2-The Shipyard

The Shipyard

 

Across town in a sprawling shipping yard containers were being unloaded from the massive freight ship the Xin Lau. Chinese goods still came through in massive quantities despite the possibility of conflict. The dock men sat during their break in the day shift and looked at the massive flat topped aircraft carrier few miles off the beach with a feeling of unease and uncertainty. Nobody really spoke about it. They just looked. There were about fifty men scattered around the yard working. Some of the men in the cranes only came out for restroom visits and ate their lunches in the cabin of the heavy lift cranes. Hundreds of containers were being stacked in rows five high on the dock, to be distributed to trucks and the flat freight cars on the train tracks that snaked through the yards and next to the tall machines.

As per federal regulations each container was loaded onto a truck after removal from the ship and driven through a hazardous materials sensing machine to then be moved onto the train cars or onto semi-trucks for distribution. In years passed the yard was a beehive of activity with up to six ships being unloaded at any given time, now the longshoremen were twenty five percent of their former numbers. Still rules were rules and the regulations stated clearly that at a minimum one container in one hundred had to be opened and the contents physically inspected. Dock boss John Monroe signaled to a loader to set the next container on the scale, and he frowned when the weight was only sixteen thousand pounds, which was about one fifth of its load capacity.

“Open her up. “He shouted to one of the workers.

The doors of the shipping container had padlocks that had a colored cell on one side that activated when they were opened so theft could be detected. Only the shifts load master had the universal key that opened the freighters cargo containers. The color was unchanged indicating that there had been no high seas theft and that nobody had opened the container. He checked that box off on his clipboard and walked towards the containers door. Just as he moved his hand with the key to the lock his cell phone rang. He clasped his clipboard under his arm and answered.

“John Monroe speaking, how may I help you?“

The voice on the line was heavily accented. Pure, white hot annoyance flooded his body. He groaned and thought, “How the hell do these bastards get my number? “ “Hello Mr. Monroe. My name in Lyn Wag, I am the captain of the Xin Lau. “

There was a pause. Clearly Lyn was waiting for a reply. John grunted an acknowledgment. “This is dock master John Monroe speaking. “ Lyn replied quickly; “This container has extremely valuable cultural cargo and it is not to be opened or disturbed. May I direct you to a full container as of yet unloaded? “

This request was highly unusual.

For one thing, TSA regulations clearly stated that he had absolute authority on the dock; once the containers were unloaded it was his responsibility and if any illicit contraband was discovered he would lose his job and maybe even his retirement.

“I’m sorry Captain, but I have to open this container. It’s my job. “There was a long pause on the line and John thought he could hear whispering on the phone.

“Mr. Monroe. May I come down from the bridge and discuss this matter with you?

An uneasy feeling had settled into Johns bones. He glanced at his wedding ring. The sky seemed a brighter blue than it had a few minutes before. He looked across the lot at the men working and in the distance; the Chinese aircraft carrier parked like an insult on the ocean like it was, in sight of the California coast.

“I…sure, I guess so. “

“Thank  you Sir, I will be down right away. “And he was. Within two minutes Lyn Wag was down from his ship flanked by two men in grey overalls. He also carried a clipboard and wore a baggy jacket.

“Sir” he began. “We cannot allow this container to be opened. It has ancient cultural artifacts that may be immediately damaged if exposed to the salt air. “

John flipped through the manifest. “There is nothing about that here. Might there be some sort of mistake?”

The two men with Lyn were carefully moving around to the sides and behind John; he didn’t even see them move. Lyn reached into his jacket pocket and John looked in disbelieve at the barrel of a silenced pistol just as the men grabbed his arms.

“Hey! What the…no…wait!” John saw the barrel flash but felt nothing but breathlessness and heat in the center of his sternum. The mechanical clack of the receiver discarding the spent shells seemed louder suddenly than any other sound of the dock.

Fire leapt from the barrel of the automatic pistol five times, and with each he felt a heavier pressure on his chest. His mind registered the hot points he felt in his chest, but not the downward momentum as he began to stagger and fall.  He slumped to the ground as the two men with Lyn Wag let him fall. As other dock workers came running the two assistances pulled their silenced pistols and quickly they fell too.

John was looking up at Lyn Wag, still so surprised at the painlessness of being shot that he did not register that he was dying. One of the boat captains assistants asked, “General Wag? “

Lyn Wag pulled the lapel of his jacket and put his pistol in the sheath he wore across his shoulder blades.

“Kill everyone here. Nobody gets out alive! “He opened the cargo containers lock. Inside twelve commandos sat around low benches, an armored fighting vehicle in the center. They cradled machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. A portable toilet was in one corner.

“C’mon men, “Lyn Wag said. “ I know you are tired and seasick but two of the dock workers have not reported to the cafeteria.  We must find them now. We will kill all we see. Cut the power and phone lines immediately.“

Thus the first shots of the Chinese led invasion were fired. It was almost one p.m. and not too far from that spot, in fact barely out of earshot if the pistols and clacking machine guns hadn’t been silenced a tired, frustrated and unemployed man was about to get out of his car and abandon it on the freeway.