Chapter 4 - The Punishment of Leon
While Dr. Lawrence Vance administered intravenous pain relief and wrapped Sadie’s fractured ribs in a stabilizing compression binder, Victor walked out of the medical suite and down the polished marble corridors of his estate toward the subterranean security briefing room. Paul DeMarco stood waiting near the heavy steel door, flanked by two armed guards. Inside the brightly lit room, Leon Briggs sat tied securely to a wooden chair, his face bruised from where Victor had slammed him against the redwood desk earlier that evening. When the heavy door swung open and Victor stepped inside, Leon’s defiant smirk faltered into genuine terror. “Boss... look, I’m sorry,” Leon stammered, straining against the nylon bindings. “How was I supposed to know she was special? You said bring her in, I brought her in—” “I said bring her to me, Leon,” Victor interrupted smoothly, stepping forward and resting his hands against the back of an empty chair. “In my world, words have precise meanings. When I want someone broken, I give explicit instructions. When I ask for a courier, I expect the package delivered intact.” “She bit Mick! She fought like hell!” Leon protested loudly. “She was terrified, you incompetent fool,” Victor snapped, his voice rising in dangerous volume. “You used my name to justify your own petty sadism. You took a terrified young woman, terrorized her in a dark warehouse, and left a permanent mark on her face. You failed my command, and you broke my code.” Victor turned to Paul DeMarco, gesturing toward the heavy metal door. “Strip him of his badge, clean out his accounts, and put him on a freight freighter heading south to Caracas tonight. If he ever sets foot north of the Mason-Dixon line again, shoot on sight.” Leon went completely pale, screaming obscenities and begging for mercy as Paul hauled him out of the chair and dragged him out into the cold night air. The swift, merciless punishment sent a chilling message across the entire syndicate: Victor Hale’s authority was absolute, and crossing his moral line meant immediate, total annihilation.
