Chapter 6 - The Prelude to Storm
The next thirty-six hours moved with agonizing slowness inside the mountain fortress. While Damian departed for New York with his inner circle to coordinate the final strike against Julian Falcone, Clara was left under the heavy protection of Frank and six elite guards.
She spent her time in the estate’s study, reviewing architectural schematics of the Brooklyn dockyard warehouse that Damian had left behind. Her keen eye for structural detail allowed her to notice subtle details about the facility that standard tactical teams might overlook.
At seven o’clock on Friday evening, as dusk fell over the mountains, Clara sat at the desk tracing a finger over the warehouse blueprints.
Frank walked into the study carrying a tray with tea and light sandwiches. "You should eat something, Miss Hayes. Boss will skin me alive if he comes back and finds out you starved yourself."
Clara smiled faintly. "Thank you, Frank. Any word from Damian?"
"The team is in position near the Brooklyn port," Frank reported, setting the tray down. "Operations are scheduled to commence at twenty-one hundred hours. Mr. Moretti wanted me to remind you that the satellite link to the perimeter security network is active if you wish to monitor local communications."
"Is Vanessa still in custody in Connecticut?" Clara asked.
"She is," Frank said with a dark chuckle. "Her lawyers tried to file three different writs today, but Mr. Moretti's legal team tied them up in jurisdictional appeals. She isn't going anywhere until the FBI processes the evidence on that memory card."
Clara took a sip of tea, her mind racing. "Frank, look at this floor plan of the Brooklyn warehouse."
Frank stepped closer, leaning over the desk. "What about it?"
"This warehouse was built in 1920 as a cold storage facility," Clara pointed out, referencing a structural footnote on the old blueprint. "The exterior walls are reinforced brick, but the floor joists over the sub-basement are wooden timber beams treated with old creosote. If a fire breaks out, or if explosive charges are used near the support columns, the central floor will collapse inward into the drainage basin."
Frank stared at the diagram, his eyebrows knitting together. "The tactical team planned to enter through the central loading bay floor."
"If Falcone knows they're coming, he could trap them in that central zone," Clara realized, a cold wave of dread washing over her. "It’s a classic kill-box! If Falcone rigged charges on those wooden supports, the entire floor becomes a furnace!"
Frank pulled out his encrypted satellite phone immediately. "I need to alert Mr. Moretti right now."
He dialed the secure line, but only static echoed through the speaker. Frank frowned, trying again. "Signals are being jammed. There’s a high-frequency interference dampener operating in the Brooklyn district."
"They're walking into a trap," Clara said, her voice rising in panic. "Falcone knew Damian was tracking the memory card! He set the warehouse meeting up as bait to gather Damian and his senior lieutenants in one place!"
"Miss Hayes, stay calm," Frank urged, though his own face had gone pale. "Mr. Moretti is extremely experienced. He won't walk in blindly."
"He doesn't know about the timber floor joinery, Frank!" Clara exclaimed, standing up, her eyes wide with determination. "He thinks it's reinforced concrete like modern docks! We have to get a message to him or reach the perimeter team!"
"I can't leave you here unguarded," Frank said firmly. "My orders are to protect you at all costs."
"If Damian dies in that warehouse, my protection doesn't matter!" Clara argued passionately. "Falcone will hunt down everyone associated with him! We take the armored SUV and drive to the local satellite relay station five miles down the mountain. We can bypass the regional jammer using the high-altitude microwave tower!"
Frank looked at Clara, astonished by her quick tactical thinking. "You know how to operate a microwave relay?"
"My father worked on telecommunication timber towers for ten years," Clara said fiercely. "I know how to override a local signal band! Now let's move!"
Recognizing the truth in her words and the unstoppable fire in her spirit, Frank nodded sharply. "Guard team two! Prepare the armored vehicle! We're moving to the peak relay station immediately!"
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Within minutes, the armored vehicle roared out of the mountain fortress garage, racing up the winding, dark mountain road toward the high-altitude communications tower.
Clara held onto the interior handrail as the heavy vehicle swerved around tight corners. She prayed with every fiber of her being that they wouldn't be too late. Damian was fighting for his empire, but she was fighting for the man who had shown her that she was worthy of love, power, and respect.
