Chapter 212: Unexpected Help
Terminal 3, Port of New York. The air smelled of grease and salt.
"Professor Hayes found a match. The 'Prime Textiles' container is in Sector B," Evelyn said, wiping rain from her face as she handed the tablet to Ryan. "Three containers. We have to check them all."
Ryan’s arm wound had reopened, blood soaking through his bandages, but his aim was steady. He looked toward the ceremony site where thousands were gathering.
"I’ll handle the evacuation," Ryan decided, pressing a backup pistol into Evelyn’s hand. "Bernie stays with you. If you find it, don't be a hero. Call me immediately."
"Come back alive," Evelyn said. She disappeared into the rain.
Evelyn sprinted through the rows of steel containers. Bernie and two guards were right behind her.
"There!" Bernie pointed up. Container T-X99 was on the third level.
They quickly formed a human ladder. Evelyn climbed to the top, using the decoder to bypass the electronic lock. The heavy doors slid open. Inside was a massive metal device. Wires snaked toward a central display where red numbers were jumping.
[00:45]
Forty-five seconds.
"It’s a trap! They triggered it remotely!" Evelyn screamed, lunging for the panel. "Send me the schematics! Now!"
Suddenly, shadows dropped from the tops of the containers. Twin Snake assassins.
"Contact!" Bernie roared, opening fire. The two guards fell instantly.
An assassin lunged at Evelyn with a combat knife. She dodged, smashing her tablet into the man's face. Shards flew. The assassin grunted and landed a heavy punch to her stomach.
Evelyn doubled over in pain, but she pulled Ryan’s pistol and fired into the man's chest.
[00:30]
Suddenly, two unmarked black cars roared into the alley below. Men in grey tactical gear jumped out, their high-intensity fire tearing through the Twin Snakes' perimeter.
A man with a long scar on his face looked up. "Ms. Bell!"
Evelyn froze.
"We're Damian’s men!" the scarred man shouted while reloading. "Mr. Green gave orders before he died. We protect you, no matter what!"
Damian... the name sent a jolt through her, but there was no time to think. This new force held back the fanatics, buying her precious seconds.
She knelt before the bomb, her fingers flying over the interface. Key entered. First lock open. Second lock open.
But the wiring had been sabotaged. The red and blue wires were tied in a literal knot.
[00:10]
"Damn it!" Cold sweat poured down her face. "The core circuit is welded shut. I can't bypass it with software! I have to cut it manually!"
But she didn't have the tools.
[00:05]
"Get back!" Bernie suddenly charged forward. He dropped his weapon and pulled a thick, reinforced blast blanket from his pack.
"Bernie! What are you doing!" Evelyn reached for him.
Bernie shoved her toward the exit with such force she rolled down onto the safety mats below.
"Tell Ryan..."
Bernie threw himself over the bomb, using his entire body to pin the blast blanket down.
[00:00]
BOOM—
The shockwave exploded inside the steel box. The container buckled and twisted before crashing to the ground. Evelyn was thrown back, her spine hitting the concrete. Metal fragments hissed through the air.
A sharp piece of iron sliced across her side. Blood stained her white shirt instantly. Her ears rang with a high-pitched whine.
As the dust settled, the container was a heap of scrap metal.
"Bernie..." Evelyn scrambled to her feet, stumbling toward the wreckage.
Ryan arrived, having heard the blast. He jumped from his car and saw Evelyn kneeling by the remains of Bernie. The man who had always been silent, who had handled the family's dirtiest work for years, was clinging to his last breath.
"Boss..." Bernie gasped, his hand trembling. He clutched a blood-soaked USB drive. "Mr. Victor... hidden in Switzerland... family secrets..." His voice was a whisper, blood bubbling from his lungs. "Watch... the Council..."
His hand went limp. Bernie Wayne was gone.
Ryan took the warm USB drive. His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his hands. He didn't scream. He didn't cry. But the grief coming off him was suffocating.
"Ryan..." Evelyn reached for his shoulder but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. The wound in her side burned, but a deeper weakness was spreading from her core. Her vision blurred.
"Evelyn?" Ryan caught her as she collapsed. His hand came away warm and wet. Her blood.
"Medic! Get a medic!" Ryan’s roar echoed over the docks, trembling with the sound of a man on the edge of breaking.
Evelyn leaned into him, watching the rain spin in the sky before her world went black.