Chapter 13 - The War That Never Existed
I grabbed Dominic's jacket.
"What happened at Terminal Four?"
"Michael met me there."
"When?"
"Three nights before he died."
My grip tightened.
"And you never told me."
"He brought proof Marco was stealing. Not enough to move against him. Enough to make me start watching."
"Did Michael tell you about Voss?"
"He said there was another man. He didn't have a name yet."
I shoved him away.
"Twenty minutes."
We went.
Dominic took six men but left them two blocks from the terminal.
"Voss said alone," I whispered.
"Voss lies."
"So do you."
He looked at me.
I kept walking.
Terminal Four had been closed for renovation for eight months.
River wind cut through broken loading bays.
One overhead light flickered.
Lily's voice echoed somewhere inside.
"Mommy?"
I ran.
Dominic caught my arm.
"Slow."
"That's my daughter."
"And that's why he wants you running blind."
He pointed toward a thin wire at ankle height.
I almost stepped into it.
The wire ran to a flare charge strapped beneath a pallet.
Not enough to destroy the terminal.
Enough to blind us.
We stepped over it.
A speaker crackled.
Voss laughed.
"Good. Michael taught you something after all."
"Show me Lily!"
A light came on across the warehouse.
Lily sat in a chair near the river doors.
Tape around one wrist.
She was crying but upright.
Voss stood behind her.
No gray-haired doctor costume now.
He had removed the wig piece and glasses.
He looked younger.
Harder.
Dominic walked forward.
"Let her go."
"Card first."
Dominic held up the evidence sleeve.
"You come get it."
Voss smiled.
"Still negotiating from the center of the room."
"Still hiding behind a child."
Voss's smile thinned.
"Children are efficient leverage. Your enemies know that. I simply accepted reality."
"You tried to kill Ethan."
"No. Marco tried to scare you."
I stared.
Voss continued.
"I improved the plan."
"By increasing the dose."
"By making sure you believed it."
Dominic took one step.
Voss raised his pistol against Lily's shoulder.
I stopped breathing.
"Why Calderone?" Dominic asked.
"Because you hate Vincent enough to stop thinking. Because Marco needed records buried. Because war makes assets cheap."
"You planned to buy my companies."
"Not all. The useful ones. Ports. Cold storage. River access."
His eyes brightened.
"You and Vincent bleed each other. Federal seizures begin. Lenders panic. Shell companies buy distressed assets. Marco thinks he inherits your chair."
Voss laughed.
"Marco was never inheriting anything."
A shadow moved behind a stack of containers.
I saw it.
Voss did not.
Someone limped into view behind me.
Marco.
Hospital shirt under a coat.
Bandage across his chest.
Gun in his hand.
"Anna."
Dominic's eyes shifted past me.
Voss smiled again.
"There he is. My loyal fool."
Marco's face was gray.
"Let the girl go."
"You shouldn't even be standing."
"I won't be long."
I took one step toward Lily.
She screamed.
"Mommy, behind you!"
I turned.
May you like
Marco's gun was pointed straight at my chest.
