Chapter 14 - The Hunt in Manhattan
By sunrise, the summer storm had cleared over New York, leaving the skyline glistening under a pale, cool morning light.
The Moretti estate was locked down by federal agents and state police, surrounded by yellow crime-scene tape. But Gabriel was nowhere near the estate.
In a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, Gabriel sat in a leather armchair, a tactical laptop open on the glass coffee table before him. Sitting across from him was Detective Ray Mendez, who had flown in from Chicago, and Agent Sarah Drake of the FBI's International Organized Crime Division.
"We swept the mercenaries' comms equipment from the estate," Agent Drake said, tossing a decrypted microchip onto the table. "They were operating under direct satellite orders from a luxury yacht docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The yacht is registered to a Panamanian holding company owned by Sofia Rosselini."
"She’s sitting in New York harbor, waiting for her team to bring her the pendant," Gabriel said softly, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Gabriel," Mendez said, leaning forward with deep concern. "You can't do this the old way. The federal government cleared your name because you played by the rules. If you mount a private assault on that yacht, you will ruin everything you built for Emma and those kids."
"I am not going to assault the yacht, Ray," Gabriel replied calmly, looking up from his laptop. "I am going to use the law to crush her."
Agent Drake raised an eyebrow. "How?"
Gabriel tapped a few keys on the keyboard, displaying a complex financial network map on the large television screen mounted on the wall. "Sofia thinks she is the only one who knows how to operate Carmine's system. What she doesn't know is that over the past six months, David Chen and I integrated our half of the cryptographic key into a live tracking network monitored by the Department of Justice."
He looked directly at Agent Drake. "The moment Sofia landed in Palermo, my system flagged every offshore bank account, every shell company, and every corrupt politician on her payroll. I didn't need the second half of the key to catch her, Drake. I just needed her to step into international waters."
Agent Drake stared at the screen, her eyes widening as millions of dollars in illegal transactions began freezing in real-time across European banking servers. "My God... you set a trap for her."
"The wedding was public for a reason," Gabriel admitted quietly. "We knew she couldn't resist coming for the pendant. I exposed my own home so she would commit an undeniable act of federal terrorism on American soil."
Mendez shook his head in awe. "You crazy bastard. You used yourself as bait."
"Not just myself," Gabriel said, a cold, sharp edge entering his tone. "Now, Agent Drake, you have full federal jurisdiction to raid that yacht with HRT tactical units. And I am coming with you as a technical consultant."
May you like
"Gabriel—" Mendez warned.
"I won't pull the trigger, Ray," Gabriel said, standing up and pulling on a dark bulletproof vest. "I just want to look her in the eyes when she realizes she lost."
