Chapter 10 - THE FIRE BELOWSmoke filled the lower decks.
The crew began evacuating.
But there were too many locked compartments.
Too many injured.
Too little time.
Ward took command.
“Briggs, release the medical areas.”
“Already moving.”
“Shaw, secure the weapons.”
She nodded.
I turned to Venn.
“You said Anchor Nine.”
“Yes.”
“Get me there.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Venn hesitated.
“There is one way.”
He opened a panel beneath the bridge.
A small launch pod.
Experimental.
Designed for emergency transfer.
“How far to Anchor Nine?”
“Thirty-eight nautical miles.”
“Then let's go.”
Ward grabbed my arm.
“Hannah.”
“My father is there.”
“We don't know that.”
“I know.”
He saw the look in my eyes.
Then he let go.
“Come back alive.”
We ran.
The launch pod was hidden beneath the starboard deck.
Venn opened the hatch.
Shaw joined us.
Briggs stayed behind.
He looked at me.
“Don't trust anyone you meet there.”
“Not even Venn?”
Briggs smiled.
“Especially Venn.”
The pod launched.
The Resolute disappeared behind us.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
The sea was black.
Venn watched the horizon.
Shaw checked her weapon.
I held the NCIS packet.
Inside, the thin metallic strip was still warm.
“What is it?”
Venn looked at it.
“The final key.”
“What does it unlock?”
“Thomas's archive.”
“And if I use it?”
“You'll see everything.”
“That sounds like a warning.”
“It is.”
Anchor Nine appeared through the mist.
It wasn't an island.
It was a floating industrial complex.
Massive.
Rust-streaked.
No lights.
No markings.
We docked beneath an old cargo platform.
Venn looked at me.
“We go in quietly.”
A voice came over the intercom.
“Hannah.”
My father's voice.
“I'm here.”
I ran toward the entrance.
Venn grabbed me.
“Wait.”
The doors opened.
Thomas stood inside.
Blood still covered his shirt.
But he was walking.
I stared.
“You were shot.”
“Yes.”
“You should be in a hospital.”
“There's no time.”
I stepped toward him.
“Tell me everything.”
He looked at Venn.
Venn lowered his head.
Thomas sighed.
“Lucas was one of the few people I trusted.”
I glanced at Venn.
Briggs's warning echoed in my head.
Thomas took me into a control room.
The archive was waiting.
He inserted the red key.
A wall opened.
Inside was a server chamber.
Hundreds of drives.
Each labeled with a year.
Thomas pointed to the oldest.
“The first contracts.”
Then the next.
“The military procurement chain.”
Then another.
“The deaths.”
I swallowed.
“What happened to the missing sailors?”
Thomas looked at me.
“They weren't sold.”
“What then?”
“They were moved.”
“To where?”
He hesitated.
“The same place they moved you after you were thrown overboard.”
I went still.
“What?”
Thomas continued.
“Every time someone discovered a shortage, they were transferred here.”
“Why?”
“Because Black Meridian needed witnesses.”
I didn't understand.
“Witnesses to what?”
He looked at the server wall.
“Something bigger than missing supplies.”
A screen turned on.
A map of the world.
Hundreds of facilities appeared.
Military bases.
Ports.
Hospitals.
Refugee centers.
Disaster zones.
All connected.
Thomas whispered:
“Meridian wasn't built to profit from emergencies.”
“Then what was it built for?”
“To control them.”
The door slammed shut.
We spun around.
Venn stood behind it.
Holding a weapon.
Thomas's expression collapsed.
“Lucas.”
Venn looked at me.
“I'm sorry.”
He raised the gun.
“I really am.”
Shaw stepped between us.
Venn fired.
The lights exploded.
Everything went dark.
Then a calm voice came through the speakers.
May you like
Adrian Vale.
“Thank you for bringing her.”
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