THE SHADOWS WITHIN: BROTHERS OF FATE

Bullets

After an hour, the van suddenly stopped as loud gunshots echoed. Leo and his men were alerted; they retracted their weapons and were surprised to see more than five bikes driving toward them. The bikemen were dressed in black with helmets. There were two people per bike.

“His people are here, no matter what. Don’t let him escape,” Leo said to his team as they fired at the bikers who kept driving in zigzag to avoid the bullets.

They took out their guns and fired at Leo and his team. Leo quickly hid behind a huge pillar as he refilled his gun, shot at the bikes, and succeeded in hitting one of the men.

He fell off the bike and positioned his gun to shoot one more time when a voice echoed, “Think before shooting.”

Leo gasped when he saw the red dots on him. There was a sniper man somewhere. He knew better than to shoot. So he gave up, and so did his men. The bike men walked to the boot and shot the lock before pulling it open.

“Enzo Marino,” one of them called out, and Enzo glared at them. Who were they?

He heard the gunshots, and it was obvious that these people had come to save him. Now was the chance to clear his name. If he refuses to go with them, then it will be obvious that he isn’t the shadow.

“Come with us,” one of them said, and Enzo sneered.

“Think about the children at the orphanage, Annie, Jack, Owen." They kept hearing his siblings' names from the orphanage, and his eyes widened in shock. This man was not a simple man; for the safety of his siblings, he had to cooperate.

“Don’t harm them,” he warned, and they nodded as he walked down the van. Another man from the bike shouted.

“We have the boss; now let's leave... The shadow will never be locked up.”

Leo and his teammates were surprised; once again, it was confirmed that Enzo was indeed the SHADOW.

Enzo didn’t know what game these men were playing; he was not the Shadow, and it was obvious that they knew about it.

But before Enzo got on the bike, he glared at Leo before staring at the man who threatened him. “Don’t harm them, please,” he said. Somehow, he felt that these people would do as he said.

The man clicked his tongue before retracting his phone to call the snipper man. “Don’t shoot, unless they try to outsmart us,” he ordered before signaling for Enzo to get on the bike, which he did, and they drove away.

Leo and his men couldn’t do anything because those red dots were still on them. Even the man he shot was taken away, and when they were out of sight, the dots disappeared.

“Call the special force, call everyone... We can't let him escape." Leo scolded with a frustrated tone. Enzo was the shadow, and there was no doubt.

Leo was frustrated because he was in charge of sending Enzo to jail, but he failed. How was he supposed to know that these men would show up, and they showed up well prepared; they even had a sniper man.

On the other hand,

Enzo was curious as to where these men were taking him; they drove their bikes to the seashore before stopping. A man walked towards him and helped take the handcuff off.

“Don’t act smart, or else forget about everyone at the orphanage,” the man warned him.

Enzo glared at the ship, which was guarded by armed men, from the look of things. They were bodyguards for some gangsters.

 "Why am I here?” Enzo asked, but no one answered him.

“Come with us; we just saved you,” the man said as they all walked to the ship. Enzo had no choice but to follow; these people already knew his weak point.

When Enzo got to the ship, what caught his attention was the bunch of balloons with the note, “The Shadow was here.”

He clenched his fist; this was all done by the shadow. the setup, the arrest, and now the escape. What game was that man playing?

“Finally, we get to meet,” a hoarse voice echoed as a muscled, masked man dressed in black innerwear and jeans walked toward Enzo. From his mask, Enzo could tell that he was the shadow.

"You,” Enzo gritted his teeth angrily. Seeing this man, all his anger flared up as his hand formed into a fist, and he hit the masked man angrily.

The guards all pointed their weapons at him, but the masked man signaled that they should drop it.

“You ruined my life,” Enzo yelled out. Now that he had escaped, he was considered a terrorist. His life will never go back to normal unless he brings the shawl to them.

The masked man chuckled before taking off his mask, and Enzo was taken aback.

This man was identical to him; how was this possible? Did he do plastic surgery?

“Hello, I am Antonio De Luca, aka the Shadow," Antonio said sarcastically, and Enzo was still in a trance.

“Who are you?” he asked, and Antonio chuckled.

“I just told you,” he said, then he gasped. “Oh, you meant, how are we related? Well, we are bullets from the same gun and injuries from the same flesh.”

Enzo was confused. Did his words make any sense?

Antonio clicked his tongue. “Jude, come here... Help me translate what I said to normal English,” he said, and Jude nodded before facing Enzo.

“You are brothers, identical twins,” Jude said, and Enzo glared at Antonio, who nodded with a smile.

“Dramatic drumrolls, please; this is an emotional moment... Come on, hug your brother,” Antonio said, and Enzo tilted his head, trying to understand what was happening.

He grew up in an orphanage, so it was normal for him to have a family somewhere, but an identical brother? And the man in that video was not him but his brother; his brother made him a terrorist.

“You made me a terrorist,” Enzo blurted.

“Don’t take that against me; my men and I were just having fun, right guys?” He questioned them, and they all nodded.

Enzo was speechless; did he just call this fun? Now that he thought about it, the name Antonio de Luca sounded familiar. He had seen records about him and his family; they are the number one mafia family in Italy, and no one ever saw his looks.

Besides being a mafia member, Antonio was also a serial killer by the name of Shadow.

"Antonio,” a voice echoed from inside the cabin on the ship as a young man walked towards them. He was dressed in a suit and had a wild look.

“Oh, you got our brother... Now we are complete,” he said, and Enzo shook his head, confused.

“Let me introduce you both, so Enzo, this is our brother from the same bullet but no injuries from the same flesh, and Damon, this is my brother from the same bullet and injuries from the same flesh but not your brother from..."

“Enough with the bullets and injuries; what the f*ck?” Enzo said in a frustrated tone. Hearing him repeat the bullet and injury got him more confused.

“My bad!” Antonio smiled.

Damon chuckled. “I am Damon.” He extended his hand, but Enzo didn’t accept it. He glared around and noticed he was surrounded, but he wanted to leave this place and prove his innocence.

He spotted the gun on Jude’s trousers; he immediately pulled Damon towards him and seized the gun from Jude before pointing it at Damon’s head.

“I will shoot,” he threatened, and Antonio sighed. Damon had a frightened look. Was he going to die in the hands of Enzo? He always thought he would die in the hands of Antonio instead.

“Drop your weapons,” Antonio ordered, and his men did.

“Are you going to turn against us? We are the only ones by your side,” Damon said as Enzo pressed the gun hard on his forehead.

“Let Damon go, and you can leave this ship with no one stopping you,” Antonio said, and Enzo sneered. Was he going to trust a serial killer?