Oil and Water
Chapter One: Oil and Water
Location: The Port of Hamburg, Germany (Container Terminal 4)
Time: 02:00 AM
Weather: Freezing Rain
The shipping container smelled of rust and cold, dead fish. It was also roughly the size of a coffin, which felt appropriate given the mood.
Amara adjusted the focus on her thermal scope, peering through the rusted grate at the dock below. She was perfectly still, her breathing shallow and controlled. She wore a black tactical stealth suit that cost more than most people’s houses, designed by Julian Vane’s R&D department to absorb sound and heat.
Beside her, Jax crunched loudly into a bag of spicy chips.
Amara slowly lowered the binoculars. She turned her head, glaring at the man sprawled out on the floor of the container.
Jax was wearing a leather jacket that looked like it had been chewed on by a bear (because it had), combat boots propped up on a crate of ammunition, and he was currently licking cheese dust off his fingers with infuriating enthusiasm.
"We are on a stealth stakeout," Amara hissed, her voice barely audible over the rain hammering the metal roof. "Do you know what 'stealth' means, Jax? It means silence."
"Relax, Princess," Jax grinned, his amber eyes flashing in the gloom. "The wind is blowing south. They can't hear us, and they definitely can't smell us over the stench of diesel and herring. Want a chip?"
"I want to push you into the harbor," Amara replied, turning back to the scope.
"Kinky," Jax muttered, crumpling the bag and shoving it into his pocket.
Amara ignored him, focusing on the target. Below them, a black SUV had pulled up to a stack of shipping crates. Three men stepped out. Two were armed with assault rifles—human mercenaries. The third was a tall, thin man in a lab coat shivering in the cold.
"Target acquired," Amara whispered into her comms (which were recording for Gaia back at headquarters).
"Dr. Aris Thorne. Former geneticist for Vane Industries. Current fugitive."
"And the buyer?" Jax asked, sitting up and suddenly looking serious. The transition from 'slacker' to 'predator' was instantaneous. It was the only thing about him Amara respected.
A second vehicle arrived. A sleek, silver sedan.
A woman stepped out. She moved with a fluid, unnatural grace. Her skin was pale, her lips painted a blood-red.
"Vampire," Jax growled low in his throat. "Eastern European clan. Not Concordat. Rogue."
"That’s the Crimson Syndicate," Amara identified. "They traffic in magical artifacts. If they get their hands on the Hollow Serum..."
"They won't," Jax said, standing up and cracking his neck. "So, what’s the plan, Boss? We wait for the exchange, get the evidence, and then arrest them?"
Amara checked her weapons—dual silver-plated daggers and a suppressed pistol. "That’s the protocol. We need to know where the lab is. We take the Doctor alive. The vampire is expendable."
"Boring," Jax sighed. "How about: I go down there, cause a massive distraction, you grab the nerd, and we blow up the vampire's car?"
"No," Amara ordered. "We wait for the—"
Down below, the vampire woman opened a briefcase. Inside, glowing green vials sat in foam inserts. The Hollow Serum.
Dr. Thorne reached for the money. The vampire grabbed his wrist. She smiled, baring fangs.
"Change of plans," the vampire said, her voice carrying on the wind. "We aren't paying."
The mercenaries raised their rifles, but the vampire moved faster. She tore the throat out of the first guard before he could twitch.
"They're killing the asset!" Jax roared.
He didn't wait for Amara’s signal. He kicked the door of their container open and launched himself into the rainy night.
"Jax!" Amara screamed, cursing fluently in Spanish as she abandoned her position.
Jax fell thirty feet. Mid-air, his body contorted. Bones cracked, fur erupted, and the man vanished. By the time he hit the pavement, he was a massive, golden-furred Wolf—a blur of muscle and rage.
He slammed into the vampire, his jaws snapping for her shoulder.
"Dammit," Amara muttered, holstering her scope and drawing her daggers. "I hate him. I truly hate him."
She vaulted over the railing, sliding down a crane cable to join the fight.
