Chapter 5 - The War for the Crown
Standing at the top of the iron ladder was Frankie Valenti, holding a submachine gun, accompanied by four heavily armed mercenaries wearing unmarked tactical gear.
"Julian sends his regards, Victor!" Frankie laughed maniacally from above. "He said it’s time for the old generation to take back the throne!"
Victor didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second.
He grabbed Sadie, pulled her behind a heavy steel support pillar, and fired three precise shots up through the trapdoor.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A mercenary screamed as he fell backward through the opening, crashing heavily onto the stone floor of the vault, his weapon clattering across the room.
"FIRE DOWN THE HOLE!" Frankie shrieked from above.
A brutal spray of automatic gunfire ripped through the wooden rafters above their heads, sending dust, concrete chips, and iron splinters raining down into the small vault.
Sadie pressed herself flat against the cold stone wall, clutching the original ledger tightly against her chest.
Victor stood in front of her, his massive body completely shielding her from incoming fire, his eyes burning with apocalyptic rage. He picked up the fallen mercenary’s submachine gun, checked the magazine, and looked at Sadie.
"Sadie," Victor said, his voice completely calm despite the war raging three feet above them. "Look at me."
Sadie looked up into his dark eyes. She wasn't trembling. Standing beside him, protected by his strength, she felt an incredible, fierce courage rising within her.
"I’m looking," she whispered.
"Can you reach the sea-gate exit at the end of this tunnel?" Victor asked, pointing toward a dark wooden door at the far end of the vault.
"It leads to the lower boat slip," Sadie nodded. "My father used to keep a skiff there."
"Take the ledger and go to the skiff," Victor commanded gently, touching her cheek with his warm, calloused fingers. "Marco is waiting at the south buoy. Give him the ledger."
"What about you?" Sadie cried out, grabbing his arm. "I'm not leaving you here!"
"They think they trapped a lion in a hole, Sadie," Victor smiled—a cold, lethal, terrifying smile that made her heart skip a beat. "They forgot who built the hole."
Before she could argue, Victor stepped out from behind the pillar, his submachine gun roaring into life as he unleashed an absolute storm of lead up into the trapdoor shaft, forcing Frankie’s men back into the open courtyard.
"RUN!" Victor roared.
Sadie turned and sprinted down the narrow stone tunnel toward the sea-gate door.
She threw the heavy iron bolt back, pushed the wooden door open, and stepped out onto the rain-swept lower platform overlooking the dark ocean water.
Tied to the wooden piling was a sleek, black twin-engine speedboat—Marco’s tactical interceptor.
Marco was at the wheel, firing a heavy rifle toward the upper pier level to keep Frankie’s snipers at bay.
"SADIE! GET IN!" Marco yelled over the roar of the engines.
Sadie jumped onto the wet deck of the boat, clutching the green ledger safely beneath her coat.
Up on Crane Station 4, a massive explosion shook the ground.
BOOM!
The iron tower collapsed into a shower of sparks and twisted metal as Victor blew up the fuel storage tanks at the base of the crane, cutting off Frankie’s escape route and trapping the traitors in a ring of fire.
Five seconds later, a tall figure burst through the smoke near the sea-gate platform.
Victor emerged from the flames, his suit torn, his face streaked with soot, holding two empty weapons. He leapt across the four-foot gap onto the teak deck of the boat just as Marco slammed the throttles forward.
The boat shot out into the open bay, slicing through eight-foot waves toward the safety of the open sea.
Sadie threw her arms around Victor’s neck, burying her face in his chest, sobbing with pure, overwhelming relief.
Victor wrapped his massive arms around her small frame, holding her tightly against his beating heart, resting his chin on her dark hair as the flames of Pier 42 receded into the rainy night.
"I have the ledger, Victor," Sadie whispered through her tears. "We have his signature."
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Victor pulled back slightly, looking down into her bright green eyes, his heart swelling with a profound emotion he had never permitted himself to feel in his forty years of life.
"No, Sadie," Victor murmured softly, kissing her forehead. "You gave me back my family's honour."
