chapter 14:Night of fire

The Navy Yard loomed before them—vast, silent, a graveyard of rusting cranes and shadowed warehouses. Rain turned the cracked pavement slick, reflecting flashes of lightning that lit the labyrinth of containers and abandoned rail lines.

Alessandro's team advanced in formation, their breath misting in the cold air. Rachel checked the drone feed on her tablet: inside the largest warehouse, a dozen Consortium survivors gathered in a circle, arguing, panicking. Their desperation was palpable.

Nico planted charges on fuel tanks along the perimeter. "When you're clear, I'll light it up," he whispered.

Rachel raised her rifle. "We go in together," she said firmly. "We end it together."

Alessandro nodded, eyes locked on the warehouse door. "Then let's finish this."

They breached the warehouse entrance, weapons blazing. Bullets ripped through crates and old machinery as Consortium guards scrambled for cover. Sparks flew from ricochets; screams filled the air.

Alessandro moved like a storm, taking down enemies with lethal precision. Rachel covered his flanks, each shot deliberate and deadly. Nico, flanking from the catwalk, dropped explosives among clustered enemies, fireballs erupting as oil drums ignited.

Through the chaos, Alessandro spotted the last Consortium boss—a tall man in a tailored suit, eyes wild with fear. He tried to flee up a metal stairwell. Alessandro sprinted after him, boots pounding iron steps, gunfire and thunder merging into one roar.

They burst onto a rain-slicked rooftop. Lightning lit the face of Alessandro's enemy. "You think you can kill us all?" the man shouted, pulling a gold-plated pistol.

Alessandro dove sideways as the first shots cracked past him. He rolled, came up firing. One bullet caught the man in the chest, another in the throat. He toppled backward, crashing through a skylight and landing among the flames below.

Below, Nico triggered the charges. The yard exploded in a chain of blasts, shockwaves rattling the waterfront. Containers tumbled, cranes collapsed, and the warehouse became a roaring inferno.

Alessandro helped Rachel to her feet, smoke and rain mixing around them. Together, they staggered from the wreckage as dawn broke over the harbor—red light cutting through the storm clouds like a promise.

They reached Nico's waiting car, bloodied but alive. Rachel looked back at the burning ruin. "It's over," she whispered.

Alessandro pulled her close, his voice hoarse but resolute. "No. It's just beginning. But now… we're free to decide what comes next."