The Sins Of The Father

Chapter 2

"You have three seconds to turn around and walk away from me," Dante warned. He kept his voice steady while the gleam of the guard's serrated blade reflected the blood red neon of the club sign above them.

The young man chuckled with absolute arrogance and took another menacing step into the freezing downpour. "I think you are going to bleed right here in this alley," the guard sneered while he shifted his weight to strike.

The threat meant nothing at all to a man who had spent a decade fighting for his life in a maximum security cage. Dante watched the muscles in the guard tighten and read the amateur attack before it even started. The young thug lunged forward and thrust the weapon aimed right at the center of Dante's chest.

Dante moved with a violent force that ten years of pure survival had burned into his heavy bones. He sidestepped the thrust and grabbed the extended arm with hands calloused from lifting raw concrete blocks in the prison yard. He twisted the wrist until a loud pop echoed against the brick walls and the blade clattered onto the wet asphalt.

The guard gasped in shock but Dante did not give him a single second to process the pain or scream for help. He slammed his heavy forearm into the man's throat and drove him backward until his skull cracked against the brick alley wall. The impact knocked the breath from the guard's lungs and left him choking in the cold heavy rain.

"I told you to walk away," Dante whispered into the man's ear while he pressed harder against his crushed windpipe. He stared into the terrified eyes of the young thug and felt the familiar urge to snap his neck and end the threat forever.

The rage boiling inside his chest demanded absolute destruction after watching Victor walk away with Elena just moments before. But killing a man so close to the club would bring police sirens and ruin his silent resurrection in the underworld. Dante released the pressure just enough to let the man draw one ragged breath before he delivered a crushing blow to his jaw.

The guard's eyes rolled back in his head and his body crumpled into a lifeless heap in the muddy puddle below. Dante stood over the unconscious form and let the rain wash the thick tension from his rigid shoulders. He crouched down beside the defeated thug and began to strip him of any useful information or resources he could find.

His hands moved over the tailored coat and found a thick leather wallet tucked inside the inner pocket. Dante pocketed the cash because starting a war from the bottom required every single resource he could steal from his wealthy enemies. He continued his search and pulled a heavy black burner phone from the front pocket of the guard's trousers.

The device felt strange in his hands after spending ten years disconnected from the digital evolution of the outside world. He knew a man working perimeter security for Victor Carmine would carry communications that detailed the movements of the entire syndicate. Dante dragged the unconscious guard deeper into the shadows behind a rusted dumpster to hide him from any passing street patrols.

He leaned against the cold brick wall and wiped the rainwater from the dark screen of the stolen device. The lock screen lit up and demanded a passcode to access the secrets hidden within the operating system. He grabbed the limp hand of the guard and pressed the man's thumb against the glass sensor located at the bottom of the screen.

The phone vibrated in his palm and the home screen unlocked to reveal a simple interface with minimal applications. Dante felt a surge of grim satisfaction knowing Victor still relied on basic thugs who used simple biometric security for their communication devices. He tapped on the messaging application and watched the screen load a list of encrypted conversations filled with street level orders.

His eyes scanned the names until they stopped on a pinned conversation at the very top of the glowing screen. The contact name was saved as the initials V C and it possessed a fresh notification badge indicating a recent message. The mere sight of Victor's initials made the scar tissue on Dante's jaw throb with a phantom pain he could never ignore.

He remembered the arrogant smile on Victor's face as he stepped out of the luxury car and held Elena close to him. Dante tapped the conversation and braced himself to read whatever poison his enemy was spreading through the streets tonight. The screen illuminated his scarred face in the dark alley while he read the short and precise message sent just moments ago.

The text carried the absolute authority of a man who believed he controlled every single life in the entire city. Dante felt his blood freeze in his veins as the full weight of the order crushed the breath from his lungs. Kwame was the only loyal friend he had left in this world and the only person who could help him build his empire back from the dirt.

If Victor managed to kill Kwame tonight there would be no chance for Dante to reclaim his lost family. Dante stared at the glowing screen in absolute horror as he read the final instruction from V C. The message read: Hit approved, take K-Dog out tonight.