Chapter 5 - THE SENATOR'S DEADLY TRAP: The Price of the Golden Wolf is Paid in Blood!
The aftermath of the gala was a whirlwind of smoke, police sirens, and blood. But Gabriel did not wait for the authorities. He took Sarah directly to his highly secure safehouse—a converted underground fortress beneath an abandoned ironworks factory in Queens.
"They're desperate," Gabriel said, pacing the concrete floor of the command center. He had stripped off his tuxedo jacket, his white shirt now rolled up to his elbows and stained with gunpowder. "The Senator knows that once we decode the microfiche, he’s finished. He ordered that hit tonight to wipe out both of us."
Sarah was sitting at the steel table, her emerald dress torn at the hem, staring at the computer screens displaying real-time feeds of the city’s police scanners.
"Gabriel," she said softly. "The Senator didn't order the hit alone. Look at this."
She pointed to one of the screens. It was a secure communication log that Gabriel’s tech expert had intercepted from the Harrington estate.
DECRYPTED TRANSMISSION: Sender: Harrington_J Recipient: Blackwood_Group_Corp Message: Target identified. Wolf is active. Eliminate both Moretti and Lupo. Payment sent to Zurich account.
"The Blackwood Group," Gabriel whispered, his eyes narrowing. "They're a private mercenary army. They don't work for politicians unless they're paid in billions. Harrington doesn't have that kind of liquidity."
"But my family did," Sarah said. "The 'Lupo Reserve.' What if Harrington already has access to a portion of it? What if he’s been using my family’s stolen wealth to fund his political career and hire these killers?"
Suddenly, the alarms of the safehouse blared, a harsh, red light bathing the concrete walls in a bloody glow.
"Boss!" Marco’s voice cracked over the intercom. "We’ve got a breach! Sector 4! They’ve got heavy thermite charges—they're burning through the reinforced doors!"
"Get Sarah to the panic room, Marco!" Gabriel yelled, drawing his weapon.
"No!" Sarah stood up, her jaw set in a hard, stubborn line. "I’m not hiding in a box while you fight my war, Gabriel. They want the locket? Let them come and get it."
Before Gabriel could argue, the steel doors of the command center blasted open in a shower of sparks and black smoke.
Through the haze, five heavily armed mercenaries in tactical gear moved in, firing with suppressing precision. Marco fell, clutching his shoulder as blood bloomed through his shirt.
Gabriel returned fire, taking down two of the attackers, but a stun grenade rolled across the floor, exploding in a blinding flash of white light and deafening sound.
Gabriel was thrown backward, his head slamming against the concrete wall. His vision blurred, his ears ringing with a high-pitched scream. Through the haze of his failing senses, he saw two men grab Sarah, pinning her arms behind her back.
She fought like a wild animal, biting, kicking, and screaming, but a third man pressed a syringe into her neck.
Within seconds, her limbs went limp.
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"We have the girl," a voice boomed through the smoke. "And the locket. Secure the asset. Burn the rest."
"Sarah..." Gabriel tried to push himself up, but his muscles refused to work. The world faded to black just as the smell of gasoline and smoke filled the room.
