Page 75 of Bedazzled
“Wh- what the hell is this?” I wheezed, “This isn’t a party it’s a fucking war council. What are youdoing?”
I noticed Colm watching us and apparently, Nolan did too, because he gave me a brisk, impersonal pat and continued to the stage. O’Rourke straightened his already straight tie and clears his throat, smiling pleasantly. “My friends!” His voice carried perfectly through the room, his tone of paternal warmth in this setting was extra creepy. I watched as a few of the men in the audience shook their heads, as if they were confused. A couple of others rubbed their eyes.
The lights in the back of the room dimmed again, making it harder to see past the stage. O’Connell Senior and Junior were standing next to O’Rourke like they were all the best of buddies.
“My friends,” he repeated, “this is indeed a magnificent day for the O’Connell Clan; for your family and your continued good fortune. This distillery represents more than just a legitimate and prestigious business concern, but even better, the beginning of the kind of power your ancestors fought for. You have made helpful and influential friends.” He paused, smiling modestly at the ripple of laughter through the room, though most of the men stared at him blankly, waiting for the passing waiters to hand them their third drink.
Smoothing down the pristine lapel of his suit, O’Rourke continued. Slower, with longer pauses as he looked around the room. There were some rumbles of impatience, but this conniving dick was taking his sweet time. Even the two O’Connell’s on stage were swaying with eagerness to take the last shot of whiskey.
I thought I heard a ‘thud!’ in the back of the room, and O’Rourke raised his voice. “To the most powerful family in this new world, the O’Connell family!” He drained his glass, as did Colm and Padraic. There was another ‘thud!’ and another… what the hell-
Then the shooting started and it was just like New Year’s Eve all over again.
Yuri…
“Everything is going just the way we mapped it out,” I murmured. I heard Maksim softly issue an order before he answered me in my earpiece.
“All clear here,” he said, “you have eyes on O’Rourke?”
“Yes, his security is edging into a perimeter around him now, it looks like he is almost finished with the toast- wait, three of O’Connell’s men just dropped like a bag of rocks. The drug is taking effect quicker than we expected.”
I watched O’Rourke, who was talking louder to cover the sound of unconscious bodies hitting the floor. There are four gigantic bastards - the old man O’Connell’s guards - who are barely swaying. They were within arm’s reach of him and his son. “Patrick?” I whisper.
He answered back instantly, “I’m here, boss.”
“The old man’s security detail does not look even remotely affected by the drug. Move some men into position as quietly as you can. They need to be taken out the second O’Rourke’s toast is done.”
“On it.”
O’Rourke was speaking slowly, and I knew he was dragging out his speech to give the drug time to take effect, but with three O’Connell soldiers down, we had seconds to get into place before they realized what was happening. The master distiller and the woman who gave a rousing speech about the history of the product were standing off to the side, but still too much in the spotlight.
Who was supposed to cover them?I thought,they need to be pulled out of here immediately.
“Dario, do you have eyes on the distiller and the redhead?”
“Of course, I do,” he answered, “she’s hot as hell and I’m going to comfort her after her traumatic experience tonight.”
“Just make sure they’re covered,” I said, exasperated. Only Dario would try to hit on a woman during a shootout. Narrowing my eyes, I watched her move restlessly. She was very pretty… she subtly moved her palms against her skirt, obviously trying to dry them. Looking at her hands, my heart nearly stopped.
The woman - Maureen - was wearing a magnificent wedding ring. A brilliant yellow shade that flashed in the stage lighting. A ring identical to my wife’s.
“Blyat’!” I hissed, “The redhead is Tania!”
Maksim’s voice broke through the chatter. “There’s no way.”
“She’s staring at that bastard O’Rourke like she knows exactly what he’s doing and unless this Maureen somehow managed to snag an identical wedding ring to the one-of-a-kind gem I gave to Tania, that is my wife!” I was already moving to the left, slipping through one of the windows leading to the terrace, where thirty of our men were poised for their signal to start shooting.
The first round of gunfire blasted through the room and I watched Tania jump and shriek, putting her hands over her ears.
“Not yet!” I shouted, knowing it was too late. I had to get to her before a bullet did. The staccato bursts of automatic fire rattled through the room, blood sprayed over the pristine white of the tablecloths and O’Connell men were being mowed down like a grisly harvest and my wife was still lit up like the world’s easiest target by the goddamned spotlights.
A man in front of me had gotten his gun out, firing unsteadily around him and hitting two of his own people before aiming at me. Staggering backward, it felt like someone had just hit my chest with a cricket bat. I was wearing a bulletproof vest but it still hurt like hell. I put a bullet in him before he could get off another lucky shot.
Tania was down, yanking the distiller down with her and crawling toward the edge of the platform. My smart girl. That bastard O’Rourke was standing casually behind his human wall of bodyguards, watching them shoot everyone who was not us.
The old man and his son- where were they? They had been on the stage, right next to that Irish prick, where-
I heard Tania scream, Colm O’Connell had abandoned his wounded father and wrapped his arm around her neck, his gun to her head as he dragged her toward an exit.
