Chapter 7 - The Ultimate Betrayal
Outside in the armored command vehicle, Julian Hart listened to the tactical radio with white knuckles.
Silence.
"Report!" Julian barked into the mic. "Team Alpha, do you have eyes on the third floor?"
"Boss, power is completely dead," a soldier's voice came through static. "We're moving up the fire escape now... wait! Shadows moving at the main exit!"
Julian threw the door of the SUV open and stepped into the heavy rain. Maisie and Leo followed close behind, holding hands tightly.
Out of the pitch-black warehouse entrance, two figures emerged into the storm. Thomas Hart was limping heavily, his arm slung over the massive, dark shoulders of Cyrus, who walked step-by-step with him, supporting his weight.
"Thomas!" Julian shouted, a rare burst of raw emotion breaking through his stoic facade as he ran forward, catching his younger brother as he collapsed into the mud.
"Julian..." Thomas gasped, coughing. "The dog... he cleared the whole floor... he bit through my ropes..."
Julian looked up at Cyrus, his dark eyes filled with a strange, profound respect. The dog stood tall in the rain, blood dripping from a superficial graze on his left shoulder, but his head held high.
"You did it," Julian murmured, touching the dog's wet neck. "You actually did it."
Maisie ran forward, guided by the sound of Cyrus’s heavy breathing. She threw her small arms around the wet, muddy dog, tears mixing with the rain on her face. "Good boy! Good boy, Cyrus! I knew you'd come back!"
Cyrus gave a low, exhausted tail wag, leaning his head against her shoulder.
"Well, isn't this a touching family reunion?"
A harsh, metallic voice cut through the sound of the falling rain.
Julian stiffened. He slowly turned around.
Standing twenty feet away, surrounded by four heavily armed mercenaries, was Marcus. He wasn't holding his tactical radio. He was holding a high-caliber assault rifle, pointed straight at Julian’s heart.
Julian’s eyes narrowed into deadly slits. "Marcus. What is the meaning of this?"
Marcus chuckled, a cold, disgusting sound. "The meaning, Boss, is that the Moretti family pays three times what you pay. I set up this whole capture. Thomas was just the bait to get you out into the open, without your usual army."
Julian looked around. The six guards he had brought with him were already surrounded by Marcus’s mercenaries, their weapons confiscated.
"You sold out your own syndicate?" Julian asked, his voice deathly quiet.
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"I sold out a dying reign," Marcus spat, stepping closer. "And once I put a bullet in you and your precious brother, Moretti takes over the city, and I take over the docks."
Marcus raised his rifle, aiming directly between Julian’s eyes. "Any last words, Boss?"
