Chapter 13
A Near Miss in Klaipėda
Anya and Viktor's investigation takes them to the port city of Klaipėda. A planned exchange or surveillance goes awry, forcing them into a hurried escape as they narrowly avoid capture by the Weaver's enforcers.
The salty tang of the Baltic Sea, usually a comforting presence in Anya’s life, felt sharp and acrid tonight, stinging her nostrils as she and Viktor hurried through the labyrinthine alleys of Klaipėda. The air, thick with the scent of fish, diesel, and something vaguely metallic, was a stark contrast to the cleaner, quieter air of her Vilnius apartment. This was the belly of the beast, the heart of the operation, and the knot in her stomach tightened with every shadowed doorway they passed.
Viktor, his usual weary cynicism replaced by a coiled alertness, moved with a grace that belied his years. He scanned their surroundings, his eyes darting from the stacks of crates to the shadows clinging to the sides of warehouses, a hunter in his own territory. Anya, trailing a few steps behind, tried to mimic his vigilance, her senses on high alert. The memory card, clutched tightly in her pocket, felt like a ticking bomb. They were here to observe, to gather more concrete proof of the exchange they’d pieced together from Viktor’s fragmented memories and the coded messages. A shipment was due to arrive, a handover of something significant, something Darius “The Weaver” Kovacs clearly deemed vital enough to warrant his personal attention, or at least the attention of his most trusted lieutenants.
“Stay close,” Viktor murmured, his voice low, barely a breath against the low hum of the port. “They’ll be watching the usual spots. We need to be ghosts.”
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