Chapter 8 - The Decoy
Nadia stared at him in absolute horror.
"You cannot blow yourself up, Salvatore," she pleaded, tears welling in her eyes again.
"I will not let you die for my son."
Salvatore managed a grim, almost affectionate smile.
"I have no intention of dying today, Nadia."
"Luca is going to wire the detonator to a remote switch."
He looked at his massive security chief, who was already pulling the plastic explosives from his tactical bag.
"We are going to give Gianni exactly what he wants: a broken man in a wheelchair."
An hour later, Luca drove a stolen van into the abandoned, rain-slicked shipyard.
He parked in the shadows near the rusted cranes and helped Salvatore into the rigged wheelchair.
"The detonator has a range of two hundred yards, Boss," Luca explained, handing Salvatore the small remote.
"I will be positioned on top of the rusted shipping containers with a sniper rifle."
Salvatore nodded, slipping the remote discreetly into the sleeve of his heavy coat.
"Do not shoot until I have Milo clear of the blast radius," Salvatore ordered firmly.
He wheeled himself out of the shadows and into the harsh, glaring lights of Gianni's waiting vehicles.
Gianni stood in the center of the shipyard, surrounded by thirty heavily armed mercenaries.
A terrifyingly small figure stood beside him, a gun pressed firmly against his back.
It was Milo.
The boy was completely silent, his brown eyes wide but remarkably calm as he watched Salvatore approach.
"You actually came, Cousin," Gianni laughed, stepping forward confidently.
"I always knew you were a sentimental fool."
Salvatore stopped his wheelchair about twenty feet away from Gianni and the boy.
"Let the child go, Gianni," Salvatore demanded, his voice echoing in the vast, empty yard.
"He has nothing to do with our war."
Gianni sneered, pulling a thick stack of legal documents from his jacket.
"Sign these papers first, Salvatore."
"Then the boy can walk away."
Salvatore reached into his coat pocket, pretending to search for a pen.
Instead, his fingers wrapped tightly around the plastic detonator switch.
"I brought something much better than a signature, Gianni," Salvatore stated coldly.
"I brought you a gift."
Salvatore ripped his heavy coat open, revealing the massive blocks of C4 strapped directly beneath his wheelchair seat.
Gianni's arrogant smile completely vanished, replaced by sheer, unadulterated panic.
"You are insane!" Gianni screamed, taking a massive step backward.
"You will kill us all!"
"Send the boy to me right now, or I press this button and turn us all into ash!" Salvatore roared.
Gianni hesitated, looking wildly between the explosives and the silent boy.
"Let him go!" Gianni ordered his mercenary, shoving Milo forcefully toward Salvatore.
Milo stumbled forward, running straight into Salvatore's waiting arms.
Salvatore grabbed the boy tightly and forcefully threw him behind the thick steel frame of the wheelchair.
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"Now, Luca!" Salvatore screamed at the top of his lungs.
A massive sniper bullet tore through the rainy night, striking Gianni directly in the kneecap.
