I spread a map of the city across the table, marking key locations with red pins.
"Twenty-one hours," I began without preamble. "That's how long until Ricci's deadline. Twenty-one hours until he expects me to hand over my wife and child, or face total war."
The room went silent, tension crackling.
"So here's what we're going to do instead." I placed a black pin on the map—the warehouse district. "We're going to end this. Tonight. Permanently."
Marco leaned forward, studying the map. "What's the play?"
"Two phases. Phase one: we position our pieces. Phase two: we spring the trap." I looked each man in the eye. "You have eight hours to complete phase one. By nightfall, I want everyone in position. Phase two begins at midnight—and by dawn, this war ends."
Angelo pulled out his tablet. "What are we positioning?"
"Giuseppe thinks I'm scrambling, distracted by Sienna's escape and Ricci's ultimatum. He thinks I'm weak." I smiled without humor. "Let's prove him right. Francesco—" I turned to him, "—you're going to feed Giuseppe exactly what he wants to hear."
Francesco's eyes widened slightly. "Boss?"
"You've been asking questions about security protocols, Sienna's location, my meeting schedules." I kept my voice even, conversational. "Giuseppe has someone inside my organization. Someone feeding him intelligence." I let the implication hang. "I want you to tell him that Sienna is being moved tonight. To the safe house in Queens. 9 p.m."
Understanding flickered across Francesco's face—fear, calculation, the realization he'd been caught. "Boss, I can explain—"
"I don't need explanations." I moved closer. "I need you to make a choice. Right now. Continue working for Giuseppe and die tonight, or help me eliminate him and live."
The room was utterly silent. Everyone watching, waiting.
Francesco swallowed hard. "What do you need me to do?"
"Exactly what Giuseppe expects. Feed him the Queens location. Tell him Sienna will be lightly guarded—just Angelo and two others. Tell him it's his perfect opportunity." I leaned against the table. "And then you're going to lead him straight into an ambush."
"He'll kill me if hesuspects—"
"He'll kill you anyway once you're no longer useful. This way, you have a chance." I held his gaze. "One chance. Betray me again, and Marco puts a bullet in your skull before Giuseppe can. Understood?"
Francesco nodded slowly. "Understood."
"Good. Make the call in one hour. And Francesco?" I waited until he met my eyes. "Your family has served mine for five years. That loyalty bought you this opportunity. Don't waste it."
After he left, Marco spoke quietly. "You're trusting him?"
"No. But I'm using him. There's a difference." I turned back to the map. "Dante, you'll take a team to the Queens location. Make it look real—lights on, movement visible through windows. But position snipers on the surrounding rooftops."
"And the actual location?" Dante asked.
"Sienna stays at the underground apartment with Angelo. Triple security. No one in or out except you and Marco."
"What about Ricci?" Marco asked.
"Ricci and Giuseppe are working together, but they don't trust each other. When Giuseppe makes his move on the Queens location, Ricci will send his own team to verify. He won't risk Giuseppe double-crossing him." I placed another pin on the map—the docks. "That's where we'll be waiting."
I outlined the rest of phase one: positioning men at key intersections, securing escape routes, ensuring Giuseppe and Ricci's people would be isolated when they struck.
"The goal isn't just to survive the next twenty-one hours," I said. "It's to eliminate the threat permanently. Both Giuseppe and Ricci, gone. Their operations dismantled. Their people either dead or scattered."
"And if it goes wrong?" one of the soldiers asked.
"It won't." I met his gaze steadily. "Because failure means Sienna dies. And that's not an option."
Marco caught the shift in my tone—the absolute finality that allowed no room for doubt.
