Chapter 3 - The Whispers of the Street
The city of Bella Vista had a nervous system,
and it was made of informants,
beggars,
and bartenders.
Vincent’s car glided through the rain,
a black shark in a sea of gray.
They stopped at a corner where a man sat under a broken umbrella.
His name was 'Lefty',
and he knew the color of every leaf that fell in this district.
Tony rolled down the window,
the cool air rushing in.
"Lefty,"
Tony called.
The man looked up,
his eyes widening as he recognized the Cadillac.
"Mr. Torino,"
he stuttered,
shuffling toward the car.
"I didn't expect to see you out on a night like this."
Vincent leaned forward,
his face half-hidden in the shadows.
"A white van,"
Vincent said.
"No windows."
"A driver with a snake on his neck."
Lefty swallowed hard,
his Adam's apple bobbing.
"The Vipers,"
he whispered.
"They're trouble,
Mr. Torino."
"They’re moving fast,
staying low."
"Where?"
"I heard they're using the old canning factory near the pier."
"The one that’s supposed to be condemned?"
"That’s the one."
"I saw a woman being pulled from a van there two hours ago."
"She was fighting,"
Lefty added,
his voice trembling.
"They hit her pretty hard."
Vincent’s grip on the armrest tightened,
the leather groaning under the pressure.
"Was she hurt?"
"She was alive,"
Lefty said.
"But she didn't look good."
Vincent tossed a hundred-dollar bill out the window.
Lefty caught it,
but for once,
he didn't look happy about the money.
"Be careful,
sir,"
Lefty warned.
"There’s a lot of them in there."
"Good,"
Vincent replied.
"I wouldn't want to run out of targets."
The car sped away,
tires splashing through the puddles.
The factory was three miles away,
across the bridge.
"Tony,
call the boys,"
Vincent ordered.
"I want the perimeter sealed."
"No one goes in."
"No one comes out."
"And Marco?"
"Yes,
Boss?"
"Get the heavy equipment."
"We're not just going to knock on the door."
"We're going to tear the house down."
The city lights blurred as they accelerated,
the engine's roar echoing off the buildings.
Vincent felt the adrenaline开始涌动,
the cold,
calculated fury of a predator.
He thought of Sophie,
sleeping in his suite,
waiting for her mother.
He thought of the $5 bill,
sitting in his pocket.
The Vipers thought they were the kings of the docks.
They thought they could take whatever they wanted.
They were wrong.
They had broken a law that was older than the Mafia.
They had stolen a child’s world.
And for that,
there was only one penalty.
The bridge loomed ahead,
a steel skeleton against the black sky.
The rain turned into a downpour,
masking the sound of their approach.
The hunt was nearing its end.
May you like
The snake was in its hole.
And the lion was at the door.
