Chapter 12: Infiltrating the Docks
The docks were a labyrinth of rusted metal and slick concrete. Evelyn darted between the towering stacks of shipping containers, her footfalls entirely soundless despite the heavy rain. She approached the edge of Pier 44, keeping her silhouette low against a forklift.
Fifty yards away, the Iron Star bobbed gently in the dark water. The gangway was lowered, illuminated by harsh halogen floodlights. Two guards wearing dark raincoats and carrying compact submachine guns stood at the base of the ramp, smoking and muttering in Russian.
"Overwatch in position," a voice crackled in her earpiece. "I have the gangway guards sighted. On your mark, Boss."
"Negative. Silenced fire will still drop the bodies into the light," Evelyn whispered. "I need to slip past them. Keep your scopes on the deck patrols."
Evelyn backed away from the forklift, moving toward the water’s edge. She found a rusted maintenance ladder descending into the freezing, turbulent water beneath the pier. Without a second of hesitation, she shed her trench coat, leaving only her tactical turtleneck and pants, and climbed down into the black harbor.
The frigid water hit her like a physical blow, stealing her breath. But she forced her heart rate to slow, relying on years of grueling agency training. She swam silently beneath the wooden pilings of the dock, navigating through the trash and debris until she reached the massive steel hull of the Iron Star.
She located the ship’s primary mooring line. Gripping the thick, wet rope, she hauled herself upward. Her muscles burned, but her grip was ironclad. She bypassed the brightly lit gangway entirely, climbing twenty feet up the side of the freighter until she rolled over the railing and dropped silently onto the shadowed aft deck.
She crouched behind a ventilation shaft, dripping wet and shivering, but her focus was razor-sharp.
"I'm on board," she whispered into her waterproof comms.
"Copy that. Two patrols moving your way, starboard side," Vance warned.
Evelyn drew her suppressed 9mm and melted into the narrow corridor alongside the cabins. As the two mercenaries rounded the corner, she struck. She grabbed the first man by the collar, dragging him into the shadows and snapping his neck with a swift, brutal twist before he could make a sound.
The second guard turned, raising his weapon, but Evelyn was already there. She drove the butt of her pistol into his temple, catching his unconscious body before it hit the steel deck. She dragged them both behind a coil of heavy rope.
"Clear," she murmured, moving swiftly up the exterior metal staircase toward the bridge. The VIP cabin Vance had mentioned was situated just below the captain’s quarters, guarded by a heavy steel door and an electronic keypad.
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Evelyn pulled a small decryption device from her utility belt, attaching it to the keypad. Numbers rapidly scrolled across the tiny screen. Within ten seconds, the light turned green. The door unlocked with a soft click.
She pushed it open, her weapon raised, ready to face the monster pulling the strings.
