Chapter 21 - THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED
The missile climbed rapidly.
Sarah turned the aircraft.
"Hold tight!"
She dove toward the ocean.
The missile followed.
Emily looked terrified.
"Mom!"
"Trust me."
Sarah waited until the missile was close.
Then she pulled sharply upward.
The missile overshot.
It disappeared into the clouds.
Sarah breathed out.
"One down."
The pilot stared at her.
"Colonel, that wasn't a missile."
Sarah looked at him.
"What?"
"It was a drone."
Sarah understood.
"They're testing us."
Below, the submarine turned.
Sarah watched its movement.
"Where is it going?"
Mercer checked the satellite data.
"North."
Sarah frowned.
"Why?"
Then Daniel's voice returned.
"Sarah."
The radio crackled.
"You need to know the truth."
Sarah leaned toward the receiver.
"Daniel?"
"I was never killed."
"I know."
"No."
His voice sounded broken.
"You don't know why."
Sarah waited.
"The helicopter crash was staged."
"By Vance?"
"No."
"Cross?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Daniel took a breath.
"Me."
Sarah's face went pale.
"You betrayed me."
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because I discovered Phoenix Protocol wasn't military."
Sarah said nothing.
"It was private."
Daniel continued.
"A defense contractor bought the program."
Sarah felt sick.
"Who?"
"Blackstone Aeronautics."
Sarah knew the name.
One of America's largest defense contractors.
"They funded the Wraith."
Daniel nodded.
"They wanted an aircraft that could be controlled remotely."
Sarah whispered,
"And you helped them."
"I thought I could expose them from inside."
"You should have told me."
"They threatened Emily."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"They knew about her?"
"They knew everything."
Daniel's voice cracked.
"I disappeared to keep her alive."
Sarah closed her eyes.
All those years.
All the hatred.
All the questions.
She had blamed Daniel.
But he had been fighting alone.
"Where are you now?"
"Still in the facility."
"Can you escape?"
"Not anymore."
A pause.
"They know you're coming."
Sarah looked at the submarine.
"What is the real target?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Seattle."
Emily looked at her mother.
"Seattle?"
Daniel continued.
"The satellite network will be used to shut down every major power grid on the West Coast."
Mercer cursed.
"How long?"
"Less than two hours."
Sarah looked at the horizon.
Seattle.
Her home.
Emily's home.
The place where her life had finally begun again.
She turned toward Mercer.
"Get every available aircraft."
"For what?"
"We're going after the submarine."
The pilot looked at her.
"Colonel, that's in restricted military waters."
Sarah smiled.
"Then they'll have to arrest me afterward."
Emily touched her mother's shoulder.
"Mom."
Sarah looked at her.
Emily's eyes were full of fear.
"But you're coming home, right?"
Sarah took her hand.
"Always."
The aircraft descended.
The submarine disappeared beneath the waves.
Sarah stared at the ocean.
She remembered the Wraith.
The crash.
The accusations.
The thirty-two years stolen from her.
Now she understood.
The Wraith had never been the end.
It had been the beginning.
And somewhere beneath the Pacific, the people who destroyed her life were preparing to destroy millions more.
May you like
Sarah looked at the horizon.
"Phoenix is hunting."
