Chapter 8 - The Exchange
The drive to Pier 40 was tense and completely silent.
The freezing rain battered the armored windshield, matching the chaotic dread spiraling inside Fay's chest.
Vincent parked the heavy SUV a hundred yards away from the rusting, abandoned warehouses.
He turned to Fay and pointed to the small pistol he had given her.
"Keep it hidden in your pocket, and do not pull it out unless I tell you to," Vincent instructed calmly.
Fay nodded, clutching the cold metal weapon inside her oversized coat.
They stepped out into the relentless rain and walked slowly toward the towering metal structures.
Marcone was waiting for them under the dim, flickering light of a broken streetlamp.
He was surrounded by eight heavily armed mercenaries with assault rifles trained directly on Vincent.
In the center of the armed circle, Fay's frail mother sat in a wooden wheelchair.
"Mom!" Fay cried out, desperately trying to run forward.
Vincent threw his arm out, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Not yet," Vincent warned softly.
Marcone smiled a greasy, arrogant smile and spread his arms wide.
"The great Vincent Cross, walking straight into a trap for a pathetic little maid," Marcone mocked.
Vincent remained perfectly still, his hands completely empty and visible by his sides.
"Let the woman go, Marcone," Vincent demanded, his voice cutting through the sound of the rain.
Marcone sneered and drew a silver revolver from his coat.
"I think I will keep them both, and put a bullet in your head instead," Marcone threatened, aiming the gun at Vincent.
Fay sobbed in terror, realizing they were all going to die.
Suddenly, Fay’s mother let out a loud, irritated sigh that echoed strangely across the wet pavement.
Fay froze, watching in utter confusion as her chronically ill mother casually stood up from the wheelchair.
Her mother did not look weak, frail, or terrified.
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She stood perfectly straight, rolled her shoulders, and glared fiercely at the rival mafia boss.
"I specifically told you to kill the girl at the mansion, Marcone, not use me as damn bait," her mother snapped coldly.
