Chapter 7 - The Uninvited Guest
The helicopter didn't land. Instead, it hovered thirty feet above the Sterett’s aft missile deck, kicking up a blinding, deafening hurricane of salt spray and exhaust fumes that rattled the superstructure.
Two armed master-at-arms rushed out onto the deck with rifles raised, shouting over the roar of the turbine engines, but before they could secure the perimeter, the cabin door of the aircraft slid open.
A rope ladder dropped onto the steel deck plates, and a man in a tailored civilian suit scrambled down with frantic, uncoordinated haste, nearly slipping on the wet surface before hitting the deck.
The helicopter immediately banked away, tearing back toward the open ocean before the base defense batteries could lock a targeting radar onto its fuselage.
Down on the aft deck, the man straightened his jacket, looking around wildly against the biting wind.
Through the bridge binoculars, the identification was unmistakable.
It wasn't a corporate operative or a federal investigator. It was my brother, Brandon.
“Admiral,” Marcus murmured beside me, lowering his own binoculars with a slow, incredulous shake of his head. “Isn't that your brother? The one currently on administrative restriction?”
“It is,” I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register that made the nearest quartermaster step back half a pace. “And he just committed a federal felony by breaching a restricted naval zone via an unregistered civilian aircraft.”
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Before Marcus could reply, the bridge internal phone buzzed aggressively.
“Bridge, security,” a gruff voice barked through the speaker. “We’ve secured Petty Officer Owens on the aft deck. He’s... well, ma'am, he’s screaming that he has to speak to you immediately. He says the whole family is in danger.”
