Chapter 2 - The Mask Slips
The silence in the passageway was heavy enough to drown out the low rumble of the Callahan’s engines.
Peter Voss looked between the Admiral and the civilian nurse with total bewilderment. "Admiral... with all respect, this is Sarah Bennett. She’s a temporary contract nurse assigned to our outpatient deck. Her file—"
" Her file is a lie, Lieutenant Commander," Halloway snapped, never breaking eye contact with Sarah. "Or rather, it’s a heavily sanitized cover story constructed by the Department of Defense to allow one of the most decorated combat medics in special operations history to disappear."
Sarah clung to the bulkhead rail. Sweat was trickling down her forehead, chilling her skin. Her abdomen felt like a burning blade was being turned inside her lower right quadrant.
"Admiral," Sarah said, her voice hoarse. "I am... off active duty. My name is Bennett."
"Your name was Miller when you saved my son's entire reconnaissance team in the Korengal Valley," Halloway said softly, his stern face softening with an emotion he rarely showed on his command deck. "We were told you retired. Then we heard you died in a helicopter crash during a civilian extraction mission three years ago."
"I survived," Sarah whispered. "My husband didn't."
Before Halloway could ask another question, Lily stepped out of the medical hatch. She walked up to the towering Admiral, completely unfazed by his gold braid or his rigid posture. She reached up and pulled gently on his sleeve.
"I told you," Lily said, looking up with fierce, six-year-old authority. "She's sick. Stop talking and fix her."
Halloway looked down at the little girl, then back at Sarah, whose strength finally gave out completely. Her hand slipped off the steel rail, and she collapsed toward the deck.
Halloway caught her before she hit the steel floor.
"Voss!" Halloway roared, his authoritative commander's voice shattering the stillness. "Get a gurney! Clear the surgical suite! Now!"
Voss blinked, snapping out of his shock. "Sir, I... yes, sir!"
As Voss and two crewmen lifted Sarah onto the gurney, Sarah reached out wildly, her hands trembling, her eyes searching for only one thing in the darkening room.
"Lily..." Sarah choked out. "Lily..."
"I'm right here, Mommy," Lily said, grabbing her mother’s thumb with her entire hand.
Halloway leaned down over the gurney as they wheeled it rapidly toward the primary surgical bay. "Captain Miller—Nurse Bennett—listen to me. You saved my family. I will protect yours. The ship’s medical bay is yours. Nobody touches your daughter except under my direct command."
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As the double doors of the surgical suite swung open, Sarah’s vision began to tunnel into blackness. The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was Voss frantically setting up the diagnostic ultrasound machine, his arrogant posture completely shattered, muttering in disbelief:
" ruptured appendix... peritoneal signs... how was she standing up?"
