Chapter 7 - The Trap at Pier 14
Midnight at Pier 14 was dark, cold, and smelled of salt and rust.
Heavy rain poured from the black sky, hammering against the rusted metal roofs of the abandoned shipping warehouses lining the dock.
A single black SUV pulled onto the concrete pier, its headlights cutting through the thick fog.
Ronan Blackwood stepped out into the rain, wearing a long black coat, a heavy tactical pistol strapped to his chest. Behind him stepped six heavily armed men—his personal guard.
At the end of the pier, sitting in a wheelchair beneath an overhang, sat Victor Blackwood. He was an old man now, withered by disease, his left eye covered by a black patch, but his smile was as toxic as cyanide.
Standing around Victor were twelve heavily armed mercenaries carrying assault rifles.
"You came alone, nephew," Victor cackled, his voice echoing off the water. "How poetic. The noble savior of Grayhaven come to die for a maid."
"Where is the trigger for the community center, Victor?" Ronan demanded, stepping forward into the light, his hand resting on the grip of his pistol.
"It’s right here," Victor said, holding up a small detonator with a glowing red light. "The moment my heart stops, or the moment I press this button, three hundred children go to sleep forever."
"He’s lying, Ronan!" a clear voice rang out from the darkness above.
Victor’s mercenaries spun around, raising their weapons toward the roof of Warehouse 3.
Standing on the high metal catwalk, framed by the pouring rain and the industrial floodlights, was Ivy Lancaster. Beside her stood two federal SWAT officers and Emily Carter’s father—the union boss—holding heavy wire cutters.
"The chemical canisters were disarmed twenty minutes ago, Victor!" Ivy called down, her voice strong and unwavering against the storm. "I tracked your offshore equipment leases three days ago! We seized the warehouse beneath Harbor House at 11:00 PM!"
Victor’s face twisted into a mask of pure, demonic rage. "You stupid, arrogant bitch!"
Victor raised his thumb to slam down on the detonator button.
CRACK.
A single rifle shot echoed from the shadow of the crane above.
May you like
Victor’s hand jerked backward as the detonator was shattered into a thousand pieces by a high-caliber sniper round fired by Rocco—Ronan’s chief enforcer.
"Take them down!" Ronan roared.
