Chapter 14 - The Ambush at the Safehouse
Two weeks of relative calm shattered on a crisp Thursday afternoon when the fragile peace of the penthouse was violently interrupted. Dante had been out of the apartment since early morning attending a clandestine sit-down with allied capos on the South Side to address the internal betrayal, leaving Minna under the watchful eye of his two primary enforcers, the scarred veteran and the cold-eyed younger man. Around 2:00 p.m., the building’s private security intercom buzzed sharply. The younger enforcer checked the encrypted feed from the lobby camera, and his face instantly drained of color. “We’ve been compromised,” he barked, his voice laced with sudden urgency as he drew a heavy, suppressed pistol from his shoulder holster. “Silvio’s crew bypassed the main lobby security. They’re coming up the service elevator.”
Minna’s heart leaped into her throat, adrenaline flooding her system like liquid fire. “Where is Dante?” she demanded, backing away toward the kitchen corridor. “Across town, and his phone isn't going through—they’re jamming local signals,” the older scarred enforcer replied grimly, pulling his own weapon and positioning himself defensively beside the reinforced elevator doors. “Get into the panic room behind the master bedroom closet. Now!” Instead of running, Minna remembered the blueprint of the penthouse she had studied out of sheer paranoia during her first week. She knew the service elevator opened directly into the pantry, and she knew the building’s primary digital override panel was located right beside it. “They’re going to blow the service door,” Minna shouted over the rising panic. “Give me your backup keycard!” The scarred enforcer hesitated for a fraction of a second before tossing a heavy master key fob across the marble floor. Minna caught it cleanly on the bounce, sprinted toward the utility closet, and jammed the fob into the override slot just as a deafening explosion ripped through the service vestibule. Wood splintered, smoke billowed into the kitchen, and two heavily armed gunmen wearing tactical black gear surged through the smoking breach, weapons raised to kill.
