Chapter 8 - Pier 14
The rain poured heavily over Pier 14, washing across the rusted metal roof of the central warehouse. Inside, ten of Vance's best mercenaries stood guard around a heavy wooden chair where Eli sat tied up, his eyes wide with fear but his lips pressed firmly together.
Victor Vance paced back and forth, holding an iron pipe.
"Scared, kid?" Vance mocked, leaning down to Eli's face. "Your big bad hero isn't coming. Men like Cassius Wren don't risk their lives for street trash."
Eli looked Vance dead in the eye. Despite the fear trembling in his chest, his voice remained firm. "He said he would come. He doesn't break promises."
Before Vance could reply, the main metal doors of the warehouse blew inward with a deafening explosion.
Smoke and twisted steel rained down. Through the fog stepped a single figure in a dark leather coat, rain dripping from his shoulders.
"Wren!" Vance screamed, backing away as his mercenaries leveled their automatic rifles. "Kill him!"
What followed lasted less than ninety seconds.
Cassius moved like a shadow, precise and lethal. He disarmed the first guard before the man could pull his trigger, using him as a shield while firing with terrifying precision. The gunshots echoed through the cavernous warehouse, each one finding its mark.
Mercenaries fell one by one until only Victor Vance remained, trembling, his back pressed against the shipping container.
Cassius walked through the smoke, his footsteps echoing on the wet concrete. He stopped two feet from Vance, the barrel of his silver handgun pressed directly against Vance's forehead.
"Please... Cassius..." Vance begged, falling to his knees, tears mixing with the rainwater on his face. "I was just doing business! Take the casinos! Take everything!"
Cassius looked down at the man who had threatened an eight-year-old child.
May you like
"You threatened a boy who had nothing," Cassius said, his tone devoid of all human emotion. "Now you have nothing."
Cassius pulled the trigger.
