Chapter 8 - Brother against Brother
Dominic did not reach for his rifle. Instead, he slowly drew his tactical knife from his vest.
"You want to fight me, Lucian? Just you and me. No guns. No mercenaries. Let’s settle this like the brothers our father never wanted us to be."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed. The proposal appealed to his immense vanity. He tossed his pistol aside and drew a long, serrated combat blade. "As you wish."
Lucian jumped down from the platform, landing gracefully on the rusted metal floor.
The two brothers circled each other, the storm raging outside, rain dripping through the shattered skylights above them.
Without warning, Lucian lunged. He was incredibly fast, his blade slashing in a blur of deadly patterns. Dominic parried the first strike, but the second caught his forearm, slicing through his tactical jacket and drawing blood.
"You’ve grown soft in your suburban paradise, Dominic!" Lucian taunted, throwing a spinning kick that caught Dominic in the ribs, sending him crashing into a rusted control panel.
Dominic gasped for air, his ribs burning. He realized Lucian was younger, faster, and fueled by a lifetime of concentrated hatred. He couldn't win a test of brute strength or speed. He had to use his mind.
Dominic stood up slowly, feigning a limp. "You’re right," he muttered. "I am soft. I have something to lose. You have nothing."
Lucian roared, charging in for a lethal thrust to Dominic’s chest.
Dominic waited until the very last millisecond. Instead of parrying, he threw himself forward, taking the blade through his shoulder, bypassing his vital organs. Before Lucian could withdraw the knife, Dominic grabbed Lucian’s wrist with a grip of steel, locking him in place.
With his free hand, Dominic drove his own knife deep into Lucian’s thigh, severing the femoral artery.
Lucian screamed in agony, collapsing to his knees as blood gushed from the wound. Dominic pulled Lucian’s knife out of his own shoulder, his face pale but completely devoid of mercy.
"Our father didn't exile you because he hated you, Lucian," Dominic whispered, leaning close to his dying brother’s ear. "He exiled you because he knew you were a monster. And Chicago doesn't need monsters anymore."
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Dominic pressed the release button on the control panel. The cage holding Caleb slowly descended to the ground. Dominic rushed over, slicing the ropes and pulling his son into a fierce, protective embrace.
"I’ve got you, buddy," Dominic cried, tears streaming down his face. "I’ve got you."
