[Uhaku]

Oh, Volkster, why wouldn't i know u r a yulia fan. u name says it all. Me glad that
u still like her no matter what. Lol.

mel, nah, i like it the way u do it. sounds like s/m? LOL!

Showmelove the Irish is here

D2D, welcome back and onto my new story!
Ummmmmmm, i posted some updates for DW at tatu dot us.
(Cross fingers that u haven't checked, buying me some times )
I will try to get back to finish DW. As of right now, I have too
many unfinished stories in my hands. LOL.

Crampy: one chap as promised before u go.


Sorry this chap is a bit long.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>

CHAPTER 14



It was the night of Christmas Eve, marking exactly one week since the Irish’s disappearance.
Yulia had spent the past few days helping her mother turning the grand living room into a
ballroom to receive nearly two hundreds guests tonight. There would be mafias, politicians
and all the influential people. Absolutely no photographs or journalists would be tolerated
inside this handsome ranch.

Dimitri Volkov had been a significant member of the underground world for the past three
decades. But the community had faced several dramatic changes ever since Mason was
murdered. Their strong bond threatened as the position for the head of the community was
still vacant for the past three years. Dimitri wanted to make the coming year their new era.
They must unite against laws and orders to survive this new age.

Smoking on the balcony of her room, Yulia had only a robe over her shoulders. She was in a
black gown, cut deep behind to show off her beautiful, bony back. She looked out the huge,
snow-covered garden and the vast field beyond. A small cottage stood beside the lighthouse
against the long trail of high fences, which circled around the field and marked the Volkov’s
territory. There were several dozens men guarding the space.

“HOLY MARY!” Yulia shrieked, the cigarette falling off her fingers. A hand shot out of
nowhere, gripping onto the edge of the balcony. She covered her mouth with her hands and
stepped closer to take a look. Her Christmas wish was climbing up the balcony. She stared
down at Lena, unsure whether to feel relieved at last or angry.

“Welcome back, Irish,” Yulia said, hands on her bottom.

Lena climbed in and bent down, hiding herself from anyone’s sight from below.

“How could you climb up here?” Yulia looked down at the snowy ground. There was no
footprint. Lena must have come from some other room instead. “Actually, I have a better
question. How did you get in here when it seems you didn’t use the invitation card I left at
your apartment? The guards are all over the place—” Yulia stopped as she saw the dress Lena
was wearing. It was the black uniform the maids in this mansion wore.

“Thank you for sending the girls out for a grocery shop a few days ago, or I’d have been
frozen to death in the field. You have a huge party tonight,” Lena remarked as she made her
way into the room, brushing the dust off her skirt.

“Do you mean to tell me that you’ve been in my house for the past few days?” Yulia
pretended to glare at Lena, while she was actually in awe of the trick.

“Angela was kind enough to let me crash at her room,” Lena said, pulling her skirt up.

“Oh, God!” Yulia gasped, turning the other way.

Lena pulled out a revolver that was strapped to her thigh. She looked up, puzzled.

“You’re staring at me,” Lena said.

Yulia’s gaze lifted up and met with Lena’s in the reflection of the large mirror at the corner of
the room. Sighing, she turned around. She was truly startled at Lena’s action, but couldn’t
help staring when she got the chance.

“Explain yourself, Ms. Cohen. What are you doing here?” Yulia said with authority.

“I didn’t know anybody still bothered finding out my last name.” Lena smiled lightly as she
checked the bullets in the revolver.

“You agreed not to show your face in my house again, although I should have expected it
since you’re such a bad liar. Where have you been the past week? Do you have any idea how
worried Mr. Myer was?”

“I was trying to survive just to see white Christmas. Now, move,” Lena said, pointing the gun at Yulia.

Yulia froze. “Are you going to shoot me? My parents will be expecting me shortly!” Yulia said,
exasperated at the ungrateful action. She was ready to ignore the fact that Lena had hidden
inside her house, but all she got was a gun at her face.

Lena pressed the gun at Yulia’s cheek, causing her to shut up instantly.

“Go sit on the chair.”

The order came quietly, but Yulia didn’t think she should object. Cursing under her breath,
she stiffly sat down. It appeared that nothing could kill the Irish, but the Irish would kill
anyone in her way. What a fool she was to worry about Lena’s safety!

Lena grabbed a piece of cloth and tied Yulia’s hands to the back of the chair. As Lena bent
down a bit, Yulia could see the deep cut on Lena’s shoulder underneath the collar. Looking
further down, there were several minor cuts around Lena’s knees, masterfully blended in with
the creamy color of the stockings. These injuries must have come from the night Lena
disappeared with Frederick. Yulia wondered how Lena escaped when she had absolutely no
help from Roland or Mitch.

Oh, well, she’s the Irish after all… Unconsciously, Yulia sighed in relief.

“Your shoulder is still bleeding a bit. Didn’t Angela patch you up?” Yulia was surprised at her
own bitter tone, curious of what might possibly happen in Angela’s room during the past few
days. She would be sure to report the maid’s perilous act to her father as soon as she got off
this seat.

Lena glanced at the small wound. It must have open again during the climbing. But she didn’t
care to respond, and started tying Yulia’s legs.

“I’ll make it quick—”

“As always,” Yulia interrupted, scoffing.

“I can’t have you ruin the chance I may never get again. It’s extremely hard to get this close
to Young without his men marching around.”

“It was extremely hard to break into my house, but you did it anyway.”

“You’ll be safer up here.”

“Do not do what I think you would.” Yulia didn’t like the sound of Lena’s plan one bit. “If you
shoot him, you’re finished—”

Lena gagged Yulia’s mouth with a handkerchief.

“Uuuk—auuu!” Yulia tried to scream.

Lena eyed Yulia up and down, and then went to shut the doors to the balcony, shunning off
the cold wind. Grabbing the blanket, she carefully put it over Yulia.

Yulia sat still. Oddly, the slightest sign of kindness from Lena could make her feel positively
numbed. It lighted up her heart, but her mind remained numbed because it meant nothing to
the Irish.

“I won’t stay until the party is over, so…” Lena stopped just before she opened the
door. “Merry Christmas.” She then slipped out of the room.


>>>


Lena went around the kitchen and picked up a tray of glasses filled with pink champagne. She
walked up the stairs, careful not to attract attention from the guards around. Glancing down,
Dimitri Volkov was just downstairs, receiving guests at the front door, and all the while,
introducing his son to the powerful ones. Alexei didn’t look one bit eager, but he was polite
enough to keep a smile on his face at all times.

With the tray above her shoulder, Lena made her way into the gigantic, crowded, living room,
which was turned into a ballroom for the event. It was overly packed with guests, and the
guards stood just outside the room. There were roughly seventy maids in the mansion, and in
this busy evening, she could blend in easily.

Spotting Frederick Young at the corner talking to a few men, she carefully glided through the
crowd, offering drinks along the way. Her revolver stored enough bullets to kill Frederick but,
considering how many guards there, they weren’t enough to get her out of here. There
were some spare bullets in her pockets, and she also had planted some in the vases and hid
more in several places around the mansion. The safest escape route would strictly follow the
hidden bullets, but she realized how hard that might be. No one was to see the shooter was
what matter the most. She would try to spare the innocent bystanders, but it was always
better them than her. Fate would decide who would live on to New Year’s Eve tonight.

Lena glanced around once more. Roland Myer was on the other side of the room, talking to
Tonya. He hadn’t seen her, and that suited her fine. The last thing she wanted was to get
him involved in this mess. This moment reminded her of the night she murdered Mason, only
there wasn’t a huge crowd of innocent bystanders. That night was she versus everyone else
in Mason’s mansion, even Mason’s three-year-old son. She knew no mercy.

Although killing Frederick here may seem like a crazy plan, Lena couldn’t keep running away.
He would never let her live in peace. It was she or he, and only one of them would get out
of here alive.

A few more steps would take her close enough to the target.

“May I have a glass, Miss?” a voice came from behind.

Frederick’s head was turning Lena’s way, so she spun around to the voice of the guest but
froze at the sight before her. Senator Iver stood, staring back at her, equally shocked. It took
him a while to eventually remember why he stopped her. He then numbly took a drink from
the tray.

“Senator Iver! It’s been a while! How are you!?” Frederick’s voice sounded so friendly no one
would ever think that he had just schemed a murder on the senator.

Frederick was now standing behind Lena. She quickly walked away.

“I need some refreshment, too, Ma’am,” Frederick called out.

Lena stopped. For a moment, she could hear nothing, but she could see everything.
Everyone. The guards were not looking at her. No one. She let out a sigh and turned. The
foes’ gazes met for half a second before a gunshot blast through the hall. People screamed
and ran wildly for the exit. Two more shots in the head made sure that Frederick Young died
right at the spot.

In the stampede, the guards came through against the crowd, guns drawn. As best as they
could avoid the bystanders, they aimed at anyone around the downed man. Bewildered,
Senator Iver knelt on the floor, hands over his head. But Lena was fast to follow the crowd
out into the hallway. When she saw the guards stopping people from going down the main,
spiral stairs to the first floor, she ran the other way to the windows at the end of the
corridor. The guards caught her and started shooting over the guests’ heads. Screams filled
up the hallway and someone was yelling for help. Somebody had taken the bullets instead of
her.

Jumping through the window, Lena flew out of the building and landed onto the snowy
ground below. She would have broken her legs if there weren’t any bush around. Groaning,
she crawled a bit further, trying to get to the fences. But the guards were running around
like mad, with barking dogs leading them.

The men from the windows above blindly shot down into darkness. Lying on the ground,
Lena flipped up, shooting back. Two men fell off the broken window like falling leafs.

“Stop right there!” a man shouted, his voice marking approximately thirty feet away. Lena
took the chance, rolling on the snowy ground, narrowly escaping the bullets. Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! She then lied on her stomach, taking him down with just one shot. Before she
could get back up, another man appeared at the corner of the building, shooting right at her.
She pulled the trigger—Click! All six bullets were spent! She griped her pockets and found
they were empty; the spare bullets must have fallen out.

“Great!” Lena grunted. No time to think. She snatched a rock and ran as fast as a lightning,
leaping at him. Bullets flew past her face like a sharp, cool breeze as she smashed the rock in
his face full force. They both dropped to the ground. The man was unconscious now. She
grabbed his gun and ran for the other side of the building.

But a guard caught sight of her first. Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lena dove down to the ground, and the bullets from behind narrowly missed her. She
instantly crawled behind the bush, aiming right back at the shooter. But she paused. Mitch
was standing at the corner in the pool of spotlights. Judging from the poor visibility and the
distance, he couldn’t see her face. However, she was hesitated to shoot now. Mitch shot
again and hit Lena. She fell forwards and aimed for his knee. Mitch cried in pain as he fell to
the ground.

Wincing, Lena felt the sharp, burning sensation in her stomach. She looked at the blood on
her hand, stunned. Edging away from the open area, she trekked around the building. But
the guards were running all over the place, and the fences were too far away to make it
there without being seen. The blood would leave the trail, leading them right where she was.
She couldn’t waste anymore time as she started trembling. She sneaked into the narrow path
behind the trees and broke into the kitchen through the small window. Thankfully, no one
was in sight. She tried to ignore the screaming in the hallway and searched for a towel to
help preventing the blood from dripping down.


>>>


“What’s going on outside!?” Yulia yelled the first instant Angela pulled the cloth out of her
mouth. The maid frantically untied her hands and legs.

“There—there was a—a shooting, madam. There was a shooting… Someone died…”

“Who—” Yulia panicked.

The door burst opened, and Lena stumbled through, the gun and the blood-soaked towel in
her hands. She immediately locked the door, panting and looking around. Her black uniform
pretty much concealed the sight of any wound.

“You have done it! You have turned my house into a battlefield! Get out of my house!” As
soon as Yulia was released from the chair, she jumped at Lena, thrusting her against the door.
To her surprise, Lena didn’t seem to resist her force.

“Yuli! Yuli! Are you in there!?” It was her mother.

“Hide in the closet!” Yulia ordered.

Lena staggered into the closet, and Angela closed its door.

“Yes, mother!” Yulia opened the door to receive her mother.

“Thank God, you’re safe!” Mrs. Volkova looked utterly relief, tightly hugging Yulia. “Are you all
right!? Has anyone come into this room!?”

“I was touching up on my makeup when I heard gunshots! Where’s dad and Alex!? What
happened out there!?”

“They’re with the men downstairs! We’re trying to find the shooter!”

“Who was it!? Is everyone all right!?” Yulia pretended to frown.

“I have no idea. It was so crazy down there! How could this happen!? We have so many
guards here and no one was allowed to bring weapons into the ranch! Oh, my party!”

Yulia stroked her mother’s back. “Angela, escort my mother to her room. Stay with her until
everything is calmed down.”

“But I need to be with you, Yuli!” her mother protested.

“I’ll be all right. I’m sure the guards will find the shooter soon. You need to lie down for a bit,
mother.”

Before her mother could open her mouth, Yulia walked her to the door, Angela closely behind.

“Lock the door! Don’t let anyone get in!” her mother said.

Yulia did so. She then leapt at the glassy doors to the balcony and drew the curtains closed.
She ran back to the closet and swung its door open. Lena fell flat on the floor.

“Get up! My mother is gone!” Yulia tried to take the gun out of Lena’s hand, but Lena
refused. Yulia just grunted and gave up.

“You’re digging your own grave! There’s no way you can get out of here now!”

“Of course, I can,” Lena muttered. She tightly gripped the wound on her stomach, her face
looking very pale now.

“Oh…! That was your blood?” Yulia looked back into the closet. Good thing the blood only
dripped onto the clothes scattered on the closet’s floor, or Angela would have a field day to
clean it up.

Yulia quickly put Lena’s arm around her shoulder and helped her to her feet.

“Hey, stay with me. Stay with me,” Yulia said, gently putting the Irish on the bed.

Lena tried to get up. “Get me a car,” she whispered.

Yulia angrily pushed Lena back down. “Very funny! First, you disappeared and had me worried
if you were dead or alive! Just half an hour ago, you ruined our party and got yourself in some
deep shit! Now, you want me to find you a car! The best you will get is a goddamn bicycle!”

“Get me a car!” Lena yelled one last time before she fell flat down on the bed.

Kneeling down beside the bed, Yulia tightly held Lena’s hand. “Oh, no, tell me how to stop
the bleeding first!” No response. Lena’s eyes were closed now. Yulia jumped at her feet,
pulling the blanket up to cover Lena’s whole body. “Stay here! God damn you if you try to
run again! I’ll be back with some help!”


>>>


Yulia ran fast down the main, spiral stairs, passing the terrified guests and frantic guards.
Several wounded guests and guards were lying on the stretchers, waiting to be delivered to
the nearest hospital. Yulia ran towards them and snatched the first aid kit, but a guard stopped her.

“Please, Ms. Volkova, where are you taking it!?”

“Yulia… Yulia…” a voice called out.

“Mitch!” Yulia gasped as she saw Mitch lying among the wounded ones. She knelt down
beside the fat man, startled and furious that Lena dared to shoot her beloved mentor. He
was the man who taught her how to use a gun since she was eight, even though she still
didn’t know how to shoot.

“It’s just a scratch,” Mitch said, pointing at his knee. “I got the shooter, Yulia! I hit him!”

“Oh, my God, it was you!” Yulia shrieked. She couldn’t believe Mitch dared to shoot the Irish.
Lena was dying up there in her room because of her mentor.

At the thought, she rose to her feet with the kit in her hand, meaning to head back upstairs.
But a roar of an engine in the distance, which seemed to escape everyone’s attention,
caught her. In the midst of chaos, she turned around and looked out to the front lawn
through the opened doors.

In front of the huge fountain, Lena was hunching on the red motorbike and sidecar. Yulia
couldn’t believe her eyes. Not only Lena got the vehicle she wanted, she had taken one of
Yulia’s brown, taxi jackets with her. Though her hands were still stained with blood. It was
better to escape now when everyone was still clueless who the shooter was. At this
moment, she could walk through the mansion as a guest, and stole the vehicle unchecked.

“YOU! ARE! CRAZY!” Yulia sprinted out to the fountain. She never thought she could run this
fast, but she did. She leapt onto the sidecar just in time before the motorbike picked up its
full speed. She struggled to sit properly in the sidecar and looked up.

“THE GATE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The guards at the gates held up their guns, but hesitated when they spotted who was in
the sidecar. However, Lena wasn’t slow down one bit. Yulia shut her eyes tightly.

“Ms. Volkova! Ms. Volkova! It’s Ms. Volkova!”

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot, or my father will shoot you!”

Before the guards knew, Lena shot them all down. Another shot burst the steely lock open,
and the motorbike flew past the gates into the small road ahead. Yulia looked back into the
ranch, seeing other men getting into their cars.

“You’re doomed! You can’t outrun them!”

Lena made a swift turn into the vast field. Yulia ducked her head down, avoiding the slaps
from the tall grasses. Further into the field, the motorbike eventually stopped, and Lena
climbed off.

“Can you at least tell me what’s going on here!? Where exactly are we going!?” Yulia was
exasperated, sitting tightly in the sidecar still.

“He’s here… Yes, he’s here… Fuck… He’s here…” Lena growled and blindly waved the gun
before her, opening the way deeper into the field. She closed her eyes and suddenly laughed
aloud, pointing the gun up to the skies.

Yulia followed Lena into the dark, thinking the Irish had gone mad. “No! Don’t do it, or they’ll catch us—”

Lena fiercely turned, pressing the gun at Yulia’s forehead. Seeing Lena’s intent stare, Yulia
expected a bullet in her brain right then. But, for a split second, she was marveled by the
moments of her life flashing before her eyes. Those moments meant so little to her, but she
now dearly clung to them.

Yulia fixed her gaze upon Lena, staring back at the pale, sweat-beaded face. Even though
this moment might be her last on earth, fear somehow escaped her. It amazed her to realize
that nothing meant anything at this moment but the air inside her lungs. How disgustingly
insignificant life really was?

Hastily, Yulia pulled Lena in time before the woman fell backwards. Stumbling in each other’s
grasps, they fell to the ground. All the while, Lena was murmuring something Yulia could not
understand.

“What!?” Yulia asked.

“Lighter… than a… feather…”

“Jesus, you are not making any sense, and I am going crazy!”

A force from the wind bent the grasses lower and a black car appeared before them. Lena
then pushed Yulia’s hands away, weakly crawling through the grasses and getting into the driver seat.

“Holy Mary! Is this yours!? You’re a genius!”

Lena’s hands trembled as she started the engine.

“Excuse me, but get out of the way, please!” Yulia pushed Lena to the passenger seat and
occupied the driver seat instead. With a mischievous look in her eyes, she tossed the first aid
kit onto Lena’s laps.

“Ha! I’m gonna be busy driving, so help yourself!” Laughing, Yulia stomped on the accelerator,
and the car started cruising away.

It must have been midnight already. Her Christmas wish had turned out to be something
more than Yulia had asked for. She sped up as she glanced at Lena, who was feebly pressing
a patch of clean cloth against her wound, almost ready to pass out. It was all darkness ahead.
There was only a full moon above the mist of the green grasses that loomed a good few feet
above the car. She wasn’t scared though. They were heading out to safety somewhere, and
wherever the road would take them, she couldn’t wait for it.