The vessel moved silently through the calm waters of Tokyo Bay. So far, Aris was doing a good job operating the controls, but Mara remained by his side the entire time with an intense focus. She hardly said a word.
She wore a pair of glasses that were optimized for night vision and that also served as binoculars. Activating the glasses, The Fox’s yacht came into focus along with the coordinates. She read the name on the side of the boat — Takarajima — and determined with certainty that they had found what they were looking for.
“Stop here,” Mara instructed.
Aris eased off the accelerator and brought the boat to a stop. Located amongst various other vessels floating adrift, was a luxury super yacht. There were no other boats around it, the nearest being one hundred metres away. Infiltrating a yacht presented a disadvantage for Mara and her crew since it was inherently harder to sneak up on. One could only assume that was The Fox’s intention when making it his hideout.
Mara’s team waded in the dark waters, and were nearly undetectable. They had deliberately turned their lights off and kept the chatter to a minimum to avoid detection. Given their position, they were too far away to arouse suspicion. Even if The Fox had sensors, security cameras, or looked out his window, he wouldn’t suspect anyone was coming for him.
“Alright everyone, listen up,” Mara commanded like a military general. “Much like the ambush at the factory, we’ll hit him hard and fast, and secure our targets. As you know, the factory was rigged with video and audio so he’s going to be expecting us. That makes this mission even more difficult. With that said, the plan is to be as discreet as possible while being mindful of traps at all times. I can tell you from experience, this man is highly intelligent, very calculating, and has no remorse. We’ll swim to the back of the yacht and then wait until everyone arrives. Anybody not comfortable doing that can stay with Aris.”
Nobody said a word.
“So I’m going to be all by myself?” Aris asked.
“You could always download a courage patch,” Milo suggested.
It was a cheap shot, but Aris didn’t retaliate. Unfortunately, he had no leverage. There were undoubtedly swimming patches on the global knowledge network, but it wasn’t the kind of knowledge one wanted to download. Swimming required practice for the proper muscle memory and motor skills to develop. There was no shortcut.
“What about you, Glitch?” Aris asked, “You’ve gained a lot of muscle since the last time you swam. You’re a lot denser than you used to be and might not be able to stay afloat.”
“My girlfriend may be on that yacht. Even if I had no arms, I’d get in that water.”
“That’s the second reference that guy has made about having no arms,” Milo whispered to Alex. “What’s up with that?”
“I’m not sure,” Alex said. “Maybe he’s harbouring some repressed childhood memories.”
There was a ladder on the back of the boat that allowed the crew to lower themselves into the frigid water. Aris watched Mara’s crew go first, then Mara, then Milo. Before Alex got in the water, Aris pulled her aside and told her to be careful.
“I appreciate the concern, Aris,” Alex said, “thank you.”
Alex lowered herself down the ladder until she was submerged up to her neck. It had been a long day for her and she was exhausted, but the cold water made her more alert. The last thing she thought she’d be doing was swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night — and her night was far from over.
“Aris,” Alex called out quietly. “You be careful too… with whatever it is you’re afraid of.”
The moon provided just enough light to see, but it was still terrifying not knowing what was in the water beneath her. As Alex began swimming toward The Fox’s yacht, she felt increasingly more vulnerable — a feeling she was beginning to get used to. She tried to block out those thoughts and focus on her breathing. Within a few metres, her muscles tensed up, inducing fatigue. She didn’t want to think about having to swim back, but the thought crossed her mind. The salt water was also splashing in her eyes, making it difficult to see, but she kept going. With each laboured stroke, she was getting more exhausted, but also a little bit closer to the yacht. She closed her eyes and swam as efficiently as possible, only opening them to make sure she was on course.
The furthest person away was about twenty feet ahead of her. When the crew started to reach the ship, they followed the plan, which was to approach the yacht from the rear and wait for everyone to arrive. Alex was the last to make it, and when she finally reached the group, she wasn’t sure she had enough energy to be of any use. Glitch reached down, grabbing Alex by the hand, and hauling her up with ease. Her soaking wet clothes clung to her body, and Milo couldn’t help but look at her slender figure. She looked up and caught him staring, which caused him to quickly turn away.
Using only hand gestures, Mara signalled everyone into position. She pointed to four men and instructed them to cover the lower deck. Next, she selected another four to take the upper deck, and the rest would enter the cabin of the ship with her. Alex and Milo remained together by Mara’s side.