Chapter -17
1459 Words
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Chapter 17 – Ashes and Vows
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Chicago – A Week Later
The fire at the Mojave airstrip made headlines across the criminal underworld. Whispers traveled fast—from cartel tunnels to Eastern European arms dealers. The Black Vultures were bleeding, and the man responsible had returned from the dead.
Dante Moretti’s name was no longer cursed in silence. It was roared in fear.
And Marco?
Marco was nowhere to be found.
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Inside the Church Safehouse
Dante moved like a shadow across the basement, checking each child, watching over the makeshift sleeping quarters. Some of the younger ones had nightmares. Others clung to Aria, who had become their unspoken protector.
In the dim light, Dante watched Aria place a warm cloth on a girl’s forehead. The girl had barely spoken a word since the rescue.
Aria sat with her in silence, rubbing her back gently until the girl’s small frame relaxed into sleep.
Dante stepped forward. “She’s one of the trafficked ones, isn’t she?”
Aria looked up. “They all were. Taken from different states. Different worlds. Ended up in the same hell.”
“I’ve seen a lot of evil,” Dante said, voice gravelly. “But that hangar... it was different.”
She stood. “Because it wasn’t just business. It was sickness.”
Dante clenched his jaw. “And Marco profited from it. The Vultures are expanding into flesh. That’s their new revenue stream.”
“Which makes them more dangerous than ever.”
He nodded. “We’re not fighting just one man anymore.”
She touched his arm. “Then let’s build an army.”
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Elsewhere in Chicago – A Rooftop in Bronzeville
Killian flicked his cigarette over the edge of the building. “You sure this guy’s gonna show?”
Luca, now armed with a tactical vest and growing confidence, replied, “If the intel’s good, yeah.”
Killian raised a brow. “You’re thinking like a soldier now.”
“I’m thinking like someone who wants justice.”
Just then, a black Lincoln pulled into the lot below.
Killian grinned. “Showtime.”
---
The contact's name was Vinny Russo, a mid-tier arms dealer with ties to the Vultures but also a long history with Dante’s father.
He stepped out of the car wearing a leather coat and mirrored shades, even at night.
“Tell me you ain’t crazy enough to come back from the dead just to die again,” Vinny said as Dante emerged from the alley.
“Tell me you haven’t sold your soul yet,” Dante replied.
Vinny laughed. “You always had the dramatic lines. What do you want?”
“I want to gut the Vultures.”
Vinny’s smile faded. “That’s... ambitious.”
“Marco’s trafficking kids now. You know it.”
Vinny sighed. “I’ve heard rumors. Enough to make my stomach turn.”
“You knew my father. He bled for this city.”
Vinny looked away. “And he died in it.”
“Because of them. And because everyone else was too scared to push back.”
Vinny hesitated. “What are you offering?”
“Protection,” Dante said. “You flip your routes to us. Give me a list of who’s dirty. And you’ll still have a seat when the table turns.”
Vinny lit a cigarette. “You’re serious about this war.”
“I’ve already started it.”
A long pause.
Then Vinny extended a flash drive. “This has a list of buyers Marco’s people have moved product to. Drugs. Girls. Everything.”
Dante took it.
Vinny added, “Be careful. You’re not the only ghost roaming the city.”
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Back at the Safehouse
Killian plugged the flash drive into his laptop while Luca watched over his shoulder. Screens filled with names, numbers, shipping codes.
Aria paced the room. “It’s worse than we thought. They’re moving girls across the border using a fake adoption agency in Indiana.”
Killian nodded. “And laundering the money through a ‘charity fund’ in downtown Chicago.”
Dante folded his arms. “We hit the charity first. Make noise. Force Marco’s allies into the open.”
Luca looked up. “Let me go with you.”
Dante shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I’m not a kid anymore.”
“No, you’re not. But this is going to be messy. Public. One misstep and the media paints us as terrorists.”
Killian added, “You’ll get your moment, Luca. We all do.”
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The Next Day – Inside “Bright Horizons Foundation”
The Bright Horizons building looked pristine. Glassy, sleek, designed to inspire trust. But inside was filth—laundered cash, false paperwork, and surveillance monitors disguised as donation ledgers.
Dante, Aria, and Killian entered under the guise of donors. Aria wore a pale blue dress, her hair pinned up—professional and soft. Dante and Killian wore tailored suits.
They were greeted by a smiling woman. “Welcome to Bright Horizons! Are you here for a tour or to contribute?”
“We’re here for a reckoning,” Dante said.
She blinked. “I’m sorry—?”
Dante drew his silencer, leveling it at her head.
“Take us to the director.”
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Fifteen Minutes Later – In the Director’s Office
The man behind the desk sweated profusely, eyes wide as Aria pointed a pistol at his knee.
Killian rifled through the cabinet. “Here’s the offshore accounts. Ten million. Disguised as 'orphan relocation support.' Disgusting.”
Dante leaned in. “Tell me where the next shipment is going.”
“I-I don’t know!”
Dante fired a warning shot into the wall.
The director screamed. “Okay! Okay! It’s a warehouse near the Chicago docks. They call it the 'Blue Barn.’ That’s where they keep them before crossing state lines!”
Aria snarled. “How many girls?”
“Maybe a dozen—young ones. Eastern European. Some from Mexico.”
Killian muttered, “We need to move now.”
Dante knocked the director unconscious and turned to Aria. “You good?”
Her hands were steady now.
“Let’s burn this place.”
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That Night – Blue Barn Warehouse
Killian cut the lights with a EMP device. Aria led a team of former street kids and off-the-grid fighters Dante had recruited over the past week. They moved like a ghost unit—silent, coordinated.
Dante and Luca took point.
Inside, cages.
Again.
The same horror. Different victims.
Dante’s eyes burned as they opened the doors. Girls screamed—then stopped when Aria held out her hands and whispered in Spanish, “You’re safe now.”
Luca opened a final cage. One of the girls was barely ten.
He paused.
“Hi,” he said gently. “I’m Luca. Let’s get you out of here.”
---
Outside, headlights cut through the fog.
Marco’s men.
Six SUVs.
Gunmen spilled out, armed and ready.
Killian cursed. “They were tipped off.”
Dante growled. “Good. Saves me the trouble of finding them later.”
The firefight erupted.
Bullets screamed.
Luca shielded the girl behind a steel drum, firing with calm precision. He was no longer a boy. He was becoming a warrior.
Aria stayed with the girls, using smoke grenades to blind the enemy.
Dante moved like a storm, taking out three men in seconds, never hesitating.
One of the guards screamed into a radio, “It’s Moretti! HE’S ALIVE!”
By the end, a dozen Vulture soldiers lay dead.
Dante walked through the smoke and ash like a man reborn in blood.
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Back at the Safehouse
The children were fed, safe, and beginning medical care.
Killian stitched a wound on Dante’s arm. “We’re building something here. But Marco won’t take this lying down.”
“He’ll retaliate,” Dante said. “Hard.”
Aria approached. “We need to plan for what’s next. If we’re going to dismantle his empire, we need more than firepower. We need people. Tech. Money. Intelligence.”
Dante nodded. “Then we recruit.”
Luca stepped forward. “There’s someone you should meet. A hacker. My friend. He owes me a life debt. And he hates the Vultures.”
Dante smirked. “What’s his name?”
“Gio.”
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Marco’s Safehouse
Marco stared at a wall of screens. Footage from the warehouse. News reports of a “terrorist attack” on Bright Horizons. His jaw clenched.
A new player had entered the room—Nico Romano, the Vultures’ black-ops executioner, clad in all black, eyes cold.
Marco stood. “We have a problem.”
Nico smiled slowly.
“Then let me solve it.”
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