Chapter 9 - The Final Stand
The massive Neapolitan mastiff hit the second gunman like a runaway freight train, his jaws clamping onto the man's forearm with bone-crushing force. The attacker shrieked in agony, dropping his weapon as Goliath tossed him aside like a ragdoll.
The third gunman panicked, swinging his rifle toward the dog, but Dante—flat on his back in the mud—raised his hunting rifle with one hand and fired a clean, fatal shot straight through the assailant's chest.
Silence fell over the clearing, save for the roaring turbine of the helicopter and the wind whipping through the trees.
Agent Miller scrambled out, grabbing Dante under the uninjured arm and hauling him toward the chopper. Goliath trotted back into the cabin, shaking the mud and rainwater from his heavy wrinkles, and calmly laid his massive head across Liam’s lap.
"Pull up! Pull up now!" Miller screamed to the pilot, diving into the cabin and slamming the heavy sliding door shut.
The helicopter’s turbines screamed as the pilot yanked the collective pitch lever, lifting the machine straight up into the gray clouds just as a fresh wave of syndicate SUVs tore into the base of the watchtower clearing below.
Inside the cabin, the red warning lights flashed softly against the metal walls. Natalie immediately sprang into action, tearing open her medical bag. She ripped away Dante's ruined jacket sleeve, revealing a clean, deep flesh wound through his left shoulder muscle.
"You're an idiot," Natalie snapped, her hands trembling as she applied a heavy pressure dressing to his shoulder. "You almost got yourself killed!"
Dante leaned his head back against the bulkhead, letting out a long, exhausted breath as a wry, genuine smile touched his lips. "I told you, nurse... a debt like yours doesn't get washed away easily."
Agent Miller sat across from them, tapping away furiously on a secure tactical laptop. "Well, your timing is impeccable, Vance. Federal strike teams just hit Marcus's penthouse in Philadelphia and the docks in Camden. The entire syndicate leadership is being rounded up as we speak. Marcus is in custody."
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Dante looked over at Natalie, watching as she gently wiped the mud and tears from Liam's face while the boy dozed peacefully against Goliath's warm body. The tired, hunted look in Dante's eyes finally vanished, replaced by the profound peace of a man who had successfully burned his old empire to the ground to build something better from the ashes.
"It's over," Dante whispered.
