Chapter 7 - War at the Waterfront
Dusk settled over the harbor in shades of dark purple and bruised orange.
Heavy ocean fog rolled off the black water, wrapping around the massive metal shipping cranes and industrial warehouses of the Vance family’s waterfront stronghold.
Inside Warehouse 12—a massive three-story concrete fortress equipped with steel doors, security cameras, and fifty heavily armed Vance mercenaries—Julian Vance paced back and forth across his executive office overlooking the floor.
Julian held his silver cane in one hand and a glass of gin in the other. His face was drawn, pale, and desperate.
“Where are the reinforcements from the Northern Alliance?!” Julian roared at his chief lieutenant, a thick man named Karl.
“They’re not coming, boss!” Karl yelled back over the sound of alarms blaring in the distance. “Luca Moretti blocked the northern highway two hours ago! He bought off the alliance captains! Nobody is coming to help us!”
“Traitors! Cowards!” Julian screamed, slamming his gin glass against the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces! “I built this city! I owned Alessandra Moretti for twelve years, and I will tear her brother’s heart out!”
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A massive explosion blew the heavy steel main doors of the warehouse completely off their hinges, sending a roaring wall of fire and concrete shrapnel tearing through the ground floor!
The alarm sirens were instantly drowned out by the deafening roar of automatic gunfire!
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Over fifty Moretti soldiers in tactical gear poured through the smoke, led by Leo and Dante! Smoke grenades rolled across the concrete floor, filling the warehouse with dense white fog as Moretti forces swept through the building with terrifying precision!
Up on the second-floor balcony, Julian panicked. He grabbed a heavy leather briefcase filled with bearer bonds and diamond pouches, turning to sprint toward his private rear helipad exit!
“Karl! Hold the stairs!” Julian shrieked, stumbling down the hallway with his silver cane.
Karl raised his submachine gun, aiming into the white smoke on the stairs—
BANG! BANG!
Two rapid shots rang out from the fog. Karl collapsed backward, dead before he hit the ground.
Luca Moretti stepped out of the white smoke.
He wore a dark tactical vest over his shirt, holding a custom heavy pistol, his face covered in light soot, his dark eyes fixed on Julian Vance like an unstoppable force of nature.
Julian turned, his back slammed against the glass doors leading to the helipad. He pulled a compact silver pistol from his coat, aiming it at Luca with wild, trembling hands!
“Stay back, Luca!” Julian screamed, his voice cracking with pure terror. “I’ll kill you! I swear to God I’ll shoot!”
Luca didn't slow down. He walked steadily toward Julian, ignoring the gun pointed at his chest, his boots crunching over bullet casings and broken glass.
“You stole twelve years from my sister, Julian,” Luca said, his voice flat, calm, and terrifyingly cold. “You made her live in a box. You hurt a six-year-old child.”
“She was mine!” Julian wept hysterically, raising the gun to fire—
Luca moved with terrifying speed!
He grabbed Julian’s wrist, twisting it violently downward—CRACK!—dislocating Julian’s joint! Julian screamed in agony, dropping the pistol onto the concrete floor!
Luca grabbed Julian by his expensive velvet collar, slamming him hard against the heavy glass wall!
CRASH!
Spiderweb cracks split across the thick safety glass. Julian hung in Luca’s iron grip, his silver cane falling to the floor, rolling away into the dark.
“Please... Luca... mercy...” Julian whimpered, blood running down his chin, all his aristocratic arrogance completely destroyed. “I’ll give you everything... the estate... the money... just let me live...”
Luca pulled the small brass key engraved with A.M. from his pocket, holding it right in front of Julian’s tear-filled eyes.
“Alessandra sent me this key to open the door to your grave, Julian,” Luca whispered into his face.
Luca pulled his heavy pistol, pressing the barrel directly against Julian’s chest.
“This is from Alessandra.”
BANG!
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Julian Vance’s eyes went wide. His body went limp, sliding down the cracked glass wall onto the cold concrete floor.
The war for the city was over.
