Chapter 9 - Blood on the Steel TiesAbove, Noah squeezed the trigger. A high-caliber round shattered the upper window and struck the first armed contractor in the shoulder, throwing him violently backward into a rack of iron spare parts.
"Leo, run to the south corridor!" Julian shouted, firing twice to suppress the remaining shooter.
The young boy, using the confusion of the gunfire, wriggled his small wrists through the loosened zip ties. Instead of running south toward safety, he darted toward the rail car where Julian was pinned down.
"Uncle Julian!" Leo shrieked as Marcus lunged forward, grabbing the boy by the collar of his jacket.
"Don't move, Julian!" Marcus barked, his sidearm pressed directly against the temple of the child. "Throw it down! Throw the weapon down now!"
Julian emerged slowly from behind the wheel housing, his hands raised, his pistol dangling from his right index finger. He let it drop onto the gravel.
"Look at yourself, Marcus," Julian said, his voice dropping into a quiet, measured frequency. "You're holding a gun to a child’s head. Is this what the Thorne legacy is? Is this what we survived our childhood for?"
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"This family survives through strength!" Marcus spat, his arm trembling slightly.
"No," Julian said, taking half a step forward. "This isn't strength. This is cowardice. You’re terrified that without these ledgers, you’re just a broken boy whose father didn't love him."
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