Chapter 5: The Person Behind The Curtain
For a moment, nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Daniel.
Not even Colonel Victor Kane.
The person standing in the doorway stepped into the dim emergency lighting, and my entire understanding of the mission shifted.
Lieutenant Commander Nathan Voss.
The man who had greeted me when I first boarded the Resolute.
The officer everyone described as Kane’s second-in-command.
The person I thought might be one of the few people aboard the ship willing to challenge him.
I was wrong.
Voss looked around the room calmly.
Almost casually.
As if he hadn’t just walked into the center of the biggest investigation of his career.
“Hannah Mercer Cole,” he said.
I kept my eyes on him.
“You know my name.””
A faint smile crossed his face.
“I know a lot of things.””
Kane looked at him.
“Why are you here?””
That question caught my attention.
Not because he asked it.
Because of the way he asked it.
There was no authority.
No command.
There was uncertainty.
For the first time, Victor Kane wasn’t controlling the room.
Voss noticed it too.
“You really thought you were the only one protecting this place?””
Kane’s expression tightened.
“Careful.””
“No.””
Voss stepped farther inside.
“You should have been careful years ago.””
Daniel moved closer to me.
His voice was barely audible.
“That’s him.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Who?””
“The man who signed the transfer orders.””
My stomach tightened.
“What transfer orders?””
Daniel stared at Voss.
“The ones that moved everyone who disappeared onto this ship.””
Voss didn’t deny it.
That was worse.
I had expected anger.
A defense.
An explanation.
Instead, he simply looked tired.
Like someone who had been carrying a secret too long.
“You don’t understand what happened here,” Voss said.
I laughed quietly.
“Seven sailors disappeared.””
“They were compromised.””
“Compromised?””
I stepped forward.
“Is that what you call people who tried to report abuse?””
Voss’s eyes hardened.
“You think this is about cruelty?””
“Isn’t it?””
“No.””
The word came out immediately.
Strong.
Certain.
“This is about survival.””
The room became silent.
I watched him carefully.
People like Kane used fear.
People like Voss used something different.
Justification.
They convinced themselves they were doing something necessary.
“What happened on Deck Four?”” I asked.
Voss looked at Kane.
Then back at me.
“Ask him.””
Kane’s jaw tightened.
“You’re making a mistake.””
Voss ignored him.
That was the moment I realized something.
Kane wasn’t the strongest person in the room.
He was just the loudest.
“Colonel Kane built the system,” Voss said.
“System?””
“He created a place where problems disappeared before they became public.””
Daniel’s hands curled into fists.
“My son was a problem?””
Voss looked at him.
“No.””
“Then why was he almost killed?””
Voss didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
The silence did it for him.
I stepped toward the evidence table.
The boxes.
The reports.
The belongings.
“You kept all of this as insurance.””
Voss looked at me.
“As protection.””
“For who?””
His expression changed.
For the first time, I saw something beneath the confidence.
Fear.
“Not everyone aboard this ship is involved.””
“I know.””
“Then you understand why this cannot become public.””
I stared at him.
“You’re worried about the crew?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I waited.
Voss looked toward the ceiling.
“The people above us.””
There it was.
The missing piece.
The reason Kane and Voss were willing to bury everything.
This went beyond one colonel.
Beyond one ship.
“How high does this go?””
Neither man answered.
That told me enough.
Suddenly, the ship shook.
An alarm sounded through the corridor.
Not the normal emergency signal.
Something different.
Voss looked toward the door.
“What did you do?””
Kane looked at him.
“I didn’t do anything.””
The lights flickered.
Then my radio activated.
Marcus’s voice came through.
“Hannah, respond.””
I pressed the button.
“I’m here.””
“We have a problem.””
“What kind?””
A pause.
Then his voice lowered.
“The Resolute changed course.””
I looked at Kane.
He looked just as surprised as I was.
That meant someone else had taken control.
“Who changed the route?””
Marcus hesitated.
“We’re trying to identify that now.””
The ship shook again.
Daniel moved toward the wall.
“They’re locking down Deck Four.””
I turned.
“How do you know?””
“Because that’s what they do.””
The door behind us suddenly locked.
A heavy mechanical sound echoed through the room.
Voss looked at Kane.
“You didn’t tell me.””
Kane stared back.
“I don’t know who did this.””
For the first time, they both looked afraid.
Not of me.
Not of NCIS.
Of someone else.
A voice came over the ship’s intercom.
Calm.
Professional.
Unknown.
“All personnel remain in assigned locations.””
A pause.
Then:
“Deck Four containment has begun.””
My eyes moved to the evidence around us.
Containment.
Not lockdown.
Not security.
Containment.
Like whatever was hidden here wasn’t something they wanted protected.
It was something they wanted buried.
Daniel whispered:
“They’re going to destroy everything.””
I looked at Voss.
“Who is controlling the ship?””
He didn’t answer.
But his face told me.
May you like
He knew.
And whoever it was scared him more than Victor Kane ever had.
