Page 26 of Code Name: Grit

Her eyes met mine. “Not yet. He’s still watching.”

I leaned closer, my lips near her ear. “Tell me when.”

“Now,” she said. “He’s turning away.”

I stepped back. “Let’s move on to the next section,” I said loud enough to be overheard. When my phone vibrated with another message from Tank, I guided Lumi to a quieter area to review it.

Intercepted communications confirm shipment arrival tonight at 2300 hours. Marco Venutti overseeing personally.Simultaneous activity confirmed at three other Belcastro locations. K19 teams in position at all sites.

“As expected,” I muttered, showing Lumi the message.

She studied it, her brow furrowing. “Whatever’s coming in tonight must be particularly valuable to warrant Marco’s personal oversight.”

O’Roarke approached us midday.“How’s your report progressing?” he asked, hands clasped behind his back.

“We’ve identified several areas for improvement,” I said. “Though I’m curious about the new electronic locks in section E-7. Recent upgrade?”

His expression tightened momentarily. “Standard security enhancements. Nothing notable.”

“If you aren’t already, you may want to consider replacing all your old units with the new ones.”

O’Roarke’s gaze flicked to Lumi, then back to me. “Of course. Also, I should mention we’ve had some unusual badge access after hours recently. Nothing concerning, but worth noting for your report.”

“Thank you for bringing it to our attention,” Lumi said, glancing down at her tablet like she’d done repeatedly.

As O’Roarke walked away, I caught Lumi’s eye. “He’s fishing.”

“Trying to gauge what we’ve picked up on,” she agreed.

“Time to leave,” I said, nodding toward the exit when the Belcastros’ presence increased. “We’ve pushed our luck far enough today.”

We maintained our cover as we departed, thanking the security personnel and confirming with O’Roarke that our final assessment would be delivered electronically. I wasn’t sure ifLumi noticed, but Marco’s eyes had tracked our departure even as he pretended to consult with his men.

Once in the car, I released a long breath. “Venutti was paying too close attention.”

Lumi nodded. “I counted a half dozen men most likely affiliated with Belcastro near the secure cargo hold.”

“Which means we have maybe six hours before they move what’s in those containers.”

I drove us away from Red Hook, taking an indirect route back to the hotel to avoid being followed.

Once there, we transferred our gathered intelligence to a secure server for the K19 team to analyze. Dragon confirmed receipt within minutes.

“We need to coordinate surveillance for tonight,” I said, pulling up the schematic on my laptop. “Tank’s team is already in position on the north side, but we need eyes on the south.”

Lumi leaned over my shoulder, pointing to an area on the map. “The shipyard access here would be their most likely entry point. Minimal security cameras and direct access to the high-value container area.”

“Right. We’ll coordinate with the Shadow Ops team to establish coverage.”

As night fell,we received confirmation that Admiral had mobilized additional K19 resources to monitor what was happening at the docks. Our orders were to remain at the hotel, coordinating intelligence via secure channels. After my call with him ended, I found Lumi on the balcony, her expression contemplative as she gazed over the city.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked, joining her at the railing.

“I’m thinking about Cassio,” she admitted. “What he would do if he found out he had a daughter.”

“What do you think would happen?” I asked.

“I don’t believe he’d kill me. My mother, on the other hand…” She shrugged.

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