Chapter 4 - Pike’s Authorization
Calloway pulled the document from the file.
“Explain this.”
Pike read the page.
His face remained controlled, but a pulse beat rapidly in his jaw.
“Routine inspection.”
“You said the tunnel was sealed.”
“It was reopened temporarily.”
“For whom?”
“Civilian systems technicians.”
Hannah looked through the interrogation-room window.
“Names?”
Pike did not answer.
Calloway raised his voice.
“Names, Commander.”
Pike turned toward a control terminal.
“I’ll access the work order.”
Hannah stepped between him and the console.
“No.”
The military police officer moved toward her.
Calloway raised one hand, stopping him.
Hannah stared at Pike.
“You already erased it.”
“That’s an accusation.”
“It’s why you arrested me before checking my identity.”
Pike’s expression sharpened.
“You entered a secure installation under a dead woman’s name.”
“I entered carrying evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Hannah looked at the red-stamped file.
“My casualty record was waiting on the interrogation table before I arrived.”
Calloway went still.
Pike said nothing.
Hannah continued.
“You weren’t surprised by my face. You were only surprised I reached the base alive.”
The military police officer loosened his stance.
Pike laughed coldly.
“You expect us to believe I knew a dead commander would walk through a tunnel?”
“No.”
Hannah moved closer.
“I expect them to believe you knew I wasn’t dead.”
Calloway studied Pike.
“Where did you obtain the casualty file?”
“Records division.”
“Before or after she was detained?”
Pike’s silence answered.
The unidentified transport began moving again.
Its path shifted toward the central server vault.
Hannah turned toward the display.
“They know we found the vehicle.”
Calloway ordered armed security teams into the lower corridor.
Hannah stopped him.
“No rifles near the container.”
“Why?”
“If Nightglass is connected to a dead-man trigger, a gunshot could destroy the network.”
Pike scoffed.
“You’re protecting whoever is down there.”
Hannah faced him.
“I spent three years trying to escape whoever is down there.”
The words struck the room.
Calloway’s voice softened slightly.
“Where were you?”
Hannah looked toward the false casualty photograph.
“On the USS Resolute.”
The military police officer frowned.
“That ship sank.”
“No.”
Hannah’s eyes hardened.
“It disappeared.”
Calloway took one slow step toward her.
The Resolute had vanished during a classified Pacific operation.
The official report blamed an underwater explosion.
Forty-seven sailors were declared dead.
Including Hannah.
“What happened aboard that ship?” Calloway asked.
Hannah looked toward Pike.
“He knows.”
Pike’s confidence finally cracked.
May you like
A single bead of sweat moved down his temple.
👉 Hannah had not survived a shipwreck—she had survived three years aboard a vessel erased from the Navy’s own records.
