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Chapter 68 - Just Business

Tyrone and his surviving crew pulled into the dimly lit warehouse, their vehicles barely making a sound as they parked. The building stood silent and foreboding, but it was a familiar sight to Tyrone and his men. This place had once been a safehouse, a fortress where they had stored some of their most powerful weapons. Now, it was a temporary refuge amidst the chaos they had just escaped.

Tyrone stepped out of the SUV first, his presence commanding as always. The night air was still, but the tension was palpable. His face was hardened, cold, a far cry from the man he had been months ago. The weight of everything he had been through—losing his cousin Jamal, watching his father Franklin gunned down, and now being trapped in Italy—had shaped him into something unrecognizable. But there was no time for grief. Not now. Now was the time for survival.

His crew followed closely behind him as they approached the large metal doors. Leon, always sharp, reached for the chain lock and unlatched it swiftly. The creaking of the door echoed through the quiet space as they stepped inside.

Inside the warehouse, it was pitch black, but they knew exactly where everything was. Tyrone flicked on a flashlight, illuminating the stacks of crates they had hidden here. They hadn't used this cache in a while, but now it was more valuable than ever. The men moved quickly, opening crate after crate to reveal ammunition, submachine guns, grenades, and bulletproof vests.

As they worked, replacing their damaged vests with fresh ones and loading their weapons with new rounds, Tyrone stood at the center of the room, his mind already racing through plans. His expression was calm, but the intensity in his eyes was unmistakable. He had always been a strategist—his mind always several steps ahead of everyone else—but now he was truly in his element. Trapped in a foreign land, cut off from his network, with enemies closing in. This was a test of everything he had built.

One of his men, Leon, stepped forward, his face grim but hopeful. "We're locked and loaded, boss. But what's the move? Phones are tossed, we can't reach anyone outside. We're sitting ducks if we stay here."

Tyrone nodded, acknowledging the truth of Leon's words. He had already anticipated that. Their phones had been a liability—Giovanni's men or the Sicilian Mob had probably hacked the lines by now. They couldn't risk tracking. He looked around at his crew, all of them battle-hardened but weary from the constant firefights. They were loyal, and that meant they would follow him to the bitter end, but he needed to lead them through this.

He glanced at the crates, taking stock of the gear they had left. There were a few RPGs, plenty of automatic rifles, and even some C4 explosives. Not enough for a full assault, but enough for one hell of a defensive stand.

"We don't have the numbers," Tyrone said, his voice low but resolute. "They've got the city locked down—airports, docks, every road out. We can't go loud or we'll get cut down. So we hit them where it hurts."

His men looked at him, waiting for the plan to unfold.

"The elders of the Sicilian Mob," Tyrone continued, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. "They're the ones pulling the strings. They think they have us boxed in. But if we take them out, the whole structure falls apart. No leadership, no plan."

Leon raised an eyebrow, understanding but skeptical. "You're talking about going straight at their heads. They'll be dug in deep, probably got the whole police force and mercenaries guarding them."

Tyrone nodded again. "Exactly. They think we're running, so they'll let their guard down in the next few hours. They won't expect us to come at them directly. That's our window."

Another of his men, Kato, chimed in. "But how are we getting close? All the exits are covered."

Tyrone glanced back at the crates, his eyes landing on a set of false IDs and the stash of bribe money they had stored for emergencies. "We don't need to leave. We're staying in Italy, but we're going to make them think we're already gone. First, we spread disinformation. Plant some breadcrumbs. Make them believe we slipped through the cracks. Meanwhile, we take the backroads to their estate. We hit them fast, hit them hard, and then disappear."

Leon's eyes widened as the plan began to take shape. "You're thinking we set up a fake escape? Make it look like we're heading for the docks, have them follow a false lead?"

Tyrone nodded. "Exactly. We use the chaos to our advantage. Let them believe they've got us cornered, then hit them in the heart."

The men exchanged glances, the weight of the plan sinking in. It was dangerous—hell, it was suicide if anything went wrong. But this was Tyrone they were following, and he had never led them astray. If anyone could pull this off, it was him.

Tyrone looked around at his crew. "This is the play. We go at them tonight. If we win, we walk out of Italy clean. If we lose… we don't plan on losing."

There were no cheers, no bravado. Just silent nods of understanding. Tyrone's crew knew the stakes. They knew the risks. And they knew that this was the moment that would define whether they lived or died.

Tyrone strapped on his vest, adjusted the golden-plated Uzi hanging from his shoulder, and took one last glance at the weapons they were about to take into the fight. "Let's move. Time to end this."

Tyrone's crew moved swiftly, their plan already in motion as they spread out across the city. Every move had to be calculated, every step part of the larger strategy to mislead their enemies. One of Tyrone's most resourceful men, Jerome, who had a knack for blending in, took on the critical role of creating the false trail.

Disguised as an ordinary citizen—his face clean-shaven, his clothes plain and unremarkable—Jerome casually approached a police officer stationed near a busy intersection. The officer, leaning against his patrol car, looked bored, as if he had spent the entire day waiting for something exciting to happen. Jerome, playing his part flawlessly, adopted the same nervous, skittish demeanor of a man who had just witnessed something terrifying.

"Officer!" Jerome called out, panting slightly as if he had been running. "You've got to help me. I just saw a group of armed thugs down by the train station—they're moving fast, looked like they were trying to get out of the city!"

The officer straightened up, immediately alert. His hand went to his radio. "Armed thugs, you say? How many?"

"Four, maybe five. They looked like they were in a rush, had bags with them. I swear, they didn't look like tourists." Jerome let his voice tremble slightly, adding to the illusion of panic.

The officer's eyes narrowed as he processed the information. Tyrone and his crew had been on the run for hours now, and any credible lead could turn the tide. "Thanks for the tip," the officer said, already reaching for his radio to call it in. "We'll check it out."

As the officer called for backup, Jerome gave a quick, inconspicuous signal to Leon, who was watching from the shadows nearby. The trap was set.

Within minutes, police vehicles began converging on the train station, their lights flashing as they moved in to apprehend what they believed were Tyrone's men attempting an escape. Unbeknownst to them, the station had been empty, save for the false evidence Tyrone's crew had planted—a few scattered bullet casings, a discarded map, and some hastily written notes designed to look like a botched getaway plan. It was all part of the ruse to sell the story.

As the officers moved in, checking every corner, searching for the supposed criminals, Leon and Kato slipped through the shadows. They had been waiting for this moment, hidden just outside the station. With silencers on their pistols, they moved swiftly, incapacitating two officers who had lagged behind.

One of the unconscious officers was dragged into a nearby alley, where Tyrone's men quickly stripped him of his weapon and handcuffs. When he regained consciousness, the officer found himself bound and gagged, staring into the cold, unyielding eyes of Leon.

"You're gonna make a call for us," Leon said, his voice calm but dangerous. "And if you try anything stupid, we'll make sure you don't leave this alley."

The officer, pale and trembling, nodded in compliance. Leon handed him his phone, instructing him to dial his captain. The plan was clear: lure the captain into a trap just as they had done with him.

The phone rang twice before the captain picked up. "This is Captain Russo. Report."

The officer, doing his best to steady his voice under duress, spoke. "Captain, we've apprehended Tyrone's crew near the train station. Four of them in custody. We'll need backup to transport them—might be more hiding in the area."

There was a brief pause on the other end before the captain responded, clearly pleased with the news. "Good work. I'm on my way. Hold them there until I arrive."

As the call ended, Leon gave a cold smirk, signaling to the rest of the crew. "He's coming. We've got about fifteen minutes. Get ready."

Back at the staging area, Tyrone waited patiently, watching his men prepare for the next phase of the operation. The trap was working like a well-oiled machine. With the captain on his way, they would soon have leverage over the entire local police force. Tyrone knew that once they had the captain, the chain of command would crumble, and the police would be left floundering without leadership.

As the minutes ticked by, the sound of tires screeching announced the arrival of Captain Russo's vehicle. He pulled up near the station, stepping out of his car, unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows. His eyes scanned the scene, looking for his officers, but saw no one in sight.

Before he could react, Tyrone's men moved in. A van pulled up beside him, and in one swift motion, Leon and Kato grabbed the captain, dragging him into the vehicle. His screams were muffled as they gagged him, tying his hands and feet with zip ties.

The captain struggled briefly, but the fight left him as he realized how helpless he was. Tyrone's plan was unfolding perfectly. With the captain now in their custody, the next phase could begin. They needed to use him to create even more confusion, buying them time to get closer to the Sicilian Mob's stronghold.

As the van sped away, Tyrone sat in the passenger seat, calm as ever. His men had executed flawlessly, and now they had a valuable asset. With the captain under their control, the lines of communication between the local law enforcement and the Sicilian Mob would soon be severed, leaving their enemies scrambling in the dark.

Tyrone's eyes narrowed as he looked out the window at the darkened streets of Italy. This was just the beginning. He was coming for the Sicilian Mob, and nothing—no police force, no mob boss, no elder council—was going to stand in his way.

"Now we wait," Tyrone muttered to himself, already thinking ten steps ahead. "And then we strike."

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