Chapter 144 The Sovereign Alliance
Justin Mason stood on the concrete pier beside Carlos’s vehicle, his sharp jaw locked into an iron expression as he tracked the movement of the armed guards on the freighter's upper deck. He had his secure satellite phone pressed to his ear, his deep voice cutting cleanly through the storm.
"Dominic, the target asset is confirmed on the main deck of the vessel," Justin stated flatly, his eyes narrowing as he calculated the tactical angles.
"Cross has established a defensive perimeter with three remaining shooters. If we launch an aggressive land breach, they will use Teresa as a primary shield."
"The London air detail has just cleared the harbor registry," Dominic Ashford’s voice rang out over the encrypted channel, calm, authoritative, and entirely unyielding.
"I have instructed my pilot to drop the secondary security team directly onto the stern of the freighter. We are cutting off Cross’s escape vector from the sea, Justin. Tell Carlos to hold his line for precisely sixty seconds."
Carlos didn't hear them. He was a man entirely blind to corporate strategy, blind to the rain, and blind to the danger. He took three massive strides toward the base of the boarding stairs, his large fists clenched, his muscles coiled like a caged wolf that had finally broken its bars.
"Carlos! Stand down for one minute!" Justin roared, grabbing his cousin’s shoulder with an iron grip to force a pause. "Dominic’s team is flanking them from above! If you run up those steps without cover, Cross will fire!"
Carlos violently threw Justin’s hand off his shoulder, turning a terrifying, unhinged gaze onto his cousin.
"He has his hands on my wife, Justin! I don't care about the sixty seconds, and I don't care about the air support! I am going up those steps, and if I don't come down... you make sure Celina and that baby never see a single drop of this family's blood again!"
Before Justin could counter the movement, Carlos lunged forward, his boots slamming into the steel stairs as he charged straight into the mouth of the abyss.