Chapter 4 - Fire on the Hudson
At two o'clock in the morning, a thick blanket of fog rolled over the Hudson River, obscuring the industrial shipping yards of Pier 14 in Jersey City.
Inside a sprawling, dimly lit warehouse, Victor Karras sat at a heavy wooden desk, sipping cognac. Around him were eight heavily armed men, watching the security monitors showing the empty dock perimeter.
Karras was a broad, scar-faced man in his mid-fifties who had built his empire on extortion and violence. He checked his gold wristwatch, frowning.
“Where the hell is Gabriel?” Karras growled to his second-in-command, a tall man named Bruno. “He was supposed to call three hours ago to confirm the boy was dead.”
“Maybe the poison took longer to work,” Bruno suggested, adjusting the submachine gun slung over his shoulder. “Or maybe Moretti locked down the estate.”
“If Gabriel failed, I’ll kill him myself,” Karras muttered, raising his glass. “The Moretti empire is ripe for picking. Dominic is soft. He’s been living like a king in Westchester while his cousin handed us his shipping manifests.”
BOOM!
The heavy steel doors at the front of the warehouse were blown off their hinges by a targeted breaching charge!
Sparks, concrete dust, and smoke exploded into the air!
Before Karras’s guards could even raise their weapons, dark figures moved through the smoke with terrifying speed and discipline.
PAK-PAK-PAK-PAK!
Suppressed gunfire echoed through the high-ceilinged warehouse. Four of Karras’s guards hit the concrete floor before they could pull their triggers.
“Ambush!” Bruno screamed, firing wildly into the fog.
A heavy shotgun blast tore through the air, sending Bruno flying backward over a stack of wooden crates.
Through the swirling smoke walked Dominic Moretti.
He wore a dark tactical coat, holding a custom Kimber .45 in his right hand. Beside him was Julian, flanked by twelve elite Moretti enforcers who instantly swept the room, disarming the surviving mercenaries and pinning them to the floor.
Victor Karras scrambled backward behind his desk, reaching for his revolver, but Dominic fired a single shot that shattered Karras’s cognac glass, showering him in liquor and crystal shards.
“Don't move, Victor,” Dominic’s voice commanded, ringing out like iron against stone.
Karras froze, his hands trembling as he slowly raised them into the air. He looked at Dominic in utter disbelief.
“Moretti...” Karras wheezed, his scar flushing bright red. “How... how did you find this place?”
Dominic stepped up to the desk, his boots crunching over shattered glass. He set Gabriel’s broken gold watch down on the blotter right in front of Karras.
“My cousin sends his regards,” Dominic said coldly. “He told me everything about your agreement. The offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, the shipping manifests, and the poison.”
Karras swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure. “Look, Dominic... it’s just business. We can make a deal! I’ll surrender the Brooklyn docks to you! I’ll pay fifty million dollars—”
Dominic leaned down, placing both hands on the desk, his dark eyes burning into Karras’s soul.
“You tried to kill an eight-year-old boy on his birthday, Victor,” Dominic whispered. “There are no deals for men like you.”
Dominic turned his back and walked toward the exit.
“Julian,” Dominic said without looking back.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Burn this pier to the ground. Leave nothing for the tide.”
As Dominic stepped out into the crisp, cold morning air, the sound of muffled gunfire echoed from inside the warehouse, followed shortly by the bright, roaring orange glow of gasoline fires spreading across the wooden pier.
The threat to the Hudson shipping corridors was eliminated. The enemies of the Moretti family had been wiped clean in a single night.
Dominic climbed into the back seat of his armored SUV, looking out at the rising sun over the Hudson River.
May you like
For seven years, since his wife’s death, he had believed that violence and control were the only things keeping his world from falling apart. But as the darkness of the night gave way to golden sunlight, he realized that power was meaningless if there was no warmth waiting at home.
“Drive back to Westchester,” Dominic told his driver. “Fast.”
