Chapter 8 - The Wrath of Adrian Voss
The Calumet industrial district was a wasteland of rusted steel, rotting train cars, and overgrown weeds.
The gray sky hung low over the dilapidated railway depot on 115th Street. Rain had turned the gravel into thick, sucking mud.
A lone black sedan pulled up to the central warehouse doors. Adrian killed the engine.
Beside him, I checked the compact 9mm pistol Marcus had given me, slipping it into the pocket of my oversized coat just as I had been instructed. My hands weren't shaking anymore. When someone threatens the woman who gave you life, fear turns into pure survival instinct.
"Marcus’s snipers are in position on the grain silos three hundred yards out," Adrian said quietly, his voice a low vibration in the car. "They have thermal imaging. There are eight men inside, plus Daniel and Viktor Vance. Vance is planning to execute your mother on camera to force my surrender, then take a private boat across Lake Michigan to Canada."
"And what's our plan?" I asked, looking at the massive metal doors.
Adrian looked at me, his gaze unyielding. "We walk in. We draw their attention. And then we kill every single one of them."
He stepped out of the car. I followed, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with the Chicago kingpin into the lion’s den.
The massive metal doors creaked open as we pushed inside. The interior of the warehouse was cavernous, smelling of diesel fuel, rust, and damp earth. Piles of shipping crates created a labyrinth of shadows.
In the center of the concrete floor, illuminated by a single hanging halogen work lamp, my mother was tied to a wooden chair. A strip of gray duct tape was slapped over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror.
Behind her stood Daniel Mercer, looking manic, disheveled, holding a revolver with trembling hands. Beside him stood Viktor Vance, flanked by six mercenaries armed with submachine guns.
"Sophie!" my mother muffled through the tape, thrashing against her ropes.
"Mom!" I cried, taking a step forward, but Adrian placed a firm, protective arm in front of me, halting my advance.
"Look who decided to play the hero!" Daniel barked, letting out a wild, shrill laugh that echoed off the high rafters. "The great Adrian Voss! Brought down to his knees by a waitress and a sick old woman!"
"Let her go, Daniel," Adrian said, his voice smooth and terrifyingly level. "Your quarrel is with me. You have me. Untie the woman."
"Shut up!" Daniel shrieked, pressing the barrel of the revolver directly against my mother’s temple. Evelyn let out a whimpering sob. "You ruined me, Voss! You took my career! You made me a pariah in this city! Vance promised me half a million dollars and a new identity in South America. All I have to do is watch him put a bullet in your head!"
Viktor Vance stepped forward, a smug, venomous grin spreading across his face.
"It's over, Adrian," Vance purred. "You got soft. Taking in a waitress, donating to charities, playing house. The mighty Voss dynasty ends today in the dirt of Calumet."
Vance raised his hand, signaling his gunmen to raise their weapons. "Drop your weapons, Adrian. Or Mercer blows her brains out right now."
Adrian didn't raise his hands. Instead, he tilted his head, a ghost of a smirk curling on his lips.
"You really should have checked the roof, Viktor," Adrian whispered.
*CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!*
The skylights above exploded in a shower of glass!
High-caliber sniper rounds punched through the roof with terrifying precision. Before Vance’s mercenaries could even touch their triggers, three of them collapsed instantly, their chests torn open by armor-piercing bullets.
"Ambush!" Vance screamed, diving behind a forklift as gunfire erupted!
"Mom!" I screamed.
Daniel panicked. His eyes flared with absolute madness. Instead of retreating, he pulled the hammer back on his revolver, pointing it directly at my mother’s chest. "I'll kill her! I'll kill—"
I didn't think. I didn't hesitate.
I whipped the 9mm from my pocket, raised both hands, and squeezed the trigger.
*BANG!*
The recoil kicked hard against my wrists. The bullet tore through Daniel’s right shoulder.
Daniel shrieked in agony, dropping the revolver to the concrete as he stumbled backward, clutching his shattered shoulder.
Adrian moved like a panther. He raised his assault rifle, putting two controlled rounds into the remaining two gunmen before they could flank us.
"Get your mother!" Adrian roared over the gunfire, sprinting toward Vance’s position behind the forklift.
I dashed across the wet concrete, dropping to my knees beside my mother. My fingers worked furiously, ripping the duct tape from her mouth.
"Sophie! Oh God, Sophie!" she wept, trembling uncontrollably.
"I’ve got you, Mom. I've got you," I sobbed, pulling a utility knife from my pocket and slicing through the rough hemp ropes binding her wrists.
Behind me, the warehouse echoed with the violent struggle between Adrian and Vance.
I hauled my mother to her feet, shoving her behind a steel shipping container just as a volley of ricocheting bullets sparked against the concrete.
"Stay here! Don't move!" I ordered.
May you like
I crept back toward the center of the floor, my gun raised, just in time to see the final chapter unfold.
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