Chapter 8: The Admiral’s Betrayal
The old docks at Seaview Naval Academy had been abandoned for years.
That was why I chose them.
And that was why whoever sent the message chose them too.
Places with history always carried secrets.
The wooden pier stretched into the dark ocean.
The waves struck against the supports.
The same sound I remembered from Black Current.
The same ocean.
Different night.
Different ghosts.
I walked alone.
Or at least that was what they thought.
Michael Carter was thirty yards behind me.
Daniel Cross was somewhere beyond the trees.
And Reynolds had ignored my order to stay behind.
I knew because he was my captain.
And because loyalty was sometimes the most dangerous habit a soldier could have.
“Admiral.””
I stopped.
Thomas Vale stepped out from the shadows.
Older than the last time I saw him.
But unchanged in the ways that mattered.
The same controlled expression.
The same eyes that measured everyone in the room.
“Commander Vale.””
He smiled slightly.
“Still calling me commander.””
“You stopped earning my respect long ago.””
The smile disappeared.
“Good.””
He walked closer.
“I was worried the memory removal had changed you.””
I froze.
“You admit it?””
“Yes.””
No hesitation.
No denial.
Just acceptance.
That somehow made it worse.
“You erased my memories.””
“We protected you.””
I laughed.
“Protected me?””
“Yes.””
“By taking my own mind?””
Vale looked toward the ocean.
“By preventing you from destroying yourself.””
I stared at him.
“You really believe that.””
“I know it.””
“Then explain.””
He was silent for a moment.
Then:
“Black Current was compromised before your team arrived.””
“I know.””
“No.””
His eyes met mine.
“You don’t.””
The ocean wind moved between us.
“Someone inside the operation was feeding information to our enemies.””
“Daniel Cross?””
Vale shook his head.
“No.””
“Then who?””
His answer came quietly.
“You.””
The word landed like a punch.
I stepped back.
“No.””
Vale didn’t react.
“You were selected because you were loyal.””
“I was selected because I was qualified.””
“Both can be true.””
My hands curled into fists.
“You expect me to believe I betrayed my own team?””
“No.””
Vale looked almost disappointed.
“I expect you to understand you were used.””
The same words.
Again.
Everyone kept telling me I had been controlled.
But nobody told me how.
“What did I do?””
Vale stared at the water.
“You brought the list to the ship.””
“What list?””
“The list of names.””
I shook my head.
“I don’t remember.””
“Exactly.””
He reached into his coat.
Removed a small recorder.
Pressed play.
Static filled the air.
Then my own voice.
Twenty-four years younger.
Panicked.
“We can’t trust anyone.””
I froze.
My voice continued.
“The names aren’t what they think.””
A pause.
Then Carter’s voice.
“What are you saying, Richard?””
My younger voice answered:
“The Ghost Trident isn’t protecting us.””
Static.
Then:
“It’s hunting us.””
The recording ended.
I couldn’t breathe.
I had never heard those words.
Never remembered saying them.
Vale watched me.
“That was the moment everything changed.””
“What happened?””
“You discovered the truth.””
“What truth?””
Vale stepped closer.
“That the Ghost Trident had been compromised.””
I stared.
“By who?””
Before he answered, a gunshot cracked through the night.
Vale dropped.
I reacted instantly.
Pulled him behind the pier barrier.
A second shot hit the wooden dock.
Carter appeared from the shadows.
“Down!””
We moved.
The shooter was positioned across the water.
Too far away.
Too skilled.
Within seconds, the figure disappeared.
Vale pressed a hand against his shoulder.
Blood covered his jacket.
I stared.
“You’re hurt.””
He looked at me.
“Don’t pretend you care.””
“I don’t.””
A faint smile appeared.
“Good.””
Carter approached.
“You were followed.””
Vale looked at him.
“Of course I was.””
“You knew this would happen.””
“Yes.””
Carter’s expression darkened.
“Who shot you?””
Vale looked at all of us.
Then whispered:
“The same person who ordered Black Current.””
Nobody moved.
“Who?””
Vale looked directly at me.
“The person who has been above all of us from the beginning.””
My phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
A voice spoke.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Richard.””
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it every day for years.
Trusted it.
Followed it.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“You really don’t remember me?””
The voice softened.
“I was the one who gave you the order.””
The call ended.
I looked at Carter.
He saw my face.
“Who was it?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because the voice belonged to someone I never suspected.
Someone who had stood beside me through my entire career.
Someone who had watched me rise.
Someone who knew every secret I carried.
My former mentor.
May you like
The man who taught me everything.
Admiral Jonathan Pierce.
