Chapter 8 - The Ambush in the Snow and Arthur’s Intervention
Before Victor’s finger could squeeze the trigger of his tactical rifle, a sharp, deafening crack echoed through the rail yard.
Crack.
A bullet pierced the corrugated iron wall two inches above Victor’s head, sending a shower of metallic sparks raining down onto his shoulders.
“Sniper! Left flank!” one of the hired thugs screamed from the unbranded SUV parked outside.
Arthur Vance and his extraction team opened fire from the shadows of the loading dock, their suppressed submachine guns stitching a tight pattern of lead across the hood and tires of the enemy vehicle in a blinding flash of muzzle fire.
Victor cursed loudly, diving behind a massive concrete support pillar as glass shattered and bullets chewed through the truck’s engine block.
“Kill him! Kill Moretti!” Victor roared to his remaining men.
Moretti didn't flinch.
He rolled across the frozen concrete, using the cover of a rusted forklift to return fire with three precise, calculated shots that neutralized the two thugs rushing toward his position.
The shootout in the abandoned rail yard lasted less than forty seconds.
When the smoke cleared and the echoes of gunfire faded back into the howling wind off the sound, absolute silence returned to the terminal.
Arthur Vance stepped out from the loading dock, his submachine gun smoking in the freezing air, walking up to the concrete pillar where Victor Vance was cowering with his hands over his head.
Arthur kicked Victor’s tactical rifle away across the concrete.
Moretti walked up slowly, standing over his former associate with a look of cold, unrelenting fury.
He didn't shoot.
Instead, Moretti holstered his Sig Sauer, reached down, grabbed Victor by the collar of his expensive winter coat, and hoisted him up off the ground with effortless strength, slamming him hard against the concrete pillar.
“You used my daughter,” Moretti whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, subterranean rage.
“You turned a four-year-old child into a pawn in your pathetic little power grab.”
Victor gasped for air, his face pale with terror.
“A-Alessandro... wait... I can give you the master ledger... I know where Maya is hiding—!”
“I don't need your help to find Maya,” Moretti interrupted, his stormy gray eyes burning into Victor’s soul.
“Because if Maya’s encryption lock is still active... she’s still alive. And she’s right here in New York.”
Moretti threw Victor violently back against the concrete, where Arthur Vance caught him by the arms and slapped heavy steel zip-ties around his wrists.
May you like
“Lock him in the transport van,” Moretti ordered, turning his back on his disgraced former associate.
“And get the digital forensic team on the phone. We’re going to find Maya Harper before the sun comes up.”
Related Stories
