Chapter 6 - Blood in the WaterThe drainage tunnel smelled of damp earth, stagnant river water, and rust. Every footstep echoed loudly in the narrow, circular concrete tube as Mateo led us forward with a tactical flashlight beam cutting through the gloom.
Behind us, muffled by feet of reinforced earth and stone, the muffled thump-thump-thump of heavy gunfire sounded like a war zone.
Luca... I kept thinking about the mafia boss standing alone against an army of professional assassins. Why was he risking his entire empire, his life, for two strangers who literally crashed onto his doorstep? Was it just about the USB drive? Or was there something else he wasn't telling me?
"Keep moving, kid!" Mateo barked over his shoulder, his flashlight sweeping across the slick concrete floor. "We've got half a mile left before we hit the drainage grate near the riverbank."
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the tunnel behind us, sending a shockwave of dust and loose gravel cascading down from the ceiling. Sofia screamed, stumbling and scraping her knees against the rough concrete.
"I've got you," I gasped, hauling her back up to her feet. "Come on, Sofia, we're almost out!"
We broke into a panicked sprint, our lungs burning from the damp air and adrenaline.
When we finally burst out from the rusted iron drainage grate at the riverbank, the gray, gloomy morning light of Ha Lam greeted us. The cold wind blowing off the water hit my face like a slap. Parked a hundred yards away in the shadow of a concrete overpass was a nondescript black sedan.
Mateo sprinted ahead, popped the trunk, and pulled out a satellite radio. He punched in a frequency.
"Boss, this is Mateo. We’re out of the tunnel. We’ve reached the secondary extraction point."
For a long, agonizing moment, there was only static on the radio.
Then, Luca's voice came through, clear, though slightly breathless, punctuated by the distinct, rhythmic pop-pop-pop of suppressed pistol fire in the background.
"Good," Luca said. "Get them to the coastal safehouse in Vung Tau. Put them on the freighter tonight."
"And you, boss?" Mateo asked, his voice tightening with rare anxiety. "The estate is breached. There's dozens of them."
"Let them come," Luca replied coldly. "Tell them Luca Ravellini sends his regards."
Click. The transmission went dead.
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Mateo slammed the radio down on the trunk, his jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. He looked at me, then at terrified little Sofia shivering in the backseat of the sedan.
"Get in, Julian," Mateo ordered, sliding into the driver's seat and slamming his door shut. "We’re driving straight to the docks. No stops."
