CHAPTER 9 — The First Message
The words echoed through the ballroom like a gunshot.
"Someone took him."
Celeste's pulse quickened.
"What do you mean, 'took him'?"
The lead federal agent removed a tablet from his case and activated the screen.
"Commander Daniel Carter landed at Harbor City International Airport at 8:17 p.m."
Satellite images appeared.
"He cleared customs."
"He declined government protection."
"He insisted on traveling alone."
Admiral Reed cursed under his breath.
"That's exactly what he would do."
The agent nodded.
"Eight minutes later, every surveillance camera tracking him went offline."
Arthur frowned.
"Offline?"
"Simultaneously."
"For thirty-seven seconds."
"When the cameras came back..."
The agent swiped to the next image.
The arrival lane stood empty.
Daniel Carter was gone.
No taxi.
No driver.
No witnesses.
Nothing.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
The ballroom buzzed with disbelief.
"Thirty-seven seconds?"
"That's impossible."
"No ordinary criminals could disable airport surveillance."
Admiral Reed's expression darkened.
"They weren't ordinary."
Celeste stepped closer.
"Show me every frame."
The agent handed her the tablet.
She studied the footage carefully.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
She ignored Daniel.
Ignored the crowd.
Ignored everything except the reflections in the airport windows.
Suddenly—
She paused the video.
"There."
The agent frowned.
"What?"
She zoomed in on the polished glass of a nearby terminal.
Barely visible.
A black SUV.
No license plate.
Military-grade blackout windows.
Reed leaned over.
"You caught that?"
She nodded.
"The reflection appears half a second before the cameras fail."
The Admiral smiled faintly.
"You haven't lost your eye."
Arthur stared at the vehicle.
"It could belong to anyone."
Celeste slowly enlarged another section of the image.
A tiny silver emblem appeared on the driver's door.
Not a company logo.
Not a government seal.
A stylized phoenix with outstretched wings.
Her breathing stopped.
"No..."
Reed looked at her.
"You recognize it."
"I've seen it before."
"Where?"
She closed her eyes.
Fragments of memory surfaced.
A burning corridor.
Explosions.
Smoke.
A shipping container.
Black uniforms.
And—
The same silver phoenix.
"It was on the cargo container aboard the USS Resolute."
The Admiral's expression hardened.
"So Black Tide..."
"...and Daniel Carter..."
"...are connected."
Before anyone could speak again, one of Arthur's security guards rushed into the ballroom.
"Sir!"
Arthur turned.
"What now?"
The guard was pale.
"Someone delivered this."
He held up a plain black envelope.
No return address.
No stamp.
Only one name written across the front.
Commander Celeste Ashford
The room became silent.
The guard swallowed.
"It was handed to me by a courier."
"Where is he?"
"He disappeared before we could stop him."
Celeste accepted the envelope.
It felt strangely heavy.
Admiral Reed stepped beside her.
"Don't open it."
"It could be dangerous."
She nodded.
One of the federal bomb technicians quickly scanned it.
"No explosives."
"No chemical agents."
"Safe to open."
Celeste broke the seal.
Inside...
There was only one photograph.
She turned it over.
Every breath left her lungs.
Daniel Carter.
Alive.
Sitting in a wooden chair.
His hands tied behind his back.
A fresh newspaper lay across his lap.
Today's date was clearly visible.
Proof of life.
Across the bottom of the photograph, someone had written in black ink:
You inherited his courage.
Let's see if you inherited his intelligence.
Arthur felt a chill run down his spine.
There was something else inside the envelope.
A single folded sheet of paper.
Celeste opened it.
Typed in clean black letters:
COME ALONE.
MIDNIGHT.
PIER 19.
IF YOU BRING THE MILITARY...
HE DIES.
Victoria whispered,
"It's a trap."
"No," Celeste replied.
"It's a challenge."
Admiral Reed immediately shook his head.
"You're not going."
"I have to."
"No."
"He spent thirty-four years trying to come home."
She looked at Reed.
"I'm not letting him disappear again."
"You could be walking into an execution."
"I've walked into worse."
Arthur stepped forward.
"I'll send my security teams."
Celeste looked at him.
"Your security?"
"They're the best."
She gave a tired smile.
"Tonight they've already failed to protect one member of my family."
Arthur lowered his eyes.
He couldn't argue.
Michael Lawson suddenly cleared his throat.
"I've seen this before."
Everyone turned.
"What do you mean?" Reed asked.
Michael stared at the photograph.
"The wording."
"The phoenix emblem."
"The psychological pressure."
"I've read old intelligence reports."
"This isn't a kidnapping."
"What is it?"
Michael answered quietly.
"It's recruitment."
The ballroom fell silent.
Michael continued.
"Project Phoenix had one unofficial rule."
"If they couldn't control an operative..."
"...they targeted the people the operative loved."
Arthur frowned.
"You're saying they want Celeste?"
Michael nodded.
"They don't need Daniel."
"They need leverage."
The federal agent's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He turned toward Reed.
"We've identified the courier."
"Who is he?"
"He doesn't exist."
"What?"
"The facial recognition system matched him to a man who died..."
The agent checked the screen again.
"...twenty-six years ago."
A cold silence settled over the ballroom.
Just then—
The giant LED screen flickered once more.
No one had touched it.
The lights dimmed by themselves.
Across the screen appeared a single line of white text.
GOOD EVENING, COMMANDER ASHFORD.
Every person in the ballroom looked up.
The text continued to type itself across the screen.
YOU HAVE YOUR MOTHER'S HEART...
A pause.
Then another line appeared.
...AND YOUR FATHER'S INSTINCTS.
Another pause.
The final sentence appeared one letter at a time.
BUT YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHO KILLED YOUR MOTHER.
Arthur's face turned deathly pale.
"What...?"
Celeste's heart stopped.
Killed?
Her mother had died from illness.
Hadn't she?
The screen flashed one final message.
SEE YOU AT MIDNIGHT.
Then it went black.
The ballroom remained frozen.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because one impossible question now overshadowed everything else.
If Eleanor Ashford had not died naturally...
May you like
Then who had wanted her dead?
And why?
