Chapter 8 - The Viper Exposed
The InterrogationBy afternoon, the atmosphere in the Callahan mansion had shifted from medical panic to cold, tactical retribution. The twins were sleeping deeply, their vitals showing a steady, continuous improvement that Dr. Harper classified as nothing short of a medical miracle. The experimental treatment was working; the cellular structure of their hearts was actively regenerating.
Down in the concrete basement hub, Mason Reed stood before a man tied to a heavy steel chair under a single, bare halogen bulb. It was Thomas "The Lip" Kelly, the secondary gate guard who had been on duty during the afternoon attack. His face was already bruised from Mason’s initial inquiry.
Vincent walked down the steps, his leather coat removed, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He didn't carry a weapon; his presence alone was enough to make the tied man begin to hyperventilate.
"Who paid you, Thomas?" Vincent asked, his voice a low, lethal purr that echoed off the damp concrete walls.
"Mr. Callahan... please," Kelly sobbed, his teeth chattering. "They had my sister... Marcone’s boys had her at a motel in Gary... they said they’d cut her throat if I didn't turn off the western perimeter feed for ten minutes... I didn't know they were going after the kids! I swear to God, I thought it was just a document heist!"
Vincent leaned down, his face inches from the traitor’s. "You’ve been in my house for four years, Thomas. You ate at my table. You watched my children ride their bicycles on the lawn. And you sold their lives for ten minutes of quiet."
"Vincent," Mason interrupted, holding up a secure black radio link. "We just intercepted a transmission from the Marcone compound in Cicero. Old man Marcone is moving his personal security detail to the private airstrip near Joliet. He knows the hit failed. He’s trying to leave the state before we can mount a counter-offensive."
Vincent stood up straight, his face turning into a mask of pure, unyielding stone. He looked at Mason. "We don't wait for him to reach Joliet. Mason, call the North Side captains. Tell them the peace agreement signed three years ago is officially null and void. By midnight tonight, I want the Marcone name erased from the ledger of this city."
May you like
"And him?" Mason asked, nodding toward Thomas Kelly.
"Deliver him to the police station downtown with the full surveillance footage of the hit," Vincent ordered, surprised even himself by his own restraint. He looked up the concrete stairs toward the main house where Grace and the children were waiting. "My children are going to grow up in a house that’s clean, Mason. No more bodies in the river. No more blood on the marble. We handle this legally where we can, and we handle it permanently where we must."
