The bitter Mediterranean wind whipped across dark waters, carrying the sharp salt spray of forty-foot swells.
Ten miles off the coast of Marseilles, the black silhouette of the Meridian Star plowed through the heavy sea. The container ship ran dark, its navigation lights extinguished to melt into the storm. On its towering deck, heavy shipping crates were stacked four stories high under the pale light of a hidden moon.
Four hundred feet above the ocean, three stealth tactical helicopters hovered silently against low-hanging clouds.
Inside the lead bird, red cabin lights cast a harsh glow across Ethan Kingsley’s face. He checked the magazine on his suppressed carbine with calm, practiced efficiency. The designer suit from Zurich was gone, replaced by reinforced Kevlar and a dark tactical
