24. Damian

This is fucking it.

It's time to end this motherfucker.

And I have to do it for Jake too…

Damian's mind was running wild with all kinds of thoughts. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that his final conflict with Connor Reed would be man on man in a dark alley. Damian had expected a gunfight, probably a huge situation with dozens of other street soldiers and mafia men involved too.

But this was different.

This was very different in fact.

Damian knew that he had his pistol with him, and his small blade too. But it was a matter of personal pride for him to take Connor down with his bare fists. Connor may have been bigger than him. Hell, Connor Reed was probably the biggest gangster the city had seen since the legendary Giant Gianni back in the 1950s.

But Damian knew that Connor's size might not actually to be to his advantage. Damian figured that he would have a cardio advantage over Connor, plus he felt sure that he would be more agile and quicker than his foe too.

‘Well, what are you waiting for, mafia boy?' Connor snarled, putting his fists up and charging at Damian, his face full of pure rage. ‘Let's fucking fight.'

Damian steadied himself but just as he was preparing to duck and dodge out of the way of Connor's fist, Connor stopped, jinked, and threw a right cross.

The punch landed squarely on Damian's temple, and he was momentarily dizzied and totally off balance. This wasn't the start that Damian had wanted, and it became clear that any idea he may have had that Connor was nothing but a big, clumsy giant was far from the reality.

This was a real fight.

And it was happening right now.

Damian knew that he had to get his head in the game, or else face the direst of consequences. But before he could properly steady himself, Damian felt the full force of another huge swinging fist from Connor land on his right eye.

‘First blood!' Connor roared, taking a step backward and taunting Damian. ‘This is easier than I thought. I might just take a minute and enjoy this. I hope you're looking too, boy! Peek that ass out from behind the trash and let me see that butt!'

Damian felt the blood gush out from just above his eyebrow.

This wasn't good. But the way that Connor was now taunting Jake was making Damian angry. Without wasting a single second longer, Damian made a direct charge towards Connor.

But Connor saw Damian's wild attack coming and simply stepped to the side and kicked Damian down the alley. As Damian lost his footing and felt himself crash onto the hard, wet ground, he felt his emotions riding even higher.

‘Oh dear. You really are pathetic,' Connor said. ‘No wonder you and your family haven't been able to take over the city yourselves. Don't worry, I'll kill all your friends and associates too once I'm done with you.'

Damian slammed his fist down on the ground in anger.

But then it hit him. Damian was playing right into Connor's hands…

He wants me to lose my cool.

The sonofabitch NEEDS me to be angry.

And I'm just serving it up to him on a plate…

Damian thought back to his days with Gianluca. It was time for Damian to channel his former mentor and use his brain rather than his emotions. Yes, this may have been a super-personal situation now that Jake was involved, but Damian needed to be as cool and calm as he knew he could be. Damian wasn't going to beat Connor by going all guns blazing, he needed to play it smart…

‘Well, aren't you going to finish me off?' Damian said, stepping up off the ground and beckoning Connor over. ‘Or don't you have the guts to murder a mafia legend?'

Damian waited for Connor to come at him.

Come on. Rush me.

I'm leaking blood, here for the taking.

Fucking come at me…

And just like that, Connor snapped and made a charge at Damian. But Damian was ready and waiting. Damian ducked underneath Connor's huge left hook and then popped back up and landed three successive blows onto Connor's face.

‘Go, Damian! Go, Damian, Go!' Jake cheered, still partially submerged in the trash.

But Damian didn't stop to thank Jake for his support. There was a fight to be won. Damian began to chip away at Connor by landing punch after punch on his exposed midriff. Damian figured that a big man like Connor would struggle to move if he had the wind taken out of him and going for his ribs seemed like the best way of achieving that.

Damian was now in his zone.

Feeling pumped yet utterly calm too, Damian began to land hard kicks to Connor's ribs. Each kick landed flusher than the last until one final kick sent Connor reeling backward.

‘That's gotta hurt,' Damian said, sensing that the last kick had fractured a rib at the very least. ‘But not as much as this will.'

With that, Damian moved toward Connor with his fist raised and ready to land a potentially final blow. But just as Damian was about to swing, Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out a blade, immediately slashing it across Damian's face.

‘Noooooo!' Jake called out, terror in his voice as he witnessed a bright red flash of blood spurt out from Damian's face.

Connor then slashed again, this time cutting across Damian's pure-white shirt, an immediate sea of red spreading out across Damian's chest.

Damian was unsteady on his feet, and it felt like this could be the end.

But what Connor hadn't banked upon was that Damian never, ever showed up to a fight ill-prepared. It wasn't Damian's way to not come armed and dangerous.

‘Are you ready to say goodbye?' Connor said, towering over a clearly in pain Damian.

‘No,' Damian replied, gritting his teeth through the agony of the slash across his face and the knife wound to his chest. ‘Are you?'

In a flash, a crouched Damian reached inside his jacket and pulled out his pistol. Time seemed to slow down as Damian pulled the pistol up toward Connor.

It's time to end this.

I've got one shot.

And I'm taking it…

With a look of sheer terror on Connor's face, Damian squeezed the trigger and unleashed a single bullet directly into Connor's heart. Connor fell onto the ground, desperately clutching his chest but unable to stop the immediate gushing of blood.

‘You… you… fucking lowdown… piece of…,' Connor said, unable to finish his sentence.

‘No. Don't put this on me,' Damian said, walking slowly toward his prone rival. ‘You started this. You started going round killing all the hitmen. We all have our own patches. We kill for money, not for glory. But you got hungry for more than money. You wanted power. You craved control. And that's why I have no choice but to end this right here and now.'

‘Fuck you!' Connor cried, blood shooting out of his mouth. ‘I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!'

Damian had heard enough.

Slowly bringing his gun up once more, Damian aimed at Connor's head and a split second later, it was all over.

Before Damian knew what was going on, he felt himself collapse to the ground right next to the slain Connor. The knife slash to his face was one thing, but the slash to his chest was something else altogether.

‘Damian! Are you okay?' Jake said, scurrying over from the trash and coming to Damian's care. ‘Fuck… what shall we do? I'll call an ambulance!'

‘No,' Damian said, grimacing. ‘I've just gunned a man down in cold blood. The hospital is out. We need to head to the mob doctor. He's got a place a few blocks away.'

‘B-b-b-b-but… how can we get there?' Jake replied, worry written all over his face.

‘Now call me crazy,' Damian said. ‘But I'm going to let you drive the Ferrari. Come on, help me up. We needed to get our asses out of here. And fast.'

Damian may have taken out Connor Reed once and for all, but he was far from safe yet. With his chest bleeding badly and the threat of the cops showing up at any moment, he knew that he had to get away from the scene in triple-quick time.

But would Jake be up to the job of handling the Ferrari and getting them to the mafia doctor? Only time would tell…