Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
That voice.
That face.
It was all she needed to break that damaged barrier — crumble the walls holding her fractured mind in place. The memories didn’t slam into her, this time, just settled into the empty spaces as if they’d always been there.
The tone pulsed, again, as Saylor glanced at Zain, blinking in an effort to stabilize the scenery. No blood pool, no obvious gaping wounds, which she hoped meant his vest had held. Still, he could be bleeding internally or have a massive tension pneumothorax from the impact. Multiple broken bones.
And all because of the man standing in front of her.
Pain burned into anger, and she stumbled a few steps over, blocking any further shots at Zain as she faced her past, the gun like a dead weight in her hand. “Maddox.”
Rear Admiral Brad Maddox arched a brow. “I’d say it’s good to see you, but we both know that would be a lie.” He motioned to the weapon. “Not that you’d be able to fire it, but…”
Saylor let the gun slip out of her hand, and it clattered to the floor without another accidental discharge. What could have been the Hail Mary they needed. “It was you. All this time…”
“Saylor…”
“You were behind everything. The crime ring. The authorized extra duty assignments. That mission.” She staggered forward, barely kept her balance as she pointed at him.
“You brought me there. You set off the sonar weapon. Watson was merely a pawn. A necessary partner to do your dirty work. But you were the man behind the curtain.”
Maddox blew out an exasperated breath, as if her uncovering the truth was a burden. Some heavy load he now needed to shoulder. “It’s not quite as simple as you make it out to be.”
“Really? Because you’re either a fucking traitor, or you’re not.
” She groaned when that tone sounded, again.
Not quite as devastating as before. As if her mind had figured out how to counter the worst of the effects.
“I’ve known you my entire life. You were family.
Like a second father. Then, you brought me here to die?
Because of what?” She looked at Watson’s limp form. “Him?”
Maddox tsked, again. “I told you to let it go. That nothing good would come from pressing charges. Offered to give you any assignment you wanted, but you always had something to prove. Held everyone to some impossible standard. ”
“He tried to rape me. Wanting him to be held accountable for that isn’t unreasonable.”
“Except where I asked you to let me handle it. I only needed him to finish this job, then I would have made sure he paid for his indiscretion.”
She laughed, falling against the bulkhead when everything went black for a moment. “Is that what you think it was? A poor judgement call?”
“Watson was always a bit of a pig. But he had connections and was one hell of a captain.”
“Which obviously meant more to you than family.” She sneered at him. “That’s what you said. That I was like a daughter to you.”
Maddox’s jaw clenched. “You remember.”
“Turns out, you’re the only trigger I needed for it all to just… reappear.”
She tripped onto one knee when the ship tilted violently, again, everything skidding across the floor. The hull groaned, a haunting echo ringing through the air as another pulse boomed around them.
Had they stopped moving?
She couldn’t tell. Could barely breathe past the crushing pressure, but she held on. Promised herself she’d make the bastard pay, no matter the cost.
Saylor pulled herself upright and braced her feet apart.
If she kept Maddox talking a bit longer, the next massive swell might be the distraction she needed to go on the offensive.
She’d likely get shot, but if she subdued him long enough to remove whatever ear protection was blocking the sonar, he’d be just as compromised as they were .
“You brought me onboard because you needed those charges to vanish, so Watson could keep running weapons for you. And what better way than to go down in a tragic accident.” She panted through the next loud burst. “You killed over twenty people, and for what? Money? Power?”
Maddox glared at her. “You brought this on yourself. I had no choice.”
“What about upholding your oath? Endeavoring to more? Being a decent human being?”
“And you wonder why I had to orchestrate this entire situation. You never would have understood. All the violence that goes unanswered. The wars that never get fought because some bureaucrat up in Washington can’t make some magic number appear on a spreadsheet.
” Maddox tapped his chest. “I changed that. Ensured the people who needed those weapons got them. That evil didn’t go unanswered.
” He shook his head. “You could have been part of it, but you never could see the gray areas.”
“Oh, I see plenty of gray, but this… This is pretty black and white.” She glanced back at Zain. He hadn’t moved, and the reality that she’d likely gotten him killed hit hard.
Maddox glanced past her at Zain. “They weren’t armor piercing, but two shots this close…” He whistled. “He might wake up before it’s all over. Just like your other friends. That one guy took three before he finally dropped. He’s definitely feeling it, now.”
Saylor swallowed, concentrated on keeping him talking because if she thought, for one second, she’d gotten half of Zain’s team killed… “Who are you selling the sonar weapon to? The North Koreans? Some faction in the Middle East? What were all those lives worth to you?”
“Don’t lecture me. I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m just sorry you made yourself part of it.” He stepped back. “Ironic that we’re in the same situation. You, standing in my way. A storm raging across the ocean. I doubt you’ll survive another three days at sea.”
“So, that’s your master plan? Put me back in the Zodiac. Hope it sinks, this time?”
“It’s hard to pilot a boat when your mind’s broken. I won’t be relying on the Zodiac, though. You’ll go down with the Nexus .”
“Why not shoot me, now? Save yourself any doubt.” She glanced behind him.
“No backup, this time. Is that the issue? The line you won’t cross.
Having me killed is fine, as long as you don’t have to pull the trigger?
” She huffed. “I can’t believe I ever looked up to you. That I wanted to be just like you.”
Another pulse, the sheer immensity of this one dropping her to her knees. The room swam, tilting left and right as nausea roiled her stomach. She palmed the floor, every thought derailing before it formed. Nothing but that sound making it through.
Footsteps, drawing closer.
Maddox sighed. “Remarkable weapon, isn’t it?
Vasquez was able to recreate everything but that damn panel.
Didn’t know how to integrate it without having the original to go by.
While this version is useful, it’s restrictive.
Only affects the ship, which defeats the main purpose.
But now that I found the integration panel…
” He sighed. “I’ll need a new engineer, thanks to Watson’s inability to follow one simple order.
But there’s always someone willing to toss their morals aside for the greater good. A lesson you could have learned.”
She looked up at him, head pounding, everything still sliding sideways. “How…”
One word, and everything just stopped working.
He touched his ear. “An experimental earpiece. Not fully effective as the sound waves penetrate your skull, but they dampen the symptoms long enough to maintain the upper hand. I’m afraid this sonar pulse weapon has a manufacturing defeat.
It’s overpowering the electrical system no matter what I do.
Just like with the Vigilant . Who would have thought it would blow the entire panel? Compromise the hull?”
“Is that your way of saying you hadn’t planned on sinking the ship?”
“That was always the endgame. I couldn’t risk having any eyewitnesses.
Just dumb luck that damn storm intensified as fast as it did.
Changed direction. Blew the Vigilant farther off-course than planned.
I wanted to search for the wreckage months ago, but it was still too hot.
Too fresh. Looks like my patience paid off. ”
She cried out when the next tone had her hurling. Puking up the coffee she’d drank before leaving. “We’re not the only ones who know about you. You won’t get far.”
“Nice try, but you were genuinely surprised to see me, which suggests they only know about Watson. Not that it matters. No one’s lucky enough to survive two storms.”
He backed up. “I am sorry, Saylor, but I’ve worked too hard to let sentimental feelings cloud my judgement. You really should have let this all go.”
Another step, then the boat listed hard to port. It knocked him against the hatch — gave Saylor the opening she needed.
She scrambled toward him, gaining her feet as he regained his balance.
He fired, caught the side of her vest, but her momentum carried her into him, taking them both to the floor.
They grappled for the weapon, both trying to tear it free, before she managed to elbow him in the jaw — claw out one earpiece.
It landed on the deck, falling between the grated floor, as another pulse sounded beneath them. Definitely louder. Maddox shouted, holding his head with one palm as he yanked the weapon out of her trembling hands — stumbled to his feet.
The room spun, that noise dragging her down as Maddox fumbled with the pistol. He finally managed to grip it correctly when Zain raced past her, barreling into Maddox hard enough the impact shook through the floor as they hit the wall, both crumpling to the ground.
That got her up and moving. Shaky. Barely coherent, but enough she staggered across the room, punched Maddox in the jaw when he stirred, before removing the other earpiece, then placing it in Zain’s ear. Not that it would eliminate all the effects, but it might give him an edge.
“Zain… ”