#THE VIPER# VINCENZO MORETTI'S POINT OF VIEW The warehouse doors burst open, and a man staggered in, looking like he’d just clawed his way out of hell. Blood smeared his face, his shirt was ripped to shreds, and one eye was so swollen shut he could barely see. You could practically smell the fear radiating off him. I just sat there, nursing my whiskey, watching him hobble towards me. The whole place went dead silent. Nobody dared to breathe, let alone speak. We all knew, the second he fell to one knee, that the exchange had gone south. Again. My jaw tightened, my grip on the glass crushing. For a few agonizing seconds, all you could hear was his ragged gasps. Then, he choked out, "They… they knew." Broken words. I leaned back. "Knew what?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm. He swallowed hard. "The setup." The silence that followed was heavy, the kind that always precedes a storm. My men instinctively lowered their heads, not wanting to be anywhere near me when my temp
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