Chapter 5 - Confession in CrimsonMarcus Vance was a man who prided himself on his tailored Italian suits and his ice-cold composure, but as he stared into the dead, unblinking eyes of Boston’s reigning kingpin, his knees turned to water.
"L-Lucas," Marcus stammered, dropping his glass. Amber liquid pooled across the white rug like fresh blood. "We... we can talk about this. The docks, the shipments—"
"You sent a dying woman to kill me," Lucas said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. He stepped into the room, the heels of his leather shoes clicking rhythmically against the floor.
"I didn't—it was just leverage! A pressure play!" Marcus backed away until his spine hit the floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the glittering Boston skyline.
"Leverage involves men, money, weapons," Lucas raised his pistol, pressing the cold steel directly against the center of Marcus’s forehead. "You used an eight-year-old girl. You weaponized a child's love for her sick mother."
"She survived, didn't she?!" Marcus shrieked, panic breaking his voice. "The kid's fine! She came back empty-handed!"
Lucas didn't blink. "She shouldn't have had to walk through the rain at all."
"Wait! Wait!" Marcus clawed at his chest pocket, pulling out a small, encrypted flash drive. "I have the ledger! The names of the federal judges on my payroll! The offshore accounts funding the hits on your crew! I can give you everything!"
Lucas stared at the flash drive for a fraction of a second, then lowered his gun just enough for Marcus to gasp a breath of relief.
Marcus smiled weakly, thinking he had bought his life. "See? We're businessmen, Lucas. We can—"
Bang.
Lucas shot him directly in the right knee.
Marcus let out a blood-curdling scream, collapsing onto the ruined rug, clutching his shattered joint as blood spurted between his fingers.
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"You think I care about your money or your judges?" Lucas towered over him, his face carved from granite. "You broke the one rule of the underworld, Marcus. Civilians are off-limits. Children are sacred."
Lucas raised the Glock again, aiming straight between Marcus's eyes. "Enjoy hell."
