Chapter 9 - The Cold Ironworks
The smell of brine, rusted iron, and diesel fuel hung thick in the freezing air. Bruno vanished into the knee-high tidal grass bordering the pier without making a sound, his dark coat serving as perfect camouflage against the stormy night.
Julian climbed the rusted exterior ladder of an adjacent grain silo, the iron rungs biting cold through his tactical gloves. Rain lashed his face, obscuring his vision, but the thermal scope mounted atop his rifle illuminated the docks in stark shades of orange, white, and violet.
Through the crosshairs, Julian counted eight heavily armed contractors stationed around the central perimeter. Two more guarded the door of container Charlie. But what froze his heart was the figure standing near the open tailgate of an armored command van.
It was Sarah.
Her face was gaunt, pale beneath the harsh glare of halogen worklights, her dark hair cut short and practical. She wore a stained laboratory jumpsuit underneath a damp parka, her wrists bound in front of her with heavy zip-ties. Standing directly behind her was a tall, scarred man in private security fatigues—Commander Vance Keller, Julian’s former head of corporate risk management, who had disappeared two days after Sarah's alleged death years ago.
""You built him, Sarah! Now tell me how to bypass the neural lockout!"" Keller’s voice boomed through a portable loudspeaker, carrying over the roar of the surf. ""The dog won't submit to another handler while the Vance biometric imprinting is active! If you want your little girl to see the sunrise, give me the primary access sequence!""
Inside container Charlie, a small, muffled sob echoed out through the ventilation slats. ""Mommy! Daddy!""
Emma was awake.
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Julian took a slow, deep breath, stabilizing his crosshairs directly over Keller’s forehead. The wind was gusting at twenty knots from the northeast; he adjusted his reticle two mils to the right, his index finger curling gently around the two-stage trigger.
Before he could squeeze, a shadow exploded from beneath the wooden pier decking directly behind the two container guards.
