Chapter 7 - The Setup
The docks were completely dark, smelling of salt, rust, and rotting fish. Victor's import company was a front, operating out of a large, corrugated steel warehouse near Pier 4. I parked my vehicle three blocks away and moved on foot, utilizing the shadows of the massive shipping containers. I was completely silent, entirely in my element. There were four armed guards stationed outside. They looked like cheap mercenaries—thugs with guns rather than trained soldiers—smoking cigarettes, laughing, and completely oblivious to their perimeter.
I bypassed them effortlessly, climbing a rusted fire escape on an adjacent building. From the roof, I had a perfect vantage point through the warehouse skylights. Inside, Victor was sitting at a folding table, looking exactly like the man I remembered: slicked-back gray hair, expensive suit, and an arrogant posture. He was yelling at someone on a cell phone, likely my mother. There were six more armed men inside with him. Ten targets total. For a standard police unit, a frontal assault would be a massive risk. For me, it was a basic exercise.
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I pulled a pair of stun grenades from my tactical vest. I didn't want a long, drawn-out gunfight; I wanted shock and awe. I wanted Victor to know exactly who was coming for him before the end. Pulling out a portable decryptor, I hacked into the warehouse's localized power grid. It took me less than sixty seconds. I set a timer on my watch. Three... Two... One... I hit the kill switch.
The entire warehouse block plunged into absolute darkness. Below me, I heard the guards shout in confusion. "Hey! Who cut the lights?" While they panicked, I dropped through the open skylight, attaching my rappel line to a steel beam and descending into the pitch-black warehouse. I was wearing military-grade night-vision goggles. To them, it was a terrifying, disorienting abyss. To me, the room was painted in bright green daylight. The hunt had officially begun.
