Chapter 9 - The Concrete Tomb
Viktor’s hand gripped the radio transceiver until the plastic creaked. ""How do you know this, Elena?""
""Before the garage attack..."" Elena’s voice was fading, fighting through waves of anesthesia and exhaustion, ""I found blueprints of the southern substation in Alexei’s office. Sofia didn't buy the feds... she bought the private security firm contracted to guard the courthouse basement. They aren't marshals down there, Viktor. They’re Blackwood mercenaries.""
Viktor closed his eyes. Sofia had anticipated his every move. She knew he would bypass the front entrance; she knew he would rely on the family’s legacy tunnels. She had turned his own arrogance into a slaughterhouse.
""Marcus,"" Viktor commanded instantly, his voice snapping with military precision. ""Halt the convoy. Abort the tunnel entry.""
The brakes groaned as the lead SUV stopped inches from an abandoned subway access shaft. Outside, the rain continued to pound against the armored roof like a hail of small-caliber rounds.
""If we don't go through the tunnels, Boss, how do we get inside?"" Marcus asked, looking back at the tactical display. ""The front plaza is an open kill zone. They’ve got sniper nests on the surrounding federal buildings.""
Viktor stared at the towering granite structure through the rain-streaked windshield. If Sofia wanted a spectacle, he would give her an apocalypse.
""We don't go under,"" Viktor said, racking the bolt of a heavy combat shotgun. ""And we don't walk through the front door. Call the air transport unit at the heliport. Tell them to scramble the heavy cargo chopper.""
Marcus blinked, stunned. ""The roof? Boss, the roof is secured by federal airspace regulations.""
""There are no regulations tonight,"" Viktor replied coldly. ""Sofia thinks she can hide behind laws she spent fifteen years manipulating. She wants to see the beast our father created? I’ll show her why this city belongs to me.""
He pressed the radio transmitter back to his mouth. ""Elena.""
""I’m here..."" she whispered, her breathing ragged over the line.
May you like
""Stay alive,"" Viktor said, his voice dropping into an intimate, desperate register. ""Because when I bring her down, I want you to be the one who decides what happens to her.""
Before she could reply, the city lights flickered, dimmed, and vanished into total, suffocating darkness. The blackout had begun.
