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The Ship
Author: Fav write
last update2025-12-17 23:51:45

Twenty weapons trained on them. No cover. Nowhere to run. Four hundred miles from land.

"Drop your weapons," the crew leader ordered. "This ship is Consortium property. You're all under arrest."

"Helen Sterling owned this ship," Kai said, his weapon still raised despite knowing the odds.

"Helen Sterling was bankrupt three years ago. The OxyElite scandal destroyed Sterling Pharma's stock. She sold this ship and half her assets to the Consortium to pay debts. She kept it secret." The leader smiled. "From everyone. Including her son."

Derek's face was white. "That's impossible. She told me the ship was paid for. That it was secure."

"She lied. To protect you. To maintain the illusion of control." The leader gestured to his crew. "This ship has been Consortium property for years. We've been waiting for you. Waiting for the perfect moment to spring the trap."

Kai understood. This wasn't opportunistic. This was planned. Years in the making. Helen Sterling, desperate and dying, had sold them
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  • The Interrogations

    The aircraft carrier had interrogation rooms scattered across multiple decks. The team separated. Isolated. Each facing their own inquisitor.---Julie - Interrogation Room 3, Medical DeckShe sat in a wheelchair, still too weak to stand for long. IV drip attached to her arm. But her eyes were clear. Defiant.CIA Agent Morrison sat across from her. Mid-forties. Kind face. The type who probably had daughters Julie's age."Is your brother planning to join Theodore Blackwell?"Julie's laugh was bitter. "My brother plans to destroy the Consortium. Including Theodore.""He let Theodore escape.""He let a sinking man reach safety. That's different."Morrison leaned forward. Sympathetic but duty-bound. "Julie, I know you've been through hell. We have reports of what they did to you. A year of torture. Brainwashing. We can help you. But you need to cooperate.""I am cooperating. I'm telling you the truth.""Your truth. Or Kai's truth?"Julie met his eyes. "Same thing."Morrison sighed. Made a

  • The Submarine

    Sixty seconds before the yacht went under completely.CIA agents fast-roping onto the tilting deck. Water rushing over rails. Fire spreading. Chaos in every direction."Everyone into lifeboats!" Kai shouted. "Now!"The team scrambled. Derek and Nadia carrying Julie between them. Reeves supporting Torres. Lila already at the first lifeboat, releasing the mechanism.Theodore stood at the yacht's stern. Calm. Always impossibly calm."My submarine is here," he said to Kai. "Come with me. Last chance.""I'm not joining you.""Then you're a fool." Theodore's expression didn't change. "You could've changed the world.""Maybe." Kai met his eyes. "But I'd lose myself doing it."Theodore nodded. Once. Understanding. Then turned toward the stern where an underwater exit hatch was concealed beneath the deck.CIA agents closing in. Twenty seconds until they reached the team. Maybe less.Kai made a split-second decision.Raised his weapon. Aimed at the yacht's fuel tank.Fired an incendiary round.

  • The Yacht Battle

    Three speedboats circled like sharks. Forty-plus armed men. Consortium loyalists who'd decided Theodore's independence was treason.A voice crackled through a megaphone. Harsh. Authoritative."Theodore Blackwell. You betrayed your brother. Betrayed the Consortium. Surrender and we'll make it quick."Theodore stood at the rail, impossibly calm. Adjusted his cufflinks like this was a minor annoyance."I prefer to decline."The RPG launched with a whoosh. Slammed into the yacht's upper deck. The explosion threw Kai sideways. Fire and debris raining down.Theodore's crew scrambled for positions. Professional. Trained. But outnumbered."Return fire!" Theodore's security chief shouted.Gunfire erupted from the deck rails. But the speedboats were fast, agile, circling.Kai moved into position. "Reeves, FBI agents—port side. Nadia, Derek—starboard. I'll take the bow.""What about me?" Torres limped forward, wounded but mobile."Sniper position. Bridge. Pick your targets."Torres nodded, disap

  • Nadia's Warning

    Day three on Theodore's yacht. Twelve hours until the deadline.Kai sat alone in his guest room, staring at the tablet Theodore had given him. Five million projected casualties. Three wars. Two economic collapses. All planned. All preventable.If he took the offer.The team had fractured. Lila wouldn't see him—staying in Julie's room instead, door locked, refusing to respond when he knocked. Julie was recovering physically but wouldn't speak to him. The betrayal in her eyes when she'd walked out still burned.Through the thin walls, Kai heard voices. Reeves and the FBI agents."If Kai accepts, we arrest him ourselves.""He's not thinking clearly. Theodore's manipulating him.""Doesn't matter. We don't let him become the enemy."Derek's voice, conflicted: "My mother wanted him to destroy the Consortium, not join it."Torres, bitter: "I didn't save his life a dozen times so he could become what we're fighting."Kai closed his eyes. Alone. Isolated. The weight of five million lives press

  • Chapter 108: The Offer

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  • The invitation

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