Chapter 80 - The Decryption Key
The interface sparked violently, blue electrical arcs dancing across the medal’s ribbon and burning into my fingertips.
**EMERGENCY HARDWARE OVERRIDE DETECTED.**
**DECRYPTING CIPHER: OPERATION COLD HARBOR.**
**AUTHORITY: FIVE-STAR GENERAL VANCE, CHIEF OF STRATEGIC COMMAND (POSTHUMOUS).**
**VALIDATING DNA...**
A thin laser scanned the blood dripping from my wounded shoulder onto the console glass.
**WELCOME HOME, CAPTAIN VANCE.**
**COMMAND AUTHORITY FULLY RESTORED.**
**TERMINATING LAUNCH SEQUENCE IN 3... 2... 1...**
A deafening hiss of nitrogen flooded the silo. The ignition valves slammed shut with a metallic crash that shook the entire platform. The spooling whine of the turbines began to decay, winding down like a dying beast, until the only sound left in the cavernous room was the ragged, gasping breaths of two brothers sitting amid the ruins of their family's empire.
The terminal turned a tranquil, steady green: **ALL PAYLOADS SAFED. SILO DOORS LOCKED. SUBMERSIBLE PLATFORM SURFACING TO RECEIVE ALLIED FORCES.**
Vance slumped back against the console base, staring at the floor, his face completely hollowed out. "It's over... the contractors... the offshore bank accounts... the Syndicate will hunt me to the ends of the earth."
"The Syndicate isn't going to find you," I said, leaning heavily against the railing as the adrenaline faded, leaving only agonizing pain in my shoulder and a soul-deep exhaustion. "You're going to a supermax facility in Florence, Colorado. And you'll spend the rest of your life staring at a concrete wall, wondering why you let a monstrous woman convince you that our father's honor was something to be sold."
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Through the shattered glass of the command pulpit, the heavy blast doors at the top of the silo slowly ground open, revealing the first pale, gray light of dawn breaking through the storm clouds over the Atlantic.
In the distance, the synchronized thrum of twin-rotor MH-47 Chinook heavy transport helicopters announced the arrival of the direct-action teams Hayes had signaled before the communications array went down.
