Chapter 13 - Shadows of the Syndicate
Vance rolled onto his stomach, pulled his radio from his belt, and pressed the talk button. "Sniper on the north crane! Heavy caliber, silenced system! Take him out!"
High above the warehouse, a flash of red light illuminated the dark crane cabin as a Federal SWAT sniper on a nearby tower spotted the shooter.
BOOM!
A heavy .50 caliber counter-sniper round shattered the crane’s glass cab. The syndicate shooter tumbled out of the high cabin, falling a hundred feet into the murky river water below with a heavy splash.
"Clear!" the tactical radio barked. "Sector secure!"
Vance sprinted over to Miller, kneeling beside the young deputy on the cold floor. He pressed his gloved hand firmly against the spurting neck wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. "Stay with me, Miller! Stay with me!"
Miller grabbed Vance’s collar with a weak, trembling hand, his breathing shallow and wet. "The... the ledger..." Miller gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. "Thorne's black book... it’s... it’s fake..."
Vance leaned down close. "What do you mean it's fake?"
"Thorne... he took orders from... The Director..." Miller whispered, his eyes beginning to roll back into his head. "The real records... are stored at... the old foundry..."
Miller’s hand slipped from Vance’s collar, dropping limply to the floor. His breathing stopped completely.
Vance stood up slowly, looking down at his blood-stained gloves. The sense of victory from Collins's arrest vanished completely, replaced by a dark, looming reality. Collins and Thorne were merely middle-management puppets in a massive, deeply rooted criminal network that spanned far beyond the boundaries of Pine Ridge.
Ten minutes later, Special Agent Chen walked into the warehouse, surrounded by federal agents securing the scene. She saw Vance sitting on an overturned wooden crate, staring silently at his hands.
"Vance," Chen said softly, walking over to him. "Are you alright?"
"Miller’s dead," Vance said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "A professional sniper took him out before he could give us the full picture. He told me Thorne’s ledger was a fake decoy designed to satisfy federal investigations if the operation was ever exposed."
Chen froze. "A decoy?"
"The real operation is being run by someone Miller called 'The Director,'" Vance continued, looking up at her with eyes like cold steel. "And the master records are located at the abandoned iron foundry on the east side of town."
Chen pulled out her encrypted radio immediately. "I’m calling in a full federal task force. We’ll hit that foundry with thirty operators in two hours."
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"No," Vance said, standing up. "If a federal task force moves thirty vehicles across town, 'The Director' will have that foundry burned to the ground before your team reaches the front gate. We go in quiet. Just you, me, and a small, tactical reconnaissance unit."
Chen looked at the seasoned Sheriff, seeing the unbreakable fire burning beneath his tired exterior. She slowly nodded. "Give me twenty minutes to gear up."
