Chapter 81 Shaun to the rescue
Dante's POV
I knew I was out of options and my best bet to survive this was to push through them.
The only problem I had was doing that with these kids in hand.
I was at the verge of giving up on them when something crashed into the building behind them.
I couldn't see what it was but soon, it rammed straight into the burnt carcass before me.
That's when I spotted it's figure to be that of a car. My car to be specific.
The person at the wheel maneuvered the car round, going through all those who surrounded me.
Then it came to a stop beside me, between all the flames.
The door flung open and I didn't need an invitation.
I threw the first child through the fire, then the second before I jumped in myself, closing the door behind me.
The driver zoomed out immediately as the children coughed wildly.
By the time we got out of the building to a safer spot, the car came to a stop with a sharp swerve to the right.
I quickly pushed open the door and helped the kids out for fresh air.
They coughed while sitting on the floor, but soon got used to the clearer environment.
Shaun then stepped out of the driver's seat, coughing slightly too.
“That was close,” he remarked between a cough.
“Very,” I replied. “Thanks for the save,” I said with a nod.
“Don't sweat it, boss. Noticed you weren't coming out, knew something had gone wrong,” he added.
I nodded. “I couldn't just let them burn,” I muttered while turning to the two kids.
“You did the right thing, Don,” he replied and I nodded. “But that was pretty close,” he added, gesturing towards my clothes.
I looked down at the mess I was wearing. “Nothing a new pair of clothes won't solve,” I joked and Shaun chuckled.
Then… from behind us, the store came crashing down totally to form a heap of ash.
The mission was complete, but I couldn't help but think back to the father of these children.
I couldn't help but think back to how I let him die, die for nothing. Simply cause of who he worked for.
I shook my head. Nobody is worth trusting, I thought to myself.
But Shaun could change that, I thought as I looked over to him.
He had my life in his hands a few minutes ago.
Soon, the men gathered around us from all sides. I pulled up the young ones and guided them into the car.
Then, I looked around at the men that now surrounded me.
We still looked similar in number and I was tempted to believe that there was no loss.
I jumped onto the trunk of the car and grabbed a better view of everyone.
I still had my gun in hand, so I raised it to the air.
Those with guns joined me, lifting it to the air, while those without lifted their hands to the air.
“Any man who has fallen on the way should be carried home. No corpse should be left behind!” I screamed.
The men shouted in response.
“Then let's get the fuck outta here!” I added and jumped down, jumping into the car immediately beside the children.
Shaun jumped into the front while the actual driver slipped in and kicked it into motion.
The rest of the cars were parked far off but their drivers brought them all one by one till every man slotted in.
Then we moved back home as one.
On the way, one of the kids tugged my shirt down. I turned to him, surprised at the contact.
“Is my daddy going to be alright?” He asked in a soft voice.
I stared at the little kid who's only crime was being born to a man that worked for a particular druggie.
If I was to guess, I would say he only accepted the job cause life fucked him up badly and he needed to carter for his family.
I didn't know what to respond, so I just nodded.
“When can we see him?” The other asked.
“Yes, I want to see him too,” the first whined.
I ran a hand over my face, I'm not in for all these.
“You have a mother?” I asked none of them in particular.
They looked among themselves and shook their heads in unison.
“Let's drop them off at an orphanage tomorrow,” Shaun said from the front.
“You think that's a great idea?” I asked, staring down at them.
“It's the best choice we've got, except you wanna raise them,” Shaun replied.
I gave it a thought and he was right. Raising them wasn't an option at this point.
“Let's get home first,” I remarked.
We drove on and for a split second, I thought of the consequences of our just concluded action.
I knew Luca wouldn't take this lightly and for sure, the real war had just begun…
The ride back went on smoothly and in about thirty minutes, we were back at the destroyed warehouse.
The cars all parked at their designated spot and I stepped out, closing the children inside.
I made my way towards the same raised stone I had stood barely over an hour ago to charge them.
I stood and signaled to them to come around.
“First of all, was any lost among us?” I asked only cause we were few and could easily be reached out to.
Shaun quickly went around and I patiently waited for his response.
He came back skipping slightly with a kind of surprised look.
I leaned down to him and he whispered, “none, boss. Everyone's intact.”
I leaned back and raised a brow at him. “Fr real?” I asked in a whisper.
“Yeah, not one of the men died. A few injuries here and there and some serious shots. But no death,” he explained further.
“Woah,” I exclaimed, stabilizing myself lest I fall.
As far as I could remember, I had never led men to a fight without at least one loss. A complete squad after an attack felt like a miracle.
“Guess I'll make it a habit to move in smaller groups from now on,” I joked.
Shaun smiled and I got myself back up to a standing position.
I looked over to the small crowd of soldiers that just proved their loyalty the only way I deemed worthy.
I spotted a few who leaned on another and others who were practically being carried, but all stood intact.
I wish I could console all the injured, I wish I only had good words to say to them, but if I did, I would be lying.
They deserve better, they deserve to know the truth.