Chapter 9 - The Unmasking of the Empire
The storm reached its absolute peak over Red Hook.
Warehouse 14 was a chaotic warzone. The explosion at the nearby refinery had set two cargo ships ablaze, sending thick black smoke billowing through the rain. Fire sirens echoed from every corner of Brooklyn.
Inside the warehouse, Dominic stood near his armored SUV, screaming furiously into his satellite phone.
“What do you mean the diner guards aren't answering?!” Dominic roared. “Find Moretti! He couldn't have survived that blast!”
“He didn't need to survive it, Dominic,” a voice echoed from the high steel catwalks above.
Dominic whipped around, pulling his gold-plated pistol as his remaining six guards aimed their weapons upward.
Standing on the narrow steel walkway, framed by the flickering orange light of the fires outside, was Adrian. He was bleeding from a cut on his temple, his suit torn, but his stance was as unwavering as a mountain.
“You brought federal agents onto my docks, Dominic,” Adrian said, his voice carrying clearly over the roar of the fire. “You attacked a woman and a child. You broke every rule our family was built upon.”
“Rules?!” Dominic spat, laughing hysterically. “The world doesn't care about rules, Adrian! It cares about power! You were going soft! You were giving away our legacy for a waitress and a little girl who found a dropped envelope!”
“That little girl had more honor in her tiny finger than you’ve had in twenty years,” Adrian replied coldly.
“Kill him!” Dominic shrieked.
Before his guards could pull their triggers, flashes of red laser sights painted their chests from the dark corners of the warehouse rafters.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
Suppressed rifle fire rained down from above. Lucas and five elite Moretti loyalists—men who had remained true to Adrian—opened fire from the shadows. Dominic’s guards dropped one by one, their bodies slamming onto the concrete floor.
Agent Miller, the corrupt federal handler, panicked, dropping his weapon and raising his hands. “Moretti! Wait! I was forced into this! Dominic paid me!”
Adrian didn't even look at him. Lucas fired a single shot from the catwalk, dropping Miller instantly.
Dominic scrambled backward, scrambling into his armored SUV, but Adrian leaped down from the ten-foot catwalk, landing heavily on the hood of the vehicle with a deafening metal crunch.
The windshield shattered as Adrian drove his boot through the glass, kicking Dominic hard in the chest.
Adrian dragged Dominic out through the shattered windshield, slamming him onto the wet concrete floor of the warehouse.
Dominic lay on his back, coughing up blood, looking up at Adrian with wide, terrified eyes. The gold-plated gun had fallen far out of reach.
“Adrian… please…” Dominic begged, clutching his chest. “We’re brothers… twenty years… think of the family…”
Adrian stood over him, holding his pistol pointed directly between Dominic’s eyes.
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“The family died the moment you touched that child,” Adrian whispered.
BANG.
