Victoria's eyes were glistening as pink smoke enshrouded the grand hall of St Vicuna Cathedral with an urgent pace.
She looked for Robert Donatelli, Victor and Vincent's cousin, her uncle, "Uncle Robbie? Uncle?"
Robert was nearby and alert.
As soon as Victoria discharged her weapons, he was ready with his.
"I am here, Vicky." Robert quickly moved to shield the three Donatelli ladies in the front row.
"Are you hit?" Robert asked Victoria amidst the screams and wails of those present.
"No", Victoria swiftly moved towards one of the side exits.
"Heyyy! What are you doing, ah!? Come back here, Vicky!?" Robert was caught off guard.
Soon, paranoia descended on the grand hall; people rammed each other to get out, causing a stampede; it was mayhem altogether.
As people flocked towards the exits like rodents during extermination.
Robert secured Valentina and Patricia, "Did you ladies sustain injury of any kind?"
"No, I don't think so", Valentina spoke. Her mother was dumbstruck; she could not speak.
"Good, now crouch behind the seats and stay here, let me go check for Victor. Don't move, okay?"
"Where is Vicky, Uncle?" Valentina tucked on Robert's left sleeve, but before he could answer, he heard, "Thank God you are all here. Robert, we need to regroup. This is bad."
Victor crouched down beside Robert.
"Who is that?" Victor asked Robert.
"OH my God, it's the Mayor." Valentina noticed a body slithering on the ground.
Victor quickly went beside the Mayor, crouching.
"...HOTSPURS!!!"
Victor heard the Mayor's soft scream, and then nothing.
Victor realised that the Mayor had left the room.
He took charge, "Robert, secure an exit for us, locate our men, and let's get the hell out of here, right now."
Luke Baldwin and his parents, Levi and Martha, were outside on the lawn, surrounded by four elite guards of the Baldwin family.
They were a little jolted from all that had transpired.
"Where is the Car?" one of the Baldwin guards radioed.
"Let's get the hell out of here", Levi Baldwin was holding his wife tightly as he saw people running hither and thither.
Luke suddenly caught a glimpse of Victoria running towards the south side of the St Vicuna's, upstream against the flow of the disoriented, scared crowd.
Adrenaline was pumping overtime in Victoria, her nerve synapses blinking non-stop.
She was trying to make sense of all this.
Who is coconut enough to attack here today... Victoria was riddled with confusion; many important guests were attending the memorial service, such as representatives of the 'Big Five' families, senior and powerful government officials, the Donatellis, and even the Baldwins.
No one in their right mind would do all that was done.
I was definitely the target, Valentina or the Mayor were not, so this has definitely something to do with the killers of Uncle Vinny. But why do they want to eliminate me and take such a big risk to do so?... Victoria contemplated as he reached the Cathedral's south side, which overlooked a massive graveyard.
All of a sudden, something crossed her mind, and she looked up at the roof of the Cathedral, where she thought she had seen a shadow while entering the premises earlier.
No way... Victoria saw a thin yet sturdy black rope dangling; it stretched all the way from the roof to the ground. She turned to the entrance of the graveyard, and she saw the small service door ajar.
Victoria ran towards the door; she didn't have to go any further. She saw a man clad in black attire running between the large tombstones at Olympian speed.
The graveyard opens at the main street, opposite Central Park...sparks popped in Victoria's brain, and she, in that instant, guessed the getaway plan of the assailant.
She deduced that the assailant would try to mix in with the general population, blend in as part of the crowd, and there was no better location to do this than the brimming Central Park.
Victoria made up her mind in an instant. She tore away the parts of her black velvet gown that were constricting her range of movement, and she threw away her expensive high-heeled shoe.
She chased after the perpetrator, but Victoria took a lesser-known path, which would shorten the distance to reach the park, as opposed to her traversing the graveyard route.
Since the perpetrator had a comfortable lead on her, she planned on cutting him off once he was in Central Park.
Victoria sped like a doe through the middle of the Cathedral garden, with her slender body and swift feet, it was as if she was gliding through the air, seldom touching the ground beneath.
Victoria reached the main street without any fuss within a few seconds.
The street was jam-packed with cars, and the sidewalk with pedestrians. Victoria glanced around. It didn't take her long to notice a man entering Central Park.
He had slowed down, no mask on, hair all dishevelled, still wearing a black jacket and pants.
The glaring Sun of the late afternoon felt heavy, and Victoria nonchalantly entered Central Park.
She was trained in the art of pursuit by Robert Donatelli, who was in special forces.
Victoria used the trees and people present as screens. She followed the unknown assailant.
She was not too close for the man to notice, yet not too far, to gauge the man's potential next move; she was also vigilant for any acquaintances or partners of the assailant hiding in the shades or among the people, who could be a problem.
The man kept walking without looking back or halting, disregarding his surroundings; he kept moving towards the sparsely populated centre/core of the park.
Has he spotted me? Why isn't he stopping?... Victoria increased her distance from the assailant; she left the designated path and followed through the bushes and vegetation.
Soon they reached a large pond. Victoria was familiar with the spot; the large Koi pond was quite famously constructed in the exact geo-center of the park.
The pond was home to various species of freshwater marine life, and a small wooden bridge across the pond connected two green grassy mounds.
But being so deep within Central Park, and being so far from all the entrances and exits, people seldom visited here.
Victoria noticed a man sitting on the solo bench overlooking the koi pond. She immediately crouched and hid behind the thick shrubs and giant trees.
The man was facing the pond, hence Victoria was not able to make out his face, but she noticed that he was wearing an old-fashioned cap, a flat cap.
The assailant reached the flat-capped man and stood near him beside the bench.
At this moment, Victoria slowly crawled towards the bench as much as she could, while the vegetation shielded her from vision.
"The mission failed, John, that bitch is still alive," the assailant said.
Icy coldness travelled down Victoria's spine as she heard this.
So I was right, I was the target. But why, why would these bastards target me? Let me get a bit closer...Victoria inched closer.
"Were you followed?" the flat-capped man asked.
"No," the assailant nodded his head in denial.
"I warned you about her, Cedric. She is a high-priority target. What did you think 'doing' her would be a cake walk, you idiot, you had one chance, Shit!!" The man in the flat cap was suddenly agitated, his calm demeanor gone.
John passed a black bag to Cedric, "Here, change your clothes and skip town ASAP, and remember your failure has cost us a heavy price. Be very ashamed, Cedric, be very ashamed."
'High priority', me? This matter is not as simple as I thought. Why was Uncle Vinny murdered? And why am I being targeted? Were Luke Baldwin's brothers also targeted like Uncle? Victoria's head hurt as varied questions popped into her head vigorously.
Let's see if I can get any closer...just as Victoria was to crawl forward, some bushes on the other side of the pond shook vigorously, surprising everyone present.
A young girl and a boy stood up, their attire dishevelled, leaves and dirt all over their bodies and clothes.
It could be deduced that they were doing what every young couple does, hiding in the bushes, near a giant koi pond, in a secluded area of a public park, on a beautiful summer afternoon.
"What are you doing?" John demanded an answer from Cedric, who now pointed his handgun at the youngsters.
The young couple was dumbstruck, trembling in fear, where they stood.
"They heard us, John, they gotta go." Cedric sounded nervous.
John stood up from the bench, distancing himself from Cedric, "Don't do it, man, they are just a couple of kids, we don't need that kind of attention on us."
Although the statement was made to pacify Cedric, it had the exact opposite effect.
Cedric was visibly perplexed now, his forefinger rubbing awkwardly on the trigger. A shot was fired, and the young couple closed their eyes, anticipating the worst.
"Nooooo!!!" John screamed as Cedric's body fell into the koi pond, with a gaping hole in his skull.
In a split second, John turned and ran, he didn't wait to look for the shooter; his sixth sense warned him as loudly as it could, 'RUN!'
"Buzz off, punks," Victoria yelled at the young couple, still holding her gun.
The couple ran away simultaneously as Victoria chased after John with the flat cap.
Victoria could have shot both Cedric and John, but she let John go.
Let's see where the rat runs to...
John was out of shape, and he was middle-aged, but impending death can stimulate a person to run like an Olympic track athlete.
What was that? Who the fuck was that? Cedric, that idiot, he didn't even notice that he was being followed? Shit! shit! shit! shit!!!... John was huffing and puffing as he tried to reach the southern exit gate of Central Park.
The route he took had fewer people; he did not dare look behind, but in his now overpulsating heart, he knew death was just a few steps behind him.
Victoria slowed down as she saw the exit gate approaching.
She noticed John almost falling over as he hurried out of the exit.
Victoria was caught off guard when she saw John summoning a stray cab(taxi) with urban finesse and speed away.
By the time she reached the main street, all she could get hold of was his flat hat, which flew away while John boarded the cab.