Page 92 of Unspoken Obsession

I swallow hard and nod. "Good." I clench my fists at my side, my heart is numb with pain.

"What happened to the girls you rescued?"

"They are somewhere safe. We will help them find their families and give them whatever support they need to overcome the horror of what they have been through."

"Thank you, Lorenzo. You have all of my resources at your disposal."

He takes a deep breath and rolls his shoulders back.

"Today we have other things that demand our attention though."

"Agreed. We can grieve when it is over."

Lorenzo pulls out a chair at the table and sits down, folding a map out over the wooden surface. He points to an entry point.

"This is how we are getting in."

Five dark SUVs pull up outside Antonio Musetti's home in the late afternoon. His security is no match for the firepower I've brought with me.

We are all climbing out, dressed in body armor when a sixth vehicle arrives, and Monroe climbs out and walks over to me.

"I appreciate you involving me in this; we have wanted to take this man down for years." His personal vendetta against Antonio is no secret.

"You have all the evidence you need - I sent you enough to put him away for life. And I am sure you will find more inside this place once we break it open." This attack is mafia on mafia; we are just going to leave the mess for the police to clean up.

"I am going to keep my men back until you have his crew under control. According to what will be in the reports - we don't arrive on the scene until after you've left."

"Good. I don't want my name in any reports," or anywhere that could link me to this. Cops and robbers shouldn't be on the same side, I would be considered a traitor.

"I made a promise. Your name will not come up, and we will turn a blind eye to your business operations."

Detective Monroe turns his back and walks back to his car. The unethical tactics needed to take Musetti down are above the law and there would be too much red tape for a man like Monroe to be allowed to blow this house open. He needs me as much as I need him in for this plan to work. I don't need a warrant, or to hold my fire — I can storm the place guns blazing and shoot to kill. The law doesn't apply to men like me.

"Ready?" I ask Lorenzo.

He turns to signal his crew. "Ready." He confirms.

We have five teams, each with their own boss. My allies have kept their promise and shown up to support a common cause. This is what we have done for centuries, stood together, a code of honor between gentlemen.

We will win this, but we have to strike hard, and fast.

"Let's go." I nod, and we all move towards the main gate of his estate.

The guards are terrified when they see we have the numbers. They raise their weapons, and we meet force with force.

"This isn't a fight you need to have," I warn them. "Put down your weapons and you can walk away with your lives. No one will say you were cowards --being smart is brave." It's a lie. They'll be labeled as traitors and cowards.

Two of the men put down their guns. The third sets off an alarm and screams profanity at us in Italian.

One of my crew takes a single shot, and he drops to the floor, dead. He should have run, the idiot.

I set a charge on the gate lock, and with a dull thud from the explosive, it swings open.

Chaos erupts, bullets screaming — panic and absolute mayhem.

My crews flood onto the property, covering the ground, and eliminating the minimal protection Musetti has. The man believes he is untouchable just because of his name. No one is untouchable — not when they have broken the code of honor that keeps order amongst us.

Gunfire erupts from all sides; bodies drop like flies as we surround the enormous house. The bloodshed is horrific, but an unfortunate necessity if we want to bring Antonio Musetti to his knees. We can't allow even one man to be left standing -- the friend of my enemy is my enemy.

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