Chapter 4 - The Shadow in the Council Chambers
The air inside the municipal building's executive suite was stale, smelling of expensive cigars and polished mahogany. Councilman Harris sat behind his massive glass desk, dabbing sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. His hands shook as he stared at the man sitting across from him in the shadows.
"I didn't know," Harris whispered, his voice cracking. "If I had known that the property belonged to... to her, I would have never let the boys touch that street. You have to believe me, Wilton. We thought she was just a lonely old widow!"
Wilton leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked impeccably dressed, his tie straight, his expression entirely devoid of emotion.
"Ignorance has never been an acceptable defense in our line of work, Harris," Wilton said softly. "Especially not when you're using state-funded municipal grants to finance a street gang tasked with intimidating our properties."
"It wasn't just the gang," Harris blurted out, panic bleeding into his tone. "I was just a middleman! There's... there's a syndicate out of New York moving into our territory. They call themselves the Iron Network. They wanted to test the waters on Ashgrove Street because they heard the legendary widow Vance was living there quietly, retired and harmless."
Wilton's eyes narrowed. "The Iron Network? A bunch of maritime smugglers from Brooklyn think they can walk into our district and test us?"
"They have backing inside the federal judiciary," Harris pleaded, sliding a thick manila folder across the glass desk. "Here! This contains all their financial routing numbers, shipping manifests for the port authority, and the names of the judges on their payroll. Just... please tell the Boss that I'm out. I'll leave the country tonight. I'll never come back!"
Wilton picked up the folder, flipping through the crisp pages with methodical slowness. He slipped it inside his jacket pocket and stood up.
May you like
"You're free to leave, Harris," Wilton said, walking toward the double doors. "Just remember: if you try to board a plane, a ship, or even cross state lines by bicycle, you'll find out why they call Mrs. Vance the Ghost of the East."
As Wilton stepped out into the hallway, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and read the encrypted text from Kayla: Bring me the head of the Iron Network.
