Chapter 4 - THE SHIP WITH NO NAME
The black vessel moved alongside us.
No flag.
No registration.
No visible crew.
Every instinct I had buried after leaving the Marines came rushing back.
David noticed.
“You know what that means.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Boarding operation.”
He nodded.
“But not by authorities.”
“Then who?”
“My father's men.”
I grabbed the emergency radio.
Static.
Someone had jammed communications.
David looked at the door.
“We have maybe three minutes.”
“Until what?”
“Until they board.”
I picked up the aluminum bat.
David stared.
“You're taking that?”
I looked at the weapon.
“No.”
I tossed it aside.
“I don't need it.”
He almost smiled.
Then the first explosion shook the corridor.
Passengers screamed.
Emergency doors slammed shut.
The ship's announcement system came alive.
“Remain calm.”
A second explosion.
David grabbed my hand.
“Move.”
We ran.
We reached the service corridor just as armed men entered the main passage.
I recognized their formation.
Professional.
Not criminals.
Military.
But without insignia.
I whispered:
“Private contractors.”
David nodded.
“Exactly.”
We slipped into a maintenance room.
A man walked past.
“Find Sarah Davis.”
Another answered:
“She is priority one.”
I looked at David.
“They know my location.”
He nodded.
“They've known since we boarded.”
I opened a maintenance hatch.
“Then let's change the game.”
We crawled through the ventilation system.
Minutes later, we reached the ship's security center.
Rows of monitors displayed every cabin.
Passengers.
Crew.
And dozens of hidden rooms.
Then I saw Cabin 714.
Emily was there.
She was sitting beside an older woman.
The woman looked directly at the camera.
She raised a handwritten sign.
HELP US.
I froze.
“How many?”
David counted.
“Twenty-three.”
Twenty-three women.
All presumed missing.
All alive.
I looked at him.
“Can we open the doors?”
“Not from here.”
“Then what can we do?”
David pointed at one monitor.
“The ship's captain.”
We found him in the bridge.
He was surrounded by armed men.
A tall gray-haired man stood beside him.
He turned toward the security camera.
Even through the monitor, I knew who he was.
Elias Voss.
David's father.
He smiled.
“Sarah.”
Then he spoke directly into the camera.
“You've always been difficult to kill.”
I stepped closer.
“You've tried before.”
His smile widened.
“You remember.”
I did.
The mission I'd spent years trying to forget.
The operation where everyone on my team supposedly died.
Except me.
Voss leaned toward the camera.
“You survived because I wanted you to.”
My blood went cold.
“Why?”
He smiled.
“Because I needed someone to find the ledger.”
Then the screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
My old Marine team.
Every member.
Alive.
I stared.
May you like
Voss whispered:
“Welcome back, Captain.”
