I sat in the driver's seat of a black car, one hand on the wheel. I looked at my watch nervously and back at the school I was outside. 3:10, five minutes until the kids came out.

The second hand of my Rolex seemed to slowly tick along, as if stuck. It seemed like an hour had gone by when the kids finally walked out. I opened the door to my car and walked across the driveway to the private school, and the kids were headed in a mob towards the waiting parents. I saw my niece, Francesca Giordano, walking towards me with her backpack slung over her shoulders. I started walking with her when she got up next to me, and we took off towards the car.

Another black car with out-of-state license plates pulled up in front of me. The window rolled down, and I saw a glint as the afternoon sun reflected off the barrel of a Tommy gun. I yelled and threw Francesca to the ground, putting myself in the way of the bullets. I gave another yell, this time in pain, as bullets pierced my jacket and sunk into my back. All I remember is lying in an ambulance as sirens sounded.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Wow, now that leaves me wanting more, look forward to the next installment.

Part two, coming today or tomorrow.

Cant wait for part 2,I enjoyed this one:)

I slowly faded into consciousness. I was laying on a bed, my head resting on an uncomfortable pillow. My body was covered with a thin cover that felt like it was made of paper. I sat up as a dull ache immediately crept through my back. I looked around, my vision still slightly blurry, to see someone standing next to the bed.

It was a woman. Her green eyes looked over me, with a hint of danger just detectable. She brushed aside some of the soft brown hair that cascaded down her back.

"Michael? Are you okay?" she asked.

I rubbed my head and nodded, feeling a little knot. I couldn't even remember where I'd gotten it.

"What happened?" I replied.

She sighed and had a look that said she didn't want to say. "You were gunned down outside an elementary school. You were rushed here and spent ten hours in surgery, having the bullets removed from your back. I got here right before you were released."

And the memory came flooding back to me. I remembered walking down the sidewalk as that black car pulled up...the light reflecting off a gun barrel, and pushing Francesca to the ground. Dear God, where was Francesca?

"Where is she?" I asked suddenly, looking around.

"Who?" asked the woman.

"Francesca! I've told you about her, Perfection, I was picking her up from school when the gunman showed up!" I said angrily.

"I don't know, Mike, but I can find out. I have to go back to Marietta's to tell her your awake. I'll come back if she knows anything," said Perfection.

She smiled as she grabbed her purse, told me to get well and not to worry, and left. Dear God, my worries were just beginning.

Perfection was walking in the parking garage, her purse slung over her shoulder. She looked around as she started walking towards her car.

She could feel the gun that Kates had given her in case something happened in her pocket, but she was more worried about getting back to the compound.

A rag was pushed into her face as she walked next to a car. An order filled her nose that made her sleepy. She tried to fight, but was sedated by the chemical on the rag, and she was forced into a car.

TO BE CONTINUED...

A little girl sat tied to a chair, hidden in a closet, with her blond curls gone, having been cut off by her captors.  Through a small crack between the door and the wall she can see the bed. She jumps as she hears the door to the room open, and watches a brown-haired woman struggling against two men who had her arms locked in their grip. They threw her on the bed.

"Come on, pretty, why do you fight us? You know you want to," said one of the men as he crawls over her. She reared back and kicked him in the cajones. He gave a loud grunt and slapped her.

"Listen, bitch, if you ever want to see daylight again, you WON'T do that again!" he yelled. He ordered a couple of guys to handcuff her down, fighting against her kicks and punches, and finally succeeds, her hands handcuffed to the headboard and her feet to a padlock just big enough that it can't fit between the posts. The man started trying to undress her, before a bullet flew from his head, right above the eye.

"Okay, listen, boys, you are not going to hurt this merchandise, we're getting paid big for her on the black market!" said the leader, who held a gun.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sorry, forgot that part.

hey man awesome story. i cna't wait to hear more.  ur very good writer.way to go Michael_Giovanni very griping good stuff man keep up hte gtood work. and i hope the pretty lady gets away.

Oh yes, I do look  forward to seeing what happens to the lady and your darling neice.