Chapter 5: The File With My Name On It
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The room was filled with the sound of the emergency alarm.
Red lights flashed across the walls.
The man standing in the doorway held the flash drive between two fingers.
And I could only hear one sentence repeating in my head.
Your name is on the original report.
I looked at Agent Morgan.
She looked at me.
Neither of us knew what to say.
Finally, I turned back to the man.
“You’re saying I was part of Deck Four?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
That bothered me more than if he had said yes.
Because hesitation meant there was something worse.
“I’m saying your name appears in the first investigation file.””
I stepped closer.
“I’ve never seen that file.””
“Exactly.””
The hallway lights flickered.
Agent Morgan moved between us.
“Start explaining.””
The man glanced at her.
“You know who I am.””
“Marcus Bell,” she said.
His expression tightened.
“So you do remember.””
“I remember a missing person.””
Marcus gave a bitter smile.
“Missing is what happens when powerful people want the world to stop looking.””
He walked into the room and closed the door behind him.
I watched every movement.
Six months ago, this man had been a ghost.
Now he was standing in front of me.
Alive.
And carrying answers.
“Why should we trust you?”” I asked.
Marcus looked at me.
“You shouldn’t.””
That response surprised me.
He continued.
“But you should listen.””
He plugged the flash drive into the secure terminal on the desk.
The screen came alive.
A folder appeared.
No title.
No identification.
Just a date.
Six months earlier.
The same month I received my orders to join the Resolute.
My stomach tightened.
Marcus opened the file.
The first document appeared.
A classified investigation report.
At the top was a name.
MARCUS BELL.
Below it:
ASSISTING OFFICER: LIEUTENANT DANIEL REED.
My name.
I stared at the screen.
“That’s not possible.””
Marcus watched me carefully.
“Yes, it is.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I was never assigned to this investigation.””
“That’s what your official record says.””
Agent Morgan looked between us.
“What does that mean?””
Marcus leaned against the table.
“It means someone changed his record.””
I stared at the screen.
My own name looked like a stranger’s.
“What was my role?””
Marcus opened another document.
This one contained photographs.
Maintenance rooms.
Cargo logs.
Restricted access reports.
Then one picture appeared.
A door.
A metal door.
With a number painted across it.
DECK FOUR.
Marcus pointed at the screen.
“Your job was to inspect the supply chain.””
I swallowed.
“I was logistics.””
“Exactly.””
“I reviewed inventory.””
“You reviewed what Kane wanted you to review.””
A silence followed.
Then I understood.
The missing supplies.
The altered reports.
The fake medical records.
They weren’t random.
Someone had created a system.
And I had unknowingly been placed inside it.
Marcus continued.
“When I found evidence that emergency supplies were being diverted, I needed someone who understood the records.””
He looked at me.
“You.””
I shook my head.
“I never helped you.””
“You did.””
“When?””
Marcus opened another file.
A message log appeared.
My old authorization code.
My security clearance.
My digital signature.
Attached to a report.
A report exposing the missing supplies.
I stared at it.
“I never signed this.””
Marcus nodded.
“I know.””
That was the most terrifying part.
Someone had used my identity.
Agent Morgan leaned closer.
“Who had access to his credentials?””
Marcus looked at her.
“Everyone who wanted Kane protected.””
A noise came from the hallway.
All three of us stopped.
Footsteps.
Several people.
Approaching.
Marcus quickly removed the flash drive.
“They found us.””
Agent Morgan moved toward the door.
“We need to leave.””
“No,” Marcus said.
Everyone looked at him.
He held up the drive.
“If we run now, Kane wins.””
I stared at him.
“What do you mean?””
Marcus looked directly at me.
“Because he doesn’t want you dead.””
The alarm continued flashing.
“What does he want?””
Marcus’s voice became quieter.
“He wants everyone to believe you were the traitor.””
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
A voice came through the hallway.
“Lieutenant Reed.””
My blood turned cold.
I knew that voice.
Victor Kane.
Agent Morgan’s face changed.
“He came himself?””
Marcus looked at the door.
“That means he’s desperate.””
The handle started turning.
Kane’s voice came again.
“Open the door.””
Nobody moved.
Then Kane said something that made my entire body freeze.
“Lieutenant, I know you’re inside.””
A pause.
“And I know you’re holding the evidence that proves you betrayed us.””
Marcus looked at me.
“He’s already rewritten the story.””
The lock clicked.
The door began opening.
May you like
And Kane said:
“Let me explain to everyone what you did.””
