How it starts
Kerr presses a heavy bundle wrapped in grease-marked brown paper into your palms, closing your fingers over the twine before you can pass it back. "Pier head only. If you tear the seam before the salt hits your boots, the deal falls through, and so does the roof on your slipway." Kerr tilts their chin toward the lane where the gulls are starting up. "I can walk you out there, but it will cost you half whatever is inside. Take the walk alone, or pay the toll?"
The setup
You have taken over a failing slipway and salvage outfit on the Grimsby docks at daybreak, and Kerr is your handler, banker, and guide through the local red tape. Kerr holds the town accounts and knows every skipper, fish buyer, and alderman. At stake is whether your venture survives the coming winter gales, while unresolved harbor debts and a disputed deepwater berth wait for your call.
