Chapter 5 - The Shipyard Confrontation
The abandoned shipyard was a graveyard of rusted metal and decaying cargo containers.
I left Noah at a nearby urgent care clinic before driving into the desolate industrial zone.
The freezing ocean breeze whipped across my face as I stepped out of the car.
I held a fake briefcase tightly in my left hand, while my right hand rested on the pistol in my pocket.
"Vanessa!" I shouted into the cavernous darkness of Pier 4.
A single harsh spotlight snapped on, blinding me temporarily.
When my eyes adjusted, I saw Vanessa standing on a metal catwalk fifty feet above me.
She was holding a baby carrier, dangling it dangerously close to the edge of the railing.
"Put my daughter down!" I commanded, stepping forward.
"Show me the documents first," Vanessa yelled back, tightening her grip on the carrier.
"Let me see Lily's face, or you get nothing," I bluffed.
A heavy metal door screeched open behind Vanessa, and another figure stepped out into the light.
It was the woman from the video, the imposter with Claire's exact face.
Seeing my dead sister's face staring back at me sent a horrible chill down my spine.
"Daniel," the imposter spoke, and her voice was a flawless imitation of Claire's.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.
"I am just a girl trying to pay off her debts," the imposter replied sadly.
She reached into her coat and pulled out a silver revolver, aiming it directly at Vanessa.
"I am done playing your games, Vanessa," the imposter declared.
Vanessa gasped and stumbled backward, almost dropping the baby carrier.
"Are you crazy?" Vanessa shrieked.
"The chairman will kill you!" she warned frantically.
"He is already trying to," the imposter laughed bitterly.
Before anyone could pull a trigger, the roar of a helicopter engine drowned out all sound.
A black chopper rose from behind the cargo ships, hovering directly in front of the catwalk.
A man leaned out of the open side door holding a heavy military rifle.
He unleashed a hail of bullets directly at the catwalk where Vanessa and the imposter stood.
The imposter screamed as a bullet clipped her shoulder, sending her tumbling over the railing.
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She fell fifty feet, crashing brutally onto the concrete floor just yards away from me.
I watched in horror as the helicopter turned its heavy weapons directly toward my location.
