Chapter 8
He ended the call without waiting for a response and tossed the phone onto the table.
"Leo will rally the Coletti loyalists," Silas noted, tracking the movements on the monitors. "They control the southern districts. They can muster at least two hundred armed men by midnight."
"Let them," Alaric said, walking toward the heavy steel gun cabinet resting against the concrete wall. "They are angry, disorganized, and leaderless. They will rush the estate expecting to overwhelm us with numbers."
He opened the cabinet, retrieving a suppressed, heavy-caliber tactical pistol. He checked the action with practiced, mechanical efficiency, the metallic clack echoing loudly in the quiet room.
"We are not going to sit behind these walls and wait for them to breach," Alaric announced, turning back to his Capos. "I want three assault teams ready in ten minutes. We are hitting the Coletti compound before they can even organize their strike force."
A dark, violent excitement rippled through the men. It was an audacious, incredibly dangerous plan, but it was exactly the kind of ruthless strategy that had made Alaric the most feared boss in Chicago.
"I'll prepare the vehicles, Boss," Silas said, a grim smile forming. "We'll run dark. They won't see us coming until we are kicking in their front door."
"Ensure the estate remains heavily guarded," Alaric reminded them, his priority never shifting. "Serena’s safety is absolute. If a single Coletti soldier makes it onto this grass, I will hold you all personally responsible."
"Understood," the men chorused, filing out of the room to execute their deadly orders.
The estate was quiet, the heavy silence masking the lethal tension vibrating through the walls. Alaric walked out of the war room, his suit jacket back on, concealing the heavy weapon holstered beneath his arm. The polished leather of his shoes echoed softly down the long, carpeted hallway leading back to the upper levels.
He bypassed the main foyer and stepped out onto the expansive rear terrace. The night air was cool and crisp. In the distance, the city skyline glittered against the dark sky, a beautiful, sprawling empire that was about to be baptized in blood.
Silas approached him, his tactical gear stark against the formal wear he had been sporting hours earlier.
"The assault teams are loaded in the vehicles, Boss," Silas reported. "We are ready to roll on the South Side."
May you like
Before Alaric could give the order to move out, a frantic voice crackled over Silas’s radio.
"Command, we have a breach on the western perimeter!" the perimeter guard shouted, his voice tense with panic. "Multiple hostiles! They bypassed the outer sensors!"
