Chapter 2 - DO NOT TOUCH THE MONITORS
Rachel's first instinct was to step inside.
A voice from one of the speakers stopped her.
“Carter. Do not touch anything.”
Mason went rigid.
Rachel looked up at the nearest monitor.
“Who is this?”
No answer.
Then boots struck the pier behind them.
Port security.
Three sailors.
One civilian NCIS agent Rachel recognized from an annual security brief.
Special Agent Jonah Pierce.
Forty-something.
No dramatic weapon drawn.
Just badge out and a face that looked furious in several directions at once.
“Everybody away from the container.”
Mason immediately pointed at Rachel.
“She cut a controlled seal.”
Rachel turned.
“You punched me because I read my own name.”
Pierce looked toward two security cameras on the crane mast.
“I'm guessing I won't need either of you to summarize the fight.”
Mason shut up.
Pierce pointed.
“Carter, left side.”
Then Mason.
“Chief, right.”
They separated.
The camera inside 44C kept recording.
Rachel stared at the monitors.
One displayed a live image of her standing beside the broken seal.
Another showed Mason.
A third showed twelve hours of thumbnails.
Pierce stepped in front of the container but did not enter.
He called someone through his radio.
“Glassline is blown. Secure technical package.”
Rachel heard it.
“Glassline?”
Pierce looked at her.
Then at the seal.
His expression changed.
“Who put that on there?”
Rachel almost laughed.
“That's what I was asking before Chief Reed hit me.”
Pierce crouched.
Did not touch the broken pieces.
The seal was unusual.
Silver-gray body.
Stamped serial number.
Then beneath it:
R. CARTER
Pierce called an evidence technician.
“Photograph in place.”
Mason said:
“Agent, this container was on logistics hold.”
Pierce looked at him.
“No. It wasn't.”
Mason stopped.
Rachel saw it.
“You knew something was wrong with it.”
Mason said nothing.
Pierce did.
“The seal we placed on this container last night did not have Carter's name on it.”
Rachel stared.
“You placed it.”
“Yes.”
“What is this?”
Pierce looked toward the surveillance equipment.
“Authorized technical surveillance.”
“Against who?”
“I am not discussing targets on an open pier.”
Mason interrupted.
“Then you admit this container isn't cargo.”
Pierce turned.
“You should be far more interested in explaining why you physically attacked a sailor for approaching a container you supposedly believed was ordinary cargo.”
Mason's face tightened.
Good question.
Then the NCIS technical team arrived.
They photographed everything before touching the broken seal.
One technician checked the original surveillance installation record.
“Seal at 2210 was D-88417.”
Pierce looked down.
The one Rachel cut:
D-91042.
Different serial.
Different embossing.
Different custodian name.
Someone had replaced it overnight.
Rachel asked:
“Did your camera see who?”
Nobody answered immediately.
The technician entered 44C.
Pulled up the recorded feed.
Timestamp.
03:00.
Empty pier.
03:47.
Forklift passes.
04:09.
A figure appears between two container stacks.
High-visibility vest.
Work trousers.
Hard hat.
Face hidden from the camera by a pallet of strapped crates.
The person approaches 44C.
Uses bolt cutters.
Removes the original NCIS seal.
Then pauses.
Rachel leaned forward.
“Zoom.”
Pierce gave her a look.
She stepped back.
The technician enlarged it.
The person's left hand held a replacement seal.
D-91042.
Rachel's name.
The figure locked it onto the doors.
Then walked away.
Mason whispered:
“No.”
Rachel turned toward him.
“You know the seal.”
He did not answer.
Pierce stopped the footage.
“Chief?”
Mason looked toward the container.
Then the secure-seal shed seventy yards down the pier.
His face had changed.
“That seal came from our printer.”
Rachel felt the hit in her chest harder than the punch.
Pierce asked:
“How can you tell?”
Mason pointed at the stamping.
“Pier Four's press puts the custodian line under the serial.”
Rachel looked toward the shed.
Only certified logistics personnel had access.
Then Mason said something worse.
“Carter's profile shouldn't still exist.”
Rachel stared at him.
“Still?”
Mason closed his eyes.
Pierce looked between them.
“What happened to Carter's profile?”
May you like
Mason answered quietly.
“I used it.”
