Chapter 3: The Secret Beneath The Ship
The first thing I heard was the sound of my own breathing.
Slow.
Controlled.
Alive.
The ocean around me was dark, but the emergency beacon beneath my uniform pulsed faintly against my ribs. I knew NCIS would detect it.
I knew they would come.
But knowing something and surviving long enough for it to happen were two very different things.
The Resolute disappeared above me into the night.
For a few seconds, I allowed myself to float.
Not because I was giving up.
Because I needed to think.
Colonel Victor Kane believed fear was the strongest weapon a leader could have.
He was wrong.
Fear made people predictable.
And predictable people made mistakes.
Kane’s mistake was believing I was alone.
He didn’t know that before I ever stepped aboard the Resolute, NCIS had already mapped every weakness in his command structure.
He didn’t know that Lieutenant Sarah Ellis wasn’t the only person watching.
And he definitely didn’t know that I had already sent a message before he pushed me overboard.
The signal was simple.
Three words.
“Deck Four confirmed.””
The ocean moved around me as I waited.
Then I saw it.
A faint light cutting through the darkness.
A rescue craft.
Not from the Resolute.
From NCIS.
A man in a black jacket leaned over the side as the boat reached me.
“Petty Officer Cole?””
I grabbed the offered hand.
“Depends who’s asking.””
The man smiled slightly.
“Still making jokes after being thrown into the Pacific?””
“Still asking unnecessary questions?””
He pulled me aboard.
“Agent Marcus Reed.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
He looked surprised.
“You know me?””
“NCIS files are useful.””
“Good. Then you know we have a problem.””
I removed the wet uniform jacket.
“Kane?””
Marcus looked toward the distant silhouette of the Resolute.
“Kane knows you survived.””
I froze.
“How?””
“Because someone on that ship sent a message.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.””
The rescue boat moved away from the ship, but my mind was still on the Resolute.
On Kane.
On Deck Four.
“What happened after I went over?””
Marcus looked at me carefully.
“Exactly what you expected.””
“He told the crew I was removed for insubordination?””
“Yes.””
“And they believed him?””
“No.””
That answer surprised me.
Marcus continued.
“The crew didn’t believe you were wrong.””
“Then what?””
“They were afraid.””
I looked back at the ship.
That was the part Kane understood better than anyone.
People didn’t always obey because they respected someone.
Sometimes they obeyed because they had seen what happened to those who didn’t.
Marcus handed me a tablet.
The screen showed satellite information.
“We tracked unauthorized activity beneath Deck Four for six months.””
“What kind of activity?””
“Supply movement. Restricted personnel transfers. Missing maintenance reports.””
“Missing sailors?””
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
That told me enough.
“How many?””
“Seven.””
The number hit harder than I expected.
Seven people.
Seven lives hidden behind paperwork.
I stared at the ship.
“Kane wasn’t hiding an accident.””
“No.””
Marcus looked serious.
“He was hiding a system.””
The rescue boat grew closer to the support vessel waiting nearby.
But I wasn’t done.
“I need to go back.””
Marcus immediately shook his head.
“No.””
“I have evidence hidden aboard that ship.””
“You’re officially listed as missing.””
“Exactly.””
“You think that gives you another chance?””
I looked at him.
“I think Kane believes the ocean solved his problem.””
Marcus was silent.
“And if he believes that,” I continued, “he’ll make the mistake people like him always make.””
“What mistake?””
“He’ll relax.””
Three hours later, I was back.
Not on the main deck.
Not where anyone could see me.
The NCIS team inserted me through a maintenance access route on the lower side of the Resolute.
The same place Kane believed nobody could reach.
The same place connected to Deck Four.
The ship was quieter now.
Different.
The confidence Kane had shown earlier was gone.
Something had changed.
As I moved through the narrow corridor, I noticed something immediately.
The cameras were disabled.
Not damaged.
Disabled.
Someone had turned them off.
I touched my earpiece.
“Marcus, someone knew we were coming.””
His voice came back instantly.
“Can you identify who?””
“No.””
I stopped near a locked door.
A small metal sign hung above it.
DECK FOUR ACCESS.
The place everyone avoided.
The place Kane protected.
I entered the code I had recovered from the maintenance records.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
And what I saw inside made me understand why Kane had been desperate.
The room wasn’t filled with weapons.
It wasn’t some secret command center.
It was worse.
It was evidence.
Boxes.
Logs.
Medical reports.
Personal belongings.
Everything Kane had taken from the people who disappeared.
I walked deeper inside.
A photograph sat on a table.
Seven sailors standing together.
The same seven names from the missing reports.
Underneath the picture was a handwritten note.
“WE TRIED TO REPORT HIM.””
My stomach tightened.
Kane hadn’t just hidden information.
He had hidden people’s voices.
Then I heard something.
A sound from behind me.
A footstep.
I turned quickly.
A man stood in the doorway.
Older.
Exhausted.
Wearing an old naval uniform.
His eyes widened when he saw me.
“You’re not supposed to be here.””
I kept my hand near my radio.
“Who are you?””
The man looked toward the hallway.
Then back at me.
His voice dropped.
“If Kane knows you found this room…”
He stopped.
“What?””
The man swallowed.
“He won’t just throw you overboard again.””
A chill moved through me.
“Then what will he do?””
The man looked at the evidence around us.
“He’ll make sure nobody ever finds out what happened to Deck Four.””
May you like
Before I could ask another question, the lights suddenly shut off.
And somewhere above us, the ship’s alarm began to sound.
