Chapter 9 - The Price of a SonI had heard men threaten me before.
In Iraq, they had threatened to kill my team, destroy our extraction route, and leave us buried beneath the compound we had entered to rescue a hostage.
Threats were easy.
What mattered was whether the person making them had the ability and the willingness to follow through.
Adrian Cole had both.
The photograph of Jackson proved that he had people moving freely through secured sections of the Vanguard. The shutdown of communications proved they had access to the ship's internal systems.
And the reference to another structural failure told me they were prepared to put more lives at risk.
I looked at Reeves.
"Restore communications to the emergency command channel."
"We're trying, ma'am."
"Then keep trying."
I turned to Ortiz.
"Can the ledger be copied?"
"Yes, but the complete archive requires the main server."
"Copy what you have and prepare it for external transmission."
He nodded.
"If I can establish a clean connection, I can send the recovered procurement records to the Inspector General."
"Do it."
I stepped into the corridor with Reeves.
"We need to locate Jackson."
"Security is sweeping the lower hangar."
"Then we'll join them."
"Admiral, Cole specifically demanded that you come alone."
"Which is why he expects me to be alone."
Reeves studied me for a moment.
Then he nodded.
We took the nearest service stairs toward the lower hangar.
The ship seemed unnaturally quiet. Emergency lighting illuminated the passageways, and the usual flow of sailors had dwindled to isolated groups moving under security instructions.
At the landing below, we found a young sailor standing beside an open electrical cabinet.
He snapped to attention when he saw us.
"Report."
"Ma'am, the power interruption appears to have originated in the secondary control network. Someone manually bypassed two safety systems."
"Who had access?"
"Three people, ma'am. The systems administrator, Chief Engineer Mercer, and Commander Voss."
"Where is Mercer?"
"I don't know, ma'am."
I looked at Reeves.
"Find him."
We continued toward the lower hangar.
Before reaching the entrance, we heard voices behind a partly open equipment door.
One belonged to Jackson.
The other belonged to a man I recognized from the procurement records.
Commander Thomas Voss.
Reeves raised a hand, signaling me to wait.
We approached quietly.
Inside the compartment, Jackson stood with his hands visible and his shoulders squared. Voss held a tablet displaying what looked like a ship's internal access map.
"You don't understand," Voss was saying. "Your mother has made a mistake."
Jackson's expression was cold.
"My mother saved a man's life while you people tried to hide a safety failure."
"That's not what happened."
"Then explain why you were burning documents."
Voss's eyes flashed.
"Because some documents were classified."
"Maintenance invoices?"
"Restricted procurement records."
Jackson shook his head.
"You keep changing the words. The facts remain the same."
Voss stepped toward him.
"Listen carefully, Lieutenant. Your mother believes she's protecting people. But she's putting thousands of sailors at risk by forcing this investigation into the open."
"Then let the investigation prove her wrong."
For a moment, Voss appeared almost impressed.
Then his expression hardened.
"You've inherited her stubbornness."
Jackson said nothing.
Voss raised the tablet.
"Your mother has a choice. Hand over the ledger, and this can end quietly."
"And if she doesn't?"
"People get hurt."
Jackson looked directly at him.
"Then you should be worried about what happens when they find out who hurt them."
Voss struck him across the face.
I moved before I consciously realized I had started.
Reeves caught my arm.
"Wait, ma'am."
I turned toward him.
He pointed to the far side of the room.
A second man had stepped out from behind a stack of equipment. He held a small device connected to the cabinet.
The room was wired into the ship's emergency power system.
If we rushed in, we might trigger whatever he had prepared.
I forced myself to stop.
Jackson straightened slowly.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Voss seized his uniform collar.
"You have no idea what people like your mother are willing to sacrifice."
Jackson stared at him.
"She sacrificed a leg getting eleven men home. She doesn't need to prove anything to you."
For the first time that day, my eyes burned.
I wanted to tear the door off its hinges.
Instead, I watched the second man.
He was not focused on Jackson.
He was watching the electrical panel.
The panel controlled a group of auxiliary safety systems near the hangar.
I understood then.
The threat was not a bluff designed to make me surrender the ledger.
They were preparing to cause another failure.
And Jackson was standing beside the trigger.
I leaned toward Reeves.
"We need to separate them from that panel."
He nodded slowly.
Then he spoke into his radio using the emergency channel.
"Engineering control, this is Reeves. I need an immediate status report on the lower hangar safety systems."
Static.
Then a voice answered.
"Commander, multiple interlocks have been overridden. We're attempting to restore the original configuration."
"Time?"
"Unknown."
Inside the compartment, Voss looked toward the ceiling.
He had heard the radio.
His expression changed.
He grabbed Jackson's arm and dragged him toward the far exit.
The second man touched the electrical panel.
I saw a warning light turn red.
Reeves shouted.
"Move!"
The lights went out.
May you like
A metallic bang shook the passageway.
Then the compartment began filling with smoke.
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