The wind howled, whipping stinging salt spray across the loading bay. Rowan's command had frozen the twin crate in its tracks, but the clock was ticking.
[Ding!]
Event: Twin Crate — Temporary Hold Applied
Status:
- Survival Probability: 53% → 55% (Δ +2%)
- Attention: 27/100
- Inspection Timer: 00:32:00
Sub-Objectives:
D) Prove which crate is the mirror within 01:30:00 (+6%)
E) Log a weight/variance anomaly on record (+3%)
[Thrum…]
Warning: Port Storm Hold T−01:50:00
Penalty on Failure: Survival −6%
"We're not opening them," Rowan stated, his voice cutting through the gale. He'd positioned both crates—7-B and 7-B′—side-by-side in a single lane. "The bonded seal is your only legal shield. Give me non-invasive proof. Now."
"Triage matrix," Elara shot back, her mind racing. "We cross-check everything we can from the outside. Door-plate tare weight versus the manifest. Forklift tine spacing on recent scuffs. Hinge gasket salt lines. Paint halos around the bolt seals. Even micro-stress on the RFID tag housing."
She moved to the first crate, 7-B. "The humidity logger. We can read it externally." A technician handed her a wireless scanner. She held it to the logger's access panel. The graph appeared on her tablet screen. A jagged, natural line of peaks and troughs, responding to the voyage's changing conditions.
She moved to the second crate, 7-B′. The scanner beeped. The graph was different. A perfectly straight, horizontal line for a six-hour period, then a resumption of normal data. A plateau. Impossible for a raw sensor.
"Data splice," Elara said, showing the screen to Rowan. "The logger's data was cut and replaced. That straight edge is a digital artifact. And the timestamps place the splice right in the middle of that seventeen-minute RFID blackout in Yard C."
[Ding!]
Event: Evidence Capture — Humidity Logger Splice
Status:
- Survival Probability: 55% → 58% (Δ +3%)
Rowan's gaze hardened. He turned to the forklift driver, a young man looking increasingly nervous. "Who ordered the move?"
The driver fumbled with his phone, showing a recent call log. The contact was a single letter: S. The note said 'Lane 7 clear.'
Rowan pulled up the RFID hop history on his own device. "The hop list shows an anomalous reader ID. Yard C, Gate 3. It's a maintenance access point. Not a standard routing."
[Thrum…]
Side Flag: Trace the Forklift Path
Timer: 01:00:00
Penalty on Failure: Survival −6%
"We need a weight check," Elara said. "Now."
The main scales were backed up. Rowan secured a ten-minute slot on a nearby dock scale. They moved crate 7-B′ onto it. The digital numbers flickered, then settled. Elara compared them to the Bill of Lading and the door-plate tare.
"Gross weight deviation," she announced. "Plus seventy-two kilograms. That's outside any acceptable variance for the declared cargo."
[Ding!]
Event: Weight Variance Logged (On Record)
Status:
- Survival Probability: 58% → 61% (Δ +3%)
Sub-Objective E — COMPLETE
A crack of lightning split the sky, followed by a long rumble of thunder. A security officer ran over. "Captain Hale! Storm protocol! You have to clear the lane and get inside!"
They were herded into the glass-walled compliance office overlooking the loading lane. The sudden silence was deafening. Rain began to lash the windows.
Rowan replayed the five-second Yard C footage on the large monitor, frame by frame. Elara leaned in, her eyes narrowed.
"There," she said, freezing the video. "The factory stencil on the check digit. On crate 7-B, the kerning—the spacing between the numbers—is uniform, slightly worn. On 7-B′, the '8' is tighter, a different font. It's a repaint." She pointed to another detail. "And the hinge. One has a consistent layer of dust and salt. The other's hinge edges are cleaner, like it was recently wiped during reassembly."
Rowan watched her, his expression unreadable. He reached into a cabinet, pulled out a dry, thermal jacket, and handed it to her. His own vest was still damp. It wasn't a gesture of affection. It was a gesture of professional respect. They were in this together now.
[Ding!]
Event: Male Lead Interaction (On Site)
Status:
- Attention: 27/100 → 30/100 (Δ +3)
- Survival Probability: 61% → 60% (Δ −1%)
Note: Prolonged scrutiny increases risk.
The warehouse PA crackled. "Universal sweep in thirty minutes. All lanes must be cleared for storm securement."
Elara's fingers flew across a keyboard. She compiled a one-page reconciliation memo: the humidity logger splice, the weight variance, the Yard C footage, the stencil and hinge tells. It was a damning, concise dossier.
"The mirror is 7-B′," she stated, her voice firm. "The original cargo is in 7-B. The swap was made in Yard C during the RFID blackout."
[Ding!]
Event: Provisional Identification Filed (On Record)
Status:
- Survival Probability: 60% → 64% (Δ +4%)
Rowan picked up a digital impound order pad, his thumb hovering over the authorization sensor.
A sharp, insistent ping came from the dock supervisor's terminal nearby. The man looked down, his face paling. He looked at Rowan, then at the crates outside.
"Captain… I have an override. Board priority. It says to release 7-B to bonded storage. Immediately."
Outside, the security doors to the bonded area began to cycle open with a heavy hydraulic hum. The storm siren swelled to a new, urgent pitch.
Rowan swore, a low, sharp word lost in the noise. "They're exploiting a loophole. If Compliance doesn't counter-sign the impound in the next five minutes, the system auto-releases on the override."
[Thrum…]
Warning: Bonded Auto-Release Override (5:00)
Penalty on Failure: Survival −8%
[Ding!]
Sub-Objective Unlocked:
F) Counter-sign & seal impound before auto-release (+5%)