Chapter 9 - Fire in the Rain
The rain hissed against hot gun barrels as Luca stepped out into the warzone.
Two Bellini gunmen rushed the side of the van, assault rifles raised. Luca didn't hesitate. Two double-taps echoed through the concrete underpass. Both men collapsed into the pooling rainwater before they could pull their triggers.
"Moretti rifle team, suppress the elevated track!" Luca barked into his throat mic.
From the rear chase vehicle, four Moretti marksmen deployed with scoped carbines, firing upward into the metal grates of the subway line. Screams echoed as Bellini snipers tumbled from the iron scaffolding, crashing onto the asphalt below.
Emily curled beneath the steel bench inside the van, her hands locked over her ears, whispering prayers for her baby and her father. Through the open door, she saw Luca. He wasn't retreating. He moved with terrifying precision, stepping between incoming fire and the van door, a guardian demon protecting his sanctuary.
A black sedan screeched around the corner, aiming directly for the command van's open flank.
"Luca, watch out!" Emily screamed.
Luca spun, pulled a heavy fragmentation grenade from his tactical belt, pulled the pin with his teeth, and hurled it under the approaching sedan’s front grille with surgical accuracy.
"Down!"
*KABOOM!*
The car detonated into a massive fireball, flipping end-over-end and sliding down the slick asphalt until it smashed against a concrete pillar, blocking the entire roadway and cutting off the enemy's reinforcement line.
The remaining Bellini gunmen, seeing their strike force decimated in less than three minutes, began scattering into the dark alleyways.
"Clear!" Santino yelled, smoke rising from his rifle barrel. "Underpass is secure!"
Luca holstered one weapon, his chest heaving, his dark coat drenched in rain and gunpowder smoke. He climbed back into the van, kneeling beside Emily.
"Emily. Look at me," he commanded softly.
She opened her eyes, shaking uncontrollably, and looked at him. Luca’s cheek was grazed by shrapnel, a thin line of red running down his jaw, but his eyes were completely steady.
"Are you hit?" he asked gently. "Did anything pierce the cabin?"
"No," she sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck. "No, Dad. I'm okay. We're okay."
Luca stroked her hair, breathing a deep sigh of relief. Then he stood, his face darkening as he looked toward the street.
Santino dragged a wounded gunman across the pavement, tossing him at Luca's feet. The man wore a Bellini crest tattooed on his throat, blood leaking from a shoulder wound.
Luca rested the steel toe of his boot on the man’s broken clavicle. "Who gave you the route?"
The man spat blood, glaring up in defiance. "Go to hell, Moretti. Dominic Falcone already has the docks locked down. By the time you get there, Julian’s body will be at the bottom of the East River!"
Luca pushed down slightly. The man screamed.
"I won't ask twice," Luca whispered. "Is Salvatore Bellini at Pier 19?"
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"Yes! Yes, God damn it!" the man shrieked. "Salvatore and Dominic are together! They're signing the joint harbor treaty tonight over Julian’s execution! Please, stop!"
Luca stepped back, turning to Santino. "Leave him for the sirens. Transfer Emily to the rear SUV. We take the river road. No more delays."
