Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE
I didn’t sleep.
Not because I was scared.
Because fear makes people careless.
And careless people make mistakes.
At 0500 hours, I was already moving.
The first thing I did was find out who sent the message.
The name was:
Daniel Cross.
Former Chief Petty Officer.
Assigned to Deck Four eighteen months earlier.
Officially…
he died in an accident.
The report said equipment failure.
The report said nobody was responsible.
The report said everything was under control.
But NCIS had a different opinion.
Because Daniel Cross had left behind one final note.
“If anything happens to me, look at Deck Four.”
I stared at the message.
Impossible.
Then my door opened.
Without knocking.
Colonel Kane walked in.
Two security officers stood behind him.
“You seem busy.”
I closed my laptop.
“Can I help you, sir?”
Kane smiled.
“I’m checking on my crew.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“I didn’t realize throwing people overboard was part of crew welfare.”
The guards shifted.
Kane didn’t.
He stepped closer.
“You think you’re clever.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I think you’re nervous.”
For the first time…
his smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
And I knew.
I had hit something.
Kane leaned toward me.
“You have no idea what you’re involved in.”
“Then explain it.”
He stared.
Then whispered:
“Some doors stay closed for a reason.”
He turned to leave.
But before he reached the door, he stopped.
“Oh, and Petty Officer?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Check your evidence packet again.”
My blood went cold.
“How do you know about that?”
Kane smiled.
“Because I was the one who put it there.”
Then he walked away.
Leaving me with one terrifying question.
May you like
If Kane knew about the file…
who else had he already eliminated?
