Chapter 5 - The Loyal Traitor
Marcus stood under the flickering streetlamp, his weather-beaten face devoid of any emotion as he held the shotgun steady.
I stopped dead in my tracks, shielding Nora behind me while rain poured down heavily on the desolate street.
I asked Marcus how much money Carmine had offered him to betray a blood oath to my family.
Marcus shook his head slowly, his voice laced with heavy regret and profound exhaustion.
He explained that Carmine had not offered him money, but had threatened the lives of his young grandchildren.
Carmine had systematically dismantled my entire support network, targeting the vulnerable families of anyone who might remain loyal to me.
I understood Marcus's impossible position, but I could not allow him to execute us and doom Nora's son.
Marcus raised the shotgun toward my face, apologizing softly as his finger began to squeeze the heavy trigger.
Before the weapon could fire, a bright flash of light temporarily blinded all of us in the street.
An incredibly loud horn blared violently as a massive garbage truck swerved around the corner, losing control on the wet asphalt.
The massive truck smashed directly into the back of Marcus's van, sending it skidding aggressively across the slick pavement.
Marcus was knocked off his feet by the violent impact, dropping the shotgun into a deep puddle.
I did not hesitate for a single second, grabbing Nora's hand and sprinting toward the chaos of the collision.
I grabbed the discarded shotgun from the freezing water and aimed it directly at the stunned garbage truck driver.
I ordered the terrified city worker out of the cab, tossing him a thick wad of cash from my soaked tuxedo pocket.
Nora and I climbed into the massive, foul-smelling truck, locking the heavy steel doors from the inside.
I threw the massive vehicle into gear and accelerated aggressively down the narrow street, leaving Marcus groaning on the pavement.
We now had a vehicle that was practically a rolling tank, completely immune to standard small arms fire.
I looked at the dashboard clock, realizing we had only thirty minutes left to save Leo before the deadline expired.
I finally realized that paying Carmine the offshore money was the only logical way to ensure the boy survived.
I steered the heavy truck toward the downtown financial district, intending to surrender my biometric data at the private bank.
Nora sat silently in the passenger seat, gripping the door handle so tightly her knuckles were stark white.
We reached the imposing marble facade of the bank, and I parked the massive truck directly on the front sidewalk.
I marched into the lobby, ignoring the panicked security guards, and placed my eye directly against the biometric scanner.
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The heavy steel doors of the vault hissed open, but instead of stacks of cash, the room was completely empty.
Sitting alone in the center of the massive vault was a small television monitor playing a live video feed.
