Chapter 7 - The Siege of the River Estate
The non-lethal flash-bang charges Cassidy had rigged to the foyer’s ventilation system detonated in unison—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Blinding white light and two hundred decibels of concussive force exploded through the main entrance.
Blackwood’s mercenaries screamed, dropping their weapons, clutching their ears as their night-vision goggles overloaded, blinding them completely.
"NOW!" Dante roared.
The Moretti enforcers on the balcony opened fire.
A storm of non-lethal beanbag rounds and tactical flash-suppression fire rained down upon the disoriented black-ops squad, neutralizing them instantly. They hit the marble floor, unconscious or disarmed within seconds.
Blackwood, recovering faster than his men due to his advanced combat training, threw himself behind a stone pillar, coughing blood. He drew his secondary sidearm and sprinted toward the side terrace doors, vanishing into the torrential rain outside.
"He's running for the lake!" Cassidy shouted from the balcony.
She vaulted over the stone railing, dropping fifteen feet to the foyer floor, landing in a smooth roll beside Dante.
"I’m coming with you," Dante said, pulling a fresh magazine from his belt and slapping it into his weapon with a loud metallic click.
They burst through the broken terrace doors into the storm.
Rain hammered down, cold and relentless, washing away the blood on the stone steps. Across the sweeping green lawn toward the private yacht dock, a silhouette was sprinting through the dark fog.
It was Blackwood.
A sleek military speedboat was docked at the pier, its engine idling, ready for his escape across Lake Michigan to Canada.
Cassidy and Dante sprinted across the wet grass, their boots kicking up mud.
Blackwood reached the pier, turned, and opened fire with his sidearm. Bullets chewed through the wooden planks near Dante’s feet. Dante dove behind a heavy decorative stone statue, returning fire, pinning Blackwood behind the boat's control console.
Cassidy didn't stop.
She ran along the edge of the cliff wall, utilizing the high stone rocks for cover. She jumped onto the roof of the boathouse, ran across the wet shingles, and launched herself through the air just as Blackwood raised his weapon to shoot Dante.
Cassidy slammed into Blackwood with full force.
Both of them crashed onto the wet wooden deck of the boat, rolling across the slick surface as the vessel rocked violently against the choppy waves.
Blackwood’s gun flew overboard, splashing into the dark lake.
"You stubborn bitch!" Blackwood growled, pushing himself up and drawing a long military combat knife from his chest sheath. "I built you, Elena! I made you into a ghost! You belong to the United States government!"
"I don't belong to anyone," Cassidy said, stepping back into a tight hand-to-hand combat stance, her dark wet hair plastered to her face. "And my name is Cassidy."
Blackwood lunged forward, executing a lethal knife strike aimed directly at her throat.
Cassidy parried the blow with her forearm, grabbed his wrist, and drove her elbow straight into his ribs. Blackwood grunted, sweeping his leg to knock her off balance. They tumbled onto the deck, battling furiously for control of the blade.
Blackwood managed to get on top, pressing the sharp steel edge of the knife down toward Cassidy’s chest. "You were weak then, and you're weak now! Choosing a mob boss over your country!"
Cassidy gritted her teeth, her muscles burning as she held the blade inches from her heart. "Dante isn't my mob boss," she gasped out, her eyes blazing with pure, unyielding fire. "He's my family!"
A heavy hand suddenly grabbed Blackwood by the back of his tactical vest.
With a roar of pure, terrifying rage, Dante lifted the two-hundred-pound colonel off Cassidy and threw him violently across the deck. Blackwood slammed into the steel steering console, his knife falling from his grip.
Dante stood over him like an avenging demon, blood dripping down his face, his dark eyes terrifying in their absolute hatred.
He grabbed Blackwood by his throat, lifting him off his feet, pressing him against the edge of the boat's railing over the churning, icy waters of Lake Michigan.
"You hunted her for ten years," Dante snarled, his grip tightening around Blackwood’s windpipe until the colonel's face turned purple. "You brought war to my city. You made her bleed."
"D-Dante... wait!" Blackwood choked out, clutching frantically at Dante’s iron wrists. "I... I can give you political protection! Millions... in offshore accounts!"
Dante looked over his shoulder at Cassidy, who was standing on the deck, breathing heavily, watching him with soft, trusting eyes.
"I don't need your money, Colonel," Dante whispered into Blackwood’s ear. "I already have everything I’ll ever want."
Dante drew his sidearm, placed the barrel beneath Blackwood’s jaw, and pulled the trigger.
May you like
The gunshot was swallowed by the roar of the thunder.
Blackwood’s body went limp, falling backward into the dark, stormy waters of Lake Michigan, disappearing forever beneath the waves.
