Chapter 98 - The Shanghai Horizon
Forty-eight hours later.
The *Marianas Dawn* slipped silently through the dense, smog-choked waters of the East China Sea. In the distance, through the heavy midnight mist, the neon-drenched skyline of Shanghai rose like a forest of glowing cybernetic monoliths. Giant cargo freighters and container ships moved like leviathans through the Huangpu River delta, their horns blowing low and mournful across the water.
Elena stood on the bridge wing of the ship, dressed in a black, form-fitting maritime tactical suit. Her arm was wrapped tight in fresh bandages, the stitches holding the deep wound together. In a specialized, armored carrier strapped across her chest, baby Maya was sleeping soundly, protected by a bullet-resistant ceramic shield.
Thomas stepped out onto the wing, leaning heavily on his silver cane. The wind whipped his white hair across his wrinkled forehead.
"Our reconnaissance satellites picked up the Leviathan's transponder twelve miles off the coast of Zhoushan Island," Thomas said, pointing toward the dark expanse of water to the southeast. "She's running shallow. Eleanor has docked the dreadnought inside an abandoned deep-water submarine bunker built by the Soviet navy during the Cold War."
"How many mercenaries does she have?" Elena asked, checking the magazine of an suppressed HK416 assault rifle.
"At least eighty," Thomas replied coldly. "Former Russian Spetsnaz, French foreign legionnaires. And the syndicate delegates will be arriving by private helicopters within the hour to witness the live demonstration of the pathogen. Eleanor is setting up the auction in the torpedo bay."
"And your men?"
"My men will hit the outer perimeter to draw the bulk of her security force toward the docks," Thomas said, handing Elena a small, heavy titanium flash drive. "This is the master virus. If you plug this into the main navigation terminal on the bridge of the Leviathan, it will flood the vessel’s ballast tanks with five thousand tons of sea water and lock the nuclear hatches forever. It will scuttle the submarine at the bottom of the bay."
Elena looked down at the tiny drive in her hand. "And the pathogen?"
"The pathogen canisters are sealed in pressurized lead cases. Saltwater won't breach them, but sixty fathoms of mud will bury them where human hands can never reach them again."
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Elena secured the drive in her chest pocket, right next to Maya’s heartbeat. "And what about Eleanor?"
Thomas looked Elena straight in the eyes. "Eleanor pushed you off a yacht to watch you drown like an animal. Don't let her leave that bunker alive."
