Chapter 15 - Shadows of the Harbor
Pier 42 was an old, rusted shipping warehouse I had purchased twenty years ago during my first expansion across the New York waterfront. It didn't exist on public property records, and its access codes were stored on a physical drive that never touched a network.
Vincent patched my shoulder with surgical staples in the back of an unmarked utility van while I monitored the city's police bands. Vanguard had executed a flawless media wipeout. The news channels were blaring headlines of "Dominic Moretti's Fall from Grace," framing me as a unhinged mob boss who had gone on a rampage during his son's birthday party.
"We can't hit them head-on," Vincent warned as we pulled into the shadowy interior of the warehouse. "Vanguard Bio-Tech operates with government-level funding and private military contractors. If we step out into the light, we're dead."
"We don't need to hit them head-on," I replied, pulling a heavy tactical vest over my bandaged chest. "We just need to find where they took Ethan."
I walked to the floor of the warehouse, kicking aside a stack of wooden pallets to reveal a heavy iron hatch built into the concrete floor.
"What is that?" Vincent asked, pulling out his flashlight.
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"When I bought this pier, I discovered subterranean tunnels running beneath the harbor—old smuggling routes built during Prohibition," I said, unlocking the hatch. "And three days ago, my automated surveillance picked up heavy power usage coming from the abandoned naval facility directly across the bay."
They weren't taking Ethan out of the city. They were keeping him right beneath my nose.
