Chapter 8 — SHATTERED TRUST
The tactical operations center at the base was organized chaos. Screens flashed with live feeds of the hospital corridors, and communications officers barked orders into their headsets.
Thomas marched into the room, his presence immediately parting the sea of officers. Frank was already at the main terminal, his fingers flying across a keyboard.
"Status, Frank!" Thomas barked.
"Hospital is fully locked down, Admiral," Frank reported without looking up. "The shooter abandoned his coat and weapon in the stairwell. He blended in with the evacuating medical staff. We're running facial recognition on the security footage, but he knew exactly where the camera blind spots were. This guy is a professional."
"How did he bypass the exterior checkpoints?" Thomas demanded, slamming his fist onto the console. "This is a restricted naval base. You don't just walk in here with a suppressed weapon!"
"He didn't bypass them," a new voice said.
Lieutenant Commander David Hayes, one of Thomas’s most trusted intelligence officers, stepped forward. Hayes had been with Thomas for a decade, serving alongside him in three different overseas deployments.
"Admiral," Hayes said, his expression grim. "The shooter used a Class-A clearance badge to get through the main gate. The badge belonged to someone in this very command structure."
Thomas froze. He looked at Hayes, then at Frank. "Whose badge?"
Hayes pulled up a digital log on the main screen.
Security Log: Main Gate Checkpoint Alpha
Time: 03:14 AM
Badge ID: 884-Aegis-99
Assigned to: Capt. William Vance
"William Vance," Thomas whispered, the name tasting like ash in his mouth. "Marcus Vance's brother. The attorney who tried to take Lucy."
"Captain Vance oversees the logistics for the Aegis project," Frank noted, the puzzle pieces rapidly snapping together. "He has the highest level of clearance. He knew Ethan, and he knew the layout of your estate. He's the inside man. He fed Ethan the defense schedules."
"Where is Captain Vance right now?" Thomas asked, his voice lethal.
"His transponder shows him leaving the base twenty minutes ago, heading north on Interstate 95," Hayes reported.
Thomas didn't hesitate. He was done playing defense.
"Frank, take Bravo Team. Intercept Vance. Do not kill him. I want him alive. I want to look him in the eye when I ask him how much thirty pieces of silver is worth in today's market."
"Yes, sir," Frank grabbed his tactical vest and rifle from the rack, sprinting out of the command center.
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Thomas turned back to the screens, watching the thermal imaging of the hospital. His daughter had been hunted in a place he promised she would be safe. The betrayal of a trusted officer ran deep, but it only fueled the Admiral's resolve.
"Hayes," Thomas ordered. "Prepare the heavy transport. Move Rachel and Lucy to the Alpha Bunker. If The Obsidian Group wants my family, they are going to have to go through a mechanized battalion to get them."
