Chapter 11: The Man I Used to Be
The words echoed through the broken vessel.
You completed the mission.
And you erased yourself.
I wanted to reject it.
I wanted to say Pierce was lying.
That he was manipulating us like everyone else.
But somewhere deep inside, I knew.
Because memories were returning.
Not all at once.
Fragments.
Pieces.
Like broken glass cutting through the darkness.
I remembered the briefing before Black Current.
Not the official one.
The real one.
I was standing in a secure room.
Jonathan Pierce was there.
Thomas Vale was there.
And I was younger.
Confident.
Certain.
“We have a problem,” I had said.
Pierce looked at me.
“Explain.””
“The Ghost Trident has been compromised.””
Vale crossed his arms.
“You’re sure?””
I placed a file on the table.
“Yes.””
Inside were names.
Locations.
Evidence.
I remembered the feeling.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Certainty.
I knew something was wrong.
But then another memory arrived.
A memory I hated.
Because it showed me making a choice.
I looked at Pierce.
“What happens if the truth gets out?””
His answer was simple.
“Everything burns.””
And I believed him.
Back in the present, Michael Carter watched me.
“You remember.””
I looked away.
“Yes.””
The word felt like a confession.
Daniel Cross stepped closer.
“What do you remember?””
I stared at the wreck around us.
“I created the protocol.””
Nobody spoke.
Voss looked stunned.
“The Ghost Trident?””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
Carter closed his eyes.
I saw the pain.
“I’m sorry.””
He looked at me.
“For what?””
“For everything.””
Carter shook his head.
“You don’t know everything yet.””
He was right.
The worst part was still missing.
The communication system crackled.
Pierce again.
“Richard.””
I grabbed the microphone.
“Why?””
A pause.
Then:
“Because you asked me to.””
The answer made no sense.
“What?””
“You asked me to erase your memory.””
The world went quiet.
Carter looked at me.
I couldn’t breathe.
“No.””
“Yes.””
Pierce continued.
“You knew what you had discovered.””
I listened.
“You knew the Ghost Trident had become something dangerous.””
The wreck creaked around us.
“You knew people inside the organization would never surrender power.””
My hand shook.
“So I erased myself?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Pierce’s voice softened.
“Because you were the only person who could stop them.””
I looked at Carter.
“You knew?””
He nodded slowly.
“I found out years later.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because you made me promise.””
The words hurt.
“You trusted me enough to let me forget.””
I looked down.
The truth was worse than any lie.
I had not been robbed of my memories.
I had sacrificed them.
I had chosen ignorance.
Because I believed the truth was too dangerous.
A loud noise interrupted us.
The wreck shook.
Voss checked the controls.
“We have movement outside.””
“Movement?””
“Another vessel.””
Carter looked through the window.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He pointed.
A second submarine moved through the darkness.
Black.
Unmarked.
Approaching.
Daniel Cross whispered:
“The Ghost Trident.””
I felt a strange calm.
After twenty-four years, they had finally stopped hiding.
The submarine attached to the wreck.
The door opened.
And people entered.
Six armed operators.
All wearing the same symbol.
The black trident.
At their center was a man.
Older.
Powerful.
Familiar.
I knew him before he removed his helmet.
Admiral Jonathan Pierce.
Not through a screen.
Not through a voice.
Standing in front of me.
Alive.
I stared.
“You came yourself.””
Pierce removed his helmet.
“I owed you that.””
Carter stepped forward.
“You lied to him.””
Pierce looked at Carter.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I protected him.””
I laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Pierce didn’t react.
“Because it’s true.””
“You destroyed my life.””
“No.””
His eyes hardened.
“You built your life on top of a grave.””
The words cut.
Pierce walked closer.
“Richard, you need to understand something.””
He pointed toward the wreck.
“This was never where Black Current failed.””
I looked around.
“Then where?””
He looked at me.
“At Seaview.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“The Ghost Trident was never on that ship.””
A pause.
“It was always inside the academy.””
Everyone became still.
Pierce continued.
“And now that you remember…”
He looked toward the surface.
“They know you’re dangerous again.””
“Who?””
Pierce looked at Carter.
Then Cross.
Then me.
“The people you created the Ghost Trident to stop.””
The submarine shook.
An alarm sounded.
Voss checked the display.
Her face turned pale.
“Admiral.””
“What?””
“We have a problem.””
She looked at me.
“The recovery vessel above us has lost communication.””
Carter frowned.
“Why?””
Voss stared at the screen.
“Because someone took control.””
Pierce’s expression changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
“They moved faster than I thought.””
I looked at him.
“You’re afraid of them?””
Pierce didn’t answer.
He only said:
“Richard…”
The submarine shook again.
“Whatever you remember next…”
May you like
A crack appeared across the observation window.
“Do not trust the person who comes to rescue you.””
