"That's a promise you can't keep."
"If everybody plays by the rules, I won't have a reason to shoot anyone,” I said innocently.
An exasperated sigh escaped his lungs. "What do you need from me?”
"I'm just keeping you in the loop. If Vladimir spots cops, this whole thing is a no-go. You can't put Tango One overhead. You can't have too many cops waiting around the corner. That's too obvious. And with the way operational security is around here,we don't know who's compromised. If he’s got someone inside the PBPD, he’s got someone inside CCSO."
Daniels groaned at the thought. “Look, I don’t want any more of my boys in the hospital tonight. And I don’t want to attend any funerals.”
“Just keep a couple of patrol units close to Sunset Wharf, but not too close. People we trust. If it gets hairy, I’ll call for backup. We’re doing this on our own time, and if anything goes wrong, you can disavow.”
After a long pause, he said, “Be careful.”
“We will.”
I told Shane and JD the money had been stolen. There were some choice words in response.
JD and I loaded our gear aboard the Raptor—AR-15s, extra magazines, night-vision goggles, the drone, flash-bang grenades, fragmentation grenades, smoke canisters, and whatever other toys we thought we might need for such an event.
We suited up in tactical gear and prepped for the show. It was a little after 11:00 PM. We took the opportunity to do some recon.
Sunset Wharf was an interesting choice for an illicit rendezvous. The land-side security gate had keypad access. There were cameras with infrared all throughout. A lone nightwatchman lived aboard a boat in the harbor and made routine patrols of the dock. The wharf serviced small cargo ships and fishing boats, and it was home to a few yachts.
The three of us boarded the Raptor, and I cast off the lines. Jack took the helm and navigated us out of the marina. Inkywater lapped against fiberglass hulls, and the moon loomed high overhead.
The HDPE tactical boat was aggressive and virtually indestructible, though we’d managed to destroy one before.
Jack throttled the boat up once we passed the breakwater, bringing it on plane. The bow sliced through the swells, and mists of saltwater sprayed. The outboards howled, and we skimmed across the surface, heading north. The briny air blew through my hair. I pre-visualized the exchange in my head, trying to anticipate everything that could go wrong.
It didn't take long to reach Rock Island, and Jack circled around to the east side. He cut the engines a little ways out, and we drifted on the swells for a moment, breezy night air drifting across the bow.
It was calm and quiet.
There were several warehouses and offices within the secure area of the wharf. Plenty of rooftops to stage a sniper.
I didn't think a guy like Vladimir got to his position by being stupid. I'm sure he anticipated all the angles.
I opened the drone’s waterproof case, pulled it out, and powered up the device. Equipped with a 4K camera, night vision, and gyro stabilization, we had excellent recon capabilities.
With the remote, I launched the quadcopter into the air. I mirrored the live feed from the camera to my cell phone. JD and Shane hovered around as I navigated the craft over the harbor, scanning for threats.
There were large gantry cranes, rubber tire cranes, container trucks, forklifts, and other loading equipment. Most of what came off the cargo ships was bulk goods.
I navigated the drone over the tops of the warehouses and offices.
No snipers. No lookouts. Nothing.
The wharf was quiet.
I didn't see a security guard.
I figured for the right price, the security guard could be persuaded to take a long nap and turn off the cameras. It wasn’t a high-security facility. Not like a container terminal at a major port.
I flew the drone over the parking lot, but there was nothing besides a few parked cars.
After recovering the drone, I deployed the bow-mounted electric trolling motor and brought us closer to the wharf. It was virtually silent.
JD grabbed his sniper rifle and slipped over the gunwale as we approached. He disappeared into the inky water. He swam to shore inside the secure area of the wharf while we motored in.
