Chapter 4 - THE MEN IN NAVY UNIFORMS
The first bullet struck the metal door.
Everyone dropped.
Mercer shouted, “Down!”
Another round punched through the conference-room window.
Brock grabbed the nearest table and pulled it sideways.
I moved toward the wall.
Reed's voice came through the intercom.
“Multiple shooters in the east corridor!”
Mercer looked at me.
“You still carry?”
I reached beneath my jacket.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
The shooting stopped.
That was worse.
Silence meant movement.
Brock looked at the door.
“They're not here for Mercer.”
I looked at him.
“They're here for the watch.”
He nodded.
“That's what I told you.”
“Then why do they need it?”
“Because your brother hid something inside.”
I looked down at the watch.
The engraving.
The stopped second hand.
The tiny scratch along the casing.
I remembered Michael's habits.
He used to tap his watch twice before every mission.
Once for luck.
Once for me.
I pressed the back.
Nothing.
Then I twisted the crown.
The casing opened.
Inside was a micro-storage chip.
I stared.
Brock whispered, “That's it.”
Mercer looked at me.
“Give it to me.”
I didn't.
He noticed.
“Captain.”
“No.”
His face hardened.
“You don't understand what you're holding.”
“I understand enough.”
Brock laughed bitterly.
“You really don't.”
The conference door suddenly opened.
A Marine security team stormed inside.
Reed came behind them.
“Clear.”
The attackers had vanished.
Three security officers were down in the hallway.
Alive.
Stunned.
No bodies.
No blood except one man's shoulder.
Reed looked at me.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
He saw the watch.
His face changed.
“What's inside?”
“A chip.”
Mercer stepped forward.
“Give it to intelligence.”
I shook my head.
“Not until I know who has access.”
Mercer stared.
“You're questioning my authority?”
“I'm questioning the people who buried my brother.”
Brock laughed.
“Good.”
Mercer looked at him.
“Shut up.”
Brock's expression changed.
“You can't hide this anymore.”
Mercer walked toward him.
“You have no idea what you're talking about.”
“I know you signed the transfer.”
Mercer stopped.
“What transfer?”
Brock looked at me.
“The transfer order that moved Michael after Black Harbor.”
My stomach tightened.
“Moved where?”
Brock answered.
“Off the books.”
“Where?”
“An offshore facility.”
Reed looked stunned.
“That's impossible.”
Brock shook his head.
“That's what we were told.”
I looked at Mercer.
“Did Michael survive?”
Mercer didn't answer.
I stepped toward him.
“Did he?”
Mercer finally spoke.
“Yes.”
The word hit harder than Brock's slap.
My brother had survived.
Seven years.
Seven years of grief.
Seven years believing I had failed him.
Seven years imagining the last minutes of his life.
I looked away.
“Where is he?”
Mercer said, “I don't know.”
Brock laughed.
“That's another lie.”
Mercer turned.
“Enough.”
Brock looked at me.
“Your brother was taken to a facility near Guam.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“He had the names.”
“The list.”
“Yes.”
“Who was running the facility?”
Brock hesitated.
“Commander Sullivan.”
I turned.
“You?”
“I was ordered to oversee the transfer.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“No.”
“Did you know he was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
His face finally cracked.
“Because I was threatened.”
“By Mercer?”
Brock looked toward the admiral.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He swallowed.
“Someone above him.”
The room went silent.
Mercer looked at Brock.
“You don't know what you're saying.”
“I know exactly what I'm saying.”
He turned to me.
“I thought I could survive by obeying.”
His eyes dropped.
“I was wrong.”
I wanted to hate him.
But his expression made it difficult.
Not because he deserved forgiveness.
Because for the first time, I saw the fear underneath the arrogance.
“You slapped me because you were afraid,” I said.
He didn't deny it.
“You recognized me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my brother.”
“Yes.”
“And you thought humiliating me would make me leave.”
He nodded.
“I thought if you stayed, they would kill you.”
I stared.
“Who?”
Before he could answer, the lights went out again.
A single emergency light came on.
Red.
Then the watch in my hand began vibrating.
The microchip had activated.
A tiny projector inside the casing cast a blue image onto the wall.
Michael appeared.
Alive.
Older.
Exhausted.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you're seeing this, Avery, I'm probably already dead.”
My heart broke.
He continued.
“Don't trust anyone who tells you Black Harbor was a failure.”
The image flickered.
“Someone inside the Navy betrayed us.”
A pause.
“And it wasn't the admiral.”
Mercer closed his eyes.
Michael's final words came slowly.
“The man who ordered my disappearance is the same man who ordered Dad's.”
The screen went black.
Brock whispered, “No.”
I looked at him.
“You know who it is.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“You do.”
He stared at the floor.
May you like
Then he said a name.
“Senator Elias Voss.”
