Slowly, he stepped forward. Too close. Close enough to intimidate. Most people would have backed away. Evelyn didn't move.

Pier 42 was a sprawling, industrial nightmare of rusted shipping containers and towering cranes. The fog was rolling in off the water, thick and suffocating. Elias moved silently through the maze of steel, his rifle raised.

He spotted the operation in the center of the pier. A massive cargo helicopter was spinning up on the helipad. Thorne stood near it, clutching his broken hand in a sling, surrounded by two dozen elite Hounds. In the center of the formation were four silver canisters holding the VX gas, rigged with a timed explosive detonator.

Elias knew a frontal assault was impossible. He had to use the environment.

He climbed a rusted gantry crane, taking a sniper position seventy feet above the deck. He took a slow, deep breath, centering his crosshairs on the detonator attached to the gas canisters. If he could shoot the receiver, the bomb wouldn't trigger, and Thorne would lose his leverage.

He exhaled and squeezed the trigger.

Click.

A cold, metallic barrel pressed firmly against the back of Elias's head.

"Drop the rifle, ghost," Silas's gravelly voice whispered from behind him.

Elias had been outmaneuvered. Silas had anticipated a sniper perch and flanked him in the fog. Elias slowly lowered the rifle, raising his hands.

Silas kicked the back of Elias's knees, forcing him down, and dragged him to the edge of the crane platform. "The boss wants to see you break."

Down below, the Hounds parted. Two mercenaries dragged a struggling figure into the clearing. It was Clara. They had found her hiding spot.

"Elias!" Clara screamed, fighting against her captors.

Thorne looked up at the crane, a sadistic, triumphant smile stretching across his face. "Bring him down here, Silas. Let him watch her die before I release the gas."

Silas hauled Elias to his feet, a heavy combat knife pressed to Elias's throat. "Game over, ghost."

"Not yet," Elias whispered.

With a violent, backward thrust of his head, Elias smashed his skull into Silas's nose, breaking it instantly. Silas staggered, dropping the knife. Elias spun around, grabbing Silas by the tactical vest, and using his own momentum, threw the massive commander off the seventy-foot crane.