Chapter 10 - Blood and Ash in the Warehouse District
A torrential downpour battered the rusted corrugated roofs of the Red Hook shipping yards. Fog rolled off the dark waters of the East River, swallowing the decaying warehouses in a blanket of gray.
Inside Warehouse 44, a dozen armed Vitali enforcers stood guard around a circle of industrial spotlights. In the center, tied to a wooden chair, was Maya, crying softly into her sleeves, while old Don Carmine Vitali paced back and forth, puffing on an expensive cigar.
Beside Carmine stood Alisandre Vitali, stripped of her glamorous dresses, wearing a dark trench coat, her face twisted with bitter, manic hatred.
"Where is he?" Alisandre hissed, checking her diamond watch. "Matteo should have been here by now! What if he doesn't come for the brat?"
"He will come," Carmine growled, his voice rasping. "Matteo’s weakness has always been his pride. He gave the maid his coat. He brought her to the Met Gala. He cannot afford to let her family die without looking weak to the Commission. When he walks through that door, my snipers will turn him into Swiss cheese."
CRASH!
The skylights above the warehouse shattered in a shower of deadly glass.
Four flashbang grenades plummeted from the rafters, detonating with a blinding white fury that deafened the guards.
Before the smoke could clear, shadows dropped from the ceiling on tactical ropes.
Matteo Duca landed like a panther in the center of the kill zone, dual pistols blazing.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Four Vitali guards collapsed before they could even lift their rifles. Duca commandos swept in through the side loading bays, cutting down the mercenary line with brutal, overwhelming firepower.
"Kill him!" Carmine screamed, diving behind a row of metal shipping crates.
Alisandre panicked, drawing a silver revolver from her coat and lunging toward Maya. "If I lose everything, you die first, you little parasite!"
"MAYA!"
From the shadows of the side entrance, Lena Carter charged forward. She didn't hesitate. She didn't flinch.
Lena raised the Glock with both hands, aimed straight at Alisandre, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet tore through Alisandre’s shoulder, sending the heiress spinning across the concrete floor, her revolver clattering away into the dark.
Maya shrieked in relief. "Lena!"
Lena rushed to the chair, dropping to her knees, throwing her arms around Maya and shielding the child with her body as the remaining gunfire died down.
Across the warehouse floor, Don Carmine tried to crawl toward the emergency exit, dragging his wounded leg.
A heavy black leather boot stepped down on his chest, pinning him to the cold concrete with crushing force.
Carmine looked up in sheer horror into the cold, merciless face of Matteo Duca.
"Matteo... please," the old mob boss wheezed, blood bubbling on his lips. "We are family... the old treaties..."
Matteo leveled his Beretta directly between Carmine’s eyes.
"The treaties died the night your daughter dropped poison in my cup," Matteo whispered. "And your soul was condemned the second you touched Lena’s family."
BANG.
May you like
The gunshot echoed into the rainy night.
The reign of Don Carmine Vitali was over.
