Chapter 7 - THE VENOM IN THE GLASSI didn't scream. I didn't duck.
Instead, I raised my glass of water, took a slow sip, and stared directly at Julian through the heavy glass.
"You always were a terrible shot, Julian," I said into the phone, my voice completely devoid of fear.
On the roof, Julian hesitated, lowering the rifle slightly, visibly thrown off by my total lack of panic. "What did you say?!"
"I said you're weak," I replied smoothly. "You couldn't win your father's respect. You couldn't manage a simple freight contract without embezzling. And you certainly can't shoot through four-inch reinforced ballistic glass."
Julian’s face twisted in rage over the line. "This isn't ballistic glass! It's standard commercial architectural pane!"
"It was standard commercial glass when my father owned this building," I corrected him gently. "I had it replaced with military-grade reinforced steel-composite three weeks ago. You can fire that rifle all night, Julian. The bullets will just bounce off."
Julian froze. He raised the rifle again, aiming directly at my forehead, and pulled the trigger.
CRACK.
A loud thud echoed against the exterior window. A tiny white spiderweb crack appeared on the outer layer of the glass, but the bullet flattened and fell eighteen stories to the street below.
Julian stared at the window in utter disbelief.
"And one more thing, Julian," I added softly into the receiver.
"What?!" he screamed, his voice cracking with frantic fear.
"Look behind you."
On the rooftop behind Julian, a tall figure emerged silently from the shadows of the rain.
Nikolai.
He hadn't gone to New York. The entire trip had been a trap—a fake itinerary leaked to Julian’s remaining loyalists to lure the rat out of hiding once and for all.
Julian turned around just as Nikolai grabbed the barrel of the sniper rifle, wrenching it from his hands and throwing it over the roof edge.
Nikolai grabbed Julian by the throat, lifting him off his feet with one hand, suspending him over the ledge of the eighteen-story drop.
"Nikolai! No! Brother! Please!" Julian shrieked, his legs dangling frantically over the empty air. "I'm your blood! You can't kill your own brother!"
Nikolai leaned close to his brother's ear, his voice carrying over the open phone line still connected in my hand.
"You pointed a weapon at my wife, Julian," Nikolai said quietly. "You stopped being my brother the moment you touched her dress."
Nikolai released his grip.
A long, piercing scream echoed through the night air, fading rapidly into the roaring rain until it was swallowed completely by the dark city streets below.
Silence reclaimed the night.
May you like
On the roof across the way, Nikolai pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket, casually wiped his hands, and looked across the gap directly at me through the window glass.
He raised two fingers to his temple in a sharp, lethal salute.
