Chapter 2: The Packet Is Gone
The message stayed on my screen for five seconds.
Five seconds that felt longer than the entire time I had spent drowning.
*THE PACKET IS GONE.*
I stared at those four words until the letters blurred.
The small rescue boat rocked beneath me.
The engine hummed.
The ocean slapped against the sides.
Everything around me was moving, but my mind had stopped.
The evidence packet wasn’t just paper.
It wasn’t just a collection of documents.
It was the only proof that Colonel Victor Kane had been hiding what happened below Deck Four.
Without it, I had suspicion.
Without it, I had questions.
Without it, Kane could make me look like a disgruntled officer who attacked his superior’s authority.
Tyler Brooks watched my face carefully.
“Sir?””
I didn’t answer.
“Lieutenant Reeves?””
I finally looked up.
“Who else knew where I kept it?””
Tyler hesitated.
That hesitation bothered me more than the question itself.
“Tyler.””
He looked down.
“I don’t know.””
“That’s not true.””
His jaw tightened.
“You’re asking me to accuse someone on a ship full of people who can make my life miserable.””
I studied him.
The kid who had collapsed on the flight deck three hours earlier was gone.
Not because he wasn’t scared.
Because he had learned something.
Fear didn’t disappear.
People just learned what they were willing to risk despite it.
I lowered my voice.
“Tyler, if Kane knows about that packet, people are in danger.””
He looked toward the dark shape of the Resolute in the distance.
“I know.””
“Then tell me.””
He stayed silent.
Another sailor in the boat shifted uncomfortably.
Finally, Tyler spoke.
“Petty Officer Mason saw you put something under your bunk.””
My stomach tightened.
“Mason?””
Tyler nodded.
“Two nights ago.””
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?””
“Because I didn’t think it mattered.””
He rubbed his hands together.
“Everyone hides things on a ship. Personal stuff. Letters.
Pictures. Notes.””
“This wasn’t personal.””
“I know that now.””
The boat grew quiet.
Mason.
I knew him.
Petty Officer Grant Mason had worked in logistics.
Supply records.
Inventory.
The exact department that had access to the missing Deck Four documents.
A man who knew where everything was supposed to be.
And where things could disappear.
I looked back at the Resolute.
The ship seemed larger now.
Not like a vessel.
Like a fortress.
A fortress controlled by a man who believed he was untouchable.
The radio crackled again.
Everyone turned.
Static filled the speaker.
Then a voice.
“Rescue craft seven, identify your passengers.””
The three sailors looked at each other.
Nobody answered.
The voice became sharper.
“Rescue craft seven, respond immediately.””
Tyler grabbed the radio.
“Rescue craft seven. Recovering personnel.””
A pause.
Then:
“Name.””
Tyler looked at me.
I knew what he was thinking.
If we gave my name, Kane would know immediately.
“Lieutenant Daniel Reeves,” I said.
Tyler turned.
“Sir—”
“It’s already too late.””
The radio stayed silent.
Then the voice returned.
“Lieutenant Reeves.””
A different tone now.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“Confirm your condition.””
I leaned toward the radio.
“Alive.””
Another pause.
Then:
“Lieutenant, you are ordered to remain on the rescue craft until further instructions.””
I almost smiled.
An order.
Of course.
Even after throwing me overboard, Kane still wanted control.
I reached for the radio.
“Who is issuing that order?””
Silence.
Then the answer.
“Colonel Victor Kane.””
The three sailors froze.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
There it was.
The mistake.
Kane was impatient.
A careful commander would have let someone else handle communication.
A careful commander would have pretended concern.
Instead, he made sure I knew he was watching.
He wanted me afraid.
I pressed the button.
“Tell Colonel Kane I’m coming aboard.””
The radio clicked.
“Lieutenant—”
“I said I’m coming aboard.””
I released the button.
Tyler stared at me.
“Sir, is that smart?””
“No.””
He blinked.
I looked at the approaching ship.
“But staying away gives him time.””
“Time for what?””
“To erase everything.””
The rescue craft approached the Resolute’s side.
As we got closer, I noticed something strange.
The normal procedures weren’t happening.
No medical team waiting.
No emergency response.
No officers rushing to investigate how a man had fallen overboard.
Nothing.
The ship was treating my survival like an inconvenience.
Not an accident.
When the ladder dropped, two armed Marines stood above.
Not medics.
Not rescue personnel.
Security.
One of them looked uncomfortable.
The other avoided eye contact.
I climbed slowly.
Every movement sent pain through my ribs.
When I reached the deck, the entire area was silent.
Too silent.
The sailors who had watched me fall were there.
Some looked ashamed.
Some looked away.
Some looked terrified.
At the center of the deck stood Colonel Kane.
Perfect uniform.
Dry boots.
Calm expression.
Like he hadn’t tried to kill me.
He looked at the Marines.
“Escort Lieutenant Reeves to medical.””
I stopped.
That wasn’t what I expected.
Not anger.
Not threats.
Concern.
A performance.
I looked directly at him.
“Medical?””
Kane nodded.
“You fell from a significant height.””
His voice was almost gentle.
“I’m glad you survived.””
A few sailors nearby looked confused.
They had seen what happened.
They had heard his words.
But now Kane was giving them a different version.
The version where he was the responsible commander.
The version where I was the problem.
I stepped closer.
“You’re worried about my health now?””
The deck became still.
Kane’s expression barely changed.
“Careful, Lieutenant.””
“Why? Because people are listening?””
A few heads lowered.
Kane noticed.
He always noticed.
“You’ve been under pressure lately.””
There it was.
The first move.
Make the victim look unstable.
“I’m fine.””
“No, you’re not.””
He looked around.
“Everyone saw what happened today.””
“Yes.””
“They saw you disobey a direct order.””
My jaw tightened.
“They also saw you deny water to an injured sailor.””
A flicker crossed his face.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Anger.
Then it vanished.
Kane stepped closer.
“You think you’re brave.””
His voice dropped.
“You think uncovering some paperwork makes you untouchable.””
The words confirmed it.
He knew.
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
I held his stare.
“What happened on Deck Four?””
For the first time, the mask cracked.
Not much.
Just enough.
His eyes hardened.
Then he smiled.
“You really should have stayed in the ocean.””
The words were quiet.
But everyone heard them.
A few sailors looked up.
Kane realized his mistake immediately.
He recovered.
“I mean you should have waited for proper rescue procedures.””
But it was too late.
The damage was done.
Because everyone had heard the first version.
The honest version.
Two Marines moved toward me.
I let them.
Not because I was surrendering.
Because I needed to know something.
Where was the packet?
They escorted me through the ship.
Past corridors I had walked a hundred times.
But tonight everything felt different.
Every person we passed looked away.
Every conversation stopped.
The Resolute wasn’t a ship anymore.
It was a crime scene.
And everyone aboard knew it.
When we reached my quarters, one Marine opened the door.
My heart sank.
The room was destroyed.
Not messy.
Searched.
My drawers were open.
My mattress was lifted.
My locker had been forced.
Someone had torn through everything.
The Marine beside me whispered:
“Someone was looking for something.””
I stepped inside.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The evidence packet had been hidden beneath a loose section of flooring under my bunk.
Nobody knew.
Nobody except me.
I dropped to my knees.
The panel was open.
Empty.
The packet was gone.
Tyler stood in the doorway behind me.
His face turned pale.
“Sir…”
I didn’t answer.
Because something else was missing.
Not just the evidence.
The loose floor panel itself.
Someone hadn’t found my hiding place by accident.
They knew exactly where to look.
I reached inside the empty space.
My fingers touched something.
A small piece of paper.
I pulled it out.
It wasn’t part of the evidence packet.
It was a handwritten note.
Only one sentence.
My blood went cold when I read it.
*YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED WHY DECK FOUR WAS SEALED BEFORE YOU OPENED IT.*
I looked up.
Because there was only one person who could have written that note.
Someone who knew exactly what was behind that door.
Someone who knew what happened before I ever arrived.
And standing in the hallway outside my room was Petty Officer Grant Mason.
Watching me.
May you like
With a look that told me one thing.
He wasn’t surprised I survived.
