The Frozen Lure
Elias, Lena, and Markus secured passage on a specialized Argentine research vessel heading toward the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. They were chasing The Chimera, the heavily-armored ice-breaker carrying Chen's drilling team and equipment.
Lena was already executing Elias's orders, using the stolen shell corporation list. She wasn't crashing Chen's empire; she was applying precision digital pressure, making small, critical bank transfers slow, causing legal headaches in multiple jurisdictions, and delaying logistics payments. The goal was to frustrate Chen's supply chain, forcing a mistake.
Meanwhile, a battered single-engine utility plane, piloted by a desperate man, limped into the small airstrip near their port of departure.
Alex emerged, looking haggard and furious. He hadn't landed the prize; he had crashed his ambition.
Elias met him on the docks, far from Lena and Markus.
"You look disappointed, Alex," Elias remarked dryly, leaning against a bollard. "Did the trillion-dollar coordinates turn out to be a decoy?"
Alex slammed a hand down on a crate. "Chen set a perfect trap. The satellite data was a two-year-old survey. I wasted three days on the wrong side of the ice field, burning my last resources. She played me like an amateur."
"She played both of us," Elias countered. "But you chose greed. You chose to be her competitor, not her judge. You think you're still a rogue agent, but in Chen's world, you're just another market correction."
The Necessary Alliance
Alex swallowed his pride, a difficult process for a man of his arrogance. "I underestimated her systemic defenses. Now, my transport is wrecked, my funds are locked down, and my only way to get back at her is to stop that drill. You have the logistics, Vance. I have the field skills to survive on that ice."
Elias knew the value of Alex's specialized field knowledge. On the desolate, unstable ice sheet, an amateur would be a liability. An untrustworthy professional was a calculated risk.
"Chen's team is not comprised of mercenaries; they're resource specialists," Elias stated. "They'll be using cutting-edge, low-impact drilling. They won't just drill a hole; they'll extract the core and be gone within days. We need surgical precision."
"That's what I do," Alex said, meeting Elias's gaze. "I can track their movements, anticipate their extraction points, and breach their perimeter without leaving a footprint. But I need to know your endgame. If we get the core sample, what do you do with it?"
"We don't take the sample," Elias explained. "We take the proof. We get enough documentation—geological surveys, drilling logs, communication records—to legally prove that Chen's operation is illegal and environmentally catastrophic. Then, we use the Master Key—my access to her accounts—to make her pay the penalty before she can bury the evidence."
The plan satisfied Alex's need for a clean, effective blow against Chen, while leaving the high-level legal work to Elias.
"Deal," Alex conceded, extending his hand. "But if you hesitate, or if you try to put a badge on me, I vanish. You need me to survive this ice."
Elias shook his hand, the trust still nonexistent, but the alliance secured by a common enemy.
The Glacier Trap
The team regrouped on the cramped research vessel. The atmosphere was immediately tense. Markus was openly hostile; Lena was analytical but reserved.
"I need to know his specific skills, Elias," Lena said flatly, pointing to the master logistics hard drive. "We need to predict Chen's reaction to my financial pressure."
Alex proved his worth immediately. Lena showed him the current logistics route of The Chimera, which showed the vessel moving toward the most stable, central part of the ice sheet.
"No," Alex contradicted, pointing to a small, remote glacial inlet on the map. "This route is a feint. The central ice is too deep for quick drilling. Chen will be drilling for an outcrop—a geological formation where the rock is close to the surface, allowing for rapid extraction."
He pulled up a rarely-used military satellite image. "Look here. This inlet is frozen most of the year, but the recent melt is opening it up. It's remote, and the currents lead directly to the Riesling Outcrop. That's where Hess's final, real survey would have pointed."
He showed them how Chen's team was using subtle, coded shifts in their public weather buoys to signal the true destination.
"If they hit the Riesling Outcrop, they're not just getting lithium," Alex explained. "That area is the geological keystone of the entire ice sheet. Drilling there could destabilize the entire region, causing massive calving events and accelerating sea level rise. It's a resource extraction operation with planetary consequences."
The stakes had reached their peak. It wasn't just about corporate murder anymore; it was about global environmental disaster.
Closing the Distance
Their small research vessel couldn't keep pace with the massive ice-breaker. The only chance they had was a final, high-risk intercept.
"The Chimera will anchor at the Outcrop and deploy the rig," Alex summarized. "They'll use high-power seismic imaging to pinpoint the exact location. We need to be on the ground before the drilling starts."
Markus, utilizing his skills in historical resource acquisition, found their desperate solution. "There's an old Argentine Air Force refueling depot not far from the Outcrop. Abandoned, but the landing strip is still clear. I can charter a short-range, heavily modified transport plane—for a price that will require all of my liquid assets."
"Do it, Markus," Elias commanded. "Lena, you get the hard drive prepared. We need to extract their drilling logs and seismic data—the definitive proof of the environmental threat."
As they prepared their gear, Elias looked at Alex. The animosity was still there, but now there was a thread of respect—the professional acknowledgment of a necessary partner.
"If you try to steal the proof or switch sides again, Alex," Elias warned, pulling his pack tighter. "The ice won't be your biggest problem."
"I know," Alex replied, meeting his stare. "But I need to see Chen pay. And right now, you're the only weapon I have left."