Chapter 14 - THE TRUTH ABOUT DECK FOUR
The final battle wasn’t about weapons.
It wasn’t about rank.
It was about truth.
Because Marcus Hale had built his entire career on controlling information.
He knew something simple.
People can survive almost anything.
But they cannot fight what they cannot see.
The memory card contained everything.
Payments.
Orders.
Hidden operations.
Names.
Including his.
NCIS Agent Marcus Hale had been using classified operations to cover illegal transfers through military supply routes.
Deck Four wasn’t just a location.
It was the beginning.
Kane discovered it.
Daniel Cross discovered it.
Commander Brooks discovered it.
And everyone who discovered it was forced into silence.
I walked toward the command deck with Kane and Reed beside me.
For the first time since boarding the Resolute…
I trusted them.
Not completely.
Not yet.
But enough.
The doors opened.
Marcus Hale stood inside.
No panic.
No fear.
He looked exactly like the man I remembered.
Calm.
Professional.
Friendly.
“Hannah.”
I stared at him.
“How long?”
He smiled sadly.
“Long enough.”
“You used me.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I gave you purpose.”
I almost laughed.
“Purpose?”
“Yes.”
“You sent me into a trap.”
“I sent you into the truth.”
I stepped closer.
“You destroyed people.”
His expression hardened.
“People always get hurt when systems change.”
“That’s your excuse?”
“No.”
He looked around the room.
“That’s reality.”
Then he pressed a button.
The ship’s systems activated.
A countdown appeared.
Ten minutes.
“What did you do?”
Hale smiled.
“Erase the evidence.”
Kane looked at the screen.
“He’s going to destroy the ship’s records.”
Hale nodded.
“And everything connected to Deck Four disappears.”
I looked at him.
“You think you can erase the truth?”
He smiled.
“I already did once.”
The countdown continued.
Nine minutes.
Eight.
Seven.
Then Reed noticed something.
“Hannah.”
I looked.
“There’s another file.”
On the screen.
A hidden folder.
Created by Daniel Cross.
The title appeared.
IF THEY FIND THIS, SHOW IT TO EVERYONE.
I opened it.
And Daniel’s face appeared.
His final message.
“If you’re watching this…”
He looked directly into the camera.
“Then Marcus Hale failed.”
Hale’s expression changed.
Just slightly.
Daniel continued.
“And Hannah…”
A pause.
“Don’t trust anyone who tells you the truth belongs to them.”
The countdown reached five minutes.
Then Daniel revealed the final secret.
The one nobody expected.
“The person who started Deck Four…”
was not Hale.
Not Voss.
Not Kane.
May you like
Daniel looked terrified.
“It was me.”
