Chapter 5 - The Dawn at the Gate
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the rain finally stopped over Chicago, leaving the sky a pale, washed-out blue.
Outside the main iron gates of the Moretti estate, eight black federal SUVs sat idling along the muddy shoulder. Agent Richard Vance stood beside the hood of the lead vehicle, checking his watch every thirty seconds, his jaw clamped shut in mounting frustration.
"Sir," his deputy said, running up with a radio tablet. "There's still no ping from Informant 409-B's satellite phone. We're thirty minutes past the operational deadline. Should we execute the breach warrant?"
Vance reached for his sidearm, his eyes dark with anger. "Get the tactical teams ready. We're going through those gates—"
Before Vance could finish his sentence, the heavy black iron gates of the estate began to groan, swinging open slowly into the interior driveway.
A single silver Mercedes sedan rolled smoothly out of the estate grounds, stopping ten feet from Vance’s SUV.
Vance drew his pistol, his tactical officers instantly fanning out, their rifles aimed at the sedan's tinted windows. "FBI! Step out of the vehicle with your hands visible!"
The driver's side door opened.
Mikhail stepped out, holding his hands high in the air. He walked slowly around to the rear passenger door and opened it.
Out stepped Isabella Romano and her father, Don Carmine Romano.
Isabella was wearing her silk dress, but her hair was disheveled, her hands bound tightly behind her back with heavy steel handcuffs. Carmine looked ten years older, leaning heavily on Mikhail’s arm as he stumbled out onto the gravel.
Behind them, Mikhail set a large steel briefcase on the hood of the silver sedan.
"What is the meaning of this?" Vance demanded, stepping forward with his gun raised. "Where is Aleandro Moretti?"
Mikhail didn't blink. "Mr. Moretti extends his compliments, Agent Vance. Inside that briefcase, you will find the complete financial records, offshore accounts, and murder contracts for the Romano and Corvini syndicates, signed and verified by Don Carmine himself."
Vance blinked, stunned. "And Isabella?"
"Miss Romano's immunity contract was voided forty-five minutes ago due to breach of non-disclosure terms regarding third-party intelligence operations," Mikhail replied smoothly, pulling a signed DOJ revocation order from his pocket and handing it to Vance. "She and her father are now officially in your custody for immediate indictment on federal racketeering charges."
Isabella looked at Vance, her eyes burning with pure, unadulterated fury. "He lied to you, Richard! He bought the Deputy Attorney General! He has a full pardon! Arrest him! Surge the house!"
Vance opened the blue folder, his eyes scanning the signatures from Washington D.C. His hands began to shake with helpless rage. The case he had spent five years building—the case that was supposed to make his career—had been dismantled in a single morning by a man who was ten steps ahead of everyone in the room.
"Where is he now?" Vance growled, looking past Mikhail toward the quiet, massive stone estate sitting atop the hill.
May you like
Mikhail offered a faint, respectful bow. "Mr. Moretti has left the country, Agent Vance. His estate has been surrendered to the State of Illinois for conversion into a public children's sanctuary."
Without another word, Mikhail turned around, stepped back into the silver sedan, turned the car around, and drove back through the gates, leaving Vance standing in the mud with two hand-cuffed traitors and a briefcase full of broken dreams.
