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“Jesus,” I said under my breath.
“Right there with ya,” said Doc. “I’ve seen too many horrific things in my life, and this is near the top.”
I couldn’t imagine what he’d seen that would be worse, but I didn’t want to know and hoped he didn’t elaborate.
“Kodiak will take over from here and outline our plan of attack.”
The graphics changed from the ship to the yard. “Plan A is to have the containers moved to a single location, ready for transit. Or that’s how it will seem. Instead, we’ll be isolating them.” Another three-dimensional image appeared, indicating how and where they’d be off-loaded.
“Where it becomes problematic is how long it will take for all the containers to be moved off the ship, since they’re in different locations and, for the most part, on the bottom, so the last to be off-loaded. It could be several hours.”
“How is that problematic?” asked Snapper.
“Since we don’t know who or what is inside, at least until we’re able to make use of thermal imaging, we run the risk of whoever is in the first container, alerting whoever is in the others.”
“Worst-case scenario?” asked Ares.
Kodiak shook his head. “A bloodbath.”
“Won’t that happen anyway if the raid takes place at the docks? The way they’re being off-loaded will be a dead giveaway.” Snapper winced. “Sorry. Bad word choice.”
“Which leads us to Plan B.”
The second option Kodiak outlined was to wait until the containers were picked up for transport to their next destination. According to the manifests obtained from Altamira, each of the ten containers was slated to go to a different location. Raids would take place en route.
“There’s still the problem of whatever guards are inside, communicating the raid to the others,” said Gunner, who was standing off to the side with Doc’s other partner, Razor. “Same bloodbath. No offense, gentlemen, but your plan is way too complicated.”
“What’s plan C?” Doc asked him.
“I don’t give a fuck who tells who what. The first thing we do is scramble all communication. We board the goddamn ship the minute it arrives in port—en masse—and we open every one of the containers on your drawing,” said Gunner.
Kodiak shook his head. “It isn’t that simple. Logistically, it’s impossible.”
“No, it isn’t. We get to those containers the same way deck hands would if one caught fire or was leaking or if they believed there were stowaways in it—or fucking victims of human trafficking. Is it hard? Damn straight, it is, but we’re talking about over two hundred lives. Innocent lives. I’m not standing around with my thumb in my ass, waiting.”
“He’s right,” said Razor. “Thermal imaging will give us a road map to priority containers.”
I had to agree. It seemed like the solution with the best possible outcome.
The idea of waiting would be painfully hard, especially for Seraphina, and for me, having to explain it to her. Her patience already exceeded what mine would’ve been. If my brother was believed to be locked in a container where he may or may not be able to breathe, I didn’t know how I’d stop myself from intercepting the ship while still out on open waters.
Doc stood. “Regardless of the plan we implement, there are inherent risks to the victims. Our goal is to get them to safety and do everything we possibly can to keep them alive while we’re at it. The loss of one life in Yavaros was a painful reminder that we do what we can, to the best of our ability.”
After those in the room nodded or spoke their agreement, Doc turned to Gunner. “My vote is you proceed with your plan.” Then he turned to Merrigan.
“I’m in complete agreement. My intention is to focus solely on what happens once the victims are rescued.” She looked over at me. “We’ll work on that now, yes?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I responded.
“Ares and Kodiak, let’s powwow with Razor and nail this shit down,” said Gunner.
There were many things I admired and appreciated about the K19 team assembled in this room. One was how they knew better than to make every mission decision collectively. Too many cooks in the kitchen, as they say.
I couldn’t imagine the logistics of Gunner’s proposal, but I didn’t need to. It wasn’t my lane. With the number of agencies involved, I had no doubt the full-scale effort to be mounted would be successful.
While US immigration had been mentioned, I assumed the UK’s Custom and Border Protection would have to be involved as well. The ship would no longer be in open waters; thus, the port authority would be required to abide by UK law. When I asked Merrigan about it, she confirmed they would be.
“If there’s nothing else you need from me now, I’ll switch places with my brother and return to the apartment,” I offered.
“Actually, why don’t we head there together? I’m sure Seraphina could use a distraction. We’ll have her be part of the planning process for the work to be done after the rescue has taken place.”
She and I were on our way out when Ares announced the container ship was due in port in approximately thirty-six hours. That it would arrive after nightfall would work to our advantage.
“Snapper and Kick, Razor requested the two of you stick around,” Ares added. While a small part of me wondered why, a much larger one only cared about returning to the apartment and seeing Seraphina.
