Arthur was coming, but he was coming with a bruised ego and a dwindling empire.

I turned back to the laptop.

I had to accelerate the timeline.

If Julian Maroni took the docks tonight, the police would arrest his crew.

If Arthur’s men arrived at the docks to defend them, they would be caught in the same net.

I opened the second browser tab.

I drafted an encrypted message to Julian’s chief of operations, a man named Leo who I knew was greedy and impatient.

I used an alias he associated with a corrupt customs official.

*Costello’s warehouse on Pier 42 is unguarded tonight. The feds are looking at Pier 39. Move now.*

I hit send.

Next, I turned to the email draft addressed to the state police tip line.

I attached three scanned manifests showing the serial numbers of the stolen luxury vehicles currently sitting in Pier 42.

I added the names of Arthur’s top transport drivers, including their home addresses and shift schedules.

I hit send.

The digital chess board was set.

Now I needed to poke Arthur.