Chapter 11: The Final Handoff

Dracona turned the key. The sedan’s engine caught, settling into its steady idle before she eased away from the ruined foundation. Harry kept the burner on his knee. Marcus’s reply came through on the second tone.

He read the message twice. “He got the joint plan. Says both sides are already moving their teams.”

Dracona kept both hands on the wheel. The chain-link fence slid past on either side until the narrow access road opened back onto the main freight route. Harry tapped the next sequence into the phone without waiting for discussion. The reply came back with new coordinates.

“They want the dock again,” he said. “Different section this time. Marcus will meet us alone.”

She glanced at the screen briefly. “Works.”

They drove without speaking for the next ten blocks. The industrial buildings thinned out once more as the road turned toward the water line. Harry studied the updated location against the folded map still tucked in the glovebox. The new meeting point sat two piers north of the previous warehouse, near an old equipment yard where the cranes stood silent until the evening shift.

Dracona adjusted course at the next light. Another dark sedan appeared two blocks behind them, matching their pace at the intersections.

She checked the rearview mirror. “Another tail.”

Harry glanced back. “Same fleet markings as before?”

“Different driver. Same distance.”

He sent a short coded sequence to Marcus. The reply arrived thirty seconds later with a single line: incoming sweep confirmed, both teams active. Dracona turned down a side street one block earlier than planned. The tail remained two blocks back, maintaining its position through the turn.

They reached the dock approach after ten more minutes. Marcus’s black four-door waited beside a corrugated-metal storage unit. He stood alone beside the driver’s door, hands empty. Dracona pulled in behind the shed and cut the engine.

Marcus approached. Dracona rolled the window halfway.

“Both fathers signed the termination orders this morning,” Marcus said. “My sources confirm the teams are already staged at the old rail yard and the eastern pier staging area.”

Harry stepped out first. Dracona followed. Marcus handed over a printed shift schedule showing the current rotation for the handoff location the following night. Dracona scanned the numbers—three teams on site, each with standard sidearms plus two additional rifle positions on the roof access points.

“Which fathers are attending tonight?” she asked.

Marcus checked his phone. “Both. Lucius and James. Location unknown, but they scheduled a private meeting to finalize the heir terminations. We intercepted a call between their handlers twenty minutes ago.”

Harry studied the schedule again. “If they’re meeting tonight, they’re moving faster than we thought.”

Marcus nodded. “The final handoff of the remaining audio files needs to happen before that meeting closes. Once both families confirm the order, every route out of the city gets locked down.”

He returned to his vehicle. The four-door backed out and left the lot. Dracona and Harry stood beside the sedan. Harry checked the burner once more. A new message appeared from the same source, confirming the intercepted call details.

Dracona opened the driver’s door. Harry circled to the passenger side without speaking. She turned the key again. The engine caught and settled back into idle as they pulled away from the dock.