Ron Donaldo: Rise Of The Apex Don

Chapter 43

Marcus had just confessed, loudly and clearly, to stealing fifty million dollars. He had proudly shown the secret account numbers to the camera. He had admitted to washing the money through fake companies. And he had tried to bribe a federal agent. 

Millions of people were watching him do it live on television. 

"No... no... no!" Marcus screamed on the screen. He grabbed the black ledger and tried to rip the pages out. He tried to hide the numbers. 

But it was too late. The whole world had already seen them. 

"Smile for the camera, Marcus," Vera said loudly inside the office. 

Suddenly, the sounds of heavy boots echoed from the hallway. 

Thump. Thump. Thump. 

Real FBI agents, wearing heavy bulletproof vests, burst into the ninetieth-floor office. They had seen the live video feed from their command post downstairs. 

"FBI! Put your hands in the air!" the lead agent roared, aiming his gun directly at Marcus. "Get on the ground!"

Marcus dropped the torn ledger. He fell to his knees in the broken glass. He raised his shaking hands into the air. He began to sob uncontrollably. 

"It wasn't me!" Marcus cried like a pathetic child. "Ron Donaldo made me do it! The Director made me do it!"

The FBI agents rushed forward, grabbing Marcus roughly. They threw him flat onto the floor and violently twisted his arms behind his back. The loud, sharp sound of heavy steel handcuffs clicking shut echoed through the live audio feed. 

Click. Click. 

"Marcus Thorne," the FBI agent said loudly. "You are under arrest for massive corporate fraud, money laundering, and the attempted bribery of a federal officer. You have the right to remain silent."

While the agents arrested Marcus, Vera quietly stepped backward into the shadows. She slipped out the broken door and disappeared down the dark emergency stairwell, vanishing like a ghost. 

In the armored truck, Ron Donaldo watched Marcus being dragged away in chains. 

For five years, Ron had dreamed of this moment. Marcus had stolen his life. Marcus had laughed at him in the mud outside the prison. Marcus had told him to die quietly. 

Now, Marcus was ruined. His reputation was completely destroyed. His secret money was exposed. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a dark, concrete cage. 

Justice was finally absolute. 

Ron let out a long, slow breath. The heavy weight in his chest felt a little bit lighter. The pain in his bandaged shoulder throbbed, but he ignored it. 

"Great work, Silas," Ron said softly. "The castle is clean. Recall Vera. Tell General Vance it is time to leave the city. We need to go into hiding before the National Guard finds these trucks."

Silas smiled broadly. "Yes, Sir! We did it! We actually beat them!"

Silas turned back to his main computer to send the recall message. 

Suddenly, the smile vanished completely from Silas’s face. 

His fingers froze on the keyboard. A loud, harsh warning buzzer sounded in the quiet truck. 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Silas?" Ron asked, stepping forward. "What is wrong?"

"Sir..." Silas whispered. His voice was trembling violently. He stared at a secondary monitor on the left side of his desk. "I was running a deep decryption program on The Director’s personal cell phone while we were watching the broadcast. It just finished breaking the final password."

"What did you find?" Ron asked, his voice turning cold and serious. 

"I found his final message, Sir," Silas said, swallowing hard. "The Director sent a highly encrypted emergency order to the Syndicate leaders in Europe, exactly ten seconds before Jax broke his knee on the roof."

"Read it," Ron commanded. 

Silas clicked the file open. The text was short, but it was absolutely terrifying. 

Silas read the words aloud, his voice shaking. 

"The message says: The Warlord has taken the city. The Oakhaven branch is compromised. Initiate Protocol Zero. Erase the origin. Destroy The Pit."

Ron’s blood turned to ice. 

"Destroy The Pit?" Ron repeated slowly. 

"Sir," Silas looked up, his eyes wide with pure horror. "The Syndicate is not sending assassins to kill you. They do not care about Oakhaven anymore. They are going to blow up Blackgate Penitentiary."

Ron stared at the screen. The truth hit him like a physical punch to the face. 

The Pit was not just a prison. It was where Ron had met General Vance. It was where he met Jax, Silas, and Zero. It was the birthplace of the Iron Legion. The Syndicate knew that Ron's entire army came from Sector 4. They knew the prisoners there worshipped the Apex. 

The Syndicate was going to drop a massive bomb on the prison. They were going to murder three thousand locked-up men, just to erase Ron's history and ensure he could never recruit another soldier. 

They were going to slaughter innocent people in cages. 

Ron looked down at his bandaged, bleeding shoulder. He was exhausted. He was hurt. He had just fought a massive war against a billionaire and a corrupt government. 

But the Warlord could not rest. His people were going to die. 

"Silas," Ron said. His voice was no longer calm. It was the roar of a waking dragon. "Start the engine. We are going back to prison."