Herald of death

"According to the bill of lading, the container is located in Terminal three. Here is his identifier," Ethan relays as he spies on Cyrius' crew. The woman he's spying on is flanked by two guards hiding handguns in their suits. They enter a black SUV that drives off into the port alongside a truck.

"Just as Tombstone predicted," Kate says. She's leaning on a guardrail, dressed in plain clothes that hide her forms and weapons. "Six people, potentially twelve if six are hiding in the truck. Once they get their cargo, they will guide us to their hideout."

"Nothing tells us that he's waiting for them," Ethan says. "They could very well stay separated until the last moment. And if that's the case, we would lose our ticket to Valeria's event."

"If that's the case, we eliminate those once I hear her voice, and we call him for a … problem that needs his attention," Kate says. "And if that doesn't work, we ask Tombstone to trace back the call to his location and go find him ourselves."

"Unless he's using one of the numerous ways there are to dissimulate his phone's location," Ethan says. "In which case we could always ask Tombstone to spy on the local hotels' cameras. He would want to escape the city as fast as possible if we threatened him."

"See, there's nothing to worry about," Kate says. "Unless he can turn invisible or some other magical bullshit. You can never know nowadays."

As Ethan watches the small convoy, his mind drifts away. 'An instrument molded in the flames of hatred, clinging to its vengeance,' he recalls the creatures from the source of Ether saying. The words sting his mind; he shakes his head, repelling the thought.

Kate approaches Ethan, leaning forward on the railing next to him. "Is there something on your mind?" she asks, placing her hand on Ethan's.

Ethan pulls his hand free without force. He looks down, his hearing still focused on the convoy. "I may have a lead on the man who killed my father," he says.

"I know it's been a long time since you told me," Kate begins. "But last time you were wavering, shaken by the hypocrisy of your situation. After all, you inflict on many children what this man did to you."

Ethan's eyes darken, anger seeping into his voice. "After decades without even a sighting, I felt as if my rage had vanished, washed away with my other emotions. But now, we've found a lead, just a mere image, and it rekindled my unrelenting, seething hatred. I will have his head, no matter how hypocritical it may be. If someone wants revenge for what I've done, I won't blame them, but they will have to fight for it."

"As if there was a man who could kill the Hand of Death," Kate muses.

"That's a title I haven't heard in a very long time," Ethan replies. "I doubt anyone but you remembers it."

She chuckles lightly. "La Mano de la Muerte is still a popular bogeyman in Bolivia. Mothers use your name to scare their children away from joining the cartels."

"The surveillance operators are knocked out," Kyle chatters in their earpieces.

Kate and Ethan exchange a questioning glance. "I guess it wasn't you," Ethan says as he unmutes himself. He scans the port for any sign of suspicious activities, but the heat and many workers interfere with predator's sight. "Any hint as to who did it?"

"The operators were strangled and hidden in lockers. They disabled the cameras and took the hard drives," Kyle explains. "I found a schedule; they took their shifts thirty minutes ago."

"What are the chances that they are after our targets?" Kate asks. "It could be entirely unrelated."

Ethan closes his eyes, focusing on his enhanced hearing. A foghorn pierces his eardrums, shaking his mind as it vibrates loudly. Clangs of metal reach him from the crates hoisting metal containers. He scans the constant voices of workers shouting orders in various languages. Amidst this chaos, he spots whispers – the voices of Chinese operators coordinating their approach.

Their leader lifts his fist to order a stop as workers pass before them. He says something on his radio that Ethan relays to Kate as best he can.

"Your accent is awful," Kate mocks. "He said that the target vehicles are on the move and ordered to ready the transport."

A truck starts near one of the terminal's exits, a demilitarized Soviet transporter. Ethan moves down the stairs of the platform they were on. "I think that they are quite likely after our target. We can't have them interfere, or we'll lose our lead. And worse, it could reach Valeria's ears, making her flee or reinforce her security."

"Nine, get the car in case we require an extraction," Kate says. "How many are there? We can't just start a gun fight in an international port."

"Five on foot and two in an approaching military truck," Ethan reports. "I don't intend to kill them here; I'll only make sure they are unable to reach our target in time."

"What if they chase them?" Kate asks. She ponders for a second and suggests, "I've seen another truck just like the one our target is using. We could use it to make them chase us and dispose of them in an isolated place while Nine tracks the target."

Ethan plays the scenarios in his mind. "Agreed. Go steal the decoy truck while I handle the Chinese operators. Nine, get ready to tail the target."

"Copy," they both say at the same time. Kate disappears towards the entrance of the port. Ethan spots a worker's uniform hanging on a hook and places it in his inventory.

Ethan takes a deep breath, sharpening his senses. He dashes with inhuman speed while using Silent steps, darting in the maze of containers and machinery.

Sliding at the end of a container, he ducks under a transport truck. He grasps the truck's frame to sneakily move with it towards the terminal's center.

The truck takes a wrong turn, and Ethan rolls off it. He continues his path, jumping between containers and scaling the stacks with disturbing ease. 'My body feels so light, and I'm not even using Strengthening. Yet, my mind is able to keep up; is that the effect of raising my Perception?" Ethan thinks.

Ethan spots the enemies from a vantage point. They are grouped together, speaking in low, urgent voices. Their leader fires incomprehensible orders through his radio. They carry suppressed MP5 knockoffs and plate carriers. A radio jammer is strapped to the leader's plate carrier, but a red LED shows its inactivity.

Though it is weak, perhaps hidden, Ethan can feel a ripple in the Ether coming from their leader. 'He might be a problem if he can properly feed his abilities,' Ethan thinks.

The targets stopped in front of a blue container. 'I need to attract a lot of workers to stop them from doing anything,' Ethan thinks.

Ethan moves to a narrow passage between containers and quickly dons the yellow jacket and hard helmet he stole. He moves onto the nearest road and spots a forklift operator unloading a container.

"Disguise leveled up," the voice announces.

"What do you want?" the forklift operator asks as he spots Ethan. He tries to say something else but falls on the controls as Ethan's hex neutralizes him.

'I hope you'll get to keep your job,' Ethan thinks. He pushes the driver, who falls to the ground. He turns the wheel and aims the forklift at the container nearest to the Chinese operators. Ethan pries a wrench from the sleeping man's tool satchel and jams it behind the brake pedal, pushing on the accelerator.

The forklift screeches forward, ramming and impaling the container in an echoing metallic tear. Plushies' fillings fly around, creating a cloud of cotton. The Chinese men lift their submachine guns, retreating between more distant containers. Workers flock to the accident site, taking pictures and videos of the situation.

"The targets took a single crate from the container and are leaving," Ethan mutters as he glances toward them. He uses predator's sight to peer at the contents of the box and at what's left in the container. "Their box contains an imposing mass of metal, but the rest of the container is filled with crated bottles."

The target convoy leaves the area, soon replaced by Kate, who parks in front of the container. 'Strengthening, silent steps,' Ethan thinks before reaching Kate's passenger door in a flash.

"They haven't reappeared yet," Ethan says as he opens the door to Kate's surprise. "Nine, the target is leaving the terminal. Keep to the plan and find where they are headed."

Kate draws a FN-57 and checks the chamber. "How high are your stats to move that fast?" she asks.

"High," Ethan answers. He spots the military truck in the passenger's side mirror. "You can move out; their truck is behind us."

Kate drives off as if unaware of the enemies' presence. Her phone displays an itinerary to an unknown location. The Chinese operators climb in the truck, and its driver tails Six and Ethan.