Chapter 5
Normally, it was used for shipping goods across different regions.
But Vantaris's cross-docking moves made zero business sense.
The routes got longer, costs went up, and the goods ended up less fresh.
Unless their real reason for cross-docking wasn't about shipping goods at all.
No, it was all about swapping out the cargo.
I told Daniel what I'd found.
His face grew even more serious.
"So you're saying they're using regular cold chain shipping as a cover?" he asked. "At the cross-docking points, they're slipping the bio-carriers into the regular cargo? Then shipping them out all over the country?"
I nodded.
"That's the explanation that makes the most sense," I said. "Cold chain trucks are sealed and temperature-controlled. Normally, no one checks inside.
"As long as the bio-carriers aren't activated, they're just like any other cargo. It's the perfect cover."
Daniel stood up and started pacing back and forth.
"If your theory is right," he said. "Then this batch of frozen fish is just the tip of the iceberg.
"God knows how many more shipments like this slipped through before we even caught on."
He suddenly stopped and looked at me.
"Fernando, I need you to do something for me," he said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I want you to track down every cross-docking point they've got," he said.
He headed over to the computer and brought up a map of the whole country.
All the shipping routes Vantaris had used in the past two years were mapped out on it.
The lines were so packed together that it looked like a giant spiderweb.
"You know this business. You get the logic behind these routes better than our analysts ever could," Daniel said. "If you were in their shoes, where would you place the cross-docking points?"
I stared at the map, my mind racing.
In cold chain logistics, the two most important things were temperature control and timing.
When it came to picking cross-docking points, there were a few must-haves.
First, it had to be out of the way, somewhere people wouldn't notice.
Second, it needed a power supply to keep the refrigeration running.
Third, it needed to be easy for trucks to get in and out.
And fourth, it should be hidden, like an abandoned factory or warehouse.
I grabbed a pen and circled a few spots on the map.
"Here, here, and here," I said. "These spots are all abandoned cold storage units right next to major logistics hubs.
"If I were them, these are the spots I'd pick."
Daniel studied the points I'd circled, a glint of appreciation in his eyes.
"Good," he said.
He turned to the team waiting outside the door.
"Get a team to check out these locations—now," he ordered. "If you spot anything unusual, report it immediately."
Watching everyone hustle around, I felt something weird in my gut.
Me, just a regular truck driver with ten years on the road, suddenly dragged into something way over my head.
It was like a dream. None of it felt real.
But the warmth from my lighter in my hand reminded me this was no dream.
Did Turner uncover something back then too?
Was that what led to his accident?
Four hours later, the results came back.
Two of the spots I'd circled had been abandoned for years—nothing out of the ordinary.
But the third one, an old cold storage complex right on the border of two provinces, was a different story.
"This complex was leased last year by a company called Vireline Logistics," the young analyst reported.
He was a bespectacled guy, looked polite and scholarly.
"On the surface, Vireline Logistics is a cold chain company for agricultural products, handling fresh fruit and vegetable shipments across provinces.
"But when we checked their business registration records, we found..."
He paused, glancing at Daniel.
"Vireline Logistics and Vantaris Life Sciences share the same shareholder," he said.
"Who is it?" Daniel asked.
"It's a foreign company set up in a free trade zone, called Horizon Holdings," the analyst said. "And the real boss behind Horizon Holdings is someone named Mason Austin."
I felt a chill run through me.
Mason was the guy listed as Vantaris Life Sciences' legal rep.
"That lines up," Daniel said, his gaze sharpening. "Vantaris handles the shipping, Vireline Logistics does the cross-docking and distribution, and Horizon Holdings is running the show from behind.
"That's a full-blown money trail."
He turned to the map on the wall.
"That old cold storage complex is their central transfer hub," Daniel said. "If we shut that place down, their whole supply chain gets cut off
"And we'll finally have the evidence to see just how much of their shipments have already made it to market."
He gave the order.