The night air at Pier 4 was thick with cold sea fog. The dark water slapped rhythmically against the rotting wooden poles of the old docks. Giant shipping containers sat stacked like silent metal towers all around the deserted lot.
A single black car pulled up to the entrance of the pier.
Clara stepped out alone, wrapping a long black trench coat tightly around herself against the freezing wind. Her heart beat like a trapped bird in her chest, but her chin was held high.
She did not know that fifty yards behind her, moving like quiet ghosts through the fog, Alexander and Marcus were tracking her every step with long-range thermal cameras and earpieces.
"I am right behind you, Clara," Alexander’s deep, calm voice whispered through the tiny clear earpiece hidden in her ear. "The moment a
