Chapter 8 - The Double Cross
The entire dynamic on the foggy pier shifted instantly as Victoria Sterling stepped out of the shipping container.
Mason froze entirely in place, utterly confused by the sight of his powerful new ally aiming a weapon at his spine.
"Victoria, what on earth are you doing?" Mason demanded, his voice cracking with sudden, overwhelming panic.
Victoria smiled coldly, the silver moonlight reflecting dangerously off the scope of her expensive sniper rifle.
"Did you honestly think I would trust a man who so easily betrays his own boss of fifteen years?" Victoria asked smoothly.
She explained that she had never intended to let Mason rule Boston; she simply used his ambition to flush Adrian out of hiding.
"You are a liability, Mason, and I am cleaning house tonight," Victoria declared with absolute authority.
Without a single moment of hesitation, Victoria pulled the trigger, sending a bullet tearing through Mason's shoulder.
Mason screamed in agony, dropping his weapon and collapsing heavily onto the wet, wooden dock.
The mercenaries who had been standing with Mason immediately turned their weapons toward him, confirming their true loyalty to Victoria.
Adrian used the sheer chaos of the betrayal to instantly draw the hidden pistol tucked into the back of his waistband.
He fired three rapid shots, taking down the mercenaries standing closest to the brutally beaten Dante.
I burst from my hiding spot behind the crates, providing suppressive fire with my small handgun despite my trembling hands.
The element of surprise was incredibly effective, scattering Victoria's remaining men behind the rusted machinery of the pier.
Adrian sprinted toward Dante, pulling a combat knife to slice through the thick ropes binding the loyal bodyguard to the chair.
"Can you walk, son?" Adrian asked, hauling Dante up to his feet while dodging incoming bullets.
Dante spat a mouthful of blood onto the dock and managed a terrifying, genuine smile.
"I can do a lot more than walk, Boss," Dante grunted, picking up Mason's dropped weapon from the puddle.
We formed a tight triangle, slowly fighting our way backward toward the labyrinth of steel shipping containers.
Victoria realized she had completely lost the tactical advantage and began shouting frantic orders to her disorganized soldiers.
We slipped into the narrow, dark alleys between the towering crates, successfully evading the deadly crossfire.
"We need to flank her position and end this before she calls in reinforcements," Adrian whispered, his breathing becoming dangerously heavy.
I could see the sheer physical toll the exertion was taking on Adrian; his surgical wound was clearly beginning to bleed through his vest.
Suddenly, Mason emerged from the fog entirely covered in his own blood, holding a detonator switch in his uninjured hand.
He was completely unhinged, laughing like a maniac as he stared down Adrian with pure, unrestrained hatred.
"If I cannot rule this city, then nobody will!" Mason screamed into the foggy night.
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He slammed his thumb heavily down onto the detonator button.
A series of massive, deafening explosions instantly ripped through the foundation of Pier 44, sending the entire structure plunging into the freezing ocean below.
