Chapter 13 - The Fire in the Hold
Valeria moved to the rear of the flatbed truck, pulling a tactical breaching tool from her belt and snapping open the heavy iron padlock on crate number four.
Inside lay twelve sleek, cylindrical warheads, their digital arming panels glowing faint green in the dark.
Suddenly, a heavy steel door on the side of the freighter slammed open.
The commander of the Blackwood Syndicate—a massive, scarred veteran named Viktor—stepped out onto the deck holding a remote detonation trigger wired directly to the truck's fuel tank.
"Captain Mercer!" Viktor roared over the sound of the rain, his voice raspy and cruel. "I should have known you'd crawl out of your grave! You just don't know when to die!"
Valeria stepped out from behind the crate, her rifle lowered, her gaze fixed on the trigger in his hand.
"Stand down, Viktor," Valeria said calmly. "The FBI has your contractor. The money is gone. There's no payout waiting for you in Panama."
Viktor sneered, his thumb hovering over the red button on the remote. "If I don't get paid, nobody leaves this dock alive! I'll detonate the entire pier!"
Before Viktor's thumb could press down, a single shot echoed through the fog.
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Marcus, positioned silently behind the ship's anchor chain, fired a single bullet straight through Viktor’s wrist.
The remote trigger flew from his hand, splashing harmlessly into the black ocean water below. Viktor screamed, clutching his shattered hand as he tumbled over the ship's railing, crashing onto the deck below where federal agents were already sweeping in with searchlights blazing.
