Chapter 120 - The Final Heartbeat
Empty brass casings clattered against the steel floor as Claire dropped three contractors in rapid succession.
Liam, leaning against the server rack for support, raised the sidearm Claire had given him and fired twice.
The fourth contractor collapsed in the doorway, his weapon skittering across the blood-slicked deck.
"We need to move now!" Claire yelled, supporting Liam’s weight as they stumbled into the smoky corridor.
The carrier’s public address system crackled to life, distorted by static and screeching alarms.
Admiral Vance’s voice echoed through the ship, twisted by agonizing pain and utter madness.
"All hands, this is the Admiral," Vance rasped through the PA system. "Activate Scuttle Protocol Delta-Nine."
Claire froze in the middle of the hallway, her blood running instantly cold.
Scuttle Protocol Delta-Nine meant the scuttling charges in the carrier’s nuclear reactor compartment were armed.
A computer-generated voice began echoing over the klaxons: *DETONATION IN THREE MINUTES.*
Claire pulled Liam toward the flight deck elevator, her boots splashing through pools of oil and salt water.
Suddenly, Claire’s tactical radio crackled with incoming static, cutting through the blaring alarms.
It wasn't Miller’s voice.
It was Margaret Montgomery, speaking from an unlisted, encrypted command frequency in Washington.
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"Claire, listen to me very carefully," Margaret’s voice trembled with sheer terror over the comms.
"The man you just pulled out of that tank," Margaret whispered in horror, "is not your brother."
