Chapter 3: The Voice Behind The Door
I didn’t turn around.
Every instinct in my body told me to look.
To see who had been standing behind me.
To know whether I was about to face an enemy or someone I once trusted.
But Commander Voss’s words echoed in my mind.
Trust no one inside the room.
The footsteps behind me stopped.
The command center was completely silent.
Not the normal silence of concentration.
The kind of silence that came when everyone was waiting to see who would survive the next few seconds.
“Maya,” Sarah’s voice came through the speakers again.
Her voice was softer now.
Almost human.
“I know you’re scared.””
My hands tightened into fists.
“You’re dead.””
A long pause.
Then she answered.
“I know.””
The response sent a cold feeling through my entire body.
Captain Reed stepped closer.
“Maya, don’t listen to her.””
I looked at him.
His face was tense.
But I couldn’t tell if he was warning me or trying to control me.
“Why?”” I asked.
Reed didn’t answer.
That silence hurt more than anything.
Because three years ago, when Sarah and Voss disappeared, Reed was the person who stood beside me.
He was the person who told me to accept the loss.
He was the person who said there were some missions nobody came back from.
Now I wondered if he knew more than he admitted.
The person behind me moved again.
A slow step.
Then another.
I finally turned.
A woman stood there wearing a dark tactical uniform.
Her hair was shorter.
Her face was thinner.
But there was no mistaking her.
Lieutenant Sarah Cole.
Alive.
Real.
Standing less than ten feet away.
For a moment, I forgot everything.
The betrayal.
The alarms.
The threat.
All I saw was my best friend.
“Sarah…”
Her eyes filled with emotion.
“I’m sorry.””
The words broke something inside me.
Not because they surprised me.
Because they confirmed my fear.
She knew exactly what she had done.
I stepped toward her.
“You let me think you were dead.””
Sarah looked away.
“I had no choice.””
“No choice?””
My voice rose.
“You disappeared. You let me attend your funeral. You let your family believe they lost you.””
Her jaw tightened.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I laughed once.
A bitter sound.
“Protect me?””
The lights above us flickered.
The security system continued counting down.
Thirty seconds remained before lockdown.
Sarah looked at the timer.
“We don’t have time.””
“You don’t get to say that.””
“Maya.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t get to come back from the dead and tell me we don’t have time.””
For a second, she looked like the Sarah I remembered.
The woman who used to sit beside me during overnight missions.
The woman who brought coffee when I worked too late.
The woman who promised we would retire together someday.
Then she said something that made me stop.
“Voss is alive because of me.””
Everything went quiet.
I stared at her.
“What?””
“He wasn’t killed.””
“Then why did everyone believe he was?””
Sarah looked at Reed.
That was when I noticed something.
She wasn’t looking at me.
She was looking at him.
And Reed looked afraid.
“Daniel,” Sarah said quietly.
Reed’s expression changed.
“Don’t.””
“You should have told her.””
My eyes moved between them.
“Told me what?””
Neither answered.
The timer reached fifteen seconds.
Sarah stepped closer.
“The mission three years ago wasn’t a failure.””
My breathing slowed.
“It was an investigation.””
“Into what?””
She looked directly at me.
“Into the people who control every launch decision in this organization.””
A chill moved through me.
“You’re saying someone above the command chain is involved?””
Sarah nodded.
“And they know you found out tonight.””
The room shook slightly.
The doors began sealing.
Reed suddenly moved toward the emergency panel.
I reacted immediately.
“Don’t move.””
He stopped.
“Maya.””
“Why should I trust you?””
His face changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
“Because I’m the reason you’re alive.””
Sarah stepped between us.
“That’s not true.””
Reed looked at her.
“You don’t know what happened.””
“I know enough.””
The lockdown warning reached zero.
The command center doors slammed shut.
Every screen went black.
For three seconds, there was complete darkness.
Then one screen turned back on.
A video appeared.
A recording.
The image showed a room I had never seen.
A man sat at a table.
His face hidden.
But his voice was clear.
“Commander Maya Hayes will be the final test.””
My stomach dropped.
The recording continued.
“If she follows the order, the launch succeeds.””
A pause.
“If she refuses, activate secondary protocol.””
I leaned closer.
Secondary protocol.
The unknown man continued.
“She will expose the traitors.””
My eyes widened.
“They knew I would stop it.””
Sarah nodded.
“Yes.””
The recording ended.
Then a final message appeared.
SECONDARY PROTOCOL ACTIVE.
The room lights returned.
And when they did, everyone noticed the same thing.
The emergency exit door was open.
But nobody had opened it.
Sarah looked toward the doorway.
Her face turned pale.
“No.””
“What?”” I asked.
She whispered:
“They’re here.””
A shadow moved outside.
Then a voice called from the hallway.
“Maya Hayes.””
My blood froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
Three years ago.
The night Voss disappeared.
The person responsible for the mission failure.
The person everyone believed died with him.
Sarah grabbed my arm.
“We have to leave.””
I stared at the doorway.
“Who is it?””
She looked at me.
“The man who started all of this.””
The door slowly opened.
May you like
And a familiar figure stepped inside.
Commander Elias Voss.
