PART 2: Navy SEAL Punched the Wrong Woman in the Mess Hall—Then an Admiral Walked In With Her Sealed Orders

"The van was intercepted at the Otay Mesa border crossing forty minutes ago," Admiral Vance said, lowering his voice until it was barely above a whisper.

"And?"

"The four crates of night-vision scopes were inside," Vance continued. "Along with two hundred pounds of C4 explosive that weren't on any inventory list Reed stole from Coronado."

I narrowed my eyes. "Where did the C4 come from?"

"It didn't come from Coronado, Maya. It came from the naval weapons station at Seal Beach. Stolen six weeks ago during an unscheduled blackout."

My pulse began to quicken. "Reed wasn't running an isolated theft ring. He was part of an operational supply chain."

"He was the middleman," Vance confirmed, handing me the black-wax-sealed envelope. "NCIS just decrypted his satellite phone. Reed didn't know who he was selling to. He thought he was dealing with a standard Mexican cartel broker."

"Who was he actually dealing with?"

Vance leaned in closer, his jaw tight. "The encrypted communications pinged back to a server located aboard an offshore logistics vessel currently anchored twelve miles off the coast of San Clemente Island. A civilian-flagged cargo ship that has been running covert electronic surveillance on Pacific Fleet exercises for the last seventy-two hours."

I looked down at the black wax seal. My fingers traced the cold, sharp edges of the paper.

"What are my orders, Admiral?" I asked.

Vance met my eyes. The pride was there, but beneath it was a dark, chilling apprehension.

"Your orders were supposed to end with Reed's arrest, Maya. You were supposed to take three weeks of convalescent leave and report to Washington."

"And now?"

"Now," Vance said, checking his watch, "a helicopter is spooling up on Pad Four. The crew aboard that offshore vessel received word twenty minutes ago that Reed was compromised. They’ve weighed anchor and are attempting to reach international waters."

He tapped the sealed orders in my lap.

"You're the only operative with the biometric encryption keys needed to access that ship’s internal terminal before they scuttle their hard drives. You leave in ten minutes."

I looked at the orders, then up at my father. "Who is on that ship, Dad?"