CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32

Ace had a terrible headache pounding behind his eyes. This pain clashed sharply with the fast, busy energy of the city around him. He’d just watched Deke’s black car disappear into the morning traffic as completely as a shark vanishes into the deep ocean. Feeling weak, Ace leaned against the dirty brick wall of a bakery doorway. The cool, rough surface felt good against his forehead as he tried to fight both the headache and a persistent warning signal from the "System" in his head. The System relentlessly counted down: He only had 9 days, 7 hours, and 10 minutes left. Every second Deke sped towards his usual meeting place felt like precious time draining away, and Ace knew he couldn’t afford to waste any of it.

His phone vibrated with urgency. He pulled it out, squinting against the bright screen. It was a message from Evelyn.

Evelyn: Ace, I have contacted Marco Silva just now. He knows where Deke usually goes (Deke’s usual drop). Get to The Rusty Anchor RIGHT NOW. Silva will explain. Time is critical.

Silva knows! Ace pushed away from the wall, ignoring the fresh wave of pain. Of course he might know. Silva was one of Deke’s regular victims, forced to make protection payments. Maybe Deke used the same location for multiple illegal transactions, collecting cash, moving goods, meeting contacts. Silva might have seen something, heard something during his own forced payments. Silva could be the key.

Ace ran as fast as he could through the narrow back streets, heading for the docks. He had enhanced hearing, so he focused it just enough to listen for danger without being overwhelmed by all the city noise. He focused on his breathing, the sound of his own pounding footsteps, and the urgent need to find Silva right now.

He burst through the back door of The Rusty Anchor. The place was completely empty except for Silva. Silva stood frozen behind the counter. He was nervously scrubbing the same spot on the old wooden bar over and over again. His face was pale and he was gripping the cleaning rag so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Ace!" Silva gasped, his voice tight with fear. "Evelyn just called me! She said it’s life or death! She said you know Deke is panicking about some ’drop’ happening before noon? Something about a lockbox?"

"Yes," Ace replied quickly. He moved fast towards the bar, keeping his voice quiet but urgent. "We know Ramos has that recording. Deke is terrified of him. I just saw Deke run out of his pawnshop and jump into a black car. He was shouting about making his usual drop before noon. He called it his ’lockbox’ – meaning his emergency stash or last hope. He thinks whatever is inside that box might either calm Ramos down or help him escape the city."

Ace looked intently at Marco. "Marco, this is critical. I need the location. I need to know where this usual drop is."

Silva threw down the rag and slumped against the counter. Suddenly, he looked terrified. "The lockbox..." he whispered, his voice shaking. "Oh no. If he’s using that, it means he’s truly desperate. He’s got nothing left." He took a deep, unsteady breath. "The ’usual drop’... Ace, it’s not just a place. It’s a person. A specific, dangerous person."

"A person?" Ace asked, confused.

Silva lowered his voice to a whisper. "Yes," he said. "His name is Old Man Finley. He owns a huge scrapyard far out past the main docks, near where they used to break apart old ships. It’s very well protected and has lots of guards."

"Finley isn’t a major crime boss like Ramos but he has lot of connections. Instead, he acts like a secret go-between for criminals. His whole business is providing a safe, neutral spot for shady deals.

People like Deke pay him huge fees to secretly hold onto things – cash, stolen goods, packages, even lockboxes or to arrange meetings without anyone knowing who the other party is. Finley doesn’t ask questions. But this secrecy comes at a very high price, he charges a fortune.

Deke has used Finley’s services for years. He calls the whole setup the ’Finley Funnel’ like everything secret flows through Finley.

Silva was clearly terrified. He took a deep breath and said, "Finley doesn’t trust anyone. His scrapyard is locked down like a prison. It has fences topped with sharp wire, tall watchtowers, security cameras all over, and guard dogs inside. There are even stories about hidden dangers. Deke never goes there himself. He always sends that big thug Jax, to deliver or pick up things. So if Deke is going there now..." Silva shook his head hard. "It means he’s panicking. He’s so desperate he’s taking a huge risk. He must be bringing whatever is in that lockbox straight to Finley. He either wants to sell it quickly for money, or he’s begging Finley to help him disappear. This is really, really dangerous, Ace."

Ace pulled out his phone, fingers flying as he mapped the location Silva described. It was at least a 20-minute drive away, and Deke already had a head start. "How can we see this happen? How can we find out what’s in that lockbox? We need to know."

"We?" Silva looked genuinely terrified. "Ace, no! Finley’s scrapyard? It’s a death trap! Even the police avoid it. Deke going there now, with Ramos probably hunting him? It’s going to be a warzone! We can’t go in there!"

"We don’t have to go in," Ace said, his voice firm with desperate determination. The System countdown pulsed: 9 Days, 6 Hours, 55 Minutes. The penalty minus 20% permanent loss of strength and coordination felt like a physical weight crushing him. "We just need to see the transaction. Whatever is in that lockbox might be the key to stopping Deke permanently. Ramos might kill him, but I need to be sure. I need leverage. We need to see that transaction. Silva, is there anywhere nearby we can watch unseen?"

Silva looked at Ace. He could see Ace was completely serious and wouldn’t change his mind. "Well... maybe there is one place," Silva said. "Not inside the yard. But you can see the main yard from there. There’s an old water tower. It’s very rusty and partly fallen down. It’s officially closed because it’s dangerous. But... if you can climb up it... you can look straight down onto Finley’s main office building. That’s where the important handoffs usually happen inside the yard. But Ace, that climb... it looks incredibly dangerous. Parts of the ladder are completely rusted away. And if Finley’s guards see you up there..."

"It’s our only option," Ace said, already turning towards the back door. "Can you drive me there? Fast?"

Silva paused for just a second. He remembered Deke’s scary threats, but he also felt the strong hope Ace gave him. He quickly grabbed some keys hidden under the bar. "My old truck is parked behind the building," he said. "It looks beat-up, so it won’t stand out near the junkyards. Let’s go. But Ace, listen: we’re only going to watch. We stay far away. No trying to be a hero. Do you promise?"

"I promise," Ace answered. "Just get me near that water tower."

They ran out the back door to Silva’s old, dented pickup truck. Ace climbed into the front passenger seat. Silva shoved the key into the ignition, started the noisy engine, and sped away quickly out of the alley onto the street. He drove fast, swerving around other cars as they headed towards the empty factories and warehouses past the docks.

While Silva drove, Ace texted Evelyn, making sure every word was clear.

Ace: Marco Silva told us the location. Deke’s "usual drop" is at a place called Finley’s Scrapyard. It’s run by a dangerous man named Old Man Finley, past the docks near the old ship-breaking yards. Deke is driving there right now in his black car. He has his secret lockbox with him. He plans to hand it over to Finley before noon today. Silva and I are driving to an old, broken water tower NEAR the scrapyard. From up there, we might be able to SEE Deke meeting Finley and maybe spot what’s inside the lockbox. We will ONLY watch from a distance. We will NOT go inside the scrapyard. I’m sending the exact location of the water tower on the map. Do not come here – it’s too dangerous.

Ace: [Sent Exact Location Pin of Water Tower]

Evelyn: FINLEY’S SCRAPYARD IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! It is guarded like a fortress. They have guard towers with lookouts. Security cameras everywhere. Men with guns patrolling inside. Attack dogs patrolling inside. And there is also rumors of hidden traps.

THE WATER TOWER IS NOT SAFE EITHER! It is old, rusty, and might COLLAPSE. Climbing it is VERY RISKY.

YOUR ONLY MISSION is to watch from the tower IF you can climb it safely. Try to SEE what Deke hands to Finley. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GO INSIDE THE SCRAPYARD. DO NOT TRY TO STOP DEKE. JUST WATCH.

Victor Ramos’s men are almost certainly on their way to the scrapyard too! They want Deke. This could turn VIOLENT very fast.

IF YOU SEE TROUBLE (Ramos’s men arriving, guards spotting you, anything dangerous) THEN GET OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY. YOUR SAFETY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEEING THE LOCKBOX.

Ace read Evelyn’s warning aloud to Silva. "Evelyn confirms it’s a fortress. She also says Ramos’s men are probably already heading there too."

Silva’s knuckles turned bone-white on the steering wheel. "Of course they are. Just perfect," he muttered, pushing the old truck even harder.

They left the city behind, entering a desolate landscape of rotting warehouses. The air smelled bad like salt, oil, and rotting things. Silva turned the truck onto a rough, broken road covered in weeds. This road led towards a huge place surrounded by very tall fences. The tops of the fences had dangerous loops of sharp razor wire. Guard towers stood along the fence. In the distance, they could see the huge, partly taken-apart bodies of old cargo ships.

Silva pulled the truck off the road and behind the crumbling remains of an old storage shed. He turned off the engine. Silently, he pointed through the dirty windshield.

"There," he said. "That’s Finley’s territory." The giant scrapyard looked like a messy fortress made of junk. Ace could see big dogs moving around inside the fence. The large metal building in the middle, with no windows, had to be the office.

"And there," Silva whispered, pointing past the office, "is where you need to climb." He pointed to the old water tower. It stood against the sky like a rusty metal frame. The ladder going up its side looked old and badly rusted, especially near the ground. It seemed dangerous and might break.

Suddenly, Ace recognized a sound cutting through the noise of the nearby factory. It was the rough, sputtering engine sound he knew well – Deke’s black car, speeding closer down a side road.

"He’s here," Ace whispered urgently to Silva. "Stay hidden. Keep the engine running. If anything bad happens, get out of here. Don’t wait for me."

"Be careful, kid," Silva whispered back, his face full of worry.

Ace acted immediately. He quietly slid out of the truck, crouching low to stay hidden. His superhuman hearing picked up sounds all around him: far-off banging metal, dogs barking, the steady thrum of a generator, and the engine of Deke’s car speeding away. He moved like a shadow through the scrub towards the base of the towering, rusted water tower. The hunt had reached its critical point. Deke was delivering his last hope. Ramos’s killers were closing in.

Ace had to climb the rotting tower, see what was in that lockbox, and survive before the penalty stole his strength forever. He grabbed the first cold, rusty rung of the ladder and started the dangerous climb upwards.