Chapter 4 - Whispers in the Underworld
That night, the fog rolled heavy off the Pacific Ocean, blanketing the docks of District 9.
In a secluded warehouse where old fishing trawlers went to rot, a lone lantern flickered. Inside, three men sat at a round wooden table, drinking cheap whiskey in silence.
They were my "Ghosts"—men I had pulled from the gutter long before Marcus Kane ever wore a silk suit.
Viktor: A disgraced former Spetsnaz demotion expert whose life I saved in Marseilles.
Gabriel: A brilliant hacker who had been erased from federal databases after leaking corporate surveillance networks.
Cassian: A silent, deadly marksman who owed me his daughter’s life after a bone marrow transplant I quietly funded ten years ago.
The side door creaked open. The three men instantly drew their weapons, pointing them into the dark.
I stepped into the circle of lantern light.
Gabriel dropped his glass. It shattered on the concrete floor. Cassian lowered his rifle, his eyes wide as if seeing a spirit.
"Boss..." Viktor breathed, standing up so fast his chair overturned. "The news... Marcus said you were buried in the bay."
"Marcus is an ambitious fool who doesn't know how to dose poison correctly," I said, pulling up a chair and sitting down at the head of the table.
"They're consolidating everything," Gabriel reported, his fingers already flying across a ruggedized laptop keyboard. "Marcus and Julian Reyes signed the merger two hours ago. They’re hosting a victory gala at the Ashford Estate in three days. Every syndicate head from Seattle to Los Angeles is attending to pledge loyalty to Marcus."
"Good," I said, a dark smile touching my lips. "It saves me the trouble of hunting them down individually."
"What's the plan, Boss?" Cassian asked, racking the slide of his sniper rifle with a crisp, lethal metallic click. "We take the estate? Kill Marcus and Julian together?"
"No," I replied, laying the silver drive on the table. "Killing them is too merciful. Marcus wants to be Damian Voss? I am going to let him taste what it truly costs to sit in my chair. Gabriel, I want you to freeze every offshore account tied to the Reyes network. Viktor, prepare the thermite charges. Cassian... you’re on the roof."
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"And what about the family?" Viktor asked softly. "The doctor's family in the Safe District?"
I turned to Viktor, my expression hardening into polished marble. "If a single hair on Evelyn Vance's head or her daughters' heads is touched, I won't just kill Marcus Kane. I will tear down this entire city brick by brick."
