Livewire

Chapter 14

Kyle walked away from the port office to reconnoitre the rest of the port. With a notepad he drew a rough map, marking the gate, office and layout of the roadways and container areas, along with every CCTV camera. The port stretched out along the coastline where several quays jutted out into the sea. The huge container ships were moored against the quays and massive cranes lined the edges to lift the containers off the ships. Railway track extended out onto the largest quay, so the containers could be loaded straight onto trains. The tracks led to a large area of sidings and at first glance there were at least ten trains parked up.

He carried on beyond the railway heading deeper into the port, reaching the point where the road circled back around. A chain link fence blocked off the area of the port beyond. He could see three large warehouses on the other side. He approached the fence to get a better view. A snarling dog leapt at him from the shadows, its pearly teeth distinct against its black maw. He jumped. The lead went taut and the handler heaved back, just holding it back from the fence. The dog barked with only its back legs on the ground and the handler tugged it back, bringing it to heel.

The guard flashed his light in Kyle's eyes "Vete. No tienes permitido."

He shielded his eyes. "Si, lo siento." Dazzled, he stepped back and observed the guard walk away, following the fence, an MP5 carried across his shoulder. Whatever was kept in this partitioned compound must be valuable to warrant armed guards with alsation dogs. It looked like private security, so this probably wasn't military or government.

He made his way back to the railway sidings and walked along the length of one parked train. There was row upon row of trains parked up. Some of the flatcars were empty but many had containers on them. He could hear the low rumble of a big diesel engine idling in the distance. Lights turned on at the head of the train catching his eye. The engine revved up and gradual clicks and creaks spread along the train. The nearest car bumped into motion and began to ease away at no more than walking speed. He stepped back and watched while the cars began to pick up a little speed. They got faster and faster, stirring up the wind on their way past until the last car whipped by, leaving a gaping vacuum behind it.

The air had settled and Kyle watched the little red light on the back of the train grow smaller and smaller until it was pin prick. An idea formed while his mind pulled disparate threads together. He walked back toward the port office, covering the other side of the port and noting locations of more CCTV cameras. Over by the quays a number of cranes were operating, manoeuvring containers around. There must have been some system to direct them off the ships to wherever they needed to go. Learning all there was to know about that system would be the key.

He spent a couple of hours watching trying to gain some form of insight. The containers bound for onward journey by ship were all kept closest to the port. Ones for the trains all arrived and were stacked along the quay by the rail tracks. Any onward road freight was taken by a loader into the main area of the port, where a whole other system was used. He could not decipher what this other system was. The containers went into the towering blocks and seemed lost into the aether.

It was possible that they were organised dependent on their onward destination or courier, but without the data to back it up, that thought was only speculation. He went back over to the port office and watched while a lorry arrived through the gates. The driver climbed out clutching a clipboard and sauntered to the office. A moment later he came out, still carrying the clipboard. He climbed back into his cab and drove off slowly. The speed limit in the port was low as a safety measure for the pedestrian workforce. It meant that Kyle could easily keep up with the truck on foot.

The lorry pulled up next to a crane, already bearing a container. The container was lowered onto the back of the truck and the driver got out with his clipboard again. After a once round of the truck one of the port workers signed the paperwork and the driver was on his way again. The lorry pulled up again outside the port office and the driver went inside again, the clipboard tucked under his arm. A few minutes went by before the driver emerged at last. He still had the clipboard in hand.

Kyle watched the truck drive away. After a quick check at the gates it was out and on its way. From his position the whole thing had looked so simple. The reality would be much harder.

His mouth gaped open into a yawn, contorting his face. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't used to being up this late without at least a few drinks to keep him going. He decided that he had collected enough data, so ambled over to Emilio's truck. He lay on the back seats, bunching up some of Emilio's discarded clothes for a pillow.

He started, jumping awake from a sudden bang.

Emilio was laughing, when he opened the door. "Shift is over sleepy head, time to go home. Better get back into your spot." He pointed to the foot well. Kyle slunk down and let Emilio cover him over again. Despite the awkward position, he almost fell asleep hunkered down on the floor while Emilio drove them home.

"You can come out now. We're outside the port."

He pulled himself up and made the awkward climb into the front seat. Emilio wiggled the steering wheel to throw him off balance.

"You get what you need then hot shot?"

"I got some ideas brewing."

"Why so secretive. Spill hombre."

He pulled out the bundle of papers the manifest was printed on. "I need to check through this first, but I reckon if I can forge the paperwork, I can drive a container right out the front gate."

Emilio snorted. "You'll be lucky. The system is extremely intricate, you need a degree just to understand it. The paperwork alone has to be verified so many times. You'd need to hack into the system to make it work. Even then it would take too long. Plus there's no guarantee you'd pull it off. Anything suspicious and they won't sign you off. I've seen legitimate paperwork hold up a shipment for ten hours because a date was wrong. A lot of money comes through the port. They don't take that shit lightly."

He scratched the back of his neck and fumbled the papers. "Ok so maybe there's some more planning to do."

"You don't say."

"What's in the fenced off area at the back of the port?"

Emilio slammed on the breaks, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.

He looked over to Kyle. "Tell me you didn't go over there?"

"I only looked."

"That's used for cartel imports. They have their own security, their own workers and everything. Some ferocious dogs too. No one is allowed in there."

"I already know about the dogs. Thanks for the warning. I'll leave it well alone."

Emilio drove off again and they sat in silence for the rest of the drive back. They pulled to a stop outside Emilio's house and both crept in through the front door, making as little noise as possible. Trudie was dozing on the couch, her head cocked to one side and a blanket pulled up to her neck. He smiled and nudged her until her eyelids cracked open. She smiled back when she recognised him. He pressed his index finger into his lips then helped her up. She followed him outside and they strolled, hand in hand, back to where Kyle had left his bike.

The night air was fresh and cool, making it pleasant to walk in. He could tell Trudie was tired but also eager to ask how the scouting mission went. It would have to wait for the morning though. He needed time to process his thoughts. A cartel presence in the port complicated things. He had to steer clear of them. Images of the last London job flashed in his mind. He watched Uncle Joe labour over plans for days and nights to make it perfect. Yet everything still went wrong.

How could he avoid the same fate? It was like walking on a knife edge. On one side was the threat of Joe if he didn't produce the goods. On the other was the risk of everything going wrong and ending up in prison. Then there was the ever present worry of the cartel looming above him too.

He sighed and turned to look at Trudie, whose eyes reflected the cold moonlight. He was happy to have her by his side.