Then, just as she was about to move on from another locked unit near the port-side bulkhead, she froze. Faint but unmistakable—there was a soft knocking sound from behind the steel wall. Three slow taps, a pause, then two more. Katherine pressed her ear against the cold surface. Her pulse spiked.
“Ahmed?” she whispered again. She heard the knocking sound again. Her heart clenched. She noticed the big padlock on the container door. She turned to her officers with a nod. “This is it. Let’s break this lock, but do it quietly.”