Chapter 7 - The Cage Closes"I didn't just listen to the video, Paulie," Dario said, his voice ringing with absolute authority as he stepped around the desk. "I uploaded the master key to the federal prosecutor's secure server three minutes before you walked into this room."
Tommy spun around, aiming his gun toward the hallway doors, but it was already too late.
Flashing red and blue lights began to paint the tall arched windows of the study in rapid succession. The heavy roar of half a dozen armored tactical vehicles filled the courtyard outside, accompanied by the sharp, amplified command of a megaphone:
“FBI! Federal warrants for racketeering, conspiracy, and murder! Drop your weapons and step away from the doors!”
"You son of a bitch!" Paulie roared, lunging forward with a hidden switchblade pulled from his sleeve.
He didn't aim at Dario. He aimed straight for the girl by the bookcase.
"Clara—!" Dario shouted.
Before Paulie could take two steps, a massive wave of black fur erupted from the Persian rug.
Nero moved with a speed that defied every law of physics for a fourteen-year-old dog. Sixty kilograms of pure, unadulterated muscle slammed directly into Paulie’s chest like a freight train.
The old adviser flew backward, his knife clattering uselessly across the marble floor as he crashed hard against the stone fireplace. Nero pinned him to the ground, a single massive paw planted squarely on Paulie’s chest, baring teeth as long and sharp as hunting knives right above the traitor's throat.
Paulie froze, his eyes wide with absolute, primal terror, staring straight into the jaws of the beast he thought he had murdered seven years ago.
"Get it off me! Get this damn monster off me!" Paulie screamed, clawing frantically at the air.
Tommy raised his pistol, aiming frantically at the dog, but before he could pull the trigger, the heavy mahogany study doors were kicked off their hinges with an explosive crash.
“Federal agents! Don't move!”
Half a dozen tactical officers poured into the room in full riot gear, their assault rifles locked and loaded, lasers painting red dots across Tommy’s chest and Paulie’s face.
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Tommy dropped his weapon instantly, raising his hands high above his head as two officers slammed him against the wall and slapped heavy steel cuffs onto his wrists.
Another team swarmed Paulie, hauling the screaming adviser off the floor while Nero stepped back slowly, shaking his massive head and letting out a deep, satisfied huff of air.
