32 Walking into a Virginia courtroom wearing the Navy uniform my parents had once treated as / Chapter 37 / 40

Chapter 37 - The Sprint to Portsmouth

Thirty minutes later, the Charlestown Navy Yard was swarming with federal agents, but this time, they were honest ones. Rear Admiral Alvarez, the regional commander for the First Naval District, had arrived by helicopter, taking custody of the titanium drive.

Nathan was waiting for me as I stepped off the gangway. When he saw me walking alongside the Navy Master-at-Arms without handcuffs, the tension in his shoulders finally broke. He rushed across the cordoned line, pulling me into a fierce, breathless embrace.

"You found it," he breathed against my hair.

"We found the proof," I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. "But Gregory was right about one thing. Howell anticipated this. He bypassed Washington entirely. He’s running the uplink from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. The destroyer USS *Vanguard* has Howell’s automated relay hardwired into her fire control room. In four hours, her Aegis system will simulate an inbound cruise missile attack and fire an unsanctioned barrage into mainland coastal radar."

"Then we have four hours to get to Portsmouth," Nathan said, reaching for his keys.

"No truck this time," Captain Reid interrupted, stepping up beside us. He gestured toward a sleek Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter idling on the tarmac across the pier, its twin turbines whining up to operational pitch. "Admiral Alvarez authorized a priority command flight. Commander Mercer, you are designated the lead JAG investigator for this incident. You walk into that shipyard with full military authority."

I adjusted my uniform cover, feeling the immense weight of the fallen sailors, of Chief Vance, and of the mountain home that had burned to ashes behind us.

"Nathan," I said, turning to him. "Come with me. We finish this together."