Chapter 5 - The Bait and the Trap
It took me an hour to convince Agent Vance, and another twenty minutes to convince her superiors over a secure phone line.
The plan was highly dangerous, bordering on suicidal. I would walk into the abandoned shipyard alone, acting as the bait. I would carry a cloned laptop containing a tracker and a remote-detonated flashbang disguised as the hard drive.
Vance’s tactical team would surround the perimeter. Snipers would be positioned on the rusted cranes. The moment Arthur showed his face and verified my mother was alive, they would swarm the place.
I walked over to Celeste before leaving. She was awake now, holding a cup of lukewarm coffee.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.
“I’m going to make sure we never have to look over our shoulders again,” I replied. I kissed her forehead. “Trust me. When the sun comes up, this will all be a bad memory.”
I stepped out into the freezing midnight air.
The drive to the shipyard was a blur of neon lights and dark highways. My mind was racing, replaying the last twenty-four hours. Yesterday, I was picking out a casket. Today, I was wearing a Kevlar vest, wired with a microphone, walking into a hostage negotiation with the mob.
The shipyard was a graveyard of rusted metal and decaying shipping containers. The salty air stung my lungs.
“Radio check,” Vance’s voice crackled in my earpiece. “We have eyes on the main warehouse. Two hostiles at the door. Three more inside. Proceed with caution, Julian. We are with you.”
I clutched the fake briefcase and walked toward the massive, open doors of Warehouse 4.
The inside was illuminated by harsh construction lights powered by a loud generator. The shadows danced wildly against the corrugated walls.
Standing in the center of the room was Arthur Pendelton.
He was wearing an expensive cashmere overcoat, the same one he wore at the funeral. He looked calm. Untouchable.
Beside him, tied to a wooden chair, was my mother.
She looked terrified. Her hair was a mess, her makeup smeared from crying. When she saw me, she let out a muffled sob through the duct tape over her mouth.
Despite everything she had done, despite the betrayal, seeing her like that felt like a knife to the chest.
“Julian,” Arthur said, spreading his arms wide like a welcoming uncle. “I knew you’d come. You always had your father’s bleeding heart.”
“Let her go, Arthur,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. I held up the briefcase. “I have what you want.”
Arthur chuckled, a dry, raspy sound. “You know, I genuinely liked Raymond. We built an empire together. But he went soft. He forgot that in this world, there is no retirement. There is only the grave.”
He nodded to one of his men, a giant thug with a facial tattoo. The man stepped forward and ripped the tape off my mother’s mouth.
“Julian!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “I’m so sorry! I didn't know they were going to hurt anyone! He promised me you and the children would be safe!”
“Shut up, Helen,” Arthur snapped. He pulled a silver handgun from his coat and pointed it lazily at her head. “Bring the case here, Julian. Let’s make sure you didn't do anything stupid.”
“If I walk over there, you’ll kill us both,” I said, standing my ground.
“If you don't walk over here,” Arthur replied, cocking the hammer of the gun, “I’ll shoot her right now, and my men will hunt your wife down before morning.”
“Vance,” I whispered barely audibly. “Do you have a shot?”
“Negative,” Vance’s voice came back, tense. “He’s using her as a shield. The angle is blocked. You need to get him to step away from her.”
I took a deep breath and began to walk forward. Every step felt like walking through deep water.
I stopped ten feet away from them. I placed the briefcase on a rusty metal barrel and popped the latches.
“It’s all here,” I said. “The ledgers. The bank accounts. Everything.”
May you like
Arthur smiled greedily. He took one step away from my mother, reaching for the laptop.
“Vance, now!” I yelled.
