Chapter 9 - The Edge of the Knife
The speedboat bounced violently over the rolling ocean waves, completely out of sight from the mainland.
Lorenzo kept his pistol raised, perfectly aware that shooting Marco would instantly trigger the explosives.
The dead-man switch required constant pressure from Marco's thumb to prevent detonation.
"You really think you can negotiate your way out of this?" Lorenzo demanded, gritting his teeth.
Marco leaned back against the steering console, looking completely unhinged and desperate.
"I want safe passage to international waters, or I blow this entire boat to pieces," Marco demanded.
Lorenzo slowly lowered his firearm, pretending to accept the agonizing reality of a stalemate.
He needed Marco to relax his defensive posture for just a fraction of a second.
"You win," Lorenzo said, tossing his heavy pistol onto the wet floor of the deck.
Marco smiled, believing he had successfully outsmarted the legendary mafia boss one final time.
He briefly looked down at the navigation screen to check their heading toward the open sea.
In that singular moment of distraction, Lorenzo reached into his left boot.
He pulled out a perfectly balanced, six-inch combat knife.
With terrifying speed and precision, Lorenzo threw the blade across the rocking boat.
The knife buried itself directly into Marco's right shoulder, pinning his arm against the fiberglass wall.
Marco gasped in shock, his entire body convulsing from the sudden, piercing pain.
His grip on the detonator faltered, and the small electronic device slipped entirely from his hand.
Lorenzo dove across the deck, sliding desperately on his stomach to reach the falling switch.
The detonator bounced once on the deck and slid rapidly toward a small metal drainage grate.
If it slipped through the slats, the trigger would release, and the C4 would instantly explode.
Lorenzo stretched his arm out as far as it could possibly go, his fingers brushing the cold plastic.
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The detonator tipped over the edge of the grate, plunging downward into the dark space below.
Lorenzo slammed his hand down onto the grate, his fingers closing blindly around empty air.
