Empire of Shadows / Season 1, Episode 12
Midnight Stakeout Showdown
The engine of the ’68 Dodge Charger growled low, a beast caged in the dark, as Leon Mercer hunched over the steering wheel, eyes locked on the vacant lot across Linwood Avenue. The air inside the car was thick with the sour tang of sweat and the faint metallic bite of gun oil from the piece tucked under his seat. The dashboard clock glowed 1:17 a.m., green digits slicing through the haze of cigarette smoke curling from Reggie’s trembling fingers. Outside, the November cold pressed against the windows, frosting the edges, while the streetlamp above flickered like a dying star, casting jagged shadows over the lot where Carver’s crew was supposed to show. “Man, we been sittin’ here too damn long,” Reggie muttered, his voice a tight rasp, barely above the hum of the idling engine. He flicked ash onto the floor mat, his knee bouncing like a jackhammer. “Ain’t nobody comin’. You saw the Deacon last night. They probably moved the drop after we got too close. I’m tellin’ you, Leon, we need to roll out before somebody spots us.” Leon didn’t answer right away. His jaw was set, a hard line under the brim of his wool cap, pulled low over eyes that hadn’t blinked in minutes. The lot was empty—cracked asphalt littered with crushed beer cans and...