Chapter 7: The Live Feed
The small screen of Christopher’s phone glowed with the high-definition horror of a live video feed. Lily sat upright in a metal folding chair inside a cold, gray concrete room, a dark cloth blindfold tied tightly around her blonde head. Her small hands were folded nervously in her lap, her breathing shallow and fast.
“Lily!” Christopher shouted into the phone, forgetting every protocol, every rule of engagement.
“Ah, ah, Commander,” the synthetic voice warned smoothly through the earpiece. “Sound travels poorly in underground bunkers. But if you yell too loud, she might start crying. And you know how much children hate being frightened.”
Detective Miller stepped close, watching the screen over Christopher’s shoulder, his face turning pale. “Trace that feed. Right now!” he yelled to a nearby cyber unit officer.
“I’m trying, sir, but it’s bouncing through twelve proxy servers in Eastern Europe,” the technician replied frantically, fingers flying across a ruggedized laptop keyboard.
Christopher forced his breathing to slow down, military discipline overriding the raw panic tearing at his chest. He could not afford to lose control. If he panicked, Lily died. If he complied, thousands of military personnel across the Atlantic fleet could be compromised.
“Where is she?” Christopher demanded, his voice chillingly calm.
“You have precisely two hours to access the Norfolk vault and upload our master encryption key to the terminal,” the voice instructed coldly. “If you involve federal authorities or the base command, the video feed goes dark permanently. And so does your daughter.”
The call disconnected with a sharp beep.
Christopher stared at the frozen image of Lily on his screen, his heart pounding against his ribs like a sledgehammer. He looked up at Detective Miller, who was already shaking his head.
“We can't let them have that vault, Christopher. That’s nuclear-level clearance,” Miller said, his voice laced with grim resignation.
“That’s my little girl in that room,” Christopher replied, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I’ll burn the entire navy to the ground before I let them touch her.”
“We don’t have to choose between your daughter and national security,” Miller said quickly, grabbing a secure satellite phone from his tactical vest. “We can stage a digital trap. We give them a corrupted upload package designed to lock their servers the second they access the Norfolk terminal.”
“And if they realize it’s a trap before they release her?” Christopher asked, his eyes burning with intense fury.
Miller hesitated, unable to offer a guarantee.
Christopher shoved his phone into his pocket, turning his back on the detective. “We’re not waiting for a trap. I’m going to the Norfolk vault myself.”
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“Christopher, wait!” Miller shouted. “You can't walk onto a secure naval base alone after your security clearance has been flagged!”
Christopher stopped, turning back slowly with a cold, terrifying smile. “Who said I was going alone?”
