Chapter 46 - The Trap is Set
They hijacked a speedboat moored to the yacht's aft deck, roaring away into the Mediterranean night under a hail of inaccurate gunfire from Vane’s confused mercenaries. By dawn, they had abandoned the boat in a secluded cove in Italy and were sitting in a rented safe house in Milan, staring at a burner phone.
"We destroyed his capital," Martha said, bandaging a graze on Maxwell's shoulder. "But Victor is desperate now. Desperate men don't hide; they strike out."
"He knows we survived," Maxwell said, staring at the ceiling. "He'll use whatever resources Vane has left to hunt us. We can't keep running. We need to end this on our terms."
Maxwell picked up the burner phone and dialed a number he had memorized eight months ago—a direct, secure line to Interpol Agent Harris.
The phone rang twice before a tired voice answered. "This line is supposed to be dead."
"Agent Harris. It's Thomas Rossi," Maxwell said, using his alias.
There was a heavy pause on the line. "Mr. Vance. I was told you burned to death in a vineyard fire in Spain two days ago."
"I'm hard to kill," Maxwell said grimly. "But Victor is harder. He's alive, Harris. He faked his death at the estate. He's rebuilding the syndicate through Silas Vane."
"Good god," Harris breathed. "If he's alive... he's the most wanted man in Europe."
"I know where he'll be," Maxwell lied smoothly, formulating a plan on the fly. "He’s desperate to recover a physical backup ledger he thinks my father hid in an abandoned naval drydock in Toulon. It's a trap, Harris. I'm going to leak the coordinates to Vane's network. Victor will come himself to make sure the data is secured."
"You want to use yourself as bait," Harris realized, his tone shifting to professional alarm. "Max, do not do this. Let my tactical teams handle it. We can lock down Toulon."
"If Victor sees a single Interpol badge, he'll vanish again, and this time you will never find him," Maxwell said with finality. "Give me a one-hour window. Let him walk into the drydock. Then, you bring the hammer down. Seal the perimeter and arrest whoever is left."
He hung up the phone before Harris could argue.
May you like
Martha looked at him, her eyes steady. She didn't ask if he was sure. She simply began loading the heavy armor-piercing magazines into their rifles.
"Toulon," she said quietly. "Let's go kill a ghost."
