Chapter 7 - The Ambush at the Gate
Night had fallen again by the time our three-vehicle convoy neared the outer perimeter of the Moretti estate. Rain poured down in heavy sheets, thunder rattling the hills as lighting illuminated the dark pine canopy.
My father sat in the passenger seat beside Captain Vance, checking his sidearm. I sat in the back with Titan, my heart pounding against my ribs, but my mind crystal clear.
“Look out!” Vance shouted, slamming on the brakes.
A heavy armored truck burst through the treeline, T-boning the lead vehicle in our convoy! Metal twisted and glass shattered as our SUV spun out across the slick asphalt, slamming into a stone embankment.
“Ambush!” Samuel barked, kicking his door open. “Out! Get into the treeline!”
Gunfire erupted through the darkness. Marco’s elite mercenaries, wearing night-vision gear, poured out from the woods, opening fire on our convoy. They had anticipated our return.
I grabbed my weapon, kicked open the rear door, and rolled out into the muddy ditch with Titan right behind me. Sparks flew as bullets ricocheted off the SUV’s frame.
“Clara! Cover the left flank!” my father called out, taking cover behind a massive oak tree, returning disciplined, precise fire that dropped two advancing mercenaries.
A shooter scrambled up the ridge above my father, raising an automatic rifle aimed directly at Samuel’s head.
“Dad! Down!” I screamed.
Before the shooter could pull the trigger, Titan sprang up the embankment like a shadow, taking the mercenary down into the brush with a ferocious roar. The man dropped his rifle, screaming as Titan disarmed him instantly.
I advanced up the hill, providing suppressive fire, taking down another gunman who tried to flank my father’s position.
Within three minutes of chaotic firefight, the perimeter was clear. Eight of Marco’s men lay disarmed and captured on the road.
My father ran over to me, grabbing my shoulders, checking me for injuries. “Are you hit?”
“I’m fine,” I gasped, wiping rain and mud from my face. “Titan’s fine too.”
The massive mastiff returned to my side, panting, nudging my hand with his wet nose.
Samuel looked at Titan, then at me, a proud smile breaking through the grime on his face. “You two really are an unbeatable team.”
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Captain Vance ran up, holding a satellite comms radio. “Samuel! Luca’s inner security team just sent an emergency alert. Marco has called an emergency assembly in the main courtyard. He’s claiming Luca murdered his bodyguards and is declaring himself the new Don of the Moretti family!”
Samuel grabbed the leather dossier containing Marco’s treason evidence. “We have five minutes before Marco takes the oath. Let’s go!”
