Chapter 9 - The Decoy
I pulled the heavy satellite phone from my pocket and checked the secure caller identification.
The digital screen displayed the highest priority emergency code from the Pentagon command center.
I answered the phone, fully expecting a standard debriefing from the Secretary of Defense.
Instead, the voice on the other end of the line was frantic, terrified, and completely out of breath.
My commanding officer did not congratulate me on stopping the terrorist attack at the hotel.
He demanded to know my exact physical location, screaming over the sound of blaring sirens in the background.
I told him I was securing a hostage situation in downtown San Francisco.
The officer swore loudly, his voice cracking with absolute, unfiltered terror.
He told me the attack on the hotel was nothing but a brilliant, highly coordinated distraction.
While I was trapped inside the locked ballroom fighting my brother, the real target had been breached.
A fully armed nuclear submarine had just been stolen from the highly secure naval base across the bay.
The officer explained that the thieves had perfectly bypassed the biometric security gates using my exact retinal and fingerprint scans.
I felt the blood completely drain from my face as the horrifying reality set in.
Damian and Bennett were never the actual masterminds behind this massive international conspiracy.
They were just expendable pawns sacrificed to keep me away from my military post tonight.
I asked the officer if they had any security footage of the person who impersonated me.
He told me they had crystal clear video of the woman walking right onto the nuclear submarine.
He forwarded the encrypted video file directly to my phone.
I opened the file with trembling fingers, watching the grainy security footage play on the small screen.
A woman with my exact height, hair color, and facial structure walked confidently past the armed guards.
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She turned toward the camera for a fraction of a second, revealing her full face to the lens.
I dropped the expensive satellite phone onto the glass-covered floor in total disbelief.
