Chapter 7 - The Ghost at the Docks
The fog rolled thickly over Pier 42 at 3:00 AM, obscuring the towering shipping containers that stacked against the skyline like ancient monoliths. Elsie walked the catwalk alone, her heavy wool coat buttoned to her chin, her breath pluming white in the freezing air. This was a calculated trap. Bellamy Holdings had leaked a fabricated schedule for a high-value cargo transfer of microchips and medical supplies, baiting Rossi’s crew into making a premature move.
Footsteps echoed softly on the metal stairs below—light, deliberate, and stealthy. A figure dressed in black tactical gear slipped past a stack of steel containers, carrying a data-siphon device designed to tap directly into the port's mainframe. Elsie didn't flinch. She stepped out from the shadow of a crane, her voice cutting cleanly through the mist. "You're wasting your time, Dominic. The mainframe logs every unauthorized access attempt within three milliseconds."
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The intruder froze, slowly lowering their hood to reveal a scarred, unfamiliar face—one of Rossi’s top enforcers, a man known on the streets as Viktor Vance. Viktor grinned, flashing yellow teeth in the dim amber security light. "You think you're safe out here just because Bellamy's shadow covers you, little girl? Rossi wants the keys, and if he can't get them from you alive, he'll take them from your cold fingers." Viktor lunged forward, drawing a silenced pistol from his holster. But before he could clear leather, a heavy shadow detached itself from the crane's base.
Roman moved with terrifying, fluid speed. A single strike to Viktor’s wrist sent the firearm clattering across the wet concrete, followed swiftly by a devastating sweep that dropped the enforcer to his knees. Norah Kilbride stepped out of the fog a second later, calmly snapping heavy zip-ties around Viktor's wrists. Roman looked down at the shivering mercenary with absolute contempt. "Tell Rossi his message was received," Roman said coldly. "And tell him the North End isn't open for negotiations."
