Chapter 38
The midnight air in the financial district was crisp and freezing. The Orion Tower stretched into the dark, cloudless sky, a monument of glass and steel. Domenico and his elite tactical squad stood on the roof of an adjacent, slightly shorter building. They were dressed in black tactical gear worn over their formal trousers and dress shirts, an elegant but terrifying aesthetic. Domenico checked the grappling line launcher. "Grid severed," Tony whispered over the encrypted comms. Across the street, the top five floors of the Orion Tower suddenly plunged into absolute darkness. The emergency backup generators would take ninety seconds to engage. It was all the time Domenico needed. He fired the grappling line. It soared across the urban canyon, anchoring silently into the reinforced steel of the penthouse balcony. Domenico clipped his harness to the line and stepped off the ledge. He glided swiftly through the cold air, landing flawlessly on the Cassano balcony. His men followed in rapid, synchronized succession. Domenico drew his matte-black, suppressed sidearm. The heavy glass balcony doors were locked. He didn't hesitate. He applied a small, specialized breaching charge to the locking mechanism. With a muffled, concussive pop, the doors blew inward. Domenico stepped into the luxurious, pitch-black penthouse, activating his thermal optics. The cinematic, pristine aesthetic of the apartment was instantly transformed into a hunting ground. The Cassano guards, panicked by the sudden blackout and the breach, were shouting in confused, heavily accented voices. Domenico raised his weapon, his breathing perfectly even, ready to eradicate the infection in his city.
