Deep End | Hyunlix

56

The sky was heavy with clouds, gray light pressing low over the shipping yard like a lid. Even in daylight, the world felt muted, the kind of weather that made everything blur at the edges. It worked in their favor, cover without darkness, shadows stretched long enough to move unseen.

Felix crouched low on the rooftop beside Chan, scanning the sprawl of containers below. The air was thick with salt and oil, the distant groan of cranes echoing across the port. I.N's voice came through the comm, calm but clipped.

"There's an access point. Building over, northeast side. Camera coverage is light there, you should be able to cross without being seen."

"Copy," Felix murmured, shifting his rifle against his shoulder. He signaled Chan, and the two of them vaulted silently across to the neighboring roof. Gravel crunched under their boots, muted by the low roar of the sea.

They waited until Han's voice crackled softly in their ears. "Easy access point on the south fence. No trip alarms. Looks like clan security got lazy."

"Good," Felix replied. "We'll link with you there. Hold position."

By the time Felix and Chan dropped down from the roof, Han and Seungmin were already waiting in the shadow of a stacked container. The four of them exchanged brief nods, no words, no wasted time, and I.N guided them in, his voice steady as he watched through hacked feeds.

"Two cameras to your left. Timing is ten seconds apart. Move on my mark."

Felix's pulse slowed into mission rhythm, everything else shoved into the farthest corners of his mind. He counted the breaths between I.N's words.

"Go."

They slipped between containers like smoke, pressed tight to corrugated steel walls streaked with rust. Felix could feel the weight of the shadows clinging to them, the metallic scent of oil and damp seeping into his lungs. Every corner was a risk, every open stretch a temptation for eyes above, but I.N's calm voice in their ears steered them true.

The closer they moved to the portside, the heavier the air grew. Shouts echoed faintly, voices carried by the wind. Felix froze, hand raised. He crouched at the corner of a container and peeked out.

Five men. Armed. Unloading rifles and crates from a shipping container into blacked-out SUVs lined neatly at the dock's edge. The glint of steel under the gray light made his stomach tighten.

Chan's hand came up, pointing toward the group. His voice was low but cutting. "Look."

Felix followed his line of sight. His blood turned to ice.

Changbin.

The commander stood at the center of it all, directing the operation with an ease that made Felix's blood run cold. He wasn't lifting crates, wasn't sweating under the weight of rifles. He was orchestrating, eyes cutting sharp, voice steady, presence commanding.

Felix's pulse kicked hard against his ribs. Of all the people they could've stumbled on, it had to be him. Changbin wasn't just another officer; he was dangerous in ways that went beyond muscle and firepower. He noticed things. He remembered things.

And Felix couldn't forget that night at the club, the way Changbin had looked at him and Hyunjin, eyes lingering too long, too sharp. He didn't know how much the commander had seen, how much he'd guessed, but the risk was there. Even the possibility was enough to make Felix's throat dry. If Changbin opened his mouth, if he hinted at what he'd witnessed, it could tear everything apart.

Chan's voice was low but decisive. "That's him. High-ranking. If we take him alive, he could give us intel we can't buy."

Felix forced his grip on the rifle to loosen before it snapped in his hands. "No. I'll deal with Changbin. You focus on the others and secure the shipment."