Chapter 738
Chapter 738:
The next twenty-four hours at the Vance Estate were a blur of agony and preparation.
Julian was in the throes of withdrawal. His screams echoed from the master bedroom, muffled only slightly by the heavy oak doors. He was sweating, shivering, hallucinating. Lucian stayed by his side, administering doses of the inhibitor and forcing water down his throat. It was a strange sight, the criminal nursing the aristocrat.
Downstairs, Skye was turning the library into a war room.
She spread the blueprints of the dockyard on the massive table. “Pier 9,” Skye said, pointing to a secluded section of the harbor. “It’s owned by a shell company linked to Cain Capital. The shipment is scheduled for 11:00 PM p>
Parker, who had been brought in from the safe house, was typing furiously on his laptop. “I’ve hacked the port authority cameras. Security is heavy. Mercenaries. Not standard rent-a-cops p>
Victoria hovered near the table, trying to catch Parker’s eye. “Parker, I… can I get you some coffee p>
Parker didn’t look up. His fingers flew across the keyboard. “No thanks p>
“Parker, please,” Victoria whispered, her voice trembling. “I’m sorry. About Dad. About everything. I was scared p>
Parker stopped typing. He turned to her, his face hard. “You sold me out, Vic. You watched him hold a lighter to me, and you blamed me. You’re only here because you have nowhere else to go p>
Victoria flinched as if struck. Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t argue. She knew he was right.
“I’ll earn it back,” she said softly. “I swear p>
Parker stared at her for a long moment, then turned back to his screen. “We need a distraction,” he said to Skye, ignoring his sister.
“We don’t have enough men for a frontal assault,” Alistair said, entering the room with his arm still in a sling. “If we go in guns blazing, we’ll be cut down before we reach the cargo p>
“We need someone on the inside,” Skye murmured, staring at the map. “Someone who can sabotage their defenses before we strike p>
𝖬𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝖻𝖾.𝖼𝗈𝗆
As if on cue, Parker’s laptop chimed. A secure, encrypted message popped up on the screen. It was routed through the same backdoor Skye had found earlier.
PIER 9. PRESSURE VALVES ON FUEL LINE 4 ARE DISABLED. ONE SPARK WILL BLOW THE SOUTH GATE. GO.
Skye stared at the message. “It’s him,” she whispered. “He knows p>
“How does he know?” Alistair asked.
“Because he’s probably loading the crates,” Skye realized with a chill. “They wouldn’t trust a new recruit with a gun, but they’d trust him to carry boxes. He must have loosened the valves while he was working p>
“He’s giving us a breach point,” Alistair said, impressed. “He didn’t rig the explosives himself, he just made the tank volatile. Smart. Less chance of getting caught p>
“Subtle,” Lucian drawled.
“Subtlety is dead,” Skye said. She looked at the map. “How is Julian p>
“Fighting,” Parker said. “Lucian says the poison is leaving his system. But he’s weak p>