Ron Donaldo: Rise Of The Apex Don

Chapter 47

The massive shockwave hit the heavy armored truck like a solid wall of moving air. 

Inside the back cab, Ron Donaldo was thrown violently against the metal wall. His injured left shoulder hit the hard steel, sending a blinding flash of pure agony through his body. He gritted his teeth, refusing to scream. Silas, the hacker, was thrown completely out of his leather chair, crashing onto the floor in a tangle of computer wires. 

In the driver’s seat, General Silas Vance fought the steering wheel like a wild beast. The massive truck was lifted onto two wheels. The strong wind from the explosion pushed the heavy vehicle sideways across the wet highway. The thick tires screamed as they skidded over the black asphalt. 

"Hold on!" General Vance roared over the deafening noise. 

The General pulled the heavy steering wheel hard to the left, slamming his foot down on the brakes. The truck crashed back down onto all four wheels with a bone-shaking THUD. It slid for another hundred feet before finally coming to a complete stop on the muddy edge of the road. 

For a few seconds, there was absolute silence inside the truck. Only the sound of heavy breathing and the fast beating of terrified hearts filled the dark space. 

Ron slowly pushed himself up from the metal floor. He ignored the fresh, warm blood soaking through the white bandages on his shoulder. He looked at Silas. 

"Are you alive, Silas?" Ron asked. His voice was a low, heavy whisper. 

"I... I think so," Silas gasped, pushing his broken glasses back up his nose. He crawled over to his computer desk. "The main power is still on."

Ron turned and kicked the heavy metal back doors of the truck open. 

He stepped out into the pouring rain. The cold water hit his face, but he did not feel it. He stared straight ahead at the horizon. 

Blackgate Penitentiary was completely gone. 

Where the massive, ugly concrete prison used to stand, there was now only a gigantic mountain of twisting orange and red fire. The flames reached hundreds of feet into the dark night sky, painting the heavy rain clouds a terrible, bloody red. A thick pillar of black smoke rolled upward, choking the air. The smell of burning concrete, melted steel, and hot ash blew across the wet fields. 

General Vance stepped out of the driver's side door. The giant, scarred old soldier stood next to Ron. He looked at the burning horizon. His single eye was wide with absolute horror. 

"Three thousand men," General Vance whispered. His rough voice shook with deep sorrow. "Three thousand locked doors. They did not even have a chance to run. They were just sitting in their cages."

Ron stared at the fire. The Pit was where he had suffered for five years. It was a terrible place filled with bad men. But it was also the place where Ron had learned to survive. It was the place where he had saved young Lucas. It was the place where he had built the Iron Legion. The men inside those walls were criminals, but they were still human beings. 

And the Syndicate had just burned them all alive, simply to send a message. 

Ron felt a cold, empty feeling spread through his chest. It was not fear. It was not sadness. It was the final, total death of the good, innocent engineer he used to be. 

His core struggle was completely over. He no longer worried about going too far. He no longer worried about being too cruel. The people he was fighting were pure, absolute monsters. To kill the devil, you had to burn down hell. 

"They wanted to erase my history," Ron said softly into the wind. "They wanted to break my spirit by killing my people."

Ron turned his back on the burning prison. He looked at General Vance. The fire reflected in Ron’s cold blue eyes, making him look like a true, terrifying Warlord. 

"Get back in the truck, General," Ron commanded. "Turn off all the headlights. Drive us into the deepest part of the Blackwood Forest. We must disappear before the military helicopters come to look at the fire."

"Yes, my King," General Vance said, saluting sharply. The General’s sadness was instantly replaced by a fierce, burning loyalty. He was ready to follow Ron into the darkest war imaginable. 

Ron climbed back into the truck and pulled the heavy doors shut. 

The truck engine roared loudly in the dark. General Vance steered the massive vehicle off the main highway, driving directly into the thick, dark trees of the Blackwood Forest. 

Inside the back of the truck, Ron walked over to a small metal holding cell built into the wall. It was a secure cage meant for transporting dangerous prisoners.