Chapter 8 - THE TRAP AT DEVIL'S REEF
The following evening, a heavy coastal fog blanketed Devil's Reef. Rusting shipping containers towered over the asphalt docks like giant metal monoliths.
Declan Mercer arrived in a convoy of three armored sedans, accompanied by Dominic and six of his most trusted lieutenants. Across the wet concrete stood Don Sal Rossi, an aging, silver-haired mobster flanked by fifteen armed thugs.
"Declan," Rossi sneered, chewing on an unlit cigar. "I hear you picked up a stray waitress and a bastard in Maine. Getting sentimental in your old age?"
"Watch your mouth, Sal," Declan said, his voice dangerously calm as he stepped into the pool of amber dock lights. "You broke the code. You sent assassins after my blood."
Rossi laughed, a dry, raspy sound. "Code? You've been trying to legitimize your syndicate for five years, moving billions into clean tech and real estate while starving the rest of our families out of the shipping lanes! You became weak, Mercer. And weak men don't get to keep their sons."
Rossi snapped his fingers. From behind a stack of shipping containers, a hidden sniper laser clicked on, painting a red dot squarely over Declan’s heart.
"You think you set a meeting, Declan?" Rossi grinned wickedly. "You walked right into an execution."
Suddenly, the night air exploded with the deafening roar of twin marine engines. A heavily armed coast guard cutter and two tactical SWAT boats swept around the breakwater, blazing spotlights that illuminated the entire pier in blinding white brilliance.
Sirens wailed across the harbor as Federal tactical units poured from the vessels, their rifles trained on Rossi's men.
"FBI! Drop your weapons! Nobody move!"
Rossi's face went white. He turned to Declan in sheer disbelief. "You called the Feds?! You rat bastard! A mafia boss going to the police?!"
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Declan smiled—a cold, victorious baring of teeth. "I'm not a mafia boss anymore, Sal. As of 8:00 AM this morning, I signed a full cooperation agreement turning over every single illegal asset belonging to the Rossi syndicate to the United States Department of Justice in exchange for total immunity for my family. You built your empire on blood. I'm tearing yours down with the law."
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