Chapter 10 - THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
The estate went into full lockdown mode.
Steel shutters rolled down over the windows,
and the sound of clicking safeties echoed through the halls.
My men were moving with a grim efficiency,
preparing for the siege.
I stood in the command center,
watching the monitors as heat signatures moved through the woods surrounding the property.
"They're coming from the north and the east,"
Victor said,
pointing to the screens.
"At least fifty men.
Maybe more."
"We have thirty,"
I noted.
"But we have the high ground and the fortifications."
"It’s not enough,
Richard.
If they break the gates,
it’ll be a bloodbath."
I turned to Emily,
who was sitting in the corner,
holding a first-aid kit she had insisted on packing.
"You need to go to the safe room,"
I told her.
"It’s under the kitchen.
It’s reinforced steel.
Not even a tank could get through it."
"No,"
she said,
standing up.
"If your men get hurt,
they'll need a medic.
I'm not hiding in a box while people die for me."
"Emily,
this isn't a trauma room.
This is a war."
"I know exactly what it is,"
she said,
her voice cold.
"And I'm not leaving."
I looked at Victor,
who just shrugged.
"She’s stubborn,
boss.
You should know that by now."
I sighed,
knowing I didn't have time to argue.
"Fine.
Stay in the inner hallway.
Don't move unless Victor tells you to."
I grabbed my vest and my rifle,
the familiar weight grounding me.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
I saw the man my father wanted me to be.
The King of Chicago.
The man who would do whatever it took to survive.
But I also saw the man Emily saw.
The man who was tired of the killing.
"Richard,"
she called out as I headed for the door.
I stopped and turned.
"Come back,"
she said.
"Don't make me the woman who waits for a man who never returns."
"I'm coming back,
Emily,"
I promised.
"I have too much to live for now."
I stepped out into the hallway,
the air already thick with the smell of ozone and anticipation.
The first explosion hit the front gates,
the shockwave rattling the entire house.
The monitors flickered and then went dark.
"Here they come,"
Victor said,
his voice steady.
I raised my rifle,
my finger resting on the trigger.
The darkness was outside,
but I was the one who controlled the shadows now.
And I was going to show the Romanos and the Morettis why the name Callahan was feared.
Not because of my father.
May you like
But because of me.
The doors to the main hall burst open,
