The Heiress

Bang, bang, bang.

Gunshots went off and crashed through the window of Palermo Pasta.

"Everyone, get down," Zain yelled as he pulled Grace down into cover.

They knocked over tables to hide behind them. Luckily, they were made of resistant material – but no one knew how long they would last.

Ray's men attacked back, shooting at the men coming towards the restaurant.

Oh no, the waitress and attendant. Grace peeked out from under their cover to see if they were around. "Ah," she yelped as Zain pulled her back, his hand gripping her upper arm.

"What are you doing? Stay back here." Zain pulled out his gun and glanced at Ray, who nodded at him.

"You two don't expect me to stay here during a gunfight, do you?"

"Of course," they said in unison.

It's like they forgot I'm a cop with top-notch shooting skills.

"Stay back here with her," Zain said.

"Who are you to tell me to do that?" Ray growled and Zain froze, his eyes wide. "They attacked us at my favourite restaurant; I'll make them rue the day." Ray pulled out two handguns. "You stay and protect her."

"Screw that." Grace dove to the next booth over, closer to where the waitress and attendant were cowering.

"Grace!" Ray roared.

"Do your own thing." She waved at him and kept going.

"How dare she...?" Ray huffed.

A shot hit near his head, and he barely flinched.

"We shouldn't even be surprised by now..." Zain sighed and followed her over, knowing that's what Ray wanted.

Grace jumped up with the gun Zain trusted her with and sent off two shots before ducking back down. Both shots hit two of the men storming in, in the hands, blasting their weapons away.

Gunfire and screams filled the air.

Steady and as calm as she could be, Grace moved again. The waitress and attendants were in her sights. I'll save you, the innocent people.

More men came barging in through the door and blown out windows. One of them headed straight for the waitress and attendant with a crooked smile. They didn't notice where Grace was hiding.

"You look cute enough to sell." He laughed and aimed his gun at them.

Grace shot his gun away and lunged at him, smashing his head into a nearby table. She rolled to the side where they were.

"They might have the place surrounded, so the safest place is either the bathroom or the roof."

"There's no access to the roof from the inside," the attendant said.

"Bathroom it is." At least it's not too far. She kept her gun ready, and with her free hand, she took the hand of the waitress, who then took the attendant's hand.

They kept low as they rounded the corner.

A bull of a man rushed down the hall towards them. Grace quickly shot his gun away, and then his leg. He groaned in pain and pressed on the bullet wound with his hand.

How many people have I injured now?

Grace led them to the ladies' bathroom. "It's not the greatest spot, but it's better than nothing. If you're going to hide in the stalls, stand on the toilet so they can't see your feet. Won't stop them if they actually check each one, though. We'll resolve this before it comes to that. Stay here," Grace commanded.

"Um... Thank you." The attendant bowed to her.

"R-right... Thank you..." The waitress followed suit, trembling as she bowed.

"Stay safe." Grace checked how many rounds she had left. Wish I had an extra clip to bring with me. I'll have to be a bit more sparing with them.

"Y-you could stay here and hide with us," the attendant suggested.

"No; I can't do that." They're likely after me and grandpa. I'm just getting to know him; I have to make sure he's okay. Ducking down, she peeked into the hallway. If she followed it out, she was almost certain there would be men waiting for her, so she headed back towards the dining room.

Bullets were still flying everywhere as bodies from both sides were strewn across the floor. A few dead, but mostly people groaning in pain. To Grace's surprise, a bunch of them had dropped their guns and gotten into fistfights. It didn't seem to matter that shots were going off near them.

They're crazy... the lot of them. How many men did they send to attack this place? And why aren't the cops here to break it up yet?!

Gun ready, Grace stayed around the corner of the hall and tried to locate both Zain and Ray. She peeked around the corner to see if there were more people outside. A bunch were on the ground, a few were still randomly shooting at the building.

"Get down!" Zain yelled.

Before Grace could react, she was tackled to the ground, and a shot landed in the wall, having passed by where she was.

"Ugh..." Grace groaned and tried to push Zain off.

"Why'd you come back?! You should've stayed hidden."

"As if I could go hide while you guys are in the middle of a fight!"

Zain growled at her and rolled to the side with her in his arms as he shot at someone coming towards them.

"How in the world are we supposed to end this fight? And why haven't the cops shown up yet?" Grace complained as she tried to push Zain away.

"We win when they're either all dead or run away. And the cops take forever to show up... but it looks like someone else has appeared. You stay here." Zain got up and froze, his heart racing.

"Quit resisting or he dies," one of the enemies yelled, their gun aimed at Ray's head from only a foot away as Ray was on his knees.

Grace stood, her eyes glued to the attacker, reading his expression. "He's going to kill him either way."

"Don't you dare stop fighting!" Ray yelled at them.

"Tch, your funeral, old man. Well, yours and your families'."

Bang.

The man with his gun to Ray lurched to the side and hit the ground in a bloody mess.

Zain slowly turned, and his eyes widened. Grace was standing beside him with her gun still aimed at the man who shot Ray.

"I..." Her hand shook. "I just..."

There was a whole lot of yelling and cursing going on, none of which Grace could even hear with her head in a daze, and the enemy started to flee.

Zain grabbed the gun from her and pulled her in for a hug. "You did what you had to, to save your grandpa," he whispered.

How could I? She trembled in his arms. I always go for the hand, but this time I went for his head!

"Thank you for saving him."

Tears welled up, and she buried her face in his chest. "Ha..."

"Sorry I took so long to show up," a familiar voice caught her ear as they talked to Ray.

Vincent?

"I'm glad you showed, but how'd you even know about this?" Ray asked as Vincent helped him to his feet.

"This isn't far from my territory, and one of my men called me about it. I think they're a regular here." Vincent's eyes trailed around the destroyed restaurant.

"Looking for my granddaughter?" Ray's eyes went over to her and Zain. He knew what she did for him, but he also figured it would come at a cost. "I'm sorry, but she's in shock at the moment."

Vincent nodded and glanced at where Ray was looking. "Understandable. This is a call for war. This can be hard for us to deal with, never mind someone from the outside."

"I'm sure the gun fight rattled her, but that's not what I'm talking about."

"Oh?"

"She just killed a man to save me." Ray nudged his head towards the body beside them.

Vincent's eyes widened. He could tell she was fierce, but she also seemed soft at the same time. She wanted to help people. That's what drove her. "I see..."

"Thank you for your help, but I hope you'll excuse me; I need to see my granddaughter."

"Yes, of course." Vincent stepped out of the way. He watched Ray walked away, and then instructed his men to help the wounded and to clean up the place.

"Grace," Ray called to her and stroked her head.

She jumped a little, having not noticed he came over. She took a deep breath and stepped away from Zain, wiping her eyes before turning to him.

"Gracey." He drew her in for a hug. "Thank you for saving this old man. I'm sorry you had to do that."

Did I have to? Was there another way? I could've shot at his hand like normal. I'm good enough that I could've done that and spared him.

"Let's get you home."

Grace nodded. As they were leading her to the entrance, a car driving by caught her eye. A young man with white hair was in the back of the car. He was looking over as the car drove by.

No way...

The three of them stopped at the door for them to look around. Grace moved over to the wall of photos. Most of them had been knocked down and smashed. Sifting through the broken frames and glass, she picked up the picture of her parents.

"Are you okay?" Vincent approached Grace.

"I..." I can't even say I'm okay right now. "I don't know..." She stood with the picture, missing half of its glass cover. "This place was supposed to be a link to my parents, and now it's ruined."

Vincent glanced at the picture. "You look like your mother. Both beautiful."

"Thanks..."

He rested his hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing, you know? You protected someone precious to you. You have no need to feel guilty over someone who was ready to kill. And I know you have a kind heart, but not everyone is worth trying to save. Not everyone wants to be saved." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and left.

"Come on." Zain urged her out of the restaurant while Ray was talking to someone else. They headed to their vehicle, surprised to find it wasn't destroyed, and their driver was still alive. "No warning?"

"I wasn't even in the car." He pointed at the cafe across the street. "I was busy drinking coffee and hitting on women. When I came out, there was a mass of people trying to get into the restaurant and attacking it. What did you expect me to do? Can't warn anyone by then. If I tried to fight back from here, I'd have the whole lot of them after me."

"All I heard was you turned into a coward and hid when we needed you."

He threw his hands into the air. "I ain't a fighter; I'm a driver. If you need to get away in a car chase, I'm your man, but this... no; it's not my forte. Now, are we going back? Sir..." He went stiff when Ray showed up right behind them.

"Yes, let's go." Ray took Grace's hand and led her into the back with him. "I'm sorry..."

Zain sat on her other side and sighed. He couldn't help but wonder if something like this was bound to happen eventually.