Chapter 8 - Road to Pier 44
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour by the time Julian’s matte-black SUV cleared the winding private drive and descended onto the coastal highway. The digital clock on the dashboard read 3:42 AM. The eastern horizon remained pitch black, swallowed by thick ocean squalls rolling off the bay.
In the passenger seat, Bruno sat upright, his massive chest pressed against the dashboard, eyes tracking every headlight that passed in the opposite lane. His senses were operating at peak capacity; his cropped ears twitched at frequencies beyond human hearing.
Julian glanced repeatedly at the modified tablet propped beside the steering wheel. The encrypted Ares network was broadcasting localized chatter across closed tactical bands. He had patched the unit into his vehicle’s audio system.
""...Sweep team at the estate has gone dark,"" an automated synthesized voice reported over the comms. ""...Unit 09 signal lost. Presume primary handler Sarah Vance is compromised. Proceed with contingency Protocol Omega at Pier 44. Target child is secured in holding container Charlie.""
Julian’s knuckles turned white against the steering wheel. Protocol Omega. In military contractor terminology, that meant scorched earth—the elimination of all witnesses, test subjects, and unauthorized assets once the primary objective was retrieved.
They had no intention of letting Emma walk away, even if Bruno were delivered unharmed.
""Hold on,"" Julian muttered as he killed the SUV’s headlights half a mile from the dockyards.
He veered the vehicle off the paved road, letting the tires roll silently across the cracked asphalt of an abandoned rail spur. Through the sheet of rain, the skeletal iron cranes of Pier 44 loomed against the graying night sky like giant prehistoric beasts.
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A single spotlight swept rhythmically across the center of the shipyard, illuminating a ring of armored trucks encircling a rusted, corrugated shipping container. Standing atop the central gantry was a figure wrapped in a long tactical coat, a sniper rifle resting on a tripod.
Julian cut the engine. He unholstered his sidearm and looked over at Bruno. ""Find her scent, boy. You go first through the water. I’ll take the high ground.""
