Chapter 8 - The Embarkation

Saturday, February 20th. Magnus Mansion, 6:40 p.m.

Yaakov was monitoring every last and insignificant element before departing for the port. Alexei had left him in charge of this operation and did not want to let him down. He would show him that he was completely competent and reliable to handle any situation, especially if it was during his absence.

All the men were now properly equipped and ready to go to war. Since yesterday he had been explaining repeatedly and in a thousand different ways the functions that each one of them must perform. There was no room for mistakes, Alexei would never let him forget it if anything goes wrong.

So, there he was, standing in front of The Mansion, watching all the men board the cars and start their way to the dock where they would retrieve the merchandise. He, before following their example, went to Fredek and Lev who were watching the spectacle from the entrance.

—Well, we're leaving now. Tell Reiji to keep an eye on the transmissions and report everything to Magnus — alternating his gaze between the two Omegas. Fredek simply nodded and went inside without contributing to anything else.

—I hope you bring your ass back in one piece, Yaak — Lev gently strokes his cheek —. Maybe then I'll let you come into my room again.

The Alpha attracts him towards his body and joins his lips to his beloved, feeling an electric charge expand from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, inhaling the sweet smell of his destined partner.

A smell of vanilla and strawberries, which from the day he met him enchanted his senses completely. He slightly bit his lower lip, to which Lev subtly opened his mouth allowing the Alpha to slide in his tongue, being able to taste his delicious and intoxicating flavor.

After a few seconds he stopped and looked with delight at those deep black eyes he loved so much, clouded by passion.

—I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone, my prince — with a half-smile on his face, leaving a little kiss on the tip of Lev's nose.

Lev smiled and watched with a trace of nostalgia as his great Alpha released him and entered the truck destined to transport the merchandise. «Come back to me, Yaakov», he thought, before regaining the courage to turn, looking away from his partner on the road and trusting that all would be well, just as he had been sworn.

The port was two hours away from The Mansion. The driver of the truck was one of the subordinates, while Yaakov was in the seat next to him with his throat obstructed and adrenaline burning in his bloodstream. In front of them were 4 black Suburban with 10 men each, leading the convoy of cars a luxurious silver BMW M6 Grand Coupe, driven by Nikon, with Adrik as co-driver.

Yaakov wasn't nervous, but rather anxious to get there as soon as possible so that they could establish the perimeter and finish once and for all with the damn agreement they had with the Italian: Franchesco Graziani.

He decided to smoke a cigarette when he could see the end of the route in the distance. He gestured to the driver to increase the speed while quickly typing a message to Adrik to keep him alert. Skillfully entering the terrain of the dock where the transaction would take place, Yaakov descends and barks orders to all the men to take up positions in tactical corners of the place.

Adrik, followed by the nine trainees, obtains his rifle and sets off for one of the warehouses while he directs five of the henchmen to head towards the other to position themselves according to his instructions. Nikon, meanwhile, installs cameras in the vicinity, through which Reiji can keep Alexei up to date during the operation.

There is no patience, time or willingness to screw up. Even the cars are parked in a strategic alignment in case there is a need to cover themselves from a hail of bullets. Yaakov warns the driver who brought him to place the van near the unloading site, where "La Signora In Nero" is supposed to arrive.

After half an hour and with everyone in place, attentive and on the alert, the Alpha pulls out his phone, types quickly and starts the call with Reiji.

—Yes, boss — answers the Omega at the first tone.

—Reiji, the whole perimeter is secure now, can you see?

—Yes, boss. Clearly. The images are already being transmitted to Mr. Magnus. Everything is monitored, nothing and no one will enter without me seeing it first — he reports confidently from the other side of the line.

—Great, keep me updated on any news.

—You got it, boss — ending the call.

Yaakov takes one last look around, leans on the truck, lights a cigarette and prepares to wait for the arriving ship. As the hour and a half before the twenty-three-hour mark passed, he could distinguish several small blinking lights in the water from afar, indicating that a ship was approaching.

Through the device in his ear he informs the others to be alert, with sharp senses. It's about time to put the plan into action. He is patient as "La Signora In Nero" drops anchor on the calm tide, announcing his safe approach. Several of the crew members on board, highly armed, descend taking defensive attitudes to the sides, cautious, distrustful and on guard.

Soon after, Rocco Giordano shows up. That son of a bitch Alpha of Anaconda, Franchesco's right-hand man, with his dark countenance and firm bearing, dressed entirely in black, highlighting, even more, his tall and slender figure. He makes a gesture of recognition towards Yaakov, indicating that he could approach him without fear, that the last thing he could ever see would be his brains flying in the air.

As soon as the distance diminishes, the two greet each other with a tense handshake, when the truth is that Yaakov wants to smash his fist into that bastard's nose and rejoice at the sight of his disgusting blood dripping out of control.

—Well, it's been a long time, my dear Yaakov. I wish I could have spoken directly to the owner of the circus, but I'll have to conform with one of his clowns — his emphatic Italian accent in every sentence, smiling as he raises one of his eyebrows.

He and Rocco had never really gotten along, the bosses on both sides knew that. And although he was dying to kick his teeth out, his professionalism came first, and he would refuse to throw away Alexei's trust by falling for that snake's dirty game.

—Come on, Rocco. Let's just cut the crap and get this done, shall we? — he added in annoyance, snapping his tongue —. I have a cozy bed and a nice Omega waiting for me at home, so let's get out of this quickly and avoid looking at each other any longer than necessary.

—Oh, please. Where's your sense of humor? — laughing slightly at the obvious displeasure of his opponent —. I thought you were more amusing.

—I gave you the job — Yaakov waves his hands in the direction of the recruits so that they hurry up to move the cargo into the truck —. You wear the clown suit better than me.

Rocco stares at him with a joyous expression on his face. He can't help but feel a little irritated at the lack of seriousness in the man, but he refuses to let himself be carried away by his provocations.

The minutes go by and there are only a few boxes left to be loaded, when Yaakov feels the phone vibrating inside his jacket. When he checks the screen, he realizes that it's a call from Reiji and hits the green button without hesitation.

—Tell me, Reiji, What's happening...

—Boss! — the Omega exclaims with fear —. Someone is trying to hack into the security system again! — he quickly announces, Yaakov can hear through the phone the sound of his digits crashing against the keypad.

—What the fuck are you talking about, Reiji? — he replies between his teeth and in a low voice to avoid Rocco hearing him —. What exactly is going on?

—I was watching the security cameras a few seconds ago and suddenly the monitors started to get interference, I thought it might be a momentary signal failure, because you are in a remote location and surrounded by water, but... — a brief pause, at no point did the Alpha stop listening to the keyboard, even though Reiji was babbling in a hurry —. They're trying to shut me down. I'm doing everything I can to block it, but my defenses are being shot down instantly, boss. I don't know how long I can hang on until they cut me out completely — he can catch his despair as he relates what's happening.

—Reiji, you have to stop them from taking control, we rely heavily on that security mechanism. Do you have any idea what they intend to do?

—Probably disable the security cameras in the port and perhaps also leave you unable to communicate. In such a remote area, something could happen that would prevent you from requesting backup. Shit, I'm losing my domain, boss. I don't know what... — the static buzz is the alarm that warned Yaakov that the call died. He stared at the mobile in his hand for long seconds before he could focus again.

—Is something wrong, Yaakov? — He could detect the mockery in the tone used by the snake, but in that instant his mind was too much accelerated, trying to come up with a plan to get them all, and the merchandise, out of that hellhole undamaged.

—No — answers bluntly —. I'll be right back.

He moves away by a few steps from the core area where everything is unfolding, demanding men to hurry. The cargo needs to be completely unloaded and placed in the truck in the shortest possible time. Once away from curious ears, he brings the wrist to his lips to communicate with Adrik on the roof of one of the warehouses.

—Adrik, can you hear me? — praying that the earpieces still work. If neither cameras nor phones were an option, it was the only way they could communicate. To his relief, he got an answer.

—Yes, Yaak. What is it? — answers the Omega.

—We're in trouble. Reiji contacted me a few minutes ago and told me that our system has been hacked again. We've lost the security cameras and cell phone communication — he diligently reports, starting to get nervous for the first time in the night.

—Goddamn it, Yaakov. We're completely out of range. Do you think this is Rocco's work?

—I don't know, the guy seems relaxed and has too few people here to try anything by himself anyway. I know the bastard. He'd rather sacrifice anyone as long as he doesn't get hurt — he pauses briefly —. Something's not right. Everything okay up there?

—The surroundings of the port are peaceful, we are the... Wait — he suddenly stops in the middle of his words —. I can see some vehicles approaching in the distance, Yaakov.

—What? — the Alpha nervously questions —. How many?

—I don't know yet, they're too far away. But they're not just a few. This is wrong, Yaak. We must leave quickly — he proposes and honestly Yaakov could not agree more with him.

Yaakov walks towards the truck and starts shouting at the men to finish loading the crates. "Right now!", using his commanding voice to make them notice that he was fucking serious. His eyes meet with Rocco's, who seems puzzled by his change of attitude.

—You screwed us over, didn't you? — grunts, grabbing his shirt collar to draw him to his face —. You've set us up, you fucking prick!

—What the fuck are you talking about, motherfucker? — recriminates obfuscated, reciting a couple of obscenities in Italian while trying to free himself from the powerful grip of the wolf —. I have no fucking idea what you mean.

—Bullshit! — Yaakov yells before pushing him, taking advantage of every ounce of his power —. You've hacked into our security system and now your men are coming to attempt to fuck us over! Isn't that right?! — pointing at him with barely-contained fury. Rocco stares at him carefully, with a scowl before speaking. By that time, all the boxes had been loaded.

—We haven't done shit, Yaakov. We may be traffickers, but even we have our codes — raising his voice and facing him just inches from his face —. So you better watch what you say. Next time you won't be so lucky to have such a long tongue, capisci*?

That said, he gives commands to his subordinates to board the ship and get out of there before the trouble gets to them as well.

—Yaakov! — the Alpha listens to Adrik through the earphone —. We have to go, right now! — he can feel the words slipping out with effort, implying that the Omega was moving around while communicating with him —. A lot of fucking cars are coming. I managed to count eight, but I don't know if more will come. I'm coming down from the warehouse, I've already given directions to the others to leave this place.

—Nikon! — summons, to what his colleague comes to him from where he was standing —. You already heard. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Secure the fucking truck and let's go. Now!

Yaakov hurries towards the cargo, but before he can get on, black-armored vans start to descend towards them, firing at everything that moves and breathes. The Alpha manages to take shelter behind some barrels that were close by and taking out the gun from the holster inside his jacket, he starts to shoot back.

The place goes in a blink of an eye in terrible chaos, while more vehicles continue to board them. Their allies are surrounded, cornered by the intruders who do not give them any rest from the impacts, raining bullets on their heads. In the distance he could see how Rocco and his teammates were also trying to defend themselves, but they started the engine of the ship, escaping to leave them to their fate.

—Use the explosives! — Yaakov shouted adrift, hoping that his voice would be heard above the loud blasts and rumbles.

Fortunately for him, explosions caused bright flashes and thick gray clouds of smoke, injuring many of the enemies, giving the Alpha a chance to venture into the cabin of the truck, successfully entering in it. The driver was dead inside, hit by a bullet right in the temple. Yaakov throws him out, turns the key and starts the engine.

—Adrik, Nikon! Answer me! — speaks through the communicator.

—I'm with Nikon, but he's hurt. Some bastard shot him in the side. We managed to get into one of the vans. We have to go right now, Yaak. They're surrounding us fast — panting, making an effort to be heard through all the chaos.

—I'm already in the truck, I'm going to throw an explosive. When it detonates, I'll blast through the confusion and we'll make a break for it. Got it?

—Okay. But quickly, Nikon is losing a lot of blood — he informs him before cutting the transmission.

Yaakov pulls one of the small bombs made by Fred out of his trouser pocket. He takes a couple of breaths, building up his courage, opens the door and throws it out into the air. He manages to fall under one of the SUVs, causing it to explode into a dense, huge mass of fire and destruction.

Taking advantage of it, Yaakov hits the gas and escapes by pressing his foot fully on the pedal, maneuvering between shots and detonations around him. He drives and drives until he can't see in the rear-view mirror neither the dock nor anyone chasing them to finish the job. For his comfort, the car of Nikon can be seen, along with one of the organization's Suburban in their tail.

«But what the hell happened», asked himself as he drove on to The Mansion. The operation was a complete disaster, but at least they managed to get out of there with all the merchandise. Now all that remained was to get to the organization quickly so that the losses could be counted.

—Magnus is going to kill me…

*Capisci: Understood/Understand?