Chapter 6 - Sunrise Over the Atlantic
Gunfire echoed down the narrow spiral stairwell, chipping concrete and sending sharp sparks flying off the steel railings.
“They’re inside!” one of Lucian’s guards shouted over the comms, returning suppressive fire up the stairwell.
“How much longer?” Lucian asked, stepping up beside Serena as she jammed a high-capacity encrypted solid-state drive into the mainframe port.
“Ninety percent,” Serena watched the progress bar crawl across the screen. 95%... 98%... 100%.
The transfer complete notification flashed in bright green letters. Serena ripped the drive from the port and shoved it safely into the inner pocket of her wool coat.
“Got it!” she yelled.
From the top of the stairs, heavy boots pounded against the metal treads. Two of Vance’s mercenaries broke through the lower landing, raising their assault rifles to fire down onto the platform.
Before they could squeeze the trigger, Lucian raised his weapon and fired twice with absolute, terrifying precision. Both men dropped instantly, tumbling off the metal stairs into the churning dark water below.
“We have to move,” Lucian grabbed Serena’s arm. “More are coming up the cliff path.”
They didn't take the stairs. Serena led Lucian toward the rear of the sea-cave, where a rusted iron ladder led upward through a narrow vertical shaft directly onto the rocky outer cliffs facing the open ocean.
A high-speed Zodiac tender from The Sovereign was idling in the churning cove below, tossed violently by the waves, its pilot signaling frantically with a green strobe light.
One by one, Serena, Lucian, and the remaining security detail rappelled down the slick rock face into the bouncing inflatable boat. The moment the last man landed inside, the Zodiac’s twin outboard motors screamed, launching the craft away from the jagged cliffs just as Marcus Vance and half a dozen armed men appeared on the ledge above, firing uselessly into the salt spray.
By sunrise, The Sovereign was twenty miles offshore, cutting through international waters under a brilliant, cloudless sky.
Serena stood on the upper deck of the superyacht, leaning against the teak railing. The wind whipped her dark hair around her face, but she didn't bother to tuck it back.
Lucian walked out onto the deck, handing her a fresh cup of coffee before placing a small leather-bound ledger on the table beside them—her father’s original personal journal, recovered from the vault.
“Where to now, Captain?” Lucian asked quietly, looking out across the vast, endless expanse of the Atlantic.
Serena took a sip of the hot coffee, feeling the warmth spread through her chest.
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Behind her lay the wreckage of her marriage, the betrayal of a man who thought he could use her, and the crumbling empire of Marcus Vance. Ahead of her lay the entire world, entirely unbound by anyone else's rules.
“To Europe,” Serena said, her voice clear, steady, and carrying across the water. “It’s time to take back our ports.”
