Chapter 9: The Truth Behind The Man I Hated
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Commander Cross.
Not even Colonel Kane.
The only sound inside Deck Four was the low vibration of the ship moving through the Pacific.
Admiral Thomas Vale stood in the center of the room like he had walked into his own office.
Like the evidence.
The accusations.
The years of secrets.
Were all just pieces on a board he controlled.
He looked at me.
“Lieutenant Reed, you have spent a great deal of time trying to expose Colonel Kane.””
I said nothing.
Vale continued.
“You believed he was the source.””
His eyes moved toward Kane.
“But you were wrong.””
I tightened my grip on the recorder.
“Then explain.””
Vale smiled.
“Good.””
A pause.
“You finally asked the right question.””
Kane looked at him.
“Don’t do this.””
Vale turned.
“Do what?””
“Rewrite history.””
That was the first time I heard something different in Kane’s voice.
Not anger.
Fear.
Real fear.
Vale noticed.
And he enjoyed it.
“You always were terrible at accepting reality, Victor.””
The way he said Kane’s first name made the room colder.
No respect.
No rank.
Just control.
I looked between them.
“What happened on Deck Four?””
Vale ignored me.
Instead, he walked toward the desk and picked up one of the empty folders.
“Do you know what separates good commanders from weak ones?””
Nobody answered.
He continued anyway.
“Good commanders understand that sacrifices must be made.””
I stared at him.
“You mean people.””
He looked at me.
“People are part of every operation.””
“No.””
My voice hardened.
“People are the reason operations exist.””
For the first time, Vale looked annoyed.
“You’re still thinking like a junior officer.””
“And you’re thinking like someone who forgot the people under your command are human.””
The room went silent.
Kane looked at me.
Almost surprised.
Vale walked closer.
“You believe morality makes you powerful.””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“I believe it makes me different from you.””
The air changed.
Vale’s expression became colder.
Then he looked at Kane.
“See?””
A slight smile.
“This is why I wanted him removed.””
I turned.
“You wanted me removed?””
Kane looked away.
And that hurt more than I expected.
Because despite everything, I had believed Kane was simply trying to destroy me.
I had never considered that maybe he had been trying to protect something.
Or someone.
Vale noticed my reaction.
“He never told you, did he?””
“Told me what?””
Vale stepped closer.
“That Colonel Kane has been collecting evidence against me for months.””
I looked at Kane.
He said nothing.
My mind raced.
The reports.
The documents.
The warnings.
The strange moments where Kane seemed to know more than he admitted.
“Why?””
Kane finally spoke.
“Because I realized too late what was happening.””
Vale laughed quietly.
“Too late?””
He shook his head.
“You were part of it.””
The words hit everyone.
Kane’s face hardened.
“I followed orders.””
“Exactly.””
Vale pointed at him.
“You followed them until you realized you might be blamed.””
Kane stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.””
“Is it?””
Vale turned to me.
“Ask him about Liam Carter.””
I looked at Kane.
The room became silent.
“Kane.””
He didn’t answer.
“Kane, what happened?””
His jaw tightened.
Then he said quietly:
“I found Liam after the attack.””
My chest tightened.
“Attack?””
Kane looked at the floor.
“He wasn’t killed immediately.””
Dr. Ellis closed her eyes.
She already knew.
“He was injured.””
Kane continued.
“I found him near Deck Four.””
I stared.
“Why didn’t you report it?””
A long silence.
Then:
“Because when I arrived…”
He looked at Vale.
“Admiral Vale was already there.””
The room froze.
Vale didn’t react.
That was the most frightening part.
Kane continued.
“Liam was alive.””
My voice lowered.
“What did he say?””
Kane looked at the recorder.
“He said one thing.””
“What?””
Kane looked at me.
“Don’t trust the uniform.””
A chill moved through me.
Because Liam’s warning suddenly made sense.
Not don’t trust command.
Not don’t trust officers.
The uniform.
The entire system.
Kane continued.
“He gave me the recorder.””
He pointed toward the device in my hand.
“I hid it because I knew Vale would take it.””
I looked at him.
“Then why did you let me believe you were the enemy?””
Kane looked away.
That answer hurt.
“Because Vale needed you to hate me.””
A pause.
“And I needed him to believe you weren’t close to the truth.””
I stared.
“You almost killed me.””
His expression changed.
“I know.””
The honesty shocked me.
“I made sure you survived.””
My eyes narrowed.
“You pushed me off a ship.””
Kane’s face tightened.
“The water below the Resolute was monitored.””
I froze.
“What?””
He continued.
“I knew there was a rescue vessel nearby.””
“That’s not what happened.””
“No.””
Kane looked at me.
“That’s what you saw.””
The room went quiet.
He was right.
I remembered the fall.
The impact.
The water.
The ship moving away.
But I never knew what happened afterward.
I assumed.
I filled in the blanks.
Kane lowered his voice.
“Vale wanted you gone permanently.””
“Then why?””
“Because I knew if you stayed on the ship, you would be killed.””
I stared at him.
“So your solution was throwing me into the ocean?””
His expression showed something close to regret.
“It was the only way to make it look real.””
Before I could respond, alarms suddenly erupted.
Different from before.
More urgent.
Vale looked toward the door.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
“What did you do?””
Everyone looked at me.
I shook my head.
“Nothing.””
Vale stepped toward Kane.
“You copied the files.””
Kane said nothing.
Vale’s face changed.
“You did.””
I looked at Kane.
“What did you do?””
Kane reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small device.
A transmitter.
“I sent the evidence.””
Vale immediately reached for his weapon.
But Kane was faster.
“Don’t.””
The entire room froze.
The security team aimed their weapons.
Nobody fired.
Because everyone understood.
If Kane pressed the button, the files went public.
Vale looked furious.
“You wouldn’t.””
Kane stared at him.
“I should have done it years ago.””
Vale laughed.
“You think this ends with me?””
The words were strange.
Almost like a warning.
I stepped forward.
“What does that mean?””
Vale looked at me.
“You still don’t understand.””
He smiled.
“Kane was never the only person protecting this secret.””
My stomach tightened.
“What secret?””
Vale looked at the recorder.
Then at me.
“The reason Deck Four mattered.””
A pause.
“The reason Liam Carter died.””
The lights flickered.
A message appeared on the nearest monitor.
Incoming transmission.
Everyone turned.
The screen showed a file name.
Not Deck Four.
Something else.
A folder hidden beneath it.
One I had never seen before.
The title appeared.
*PROJECT RESOLUTE.*
Kane’s face changed.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Shock.
Vale saw it.
And smiled.
“Now you know.””
I looked at Kane.
“What is Project Resolute?””
For the first time since I met him…
Colonel Victor Kane looked like a man who had no answer.
Then the monitor displayed a final line.
*AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL: ADMIRAL THOMAS VALE, COLONEL VICTOR KANE, AND LIEUTENANT MASON REED.*
My name.
On a file I had never seen.
A file created before this entire nightmare began.
And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.
May you like
I wasn’t just investigating Deck Four.
I was part of the secret they were trying to hide.
