Evan felt the blood leave his face.
Lawson turned slowly toward him.
“Did that just say your name?”
Evan couldn’t answer.
Nobody outside that submarine should have known he was aboard.
The transmission returned.
This time clearer.
“Evan Cole.”
Every person in the control room looked at him.
Then came five words that made the commanding officer order the recording stopped immediately.
Evan stared at the speaker.
Because the voice outside the submarine belonged to someone he had been told was dead. 👇
Evan knew the voice before the signal cleared.
“Chief Mercer?”
The control room went silent around him.
The commanding officer, Commander Hale, turned from the speaker. “Who is Mercer?”
Evan could barely make his mouth work.
“Senior Chief Aaron Mercer. Navy diver. He trained me six years ago.”
Lawson stared at him. “Why do you think that is him?”
“Because I know his voice.”
The transmission cracked again.
“Evan Cole.”
Then five words emerged through the distortion.
“They said we were lost.”
Commander Hale’s head snapped toward the communications console.
“Stop the recording.”
The operator hesitated.
“Sir?”
“Stop local playback. Preserve the raw feed. Secure it.” Hale pointed at Lawson. “No one repeats that sentence outside this compartment until we know what we’re dealing with.”
The order sounded secretive enough to make Evan’s fear sharpen.
