Chapter 4 - Blood on the Pier
Pier 40 was wrapped in thick, salty fog. The rusted shipping containers loomed like tombstones in a graveyard. Bennett walked straight down the center of the pier, a heavy duffel bag in his left hand, his right hand resting near his holster.
Floodlights snapped on, blinding him.
"Stop right there, Cross," Rossi’s voice echoed through a megaphone.
Surrounded by a dozen armed thugs, Victor Rossi stood on a raised platform. And beside him, bound to a chair, was Lily.
Bennett’s breath hitched. She was battered, a fresh cut bleeding over her left eye, but she was alive. When she looked down at him, her eyes didn't hold the warmth he remembered. They held absolute terror.
"Where’s the money?" Rossi demanded.
"Right here," Bennett said. He tossed the heavy bag onto the wet concrete. The zipper burst open, spilling not cash, but C-4 explosives rigged to a blinking timer.
Rossi’s eyes went wide. "Kill him!"
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But Bennett wasn't alone. From the water, from the shadows of the containers, Walter and his elite strike team opened fire with suppressed weapons. The pier erupted into chaos.
Bennett moved like a ghost through the gunfire. He didn't flinch as bullets sparked off the metal around him. His only focus was the platform. He vaulted over a railing, shot two of Rossi’s guards center-mass, and tackled Rossi just as the mob boss raised his gun toward Lily.
