Chapter 5 - The Ambush
Lorenzo immediately turned off the car radio, plunging the vehicle into tense silence.
Marco had successfully weaponized the corrupt local police force against him.
Every patrol car in the city would be looking for this stolen sedan within the hour.
Lorenzo turned down a narrow, unlit side street to avoid the main traffic cameras.
He needed a safe place for Clara and Rosie while he planned a counterattack against Marco's forces.
He drove toward an old, decommissioned church on the edge of the Catholic district.
The elderly priest there owed Lorenzo his life and asked no questions about the mafia's business.
Lorenzo parked the car behind the stone rectory and led his family through the heavy oak doors.
Father Thomas greeted them with a solemn nod and led them into a secure basement room.
Clara sat on a small cot, rocking an exhausted Rosie to sleep in her arms.
"I have to go back out there," Lorenzo whispered, checking the ammunition in his pistol.
"If Marco finds us, we have absolutely nowhere left to run," Clara pleaded, grabbing his sleeve.
"I am going to cut the head off the snake before it can bite," Lorenzo assured her.
He left the church and walked two blocks to a public payphone in a deserted laundromat.
He dialed a heavily encrypted number that only his three most loyal captains possessed.
The line rang twice before a familiar, gruff voice answered on the other end.
"Boss, the whole city is turned upside down looking for you," his captain, Leo, said anxiously.
"Leo, I need you to gather the loyal men and meet me at the old shipyard in one hour," Lorenzo commanded.
There was a long, terrifying pause on the other end of the line.
"I am sorry, Lorenzo, but things have changed," Leo whispered, his voice shaking with guilt.
Lorenzo heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked over the phone receiver.
May you like
"Tell him to stay right there, Leo," Marco's arrogant voice echoed clearly through the speaker.
Lorenzo dropped the phone and spun around, realizing the laundromat was already completely surrounded by black SUVs.
