Chapter 8 - THE COAT
The shipyard was a desolate wasteland of towering steel containers and rusted cranes, pounded relentlessly by the freezing rain.
Gabriel parked the black sedan two blocks away. They approached Dock 4 on foot, slipping through the shadows of the massive shipping crates. The smell of saltwater and diesel fuel was suffocating.
Claraara’s boots squished quietly against the wet concrete, the heavy leather satchel pressing against her ribs.
They reached the edge of the dock.
High above them, standing on the narrow metal catwalk of a loading crane, was Silas. He was flanked by four heavily armed men.
And dangling precariously over the dark, freezing water, held by the collar of her pink pajamas by one of the guards, was Maya.
“Mommy!” Maya’s terrified cry cut through the sound of the rain.
“Maya!” Claraara screamed, stepping out of the shadows, ready to run to the base of the crane.
Gabriel grabbed her arm, pulling her back slightly, placing himself between her and Silas’s men.
“I brought the ledger, Silas!” Gabriel roared up at the catwalk. “Let the girl go. This is between you and me.”
Silas leaned over the railing, a cruel smile splitting his face. “Ah, Gabriel. Always trying to play the tragic hero. Toss the bag up.”
“The girl first.”
“I don't think you’re in a position to negotiate,” Silas chuckled. He gestured to the guard holding Maya.
The guard lowered the little girl another foot. The black water churned angrily twenty feet below her.
“Stop!” Claraara shrieked, holding the satchel high. “I’ll give it to you! Just pull her up!”
“Toss it,” Silas demanded.
Claraara looked at Gabriel. Gabriel gave a tight, barely perceptible nod.
With all her strength, Claraara hurled the leather satchel up toward the catwalk. It hit the metal grating and slid to Silas’s boots.
Silas bent down, picking up the ledger. He flipped through the pages, the rain instantly soaking the paper. He smiled in triumph.
“Finally,” Silas sighed. “Do you know how long I’ve been trying to clean up your mess, Gabriel? Ever since I shut the heat off in your apartment building twenty-four years ago, you’ve been a thorn in my side.”
Gabriel went entirely rigid.
Claraara turned to look at him. The color had completely drained from Gabriel’s face.
The ultimate reversal.
Silas wasn't just Gabriel’s mentor. Silas was the corrupt landlord of Gabriel’s childhood building. Silas was the man responsible for freezing Gabriel’s six-year-old sister to death. Silas had orchestrated Gabriel’s entire life of violence, manipulating his grief to turn him into a weapon.
“You...” Gabriel’s voice was a low, demonic vibration. “You killed her.”
“Business is business, boy,” Silas laughed, tucking the ledger into his coat. He looked at the guard holding Maya. “Drop the kid. Shoot them both.”
Claraara screamed.
The guard opened his hand.
Maya plummeted toward the freezing black water.
Time fractured.
Gabriel didn't raise his gun. He didn't shoot Silas.
He threw himself off the edge of the dock, diving perfectly into the abyss directly beneath the falling child.
At the exact same second, Claraara pulled the suppressed pistol Gabriel had given her from her pocket, aimed up at the catwalk, and fired blindly.
The shot went wide, but it forced Silas and his men to duck, buying Gabriel the split second he needed.
Gabriel hit the water a fraction of a second before Maya. He broke the surface tension, catching her tiny body against his chest, absorbing the brutal impact of the fall with his own back.
May you like
The freezing water swallowed them both.
Claraara ran to the edge of the dock, screaming their names into the dark, churning river. Gunfire rained down from the catwalk, bullets shredding the water’s surface where Gabriel and Maya had vanished.
