<\/p>\n
The flare dropped toward the water, painting the waves red before it vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cBring the engines back,\u201d Rourke ordered. \u201cSlow approach. Eyes on the light.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kade moved to the controls without arguing. I stayed beside the receiver, trying to catch another transmission. The boat rolled hard, and the edge of the console struck my ribs. Pain flared, but I held on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was that?\u201d Rourke asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cLieutenant Sam Dwyer,\u201d I said. \u201cHe was aboard the ferry during the Astoria collision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kade looked at me. \u201cThe one from your report?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three years earlier, Sam had been a junior officer on a rescue launch. I\u2019d heard the tapping through a damaged acoustic channel and insisted someone was trapped. The team found him alive beneath a collapsed deck panel. A second rescue boat had taken a dangerous detour to reach us. The inquiry cleared my call, but the report criticized the delay. By the time the story spread, people remembered only that I\u2019d \u201csent everyone chasing ghosts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Dwyer be out here?\u201d Kade asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rourke kept his eyes on the flare\u2019s last position. \u201cThen we ask him when we find him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The radio came alive again. \u201cWe\u2019re taking water. Two aboard. Engine\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSam, this is Rourke\u2019s team. Keep talking,\u201d the Master Chief answered.<\/p>\n
Static swallowed the reply.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, the red flare appeared again, closer now. It came from a small aluminum workboat riding low between the swells. Its cabin lights were out. A man clung to the stern rail, one arm wrapped around a line. The other figure was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n
Kade leaned forward. \u201cThat\u2019s not the Morrow<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cBut it\u2019s the source.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke directed the team to hold a safe distance while they assessed the water and called for Coast Guard support. Kade stayed at the controls. When a wave shoved us sideways, I slid across the deck and struck my hip against a bench. Kade caught my shoulder before I fell over the low rail.<\/p>\n For a moment, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you hurt?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBruised.\u201d<\/p>\n He let go. \u201cI\u2019m sorry about earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSave it until we know they\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded and turned back to the boat.<\/p>\n \u201cSam,\u201d I called into the radio. \u201cCan you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n A weak answer came through. \u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI knew you\u2019d hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n The words hit harder than the water. Rourke looked at me. \u201cWhat does he mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell him to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n I took the radio. \u201cSam, why are you calling me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told your team would ignore the regular beacon. The backup signal uses the pattern from Astoria.\u201d<\/p>\n My fingers went cold around the handset. \u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe dispatcher. Said you\u2019d understand.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke\u2019s expression sharpened. \u201cWhich dispatcher?\u201d<\/p>\n Before Sam could answer, the workboat\u2019s cabin door opened. A second man appeared, soaked and pale, holding a waterproof case to his chest.<\/p>\n Kade stared at him. \u201cThat\u2019s Chief Ellis. He was reported off duty.\u201d<\/p>\n The man lifted the case toward us. \u201cDon\u2019t let them take this back to shore,\u201d he shouted. \u201cThe distress log was changed.\u201d<\/p>\n A larger wave rolled between our boats. The workboat vanished behind it.<\/p>\n \u201cChief!\u201d Kade shouted.<\/p>\n Rourke ordered everyone to hold position while the wave passed. I reached for the receiver, but the signal disappeared completely. The screen showed only static.<\/p>\n Then our own radio crackled. A calm voice from shore gave a new instruction: \u201cDisregard the flare. Resume the search for the Morrow<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke looked at me. \u201cThat came from dispatch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n Kade looked toward the darkness where the workboat had vanished. \u201cThey know we found them.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke\u2019s hand tightened around the rail. \u201cAnd now we need to find out why.\u201d<\/p>\n The order to leave sat in the radio like a dare.<\/p>\n Rourke did not answer it. He asked communications to repeat the message and log the time, then turned to me. \u201cCan you recover the signal?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can try.\u201d<\/p>\n Kade steadied the receiver while I adjusted the audio. My hands shook from the cold and from the familiar dread of being the only person who believed a sound mattered. I kept breathing, listening past the static.<\/p>\n Three knocks. A pause. Two quick ones.<\/p>\n \u201cGot them,\u201d I said. \u201cThey\u2019re drifting east.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke looked at the shore display. \u201cThat\u2019s away from our assigned search lane.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also where the current is carrying them.\u201d<\/p>\n He gave the order to follow the signal and notified the Coast Guard. The shore voice called again, sharper this time. \u201cUnit, confirm you are returning to the designated grid.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke answered evenly. \u201cWe have an active distress signal and a visual flare. We are rendering assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n No reply came.<\/p>\n The workboat reappeared beyond the swells, now broadside to us. Sam was still at the stern. Chief Ellis was crouched beside the cabin hatch, trying to keep it from shifting. Behind him, I saw a third figure\u2014a young deckhand\u2014trapped inside.<\/p>\n Kade called out to Sam, who pointed toward the cabin. The Coast Guard crew was still several minutes away. Rourke coordinated a cautious rescue, keeping the boat steady while the team prepared to help. No one rushed blindly into the water.<\/p>\n \u201cSam,\u201d I said into the radio, \u201cthe deckhand\u2014can he answer?\u201d<\/p>\n A pause. Then a weak tapping came through the receiver, faster now.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s awake,\u201d Sam said. \u201cThe hatch is jammed.\u201d<\/p>\n Kade looked at me. \u201cSame signal?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSame pattern. He\u2019s trying to tell us he\u2019s conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n The cabin door shifted with the next swell. Sam stumbled, and Kade grabbed the rail as if he could reach across the water by force. Rourke held him back.<\/p>\n \u201cWait for the rescue crew,\u201d he ordered. \u201cWe keep them in sight and keep talking.\u201d<\/p>\n Kade\u2019s face tightened, but he stayed in place. \u201cSam, look at me. Keep your hand on the rail. We\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n The Coast Guard vessel arrived, and its crew took the lead. With the two boats held steady, the responders reached Sam and Ellis first. The deckhand was freed from the cabin and brought aboard alive, shaken and cold. When Sam reached our boat, Kade grasped his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sam looked past him at me. \u201cYou heard the signal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody wanted it ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n Once everyone was secure, Rourke asked the Coast Guard to preserve the radio traffic and dispatch logs. The records revealed a serious mistake: the workboat\u2019s scheduled equipment test had been copied into the live dispatch system, and its emergency signal was labeled as a duplicate. A later instruction to disregard the flare came from someone relying on that mistaken entry.<\/p>\n The case was referred for review. No one claimed the error had been deliberate, but the crew had nearly been left unseen because a form said they shouldn\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n Later, Kade found me at the rail. The mark on my wrist had faded, but the memory of his grip hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard the story about Astoria,\u201d he said. \u201cI believed the version where you sent people chasing noise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI should\u2019ve asked you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked out at the dark water. \u201cI called you bad luck because I was nervous and wanted someone else to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t rescue him from the admission. \u201cThen don\u2019t do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Rourke joined us as the Coast Guard boat headed toward shore. \u201cFor the record, the engines were cut because we needed to hear the signal,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also wanted the whole crew to stop and listen\u2014to each other as well as the water.\u201d<\/p>\n Kade nodded. \u201cUnderstood, Chief.\u201d<\/p>\n On our next patrol, he handed me the receiver before we left the harbor. It wasn\u2019t a grand apology, but it was a start.<\/p>\n The boat cleared the breakwater. The engines rose beneath our feet, steady and strong. I watched the water, listened to the signal, and felt no need to prove I belonged there.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything?\u201d Rourke called.<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n This time, nobody called me unlucky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Part 2 The flare dropped toward the water, painting the waves red before it vanished. \u201cBring the engines back,\u201d Rourke ordered. \u201cSlow approach. Eyes on the light.\u201d Kade moved to the controls without arguing. I stayed beside the receiver, trying to catch another transmission. The boat rolled hard, and the edge of the console […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\nPart 3<\/h2>\n