Chapter 9 - The Superior's Betrayal
Admiral Thomas Vance stared at us with a cool, undisturbed expression, snapping his laptop shut with a soft click.
“Well, Evelyn,” Admiral Vance said smoothly, sliding his hands into his coat pockets.
“I must admit, I didn't expect you to trace the relay quite this fast.”
“I taught you too well, didn't I?”
I kept my pistol leveled at his chest, my eyes narrowing with pure contempt.
“It wasn't your teaching, Thomas,” I replied, my voice steady and cold.
“It was your sloppy opsec.”
“You thought you could use a local proxy like Julian to steal the deep-sea recovery manifests and blame it on a family data leak?”
Admiral Vance let out a dry, humorless chuckle, shaking his head.
“Julian was an idiot who thought he was running the show,” Vance admitted without a hint of remorse.
“He was merely a useful tool to acquire the funding we needed.”
“Do you have any idea how much advanced marine technology is sitting at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to be salvaged?”
“Billions, Evelyn.”
“And the Pentagon was going to leave it down there to rot under civilian environmental treaties.”
“So you staged a black-market salvage operation using classified naval assets?” Nathan demanded, stepping forward, his weapon still trained on Vance’s head.
“I secured humanity's future, Commander,” Vance retorted sharply, his tone turning arrogant.
“And once this black box is loaded onto a private freighter tonight, nobody will ever trace it back to us.”
“Except the live telemetry feed is already broadcasting straight to the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” I said quietly.
Admiral Vance’s confident smile instantly vanished.
His eyes darted toward the overhead security cameras, which suddenly blinked from a red recording light to a bright, solid green.
“You...” Vance snarled, taking a sudden step toward the titanium crate.
“You set a trap.”
“Standard procedure, Admiral,” I echoed the phrase Agent Vance had used earlier.
“Never trust a superior officer who cares more about salvage profits than national security.”
Before Vance could reach for the weapon concealed inside his coat, the heavy metal doors at the far end of the sub-level blew open with a deafening crash.
Agent Vance and a dozen heavily armed NCIS operators poured into the room, their weapons raised and locked on the traitorous Admiral.
“Admiral Thomas Vance,” Agent Vance announced loudly, his voice echoing off the concrete walls.
“You are under arrest for high treason, espionage, and conspiracy against the United States.”
Vance stood frozen for a long moment, looking at the ring of tactical operators surrounding him.
Slowly, deliberately, he raised his hands into the air, a defeated smirk touching his lips.
“You won this round, Evelyn,” Vance muttered as agents swarmed forward, slapping heavy steel cuffs onto his wrists.
“Enjoy your flag rank while it lasts.”
As they hauled him away toward the exit, I let out a long, slow breath, lowering my weapon back into its holster.
Nathan stepped over to my side, placing a warm, reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“It’s over,” Nathan said softly.
“We did it.”
I nodded, looking down at the black box resting on the concrete floor.
May you like
The nightmare was finally finished.
Or so I foolishly thought.
