Chapter 572: Operation Alliance (1)

Amelia and Katherine went to the port where Alliance Shipping and Logistics' ship docked. Disguising as a Port State Control Inspector, the two investigated the pier to look around the vessel. It was the perfect disguise as PSCIs do random inspections, and they got to snoop around without getting suspected.

To cover their tracks, they randomly inspected another ship before interviewing a few dockworkers who worked closely around the docks without actually getting involved with the ship's activities. Among five of those interviewed, two of the men swore that the ASL ship was a bit strange. The dockworkers looked hesitant in spilling what they found, but Katherine and Amelia promised that they would stay anonymous and won't put it on any record.

Almost every week for the past few months now, two to three cargos were treated differently compared to others. When asked for further information about it, they said that an unmarked cargo truck would pick them up in broad daylight. An unmarked cargo truck wasn't entirely strange, but what the two dockworkers found odd was that at least one of them had a gun on their waistband. Why would one carry a gun if they were only truck drivers or shipping workers?

The dockworkers didn't think much of it when they first saw it until one of them thought he saw a machine gun inside the truck while he was passing by. The two dockworkers who were friends contemplated reporting what they saw, but after thinking about it, they decided to just stay out of their business. Because if those men were bold enough to do their work in broad daylight like this, they must have some sort of backing.

Katherine and Amelia understood what the dockworkers were talking about. After clarifying some dates with the dockworkers about when they noticed the shady activity going on, the two women left the port. And before going back to the safehouse, they stopped by a gas station to refill their tank.

Amelia noticed Katherine being quiet in the passenger's seat since they left. Actually, she had noticed that the other had been quiet whenever she didn't think someone was looking at her. This didn't happen when Damien was around, but whenever his son was busy on something, Amelia would catch Katherine staring into space like she was in deep thought.

While Amelia was filling up the tank, she caught sight of Katherine, letting out a heavy sigh and massaging her temple from the front seat where she probably didn't think Amelia would see her. What could she be thinking about? What was bothering her?

Once they were back on the road, Amelia couldn't help but worry. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Katherine turned her head and nodded with an expressionless face. "Yeah."

"You sure?" Amelia probed as they stopped at a red light. "You seem quite… anxious ever since we left the safe house—well other times too when you think Damien isn't looking."

Feeling like she was being exposed, Katherine stared at Amelia for a while before letting out an exhausted sigh, her shoulders dropped, and she slumped against the backrest of her seat.

"I haven't told Damien… and I intend to keep it that way…" Katherine began.

"About what?"

"I've been having nightmares ever since I bumped into Parker last week. I feel like I'm always on edge—especially after Margaret's attempt to harm Damien at that gala. You know how Parker can be… The man had so many secrets. He had so much up in his sleeves—he would attack when you least expect it. I fear that something would happen and I wouldn't be able to stop it."

Amelia could see how worried she was, and so she responded, "Katherine… You have to tell him about these things. You can't carry this burden by yourself. This will break you. I could see how much he loves you and—"

"I understand what you mean," Katherine interrupted. "And yes, I love Damien—I love him too much that I don't want him to carry everything for me. He already has a lot on his plate that I don't want to add more to that. It doesn't matter if he would be glad to do so. It's just not me. Also, if he knew how scared I am at the moment, he'd double the guards watching over me, or worse, he'll have me under lockdown."

"But…"

Taking a deep breath, Katherine met Amelia's stare as she insisted, "I'm aware that it is a nightmare. And that's only my subconscious mind telling me to stay vigilant. It's not like I haven't been vigilant before, right? It's just… I feel like it's my personal battle to deal with. Think about it this way… If Lawrence were alive and you were in my shoes, would you want him to worry about it? I know you loved Damien's father, Amelia… You understand what I mean, don't you?"

Amelia's jaw ticked at Katherine's question. And she hated that the other was right. As someone who was only observing what's happening from the outside, it would be easy to say to do this or that. But for those who were actually involved, it was certainly not that easy. 'It's love,' she thought. No matter how hard it was to keep it to herself, it didn't matter. She could see herself in Katherine, and it was bittersweet. Maybe it was easy for others, but for them, they'd rather keep it in than make their significant others worry.

A loud horn pulled Amelia's attention back to the road, realizing that the light had turned green. She stepped on the gas again, and after making sure that no one was following them, they headed back to the safe house where the others were waiting for them.

…

Safe House

After brainstorming, the team decided to start their covert operation the next day. The shipping company had a schedule for cargos to be transferred and moved to another destination. With all the clues in hand and their strategies in place, they would commence first thing the next morning.

…

Wednesday — December 12

There were six groups of at least three members sitting inside black sedans. They strategically parked near the port and around the areas in Harbor City where the trucks could possibly pass. A few of their men were also on the field, pretending to be dockworkers to get a closer look at ASL trucks' movements. It was a taxing and tedious job to wait, but they were determined to see it through until the end of the day—even if they were to wait for possibly nothing.

When noontime came, the team was already exhausted. The groups near the port watched the activities closely with binoculars—all of them were connected through a communication line in their earpieces.

Unlike the groups in sedans, Katherine, Damien, and Styles were in the trailer van a few blocks away from the port. Katherine started to feel her butt getting numb from all the sitting she was doing, so she paced inside the van to stretch her legs.

When her phone rang, the two men looked in her direction—it was the most interesting thing that happened to them since the morning. She saw their reaction and chuckled, "It's just Frank."

Then she moved to a corner to answer the phone call from her grandfather's assistant. The conversation didn't last long, but she chewed on her bottom lip when she faced Damien again, looking concerned.

"What's wrong?" asked Damien.

"It's nothing… I just forgot that I was supposed to go with Grandpa for his checkup today. It slipped my mind…" she responded.

"Oh…" Damien nodded, tapping his fingers on the table of Styles's workstation. "Why don't you go?"

"But what about—"

"We can handle things for now. We'd probably have to do this on Friday for the next shipment's schedule. And I'm sure you'll only stay worried if you don't see your Grandfather."

"Are you sure?" Katherine probed as she walked towards him.

"Yeah… I'll stay here with Styles, but take Felix and Noah with you. Call me when you reach the hospital. Okay?"

"We'll stay in touch. Update me when something happens." A charming smile flashed across her beautiful face before she pressed her lips to his. "Thank you. I love you..." And she kissed him again before leaving the trailer.

Damien watched her leave, and just like any other day whenever she left without him, he would start to worry. After giving his order to Felix and Noah, a strong whirlpool of emotion gutted him.

However, his attention was shifted when one of their men from the port reported seeing something suspicious.

Styles cracked his fingers as he started working on his computer. "Looks like today is gonna be busy after all."