Chapter 3 - BlackfallI had spent eight years trying to forget Blackfall.
It hadn't forgotten me.
The memory came back in pieces.
A desert at night.
Six soldiers.
A target compound.
A door exploding inward.
A child crying.
Then silence.
Officially, Operation Blackfall had never happened.
Unofficially, it had been one of the most successful intelligence operations of its generation.
At least that's what we'd been told.
My cover had been simple.
Administrative consultant.
Paperwork.
Logistics.
Travel.
An ordinary woman who spent more time behind a computer than behind a rifle.
That was what Ethan believed.
That was what everyone believed.
Except Daniel Reed.
We were standing in a maintenance corridor beneath the passenger decks.
The ship rocked gently.
No one knew what was happening.
Passengers were still laughing in bars.
Music still played.
People still ordered champagne.
And somewhere beneath them, a missing murderer had turned our honeymoon into a hunting ground.
Daniel looked at me.
“How much do you remember?”
“Enough.”
“What happened during Blackfall?”
“I was the only one who came home.”
His expression hardened.
“That isn't what the files say.”
I laughed.
“You have files?”
“We have fragments.”
“Then you know nothing.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Five people died that night.”
“Six.”
He went silent.
I looked away.
“There was another.”
“Who?”
“Ethan.”
Daniel frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“I saw him there.”
My voice dropped.
“He wasn't a soldier. He was a civilian observer.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Ethan Cross was never connected to Blackfall.”
“Then explain why he knew the name.”
Before Daniel could answer, the ship's intercom came alive again.
This time, the voice was male.
Ethan.
“Darling.”
My blood ran cold.
“I told you there were rules.”
A pause.
“Rule number two…”
The lights went out again.
“…never ask where the money came from.”
A gunshot echoed somewhere above us.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Move!”
We ran.
Three decks upward.
Past sleeping passengers.
Past crew members who looked completely unaware that their ship had become a battlefield.
Then we reached the casino.
People were screaming.
A man lay beside one of the gaming tables.
Dead.
A playing card had been placed on his chest.
The ace of spades.
Daniel crouched beside him.
“Who is he?”
I looked at the man's face.
My stomach dropped.
Victor Hale.
Lauren's husband.
The first man who had reported her disappearance.
The first man who had publicly claimed she had fallen overboard.
The first man who had collected her insurance money.
Daniel noticed my expression.
“You know him.”
“He was never supposed to be on this ship.”
Then a voice came from the balcony.
“Neither was she.”
Everyone looked up.
A woman stood there.
Black dress.
Wet hair.
Silver crescent necklace.
Lauren.
She stared down at me.
Then she smiled.
“You thought I was dead.”
Security officers surrounded the balcony.
Daniel shouted:
“Lauren! Don't move!”
She laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
She pointed directly at me.
“She isn't the target.”
I looked at her.
“Then who is?”
Lauren's smile disappeared.
“Your husband isn't killing women.”
The casino went silent.
“He's recruiting them.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Recruiting them for what?”
Lauren looked at me.
“For Blackfall.”
Then every television screen in the casino switched on.
A video appeared.
A military base.
A younger version of me.
And beside me…
Ethan.
The recording timestamp was eight years old.
My hands went cold.
Ethan looked into the camera.
“If you're watching this, she's alive.”
He paused.
“And if she's alive…”
He smiled.
“…the program failed.”
May you like
Then the video cut to black.
And every emergency door on the ship locked simultaneously.
