Chapter 2 - The Wrath of the Admiral
Three thousand miles away, inside a subterranean command bunker beneath the Pentagon, the red alert light flashing on Admiral Hector Sterling’s private console didn't just blink—it shrieked.
The four-star general stared at the encrypted satellite telemetry flashing across his monitors. The GPS coordinates pinpointed a private resort cove in Cabo San Lucas, overlaid with a localized distress beacon transmitted directly from his daughter’s tactical timepiece.
Hector’s face hardened into granite. For ten years, he had honored Genevieve’s wish to live an ordinary civilian life, watching from afar as she built a life with an ambitious, slick-talking tech entrepreneur named Julian Vance. Hector had run background checks on Julian when the company was founded; he knew Julian was a climber, a man whose loyalty could be bought for a seat on the board. But Hector had trusted his daughter’s judgment.
That trust had just expired.
“General, we have an active SOS from Tango-One,” his executive officer barked, spinning his chair around. “Telemetry indicates unauthorized restraint, high-velocity towing, and acute physiological distress. Vitals are failing.”
Hector stood up, his massive frame radiating an aura of suppressed tectonic fury. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. When an Admiral of the Joint Chiefs spoke in times of war, empires trembled.
“Scramble the regional tactical wing out of Naval Air Station Key West,” Hector ordered, his voice dropping into a lethal, glacial baritone. “Authorize two MH-60 Jayhawk rescue choppers and a Coast Guard cutter intercept unit currently patrolling the Baja Peninsula. Tell the squadron commander to secure the airspace over the Cabo resort immediately. If anyone interferes with the recovery of my daughter, treat them as hostile combatants engaged in an act of piracy and attempted murder.”
May you like
“Yes, sir!”
“And notify the legal attaché in Mexico City,” Hector added, his eyes fixing on the live satellite feed showing two jet skis careening across a remote bay. “Tell them to freeze every corporate asset, bank account, and personal holding belonging to Julian Vance effective immediately. He’s about to find out what happens when you mistake a Sterling for prey.”
