Chapter 56 - The Admiralty Injunction
The pier erupted into absolute chaos. Alistair's security contractors opened fire toward the shadow where the wrench had struck, their muzzle flashes illuminating the foggy rain in erratic, blinding bursts. David broke cover in the opposite direction, firing three calculated suppression rounds into the pavement near the lead contractor’s feet, drawing their entire security detail toward the southern perimeter.
"Intruder on the rail spurs! Secure the perimeter!" Alistair screamed, ducking behind the reinforced steel corner of the flatcar.
This was my only window. I scrambled out from beneath the pier platform, staying low against the grease-stained wheels of the freight car. The technician at the container door panicked at the sound of gunfire, dropping his diagnostic tablet onto the ballast rock as he scrambled for cover.
I lunged forward, grabbing the tablet. My fingers flew across the cracked screen. The system was currently unlocked, running a direct live data synchronization between the container's internal environmental sensors and an offshore cloud server based in Edinburgh.
I plugged my encrypted thumb drive into the tablet's secondary diagnostic port. The download progress bar began creeping forward: *12%... 28%... 45%...*
"Drop it, Miss Vance!"
A cold hand seized my coat collar, yanking me violently against the corrugated steel wall of the container. Alistair Croft stood over me, his immaculate suit ruined by river grease, but his eyes blazing with desperate fury. He leveled a snub-nosed revolver straight at my temple.
"You really should have taken the ten percent," he snarled, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Lord William does not negotiate with warehouse clerks."
*CLANG!*
A heavy steel shipping chain swung out of the darkness, striking Alistair squarely across the shoulder and forearm. The revolver flew from his grip, skittering into the dark waters of the river below. David emerged from the shadows like a vengeance ghost, his face smeared with grease, slamming Alistair into the container door and pinning him by his throat.
"The only thing we're clearing tonight, Croft," David snarled, "is our family name."
I ripped the flash drive from the tablet. The screen displayed: *Download 100% Complete.*
Suddenly, the night sky was torn open by the deafening thunder of twin rotor blades. Two unmarked federal blackhawk helicopters swept low over the Cumberland River, their high-intensity searchlights bathing Pier Four in blinding, inescapable white light. Over the loudspeaker, Agent Miller’s voice boomed with undisputed authority:
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"All personnel on Pier Four! Drop your weapons and stand down! By order of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, an emergency Admiralty Injunction has been issued. This entire facility is now under federal interdiction!"
***
