Chapter 5 - The Digital Trail
Before Vittorio could protest, Emma snatched his expensive smartphone from the inner pocket of his wool coat. She ran into the kitchen, grabbed a heavy iron meat mallet from the prep station, and smashed the device against the concrete floor until the screen shattered into a thousand useless shards of glass and circuit boards.
She kicked the debris underneath the heavy industrial refrigerator just as a low rumble vibrated through the alley outside.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy boots hit the pavement behind Rosie’s Diner.
Emma froze, her heart stopping in her throat. She crept back to the storage room door, peering through the small crack.
Two men in black tactical raincoats had just entered the alley. They held suppressed pistols low at their sides, sweeping their flashlights across the damp brick walls. Their movements were cold, synchronized, and ruthlessly efficient.
"Signal died right around here," the taller one muttered, his voice carrying clearly through the vent above. "Check the back doors. Someone was here."
Inside the storage room, Vittorio pulled a heavy, matte-black firearm from a concealed shoulder holster beneath his ruined coat. He checked the magazine with one fluid, silent motion, then looked down at Sophia.
"Hide under the bottom pallet behind the flour sacks," Vittorio whispered fiercely to his daughter. "Do not make a sound, no matter what you hear."
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Sophia nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as she squeezed herself into the tight, dark gap behind the wooden crates.
Vittorio looked up at Emma. His eyes conveyed a silent apology for bringing this violent storm straight to her doorstep. Then, he silently cocked his weapon and stepped toward the kitchen door, ready to face whatever came through it.
