Chapter 12 - The Iron Bridge
The superstructure of The Vance Endeavor groaned under the violent shear of the storm waves. Victor kept low behind the hydraulic winch, the spray washing salt into his eyes. Above him, the bulk carrier’s engines screamed at maximum overload, the massive propeller vibrating through the very steel beneath his feet.
""Anton!"" Victor shouted, his gravelly voice cutting through the roar of the wind. ""Julian is already in chains! Evelyn is facing federal prison! Turn the rudder hard to starboard and beach her on the sandbar while you still have a life to salvage!""
""There is no salvage, Victor!"" Anton screamed back, firing another wild three-round burst that ricocheted off the winch housing. ""Evelyn promised me four million to deliver this ship to the refinery channel! If I don't get paid, nobody walks away from this harbor!""
Victor glanced down at his tactical chronometer. Six minutes until the navigation channel narrows. If the freighter passed the red channel marker, the draft was too shallow; the ship’s keel would rip open against the rocky bottom, crushing the cargo containers and triggering a catastrophic chemical ignition.
Victor slipped a flash-bang grenade from his vest with his teeth, pulling the pin cleanly. He banked it off the bulkhead behind Anton.
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The blinding magnesium flash and concussive crack shattered the darkness. Anton shrieked, firing blindly into the air as the shockwave rattled his balance.
Victor broke cover instantly. He closed the fifty-foot gap in four seconds, lowering his shoulder and ramming into Anton with the force of an avalanche. The two"
