Chapter 7: The Voice Behind The Order
I spent the next hour trying to understand one thing.
Was Colonel Victor Kane telling me the truth?
That was the most dangerous question.
Not because the answer was complicated.
Because the answer could be yes.
And I hated that possibility.
Kane was still responsible for what happened.
He had locked away emergency supplies.
He had threatened witnesses.
He had tried to destroy my reputation.
But the video of Liam Carter changed something.
It created a gap in the story.
And inside that gap was someone else.
Someone who had been hiding above Kane.
Someone who had enough power to make a colonel afraid.
I was escorted back through the ship with security on both sides.
Nobody spoke.
But I noticed something.
The way people looked at me had changed.
Before, they looked confused.
Now, they looked afraid.
The announcement had done its job.
I wasn’t Lieutenant Mason Reed anymore.
I was the threat.
The person everyone was told to avoid.
When we reached the holding area, one of the guards unlocked the door.
Before I stepped inside, he quietly said,
“Sir.””
I stopped.
He looked around.
Then lowered his voice.
“Don’t trust the reports.””
I turned toward him.
“What did you say?””
His expression changed immediately.
“Nothing, sir.””
The door closed.
But his words stayed with me.
Don’t trust the reports.
Another person trying to tell me the truth.
Another person too afraid to say it publicly.
I sat down and looked at my watch.
The memory card was still hidden.
But now I had a problem.
Kane knew I had it.
Or at least suspected.
If he wanted it badly enough, he could search me.
Take it.
Destroy it.
Unless…
Unless he wasn’t trying to take it.
Unless he wanted me to keep it.
That thought bothered me.
Because it meant Kane might be playing a different game.
I removed my watch carefully.
The small compartment opened.
The memory card was still there.
I stared at it.
A tiny piece of plastic.
Small enough to lose.
Powerful enough to destroy careers.
I needed a way to access the information without anyone knowing.
Then I remembered something.
The communications room.
The countdown.
The file transfer.
Someone had already tried to upload something.
Maybe the card wasn’t just evidence.
Maybe it was a key.
I needed a terminal.
A system connected to the ship.
And I needed someone who could get me there.
A few minutes later, the lights outside the brig flickered.
The door opened.
I expected security.
Instead, Dr. Hannah Ellis stepped inside.
This time, she wasn’t alone.
Commander Daniel Cross followed her.
I immediately stood.
“You two together now?””
Cross looked away.
Dr. Ellis closed the door.
“We don’t have time for this.””
I stared at Cross.
“You lied to me.””
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“You helped Kane.””
“Yes.””
“Then why are you here?””
Cross looked exhausted.
“Because I made a mistake.””
I laughed quietly.
“Only now?””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I made it years ago.””
The room went silent.
Dr. Ellis stepped forward.
“Daniel knows who authorized the Deck Four operation.””
My eyes moved to him.
“Who?””
Cross hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
He was afraid.
Not of Kane.
Of the answer.
“Admiral Thomas Vale.””
The name hit harder than expected.
The commanding officer overseeing the entire operation.
The person who had authority above Kane.
I stared at Cross.
“You’re saying an admiral approved this?””
Cross nodded.
“I’m saying Kane wasn’t the decision-maker.””
“Then why did he take the blame?””
“Because Kane thought he could control it.””
Dr. Ellis crossed her arms.
“Until you started investigating.””
I looked at Cross.
“What happened to Liam Carter?””
Cross looked down.
“I don’t know everything.””
“That’s not good enough.””
“I know he discovered the transfers.””
“What transfers?””
Cross walked toward the table.
“Deck Four wasn’t only used for supplies.””
He took a breath.
“It was used for moving things off the ship.””
I frowned.
“Things?””
“Equipment.””
“Stolen equipment?””
“No.””
His expression darkened.
“People.””
The word made the room feel colder.
I stared.
“What does that mean?””
Cross looked at Dr. Ellis.
Then back at me.
“Several sailors who were considered problems were reassigned through unofficial channels.””
“Where?””
“Nobody knows.””
My hands tightened.
“Carter found out.””
“Yes.””
“And he was killed.””
Cross didn’t answer.
But silence was enough.
I looked at Dr. Ellis.
“Why help me?””
She looked at the floor.
“Because I treated Liam Carter.””
That surprised me.
“What?””
“He wasn’t dead immediately.””
The room went quiet.
I stepped closer.
“You’re saying he survived?””
“For a few minutes.””
My heart started racing.
“What did he say?””
Dr. Ellis looked at me.
“He gave me one instruction.””
“What?””
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a folded piece of paper.
And handed it to me.
I opened it.
Three words were written.
*TRUST THE WATCH.*
I looked up.
My watch.
The memory card.
Someone knew.
Someone knew exactly where I had hidden it.
“Who wrote this?””
Dr. Ellis shook her head.
“Liam did.””
I looked at the message again.
My mind raced.
The watch wasn’t just a hiding place.
It was connected to something.
I removed the memory card.
“Where can I access a terminal?””
Cross looked at me.
“There’s one place.””
“Where?””
He hesitated.
“Admiral Vale’s private command room.””
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“That’s exactly why it’s the safest place.””
I didn’t understand.
“Explain.””
“Kane monitors normal systems.””
Cross looked toward the door.
“Vale doesn’t allow anyone near his personal network.””
“So?””
“So nobody watches it.””
A dangerous plan.
But maybe the only one.
Before we could move, the ship shook violently.
The alarms returned.
But this time, the sound was different.
Not emergency.
Combat.
Dr. Ellis looked at the ceiling.
“What is happening?””
Cross immediately checked his device.
His face changed.
“What?””
I moved closer.
“What is it?””
He looked at me.
“The ship has changed course.””
“Why?””
His fingers moved across the screen.
Then he went pale.
“Because we’re no longer heading to the scheduled port.””
A silence followed.
“Where are we going?””
Cross looked at the coordinates.
Then whispered:
“An unauthorized rendezvous point.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who ordered it?””
Cross didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Because a message appeared on his screen.
One line.
One name.
ADMIRAL THOMAS VALE.
Then another message appeared.
*TRANSFER LIEUTENANT REED TO MY VESSEL.*
I stared at the screen.
“He wants me.””
Cross nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Nobody answered.
Then the ship’s speaker activated.
A calm voice filled the corridor.
A voice I had never heard before.
“Lieutenant Mason Reed.””
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“You have something that belongs to me.””
The speaker clicked.
And the message ended.
I looked at the memory card in my hand.
Because suddenly, I understood.
The evidence wasn’t just dangerous.
It wasn’t just something they wanted destroyed.
May you like
It was something someone powerful needed back.
And whoever controlled the truth behind Deck Four was coming to take it personally.
