~Lost and broke, I feel like we can't get anywhere, enough to feel like leaving. Hopeless but I know that this can't be everything. We don't need this heartache. We could break away if you really want to run. Hard to keep the pace when you're staring at the sun.~ Harrison Storm.

••

"Where on earth should we go from here?" Alex asks Alaric. "Do you think Ron Moretto will allow us to easily leave this city? The son of a bitch runs this town."

Alaric runs a palm over his face. "Good point. We are in the lion's den right now."

Instantly, the boys take notice of a group of cops in blue standing at the end of the road. They are stopping cars and seemingly carrying out spot checks.

Alaric tenses up. "Shit. I have a bad feeling about this. We have the guns in the back, we can't get caught by the fucking cops."

Max, who is riding his motorbike in front of the van holds his hand up, pointing a finger to his left to signal to them that he is taking an alternate route, opposite to the one they are currently on.

"Follow closely behind him," Alaric orders Alex, just before his cell starts ringing from his lap. With a tired grunt, he takes it up and presses it to his ear.

"Ian?"

His face screws up as he jams a finger into his left ear. "Speak slower." Rapid breathing and chattering can be heard on the opposite end as Alaric's face slowly blanches. "They found out. How the hell—" He puts a hand to his forehead and Ansel glides to the edge of his seat.

"They found out?"

Alaric nods at him before responding to Ian. "Get out of there now, they will kill you. Yeah, I know you got this. Stay safe, little guy." He hangs up, shaking his head before glancing back at his brothers with an anxious expression.

They know Alaric. He is the type to stay composed even in the worst situation but today he seems unnerved and the brothers can tell.

This whole predicament is sketchy; he was not prepared for this. Yes, he and the boys were planning on raiding Ron's camp, but this is all too sudden, and now he has to be thinking on his toes for this early quandary.

Rainey feels awful. Not only has she made matters worse, but Ansel won't even look at her. She has been earnestly trying to catch his eyes to offer even a soundless apology, but he is deliberately looking everywhere else but at her.

••

"Ian! Open this door!" Fred is beating against the old wooden door of the bathroom that the thin boy stands behind, his eyes frantically scanning for an escape route.

Luckily, Ian is a remarkably observant person. After he excused himself to the back door and reported to Alaric that Rainey was with Ron Moretto, he returned inside to find Ron watching him suspiciously. Keeping his head bent, he finds his seat and continues to work.

After Moretto left the camp, Fred got a phone call less than thirty minutes after. Ian watched as the man's face morphs into all sorts. Fred then looks at him with narrowed eyes and the boy lowers his hazel orbs immediately, an upsurge of premonition washing over him.

He instantly conjures up from his seat and quickly makes his way to the bathroom. He phones Alaric, informing him that they have found out and that they will surely kill him. Ian then assured him that he will find a way to escape and that they should focus on leaving the city. Hence why at this very moment he is pressing his skinny back against the door while the brawny man beats it down.

"I will kick this motherfucking door down! Come out here at once, you fucking snitch! You're dead!"

Ian spots an old window positioned above the discolored toilet. He drags a chair and snags beneath the round handle of the door, to ensure it remains locked before scurrying over to his escape route. He climbs on top of the toilet and grips the windowsill, grunting softly as he pulls his body through.

Sitting on the window ledge, he looks down at the narrow alley below him. He is a good distance up from the ground which means jumping down could result in him breaking a leg. However, injuring a limb is far more optional than being shot in the head with a rifle, and so when he hears the loud creak of the bathroom door as it plunges open, he blows his cheeks out before quickly releasing his hold. Landing badly on his gaunt legs, he utters a soft profanity through gritted teeth before sprinting through the aisle as swift as lightning.

As he gets around to the front of the Hardware, a series of gunshots chime after him. The boy ducks his head as he keeps his feet moving, a few men chasing behind him as they release ammo rapidly.

"Don't let the son of a bitch escape!" Fred bellows, quickly reloading his rifle before opening fire repeatedly, his body jerking each time his gun recoils.

As Ian passes by a metal fence, one of the bullets hit the pole and grazes his shoulder. "Ah, shit," he hisses, pressing his palm to the bleeding area as he continues to run. The men keep chasing behind him, but the boy is much too slippery and swift, and so he soon outruns them until his small body is no longer in view.

••

"Ian. Yeah. Oh, thank God." Alaric lays his head against the headrest, breathing down into his phone. "Good job, little guy."

Ian is the cousin of Drake--one of Alaric's men. They deem it would be wise to use him as the mole since his looks can be greatly deceiving. He's a tiny boy with an angular figure and he has big hazel eyes that tend to appear innocent. He's also a good sprinter and can fit into the narrowest of spaces.

"Is he alright?" Arden questions as Alaric gets off the phone, nodding in response.

"Yeah, he's alright."

"Thank God." Aiden sighs.

"You have got be kidding me..." Alex mutters, as the van slows down. Everyone fixes their attention ahead to see a new set of cops, patrolling a few distances down the road.

"The cops are everywhere." Alaric shakes his head. "They must be working for Ron Moretto. Bunch of kiss-ass bastards."

"What do we do now?" Arden asks.

Max's motorbike comes to a halt as he raises his hand again. He does a circular motion with his finger, indicating that he's turning back. As he makes a U-turn and rides back up, he stops at Alex's window and he winds it down to hear what he has to say.

"If we go that way, we're fucked. We need to find another way to leave the city."

"Without a doubt, the cops are going to be at every possible entrance and exit," Alaric says. "How the hell do we leave then?"

"I think I know this place where we can hopefully travel by boat to get back to Crossview. I know this man who owns some boats, haven't heard from him in a while though."

"We should probably just stay and face Ron Moretto." Alex hisses, throwing a hand in the air. "All this running feels like bullshit."

Max shakes his head in disapproval. "That's suicide. The man has an army of men here, alongside dirty cops; this is his territory. We need to get back to Crossview and round up our men. We aren't properly prepared for this right now."

"Where do you suggest we go?" Ansel inputs. "I feel like this whole city will be covered with his corrupted cops."

Max sighs. "Follow me." He rides away and Alex adjusts his handbrake before turning the van around and following behind him.

••

"Ry, where's Rainey? She isn't here?" Robert squints his eyes at Riley as she sits on the couch, anxiously fiddling with the hem of her denim shorts.

The brothers have instructed her to not spill the fact that Rainey is at Freetown in the presence of Ron Moretto, the reason being that they would hate for Robert to further detest the idea of Rainey staying at Crossview. They had made a promise to her dad that they would always protect her, and this ordeal would surely waver his faith in them.

However, they had ordered Riley that if they did not return in two hours, she had the permission to disclose where they were and what had happened. It has only been an hour since they left and so she is not allowed to say anything though she is close to cracking.

She squirms slightly beneath the expectant eyes of Robert, Austin, and Melissa who are scrutinizing her with interest.

"Where are the boys?" Austin enquires, gazing around the living room before focusing back to her. "They were here this morning and now the house is empty. I've been trying to call them but no response, from any of them. Where are they?"

"They—I have no idea...they didn't tell me where they were going."

Robert narrows his eyes at her. "What about Rainey, where is she?"

"She's at the mall." Riley sighs.

She hates lying so much but she has no choice right now. The boys had left in an unfamiliar black van, stating that Rainey is in trouble and that she should not tell their parents anything until the allotted time. She is unaware of the full details, but she can tell that dangerous things are about to go down between the boys and Ron Moretto. She just hopes that her dishonesty does not have fatal consequences.

The adults look among themselves and Riley feels as if they are not buying her fables one bit.

"Riley." Robert exhales tiredly, sitting beside her with a softened gaze. She swallows nervously, her emerald eyes staring back at him. "I know you're hiding something, sweetheart. It's okay, you can tell us."

"Did the boys tell you not to say anything?" Austin checks and Riley shakes her head quickly, her palms mirroring the same action.

"You can talk, sweetie." Melissa smiles a little.

"No." Riley shakes her head. "They didn't tell me to not say anything because there is nothing to say. I am not hiding anything. I don't know where the boys are and Rainey told me that she was going to the mall, that's all I know."

Rob sighs in defeat, rubbing his forehead as he looks up at the boys' parents. They all have similar faces of distress; they can easily sense Riley's dishonesty.

••

The van comes to a stop on a dusty mountain-peak area with green lush trees surrounding it. The landscape is isolated and high up, making the sky appear lower than normal. They climb out of the van and Max gets off his motorbike and joins them as Alaric opens the trunk to retrieve their weapons.

"What now?" Arden questions, squinting his eyes from the evening sun as Aiden shoves a pistol into his hands.

"We get ready for war," he says.

"I'll call the boat-guy while you guys get the guns ready. If Ron finds us before we get on that sea, then we'll have to do what we have to do." With that Max walks off, tapping away on his cell before putting it to his ear.

"I'll try to get through to Ken and Joe. I don't know how they'll get here considering the borders are all covered by cops, but I'll have to try." Alaric sighs hopefully as he too plods away from the group.

Rainey can feel the strong aloofness radiating off Ansel as he grabs one of the Glocks from the open trunk. His expression is serious and concentrated as he loads bullets into the gun. There is no way to measure the amount of guilt she is currently experiencing. If something bad happens to anyone today, she will be blaming herself for the rest of her life.

"Do you need help?" She offers quietly. He shakes his head firmly, still refusing to look at her. Alex glances at them with interest as he pushes a clip into the chamber of his gun.

"Are you sure?" She reaches for one of the weapons suggestively. "It would make our job a lot easier if I just—"

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" Ansel shoots her stern look, and the brothers pull aghast gazes in their direction.

Rainey feels a stab to her heart as she retreats her hand. "Just trying to help."

"You don't need to." He shakes his head, reaching for another ammo. "I already told you that, but you never listen."

"You don't have to be like this, I get it, you know." She crosses her arms. "I know what I did was unwise and—"

"Unwise?" He scoffs. "Unwise is an understatement. It was foolish and it made you seem naïve and you're not a naïve person, so I don't know what the hell went wrong."

"Ansel." Aiden rests a hand on his shoulder, patting him lightly. "Chill."

Rainey's eyes begin to get wet as she twists her lips. "I am sorry. I didn't mean for it to be like this."

"You're always sacrificing yourself for others. I don't know why you keep doing things like that." A line forms between Ansel's brows as he glares at her with blazing eyes. "You don't think about how it'll make the people who genuinely love you feel. Giving up yourself to that drug lord, did you honestly think that that would make me happy? It wouldn't and it didn't, so that was a waste of your efforts because it made me anything but! Your choice was impulsively selfish and stupid."

"Ansel." Alex urges him to stop and a teardrop leaves Rainey's eye and falls along her cheek. Her intentions were good. She just wanted to protect him but that only resulted in him being angry with her. She has never seen him like this, and it shatters her heart.

The world can be angry with her, cuss her out as they please. But Ansel? It kills her when he does.

When he sees the tears gathered in her eyes, his gaze softens entirely, and he blows his cheeks out before throwing the gun down and walking away from the scene.

Rainey plops down onto the open space of the trunk and wipes her eyes with her wrist, but it is useless since the tears refuse to stop flowing. Not even her mom's words of abuse had hurt her this much. There is just something about Ansel being angry with her that makes her feel like the world is closing in on her.

Alex sits next to her, playfully bumping her shoulder as Aiden and Arden crash on the ground in front of her.

"Hey, hey~ stop crying." Alex bounces her shoulder again and she presses a palm to her face as her shoulders quiver.

"He didn't mean that." Aiden cajoles. "Ansel is like that when he's angry, he says a ton load of shit that he'll regret later. He loves you."

"Yeah." Arden nods sympathetically. "Give him some time, he'll come around."

Rainey removes her hand. Her cheeks and eyes are red from crying. "I am sorry. I just wanted to protect you guys. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"We know, and it's okay." Alex smiles while he throws an arm around her. "Ansel is just still in a state of fright. He was scared that he would lose you; he almost died of anxiety on the way here to get you."

Rainey stares at the dirt road beneath her feet. Ansel's words are like a broken mixtape, replaying in her mind over and over again. She wants nothing more than to make things right.

Alex sighs, gently pulling her into a comforting side-hug. He pats her arm and her eyes flutter shut at the warm consolation.

"It's okay, Rain. We don't hate you; we appreciate you caring about us. Ansel loves you. That's just how he is when he cares about someone. Don't cry."

"Yeah, we hate to see you cry; it doesn't suit you. You're a strong, badass chic. I mean, you cracked a girl's head open, not every girl has that amount of strength." Arden titters in hopes of lifting her sullen mood. It barely worked, but Rainey manages to give a small smile as she and Alex break apart.

"Thank you, guys." She wipes the last of her tears. "I appreciate it."

They smile.

"We are fucked. Max is unable to get through to the boat-guy." Alaric returns over to the van, his expression one of extreme distress. "I guess it's just war."

"Did you get through to Ken?" Aiden worries.

"Yeah. They are going to try to get here by boat. Max also knows a few guys in Freetown; not much. They are on their way to help us right now."

Arden nods. "Okay."

"Oh shit!" Max suddenly exclaims, hurrying over to the group apprehensively. "I hear the sound of vehicles. And it's not the men I called to help because they wouldn't get here this fast."

"Shit. It's Ron Moretto. Where's Ansel?" Alaric looks around just as Ansel returns to the trunk and grabs one of the Glocks.

"There are vehicles coming up the trail," he says. "I can hear them."

Three large vans are coming up the dirt track, a BMW following closely behind them. Ansel grips Rainey's hand in his and her eyes fall to the action as he pulls her with him to the front of their van. He stoops down with her, a hand on her shoulder while his gun is in the other.

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" He checks, and she shakes her head.

He half-smiles. "Remind me to teach you later."

His words bring her hope. They will make it out alive, won't they?

"Stay behind the van, don't move okay?" He tells her and she shakes her head frantically, not liking the sound of this. He could die out there, she cannot stay here and not do anything.

"Rainey, please." He begs her.

She doesn't want to appear stubborn, so she nods her head, her face melting with dismay.

"I am sorry for yelling at you earlier and for saying all those things," he says remorsefully. "I promise that I'll give you a better apology later when this is all over."

The sorrow in her eyes causes him to release a sigh, and he presses his lips to her head. "We'll be okay, yeah?"

She nods sadly, closing her eyes. She hopes so.

A gunshot goes off, causing their bodies to jerk in response. Ansel quickly breaks away from her, leaving her now barren and empty as he returns to the trunk of the van.

Crossfire. He has entered a crazy hectic gun battle.

Ansel keeps his head bent as he seeks refuge at the side of the van. He realizes that the Freetown men who Max had called to assist them have finally arrived by a pick-up truck. There are now eleven of them in total, but they are still outnumbered by Ron's shooters, being that he brought twenty-five men in all.

Dust and gun smoke circulate in the air, and the loud, deafening sound of gunshots shakes the earth as both parties open fire simultaneously. With every few leads released from the heavy weapons, the brothers take cover behind their van and the pick-up truck before raising their guns and firing again.

Ron's goons possess skillful marksmanship, and their ability to aim accurately is nothing compared to the brothers' army. Ansel can feel a small tinge of worry settling in as he stoops down at the side of the van, quickly reloading ammo into his Glock. A heavy breathing Alex squats next to him, the dirt gravels crunching beneath his sneakers as he hurriedly injects more leads into his gun.

"This is not looking good, Ansel." He shakes his head rapidly, his clammy fingers moving swiftly. "They are fucking professionals."

"Where's Alaric?" Ansel's gun is fully reloaded, and he elevates it beside his head as he gets ready to aim again.

"Behind the pick-up truck."

"Are the twins alright too?"

"Yeah, they're on the other side. Where's Rainey?"

"At the front of the van." Ansel fixes his gun on an unmindful target who is vigorously shooting at a cornered Alaric. He compresses the trigger with utmost focus, clenching his teeth as the bullet hits the man in the stomach. He quickly lowers himself again, using his knuckle to wipe the perspiration from his forehead. "I told her not to move. I can't have her getting hurt."