Chapter 9 - The Bridge Breach
I pushed myself off the steel wall, ignoring the sharp pain radiating through my shoulder from the brutal impact against the bulkhead.
The Resolute was picking up speed rapidly, tearing through the Pacific waves at a highly dangerous and unstable velocity.
If Kane managed to cross the maritime border into rogue territory, the Navy would never be able to officially recover the ship.
I left the signalman downstairs to guard the trapped refugees and sprinted up the final three flights of stairs toward the command center.
The heavy armored doors to the main bridge were magnetically sealed from the inside, completely locking out the rest of the crew.
I pulled a small block of tactical breaching explosive from the stolen mercenary vest and molded it directly over the electronic locking mechanism.
I stepped back behind the reinforced corner of the hallway and pressed the small remote detonator firmly with my thumb.
The explosive charge blew the heavy steel doors completely off their hinges, sending a massive cloud of gray smoke rolling into the bridge.
I charged through the smoke with my weapon raised, stepping over the unconscious bodies of the ship's loyal navigation crew.
Colonel Victor Kane was standing near the front observation windows, holding a razor sharp tactical knife directly to the Captain's throat.
"Stand down, Agent Cole, or the Captain dies right here on the deck!" Kane screamed, his eyes wild with desperate, cornered madness.
"The Captain signed the fake orders to have me killed, Kane, so you aren't exactly holding a very valuable hostage," I replied coldly.
The Captain's eyes widened in sheer terror as he realized his corrupt partnership with Kane was not going to save his life.
"You think you won because you made it up here?" Kane laughed darkly, backing slowly toward the main navigation console.
He violently shoved the Captain to the ground and slammed his fist down onto a flashing red terminal on the control board.
"I just armed the ship's self-destruct scuttling charges in the engine room, and the timer is completely locked out."
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He pulled a small black remote detonator from his pocket, grinning maniacally as he stepped backward toward the open exterior bridge door.
Before I could even aim my weapon, Kane threw the detonator far out the window and into the churning black ocean below.
