C19 Unscathed

"Come, follow me." Liam reached out to Alessia and kissed her forehead warmly. "I have something to show you."

"Now what? You won't let me leave this mansion. It's so irritating and boring. I wanna work again or whatever I can do. You're locking me up in a place like this." Ally grumbled resentfully, she couldn't even remember what day it was and what date it was. It was so comfortable, sleeping all day just made her whole body feel sore.

Liam's eyes narrowed, "What's so bad about my mansion? You can do anything here. Whatever you wanna do. I don't think there are any facilities lacking here. Even the movie theater, you can use it upstairs. I've got all your needs covered. Sir Windsor prepared the meal on time. I told you; just sit tight. Spa? Or the salon? I can take you."

Alessia stopped to look at Liam's face. "I have somewhere to be, Liam."

Liam leaned his charming face. Smiling fascinatingly. Forcing Alessia to take a step back, Liam was not at a loss for words — taking Ally's hips into his warm embrace. "Where are you going, My Lady. To the ends of the earth — I'll take you. Around the world? Just tell me where you're going. To Paris? We can leave tomorrow if you like. I'll call my private pilot."

Feeling frustrated, Alessia scooped her face in despair. "Not that. But, to the cemetery." Ally sighs deeply, voice trembling. She missed Kayla Dawn terribly. Usually, every week she would visit Kayla's grave and bring her favorite alba roses.

Liam frowned deeply. He released his embrace. "What are you going to the cemetery for?"

"To visit Kayla."

Liam shows an expression of deepest sympathy, "who is Kayla? Your mother?"

Alessia shook her head. "No."

"Oh, yes. About your parents. I should have met them, huh? Where are they now? You don't wanna meet them? I can also take you to your family. But you hafta go back to this mansion. Don't ask, you clearly know the reason, right? I'm sorry. Where are my manners? We've spent so many great nights together and yet I don't even know the background of your life, huh?"

Alessia's eyes glanced in the other direction. "Because I didn't tell you about it on purpose."

Knowing Liam in Switzerland, Alessia had not told him anything about her family, not even her twin sister. She didn't know how Liam would react if he heard that Ally had an identical twin sister.

[Liam and I are weird and abnormal.]

Liam smiled sweetly. He tapped Alessia's forehead with his fingertips. "You can tell me about it anytime. I'm ready to listen to you."

Resuming his footsteps, Liam walked first. "I'm serious about Paris. If you want. We'll fly there tomorrow."

Alessia let out an exasperated sigh, shuffling and lazily keeping pace with Liam's steady, strong footsteps. Ally passed through the long hallways of the northern mansion that she had never visited or explored.

The hallway looked elegant, its black granite floor with golden silver tones glittering even under the light of the weak cloudy December sun. An enormous crystal-clear glass window showed the top of a waterfall flowing upstream. There was a glass bridge connecting the other side of the building that was separated by a row of concrete pillars supporting and embedded in the cliff.

Ally muttered. "Insane."

Alessia gawked from this highest-altitude glass bridge. The sound of the waterfall crashing down splashes Alessia's adorable face. Below the steep cliffs the river flows down to the estuary. A cool breeze gently brushed Ally's ginger hair.

"What is this place, Liam? How could you build this kind of mansion? Completely on the side of the cliff? Are there any other separate buildings?"

Liam turned around. Smiled sweetly and nodded. "Yeah, it's cool and stunning, right? Just like you."

Alessia walked on again, constantly looking up at the towering buildings as if she was on the other side of the world.

Alessia's eyes lost track of Liam, she quickened her footsteps. Opening the wooden door that looked dark inside with no light coming in from outside. "Liam?"

Darkness. Silence. The thick darkness blinded Alessia, but she still smelled Liam's fragrant perfume. That's why she wasn't worried about anything, Ally knew. Liam was nearby.

Suddenly all the rows of lights turned on simultaneously, Ally was flabbergasted when Liam's arms hugged her from behind. Liam's face nuzzled into the recesses of her neck which gave off the scent of white lily musk.

Liam really liked to do that. "Look."

"What the hell?"

Alessia froze when she realized she was standing in an unusually large room. The room had a control cabin where rows of sophisticated computer screens were lit up in standby. The screens all showed the elegantly moving symbol of Coltrane Industries.

One enormous desk was covered in touchscreen buttons, and in the other corner was a room filled with rows of server racks whose indicator lights were constantly on. The control room appears to be lined with five-inch-thick glass walls.

There was another large room inside with metal partitions, with a small dividing table in the center, earplugs hanging on the wall shelves. Alessia's eyes rounded in shock at the sight of dozens of glass cabinets filled with rows of long-barreled weapons, handguns, dozens of boxes of magazines, and more.

Plus, target boards lined up at the far end of the room. Ally couldn't move her body.

Liam opened the wall cover via a button on the touchscreen table. Something moved automatically. At first, Alessia thought it was a metal wall, but she was wrong. The scraping metal was the cover of the building's giant window that showed the beauty of Place Fell's Mountain peaks.

"This way." Liam waved a hand, guiding Alessia to go inside.

With difficulty, Ally swallowed her saliva. Remembering the long-barreled guns neatly arranged in the glass cabinet made her pretty face pale as cotton. Her body trembled with fear, remembering how the commander's gun, Austin and Harley had almost killed her that time.

"No! Why did you bring me here, Liam?!" asked Alessia in a trembling tone of voice. She shook her head, inching backwards, wanting to leave because she suddenly felt unsafe.

Liam grabbed Alessia's arm. Preventing her from leaving. "Where are you going? Wait, listen to my explanation."

Alessia rebelled, swatting away Liam's hand.

Liam raised both hands into the air, sign of surrender. Taking a step back to let Alessia calm down. "Okay. Okay. I'm not touching you. See? I let go of your hand. Just calm down."

Ally scolded. Her eyes blazed with wrath. "I don't wanna be in a place like this! What did you bring me here for? Are you gonna kill me?"

"Impossible. You're thinking too far, Ally." Liam let out an amused laugh.

"Stop laughing! THIS IS NOT FUNNY! Are you nuts?! What are those weapons for?! Are they all you use to kill other people? So proud of killing someone else?! How come you have them?! I don't wanna be here!" Ally shrieked indignantly. Pushing Liam's chest roughly.

But Liam grabbed both of Alessia's hands, twisted her body, locked her in and hugged her from behind. "Calm down first. Why do you always think so badly of me, huh?!"

"YOU'RE A KILLER! I'm wrong to be stuck here with you! You're out of your mind, Liam!" Ally growled in hatred.

"I brought you here to train you!"

Ally scoffed and hissed. She rebelled against Liam's embrace, but the man's burly arms were too much to resist. "Training me to be an assassin like you, is that what you mean?!"

"Dear me, Ally. Listen to my explanation. Training you so you can defend yourself when faced with a minefield situation like in Switzerland, Nottingham and that abandoned port district." Liam emphasized his words. Lowering the tension in his voice that had hardened.

Alessia fell silent, not rebelling and the tension in her body relaxed.

"It has nothing to do with whether I'm an assassin or not! That's not my intention! I wanna train you to use weapons so that you can defend and protect yourself. The situation could get worse at any moment. We're facing a huge criminal organization filled with vile and ruthless people. They'll hunt us down at all costs, if they hafta kill our loved ones. When I'm not by your side, you must be able to fight against the various dangers that threaten your life." Liam explained carefully. "Did you hear me?"

Liam released his embrace slowly, hearing Alessia's temper breathing that gradually calmed down. He raised his hands into the air again.

"This is all your fault! You should have just left me alone! Don't ever come to me again—!"

"It's useless. We must always be together, Ally. They won't leave you alone until you're really dead. You're safe with me, but I can't guarantee what the situation will be like. I need you to be ready for anything if things turn hazardous for us. Do you read me? I'll teach you. All this equipment is safe as long as you use it according to procedure. Stop thinking badly of me! I've told you many times that I have no intention of harming you."

Alessia's heavenly face scowled. She looked up at Liam who was showing a big-hearted smile.

Liam grasped Alessia's fingers and kissed the back of the hand gently. "You trust me, right?"

Ally hissed in vexation as she was always defeated by circumstances, the most disturbing thing was that she could not do anything to run or avoid. Once again, Ally had to face the harshest reality of her life. "Do I have any other choice, Liam Coltrane?"

"Unfortunately, no." Liam shook his head, replying apologetically. His hand caressed Alessia's cheek gently. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wish there was a better way than this. If only I could turn back time, I would have met you in a different way."

[Isn't there anyone I wanna get rid of? Die or vanish forever from this earth?! Castor Kent! Kayla Dawn's killer. I wanna see him dead so badly!]

Ally sighed deeply. Her shoulders that had been tense relaxed. With a confidence that overcame her sanity, she said. "Well, show me how, Mr. Coltrane."

***

"This is a weapon for beginners. SIG Sauer P226 Tactical handgun. 9mm caliber. Don't underestimate its tiny size. The first time using it was a bit tough. But, if you get used to using it, you should have no trouble using other model weapons."

Liam placed clear protective goggles on Alessia's pointed nose, a pair of gloves, and earplugs that resembled headphones around her neck. Lastly, a bulletproof vest that fit her plump body perfectly. Liam taped the straps. "This is the main security. So, you don't hafta worry. All the windows here are made of special bulletproof glass, so even if your shot misses — the cartridge won't go anywhere."

Ally nodded in fathom.

On the partition table Liam picked up some necessary equipment, a box of fully loaded mags, two black SIG Sauer P226 handguns that appeared shiny in the cloudy sunlight. They were tiny in Liam's burly hands.

"The handle of this handgun is known as the grip." Liam asserted, pointing at the pistol grip. "The back is called the Rear Sight. There is a Front Sight at the front end and a Rear Sight at the rear end, this is useful for aiming at targets. Some handgun series can use a Laser Sight to make it easier to shoot in critical directions. I'll show you." Liam pulled the slide back creating a crisp sound. "This is the removal lever when you run out of bullets you can press this part of the Magazine Release lever — it will automatically come out of the magazine slot, you can use the new Mags slot." Liam continued explaining all the parts in detail. "It's empty and unloaded you don't hafta worry. Hold it. Feel the grip."

Alessia hesitantly picked up the SIG handgun on the table. Her hand gripped the handgun. This was her first time holding a real weapon like this. With difficulty, she swallowed. It was ice-cold, heavier than the kitchen knives she used every day. Ally's hand trembled as she held the grip. "Is this a real weapon? It feels so heavy?"

"First time holding? How does it feel?" Liam nodded. He smiled brightly.

"Mixed feelings. Less than pleasant. I remember when the Harley officer put a similar gun to my head."

Liam showed me how to load the bullets. "Press the removal lever like this. Replace with new slot mags, it's ready to fire."

Alessia sighed, trying it with an empty mags slot, following Liam's quick movements. At first, she had trouble keeping up, and Liam didn't mind demonstrating it over and over again.

"Nice. You do learn quickly."

Ally's bloody lips spread sweetly.

"When you shoot, the position of your body and hands must be precise so that you can shoot in the right direction and distance. The correct position is this."

Showing how to use it, introducing the parts. Liam demonstrated how to use it, Liam's movements were fast. His hands are shrewd, dexterous and good at assembling all the frames of the handgun. The way Liam stands when aiming the handgun.

Liam aligned Alessia's body position, helping her hold the weapon in the right direction and distance. "Straighten your hand. Don't tremble, it could cause the bullet to miss the other way. You don't want someone else to die because of a misfire, do you? You can hold your breath if you wanna hit the target. Look at me. Put your earplugs on."

Ally lowered the empty gun in her hand, put on the earplugs, watching Liam's fast, agile and extraordinary movements.

[Bang!]

***