Chapter 10 - The South Side Ambush
The gray Ford Taurus never made it to the bus stop. Two blocks away from the art academy, Hector swerved the heavy armored Maybach across the two-lane street, cutting off the sedan’s path with a screech of burning rubber. Simultaneously, a secondary Vargas escort SUV pulled up tightly against the Taurus’s rear bumper, boxing it in completely.
Before the two men inside the Taurus could even reach for their weapons, four of Mateo’s heaviest tactical enforcers had their doors open, their suppressed automatic rifles leveled directly at the windows. Within thirty seconds, Dante’s street scouts were disarmed, zip-tied, and dragged into the rear of the escort SUV without a single shot being fired in the quiet residential neighborhood.
Mateo didn't stay to watch the cleanup. He stepped out of the Maybach and walked swiftly toward the bus stop where Elena was standing, looking down at her phone.
When she looked up and saw him approaching in his dark, tailored suit, her eyes widened in alarm. "Mr. Vargas? What are you doing here? Did something happen to Lily?"
"Lily is safe inside the school," Mateo said, reaching her side and gently placing a hand on her elbow to guide her toward his waiting armored car. "We need to leave this street right now, Elena. Get in the car."
"Why? What’s going on?" she demanded, planting her feet on the sidewalk, resisting his pull. "I have to get to work!"
"Dante Navarro’s men were tailing you from the academy," Mateo said bluntly, looking her straight in the eye. "He knows who you are, and he knows about the scholarship. He’s trying to use you and Lily as leverage against my organization. You are not safe on the streets today."
The color drained from Elena’s face. She looked down the street, seeing the escort SUV speeding away with its concealed cargo. The terrifying reality of the underworld had finally breached the walls of her quiet life. Without another word, she let Mateo guide her into the rear of the Maybach, the heavy ballistic door closing behind them with a solid, reassuring vault-like thud.
"Where are we going?" Elena asked, her voice shaking as Hector navigated the Maybach onto the southbound expressway, heading away from the city center.
"To my docks on the South Side," Mateo said, checking the loaded magazine of his compact pistol before sliding it back into his shoulder holster. "I need to secure my terminal perimeters before Dante realizes his scouts have gone missing. Then, we are taking you and Lily to my estate where you can be protected."
"No!" Elena protested, turning in her seat. "I am not moving into your house, Mr. Vargas! I don't want my daughter growing up around men with guns and bulletproof cars! We will leave the city! I have a cousin in Milwaukee—we can take a bus tonight!"
"If you go to a bus station today, Dante’s hitmen will grab you before you even buy a ticket," Mateo said coldly, his eyes scanning the highway traffic behind them. "You are in the game now, Elena, whether you wanted to be or not. And the only place in this city where Dante Navarro cannot touch you is behind my walls."
Before Elena could argue further, Hector’s voice rang out from the front seat, sharp and urgent: "Boss! Brace yourselves! We have company on the left flank!"
A heavy black Ford Explorer had surged across the highway dividing line, accelerating to ninety miles per hour as it slammed violently into the side of the Maybach. The impact sounded like a cannon blast. The armored Mercedes shuddered, tires screaming against the asphalt as Hector fought the steering wheel to keep the three-ton vehicle from spinning into the concrete median.
"Down! Get down on the floor!" Mateo roared, throwing his entire body weight over Elena, pushing her down into the footwell between the seats and shielding her with his broad back.
Automatic gunfire erupted from the Explorer. A hail of high-velocity bullets hammered against the Maybach’s reinforced windows, leaving web-like cracks across the bulletproof glass. The cabin filled with the smell of burnt propellant and the deafening, rhythmic thud of rounds striking ballistic steel.
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"Hector! Take the industrial exit!" Mateo commanded, drawing his pistol as he shielded Elena’s trembling body beneath him. "Get us into the warehouse district where we have cover!"
"On it!" Hector shouted, spinning the steering wheel wheel hard to the right. The Maybach clipped the front bumper of the attacking Explorer, sending the rival SUV swerving into the guardrail with a shower of sparks, while Hector launched their battered Maybach down the concrete off-ramp toward the maze of shipping containers on the South Side docks.
