"Twenty meters to the first junction," the tech reports through his mic.
His voice crackles with static.
I didn't even send any of my close men in either.
I know how risky this is, and I know just how hard it is to vet new men to my inner circle.
They don't like it, but my word is law.
And with things shifting for me at home, I've come to see the wisdom in letting hirelings take the grunt work.
I tap the screen to switch between camera angles.
The tunnel walls are old brick, slick with condensation and decades of grime.
The air down there has to be rancid.
I can almost smell it through the feed—mold and rust and rat droppings.
"Copy that," Enzo says from beside me.
He monitors a separate tablet showing the topside unit positioned near the exit point. "Unit three is in position. No movement on the street."
The couriers carry the product in reinforced duffel bags strapped across their chests.
Five kilos for each of them.
Enough to satisfy Kemal and prove the route works without risking the entire operation.
If this goes sideways, we lose a micro-load and four men—containable losses.
But if it succeeds, Kemal gets his proof that I can deliver, and the Turks stay loyal when Antonelli makes his move.
"Second junction ahead," the tech announces.
I lean closer to the screen.
The tunnel branches in three directions.
After taking a moment to ensure the men are safely on the way to the drop site where Kemal waits for us, I glance at my phone and see a text message.
Rico 2:17 AM: Decoy site clear. Port authority bought the distraction.
I type back.
Dante 2:18 AM: Stay on it until they're topside.
Setting up the drop through my public channels sent word through whatever sources Antonelli has nailed down that I’m doing business again.
He's intercepted every shipment for months, and my hope is by being very vocal about this shipment, I'll draw him and his friends inside the polizia to that location, giving us time to finish this move underground.
Without this route, we'd have been stopped on the highway already and my couriers would be interrogated and imprisoned.
"Third junction coming up," the tech says, and it's staticky. I can barely understand them, though the camera feed is still sending out signals.
I watch them turn right at the alcove.
The camera catches the outline of a collapsed archway that's been shored up with beams and crates.
