Chapter 38 - Judgment on the Flight Deck
Silence crashed down over the stern, broken only by the whistling wind and the dying groans of the sinking freighter.
Dylan walked back to where Marcus lay on the deck. He didn't say a word. He simply hoisted his brother back onto his shoulder.
"Why?" Marcus croaked, his voice trembling, broken by humiliation and sheer shock. "They were going to kill you, Dylan. I tried to destroy you. Why didn't you just let them shoot me?"
Dylan looked toward the horizon, where the faint glow of dawn was beginning to pierce through the heavy Pacific cloud bank. "Because Dad didn't raise killers. He raised Marines. You forgot that. I didn't."
They reached the elevated flight deck just as the ocean began swallowing the main cargo holds. The freighter was listing thirty degrees now; shipping containers broke loose from their lashings, sliding into the sea with echoing crashes.
Then, from the eastern sky, three sleek, thunderous shapes roared over the horizon.
Not unmarked mercenaries. Not stealth killers.
Three Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys, flanked by two AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, swept over the waves in tight combat formation. Their navigation lights flashed gold and green, cutting through the morning gloom like avenging angels.
The lead Osprey transitioned its massive tilt-rotors, hovering directly above the sinking flight deck with absolute precision. Ropes dropped instantly. Four heavily armed Force Recon Marines slid down the fast-ropes, boots hitting the deck with tactical authority, their weapons trained instantly in a 360-degree perimeter.
The team leader, bearing the rank of Captain, sprinted forward, his eyes widening as he took in the carnage, the sinking freighter, and the wounded Corporal holding a four-star traitor by the scruff of his collar.
"Corporal Dylan Vance?" the Captain called out over the rotor wash.
May you like
Dylan stood as straight as his broken body would allow, saluting with bruised, bleeding knuckles. "Corporal Vance, reporting, sir. Traitor in custody. The data drives containing the syndicate's operational ledger are secured with Sergeant Mia."
The Captain returned the salute with sharp, solemn reverence. "Corporal... the entire Pacific Fleet has been listening to your signal. The Commandant personally ordered this extraction. Stand down, Marine. You're coming home."
