Chapter 10 - The Syndicate’s Knock
The thunder of high-powered engines echoed off the corrugated steel walls of the hangar. Three blacked-out SUVs and four motorcycles breached the tarmac perimeter, their headlights suddenly illuminating the stalled Gulfstream in blinding white beams.
""Corsicans,"" Commissioner Laurent muttered, drawing his service weapon and shouting tactical orders to his officers over the radio. ""Take defensive positions!""
Pierce grabbed Claire by the arm, pushing her toward the rear cabin of the aircraft. ""Get in the private lavatory. Lock the door. Do not come out under any circumstances.""
""Dad, don't leave me!"" Claire begged, holding Leo against her chest as gunfire erupted outside.
""I spent five years mourning your mother while she hid secrets that endangered your life,"" Pierce said, looking into Claire’s tear-filled eyes. ""I will not lose you or my grandson to her ghosts. Lock the door.""
Pierce stepped back out of the cabin into the crossfire. Bullets pinged against the titanium skin of the Gulfstream. Derek was cowering underneath the passenger seats, screaming for mercy, while Evelyn wept in a fetal position.
A heavily armored black Land Rover braked hard beside the jet’s stairs. A tall man in a tailored leather coat stepped out, holding an automatic weapon by his side. It was Hector Rossi, the notorious head of the southern criminal syndicate.
""Pierce Sterling!"" Hector’s gravelly voice bellowed across the tarmac over the idling engines. ""I wondered what kind of fish would swim into this net!""
Pierce walked calmly down the airstairs, hands visible, stopping on the lower platform. Tactical police held their perimeter around the nose gear, weapons trained on Hector’s men.
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""You're trespassing on international aviation grounds, Hector,"" Pierce said, his tone unflinching despite a dozen laser sights dancing across his chest.
""I don't give a damn about airport borders,"" Hector spat, stepping forward into the headlights. ""Your late wife owed nine million euros. Your cowardly son-in-law promised the payment tonight. The wire failed. So either I take the child as collateral, or nobody leaves this runway alive.""
