Chapter 7 - The Captain's SecretAnnie found Mercer in the ambulance bay, standing beneath the awning and watching rainwater stream across the parking lot.
She held the printed transfer order in one hand.
"Tell me this isn't real."
Mercer glanced at the page.
His face changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"From a hospital server somebody tried to erase."
He took the paper, scanned it, and exhaled slowly.
"Annie—"
"Did you sign it?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Did you sign an order transferring Daniel after the report said he was dead?"
"Yes."
The word seemed to strike her physically.
She stepped back.
"Why?"
"Because he was alive when they recovered him."
For seven months, Annie had imagined a thousand possible explanations for Daniel's disappearance. None had prepared her for the simplicity of that sentence.
"He was alive?"
"Unconscious. Severely injured. But alive."
"Then why did you tell me he was dead?"
"I didn't."
"You let me believe it."
Mercer looked exhausted.
"I was ordered not to disclose his status. The order came from a command authority above my clearance. I was told Daniel's survival was connected to an intelligence investigation, and revealing it could put him and everyone involved at risk."
"You knew I searched for him."
"Yes."
"You watched me leave the hospital believing my brother was dead."
"I had no choice."
"You always have a choice."
The words echoed beneath the awning.
Mercer lowered his eyes.
"You're right."
Annie had expected excuses. She had prepared herself to argue with a man who would hide behind procedure and classified orders.
His admission left her with nowhere to put her anger.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"You're his commanding officer."
"Former commanding officer. My access was revoked three months ago."
"Why?"
"Because I began asking questions about the transfer order."
Annie stared at him.
"You were investigating it?"
"I was trying to find out who authorized it. I discovered that the medical support contract attached to the mission had been altered after the operation. The original contractor was a legitimate emergency logistics company. The replacement was a shell organization with connections to a private security network."
"And Teague?"
"I found his name in the network's medical records. Before Pine Harbor, he worked for a contractor that supplied field hospitals. His employment record was deliberately incomplete."
Annie looked toward the hospital.
"He knew who I was."
"Yes."
"That's why he kept humiliating me. He wanted me to leave."
"Or he wanted you to appear unreliable if you started talking."
The realization was sickening.
Every joke. Every public reprimand. Every accusation that she was nervous, incompetent, or incapable of handling pressure had served the same purpose.
Make Annie Keller look like a woman whose memories could not be trusted.
Mercer reached into his jacket and produced a small envelope.
"This came to me an hour ago."
Annie opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel, thinner than she remembered, sitting on a narrow bed in a room with white walls. He was alive, conscious, and looking directly at the camera.
On the back, someone had written:
STOP LOOKING, OR HE DISAPPEARS AGAIN.
Annie's hands shook.
Mercer steadied the photograph before it slipped from her fingers.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She pulled away.
"Don't apologize. Help me find him."
"I will."
"No classified promises. No vague reassurances. I want names, dates, and every document you have."
Mercer nodded.
They returned to the hospital together.
In the corridor, Danny intercepted them.
"Annie, there's a call for you. The caller said you would recognize his voice."
He handed her the phone.
At first, there was only breathing.
Then a man spoke.
"Angel Six?"
Annie gripped the receiver.
"Daniel?"
A pause.
Then, faintly, "You shouldn't have come looking."
Her eyes filled.
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you."
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm alive."
She pressed her free hand against her mouth.
"That's not enough."
"I know."
His voice broke.
"Annie, listen to me. The man who signed my transfer isn't the one who ordered it."
"Who ordered it?"
A door slammed somewhere on his end.
Daniel's breathing quickened.
"Find the original medical ledger. Not the copy. The original. It has the name of the person who—"
The line went dead.
Annie stared at the phone.
Mercer was already reaching for his own.
"Trace the call."
Danny hurried toward the communications desk.
A second later, the hospital lights flickered.
The intercom crackled.
Then a voice announced:
"All staff, remain in your current locations. Security lockdown is now in effect."
Annie looked at Mercer.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
From somewhere down the hall came the sound of a heavy door being forced open.
May you like
Then a security officer shouted:
"Everyone down!"
