Chapter 6 - THE CONFRONTATION AT THE DOCKS: VITTORIO SHOWS THE CITY WHAT HAPPENS TO MEN WHO HURT WHAT BELONGS TO HIM!
The rain had stopped, leaving the Philadelphia docks shrouded in a thick, gray fog. The Delaware River lapped hungrily against the rotting wooden piers of Warehouse 14—a secluded shipping facility owned by the Marcone family.
Katarina stood in the center of the empty warehouse, her hands tied securely behind her back.
She had been taken three hours earlier. She had stepped into the estate gardens for some fresh air, thinking she was safe within the walls, when two men in ski masks had breached the eastern perimeter. They had drugged her, dragged her through a hidden drainage tunnel, and brought her here.
Chase stood in front of her, a manic, triumphant grin on his face.
"I told you, Kat!" he screamed, slapping her across the cheek. The blow left a bright red mark on her pale skin. "You thought you could run to your rich mob boss? You thought you were safe? You're nothing but a distraction to him! He's not coming for you!"
Katarina spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor, looking at him with a coldness she had never felt before. "He is coming, Chase. And when he gets here, you won't have a corner to hide in."
"Shut up!" Chase yelled, raising his hand again.
"I suggest you put your hand down, boy."
The voice echoed through the metal rafters of the warehouse, dropping the room into a terrifying silence.
From the shadows of the loading dock, Vittorio Servino emerged. He was alone, his hands raised slightly to show he was unarmed. But his expression was that of a god of death walking among mortals.
Leo Marcone stepped out from behind a stack of shipping containers, flanked by six armed guards. "Well, well, Vittorio. The great Don, walking into my territory unarmed for a simple assistant. She must be very special to you."
"She is my employee, Leo," Vittorio said, his voice calm and steady. "And in my organization, we take care of our own. Let her go, and we can discuss a peaceful resolution to our border disputes."
"Peaceful?" Leo laughed, gesturing to his men. "I don't want peace, Vittorio. I want your empire. Give me the access codes to the South Side terminals, and maybe I won't let Chase here have his way with her before we drop her in the river."
Chase sneered, stepping closer to Katarina, pulling a pocketknife from his jeans. "Yeah, Vittorio. Give him what he wants, or the pretty face gets cut."
Vittorio looked at Chase, then at Leo. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face.
"You think I came here alone, Leo?" Vittorio asked softly.
Before Leo could react, the glass skylights above them shattered in a spectacular explosion of light and sound.
Four highly trained Servino snipers dropped from the rafters on tactical ropes, their automatic weapons firing with lethal precision. Three of Leo’s guards fell to the floor before they could even raise their pistols.
At the same moment, the heavy warehouse doors were smashed open by an armored truck, and Enzo led a dozen heavily armed soldiers into the fray.
The warehouse erupted into a chaotic war zone.
Vittorio didn't duck or run. He walked calmly through the gunfire, his eyes fixed entirely on Chase.
Chase panicked. He grabbed Katarina, pulling her in front of him as a human shield, holding the knife to her throat. "Stay back! Stay back or I'll kill her!"
Vittorio stopped ten feet away. He reached into his coat and drew his sleek silver pistol, pointing it directly at Chase's forehead.
"You are a coward, Chase," Vittorio said, his voice cutting through the sound of gunfire and screaming. "You hide behind women because you are too weak to face a real man. But tonight, your luck has run out."
"I'll do it! I swear to God I'll do it!" Chase shrieked, his hand shaking violently against Katarina’s neck.
Katarina looked into Vittorio’s eyes. She saw no hesitation, no doubt—only absolute trust.
With a sudden surge of courage, Katarina slammed her heel down onto Chase's injured ankle.
Chase screamed in agony, his grip loosening for a fraction of a second.
BANG.
A single, perfect shot echoed through the warehouse.
The bullet struck Chase directly between the eyes. He collapsed backward onto the cold concrete floor, his eyes wide and lifeless, the knife slipping from his fingers.
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Vittorio instantly closed the distance, caught Katarina before she could fall, and pulled her into his arms, shielding her from the remaining gunfire.
"I have you," Vittorio whispered, his chest heaving as he held her tight against him. "I have you, Katarina. It's over."
