CHAPTER 11: THE CRUMBLING EMPIRE
Trembling, Rossi grabbed the satellite phone on the console. His voice shook as he barked orders to his lieutenants in New York City: "Let the kid go! Unfreeze the accounts and pull the team back from the Adirondacks immediately! All units stand down!"
Marco listened intently until he heard the confirmation over the radio line. He snatched the satellite phone, smashed it under his heel, and took Rossi's encrypted master tablet.
Outside, the remaining mercenaries hesitated, receiving the retreat order through their earpieces. Realizing their boss had surrendered leverage, they abandoned their positions, scattering into the woods and speeding away in the remaining utility trucks.
Marco stepped out of the command truck, dragging Rossi by his collar into the cold mountain air. The local state troopers and federal agents—alerted by the automated distress beacon Marco had activated before leaving the cabin—were already descending on the mountain, their sirens echoing through the valley.
May you like
Marco threw Rossi to the snowy ground. "David always wanted you to face a jury, Sal. He believed in the law. I believed in the gun. Turns out... he was right. You're going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a concrete cage."
---
