Chapter 9: The Door Beneath The Ship
The message remained on my screen.
Three words.
DECK FOUR.
I stared at them until they stopped looking like letters and started looking like a warning.
Everyone in that room had lied to me.
Kane.
Marcus.
Maybe even myself.
Because somewhere beneath all the missing memories was a truth I had been trying to avoid.
I had been part of this investigation.
I had known something.
Something important enough that someone had erased my memory.
Agent Morgan looked at Marcus.
“Explain.””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That was the moment I knew.
He knew exactly what that message meant.
“You sent me there,” I said.
Marcus looked at me.
“What?””
“Six months ago.””
His expression changed.
A tiny reaction.
But I saw it.
“You sent me to Deck Four.””
He slowly shook his head.
“No.””
“Then why do you look scared?””
Nobody spoke.
Because the truth was finally standing in the room.
Not hidden in files.
Not buried in reports.
Right in front of us.
Marcus took a breath.
“Because whoever sent that message wants us to go there.””
Agent Morgan frowned.
“And why would that matter?””
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“Because Deck Four is no longer abandoned.””
Kane laughed.
Everyone turned toward him.
“You really think you can walk into that place and find answers?””
I looked at him.
“You’re afraid of what’s there.””
His smile faded.
“No.””
A pause.
“I’m afraid of what you’ll remember.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Because it confirmed something.
The missing memories weren’t accidental.
They were a lock.
And someone had the key.
The trip back to the Resolute felt unreal.
Only hours earlier, I had been thrown from that ship.
Now I was walking back onto it.
This time with NCIS clearance.
This time with witnesses.
But I still felt like I was walking into a trap.
The crew noticed me immediately.
Whispers followed us.
Some looked shocked.
Some looked guilty.
Others looked away.
They had watched me fall.
They had watched Kane stand there.
And now they watched me return.
Agent Morgan walked beside me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?””
I looked at the ship beneath my feet.
“No.””
She looked surprised.
I continued.
“But I need to know why someone wanted me to forget.””
Marcus walked behind us silently.
I stopped.
“You’re coming.””
He looked at me.
“I have to.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You owe me answers.””
Marcus nodded.
“I know.””
Deck Four was colder than I expected.
The rest of the ship was alive.
Engine noise.
Footsteps.
Voices.
But this area felt abandoned.
The lights flickered overhead.
Dust covered the floor.
A heavy security door stood at the end of the corridor.
No sign.
No label.
Just a keypad.
Marcus stopped.
“This is it.””
I looked at him.
“You’ve been here before.””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
His face tightened.
“I found the files.””
“And?””
“I found you.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Marcus looked at the door.
“You don’t remember because you weren’t supposed to.””
He entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room.
A table.
Several storage containers.
And a wall covered with photographs.
I stepped inside.
Then froze.
Because one photograph was of me.
Six months earlier.
Standing in this exact room.
Agent Morgan moved closer.
“What is this?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
I walked toward the wall.
More photographs.
Marcus.
Me.
Documents.
Meetings.
Then one picture made my breath disappear.
Me and Marcus shaking hands.
Underneath it was a date.
The day before my memory disappeared.
I turned.
“What happened that night?””
Marcus looked away.
“You found the truth.””
“What truth?””
He opened one of the containers.
Inside was a recorder.
A small notebook.
And a sealed envelope.
My name was written across the front.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
My handwriting.
I read the first line.
*If you are reading this, they succeeded in making you forget.*
The room went silent.
I continued.
*Do not trust anyone who tells you they protected you.*
My eyes moved lower.
*Not Kane. Not Marcus. Not even yourself.*
I looked up.
Marcus looked devastated.
The letter continued.
*The Deck Four operation was never about exposing one person. It was about proving how far the corruption went.*
My breathing became heavier.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
*The person who ordered my memory removal was not Victor Kane.*
I stopped.
Everyone waited.
Slowly, I turned the page.
The next sentence was only five words.
*It was someone I trusted.*
A sound came from the doorway.
We all turned.
Someone was standing there.
Holding a weapon.
But it wasn’t Kane.
It wasn’t security.
It was someone I recognized.
Someone from the investigation.
Someone who should have been helping us.
Agent Morgan whispered:
“No…”
The person stepped into the light.
May you like
And said:
“Lieutenant Reed, you were never supposed to open that letter.””
