Chapter 6 - THE DROP.
The sensation of weightlessness was immediately followed by a violently sickening lurch.
My stomach dropped into my shoes as the steel box swung wildly through the freezing night air.
The grinding of the massive crane’s gears echoed outside, vibrating through the metal walls like the roar of a mechanical beast.
I was suspended dozens of feet above the black, icy waters of the harbor, trapped in a flying coffin.
Eleanor didn't just want me out of the way; she wanted me erased from the board completely.
I holstered my weapon and braced my boots against the ribbed steel flooring, trying to maintain my balance as the container pitched forward.
Through the tiny gaps in the door’s hinges, I could see the dizzying spin of the shipyard lights sweeping past.
"You should have stayed out of the game, Evelyn," my mother's voice crackled one last time over the hidden speaker before dissolving into static.
A terrifying metallic clank shattered the air as the crane's magnetic locking mechanism disengaged.
Gravity seized the container instantly, ripping it down through the dense fog at a terrifying speed.
I threw myself against the back wall, crossing my arms over my face and bending my knees to absorb the impending impact.
The crash was catastrophic, a deafening explosion of sound and force that shattered the surface of the water.
The violent deceleration slammed me to the floor, driving the air from my lungs and rattling my teeth in my skull.
Freezing harbor water immediately began surging through the structural seams and the bullet holes I had blown through the lock.
The container was sinking fast, the heavy steel dragging it down into the crushing darkness of the bay.
I scrambled to my feet, fighting the rising tide of freezing water that was already wrapping around my ankles.
Panic was a luxury I could not afford if I wanted to see Lily again.
I waded toward the heavy doors, pulling a watertight tactical explosive charge from the hidden lining of my jacket.
My hands were going numb, but muscle memory took over as I slapped the C4 paste directly over the primary locking bar.
The water was up to my waist now, chilling my core and making every movement feel like lifting lead weights.
I jammed the detonator pin into the center of the explosive and waded to the farthest corner of the sinking box.
Taking a massive, desperate breath of the rapidly vanishing air, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the trigger.
The confined explosion blew out my eardrums, turning the world into a high-pitched ring of white noise.
The blast ripped the heavy steel doors entirely off their hinges, sending a violent shockwave through the rushing water.
I dove forward into the swirling current, swimming frantically through the jagged, twisted opening.
The darkness of the harbor was absolute, but the pressure in my chest told me which way was up.
I kicked my legs with everything I had left, fighting the powerful undertow pulling the container into the abyss.
My lungs burned like fire, screaming for oxygen as my vision began to narrow into a dark tunnel.
Just as the darkness threatened to take over, my head broke the surface of the water.
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I gasped desperately, filling my lungs with the freezing, fog-drenched air of the shipyard.
I was alive, and Eleanor’s mistake was going to cost her everything.
