Chapter 6 - The Trap at the Docks
11:15 a.m.
The South Chicago shipping yards were a maze of towering iron shipping containers, heavy cranes, and icy wind sweeping off Lake Michigan.
Inside a secluded warehouse near Dock 14, Raymond Cole stood surrounded by twelve heavily armed men. Across from him, Arthur Whitaker was pacing frantically, clutching a leather briefcase containing forged passports and three million dollars in cash.
“Where is the ship, Raymond?” Arthur demanded, sweating profusely despite the freezing air. “The port authority said the cargo vessel was supposed to dock twenty minutes ago!”
Raymond Cole—a sharp-featured man in his late fifties wearing an expensive leather coat—pulled a cigar from his pocket, his hands shaking slightly as he lit it. “Shut up, Arthur. The captain is delaying due to the coast guard patrol. We have time.”
“We don't have time!” Arthur screamed. “Dante Moretti wiped out your entire hit squad in less than two minutes! My wife said he looked like a demon! If he finds us here—”
“He won't find us,” Raymond snapped. “Nobody knows about this warehouse.”
BOOM!
The heavy steel doors of the warehouse were ripped off their hinges as a modified tactical armored truck smashed directly through the entryway, sending iron sparks and concrete dust flying through the air!
“Position!” Raymond screamed, drawing his weapon as his mercenaries opened fire on the vehicle.
Before the smoke could clear, flashbang grenades rained down from the high skylights above, exploding in blinding flashes of light and deafening cracks!
Dante’s elite strike force dropped down on tactical ropes from the ceiling girders, taking out Cole’s mercenaries with surgical efficiency.
Through the thick smoke and dust, Dante Moretti walked into the warehouse. He wore a dark tactical coat, holding a heavy weapon, his presence so overwhelming that the remaining gunmen lowered their weapons in sheer terror, dropping to their knees with their hands raised.
Arthur Whitaker stumbled backward, tripping over a wooden pallet and crashing onto the cold floor, his briefcase opening and scattering hundred-dollar bills across the concrete.
Raymond Cole backed against a steel pillar, his gun raised, his hand trembling so hard he could barely aim. “Moretti... wait! We can make a deal! I’ll give you all my territory! The west side is yours!”
Dante didn't slow his stride. He walked straight up to Raymond, grabbed the barrel of his gun, twisted it out of his hand with a sickening crack of breaking bone, and struck Raymond across the face with the heavy steel grip.
Raymond collapsed onto his knees, spitting blood onto the concrete.
Dante turned his cold, unyielding eyes onto Arthur Whitaker.
Arthur was sobbing now, crawling backward on his hands and knees. “Dante! Please! I’m your father-in-law! I’m Elena’s father! You can’t kill me! Think about how it will hurt her!”
Dante walked over, stopping right above Arthur, his heavy boot stepping firmly onto Arthur’s hand, crushing it against the concrete floor.
Arthur shrieked in pain.
“Elena spent three years living in hell because of your greed, Arthur,” Dante said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying whisper that made the hair on the back of Arthur’s neck stand up. “She protected me from you. She broke her own heart every single day to keep me alive. You aren't her father. You’re just a parasite who used her.”
Dante signaled to Lorenzo, who stepped forward with federal marshals and state police officials dressed in tactical gear.
Arthur stared in utter shock as federal agents stepped out from behind Dante’s men, holding heavy iron handcuffs and federal arrest warrants.
“Arthur Whitaker and Raymond Cole,” the lead federal agent announced loudly. “You are under arrest for attempted murder, high-level racketeering, federal treason, and corporate fraud.”
May you like
Arthur gaped at Dante. “You... you brought the feds?”
Dante looked down at him with pure contempt. “Killing you would be too easy, Arthur. You’re going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a maximum-security federal facility, watching from a tiny cell while Elena and I build the life you tried so hard to destroy.”
