Chapter 3 - Dead Reckoning
The radio clicked dead, leaving me completely alone with the terrifying reality of Kane's final words.
He had my evidence, he knew my real identity, and he was sending armed men to finish the job he started.
I looked down at Miller's body and knew I couldn't just float here waiting to be executed by a corrupt commanding officer.
I stripped the heavy body armor off my dead handler and strapped it tightly over my own soaking wet uniform.
I checked his standard issue sidearm, relieved to find that the watertight seal had kept the internal mechanisms completely dry.
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting a dark and bloody orange glow across the rolling Pacific waves.
In the distance, the faint hum of a high speed outboard motor started cutting through the rhythmic crashing of the ocean.
A black zodiac boat was cutting aggressively through the water, heading straight toward the GPS signal beaming from the crate.
I knew I couldn't take on heavily armed mercenaries while completely exposed on top of a bright orange box.
I took a deep breath, slipped quietly back into the freezing water, and hid behind the floating body of Special Agent Miller.
The zodiac slowed down as it approached the crate, sweeping the area with a blinding white searchlight.
Two men in unmarked tactical gear leaned over the side of the rubber boat, pointing assault rifles at the orange container.
"I see a body in the water, bringing the boat around to confirm the kill," one of the men grunted into his headset.
As they pulled alongside Miller's floating corpse, the man in the front leaned over the rubber edge to get a closer look.
I surged out from underwater, grabbing his tactical vest and yanking him violently over the side and into the ocean.
His partner spun around in a panic, raising his rifle, but I already had Miller's pistol aimed straight at his chest.
I pulled the trigger twice, sending the second mercenary collapsing backward onto the metal floorboards of the small boat.
I climbed quickly into the zodiac, kicking the first mercenary's flailing hands away as he tried to grab the pontoon.
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I searched the dead man in the boat, pulling a folded set of printed orders from his waterproof chest pocket.
The orders weren't signed by Colonel Kane, they were signed directly by the Captain of the Resolute.
