Chapter 4 - Gathering the Wolves
I drove away from the Corbett estate, leaving behind a scene of absolute chaos. Behind me, the sirens of local police cars were already beginning to wail in the distance, but I didn't care. They wouldn't stop me.
I pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. A sleek, black suburban sat in the shadows, its headlights off. As I parked, three figures stepped out of the vehicle.
Marcus was in the lead, wearing a tailored suit that contrasted sharply with the grim environment. Behind him were Vance and Jax, two of the finest tactical operators I had ever served with. They looked older, with more gray in their hair, but their eyes were just as sharp, their movements just as calculated.
"You look like you've been busy," Marcus said, glancing at the dented bumper of my SUV.
"I had a talk with the family," I replied, stepping out of my vehicle.
Jax walked up and threw his arms around me in a brief, heavy bear hug. "Good to see you, brother. Wish it was under better circumstances."
"How is the boy?" Vance asked, his face a mask of quiet intensity.
"Concussion. Severe bruising. But he’s stable," I said. "Marcus, what do we have on the Corbetts?"
Marcus pulled out a ruggedized tablet, the screen illuminating his face. "Arthur Corbett isn't just a local big shot. He’s the head of a massive money-laundering operation. He uses his real estate developments to wash cash for several international cartels. The local police chief, a guy named Thomas, is heavily bribed. That's why they feel untouchable. They have a system. Anyone who crosses them disappears or gets locked up on fabricated charges."
"Then we dismantle the system," I said.
"It’s not going to be a simple extraction, Ethan," Marcus warned. "If we go after them, we go after the whole network. We're talking about taking down a criminal enterprise with deep roots in this city."
"I don't care about the city," I said, looking at each of them. "I care about my son. I want Arthur, Brian, and Scott to lose everything. Their money, their power, and their freedom. And I want them to know exactly who took it from them."
Vance smiled, a dangerous, predatory grin. "Now you’re talking our language. Where do we start?"
"We start with their money," I said. "Arthur's main accounts are routed through a private server at his real estate headquarters downtown. If we can get access to that server, we can clone his ledger and send it directly to the federal authorities. The local cops won't be able to protect him from the FBI."
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"And what about the physical threat?" Jax asked. "They’re going to come after you. They know you’re not just a civilian now."
"Let them come," I said. "I’ll be waiting."
