Chapter 18 - The Raid on the Mountain
The heavy rain pounded against the windshield of the black tactical SUV as it tore through the treacherous, winding mountain roads outside of Chicago.
Luca Moretti sat in the passenger seat, strapping a heavy ceramic ballistic plate over his black tactical gear. He checked the chamber of his suppressed assault rifle, his face carved from unyielding stone. He was not going to wait twenty-four hours for Arthur Sterling to strike. He was bringing the war directly to the Syndicate's front door tonight.
Elias drove the lead vehicle, leading a convoy of fifty elite, heavily armed Moretti syndicate enforcers. Hannah and Sophia were safely locked inside the impenetrable underground bunker back at the estate, guarded by the most loyal men in the family.
"We are three miles out from the Obsidian mountain safehouse, Boss," Elias reported, his eyes locked on the dark, muddy road. "Drone surveillance confirms heavy perimeter security. Thermal imaging shows twenty armed mercenaries patrolling the outer wall, and another thirty inside the main concrete compound."
"No survivors," Luca commanded coldly. "Nobody leaves that mountain alive."
The convoy cut their headlights, using night-vision optics to approach the massive, fortress-like compound completely undetected in the storm.
As they breached the outer tree line, Luca raised his hand, signaling the tactical assault teams.
With flawless, lethal precision, Luca’s snipers neutralized the tower guards in perfect synchronization. The heavy suppressed shots were masked entirely by the roaring thunder overhead.
"Breach the gates," Luca ordered through his encrypted headset.
A heavy armored transport truck roared out from the shadows, accelerating to sixty miles an hour before smashing violently through the reinforced steel front gates of the compound. The heavy iron doors tore off their hinges, crashing into the courtyard.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Mercenaries poured out of the barracks, opening fire with heavy automatic weapons. The night sky lit up with thousands of blinding tracer rounds. But Luca’s men were a devastating, highly coordinated army fueled by absolute loyalty to their boss. They moved through the courtyard like a tidal wave of destruction, clearing sectors with ruthless efficiency.
Luca didn't stay behind cover. He marched straight through the crossfire, his assault rifle raised, dropping any mercenary foolish enough to cross his path. His eyes were locked on the heavy steel double doors of the main command center.
He wasn't here to fight the pawns. He was here for the king.
Luca kicked the heavy steel doors open, breaching the grand hallway of the safehouse. The interior was decorated in opulent marble and dark wood, a stark contrast to the violence unfolding outside.
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At the end of the hallway, a pair of heavy mahogany doors stood slightly ajar.
👉 The syndicate forces are falling, but what shocking, twisted trap is Arthur Sterling waiting to spring inside his private office?
