Chapter 6 - Shadows on the Docks
While Sadie recuperated in the safety of the Greenwich estate, the fragile balance of power across the New York waterfront was rapidly unraveling. Rival syndicate leaders, catching wind that Victor Hale had detained an innocent art restorer rather than executing her for her brother's crimes, interpreted the move as a fatal sign of emotional weakness. Carmine Vitale, an ambitious and ruthless capo controlling the docks of Hoboken, called an emergency meeting with his inner circle in a smoky backroom near the industrial harbor. “Hale is getting soft,” Carmine sneered, swirling amber liquor in a heavy glass tumbler. “He’s keeping Arthur Bennett’s sister locked up in his private mansion like some delicate pet instead of squeezing her for information or dumping her in the East River. That girl is his Achilles' heel.” His primary enforcer, a scarred brute named Rico, grinned maliciously. “If we snatch her right out from under his nose, Hale will hand over half his shipping routes just to get her back.” Unbeknownst to Carmine, however, Victor’s intelligence network was far more pervasive than rival gangs realized. Paul DeMarco intercepted encrypted radio transmissions pointing toward an impending raid on Victor’s secondary shipping terminal in Queens, recognizing immediately that rival crews were using Sadie’s presence as a pretext to launch a territorial war. Walking into Victor’s private study, Paul slammed a dossier down on the mahogany desk. “Boss, Vitale’s crew is mobilizing. They think you’ve compromised your edge over a girl. They’re planning to hit Terminal Four tonight, believing our best guards are tied up guarding the Greenwich estate.” Victor looked up from his paperwork, his gray eyes flashing with cold, lethal calculation. “They think I’m distracted?” Victor murmured softly, a dangerous smile touching his lips. “Let them come. We’ll show them just how dangerous a distracted man can be.”
