Chapter 7: The Call That Changed the Clock
Reyes handed me the phone without asking why.
We stood in the narrow equipment bay behind the aft generator housing.
The generator noise covered everything.
He passed the phone, turned his back, and watched the corridor.
I dialed.
My handler picked up on the second ring.
"Cole." Special Agent Diana Voss.
Twelve years NCIS.
The kind of voice that didn't change register whether she was ordering lunch or running a federal operation.
"I've been compromised," I said.
"Kane has my cover identity and my real name.
There's a DoD civilian named Hargrove aboard — he's the third name on the document set.
He came on in Honolulu off-manifest.
The XO processed his credentials."
A brief silence.
"The packet?" Voss said.
"Kane took it from my bunk while I was in the water.
But Doyle has the originals.
Fourteen months of primary documentation.
Chain of custody intact."
"Doyle." Another pause.
"He held back originals."
"Yes."
"Smart man." I could hear her moving.
A chair.
A door.
"Cole, what's the timeline?"
"They're moving the Deck Four inventory tonight.
Before Pearl.
Thirty-one hours from now, maybe less.
If it leaves the ship, we lose the physical evidence and Hargrove walks."
"What's the inventory?"
"Diverted medical supplies.
Fourteen months of procurement falsification running through a San Diego shell contractor.
Enough volume to constitute federal theft of government property and potentially supply diversion to an unauthorized recipient."
"How confident are you in Doyle's documentation?"
"He's been building it for over a year.
He gave NCIS the summary and kept the originals.
He knew Kane would come for any copy that wasn't his."
Voss was quiet for three seconds.
That was a long time for her.
"I need four hours to get authorization for a federal hold on the vessel," she said.
"That stops the inventory move and freezes Kane's command authority pending investigation."
"Kane will know something is happening the moment the hold comes through."
"Yes," she said.
"He will."
"He'll move on Doyle."
"Which is why Doyle needs to not be findable for the next four hours." A pause.
"Can you manage that?"
"I can try."
"Cole." Her voice shifted slightly.
Not softer.
Just more direct.
"You went into the Pacific today."
"Yesterday," I said.
"It's past midnight."
"You went into the Pacific yesterday.
You've been awake for over twenty hours.
You're operating on a compromised vessel with a hostile commanding officer and a DoD civilian who already knows your identity." A pause.
"Are you steady?"
I thought about the cold.
The way the ship had kept moving.
Kane's hands on his hips.
"Yes," I said.
"Four hours," Voss said.
"Keep Doyle out of sight.
Don't go near Deck Four.
And Cole — stay away from Kane until the hold comes through."
"Understood."
"One more thing." Her voice dropped just slightly.
"The XO.
His name is Commander Ellison.
He filed a separate report with JAG six weeks ago.
Sealed.
I've been trying to get access to it for a month."
I went still.
"What kind of report?"
"The kind you file," Voss said, "when you're afraid of what happens if you don't file something first."
The generator hummed around me.
"He's been building his own record," I said.
"That's what I think," Voss said.
"Find him before Kane does."
The line went quiet.
I handed the phone back to Reyes.
He was still watching the corridor.
He hadn't moved.
"Thank you," I said.
He nodded once.
I stepped out of the equipment bay and moved toward the officers' quarters.
Four hours.
And somewhere on this ship, Commander Ellison was sitting on a sealed JAG report that nobody was supposed to know about.
May you like
Kane was going to figure that out.
The only question was whether I reached Ellison first.
