Chapter 7 - Chapter 6: Boarding the Beast

The yacht rose like a white monolith against the black harbor, decks tiered and glowing faintly blue from underlighting. Security drones circled overhead, red eyes sweeping slow arcs. Kai cut the engines a hundred meters out. The boat drifted silent, swallowed by darkness."Wait for the gap," he whispered. "Sweep every ninety seconds."Elara nodded, pulse steady now—cold focus replacing the earlier flutter. She unzipped her jacket, fingers brushing the hidden USB drive. Kai opened a matte black case under the console. Inside: a palm-sized drone, rotors silent, camera lens glowing faint green."Decoy," he said. "It'll pull one off course. Thirty-second window."She raised an eyebrow. "You always carry this much hardware?""Habit." His eyes met hers in the dark. "You?""Improvising is my specialty."A small, shared smile—gone in an instant as the patrol drone swept past. Kai launched the decoy. It lifted soundless, darted low and fast toward the port side. The security drone veered, chasing the false signal."Go."He gunned the throttle just enough. The boat kissed the yacht's stern ladder—rubber bumpers muffling impact. Elara grabbed the rungs first, climbing quick and quiet. Kai followed close, his presence steady at her back. They reached the lower deck—empty except for coiled ropes and stacked chairs. Music pulsed from above, laughter drifting down. Kai pointed to a service hatch half-hidden behind a life raft."Maintenance corridor. Leads straight to the server room. Ledger's on a cold wallet inside."Elara nodded. They slipped through the hatch. The corridor was narrow, dim, lit by emergency strips. Pipes hummed overhead. Halfway down, voices—two guards rounding the corner ahead. Kai's hand closed on her wrist—firm, warm. He pulled her into a shallow alcove. Bodies pressed close in the shadows. Her back to the wall, his chest inches away. Heat rolled off him. Cedar and musk—sun-warmed wood after rain—wrapped around her, unexpected and intoxicating. Her heart slammed against her ribs, loud enough she was sure he could hear it. Breath caught, shallow. His thumb brushed the inside of her wrist—once, accidental, then lingering just a second too long. The guards passed, talking low about shift changes. Neither moved. Kai's dark eyes found hers in the dim light, close enough she saw faint gold flecks. His jaw tightened, like he was holding something back."Sorry," he murmured, voice so low it vibrated against her skin."Don't be," she whispered. The words barely audible. For one suspended heartbeat, the world narrowed: his heat, his scent, the electric hum between them. Then he stepped back—just enough. The warmth of his body, the press of him, gone too soon. She missed it instantly—missed the solid grounding weight, the way the air had felt alive when they were that close. Her skin tingled where he'd touched her, heart still racing, a quiet swoon settling low in her chest."Server room's next," he said, voice rougher than before. "Stay sharp."They moved again—deeper into the beast. The corridor ended at a locked door. Kai produced a small device, pressed it to the panel. A soft click. The lock disengaged. They slipped inside. The server room was cool, humming with racks of machines. Blue LEDs cast eerie light. A single workstation sat in the center, cold wallet drive connected. Kai moved to it, fingers flying across the keyboard. Elara kept watch at the door. Then the lights flickered. An alarm—soft, internal—began to pulse. Kai froze. "They know we're here."Footsteps—running—echoed from the corridor. Elara drew her breath in sharp. "How long?""Thirty seconds. Maybe less."He yanked the drive free, pocketed it. The door burst open. Two guards—armed, faces hard—filled the frame. Kai stepped in front of her, body shielding. Elara felt the pendant at her throat—cool silver, pearl catching the blue light. Kuʻu momi.She pushed the memory down. And lunged for the nearest rack, slamming the emergency power cutoff. Darkness swallowed the room. Chaos erupted.