Chapter 12 - Fire in the Water
Elena moved silently through the labyrinth of shipping containers, her boots splashing softly in the standing puddles. The rain was deafening, masking the sound of her footsteps as she approached the edge of the concrete pier.
Ahead, two guards stood near the fueling station, assault rifles slung over their chests as they smoked under a tarp.
Elena raised the flare launcher, aiming not at the men, but at the secondary valve of the main fuel line connected to the yacht's auxiliary generator. She squeezed the trigger.
A blinding red streak tore through the darkness, striking the valve with a sharp metallic clatter. The magnesium flare ignited the leaking diesel instantly.
A wall of orange fire erupted with a tremendous roar, throwing the two guards backward into the water. Alarms shrieked across the yacht's deck as black smoke billowed into the torrential rain.
From the top of crane number four, three sharp cracks echoed through the night. Marcus’s high-caliber rounds found their mark, shattering the communication array atop the yacht's mast and destroying the satellite uplink in a shower of blue sparks.
""Ambush!"" Keller’s voice screamed over the vessel's loudspeakers. ""All units, defend the gangway!""
Elena didn't use the gangway.
She leaped over the concrete barrier, dropping ten feet into the freezing ocean water. The shock of the icy brine stole her breath for a split second, but her body moved on instinct. Swimming beneath the surface to avoid the searchlights sweeping the dock, she reached the thick mooring line hanging from the yacht's starboard bow.
Using tactical gloves, she hauled herself upward hand over hand, water cascading from her clothes. She vaulted over the railing, rolling into the shadows behind the forward lifeboats.
Two armed crew members ran past her toward the burning stern, shouting in Russian. Elena stepped out behind the trailing guard, striking the base of his neck with the butt of her firearm. As he collapsed, she spun, firing a single silenced round into the second guard’s shoulder, dropping him before he could raise his weapon.
She moved through the narrow companionway toward the master state room. The vessel’s engines were rumbling, trying to engage, but the system lockdown triggered by the fire was choking the fuel feed.
She kicked open the mahogany door to the main cabin.
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Inside, Arthur Vance stood behind a steel desk, carefully closing an encrypted titanium hard drive case. He didn't look startled. In fact, he smiled with genuine, terrifying pride.
""I told Keller you wouldn't die in an alley,"" Arthur said, turning to face her. ""A Vance always aims for the head.""
