Page 78 of Fate's Dice

Brian parks the SUV in an alley and shuts off the ignition. We exit the vehicle and start our jog in the shadows. After a moment of a steady jog, I pull on the hood of my hoodie and slow my pace as we walk the last half block.

The plan is a simple bag and grab, but nothing is ever that easy. Honestly, I'd be a little put off if it were. The men that Rico has hidden in the shadows tell me this wasn't going to be a simple hostage trade. He was going to kill Miguel and take both girls back to Danny.

Of course, I don’t know how much Danny knows of Rico’s doings, but I honestly don’t give a shit. Both men will die.

Today, the little runt named Rico will be screaming in agony and begging for mercy in my basement.

Brian and I make it to the southern corridor, "Alpha three, we're coming in behind you."

I clap Raul on the shoulder and pull my binoculars out.

The Burnside Corridor is a huge industrial area with large buildings to the right and left of the corridor. The back of the largest building faces Stony Island. This is where the meeting is taking place.

I watch as Miguel steps from the car and stands between his car and Rico's.

They're about fifteen feet apart so I can hear Rico's voice come through the comms in Miguel's ear, "Where's the bitch?"

My teeth grind and I'm itching to take him out, but we need to remove the hidden men first.

I murmur into the comms, "Alpha two, silently remove all targets. Confirm when completed. Miguel, get Rico to move away from his car."

"She's in the trunk, Rico. I had to knock her out before she alerted anyone. You want her, you get her." Miguel presses the button on his fob and the hood of the trunk pops open.

As Alpha two silently eliminates all threats around the corridor, I watch Rico pull a cigarette from his jacket and light it. All the while he continues to lean against the hood of his car.

Moving the binoculars over, I see the girl sitting inside with a gag in her mouth and her eyes on her father.

"Targets are down, Alpha one. I have eyes on the girl. We're ready on your word."

"Good job, men. Standby and wait on my word. We don’t know if Rico has a remote bomb on his car. Let’s remove the girl from danger first."

I clap Raul on the shoulder and signal for him and his men to make their way to the north end, behind Rico's back. He nods and they move out.

"Does your boss know you're here?" Rico asks as he stands straight, exhaling smoke from his lungs. The man is tall, and his face is pock-marked, like he had horrible acne as a kid.

"Do you fucking think I'd still be alive if he knew I took his girl?" Miguel asks with a growl.

"Perhaps you're right. Seems to me, Leo Alonso is too fucking stupid to see the chinks in his armor, eh?" Rico says with a chuckle, like he thinks he's on top of the game going on around him. Little does he know, all his men are dead, and he's about to become a prisoner. He steps away from the car and makes his way over to Miguel's car, flicking his cigarette butt at the man.

Miguel stays quiet as he watches Rico push open the trunk, but Tony's voice comes through the comms, "Alpha one, I got eyes on an SUV coming in fast from the north. Three minutes until it enters the corridor."

As soon as Rico turns his back to me, I make my way to him as Brian heads to the girl. Both of us are as quiet as cats in the grass.

Ten feet from Rico's back, he pulls his gun and points it at Miguel, I guess he knows he’s been fucked over. Too bad for him, I'm quicker.

I squeeze the trigger once and blow his knee out. He screams and drops while turning toward me. Miguel jumps between us as Rico pulls the trigger three times, each bullet hitting Miguel in the back.

I catch the man and reach over his shoulder, and shoot Rico in the side, making him drop the gun from his hand.

Miguel pushes from my hold and drops to the ground as I move around him, kicking the gun from Rico's reach. I holster my gun and begin laying punches on the fucker's face until he's unconscious and breathing roughly.

"Alpha two, stay in position and keep your eyes on the incoming threat. Alpha three, with me. Brian, get that girl quiet and hidden now." My voice is rough with the adrenaline pumping through me, but my men follow my directions.

When my team surrounds me, I relive Rico of his weapons and zip tie his hand behind his back before slapping him awake, "Rise and shine, ballsack. We’ve got company."

Rico shakes his head to clear the fog, but I quickly tie a gag around the fucker's mouth. No need to hear his fucking voice.

I watch the headlights of a black SUV pulling into the corridor and parking in front of Rico’s car.

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