The rain over Clement Street fell in heavy, rhythmic sheets, washing away the neon reflections of the city’s lower quarter. Lena Park adjusted the collar of her worn trench coat, her cold, trembling fingers clutching a worn leather notebook. Inside were four neatly folded bills totaling sixty dollars—every cent she could scrape together from her emergency savings and a night of missed sleep—alongside a meticulously written payment plan spanning eighteen months.

The rain at Pier 42 was heavy enough to blind a man. Abandoned shipping containers towered like iron giants in the mist, creating a labyrinth of shadows and rust.

Nikolai walked down the central aisle of the pier alone, wearing his black coat, carrying a silver briefcase in his left hand. Tucked into his waist was a silenced pistol, but he knew that force alone wouldn't win this night. They had his leverage. They had the only thing Lena cared about.

From the top of a stacked container, a figure emerged, flanked by eight heavily armed mercenaries.

Stepping forward into the dim light was Marco.

Nikolai stopped dead in his tracks. His expression didn't change, but his grip on the briefcase tightened slightly. "Marco."

"Boss," Marco said, a cold, smug smile spreading across his scarred face. "Or should I say... former boss?"

"Six years," Nikolai said quietly, his voice cutting through the sound of crashing waves below the pier. "I pulled you out of the gutters of Berlin. I made you my second-in-command. I gave you power, wealth, respect."

"And you gave it all away for a girl!" Marco spat, his face twisting with rage. "You became weak, Nikolai! The Marcones offered me fifty percent of the waterfront operations. All I had to do was leak your estate security codes and deliver the encryption keys. You’re exchanging an empire worth billions for an old woman and an art student!"

"Where is her grandmother?" Nikolai asked, ignoring Marco’s rant completely.

Marco gestured with his hand. Two guards pushed Mrs. Park forward to the edge of the container platform. She was bound, gagged, her eyes wide with terror, but she was alive.

"Throw the briefcase up here!" Marco demanded, pointing his rifle at Nikolai’s chest. "Once I verify the encryption keys, I’ll let the old hag go. You and your little mistress can run away and play house in whatever hole you decide to hide in!"

Nikolai slowly set the briefcase on the slick wooden floor of the pier. He slid it forward with his foot. "Take it."

Marco motioned for one of his men to retrieve the briefcase. The mercenary climbed down, grabbed the silver case, and hauled it back up to Marco, who quickly popped the latches and opened the lid.

Inside were no encryption keys.

There was only a high-grade military explosive wired to a digital timer counting down from three seconds.

"What the—!" Marco yelled.

BOOM!

The explosion ripped through the shipping container, tossing mercenaries into the icy waters below in a burst of fire and twisted metal.

Simultaneously, sniper shots rang out from the crane towers above. Nikolai’s loyal vanguard—men he had positioned hours before Marco even arrived—opened fire, decimating the remaining gang members in a matter of seconds.

Nikolai leaped onto the lower rungs of the container ladder, climbing with terrifying speed. He reached the upper platform just as Marco, bleeding heavily from the blast, scrambled to pull his sidearm and point it at Mrs. Park.

"I’ll kill her!" Marco screamed, his hands covered in blood. "I swear to God, Nikolai, I’ll kill her!"

Nikolai didn't hesitate. He pulled his weapon and fired two precise rounds. The first struck Marco’s wrist, shattering the bone and dropping his gun into the bay. The second bullet caught Marco in the knee, dropping him to his joints.

Nikolai stepped forward, grabbing Marco by the collar and dragging him to the edge of the platform.

"You mistook my mercy for weakness, Marco," Nikolai whispered into his ear, his voice as cold as absolute zero. "I didn't care about the money. I didn't care about the docks. I let you think you had me trapped so you would bring her here."

With a brutal heave, Nikolai threw Marco off the edge. A splash echoed from the dark waters forty feet below, followed by silence.

Nikolai quickly cut Mrs. Park’s bindings, pulling the gag from her mouth. The elderly woman gasped for air, looking up at the dangerous, terrifying man standing over her.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Nikolai asked, his voice instantly softening.

Mrs. Park looked at his dark suit, the blood on his hands, and then into his eyes. "You... you’re the man my Lena scratched, aren't you?"

Nikolai paused, a small, faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips. "Yes, ma'am. I am."