Chapter 16 - Checkmate"Welcome to Geneva, Arthur," Ethan said, his voice echoing coldly off the concrete walls of the warehouse.
Arthur’s bodyguards immediately raised their weapons, pivoting to cover Ethan from every angle. But before they could squeeze a trigger, the shadows around the upper catwalks erupted into motion.
Clack-clack-clack.
Half a dozen red laser dots danced across the chests of Arthur’s bodyguards, projected from the rifles of Swiss federal tactical police and Marcus’s elite security detail positioned on the upper balcony.
"Drop your weapons!" Marcus’s voice boomed down from above. "Make one twitch, and you're all fertilizer!"
The bodyguards looked at Arthur for a command. Arthur, realizing the utter hopelessness of his position, slowly raised his hands and nodded to his men. The weapons clattered heavily against the concrete floor.
Arthur forced a thin, nervous smile, lowering his hands as he stepped forward. "Ethan... my goodness. What is the meaning of this hostility? We're family—distantly, perhaps, but family nonetheless."
"Don't ever insult my family by putting your name in the same sentence," Ethan snapped, pushing off the crate and walking slowly toward Arthur until he stood inches away, towering over the older man.
"You funded the men who tried to kill my wife and sons," Ethan continued, his voice dropping into a deadly, whispered snarl. "You built an empire on human misery and corporate terror."
Arthur sneer slipped, replaced by bitter malice. "You think arresting me stops anything, Ethan? The syndicate is bigger than—"
Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Ethan drove a swift, devastating right hook straight into Arthur’s jaw. The older man crumpled backward onto the concrete floor, clutching his face as blood trickled from his lip.
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"It stops right here," Ethan said coldly.
Heavy boots echoed across the concrete as Swiss federal agents swarmed the warehouse, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto Arthur and hauling him toward the waiting transport vehicles.
