Chapter 9 - THE RECKONING AT DAWN
Gideon looked around at his fallen men, then slowly raised his gaze to meet Rafe, who stood dripping wet near the fountain, his eyes burning with absolute vengeance.
"You... you set this up," Gideon whispered, the veneer of aristocratic dignity finally shattering completely. "The elevator... the warehouse... you knew I was leaking the files."
"I knew someone was rotting the foundation from the inside," Rafe corrected, stepping slowly toward him across the wet marble. "I just needed to see who was arrogant enough to try and bury me in my own tower."
Gideon's hand slipped toward his coat pocket, his fingers inching frantically toward a concealed derringer pistol.
Before he could clear the fabric, a small, silver object came spinning through the air, striking Gideon’s wrist with a sharp thwack. The derringer clattered uselessly against the floor.
Anna Doyle lowered her arm, having tossed her heavy metal window scraper like a throwing knife.
Rafe closed the remaining distance, grabbed Gideon by the lapels of his tweed jacket, and hoisted him off his feet until the old man’s toes dangled inches above the floor.
"Please, Rafe..." Gideon choked out, his face turning purple, his hands clawing weakly at Rafe’s wrists. "I raised you... I protected your father..."
"You killed my father," Rafe whispered, his voice shaking with a rage so deep it defied sound. "And you tried to turn my home into a tomb."
He didn't pull a trigger. He didn't use a blade. With a single, supreme exertion of strength, Rafe hurled Gideon backward into the ornamental fountain.
Splash!
Gideon crashed hard into the shallow stone basin, gasping for air, his expensive tweed suit ruined, his ivory cane floating away in the chlorinated water.
Rafe stood at the edge of the fountain, looking down at him with utter, chilling contempt.
"Vince," Rafe called out without turning around.
"Boss?" Vince stepped out of the clearing smoke, his submachine gun lowered.
"Take him down to the sub-basement incinerator rooms. Lock him in cell four. Make sure he has a front-row seat to the complete and total liquidation of every asset the North End holds in this city."
"Understood," Vince nodded, motioning for two guards to drag the sputtering old man out of the fountain.
As Gideon was hauled away, screaming curses and desperate pleas that echoed off the glass dome, the atrium finally grew still.
May you like
Rafe turned slowly around.
Anna Doyle was standing by the edge of the fountain, her gray cleaning uniform damp from the mist, wiping her hands on a simple cloth rag as though nothing unusual had just occurred.
