Chapter 4 - The Investigation Begins
The encrypted phone line connected on the very first ring,
accompanied by a sharp,
crisp click that signaled the activation of military-grade signal scrambling.
Boss,
a deep,
gravelly voice rumbled through the heavy receiver,
instantly recognizable as Marcus,
the head of Adrian's internal security and enforcement division.
I want every traffic camera,
private dashcam,
tollbooth sensor,
and security feed between Lincoln Park and St.
Jude's Memorial Hospital pulled and decrypted within the next twenty minutes,
Adrian ordered coldly.
Marcus paused for a fraction of a second,
instantly picking up on the razor-sharp edge in his boss's voice that signaled a state of absolute,
unconditional war.
Was there a breach at the port,
Boss,
Marcus asked cautiously,
his tone shifting instantly into high tactical alert.
No,
Adrian replied,
his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
Audrey was intercepted on her way home tonight,
boxed in by a black SUV,
dragged from her car,
and beaten on the asphalt by men who left a message for me.
A heavy,
pregnant silence stretched across the encrypted line for several long seconds,
broken only by the faint hiss of static interference.
Who ordered it,
Marcus asked,
his voice suddenly sounding like grinding stones as the sheer gravity of the attack sank into his tactical consciousness.
I don't know yet,
Marcus,
Adrian stated flatly,
pacing slowly across the polished concrete floor while staring out at the rain-lashed glass wall.
But you are going to find out,
you are going to rip this city apart piece by piece,
and you are not going to stop until you bring me every single person involved.
Understood,
Boss,
Marcus replied without a single second of hesitation,
the sound of a tactical laptop snapping open echoing clearly through the speaker.
I'll deploy the surveillance teams to the exact intersection where her car was disabled,
and we'll cross-reference every unregistered black SUV registered in the tri-state area within the hour.
Do it quietly,
Adrian warned,
his eyes narrowing into cold slits as he gazed out at the sprawling,
glittering lights of Chicago below.
I don't want the authorities or rival syndicates knowing we're hunting until we've already closed the trap around their throats.
Consider it done,
Boss,
Marcus said before abruptly disconnecting the line with a sharp click.
Adrian placed the receiver back into its heavy cradle,
turned around slowly,
May you like
and walked back toward the sofa where Audrey had finally drifted off into an exhausted,
fitful sleep.
