Chapter 7 - The Chase
Anna groaned in agony as Elias knelt beside her on the damp earth.
She clutched her bleeding head, tears of genuine panic streaming down her face.
"He took him," she sobbed hysterically.
"Julian hit me from behind and took Leo."
Elias ripped a piece of fabric from his ruined shirt and pressed it against her wound.
Despite her betrayal, he could see the raw, maternal terror in her eyes.
"We are going to get him back," Elias promised with a deadly calmness.
His elite tactical team swarmed the woods a moment later, heavily armed and ready for orders.
Elias commanded his men to track the GPS signal on Julian's stolen vehicle.
They loaded Anna into a heavily armored SUV and sped toward the industrial district.
Elias patched up his own shoulder in silence while the city blurred past the windows.
He knew his son's mind better than anyone else.
Julian was arrogant and theatrical, which meant he would retreat to a place of symbolic power.
"He is taking the boy to the old Moretti shipping yards," Elias announced.
Anna nodded weakly, confirming that it was their main staging ground for the cartel.
The convoy of black SUVs tore through the empty city streets like a pack of wolves.
They arrived at the rusted gates of the abandoned shipyard just as a massive thunderstorm broke overhead.
Rain poured down in relentless sheets, turning the ground into a treacherous mud pit.
Elias kicked the SUV door open and stepped out into the torrential downpour.
He racked the slide of an assault rifle he had taken from his men.
"Take no prisoners," he ordered his elite squad.
A fierce, chaotic gunfight instantly erupted among the towering shipping containers.
Tracer bullets lit up the dark, rain-soaked night like deadly fireworks.
Elias moved with the lethal precision of a man who had built his empire on blood.
He ruthlessly cleared a path toward the main warehouse at the center of the yard.
He kicked down the heavy steel door of the warehouse and swept the room with his rifle.
He found Julian standing at the far end of the cavernous room, holding the baby.
Julian smiled wildly and held a remote detonator high in the air.
"Welcome to the end of the line, old man," Julian shouted over the thunder.
May you like
He pressed the red button on the detonator with absolute glee.
A massive series of explosions ripped through the warehouse supports, bringing the roof crashing down around them.
