Chapter 27 - The Syndicate's Fingerprint
The discovery inside container 88-Delta transformed a routine logistical anomaly into an open act of war. Within minutes, the warehouse was secured, our enforcers locked down all perimeter gates, and Vance was brought to his knees on the cold concrete floor between two of our most imposing guards.
I stood over him, my expression cold and impassive, while Victor examined one of the illegal tactical rifles pulled from the crate. He flicked the safety switch with his thumb, the metallic click echoing loudly in the cavernous space.
"The Maroni family insignia," Victor murmured, tracing a small, embossed scorpion symbol stamped into the polymer stock of the weapon. "It seems our old friends from the harbor district are trying to test whether retirement has made us soft, Sadi."
"They mistook our silence for weakness," I said, looking down at Vance, who was trembling violently now. "Thomas. You have exactly three seconds to explain why a rival syndicate's armory is sitting inside our secure perimeter under a falsified municipal manifest."
"I had to!" Vance sobbed, pressing his hands flat against the concrete. "They have my daughter, Mrs. Costello! They took her three weeks ago. They said if I didn't let their trucks slip through our security clearances and use our inventory codes as a blind, I'd never see her alive again!"
Victor looked up from the weapon, his gray eyes flashing with cold fury. "A classic pressure play. Simple, brutal, and effective against an ordinary man." He stepped closer to Vance, towering over the shaking supervisor. "The only mistake they made was assuming you had the authority to trade our security for your family without coming to us first."
I crouched down slightly so I was at eye level with the terrified man. "Where is she, Thomas?"
"An abandoned warehouse on the south side of the industrial district," Vance whimpered, tears cutting clean streaks through the grime on his face. "Pier 14, old dry dock sector. They said they'd release her once the final shipment cleared tonight."
May you like
I stood up, smoothing my skirt, and exchanged a single, decisive look with Victor. The operational gears of our empire turned instantly.
"Marcus," I spoke into the encrypted communicator pinned to my lapel. "Mobilize the rapid-response strike team. Secure every access point around Pier 14. Nobody comes in, and nobody leaves until we have the girl and the men who dared use our docks as their chessboard."
