First Strike

Viktor slammed his fist on the table. The picture of his niece Sofia next to Alexandra haunted him. Before he could speak, his phone rang. Then Luca's phone. Then Anya's. All at once.

"Something's wrong," Luca whispered.

Viktor answered first. "What is it?"

"Boss, the shipment at the docks is under attack!" the person on the other end shouted. Gunfire crackled in the background.

Luca's face paled as he listened to his own caller. "What do you mean the warehouse is on fire?"

Anya covered her phone. "Three of our men were just shot outside Mercy Hospital."

They stared at each other as more calls flooded in. It wasn't just one attack. It was many—all happening at the same time.

"The casino's being robbed!"

"Someone blew up the trucks on Highway 9!"

"They're attacking the club downtown!"

Viktor grabbed a marker and started circling locations on the big map on the wall. Red circles appeared all over the city—north, south, east, and west.

"Nikolai," Luca growled. "He's hitting everything at once."

The command center buzzed with activity as men rushed in for orders. Phones kept ringing. Radios crackled with panicked voices. On the security screens, they watched one of their warehouses burn.

"How did he know about all these places?" Viktor wondered, his voice tight with anger. "Some of them were secret."

Luca's eyes narrowed. "Either we have another traitor, or he's been watching us for months."

Anya typed furiously on her laptop. "The attacks are organized in waves. First, the shipments. Then storage locations. Now he's targeting our people."

"He's using our own attack plan," Viktor realized. "The one we used against the Italians last year."

Luca's face darkened. "Only five people knew those details."

Before they could discuss this further, a massive explosion rocked the building. The windows rattled. Dust fell from the ceiling.

"What was that?" Luca demanded.

One of their men burst through the door. "They just bombed Sokolov Imports! The whole front of the building is gone!"

Viktor went still. "That's a regular business. With regular people. Customers."

"The news is already reporting casualties," Anya said quietly, turning her laptop to show them. On the screen, paramedics carried injured people out of a smoking building.

Luca and Viktor exchanged grim looks. This changed everything. Attacks on their criminal schemes were one thing. Civilian deaths were another.

"The police will be all over this," Luca said.

"That's what he wants," Viktor answered. "To bring heat on us while he attacks."

They worked quickly, sending men to defend their most important sites. The map on the wall became covered with blue and red marks—blue for their defenders, red for Nikolai's charges.

"Downtown is getting hit the hardest," Luca pointed out.

"The waterfront too," Viktor added. "Those are our strongest areas."

A call came in from Tony. "I can't reach Alexandra's location! The streets are blocked by police!"

"Stay put," Luca ordered. "We need a new plan."

Just then, the power cut out again. This time, even the emergency lights failed. They were in total darkness for a few seconds before backup generators hummed to life.

"He's trying to blind us," Viktor said.

Anya checked their protection system. "We're being hacked. Our cameras are going down one by one."

Luca tapped the map. "The pattern is clear now. He's pushing from the edges toward the center. Trying to squeeze us."

More bad news poured in. Three of their top lieutenants had been shot while driving. Two safe houses had been raided. Their main money-counting operation was under heavy attack.

"We need to split up," Viktor decided. "I'll take the waterfront. You handle downtown."

Luca didn't like it, but nodded. "Anya stays here to coordinate."

They quickly grabbed weapons and men. As they prepared to leave, Viktor pulled Luca away.

"Remember what we said—we're stronger together," Viktor told him. "Don't take unnecessary risks."

"Same goes for you," Luca answered. "Your niece needs you alive."

They clasped hands briefly, then headed for different vehicles. Viktor took fifteen guys toward the waterfront. Luca led twelve downtown.

The streets were chaos. Police sirens wailed. Fire trucks rushed past them. Smoke rose from buildings across the city.

In Luca's car, the radio crackled with reports from their men.

"They're using our own signs and signals," one person reported. "They knew all the passwords!"

"It has to be someone close to us," Luca told his driver. "Someone who knows everything."

They turned a corner and saw one of their clubs circled by Nikolai's men. Gunfire lit up the night as their people fought back from inside.

"We go in through the back," Luca told his team.

As they slipped through dark lanes, Luca radioed Viktor. "How's it looking at the waterfront?"

"Bad," Viktor's voice crackled through fuzz. "They have boats. Coming from the water. Dozens of them."

"Hold them off," Luca said. "I'll come as soon as I can."

Luca's team reached the club's back door. Inside, they found their men pinned down behind fallen tables.

"Boss! Thank God!" one of them cried when he saw Luca.

"What's the situation?" Luca asked, hiding behind a bar.

"They've got us surrounded. At least thirty men outside. Professional killers, not street thugs."

Luca peered through a broken window. The attacks were well-organized, moving with military precision.

"Viktor, they're using ex-soldiers," Luca radioed. "Be careful."

No answer came back. Just static.

"Viktor? Do you copy?" Luca tried again.

Nothing.

"Try the emergency channel," Luca told his radio man.

"All channels are jammed, boss."

Luca's stomach twisted with worry. Had Viktor's team been overwhelmed? He tried to focus on the present threat. His men were looking to him for guidance.

"We need to break through to the north side," Luca decided. "Then circle around to help Viktor."

They fought their way out of the club, pushing back Nikolai's forces street by street. But for every enemy they took down, two more seemed to appear.

"They knew we'd come here," Luca realized as they took cover in an abandoned shop. "This was a trap."

His phone buzzed with a text message. It was from an unknown number.

"Look outside," it read.

Cautiously, Luca peeked through the broken window. A black van had pulled up. The back doors opened, and a man was shoved out onto the wet sidewalk. Even from a distance, Luca recognized him.

It was Viktor. Bloodied and bound.

Another text came through: "Surrender yourself in the next 60 seconds, or he dies."

Luca's mind raced. Was it really Viktor, or a trick? There was no time to be sure.

"Stay here," he told his men. "If I'm not back in five minutes, call Anya. Tell her to activate Protocol Black."

"Boss, you can't go out there alone!" his lieutenant argued.

But Luca had already made his choice. He put his gun on the floor and walked toward the door.

"Boss!" someone called after him.

Luca paused. "Viktor would do the same for me."

He stepped outside, hands raised. Instantly, lighting blinded him. He couldn't see how many guns were pointed at him, but he felt them.

"I'm here," he called out. "Let Viktor go."

A person stepped forward from behind the van. Not Nikolai, but a woman Luca had never seen before.

"Mr. Moretti," she said with a cold smile. "Nikolai sends his regards."

She nodded to someone behind Luca. Before he could turn, something hard hit the back of his head. As he fell to his knees, the world spinning, he caught one last look of the man on the ground.

It wasn't Viktor at all.

The last thing Luca heard before darkness took him was the woman's voice: "Tell Mr. Sokolov we have his partner. Phase two begins now."