Chapter 4 - Whispers in the Dark
The black SUV glided through the rain-slicked streets of the industrial district, silent as a phantom. Inside, the air was thick with tension. Matteo sat in the rear passenger seat, checking the magazine of a silenced semi-automatic pistol with practiced efficiency. Beside him, Liana sat with Nico strapped securely in a heavy-duty, bulletproof infant carrier across her chest.
"You didn't have to bring us," Liana said, her voice barely audible over the hum of the engine.
"Leaving you at the estate makes you a stationary target," Matteo replied, racking the slide of his weapon with a sharp clack. "If the Morettis know Sterling ran, they know the Varric compound is the first place we’d look. Moving is safer. Besides, I need your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"You recognized the mark on Nico's neck when three different top-tier physicians missed it," Matteo said, turning to look at her. "You see the details people like me overlook. You loved your son enough to pay attention to every millimeter of his skin. I need that vigilance tonight."
The SUV pulled into the shadowed alley behind an abandoned pharmaceutical distribution center owned by a subsidiary of Aegis Biometrics. Heavy steel shutters blocked the loading docks, but a single yellow light flickered above a side security entrance.
Marcus turned around from the front passenger seat. "Thermal imaging shows four guards inside the main office floor. Two more near the basement elevators. No sign of Sterling yet, but his personal vehicle is parked in the lower garage."
"He’s trying to wipe the servers before he flees the country," Matteo deduced. "We cut the power, clear the floor, and secure the hard drives. Marcus, take team Alpha to the rear exit. Nobody leaves."
"Understood, Boss."
Matteo turned to Liana. "Stay in the armored vehicle with two guards until I signal that the ground floor is clear. Do you hear me? Do not step outside."
Liana nodded, her hand resting over Nico's back. "Be careful, Matteo."
He paused at the door, catching the use of his first name. A subtle flicker of something human crossed his harsh face before he pulled his tactical mask over his mouth. "Always."
Within seconds, the estate’s tactical team slipped into the shadows. Liana watched through the heavily tinted, reinforced windows as the lights inside the facility suddenly flickered and died. The dark silence of the rain was broken only by the muffled pops of suppressed gunfire coming from deep within the building.
Nico stirred against her chest, letting out a small, fretful sigh. Liana rocked gently, whispering a lullaby her mother had taught her. The sound settled the infant instantly.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen.
Suddenly, the side door of the warehouse burst open. A figure stumbled out into the pouring rain, clutching a metallic briefcase to his chest. Even in the gloom, Liana recognized the silver hair and the frantic, arrogant posture.
Dr. Julian Sterling.
He was fleeing toward a hidden dark sedan parked in a secondary alley, completely bypassing where Matteo’s men were sweeping.
"He’s getting away," Liana breathed.
The two guards outside Liana's SUV immediately raised their weapons, preparing to move, but a sudden spray of automatic gunfire erupted from the shadows across the alley. The two Varric guards went down instantly, bullet hits tearing through their body armor.
Liana gasped, crouching low in the backseat. A dark figure approached the SUV, aiming a weapon at the driver’s side window. They weren't just escorting Sterling—they were setting an ambush for anyone left behind.
Panic surged through Liana’s veins, but it was quickly swallowed by a cold, white-hot mother's rage. The men who killed her baby were twenty feet away.
She didn't freeze. Slipping into the driver's cabin from the rear, she grabbed the heavy tactical flashlight stored in the center console. She started the SUV’s powerful V8 engine, shifted into drive, and slammed her foot onto the accelerator.
The massive, armored vehicle surged forward, smashing through the side gate and pinning the shooter against the alley wall. The headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating Dr. Sterling, who froze in terror like a deer caught in high beams.
Liana threw the SUV into park, grabbed the heavy flashlight, and stepped out into the rain, Nico safely secured against her heart beneath her heavy coat.
Sterling dropped his briefcase, his hands trembling as he backed up against a brick wall. "Liana? How... how are you alive?"
"You told me my son died of natural causes," Liana said, her voice cutting through the sound of falling rain like a razor. She stepped closer, the heavy flashlight raised in her right hand. "You looked me in the eye while I held his cold body and told me it was an act of God."
"You don't understand!" Sterling stammered, his eyes darting frantically toward the main building, waiting for help that wasn't coming. "It was research! We were developing a neural stabilization compound! The Morettis... they funded the clinical trials! If we succeeded, we could control pain responses across the entire central nervous system!"
"By torturing infants?" Liana screamed, the full weight of her grief bursting through her composure.
"They were sacrifice subjects!" Sterling yelled back, losing his composure. "Small sacrifices for massive pharmaceutical breakthroughs! Your baby was nothing! The Varric baby was just leverage to break Matteo!"
Before Liana could strike, a heavy shadow loomed behind Sterling. A hand encased in a tactical glove reached out, grabbed Sterling by the throat, and slammed his head violently against the brick wall.
Matteo stood there, his eyes cold as death, blood splatter staining the lapel of his jacket. He didn't drop Sterling; he held him pinned off the ground, watching the doctor struggle for air.
"You called my son leverage?" Matteo whispered softly, a tone far more terrifying than screaming.
"Matteo... please..." Sterling choked out. "The drives... everything is in the briefcase... the Morettis forced me..."
"Where is the master antidote?" Matteo demanded, tightening his grip. "The neuro-blocker you injected into Nico—it causes long-term nerve degeneration if not reversed within thirty days. Where is the counter-agent?"
Sterling’s eyes bulged. "In... in the lab... safe 402... keycard in my coat..."
Matteo stripped the keycard from Sterling’s pocket, then casually threw the doctor to the ground like trash. Marcus and three surviving guards rushed out of the facility, securing Sterling in heavy flex-cuffs.
Matteo turned to Liana. His eyes swept over her, checking for injuries, before settling on his sleeping son. "You ran him down with a three-ton SUV."
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"He was escaping," Liana said, her breathing heavy, rain dripping from her hair.
A faint, shadowy trace of a smile flickered at the edge of Matteo’s lips. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, Liana." He took the keycard and looked toward the basement entrance. "Let's go get my son's cure."
