Chapter 4: The Witness List
The first thing I did was lock the door.
Not because a metal door could stop Colonel Victor Kane.
It couldn’t.
A man like Kane didn’t need to break through barriers.
He convinced people to open them.
I turned the lock.
Then I looked at Tyler.
“Tell me everything.””
He stood there, still trying to catch his breath.
“I was helping with communications when the alert came through.””
“What alert?””
“Security search.””
My eyes narrowed.
“For Hale?””
Tyler nodded.
“They said he left his station without authorization.””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Because that was exactly how people like Kane erased someone.
Not by saying they were dangerous.
By saying they were unstable.
“Who found the note?””
“Commander Ellis.””
I knew the name.
Commander Rachel Ellis.
Executive officer.
Second in command.
A career officer with a reputation for following procedure.
Usually.
“What did she do with it?””
Tyler hesitated.
“That’s the strange part.””
“What?””
“She didn’t report it immediately.””
I looked at him.
“How long?””
“Almost twenty minutes.””
Twenty minutes was a lifetime on a ship.
Especially when someone was already missing.
“Where is Commander Ellis now?””
Tyler looked uncomfortable.
“She requested a private meeting with Colonel Kane.””
That answer bothered me.
A lot.
Because if Ellis was meeting Kane privately, there were only two possibilities.
She was helping him.
Or she was trying to survive him.
Neither option was good.
I placed the recorder on the table.
Tyler stared at it.
“That’s the conversation?””
“Yes.””
“The one with Hale?””
“Yes.””
He looked at the device like it was a loaded weapon.
Maybe it was.
“Sir, if Kane finds that…”
“He already knows someone has it.””
“How?””
“Because Hale is gone.””
Tyler swallowed.
The room felt smaller.
The Resolute suddenly seemed like a place where every corridor had eyes.
Every camera had a purpose.
Every person had a secret.
I picked up the recorder.
“We need to find Hale.””
Tyler shook his head.
“With all respect, sir…”
He stopped.
I waited.
“People who look for answers disappear.””
The words were quiet.
But honest.
I walked toward the door.
“That’s exactly why we have to keep looking.””
The engineering section of the Resolute was buried deep inside the ship.
The farther down we went, the less the ship felt alive.
The upper decks had noise.
Footsteps.
Orders.
Conversations.
Down here, there was only machinery.
The constant vibration of engines.
The smell of oil.
The metallic taste of old air.
Deck Four was below us.
I had been there once.
That was enough.
The hallway leading toward the sealed section had been blocked off with a security barrier.
Officially, it was because of structural damage.
But I had seen the reports.
The damage was repaired years ago.
The barrier wasn’t for safety.
It was for secrecy.
Tyler looked at the warning sign.
“Restricted access.””
I reached for the lock.
“Sir.””
I stopped.
“What?””
He pointed.
A small red light blinked above the door.
“Someone is already inside.””
I stared at it.
The security system showed the area as empty.
No authorized personnel.
No maintenance activity.
Nothing.
But the indicator said otherwise.
Someone had overridden the system.
I pulled my access card.
Denied.
Again.
Denied.
Tyler looked around.
“Maybe we should leave.””
Then we heard it.
A sound from behind the door.
A metallic crash.
Someone dropping something.
I looked at Tyler.
He looked back.
Neither of us spoke.
Then another sound.
A voice.
Faint.
“Help…”
My hand went to the emergency release.
The door opened halfway.
Darkness waited on the other side.
“Chief Hale?””
No answer.
I pushed the door wider.
The smell hit first.
Smoke.
Not fire.
Something burned.
Like electronics.
Like someone had destroyed equipment.
Tyler pulled out his flashlight.
The beam moved across the room.
Broken monitors.
Open cabinets.
Files scattered across the floor.
Then we saw him.
Chief Engineer Thomas Hale was sitting against the wall.
Alive.
Barely.
His uniform was torn.
Blood ran down the side of his face.
Tyler rushed forward.
“Chief!””
Hale grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Tyler froze.
“Don’t.””
I stepped closer.
“Hale.””
His eyes found mine.
And immediately, fear replaced exhaustion.
“You have the recorder.””
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded.
“How did you know?””
Hale laughed weakly.
“Because you’re the only person stupid enough to keep digging.””
I ignored the insult.
“What happened?””
He looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
“Kane knows.””
“He knows you’re here?””
“No.””
His breathing became uneven.
“He knows about the list.””
I felt a chill.
“What list?””
Hale looked at me.
“The witness list.””
The room went silent.
“What witnesses?””
He closed his eyes.
“Everyone who saw what happened on Deck Four.””
I moved closer.
“Tell me.””
Hale shook his head.
“Not here.””
“Why?””
“Because he’s listening.””
I looked around.
The room was empty.
“No one is here.””
Hale stared at the ceiling.
“You still don’t understand.””
His voice dropped.
“The ship is his.””
The lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Tyler grabbed his flashlight.
A second later, the emergency lights turned on.
Red.
Dim.
And on the wall across from us, someone had written something.
Fresh paint.
Still dripping.
Three names.
I stepped closer.
My blood ran cold.
The names were written in order.
Chief Engineer Thomas Hale.
Lieutenant Daniel Reeves.
Signalman Tyler Brooks.
The third name had barely dried.
Tyler stared at it.
His face went pale.
“He wrote my name.””
Hale looked at him.
“No.””
Tyler turned.
“What?””
Hale’s expression changed.
“He didn’t write your name.””
A pause.
“He wrote the names of the people he plans to remove.””
We moved Hale before security arrived.
Not because we knew where to go.
Because we knew where not to stay.
The problem with being hunted on a ship was that there were limited places to hide.
Every hallway connected.
Every camera watched.
Every movement left a record.
Unless someone helped you.
And someone did.
Commander Rachel Ellis opened the maintenance door for us.
She stood there alone.
No weapon.
No escort.
Just an exhausted expression.
“Inside.””
I didn’t move.
“Why are you helping us?””
“Because if I wanted you found, I would have brought security.””
“That doesn’t answer the question.””
Ellis looked at Hale.
Then at me.
“Because I signed the original Deck Four report.””
The words hit hard.
“You?””
She nodded.
“I was there.””
Tyler looked confused.
“You were on the ship?””
Ellis swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you say anything?””
Her face tightened.
“Because twenty years ago, I was a junior officer.””
“And?””
“And Colonel Kane wasn’t the commander.””
She looked at me.
“He was the man who saved everyone’s careers by making one report disappear.””
The maintenance room fell silent.
I stared at her.
“What happened on Deck Four?””
Ellis looked away.
For the first time, I saw something in her face.
Not fear.
Guilt.
“The official story says there was an equipment failure.””
She shook her head.
“That’s not what happened.””
“Then what did?””
She opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, every light in the maintenance corridor turned red.
An alarm began.
Not a fire alarm.
A security alarm.
Ellis looked toward the ceiling.
Her face changed.
“He found us.””
Tyler stepped back.
“How?””
Ellis looked at me.
“Because there’s only one person who could activate this alarm.””
The footsteps came from the hallway.
Slow.
Controlled.
Someone who wasn’t rushing.
Someone who knew exactly where we were.
Colonel Victor Kane’s voice echoed through the corridor.
“Lieutenant Reeves.””
Nobody moved.
“Commander Ellis.””
A pause.
“Chief Hale.””
His voice became colder.
“You’ve all made the same mistake.””
The footsteps got closer.
“You thought the truth belonged to whoever discovered it.””
Silence.
Then:
“You forgot the truth belongs to whoever survives.””
The door handle began to turn.
And behind us, Ellis whispered the one thing I never expected to hear.
“Lieutenant…”
I looked at her.
She was staring at the sealed Deck Four door behind us.
Her face had gone white.
“Before Kane gets in…”
She swallowed.
“You need to know who was trapped down there.””
The door opened.
And Kane stepped inside.
“Don’t bother.””
May you like
His eyes locked onto mine.
“I’ll tell him myself.””
