[Jake's POV]
The transition from the sterile, air-conditioned luxury of the Grand Azure to the humid, diesel-scented reality of the Outer Harbour was jarring.
One minute I was sixty floors up, glass and steel and silence.
The next I was standing in an alley that smelled like seawater, cigarettes, and old garbage.
I stepped out of the unmarked armored transport van and into the narrow space behind the Golden Koi mahjong parlor. The morning sun was just starting to cut through the smog, turning everything a dull, dirty gold.
Two of Evelyn Jin's private security contractors were already there. They moved without speaking. Professional. They unloaded four heavy, reinforced Pelican cases onto the wet pavement. The cases thudded. Money has weight.
They nodded to me once, got back in the van, and drove away. No words. No receipts.
I stood there for a second, looking at the cases. Nineteen point eight million dollars. Clean. Untraceable. Backed by the Grand Azure.
