Chapter 9 - THE PRISON SHIP
The operation involved Navy, federal agents, and military investigators.
No secret rescue.
No unmarked authority.
Warrants and command orders were verified through independent channels.
The ship broadcast Daniel’s voice inviting me aboard alone.
Synthetic.
We ignored it.
Drones mapped the deck.
Nguyen identified decoy shooters through thermal optics.
Blake provided access codes.
He cooperated because Hale had ordered his death at the range.
Again, self-preservation, not heroism.
The team boarded.
Inside the lower compartment, we found Daniel.
Alive.
Thinner.
Scarred.
Still himself.
Our reunion lasted one glance before he said:
“Hale has your trigger profile.”
No embrace.
No relief yet.
The ship’s weapon system activated.
A remote rifle turned toward a civilian ferry.
The authentication display showed:
SHOOTER: EMILY REED.
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Hale planned to fire under my identity.
Read Chapter 10 to learn how Emily stopped a shot she never took.
