Chapter 5 SHOT DEAD

ROMAN AMORY POV****************************

A week later, we arrived at the docks and set up the operation. I knelt at the top of the shipping container where I had set up the sniper spot. It was within the most logical route to the ship, and the shelter of the taller stack next to it deepened the darkness hiding him from view. It wasn't the ideal place for a shot – that was the operator box for the crane – but that also meant it wouldn't be someplace they would expect a sniper.

Donned in dark green and gray clothing gave me the camouflage that I needed. All I had to do was wait. This was the downside of being in an operation. He knew he wasn't too late – the ship was still in the harbor – and Milo Bastian was the bait. He was meeting with Prime Minister's son Tian Tian, drawing him out and this would make the police work easy. After a meeting held with the directors of the police, the operation changed to a shoot-to-kill mission.

It was an order. And hence I never had the time to brief Milo Bastian with the hope he would understand that my hands had been tied. I was a man who followed orders and hence I pretend to shoot Milo but take out Tian Tian. This was the only way to stop the drug shipment. If he was arrested, his father would plead for him, and the case would go away. The police force could not risks hence the operation had changed. A group of hired muscles wove their way through the alleys of shipping containers, surveying the area for any threat. Unfortunately for them, their location meant they couldn't check more than the very edge of the shipping containers. It didn't seem to bother them, most of their focus was on the narrow chokepoints ahead of and behind them.

They stood at the shipping container as Milo and his guards arrived. The man they were protecting was in the exact middle of their formation. Tian Tian exchanged greetings with Milo Bastian and after a while engaged in a deep conversation. I patiently waited for the signal and then saw it. Milo Bastian rubbed his neck, and it was the green light. I aimed, exhaled, and fired. Blood spluttered and Tian Tian collapsed without a word. It was a clear shot, and no mistake was made. There was an instant before the men around him processed what was happening, before the shouting and running and bullets, and I used that time to sling the gun over my back and climb over the top of the shipping container next to me. I ran as far as I had a flat surface. Getting away from the surrounding area was part of the plan. Jumping when sure that there was no one below and crawling on areas where I could be seen. The meeting point was near the end of the docks and hence I lay low and waited just in case I was spotted.

After a few minutes, ensuring the area was clear, I rushed into an open space and then I heard a popping sound, and pain sliced through my right leg. I had been shot but the person who shot me meant to stop me and they succeeded. Rather than dropping to one leg, I used the momentum to swing around, draw my handgun, and aim it with bedrock stillness at my assailant, and to my surprise, it was a woman. A woman had shot me.

"Come out" I yelled. She stepped out into the dim moonlight, her gun aimed straight at him. "Was Milo Bastian aware of your strategy?" Her voice was as pleasant and artificial as a TV announcer. My eyes widened as pain sliced through my leg. We were at a standstill, a gun aimed at each other." Did you inform him that you would kill Tinatin? You killed my lover. I can't let you go. I can live with the guilt of betraying him by providing him with information. But his death?"I stared at her in silence as she continued " I should shoot you again and then drag you into the container and wait until you bleed out." The pleasantness was picking up an edge. My leg gave way and I staggered"

The second you move; I'll empty this clip into your gut and let you die slow." She threatened."So, you are Sasha? Do we have to talk with guns aimed at each other?" My voice croaked."No one informed us that you would kill Tian Tian. What kind of partnership is this?" she yelled. There was no one on site and I knew she could kill me easily."Milo will be pissed you shoot me" I huffed."I am willing to take the risk. He will understand that I was angry. The Mob family comes first. "She snickered. She shifted slightly, and my finger tightened imperceptibly on the trigger. This was it."Sasha, let us wait for Milo. I promise to offer an explanation" I suggested. I could feel my leg giving way and my body burning from the bullet wound."Fuck you "Sasha yelled and then she fired. I closed my eyes waiting for the bullet and then I felt my body being pushed out of the way. When I opened my eyes, Milo Bastian was lying on the ground and blood was spilling from his chest.

I stared at his body in shock and then dragged myself and placed my hand on his chest to stop the bleeding. "Milo, please, hang there". He was losing so much blood; I felt my heart break. The team must have heard the shot as they arrived immediately."Call an ambulance, hurry" I yelled. But his body gave out and within seconds, Milo Bastian was dead. I turned around to check and Sasha was nowhere to be seen. How could she do this? "Boss has been shot." I heard one of my teammates yelling. My body gave way and I slipped into darkness.