Chapter 7 - Uncovering the Syndicate Traitor
The revelation of Viktor Petrov's name hung heavily in the damp,
sulfurous air of the abandoned warehouse office like an impending thunderstorm ready to burst.
Marcus stepped through the shattered doorway,
wiping rainwater from his tactical jacket while staring down at the whimpering enforcer with an expression of profound disgust.
Petrov,
Marcus muttered darkly,
shaking his head in disbelief.
The Bratva hasn't made a direct move against our logistics network in over three years,
so why start now by targeting an accountant instead of a warehouse or a transport convoy.
Because Petrov thinks he can choke us from the inside out,
Adrian replied coldly,
releasing his grip on Callahan's collar and letting the enforcer slump uselessly onto the dusty floor like a discarded rag doll.
He thinks if he breaks Audrey,
our entire financial tracking system collapses,
leaving our legitimate shell companies exposed to federal seizure and tax audits.
What do we do with him,
Boss,
Marcus asked,
gesturing toward Callahan with the barrel of his suppressed pistol.
Tie him up,
put him in the trunk of the decoy van,
and keep him locked in the subterranean bunker until this is entirely over,
Adrian ordered without looking back.
And what about Petrov,
Marcus pressed eagerly as Adrian turned toward the shattered doorway.
We pay him a visit,
Adrian said,
stepping out into the pouring rain.
But we don't go through the front door,
we go through the back,
and we take everything he owns before he even realizes the trap has snapped shut around his neck.
Adrian walked briskly back to his Audi,
his mind already racing through the complex tactical logistics required to dismantle the Russian syndicate's primary money-laundering operations scattered across the North Ward.
He knew Petrov wouldn't have acted alone without securing a high-level insider within the Cross Syndicate's own corporate structure to leak Audrey's daily transit schedule and home address in Lincoln Park.
Someone inside our own accounting department sold her out,
Adrian muttered to himself as he slammed the car door shut,
his hands gripping the steering wheel with renewed intensity.
Marcus,
run a comprehensive digital audit of every financial transfer processed over the last forty-eight hours,
and find out which corporate account just received a fifty-thousand-dollar wire transfer from a shell company tied to the Bratva.
May you like
The encrypted comm-link crackled with Marcus's immediate confirmation,
signaling the start of an internal purge that would sweep through the Cross Syndicate's corporate offices with the merciless efficiency of a buzzsaw.
