Chapter 16: Thirty Yards

Mo had been ordered to drink the coffee because Su considered it medicinal. He tasted it once. "Acceptable." From the driver's seat, Hollis lowered his binoculars. "She found the one bean in Redwood Harbor you won't insult." "In position at the gate," Su said through his earpiece. "Keep the channel clear." Mo set the cup in the holder between the van's seats. Sunday's sunrise had painted the windows of Pier Nine in copper strips. Beyond the Ashwood gate, cranes stood over warehouses and stacks of refrigerated containers. The white donor van waited beside a loading shed with its rear doors toward the water. It had not moved in more than a day. Nobody had approached it in forty minutes. The three missing recruits remained inside. Their breathing reached Mo only when the wind crossed the pier, shallow currents beneath diesel engines and the slap of water against pilings. He had…