Chapter 6 - The Unholy Alliance
The silence in the underground clinic was absolutely deafening.
Vincent stared at Mary, desperately searching her face for a denial.
She slowly closed her eyes, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.
"It's true," Mary whispered, her voice breaking completely.
"Rico pulled me from the rubble and threw me in the trunk of his car."
"He sold me to the feds to buy himself immunity."
Vincent felt his entire world fracture violently into pieces.
The man he had trusted like a brother had not only tried to murder him tonight.
Rico had orchestrated the greatest tragedy of Vincent's entire life.
"I will kill him," Vincent vowed, his voice vibrating with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Agent Carter pushed himself off the medical counter.
"You are in no condition to kill anyone, Martini."
"But if you give me the ledger, I will let you walk away with Mary."
"I will personally ensure Rico goes down for the murder of a federal judge."
Vincent looked at the woman he had mourned for a decade.
He had built a criminal empire of blood and fear, but none of it mattered compared to her.
"The ledger is in a biometric vault in my downtown penthouse," Vincent finally admitted.
Carter grinned triumphantly.
"Excellent."
"We will go retrieve it right now."
Mary quickly bandaged Vincent's chest, binding him tightly to restrict his movement.
Carter led them out the back door to an unmarked federal SUV idling in the alley.
They drove through the storm-swept streets of Chicago in tense, suffocating silence.
They arrived at the luxury high-rise, bypassing the front desk entirely through a private garage elevator.
The elevator doors opened directly into Vincent's sprawling, multi-million dollar penthouse.
The massive apartment was completely dark, silent as a tomb.
Vincent limped toward the master bedroom, where the hidden vault was concealed behind a false wall.
He placed his hand on the biometric scanner.
The light flashed green, and the heavy steel door hissed open.
Vincent reached inside the dark compartment.
His hand met nothing but empty air.
The ledger was gone.
Suddenly, the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse illuminated with the glow of the city.
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the balcony.
"Looking for this, son?" the man asked, holding a thick, leather-bound book.
Vincent stopped breathing.
May you like
Standing in the living room, holding the ledger, was Carlo Martini.
His father was alive.
