Stay for a while

After he pulled and throwed the little bottle to the guards, a puff of black smoke emitted from it. Afterwards, a huge smokescreen envelope them. It was not just an ordinary pepper spray. It has a hidden mechanism that is similar to a smoke bomb. Dana brought it out, just to be cautious, but it was useful in the moment.

Dana took this moment to grab Alexei, to run heading towards the exit. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side, the main door was locked. Alexei grabbed Dana and ran towards the other door. Seeing that it was locked too, they went to another one while looking out at the dissipating smokescreen.

"The smokes are dissipating; they'll surely see us. What should we do?" Dana asks Alexei in a panic voice.

"If all the doors are locked, we should probably look for an open window. The architecture of this place suggests that most windows at the front are French designs. That should fit a person. But it's too risky. Security may be much tighter in there." Alexei gave out his suggestion.

Dana seriously looked at Alexei. It was the first time she looked at him that way, which made him nervous for a minute. Looking at her intense stare, he understood what she wanted to say.

"Are you sure? It's too risky."

"I am sure. We need to leave this place alive. Let's do it." Dana was resolute. Seeing that she made up her mind, Alexei also relented. They hurriedly walked towards a hallway leading to the front of the store. Despite it being in a bustling place, since it was an abandoned coffee shop, people normally don't walk on this path, due to its eerie ambience.

They went inside a room full of tables and chairs. Scanning the place, they saw a big window at the corner part of the room. They hurriedly went to the window and pried it open. It was unlocked. Alexei helped Dana to open the window when at that moment, the guards arrived after searching the place.

"They're here!" the man shouted towards the group. Alexei and Dana quickly hid towards a big pile of unused tables.

"Get them and bring them to me alive, we'll see who dares to eavesdrop on me!" Jacques ordered in an irritated tone. Alexei tried to sneak a glance to look at the group.

"There's at least 10 guards and the old man. If we could go straight past these piled chairs, we may have a chance of escaping."

Footsteps are heard coming closer to their spot, and for the first time, Dana feels truly scared. She berated herself inwardly for being foolish, remembering her brother's words. She finally felt the gravity of her choices. She should have just waited for the backup, but the chance of letting Jacques escape again, made her make a decision impulsively.

Alexei felt Dana's tears in his hands. He looked down at the tearstains and glanced at her. Seeing her crying silently, he felt panic and tried to comfort her. He felt uncomfortable seeing her cry. He tried to pat her back while looking out for the guards.

"Hey, don't cry! we'll get out of here." He whispered as he tried to wipe her tears.

"I'm sorry, you got involved in this. because of me, you're stuck here." Dana looked at Alexei with a face full of tears.

"I was the one who followed you, remember? It's not your fault. Stop crying. Let's think of ways to get out of here."

"Hm. You're right." Dana wiped her face and composed herself. The both of them formulated a plan. After a while, the two of them decided to move.

"Are you ready?" Alexei asked Dana in a worried voice.

"Yes. Let's go!" Dana nodded and slowly walked towards the opposite table while Alexei was guarding her back, after they reached the table, Alexei tried to push the chair to create a noise and diversion to the guards. As the noise attracted the guards to their previous spot, they made use of the fact that they were not looking to rush at the window, unfortunately, Jacques was in the hallway, standing with a gun in his hand while the cane supported him.

Annoyed by the lack of results of the henchmen, he went to look for the eavesdropper, just in time to catch sight of Alexei and Dana running towards the window. Losing his patience, adding the fact that the eavesdropper's identity was none other than Albert's daughter, Jacques raised his gun and shot Dana.

Both Alexei and Dana were taken aback by Jacques' appearance and weren't able to react on time when Jacques fired. The bullet hit Dana's shoulders. As she grimaced in pain clutching her shoulder, she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Alexei immediately embraced Dana as he looked at Jacques cautiously. He then hurriedly took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, stopping the blood from gushing out more from the gunshot wound. At that moment, he felt a wave of rage, sadness, and pain. He couldn't understand himself. The only thing on his mind was to bring Dana to safety and make sure she was alright.

Alexei carried Dana as he threw the nearby chair towards the window, jumping from it, and breaking the glass in the process. Jacques, who was blinded by his rage for Albert, after shooting Dana once, laughed insanely, without caring for his surroundings. The gunshot was undoubtedly heard, not just by the men inside, but by those outside near the building.

The public was shocked and curious about where the shot came from. Some walked away fast due to panic, while some tried to look out of curiosity. At this time, the backup finally arrived, just as Alexei got out of the streets. Marie, who immediately noticed them, instructed their team to approach them.

Dana, who was gasping for air, and trying to endure the pain in her shoulders, looked at Alexei. She noticed his panic and worried expression, as he carried her to safety. She thoroughly observes his features, smiling at the circumstances. She then took a glance at the jacket wrapped around her, making her smile even more. She felt a sense of contentment at that dangerous moment. The feeling of being in his arms made her feel peaceful and calm despite having a shot in her shoulder.

While voices of commotions and commands echoed through the place, and knowing they were out and safe, Alexei did not pay any more attention around. He noticed her smile and smiled warmly in return before he was interrupted by Marie.

"Mr. Rosenthal!? Madam! My god! What happened!?" Marie immediately called the medics as she helped Alexei put Dana down the stretcher. As Alexei was about to let go of her, Dana clutched his shirt tightly.

"Could you stay for a little while?" Dana asked weakly as she glanced at him.

Alexei and Marie were taken aback by Dana's request, nevertheless, since it was Dana who requested, Marie, despite her curiosity, just glanced at Alexei, waiting for his response.

"Okay. I'll stay." Alexei nodded to Dana while he gently tapped the back of her hand with his hand soaked in her blood.

Dana smiled at Alexei before losing consciousness. Both of them panicked for a moment at the situation before the on-site medics gave first aid. An unconscious Dana, Alexei, Marie, and the medics boarded the ambulance as they travelled to the hospital.