BLOOD AND INNOCENCE

Milwaukee burned that night.

I didn't wait for Marcus to send a ransom note. I didn't wait for his demands. I struck first, hard and without mercy. I had spent the last eight years building my empire, amassing resources and intelligence on every criminal enterprise in the Midwest. Marcus may have been operating in the shadows, but no one stays completely hidden. Money leaves a trail, and I followed it with a vengeance.

My syndicate moved like a well-oiled machine of destruction. By midnight, we hit three of Marcus’s front businesses—a high-end casino in Chicago, a shipping warehouse in Gary, and a private security firm in the suburbs. We didn't just take over; we burned them to the ground.

I personally led the strike on the casino. The doors burst open, and my men flooded the floor, automatic weapons raised. The patrons screamed and scattered, but I wasn't interested in civilians. I walked calmly through the chaos, a ghost of death in a bespoke suit, until I found the manager’s office.

The manager, a slimy man named Rossi who used to work for me before he defected to Marcus, was frantically stuffing cash into a duffel bag when I kicked the door open. He froze, the color draining from his face as he looked down the barrel of my gun.

"Andrew," he stammered, raising his hands. "Wait, please. We can talk about this."

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice deadly calm.

"I don't know!" Rossi cried, dropping to his knees. "I swear to God, I just launder the money. Marcus keeps his inner circle tight. He doesn't tell me where his safehouses are!"

I fired a single shot into his kneecap. Rossi collapsed, screaming in agony, clutching his shattered leg as blood pooled on the expensive Persian rug.

"I don't have patience for loyalty tonight, Rossi," I said, stepping closer and aiming at his other knee. "I will systematically dismantle you piece by piece until you remember something useful. Where. Is. She."

"The old steel mill!" he shrieked, tears and snot running down his face. "The abandoned one on the edge of the river! He operates out of the underground tunnels there! Please, that's all I know!"

I lowered my gun. "Thank you."

I turned and walked out of the office, motioning for one of my men to finish the job. A muffled shot echoed behind me as I stepped out into the crisp night air.

My phone buzzed. It was a video message from an unknown number. I opened it, my heart stopping in my chest.

It was Hannah. She was tied to a chair in a dark, damp room, a brutal bruise forming on her cheekbone. Behind her stood Marcus, older, scarred, but unmistakably the man I had mourned. He looked directly into the camera and smiled, a chilling, soulless grin.

"Hello, old friend," Marcus purred. "I see you've been busy tonight. Burning my casinos? Very dramatic. But if you want the girl alive, you're going to come to me. Alone. The steel mill. One hour. If you bring your army, I will skin her alive and mail you the pieces."

The video ended.

I looked up at the night sky, feeling a strange sense of calm wash over me. The board was set. The final piece was in play. I turned to my second-in-command, a ruthless enforcer named Dante.

"Boss?" Dante asked, seeing the look in my eyes. "What's the play?"

"Gather the men," I said, checking the magazine of my Glock. "We're going to the steel mill."