Chapter 8 - The Old Iron Works
The Old Iron Works was a derelict, rusting industrial complex on the outskirts of Milwaukee, surrounded by overgrown weeds and abandoned railway tracks. Rain poured from the pitch-black sky, hammering against the corrugated metal roofs.
At 11:45 p.m., a single black armored SUV pulled into the gravel yard, its headlights cutting through the heavy rain.
Dominic stepped out of the driver's side, wearing a long black coat over a dark suit. Lena stepped out of the passenger side, her face pale but her posture resolute.
Inside the main warehouse, dim sodium lights hung from high rusty girders, casting long shadows across the concrete floor.
In the center of the room sat Martha Carter, bound to a wooden chair, a piece of duct tape across her mouth. Her eyes widened in terror as she saw her daughter walk in.
Behind Martha stood Richard Sterling—a silver-haired, impeccably dressed man in his late fifties—flanked by Julian Marlowe and eight heavily armed mercenaries holding assault rifles.
"Dominic!" Julian sneered from behind Sterling’s shoulder, leaning on his gold cane. "You actually came! And you brought the little maid with you! How touching!"
Richard Sterling stepped forward, a smug, cruel smile on his face. "Hand over the encrypted flash drives containing my pharmaceutical ledgers, Marlowe. And perhaps I won't execute the old woman right in front of her daughter."
Dominic walked forward slowly, stopping ten yards away from the group. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sleek silver flash drive, holding it up between his fingers.
"The files are right here, Sterling," Dominic said, his voice smooth, relaxed, and utterly devoid of fear. "Everything connecting you to illegal clinical trials, human trafficking, and Daniel Carter’s murder."
Sterling’s eyes gleamed with greed. "Throw it on the floor!"
"Before I do," Dominic said, looking over at Julian Marlowe, "I have one question for my uncle."
Julian smirked. "What question, nephew? Are you going to beg for mercy?"
"No," Dominic answered softly. "I just wanted to make sure you were standing right in the center of the kill zone."
Julian’s smile vanished. "What?"
Dominic raised his hand and snapped his fingers once.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Silenced sniper rounds shattered the high glass skylights above.
Before Sterling’s mercenaries could even raise their weapons, four of them dropped dead instantly, blood spraying across the concrete floor.
"RED TEAM! CLEAR!" Marcus’s roar echoed through the warehouse as tactical operatives breached the side doors, throwing flashbang grenades into the room.
BANG! BANG!
Blinding white light and deafening sound exploded through the warehouse.
In the utter chaos, Dominic lunged forward like a phantom. He tackled Richard Sterling to the floor, disarming him with an iron twist of his wrist, slamming his heavy fist into Sterling’s jaw with brutal precision.
Lena didn't freeze. She sprinted toward her mother, pulling a small utility knife from her pocket—given to her by Marcus earlier—and sliced through the heavy ropes binding Martha’s wrists and ankles.
"Mom! I've got you!" Lena shouted, pulling the duct tape from her mother's mouth, pulling the older woman into her arms.
"Lena! Oh, my baby!" Martha sobbed, holding her daughter tightly.
Across the room, Julian Marlowe tried to scramble toward a side emergency exit, crawling on his hands and knees, dragging his gold cane.
A dark shadow stepped into his path.
Julian looked up, shaking violently, to see Dominic standing over him, his long black coat wet with rain, holding a heavy tactical handgun pointed directly at Julian’s head.
"Dominic... please!" Julian whimpered, raising his hands in pathetic terror. "I’m your family! I’m your father's brother!"
May you like
"My father died with honor, Julian," Dominic said, his dark eyes colder than the grave. "You died the moment you touched Lena’s family."
BANG.
