Chapter 10 - DAWN OVER THE CITYCRASH!
The impact shook the entire pier like an earthquake.
Snow, ice, and concrete shattered into a million blinding fragments as the massive steel container slammed into the ground right between the Mayor’s tactical team and the limousine, scattering the agents in a panicked, chaotic scramble.
From the top of the container gantry, Julian dropped down gracefully, landing in the snow with a suppressed pistol in his working hand, firing three precise shots that took out the tactical squad's spotlights in rapid succession.
The docks plunged into sudden, chaotic darkness, illuminated only by the sparking wires of the destroyed electrical boxes.
"Take cover!" the Mayor shrieked, stumbling backward into the side of the limousine, losing all of his polished composure as panic took over.
I didn't hesitate. I vaulted over the side of the fallen container, closing the distance between Vance and myself in three long strides before Vance could even raise his weapon.
I slammed my fist directly into his injured jaw with the full force of twenty years of rage.
Crack.
Vance didn't even make a sound. He collapsed backward into the freezing harbor water with a heavy splash, disappearing beneath the dark, churning waves of the bay.
I turned around, finding the Mayor scrambling across the frost-covered concrete, frantically trying to reach his fallen cell phone. I stepped down hard on his wrist, pinning him to the ground.
He screamed, looking up at me with eyes wide with absolute, primal terror.
"You can't do this!" the Mayor gasped, spitting blood onto the ice. "I am the law! I run this city!"
"Not anymore," a voice echoed softly from behind me.
I looked back. Julian was walking slowly toward us across the pier, and holding his hand tightly was little Elena, with Bear trotting right beside them, his head held high, his broken leg finally steadying as the morning sun began to break over the horizon.
Julian stopped beside me, looking down at the broken, pathetic excuse of a politician who had destroyed our lives twelve years ago.
"The city belongs to the ghosts now, Harrison," Julian said coldly.
With a swift, calculated motion, I reached down, grabbed the Mayor by his expensive collar, and hauled him to his feet, tossing him straight into the back of the limousine before slamming the door shut.
"Drive him to the federal prosecutor's office," I told the driver through the open front window, pressing the cold barrel of my gun against his temple for emphasis. "And if you stop along the way, you'll join Vance at the bottom of the bay."
The driver didn't say a word. He slammed his foot on the gas, tires spinning wildly on the frost before peeling away from the docks into the rising morning light.
Silence settled over Pier 4.
The wind died down, and for the first time in twenty years, the air tasted clean.
I turned around and looked down at the little girl. She looked up at me, the silver locket resting peacefully against her mustard sweater, no longer hiding a secret, but a promise kept.
"We won, Uncle Victor?" she asked softly.
May you like
I crouched down, resting my hand gently on her small shoulder, a warm, genuine smile breaking across my face that had nothing to do with power or fear.
"We won, Elena," I whispered, looking up toward the golden horizon as the first true sunrise of our new lives bathed the entire city in a brilliant, unyielding light. "We're finally going home."
