front of the TV listening to the news coverage. Then, Carys' face popped up inside her brain and, for some strange reason, she could not stop thinking about his eyes. They were almost teary.
Carys thought that he was going to die. She could see in his eyes that Carys had thought of her as a God at that exact moment. Mia had captured the scene and framed it in her heart. The moment when Carys embraced her in his arms and refused to let go of her made her weak.
Mia was the person who hate hugs, or maybe she was the person who has never gotten any hugs, so she cherished them. She didn't know which one of them was true.
When she talked to the Gonsalves' leader, Carys was all she was thinking about. She was not thinking about how her ribcage was throbbing with pain or how her cover could have blown off right there. She was just thinking about Carys and the fear that engulfed that poor heart.
"What is wrong with me?" Mia questioned no one in particular. She could think of no answer. She was agitated by Gonsalves and his cheap trick.
She then began thinking of the bad outcomes. What if Carys was alone there? What if I had decided not to go there? What if there was no champagne bottle on the table?
'Who am I kidding? I would have saved him even without a champagne bottle.'
"Why am so confident that I would have saved him?" Mia sat up straight on the bed.
"Why am I even saving him?" She asked herself and gave herself a smack on her forehead. She was acting stupid. She was here to kill Carys, not for thinking of ways to save him.
It was strange. Everything related to Carys was strange. It made Mia miserable and irritated. She could never tell what she was thinking when the thought involved Carys.
After talking to herself like a maniac, Mia looked for her phone
5 Missed Calls.
She looked through the missed calls.
The name that she loathed appeared on the screen. Carys Jones.
"What does he need now?" Mia groaned in frustration. She was weirdly mad at Carys. He was playing with her head, and Mia didn't like when people tried to look right through her. Carys was invading Mia's privacy, and it made no sense to Mia because she and Carys were not even close.
Carys had apparently left a voice note for Mia. She got curious and played it.
'Hey. I know that you just left but I… um… I would like to invite you over for lunch. You said that you will grab lunch with me next time. I think my family would like to meet the person who saved my life.'
Mia curled her bottom lip into her mouth. The sound of wind rustling was heard behind Carys.
'I mean… only if you are comfortable with it. Call me!'
Carys' voice finally stopped with a beep.
Mia took her face in her palms and gave out a frustrated growl.
"Lord help me!" It was like a cry for help, that she whispered into her own body.