Chapter 13 - The Berlin GambitTo hack an impenetrable fortress, you don't break down the front door. You buy the architect who built the walls.
The flight to Germany was a blur of high-stakes corporate espionage. We weren't going to physically break into the Hamburg port authority; we were going to use Sebastian’s own greed against him.
"Aegis Global operates entirely on dark money," I explained to Julian and our lead cyber-forensics hacker, Elias, in the jet’s cabin. "Sebastian wouldn't wire a bribe to a port director from his own account. He would use an Aegis slush fund. Elias, I want you to tear through the offshore routing numbers associated with Aegis’s real estate acquisitions in Berlin."
"They use a closed-loop banking system," Elias warned, typing furiously on his encrypted laptop. "It’s highly secure."
"No system is completely secure," Julian said, his sharp architectural mind processing the logistics. "Find the weakest link. Sebastian is newly paroled; he’s sloppy. He’s trying to prove himself to Aegis."
By the time we landed in Hamburg, a freezing, brutal rain was washing over the industrial shipping yards. We drove in an armored black SUV directly to the towering glass headquarters of the Hamburg Port Authority.
I did not ask for a meeting. I marched into the executive suite wearing a bespoke black trench coat and stiletto boots, flanked by Julian and two elite German private security contractors we had placed on retainer.
The Port Director, a portly, nervous man named Klaus, was sitting at his desk. When he saw us bypass his secretary, his face drained of color.
"Ms. Sterling!" Klaus stammered in heavily accented English. "You cannot be in here!"
"I am exactly where I need to be, Klaus," I said smoothly, stopping three feet away from his desk. My voice projected clearly over the silent office. I threw a sleek, titanium tablet onto his desk.
"What is this?" Klaus hissed.
"That is the unredacted offshore banking ledger my cyber-team just pulled from Aegis Global’s Berlin accounts," I announced, delivering the fatal blow. "It shows a wire transfer of five hundred thousand euros made exactly forty-eight hours ago to an anonymous shell corporation. A shell corporation registered to your wife’s maiden name."
Klaus staggered backward, knocking over his coffee cup. It shattered on the floor.
"You impounded my smart-glass without a valid court injunction," I continued smoothly, stepping entirely into his personal space. "You accepted a bribe from a paroled American felon to execute corporate extortion. Do you know what the German Federal Police do to corrupt port officials?"
"Please," Klaus panicked, absolute, unadulterated terror replacing his bureaucratic arrogance. "Aegis threatened to ruin my career! Sebastian said you were bankrupt!"
"Sebastian is a liar," Julian rumbled, stepping forward, radiating pure, lethal menace that forced Klaus into a corner. "You are going to log into your terminal right now. You are going to lift the embargo on our cargo ships. And then you are going to authorize the immediate departure of the glass to Chicago. If you don't, my team will forward that ledger to Interpol."
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Klaus’s hands shook violently as he logged into his computer. He hit the release codes. The glass was free.
"Now," I smiled—a cold, terrifying expression. "You are going to do me one more favor, Klaus. You are going to call Sebastian and tell him the glass is still trapped. Let him believe he is winning."
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